After a few months, I'm still loving both Eikon and Atticus with my Schiit stack. These headphones are getting all the playtime whereas my HD800 and LCD-2f are sitting in a corner.
My Atticus is in paduak. I would have it in no other wood. Paduak is simply gorgeous looking. On the same token I love the cherry Eikon just as much. These closed back headphones sound like open backs to me.
I noticed the Eikon can be ordered in camphor wood aside the cherry and padauk. I think padauk looks best, but how does camphor wood differ in technical properties? Asking Zach mainly, but if anyone has info it would be appreciated.
I noticed the Eikon can be ordered in camphor wood aside the cherry and padauk. I think padauk looks best, but how does camphor wood differ in technical properties? Asking Zach mainly, but if anyone has info it would be appreciated.
Ahhhh yeah I need to update the wood page on our website. Sorry about that.
Camphor is a touch lighter in weight than Cherry and a touch less dense, but the high resin amount to my ear makes it sound a little faster, less decay and romance. In a way it's between padauk and cherry in sound, fast but without the boom/speed of padauk.
------
As an aside, I'm going to try to get all the new pad options, FAQ for the Auteur and such listed on the site this week,
ZMF headphones hand-crafts wood headphones in Chicago, USA with special attention to exceptional sound and craftsmanship.
Stay updated on ZMFheadphones at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
I have been lurking the internet and this thread for a while, gathering info about the Eikon and it has been a great read.
One thing that keeps popping up is amping and damping factor as being of great importance for synergy.
Now I currently use the ifi iCan SE (solid state, class a) that has lots of raw current and low output impedance(under 1 Ohm). It seems most prefer tube amps for the eikon but I am trying to avoid tubes altogether.
This leads to my question: Do any Eikon owners on here currently power it with a solid state amp? If so, what amps do you use or have used?
I have come to like the Ori so much that an Eikon may be a future purchase, but keeping away from tubes has me a bit reluctant.
I have been lurking the internet and this thread for a while, gathering info about the Eikon and it has been a great read.
One thing that keeps popping up is amping and damping factor as being of great importance for synergy.
Now I currently use the ifi iCan SE (solid state, class a) that has lots of raw current and low output impedance(under 1 Ohm). It seems most prefer tube amps for the eikon but I am trying to avoid tubes altogether.
This leads to my question: Do any Eikon owners on here currently power it with a solid state amp? If so, what amps do you use or have used?
I have come to like the Ori so much that an Eikon may be a future purchase, but keeping away from tubes has me a bit reluctant.
I use the eddy current Black Widow 2 and Schiit Jotunheim. Both are very good matches with the Eikon. I also cannot deny that my bottlehead crack is one of my favorite amplifiers for it.
My reading of past posts in this thread suggest the Atticus has more potential to give sonic results that vary according to output impedance of the source amp than does the Eikon.
I've had the pleasure of hearing the Eikon at some depth/detail in my system, thanks to a generous local Head-Fi pal. I heard it primarily on the Violectric V281 and Cavalli Liquid Carbon. It sounded excellent (no, make that "amazing") on each one, though of course with slightly different sonic results due to the different sounds of these amps. I also heard it more briefly on the Audio GD SA-31SE amp/preamp and my trusty Violectric G109-A (single-ended only).
In total I heard the Eikon with 4 SS amps, one considered endgame (V281) for good reason IMO. It sounded rather amazing on all 4--not sounding exactly the same on all 4, but sounding just like itself on all 4, ie: the best sub-bass I've ever heard: extreme fidelity (quality/quantity) throughout entire bass range; easily the best, most nuanced midrange I've ever heard; detailed treble that goes way up but is not not; and easily the best soundstaging I've ever heard.
My comparator here is another wonderful ZMF headphone, the Ori--which until I heard the Eikon, I thought couldn't easily be surpassed in bass quality/quantity & soundstaging (far above average for a mostly closed design).
I have been lurking the internet and this thread for a while, gathering info about the Eikon and it has been a great read.
One thing that keeps popping up is amping and damping factor as being of great importance for synergy.
Now I currently use the ifi iCan SE (solid state, class a) that has lots of raw current and low output impedance(under 1 Ohm). It seems most prefer tube amps for the eikon but I am trying to avoid tubes altogether.
This leads to my question: Do any Eikon owners on here currently power it with a solid state amp? If so, what amps do you use or have used?
I have come to like the Ori so much that an Eikon may be a future purchase, but keeping away from tubes has me a bit reluctant.
Like@proffalkin I use a Jotunheim with my Eikon and it's lovely. The Milo is also phenomenal with the Eikon, as I had a chance to listen to that combo at RMAF a few weeks ago. You aren't going to be disappointed.
It seems the overwhelmingly positive opinions of the Eikon and Atticus have been on tube amps. I had the Atticus on a Burson V2+ and didn't care for it at all. I too kept reading on how amazing the bass is on the Atticus but I simply wasn't getting anywhere near what I considered to be sufficient, much less amazing. My 400i planars went deeper especially on electronic drum and bass. I listen to a lot of classical and jazz and everything sounded a bit too veiled for me.
I've since replaced the Atticus with an Audeze and I'm quite happy.
I bet the Atticus sounds great with a nice OTL but what I heard didn't jive with what I've read in this thread.
Like@proffalkin I use a Jotunheim with my Eikon and it's lovely. The Milo is also phenomenal with the Eikon, as I had a chance to listen to that combo at RMAF a few weeks ago. You aren't going to be disappointed.
+1 on this comment. I have a Milo and an Audio-gd Master 9, and the Eikon sounds fantastic with both. The Milo is especially amazing, though, as the punch it provides combines well with all of the detail the Eikon can deliver, resulting in a pairing that is just about perfect to my ears.
The Eikon is also fantastic with my Chord Hugo, although more power is always better!
The Milo amp is a beast, but desk space is limited for me as well as being happy with my current audio chain.
@devilboy I can confirm multiple reports of the Atticus being the more amp dependant hp.
I can't decide between Padauk or Camphor..though there's something special about the grey slider housings on the Padauk..best looking headphone ever made, imo.
It seems the overwhelmingly positive opinions of the Eikon and Atticus have been on tube amps. I had the Atticus on a Burson V2+ and didn't care for it at all. I too kept reading on how amazing the bass is on the Atticus but I simply wasn't getting anywhere near what I considered to be sufficient, much less amazing. My 400i planars went deeper especially on electronic drum and bass. I listen to a lot of classical and jazz and everything sounded a bit too veiled for me.
I've since replaced the Atticus with an Audeze and I'm quite happy.
I bet the Atticus sounds great with a nice OTL but what I heard didn't jive with what I've read in this thread.
Well the Eikonn was always the better of the two for sub-bass. Not sure where you heard different. Atticus is a bit too thick sounding for me, but I did like how it opened up on tubes.
Both have great synergy with tubes. I think the Eikon is more forgiving with not very good SS like the Burson amps I've heard. IMO, YMMV, yadda yadda...
The Milo is good in that it does not have a large footprint due to being more vertically oriented. It is perfect for my desk and sounding great is a bonus.
My comparator here is another wonderful ZMF headphone, the Ori--which until I heard the Eikon, I thought couldn't easily be surpassed in bass quality/quantity & soundstaging (far above average for a mostly closed design).
Its surprising to hear that the eikon 'could' trump the ori's bass in all categories. Still, I am afraid of getting an eikon and having it sound quite similar to the ori (which I plan to keep).
Would you say that both headphones are too similar sounding to want to own both? I could imagine that the vastly different driver tech would mean otherwise, but ori vs eikon comparisons are quite sparse.
Edit: I do know the general consensus is the eikon is more resolving up top, while maintaining quality "down low".
Its surprising to hear that the eikon 'could' trump the ori's bass in all categories. Still, I am afraid of getting an eikon and having it sound quite similar to the ori (which I plan to keep).
Would you say that both headphones are too similar sounding to want to own both? I could imagine that the vastly different driver tech would mean otherwise, but ori vs eikon comparisons are quite sparse.
Edit: I do know the general consensus is the eikon is more resolving up top, while maintaining quality "down low".
Great questions! IMO, these designs (Ori vs Eikon) are each extremely successful in their own ways (Ori/planar; Eikon/dynamic). They both have that musical, ear-friendly ZMF "house sound" (music 1st--nail the sound of live acoustic music in a real space, and everything else will be aces). But they really don't sound too much alike.
The "general consensus" you mention is dead-nuts accurate IMO. The Ori has that planar bass, which sounds unlike dynamic bass in ways I'm hard pressed to even articulate. Even if I had an Eikon or other endgame HP, I'd listen to the Ori often. It has a quality of calm, relaxing, but spectacular sound, with very spacious/good soundstaging for a mostly closed design.
But the Eikon does "the technicalities" better than the Ori. It reaches a higher level of excellence. Music gets huge so quickly w/the Eikon (dynamically & in terms of soundstaging, which is world-class IMO). You get lifted right out of your chair. The bass has so much texture & information. The midrange is amazing, rich & nuanced w/more information than I thought was possible w/headphones. The treble goes all the way up, but isn't hot or amped. I was very impressed by the Eikon.
I will hopefull soon get either the Atticus or the Auteur. But not to replace the Ori (there is no replacing it)--as a different way to hear music really well reproduced.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
These headphones are getting all the playtime whereas my HD800 and LCD-2f are sitting in a corner.
