Nope, I don't hear anything like that. I can't vouch for full suede pads though, but I would like to try a pair at some point. With the hybrids vs stock, there's not that much of sonic change. A bit more open sounding is what I personally hear, though there might also be slightly fewer...

They're the auteur perf hybrids, my bad. The only difference vs the stock lambskin auteur pads is the top covering material is suede

Been quietly enjoying the auteur for the past few months... What an incredible set of headphones. I'm now using the perf suede hybrid auteur pads which are also awesome, I much prefer the comfort of these compared to the stock perf lambskin. I didn't notice much of a change in sound though...

interesting stuff, I'd really like to just spend a few days doing nothing other than trying all the zmf pads out and seeing which ones I prefer the most lol. I'm looking for a pad that makes the stage on the auteur wider/more expansive, and for some reason i feel like suede might accomplish...

Does anyone have any experience with suede pads on the auteur? if so which ones and how did it sound?

They definitely look more like the first pic in real life, the second one looks more orange/reddish because of the light. Its crazy though how different they look in different lighting conditions haha

Thanks!! And yes they are very pretty

Some awesome light from the setting sun shining on the maple:

I don't think so, I didn't pick an upgrade cable when ordering. So I think the ofc would be an upgrade to the one I have.

My auteur in ambrosia maple. Still getting a grasp on the sound, but first impressions are amazing. My chain is: pc to geshelli enog2 pro dac via optical, then out of the geshelli into a cavalli liquid platinum via balanced xlr. Auteurs are run off the LP via a balanced zmf stock cable

Thanks for the info, my Auteur is ambrosia maple, so less dense than blackwood I believe. I'm gonna be using the stock cable until I get a good idea of how they sound and then figure out if I'd like to change anything. And hey, I use a liquid platinum too! I use a pair of nos mullard E188cc's...

What differences did you notice between copper and silver?

Nice man! Mine shipped today too! In terms of cables some of ZMFs custom cables might be what you're looking for, they make silver and copper ones. I believe Periapt also makes nice cables for the mini xlr connector, which the auteur use. The periapt cables are around $90-$120 last time I checked

Haha I know how you feel, I'm the sixth one down on the auteur spreadsheet. So hopefully I'm one of the six that's shipping this week