ZMF Auteur - An open back ZMF

Is it my destiny to be teased by Colorado folks all the time?

(Refreshing verite order status..)

 

AuteurLeatherPads4Lyfe

 

Nah, nothing personal - we’re just wankers.

 

I wasn't teasing. I completely agree with you.

???

 

Never mind. Nothing wrong with you guys. Totally about how things are taken from my side.

I mean.. I have been on tenterhooks for weeks regarding my verite pair. Reading today's comments, I am feeling more so. lol.

Similar thing happened to dsha-3f while I was waiting for it. I admit I am not a very patient person though.

Interesting point is that, in both cases, it was information thrown from Colorado people that made me feel that way.

 

Was it more than one Colorado person? It's hard to tell sometimes... we walk in single file to mask our numbers.



I think most of us have the 3F because... blame Mr. Rogers.

Sorry if feelings were hurt. Not intended

 

Helpful video -- owners don't have to do this unless problems occur, but it's good to understand how sound waves (generated by driver vibrations) are affected or attenuated acoustically before they reach to ears.

And this 'acoustic mesh' is one of the key differences between auteur/aeolus and verite. Verite doesn't have it. I heard it was removed during last year rmaf (correct me if I am wrong!), based on testers' feedback. Indeed, as I remember, it was Hands that proposed, right?

From my experience with all the mentioned headphones, it seems that the mesh equate treble to some extent. By contrast, elimination of it is associated with more openness. Of course I believe verite could take it out because its driver is more suitable for full-range play and has inherently good control due to be-material and stronger magnet (and other factors). Needless to say I don't recommend auteur owners to arbitrarily remove it unless you know exactly what you do and will get -- fortunately the process seems easily reversible.

PS. the headphone in the video is aeolus, not autuer.

 

Would there be any brave and/or reckless souls willing to take with and without Bopp measurements so others might have a general idea of how the 160 and 260 mesh affect FR and maybe resonances?

Also, I can't not post this now dammit.

MMMbop - Single Version https://g.co/kgs/nfGC7H

 

OMG, die

=P hahaha

 

Sigh, I feel people just have no good taste in music nowadays. It's hard being a connoisseur.

No but really I didn't even play the damn song and it's already stuck in my head AAAARGH

 

I was just kidding btw.

 

Okay look I know I've got a long history of misinterpreting jokes for actual dislike and going full neurotic but I'm not that much of a dumbass (mostly).

Unless that was a jab aimed at Vtory in which case well played

^this was not a joke. /S

Okay enough noise from me. Still curious about the effect the mesh has and how it compares to those SAATI filters.

 

Interesting stuffs in the house!





PS. I like black but hate to picture black things..

 

Visual observations ("perforated" omitted because all zmf pads in the house are perforated..)

• US differs the other two suede pads in surface color. It's more like black background with grey dots. Likely because of internal cushion material.
• ES pads are z-deepter (z-axis being normal to screen) than AS.
• AS pads has higher variation in z-depth between the shallowest and the deepest places.
• While ES and AS are discernible, it is possible to introduce confusion or misplacement. Be careful. Surfaces of these pads look very, very similar (unlike US).

 

I'd like to point out that although geometric name parts are the same (e.g., 'Eikon' Suede and 'Eikon' Lambskin), it doesn't mean they have the same dimension.


(Eikon Suede left and Lambskin right)


(Auteur Suede left and Lambskin right)

They seem to share similar dimension themes but not identical geometrically. At least this applies to AS and ES pads. Can't remember how Univ Lambskin was..

 

Damn, which one should I hear first? Hesitating..

 

That's a rhetorical question, correct?

If not, the answer is simple. Take a few days off and swap them back and forth obsessively while taking copious 'tasting notes', then report back

 

@Vtory

Brilliant! Thanks for your work on this.

 

Just short thoughts regarding pads (naming = 1st letter: shape / 2nd letter: material / all perforated)

• AL : brighter, occasionally sibilant, decently exciting and fun
• EL : the darkest and warmest, maybe too polite for some, the most immersive
• AS : the most aggressive/forwarding, pretty much hit-or-miss
• ES : tone-downed AS, my current favorite, almost as 3d as EL
• US : the brightest but not as aggressive as AS or AL, the most neutral tonality

Details and measurements to post later, maybe this weekend.

 

Just to be clear, the first two are the pads which shipped with Auteur, correct?

Thanks so much for doing this!

BTW, I didn't mean that you needed to stay up ALL night