ZMF EIKON & ZMF ATTICUS

More intimate with the Eikon? I found the Atticus to have more intimate vocals over the Eikon, as it presented them a touch more forward and really the Atticus sucked me into the music more... but it was... a bit smoother. Didn't have the resolve that the Eikon did, not to say that resolve disconnects you from the music but there were a few tracks where the Atticus smoothed over... some less than perfect parts of the track, that with the more resolved Eikon a poor texture or timbre to the instrument was apparent Though... it may depend on the Vocalist, there were some I preferred with the Eikon others I enjoyed more with the Atticus

Though on the flip side, the more detailed and resolved Eikon... pulls me into the music in a different sense. There's SO much to experience, each individual instrument is resolved amazingly well, transients for all of them are super clear. I get lost in the music just following the different instruments and disconnecting from the composition as a whole, vs the Atticus which... wasn't as resolved but pulled me more into the Composition as a whole, I could more easily follow and appreciate the band with the Atticus where as with the Eikon I can do both, and depending on the track sometimes follow individuals over the group or vice versa. Ultimately yea you do have more options with the Eikon, there's more of the music to explore

Additionally my thoughts are officially up on my blog now,

Spoiler: TL:DR or Click

I've had the pleasure to hear many different closed back headphones over the years, the Mr. Speakers Mad Dog modded T50RPs were my first back in 2012. At that time I felt they were too thick and dark, so I sold them and started my addiction for closed back wood headphones with an Audio Technica W1000X. There was something magical about the sound, I later figured that it was the unique resonance of the wood that added a very real timbre to not only the W1000X but many of the other closed wood backs I would own.


Since then I've had a number of both stock and modded wood backs. Ranging from an amazing sounding Lawton Modded Denon D5000, to Denon's own AH A100. Each of them unique and with a beautiful sound signature. While my LA D5000 rivaled my HE 4 in clarity, it was still... lacking. It was a bit leaky, and the isolation wasn't amazing so I wound up selling it. As it didn't offer the isolation I needed so I just continued to use my HE 4 regularly.

Fast forward to now, being a married man, an open back headphone was no longer sufficient. As my wife didn't want to hear the music I was listening to! I returned to needing a closed back that had both the clarity I expected and true isolation. A solution that would only be heard by whom ever wore it, music just for a single set of ears. Having read about ZMF headphones a number of times over the years I was always curious how they sounded. They were well received and featured custom built wood housing around modded T50RP drivers, my interest was immediately piqued. Sadly though I never got to hear any of ZMF's modded T50RP's. I was fortunate enough to start my ZMF experience with Zach's newest in house Dynamics. No longer just selling a "modded" headphone, ZMF Headphones now have their own hand built headphones! Using a driver they developed and wood driver housing they built and designed.


I received two samples from ZMF to listen to, the Eikon in Cherry and the Atticus in Padauk. I was not compensated for my thoughts on either of these. An each can be purchased via their website http://www.zmfheadphones.com

The Atticus and Eikon both arrived shipped in their own Pelican Case, padded on the inside and water resistant. I appreciate the decision made by ZMF Headphones to have such practical storage included. The box they came in had practically no information about the headphone aside from the ZMF Logo, which is also featured on the case it self.






The padding inside was placed without any kind of glue or adhesive. Which allowed me to easily adjust the thickness of the padding to accommodate other equipment placed within the case.






It didn't have any accessories either, just the cable and the headphones. I had an option for cable termination as well, I choose one to be terminated with a 6.5mm output and the other with a 4pin XLR. The stock cable was well built, flexible with a good weight with a matching mini 4pin XLR mounted at the base of the driver housing. Which is excellent! As I have dozens of my own mini 4pin XLR cables to use in place of the stock cable. With so many manufacturers going with modular cables, I'm truly appreciative that ZMF choose the mini 4pin xlr over a standard 3.5mm. A wood owners card was also present within each of the cases as well.






Super thin, smooth, well trimmed on the edges and quite dense. Plus you can still appreciate the grain of the wood it was printed on. The rear side has a spot for your name. It's the little details like this that really set ZMF headphones apart from it's competitors.






The build quality of each is impeccable. Everything is wood, leather or metal. Part of the appeal of wood back headphones is the build, and Zach's really gone above and beyond expectations! With that impeccable build does come a hefty weight. Switching into my Fostex TH X00 it's obvious how much heavier these are, though over the course of a few hours I don't have any fatigue.


The pads on each are a bit different, thicker pads on the Atticus give it a wider sound stage and a funner low end, while the slightly thinner Eikon Pads bring the drivers closer and improve on the imaging. Both are equally comfortable and the pads looks beautiful. Each set is well manufactured with tight seams and good flexibility to the leather.




A smooth range of motion is a continuous theme for the Eikon an Atticus. The headband adjusts nicely to the shape of my head and does an amazing job of supporting the weight of these headphones.

The gimbals likewise have a smooth action to them, they hold the cans in place nicely and don't slip as much as you'd think they would. Likewise the cups swivel smoothly without an excessive range of motion. Best of all the pads while well attached to the housing, the pads can rotate a little, which makes keeping them aligned easy. Zach offers the gimbals in both a silver and black finish.

As a whole the construction is rock solid and beautiful to behold. Everything stitched together nicely and every hinge is completely silent. Add in the completely modular cable and ZMF Headphones defiantly set the standard for what I'd like to see from every manufacturer in this price range!




The same attention to detail and quality in the build is evident in their sound. These two headphones sound phenomenal. In short, the Atticus brings a warm detailed sound with a beautiful mid range and very fun bass within a wide sound stage, where as the Eikon offers a deep detailed refined sound with a touch of warmth and very real to life imaging.


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For my impressions I did build a system around the Eikon/Atticus. I ran them entirely though my Ember II running 35R out with a 1944 Sylvania 6sn7 GT white label bottom getter flash tall bottle tube. I also listened to each with an OCC Copper cable I had on hand. I found that with lower output resistance out of my Hybrid Tube the top end becomes metallic and overly edgy on each, energy and tactility is replaced by metallic clanking or banging, a higher output resistance made the sound overly soft and mushy. Running them out of my balanced solid state was better than using the wrong output impedance on my Hybrid Tube, I preferred High Gain with my Audio GD NFB10ES2. Although it really over drove the low end on both. It imparted even more power and slam into the bass, at the cost of some texture and resolve. Same with the highs, my solid state made them harder and more metallic. The Atticus though was more welcome to these changes than the Eikon however.
The Eikon is more sensitive to both cable and amplifier changes, and suffers more from a the wrong pairing. The Atticus on the other hand really opens up with the right amp or cable and will not punish you for pairing it with the wrong one. Ultimately I achieved the most balanced presentation from both out of my Ember II running 35R out with my 1944 Sylvania 6sn7 GT.

Mid range on each of these is breath taking, the Atticus has more decay an a touch more resonance in exchange for some of the Eikon's tactility. The inherently warm tone in the body of an instrument seeps out of the Atticus's euphoric presentation. Vocals have both clarity in the lips, mouth and breath with a distinct focus on the body. A captivating warmth from the chest and throat. The sweetness of harmonics pairs beautifully with clear fundamentals in stringed instruments both electric and acoustic. Thick with a precise slam when needed for clear imaging with heavier acoustics. The gentle touch of the body in smaller stringed instruments, and the perfect mix of crunch and creamy sweetness for both soft and heavy electric guitar riffs. Woodwinds and horns are presented with an articulate wetness followed by a beautifully voiced sustain and release. With the Atticus I found the body of the instrument to be in focus without over shadowing the rasp of a bow across string or the breath taken before a note is played.

The Eikon how ever, doesn't bring the body into focus as much as the Atticus. Rather it brings a very realistic sense of tactility and presence in exchange for a less decay and resonance. A sharper image and faster transients pair with a polite warmth. Both headphones at their core bring out the warmth of the body, but the Eikon doesn't bring that warmth into focus. At it's core the Eikon's presentation has power in the low body resonance and fundamentals of an instrument alongside the tactility and presence of the strings, lips and breath. It's not quite as beautiful or romantic as the Atticus, which gives it better clarity in very thick mix's. But is also less forgiving of poor recording techniques or mastering. Although different, I felt the mid range of each was technically equal. Ultimately preference will dictate which headphone is better in terms of the mid range presentation.
Presentation in the lows is less a difference in preference and more about technicalities. The Eikon has a stronger low bass emphasis, fairly linear from 20-100hrz with a gentle slope from there. The Atticus on the other hand, has a prominent mid bass hump from 60-100 with a steeper slope.

Incredible slam and a thickness to the body of instruments are what that mid bass hump add to the Atticus. The decay does hang a little an audible reverb is present in the bass, giving those low notes an gently evaluated sense of heft and weight. The cup reverb also both softens harder fundamentals and adds a touch of emphasis on harmonics. Riffs on a double bass had a thicker body, more of the instruments natural resonance was present. House Music had a great presentation of that driving rhythmic mid bass, though the bigger deep drops in Drum'n'Bass or Dub Step lacked a little. An I personally found the bass to be a touch excessive for around a fifth of the songs I played. Bigger drums like the Timpani can often be a touch boomy and a tad intrusive. While not lacking details in the low range presentation, clarity could be better. Fret and string noise is evident though often a little diffuse.

In contrast, the Eikon proves much cleaner and faster throughout it's entire low range presentation. Going to the double bass, there's a sense of power from the sheer weight of the instrument, in addition to the warmth of the body. But unlike the Atticus, the Eikon's cleaner overall bass allows for a touch more detail to be present. Fret noise is more apparent than on the Atticus. This clarity pair'd with the low bass emphasis translates into a nice power. Low notes on a piano really hit you, kick dums slam hard and fast, even bigger drums like the timpani have well controlled boom and gusto. While not as much fun with House and other dance oriented genres of electronica, Drum'n'Bass and Dub Step have powerful, growling deep bass when needed. Finally, the bass at no point ever impede's with the presentation of transients throughout the entire spectrum. I can find no fault with the bass of the Eikon except for maybe being too "boring" for some.

While the Eikon again brings better clarity and overall transients response in the highs, the Atticus does a bit better with micro detail up top. Not to say the Eikon is lacking, but some breath's, page turns and other top end micro detail is more apparent on the Atticus than it is through the Eikon. However, transients are resolved more clearly with the Eikon, warbling of bells and the release on strings are better defined. Both have excellent extension, with the Eikon having a sweeter more tactile top end and the Atticus bringing a more energetic though darker top end. Though the thicker midrange on the Atticus some times diminish resolve on the top end, unlike the Eikon which again remains exceptionally clear from top to bottom.

Overall the Atticus presents contrast within it's presentation. Thick powerful lows with a darker but very lively top end. That 10kHrz peak adds a nice bit of energy and micro detail resolve to the beautiful mid range. I really loved the extra edge the Padauk adds as well, while not as balanced as the Cherry Eikon, the Atticus is very exciting! It's a tad more dynamic with it's mid range presentation which contributes to it's magic. The Atticus also presents a wider overall sound stage as well, which again only compliments the more forward mid range presentation.
The Eikon on the other hand, has a more refined sound. Better resolve and tactility, faster transients, deeper more precise imaging and a powerful well controlled bass. While the sound stage isn't as wide as the Atticus, it's deeper, airy and more believable. The Eikon brings a sense of realism, in contrast to the more engaging euphoric sound of the Atticus. Though it's the little details that push the Eikon above it's brother in my eyes.
I did wind up purchasing an Eikon for my self, as much as I loved my collection of wood backs the Eikon eclipsed them all. I've since sold my previous wood backs to enthusiast who'll hopefully enjoy them as much as I did!

Though If I'd had the chance to listen to both three years ago I'd have chosen the Atticus for sure. It's sound really invites you into the music more, where as the Eikon's presentation is as much about the music as it is the sound of the individual instrument as well as the process of capturing that music. Though, both at their core have a very natural inviting tone. Unlike my HE 4, the Eikon presents the same and in many cases better resolve, but it doesn't force those flaws in my face. These days it's the little details that really pull me in, and the Eikon's ability to politely present everything in a recording that is what I personally love about it.

In the end I enjoyed both, I found that the Atticus better suits some one whose focus is on the music and not so much each individual piece of equipment in the play back chain. It scales nicely, but also maintains it's beautiful euphoric sound even with less than optimal set ups. The Eikon on the other hand works best in a system that's been meticulously put together, the right amp, the right cable, the right digital audio converter and the right mastering all together with the Eikon make for an un-believe listening experience!

Regardless of which philosophy you see hold your self to, both come with my full recommendation. Zach's customer service, build quality and attention to detail make these by far the best Wood Backs I've heard to date!

I'll also have an LCD XC hopefully by Sunday to compare with my Eikon

 

Yes, the breathiness of vocals, the presence, and the impact of a vocalist suddenly raising their volume sounds more natural on the Eikon to me. Instruments sparkle. As you said, transients are super clear. Dynamics seem better, or takes better advantage of the Mjo 2. The Atticus, on the same rig (Gungnir Multibit -> Mjo 2), sounded technically proficient but somehow less emotionally satisfying than my 650, and I don't really know how to articulate the difference with the Eikon other than my brain lights up and my ears feel tickled when everything sounds right. It may simply be that I have a bias for the 650 and Genelec sound and the Eikon is in the same court but given how good those two products sound I don't see it as a bad thing. So far I've tried theater recordings and EDM and hip hop and I like the Eikon more for each. My only "complaint" so far is that piano is oddly pushed forward over vocals sometimes in places I don't expect to hear that. But that's not much of a complaint. I'd pick these up off the shelf 10/10 times over the Atticus. You're right that the Atticus is wider and further back, but I guess I'm not really looking for that on headphones anyway?

 

I'd agree, and thought the Eikons immersed me more than the Atticus. I liked the fun Atticus sound, but it eventually was just too... thick.

 

I own the Eikon as well, I sent the Atticus demo I had back, for much the same reason. It's fun, but I prefer the transients of the Eikon, still the Atticus pushed vocals a little forward often over other sounds, which created a psudeo sense of depth, width of the sound stage helps with the overall imaging.

The Eikon though is ultimately deeper with a blacker background. Not as wide, though a lot airier which works astonishingly well for immersion

 

It's also more detailed than the Atticus was. Bio-cellulose is king! I think their closed nature also lets me hear detail I haven't been picking up on the 650 due to ambient city noise. Female vocals can seem a bit shouty or like there's a dip in the middle of that female vocal range that unnaturally emphasizes the upper part of their range and loses some body, so it's almost like what I'd imagine an angry ghost would sound like, haha, but it's not overbearing or too distracting... still, it's a downside. They can also get a little clustered or confused on complex passages. Relatively minor complaints though, since overall these are now my favorite closed headphones... not that there are many to write home about. One of my favorite headphones period, actually. I'm now interested in owning one of these in the future whereas I knew I wouldn't pay the market rate for an Atticus, even used.

 

Pair the Eikon with the right cable/tube an it get's even better! With the stock of OFC cable yea more complex passages suffer, but with an OCC It got a little quicker, and handle'd said complexity better imo

 

Got my hands on some Eikon (EU Loaner)

Huge, comfy and raw, very 'murican style.
Very good soundstage, very wide, despite the closed cups (and pretty good isolation too)...you may pinpoint cues and instrument with accuracy
Solid bass, not too murky
Kinda ducky / blocked nose tone...remember I'm a stat-head
Details are so - so, highs a bit short

I've to listen to them more extensively, but all around easy going cans, relaxed and warm sound, and unexpectedly good soundstage.

Ali

 

be so kind to tell us which amplifier you paired them with.... especially important with heaphones like the Eikons...

 

Brave ol' Vali 2, pimped with russian tube to get some more punch.
Source is an Yggdrasil.

Ali

 

Good to hear they do well with the Vali 2 what model is your Russian tube, and I agree, if anything I'd only like a touch more energy on the top end! Sadly I've only heard a hand full of eStats and in a noisy room they weren't super impressive

 

Novosibirsk 6N1P-VI. I've bought a bunch of very cheap tubes there, and the cheapest appears to be the most interesting one.

Ali

 

I agree, I'd like more energy up top. But the Eikon is a great counter part to the SUPER RESOLVED HIGHS on my HE 4

 

I think that depends where your area of trebles you like.
The Eikon had an uncanny ability to avoid sibilance so I suspect thats the area you noticed.

 

I really liked my DT 880, to give you an idea of where I enjoy my highs. I didn't find the HD 800 to be offensive either, though the Eikon isn't... too dark. The LCD 2 non F drove me bonkers... though I would like the little extra energy at 10k that the Atticus has on the Eikon or I think I would... I'm sure there's a reason Zach tuned it out

 

I was reading your opinions and trying to figure out what you were talking about concerning the treble. I thought the 880's were very comfortable and well made treble-brain-spikes of death. So... Now I get it.

For us not so tolerant of the Beyer treble, the Eikon is a pure joy.

 

Oh gaaawd YAAAAAAAAAAS

I finally got to hear an LCD XC... I'm SO glad I heard the Eikon first! As it costs less and sounds better to my ears

Only initial impressions so far but... the XC is a tad shouty in the mid range... kinda thin and kinda smooth some how? Vs the Thicker and more textured [but not as DYNAMIC or Shouty] as the XC, I do like the Bass on the XC better, but I like the tonality of the Eikon Better

I'll do a more serious comparison in the weeks to follow, but for now... SUPER glad I got an Eikon before an XC <.< and there were a few times in my life I contemplated selling everything I had to get an XC

 

I found the bass on the XC + Mjolnir 2 absolutely incredible. Massive Attack's - Angel has never sounded that deep and clean, and I own TH-600. Thanks for the impressions with the Eikon, I found it quite useful!

Which amp do you use again?

 

Well I got the best Bass from the LCD XC with the iCan SE so far, I haven't tried it on my NFB10ES2 yet, but again my Eikon runs out of my Project Ember II at 35R output with a 1944 Sylvania 6sn7GT

 

I've been listening to the Eikons on my project horizon 3 on 35 ohm output with the stock 12au7 tube for the better part of the last month. I've come to the conclusion that this is a fantastic pairing. Previously I was listening to them on a vali 2 with a tung-sol 6cg7. Compared to the Vali 2 they have better bass extension, less harshness in the highs, and a more romantic resolution on the horizon 3. I've been a big fan of this pairing, the Eikons really seem to shine with a warmer OTL tube amp.