ZMF Auteur - An open back ZMF

That completely depends on your sound preferences. They are all excellent headphones. I personally have an Eikon and an Atticus is being delivered today.

Do you want an open sounding headphone? Get an Auteur. Do you want a closed phone with good isolation? Eikon or Atticus.

Do you want a good all-rounder? Auteur or Eikon. Do you want a "fun" sounding headphone that sounds good with rock, has great mid-bass and mids and a treble that is less extended? Atticus.

A lot of people here prefer the Atticus over the Eikon because it sounds really good with certain types of music, but I'll wager those people don't use Atticus as their main headphone either. I'll be able to tell you more in a couple weeks once I've had some good experience with the Atticus.

From reading this thread, it seems that most prefer the Auteur to both Eikon and Atticus, but I'm personally waiting for the initial hype to pass and for there to be enough impressions to get a better feeling for what it really brings. I'll end up paying more if I decide to buy, but such is life.

Hope that helps, somewhat.

 

That's a good point. Looking back it wasn't a very good question to ask. The Atticus would probably complement my HD800S well for certain genres while the Auteur could potentially unseat the HD800S as my main headphone if I enjoyed it enough. Either way I appreciate the feedback. Thank you.

 

I think @Druid really nailed it here. I have both Auteur and Atticus, and have auditioned Eikon on a couple occasions. The Eikon and Atticus are more similar than different, as they are both going for a more reference/neutral sound. Eikon misses the neutral mark just a tad by being slightly warm with a boosted sub-bass presence. Auteur is like a planar in overall bass presentation being well extended, tight, and nicely textured. If you need a closed back and want a really nice reference headphone, Eikon is great. The Atticus is unabashedly not neutral. Think HD650 with cranked up bass boost. I agree that it works much better as a complement to a more neutral headphone. I have HD800 and the HD800/Atticus duo is absolutely incredible. Atticus is the anti-HD800 in that it has mellow highs but slamming bass and super rich and forward mids. It is very lush and liquid compared to HD800's drier and analytical presentation. If I could only own 2 headphones, that would be my pairing. They also work really well with similar amps, I use both with Valhalla 2 and getting an EC ZDT Jr in the future whenever they ship out.

Regarding comfort, the ZMF dynamics destroy Focals. I have an Elear and I get a hotspot right on the top of my head after a few minutes. It isn't that bad, but it is slightly annoying and I have to shift it around a bit. I also don't like the fuzzy pad material either. The ZMFs are just a lot better in overall comfort.

 

Anyone care to comment on differences between Padauk and Blackwood? Tax refunds are upon us and I know where mine would like to go. Really want Paudauk but may just have to go Blackwood

 

Do you mean Teak? I know it sounds cliche but Blackwood gave the blackest background compared to the more ethereal Teak. Teak was also a little more lively and had slightly less bass. Blackwood was my preference at seemed to not be as reactionary to the sounds and allowed the drivers to stay more "true" to the recording, kind of like the difference between a slightly damped room vs a live room.

 

No I would just like to know sonic differences between Padauk and Blackwood. If there pretty similar perhaps I will just get blackwood. But the oxidized Padauk ones on another thread were gorgeous. Not sure if I want to wait???

 

Iirc padauk is closer to teak in sound, but I might be speaking out of my rear.

Paging doctor @zach915m , come in, doctor @zach915m !

My take is forget about near-imperceptible sound differences, and go for the look you want.

Personally I went for the full Sun King experience of Brass Blackwood.

 

So, for the first time since November, I heard the Auteur again. This time, it was @Mystic 's Blackwood Auteur on his ZDS and Gungnir Multibit (along with my IHA-1 and dac1541....plus switching my IHA-1 to his Gungnir Multibit for a bit.) I surprised, the wood made a touch more difference than I thought it would. I remembered the Mahogany Auteur being a bit brighter than Mystic's pair, and he mentioned that was the first thing he noticed also.

I'm going to be honest, hearing it on more end-game system for *my tastes* (honestly...I just need a Yggdrasil or a spring dac and I'm set completely) makes me want it a lot more than I did. It's kind of like the HD800 in that regard...it reveals things in a chain that make you realize whether or not you like the gear you're hearing it from. It opened up quite a bit on the ZDS and IHA-1 (more on the ZDS) when paired with either the Gungnir Multibit and dac1541. It also made the grey background of the Gungnir Multibit quite a bit more apparent, but I'm starting to turn around on the rest of that DAC to the point where I think I would buy one if the analog upgrade became available for it.

Either way, I enjoyed it quite a bit the second time with my own setup. It scales incredibly well with tube amps (and the Black Widow 2) and I like the overall tonality and balance of it through the IHA-1.

 

This is highly appealing to me as sound stage is actually one of my highest priorities only second to the tonal balance of a headphone. I am wanting to sell my Clears and perhaps get these.

I already have the HD650 driven by a S.E.X. 3.0 amp and it is on par with Clear when it comes purely to small level details. It just isn' as obvious because the tone of HD650 is so laidback and refined compared to Clear (you may disagree, but it' my preference after all).

If the Auteur can beat the stage of HD650 and match it's tonality and detail, i will purchase it instead. It is tough to decide when I cannot listen before I buy.

Thank you all for your great informative comments. I am liking this forum a lot. Cheers.

 

If you prefer HD650 to Clears than by all means you will like Auteur. The Clear has a bump at ~1.5 kHz which enhances reverb and room effects but can make some things sound slightly hazy and or slightly nasally. I'm sensitive to this area and greatly prefer Auteur and HD650 since they have a very even downward slope through the midrange proper.

The measurement below is with perforated Eikon pads, my preferred pads for Auteur. They stay closer to HD650 response minus the squiggle at ~7kHz. Auteur does lack the last bit of air compared to HD650 and some other open back headphones with these pads but a brighter tube amp or clean and fast SS amp will mostly mitigate this issue. I found Pangea cables to give a nice boost in air, perfect synergy for HD650/Auteur.

 

Which wood is that for? Having heard a Teak-ish wood (Mahoghany) and the Blackwood, they oddly have slightly different timbre and character to them.The Teak had better treble extension/air and clarity, but it isn't as punchy, smooth, or black-backgrounded as the Blackwood.

The Blackwood leans enough towards the punchy, smooth and dark sound (they sound like the Teak with Eikon pads on...but a bit more like they're naturally that way, if that makes sense) that I'm not entirely sure I would keep the Atticus around if I listened to the Blackwood enough.

 

Just ordered Blackwood Auteurs with black rods and grilles! Can't wait!

 

That's the best HD650 mod you've done yet!

 

No doubt! I finally just let go of the idea of considering an HD 820.

2 factors! First; .A brief review on headfi that suggested it was basically a closed back 800S with perhaps a bit better bass and a bit less spikiness with almost the same staging.

Paraphrasing Axel it was suggested the cost increase is a result of design requirements doing a closed back requires.

Second; availability...no word from Sennie or Crutchfield who are advertising preordering!

Just saying!

 

And I know it's subjective but I think Auteur looks a hell of a lot sexier than HD820.

 

Heirloom handcrafted Vs Techie!

Yeah I think so too.

So what do you think regarding Maxx's comments on the Abyss Diana.

$1000 more and an odd designer look but sounds like a 1266 phi junior from his description!

Very Happy with Auteur at this point. Zach was awesome! Texted him quite a bit!

Happy Listening!

 

@James Whiting:
maybe wait till you get the Auteurs before considering other headphones. Only evaluate it after it had some burn in time. If you fundamentally like it, I feel it is a heaphone worth buiding a system around to get maximum synergy.

 

Indeed..I had a cable built specifically for them. I am having EVS fully modding my Dac and droping in a new output stage to drive them directly. Will most likely hard wire to its output.

The Diana has substantial sensitivity issues which would most likely preclude that approach.

But I'm interested. There is also the My Sphere 3.1 coming down the Pike at $4K .
That may be worth waiting for??!?

 

It's actually pretty amazing to read about African Blackwood as a tonewood!

Referred to as "The Holy Grail of Tonewood," by luthiers. Very expensive and very rare!

Powerfull, buttery sweet, extremely clear and bright without being glassy or brittle. Outstanding, hi beautiful tone!

I think perhaps the $300 premium over teak is more than fair on Zach' s part! How fitting he would chose it for his initial premium run.

I began to understand why he told me no Tonewood ( wood/would ) outperform it. Brings tears to my eyes...that may just be my dry eye issues as I write this!

Waxing lyrical, as I have been advised of before.

But I believe the Auteurs in Blackwood will wax much more lyrically in 3 to 5 weeks!

Very Happy Listening!

 

It seems most of the reviews of the Auteur up to this point that I have read are using tube amps above my price range.
Anyone using a Valhalla 2, Vali 2, Massdrop MCTH, Laconic Night Blues Mini with the Auteurs and could provide some short impressions?