ZMF Auteur - An open back ZMF

Are people unironically saying ZMF has good build quality?

 

Yah, because ZMF does. There's only a handful of times I've heard of any issues (which include one gentleman who bought Bstock headphones and complained about the cups not matching a scratch.)

 

Yea, build quality is really good in my experience. They feel really solid in hand.

 

That’s right, I remember that.

Some have mentioned issues with the sliders, but the new style seems like a good solution.

Honestly, I’d say people are just nit-picking, at least in some situations.

OT:

@HitmanFluffy
Never said thanks for the Gungnir Multibit, so thanks!

 

It would appear that my upgrade headphone path from HD 650M would include the Auteur and some version of LFF's Code X/SEX! The Abyss 1266 is drool worthy but no where in the realm of even remotely realistic. Wenge, Bubinga, Cocobola, Madagascar Ebony, or perhaps even Purpleheart are all very appealing. Some Annodized Color options would also be nice. Not a fan of brass with any of those woods. Anyone care to comment substantially regarding Auteur vs Code X/SEX comparison? That would be much appreciated.

Happy Listening

 

@James Whiting If HD650 is your current reference, Auteur is the more logical upgrade. It has the dynamic bass response with better decay and weight compared to Code Sex or other planars. There is a greater perceived quantity of bass and sub bass on the Auteur compared to the Code Sex as it hasa more downward sloping response. The midrange is superior on the Auteur but the treble is less refined and smooth compared to Code Sex. Treble is the best on the Code Sex but the Auteur with Eikon pads is still good. I find the Auteur pads to have a more neutral sound but the treble is more accentuated at 6kHz. I have basically adjusted my whole system around the Auteur with Eikon pads, using brighter cables and brighter tubes to balance the darker Eikon pads.

Sound stage is good on both headphones but the Auteur does a better job of bringing panned hard left and right sounds more in front of you, it's a little less in your head.

Auteur is the most open sounding ZMF headphone but compared to the VERY open HE-6/Code Sex, it still sounds closed, kind of like the HD650. I think the Auteur would also benefit from a silver cable. I'll have one when Zach sends me my Blackwood Auteur.

My full review will be posted in a few days.

 

Here is a comparison between Auteur with Eikon pads in Red, Auteur with Auteur pads in Green, and Code Sex in Yellow.

 

I appreciate the info and advice. I have modified the daylights out of the 650 following all the SBAF suggestions and adding a few of my own. I even made my own grilles which sound very close to no grilles but offer protection and subtlety flesh out the lower midrange in a way open back does not. I also had a custom OCC litz cable built for it. It sounds much better than stock but I think improvements are at an end. Curious to see what jcat femto usb card will do for the system. Anyway over next couple of months hope to tuck enough away and see what woods Zach is offering.

Happy listening

 

Looking forward to @gbeast's comparison as well. These two, along with a used HE1000 would be my top potential choices for can in the $1000-$1500 range. Not counting 007 (estat is tricky), hd800 (not my thing) and the Clear (I'm not a fan of the Elear).

 

Interested in what you think about differences between auteur and eikon pads, I'm guessing from your impressions above that would be with auteur pads, but I could be wrong!

Edit: biocellulose yes

 

Agreed. I prefer the Eikon pads and use brighter cables and tubes to balance my system. Another interesting thing I found was that the Eikon pads had better control of the drivers and cleaner CSDs even at 800Hz which is raised up a few dB compared to the Auteur pads.

 

Spoiler: excerpt from my unedited review... could be all wrong here

"The cups are deemed open but really look almost like semi-open headphones with the smaller than average opening on the back where the driver is seated. The ports this time around are actually not blocked providing even more air flow. Spoiler: the Auteur sounds much more open than a lot of semi-open headphones but more like 80% open back than fully open. Assumption: to keep the Auteur sounding punchy and well extended the cups seem to provide a lot more acoustic chamber effect than your average open back headphone, as tones are able to resonate against the wood. As by design, and thusly, the Auteur is able to sound different depending on the wood selected but provide enough airflow to take advantage of most of the properties akin to average open back designs."

 

Which wood do you have @Marvey?

 

The easiest way to tell the difference in the pads is to take them off and compare the opening size when off the headphone. The Eikon pads will look like Auteur pads when stretched out on the headphones.

 

The way I tell the difference is the Auteur pads have a flat pad face and stitching is at a 90 degree angle. The Eikon pads are more plush and the stitching is inside the cavity a bit.