Abyss headphones are the brainchild of JPS Labs LLC, a company that has been making high-quality analog and digital cables for 30 years. The company's reference headphones use planar magnetic drivers and are hand-assembled in Buffalo, New York. House-assembled for maximum quality control. The proprietary planar magnetic drivers are known for their powerful dynamics and low-level detail, resulting in a spacious presentation.
The Diana series represents sophisticated luxury, and the flagship AB-1266 headphones are engineered to be the highest performing headphones in the world.
AB-1266 is about sound. Abyss aimed to recreate the sound of the best PA systems and music rooms in the world. The headphones had to convey the music as naturally as if you were sitting in the room with the band. A real challenge for a small group.
The first thing you notice when listening to the Abyss AB-1266 Phi is that the human brain is so good at recognizing natural musical sounds, the freedom of music. Abyss does not distort the sound, telling the brain that you are wearing headphones. Instead, you hear the cymbals ringing in time, without harsh metallic overtones, guitar strings resonating inside the guitar body, and not in some tin box. Drums have a real punch, you hear the drum skin shaking, not a thud and instant decay.
Let's start with the central component - the speaker or driver. The AB-1266 driver must convert the amplified signal into motion so that your ears hear only music, not vibrating plastic or metal. Achieving this is the most important and most difficult.
The Abyss team started from scratch and spent almost 5 years creating unique materials, magnets and acoustic design that had never been seen before in a full-featured headphone driver.
Then came the question of the enclosure or frame design to mount these magnificent drivers. Extensive knowledge of high-quality loudspeaker design and materials has shown that the best ones have minimal cabinet resonance. This means that they do not vibrate or produce excess sound that would interfere with the beautiful clarity and purity of the Abyss drivers. Typically for loudspeakers, this results in a very heavy, multi-layered cabinet, which is not the case for headphones that need to be comfortable to wear on your head.
Headphones are usually riddled with plastic moving parts and all sorts of poorly fitted components that translate into rattles and noises that are not part of the music. Abyss could not afford this in their designs.
The result of the AB-1266 was a lightweight yet rigid frame made of durable aluminum. Dozens of prototypes were created, and at each level the effectiveness of the anti-resonance design and the complexity of the artistic details increased.
Machining materials to this level of detail is nothing less than the art of programming and tooling. So the company purchased its own CNC machines and spent over a year learning how to use them. This way, Abyss could control the quality of the headphones, which claim to be the best in the world.
Once the main components of the frame were ready, the question of adjustments arose, because every person’s head is unique. The problem is that adjustments usually introduce vibration, noise, and become the point at which the mechanism eventually breaks/damages. Abyss wanted the AB-1266 frame to never require maintenance or repair due to broken parts; durability was key.
The engineers narrowed it down to a single pivot point on the top of the headband. It took another 6 months to design this mechanism. Ultimately, they created their own unique screw and slot design that allows you to adjust not only the width, but also the height, toe-in or toe-out, and clamping force. The simpler, the better.
So, the Abyss team created their planar drivers, anti-resonance design, and the ability to adjust it. Next, they needed to place the AB-1266 on heads of different shapes in the most comfortable way. Essentially, the headphones were supposed to “float on the surface” and act as a suspension system, isolating head movement from the impact on the music. What could be more comfortable than a hammock? The team worked to perfect this mechanism, adjusting the thickness of the leather and foam, the suspension and other small details so that these large headphones can comfortably and easily fit into the ear.