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“One of the lesser flaunted features of the PM-50 is also its size and use case. The typical forum response to hearing that a new headphone was planar magnetic is that it’s meant to be a sit-down headphone due to its overbearing cup size and weight; I wonder if Audeze popularized this. The PM-50s run counter to this idea with a headphone footprint just slightly larger than that of an ‘on-ear’ headphone. With a DAP in hand, the PM-50s make a surprisingly apt companion around the house. Light enough to be used when doing chores yet with just enough clamp and weight to not fall off when your head is angled down. As Linus Sebastion (one of the most popular Technology Youtubers) famously demonstrated a while back, a headphone that falls off your head when you bend over isn’t exactly up to snuff
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“A note of warning if you’re able to make the same comparison yourself: The SR-Lambdas are slightly more sensitive than are the SR-Omegas, so you’ll have to readjust the volume when switching over, to avoid being misled. In all my comparisons, I set the respective levels of each headphone subjectively. I normally prefer a more precise means of level matching; but, short of inserting tiny microphones in the ear canal to measure the operational sensitivity of each headphone, it’s impractical with headphones.”

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“While somewhat recessed, the AK T5p V2’s mid-range has a rather lovely lush texture, giving a slightly ‘wet’ sound to both instruments in the lower mid-range. The guitar tracks in QOTSA’s ‘Little Sister’ have a nice, tactile body to them, but at the same time are also somewhat laid-back. The wood-block percussion and backing vocals in the same track have an extremely enjoyable and impressive ‘out-of-head’ effect.

Macrodynamics are on the whole fairly impressive – those 45mm tesla drivers create a decent amount of slam and punch when called upon. Bass drum hits in Pink Floyd’s ‘Fearless’ land with a nice, visceral whump into your ears. However, I curiously found myself experiencing the same feeling every time I listened to the AK T5p V2 – I always felt like I needed to keep turning up the volume. I continually felt like I was wanting more from them in terms of dynamics, and I really wanted to extract a bit more drama from them but they never quite got there. ”

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“I’ve heard a lot of impressive headphones over the years. Some are standouts, most are very good. The Dan Clark AEON 2 Headphones are standouts. In terms of audio, it checks all the boxes. They equal any headphone I have heard at or well above this price range. In terms of comfort and design, they are the best headphones I have experienced. The folding of the headband to keep it close to the transducers is a small stroke of genius that makes you want to take the Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 headphones along on your next trip.”

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“I’m sure many of you haven’t heard about the US based Andover audio, certainly when it comes to headphones. But the team behind Andover comes from several famous companies such as Apogee Acoustics, Acoustic Research, Harman, Bose and a/d/s/. Since its formation in 2012, Andover Audio has provided its design and manufacturing services to the most recognized brands in automotive, telecommunications, and high-performance consumer audio. Andover is now focusing on its own branded products, blending innovative audio technologies with distinctive design.”

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“However, listening to the cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras in his new Harmonia Mundi collection Complices [HMM902274] I didn’t quite get all the magic of the Saint-Saens ‘Le Cygne’. In the John Coltrane ‘Improvisation on Bach: Alabama’ Queyras is partnered by tenor saxophonist Raphaël Imbert and you hear occasional sharp spitty noises, but these became merely buzzy ‘noises off’ with the AB-1266.

The upper strings from Vladimir Jurowski’s live Moscow recording of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet [Pentatone PTC5186761; 96kHz/24-bit] aren’t that well reproduced – or not that good in reality – so track 2, more low register and winds, was more enjoyable than the Overture with these ‘phones. Overall their clarity within the soundstage kept my attention over a longer tract, and they do capture subsidiary details well – as with the Johann Strauss II. And the flow of the music is engaging – toe-tapping or head-nodding, if you like.”

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“The FiiO M15 unbalanced will get loud enough but the imprecise nature of FiiO’s new volume control means I had no clue how loud it was. Forget smartphones with the PM-50 unless you are using a proper dongle. The Note 9 can get reasonably loud but the dynamic range is weak for me.

Connecting the PM-50 with a cryo-treated gold/silver and OCC copper alloy 4-pin XLR balanced cable with some proper power out of the XI Audio Broadway is really where the PM-50 excels.

It sounds far punchier and more expansive than any of the portable sources could muster. No question on the PM-50 benefitting from the additional headroom from the Broadways 1.5mW into 32Ω load.”

https://headfonics.com/2020/03/abyss-headphones-diana-v2-first-contact/

“The matching perforated black leather pads, though small on the outside and not that deep, have a clever but sturdy funnel shape that expands in such a manner to deliver a full circumaural experience. A very smart design indeed.

If you are coming from the original Diana these are upgraded and bigger pads so they are much more comfortable. Also, compared to the Phi, they are slightly softer than the original grey pads. Abyss are no longer selling those grey pads so all new Phi and V2 headphones will come with these new slightly more malleable versions.

Out of the box, I can feel a physical difference from the older grey to the newer black pads with slightly less vertical pressure and biting into the sides from the lateral pressure. The clamping is the same so I am presuming the softer pad structure is dissipating in a more even manner than the stiffer edges of the older grey pads.”