It sounds like you got a bad example of a WE396A. They tend to sound warm and full sounding. I'm not saying the WE396A is any better sounding then the other tubes you have tried but they tend to be a full sounding tube and definitely not thin sounding. You may very well have a bad example of...

Agreed. I can easily hear a difference between an all copper cable and a copper/silver hybrid. The hybrid cables usually have more extension in the highs while the all copper cables are fuller sounding. At least that's how I hear it anyways.

I also prefer an all copper cable (in my case Norne Drausk and Draug) with the VO. I have ZMF Lectric S 4-strand and LQI Esprit copper/silver hybrid cables that I like to run on the Aeolus, Atticus, and Autuer OG. I prefer my all copper LQI Voda, Norne Draug, and Norne Drausk cables with the...

I absolutely recommend trying a Crack (especially with Speedball) and Mainline. Both go with ZMFs and other high impedance phones like peanut butter and jelly. My main reason for getting a Mainline initially was to get a transformer-coupled tube amp that I could run my planers with. The...

Sorry I'm just now responding to this as I just saw your post. I must preface that the Mainline is not completely stock as it uses Mundorf caps and also uses a CBS blackplate 5814 for the 12AU7 tube (5814 is a variant of the 12AU7). Both the Mundorf caps and the CBS 5814 made a big improvement...

My Eikon is rusted Zebrawood:

Since we're on the subject of Cherry Eikon, here's my early production Cherry Atticus:

These are my favorite pads for the Atticus.

The country the tube is manufactured at is often written on the tube. These can wear off though but there are also usually markings on the tube that will tell you the date and factory the tube was made. Each manufacturer used their own code system. Phillips also owned/manufactured Amperex and...

The BE2 pads are close to the Verite pads but with added dimensionality if that helps. The lambskin BE2 pads are my favorite on the Verite Open.

Very nice! While Telefunkens are typically more valuable in the market I actually prefer the house sound of Holland made Phillips tubes over the typical Telefunken house sound. Of course there are exceptions and these things are often equipment dependant but generally speaking I prefer the...

I listen to my Atticus on a WA 6 from time to time. Its a great sounding combo!

Agreed and as I was saying earlier I get just as much enjoyment out of the Crack as the others.

I run a Primaluna Prologue 4 tube amp to run headphones occasionally (mainly use to run my power-hungry Modhouse Argons) with good success. It does have a little more background noise then a typical headphone amp but sounds great otherwise. The background noise is not an issue with typical...

I want to say the Canary Wood Aeolus was one of their more recent limited releases (within the last year or so). Congrats on the Aeolus! Can't wait to hear your impressions of them!

I wouldn't necesarily say that I went away from the Crack as I still listen to it often but my main headphone amp is an Ampsandsound Mogwai. I also use a Bottlehead Mainline that a rotate into the setup from time to time. Both the Mogwai and Mainline are technically superior to the Crack with...

One other thing you might want to try is it is my understanding that the suede headband gives a tighter or smaller fit. You might want to give that a try in conjunction with bending the headband that the others have mentioned.

The BE2 lambskin pads are quite nice on the Aeolus also. They are a very close second to my ears behind the original Aeolus pads. I haven't tried the Verite pads on them yet though I have a set in my stockpile. I'm going to have to give them a try.

The Atrium open uses acoustic mesh as well. Not sure about the Atrium closed.

I believe those are cherry. I have a cherry Atticus as well and love the looks and the sound. I have thought about trying an Atticus in a harder wood however just to hear the differences in sound.

The VO (and all other dynamic driver ZMFs for that matter) is no slouch on the Ampsandsound Mogwai either.

I really enjoy Sonic Caps as well. They have great performance for the price and are my usual go-to cap now if I don't want to pay a premium for upper end Mundorfs, VCaps, Jupitor, and the like.

Unfortunately I haven't heard the silver and gold but I'm a really big fan of the Mundorf silver in oil. Great sounding cap.

I'm a big fan of the T1G2 also. I have the ninja black edition. I haven't listened to them in quite a while. Need to change that soon.

I also run the Mullard ECC35 Pan Getter on my Mogwai occasionally. Great sounding tube with very expansive soundstage. I would run it more often but it has a slight hum unfortunately. Nice collection of tubes you have there!