That’s about the last thing any of the ZMF’s need, the Dynamics are all very sensitive and predisposed to to amp noise. Verite was worse than the Utopia in this regard and that’s saying something.
That was the fundamental issue with the Pendant, it was purportedly intended to drive ZMF’s, but put out 3W, with a noise floor that was clearly audible on most of them.
I’d never really considered the noise floor issue per se but of course that makes sense.
Now that you mention it I did notice very low level noise floor in some of my prior amps, which I hear now by its absence in the Nitsch DSHA-3F! It’s utter silence is part of what makes it pretty remarkable, and a great pairing for my Utopia and Verite Open.
I thought about moving on from the Verite, but I realize now I just never had an amp that I really liked it with, or the right pads for that matter (BE2).
The stabilized sets for ZMF November are starting to get posted. I’m thinking about a stabilized verite open, aeolus, or caldera, but really depends on what set looks the best to me.
Speaking of zmf, has anyone tried their pads on the senns? The 800(S) or the 6X0?
I wrote this a little while ago about the lambskin perfs. I haven’t tried the suede pads, but I also haven’t traditionally liked any of the ZMF suede pads:
Has anyone tried or is anyone planning to get the new ZMF Grand Palladium cable? Just curious about any reports or comparisons. I’m definitely intrigues by it.
Never heard a zmf, no one in the mexican community owns a zmf.
I watched 600 reviews and I liked eikon and atrium the most.
Would you guys start easy on the brand with a cheap eikon, or would you save an extra grand to get the atrium experience directly?
Ive heard nothing but praise for the atrium, eikon had mixed reviews.
Not to throw a wrench into things but I really loved and was impressed by the Auteur Classics when I got to demo them at home for a couple weeks. I recommend them to everyone looking in that price range now.
My theorethical problem with the auteur in general is that its often described as a midrange specialist headphone
Supposedly leaving the bass impact and treble detail on a second tab (while still good)
I really love how the auteurs look but the reviews tell that the eikon while still focusing the mids has a bit more bass and treble presence than the “mids specialist” auteur.
Cant confirm, havent heard. I just like a bit more spark on top generally.
hello,
what you say is generally true.
The Auteur is a bit weak on the chest when it comes to bass.
The rest is marvellous.
In the meantime I’m running the Auteur on a tube amplifier, which doesn’t do the job at all.
The bass is extremely good where the amp delivers and makes the Auteur a great experience.
In the end, it depends on the amplifier and what attributes it has.
The Auteur sometimes reacts sensitively to this.
If you don’t want to take any risks then the Atrium is the way to go.
Keep in mind, the Eikon is technically discontinued. There are a few available at the moment during the “ZMF November” sale, but this might be the last time you can buy an Eikon new from ZMF.
I personally think you should be looking at the Atrium Closed, since it is natural successor to the Eikon. It’s supposed to have the best sub-bass of all the ZMF models. I’m very interested in snagging an Atrium Closed in the future once I can rationalize the need for a closed-back headphone.
I also am an owner and long-time fan of the Auteur. I have the OG Auteur, but I’ve also tried the Auteur Classic for a week at home and compared it to my OG. I think they both have plenty of bass, but the Classic has more sub-bass and slightly better bass quality overall. They are both excellent in the mids and treble as well. I think the Classic is the safest option to get as your first ZMF, unless you want or need and closed-back.
Its hard to decide when everyone loves their zmf, with these impressions its like Im gonna love it no matter the version
The proud of ownership is real
The thing with the classic is, isnt the atrium better?
Ill take your post as a vote for the atrium, im looking for the open back though as I dont think I need the extra bass extension but rather a bit more slam, air.
The auteur is extremely tempting but the atrium just seems like a natural upgrade
But ill take your word on the classic if I spot a used one with a wood I like
Edit: cant buy in zmf november, it enters a special tax bracket which kills the value, ill go for used.
I’ve tried the Atrium Open, Auteur Classic, Verite Closed and Caldera in-home against my OG Auteur and Meze Elite. I ended up preferring my Meze Elite to all the ZMFs, though the Caldera is a coin flip with the amazing comfort of the Elite breaking the tie.
I don’t know if I would call the Atrium “better” than the Auteur Classic. Zach doesn’t really make his headphones with the idea of “good, better, best” as you go up in price. There are quite a few people that like the Auteur Classic more than the Verite, Atrium or even the Caldera. The Classic is what is referred to as “ZMF neutral” because it’s the most linear tuning. It sounds good with everything. It’s like a jack-of-all-trades versus a specialist.
Seems like u know then
So the atrium open would be like a middle ground between zmf neutral and slightly v-shaped?
I like mid forward, but man I love v shapes, even if they are very slight. W Shape comes to mind.
Im also thinking the classic is quite close in technical performance, resolution as the atrium, and what changes the most is really the tuning?
Thankyou very much this is very usefull
If I could afford an elite I think I would go for a mysphere instead 
or a d8k pro, I think you like very lush headphones
Imho, the Atrium Open is not V-shaped, it is much more mids and bass heavy. The mids are beautiful, lush and organic like a Senn. The bass is powerful and stays decently in place, but lacks nuance. The treble is mushy and lacks backbone. It can be helped with a good cable and swapping to a more open mesh. It is a very fun, grand, dynamic, and organic sounding headphone. It doesnt scale or have the remarkable transformation other headphones can have, but it is solidly what it is.
For the new asking price it isnt worth it, but for a sub $1800 used price then i can see it more. At times i do miss mine.
Thats also very useful
Theres one for 1600 and another for 1700 currently, I THINK i can help the treble with a silver cable and either my bright tubes for BHC or the mass kobo 428.
I really like how people describe its bass and mids, I dont own any sennheiser so I figured id get a zmf instead because of the craft.
IT SOUNDS LIKE you didnt really liked the value proposition of the atrium all that much…
By any chance do you think theres a better value in other headphones around the used price? If yes, Which would they be?
Example: diana v2
I think the mesh swap was the biggest change, and those are inexpensive.
I think the value prop new was not great but that seems to be a zmf tradeoff. If you can get one used at that $1600 price, especially one with the harder woods like the bubinga then youre in a better spot for sure. If you have a good silver cable and a tubeset that helps already then good, but i wouldnt buy it then invest more in those without time in ears deciding if it is for you.
The treble issue isnt that its not there, it is more that it is so smoothed over and non-fatiguing that it kills detail, texture, and leading edge transients too.
In that range i am not sure. Used OG Utopias are better overall but different and demand a good cable and chain. Maybe try an Eikon as it seems to have similar characteristics FR wise and they are much less cash. But tbh i havent heard other ZMFs.
I didn’t get to compare the Atrium and Classic directly, so I’d say from memory that the Atrium had slightly more of a 3D quality and a lusher presentation.
This is exactly what I expect from ZMF headphones actually, its a trade off I can live with as long as the treble is present, I know detail retrieval up top isnt a priority for ZMF, but rather a relaxing listen.
Theres a beautiful koa atrium on headfi. Koa is one of my favorite woods.
Eikon still up for debate, would be a “cheap” way to try the zmf house sound. theres 3 good ones on head fi. Same with auteur OG and classic.
Im going to buy the utopia anyway next year so no problem with that.
I have a large collection of headphones, but I have 0 lush headphones, that is what im looking for, something big and tridimensional with excellent timbre
Atrium sounds like a good fit for you then!