My suggestion would be to complete the burn in process first.
Feel free to go beyond the recommended limit that Zmf usually specifies.
Some drivers sometimes take a little longer to arrive.
Then you can also assess where it is still lacking and possibly help with tubes.
If tubes don’t help then I would say change caps if you are holding on to the bhc.
The Jantzen are quite pointed at the top, even for loudspeakers there have been some reports about this.
They obviously work very well with the Sennheiser because people like to talk about the Sennheiser veil, it’s unveiled with the cap especially the ones that are under the Hd 800.
The Jantzen is also a bit more in-your-face.
It also tends to be more for loudspeakers than for tube amps.
Purely as an idea, and by the way, it was exactly Ajedi. I couldn’t remember the name.
Maybe it would be possible to install two caps that can be controlled with a switch.
So that the Jantzen remains in and is controlled while the other is switched off and you can enjoy the Hd800 if necessary and the other switch position is for the Zmf.
I don’t know if this is possible, if so it would save money to buy another bhc trimmed for cmf.
You would have to ask Ajedi if that would be technically feasible.
That might be a really good idea if so and good for you.
And maybe there will be some money left over for your Bitfrost 2 to go one step higher.
I might be a minority here but as time goes by and my honeymoon period with the Atrium dwindles I find it less attractive to my ears. Maybe it’s the smoothing out. I find less reasons to pick it up over my Susvara these days…
Hey guys, i have received my Verite Closed with Auteur Lambskin pads and i liked the sound right away, but i heard someone saying the Universe Lambskin increases bass slam at the cost of a bit of a soundstage loss, so i got myself a pair and i really liked it, the bass slam really is more pronounced.
Now i am curious about trying the Eikon Suedes, Zeos loved them so they must be great (irony)!
From your experience, how does the Eikon Suedes sound on the Verite Closed? I have read people saying the bass is great with those but that was never my experience with suede pads… I see @Littledrummerboy has a pair and like it, right? But how does the sound compare with Auteur Lambskin or Universe Lambskin?
I used to have some Universe pads but tbh I can’t remember if they were lambskin more much about the sound signature. Mostly remember the presentation being awesome. So much that I’ll probably get some again lol. I think they had generally less bass than the Auetuer Labskin though. A bit less impact too, but more balanced sounding.
When it comes to the Eikon Suede, absolutely love those on the VC. However it does depend on the source gear because when I used them in the extremely warm stock WA8 I felt like they improved most things, great slam, great bass slam, much more balanced sound with more airy treble while with the stock pads on my amp it was borderline swampy. However after changing the tube and essentially making the amplifier a bit more brighter I actually don’t like the Eikon Suede pads on it as much. The tonal balance is the only issue where it gets a little wonky or unnatural so I am currently back to using the stock Auteur Lambskin pads.
So long story short, more treble and generally a great swap but I would mostly recommend it if you consider the stock pads a bit too warm for your liking imo. When it comes to bass quality I would say the Eikon S is just as good just less of a focus or bloat which is nice. But both the Eikon S and the Auteur L have great sense of impact so no loss there.
Glad it worked out for you. How much sound stage do you think you lost? Or do you feel that you didn’t lose much? I thought it was a fair tradeoff making the VC a much more “rounded” DD solution.
If I remember correctly, any of the angled pads (the Universe aren’t angled) had a pretty significant increase in stage width. I always preferred the Auteur Pads (which I believe it ships with) over the Lambskin Universe, because of that, despite the somewhat more neutral presentation of the Universe pads. I know @M0N preferred the reverse when we both had them.
Yep it is very good! Thanks for the tip about these.
I did feel like i lost a bit of stage but i agree with you, it is a fair tradeoff. I can’t quite quantify how much i lost but it was not a lot, certainly not a deal breaker.
The Universe have about a 10 degree angle to them, so not heavy but certainly there. There’s also a slight difference in the size of the earhole… forget which is which but it’s about a good 1/4 difference perhaps more.
I spent a good part of this afternoon with the Tungsol JTL-6189 12AU7WA in place of the Telefunken.
It is much more linear and extended in the treble. The bass was tighter and had less bloom, the mids were leaner and it helped a lot in giving the treble back some voice. It did cut down on stage width a bit and the left and right edges felt more “fuzzy” while the center was pretty clean While I prefer the TF this is probably the more balanced choice for the Atrium.
While it did help distinguish the treble a bit, its still a bit smoothed over and lacks tactility. In Love Rollercoaster that initial rhythm lacks crunch and the claps lack the pop and slap i heard on other headphones.
But you know what does slap? That bass and drum lines.
I am going to try the new dac next. I was going to do that today but I just passed out. Then after that ill look at the mesh.
It’s at levels of competent and acceptable now, unlike the rest of the headphone it is still nothing to right home about.
Added note. Listening to the Hollow Knight OST, there is a great texture and timbre to the standing bass’s notes. It has a good visceral feel, not in the slam or punch but how the strings are ripple from the bow playing them. It’s bringing me back to my bass playing days for sure.
I am so behind on single player games, hollow knight and elden ring havent gotten the time they deserve. But Hollow Knight’s sound, ost, sound effects, all the little added details are extremely amazing. I know in the OST you can hear all the orchestra stands moving and things shifting, now i have to go and see if that is in game too.
For those Auteur owners among us, Zach has verified that he will be offering an upgrade path to convert our Auteurs to the new “Auteur Classic”. As per Zach, the upgrade will include the following:
New drivers, New Baffles, New Damping system, full headphone QC and new matched pads - we are going to require this if the unit needs them to make sure the channels are matched. The grille we are not going to swap out, as that kind of change is a full headphone rebuild. The upgraded units will get some sort of aesthetic marker that is TBD to show what they are.
Price is still TBD, but I’ll say it is a very tempting proposition. I absolutely love my Manchurian Ash cups on my Auteur, so the chance to keep the same look and get all the upgrades of the new model seems like a sweet deal. I guess it really comes down to the price though. That should be announced in the next couple weeks.
That’s exciting to hear! I’m also really happy with the cups on my Eikon, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Eikon gets a similar upgrade path whenever the Atrium Closed becomes a thing.
In case anyone else might be interested, Zach just posted a CanJam Chicago preview video. He announced that Cocobolo will be the next limited wood release for the Atrium. I’ve always loved that wood in previous ZMF releases, so I’m excited to see a Cocobolo Atrium! I don’t think the release is happening until sometime in July though.
If you’re lucky enough to be going to CanJam, you might get to snag a pair early. He’ll also have some of the new Auteur Classics there to demo and possibly buy. I’m super intrigued by those as well. I am already toying with the idea of paying for the upgrade of my OG Auteurs. I’m looking forward to reading impressions of the Auteur Classic once some early adopters get to hear them.
