[grizzlybeast]

DAAAYYYYUUUMMM!!! Atticus on the ampsandsound Agartha has a preposterous... borderline perverse quantity of slam. Dat synergy be like:

really?

How is the soundstage of that amp?

I am exceedingly curious now.

 

[Aornic]

Written review of the Atticus up. Will work on the video now.

http://aornic.com/reviews/2017/4/30/zmf-atticus

 

[drbobbybones]

Written review of the Atticus up. Will work on the video now.

http://aornic.com/reviews/2017/4/30/zmf-atticus

Great review. You have a mistake from when you cut from the Eikon review:

"Utilising thermoplastic elastomer drivers, the Atticus is the first headphone I know of to do so."

The HD800 and others use a TPE driver.

 

[Kermeli]

atticus is pure sex, shame id have to import it from murica, too expensive. ;(

 

[Aornic]

Great review. You have a mistake from when you cut from the Eikon review:

"Utilising thermoplastic elastomer drivers, the Atticus is the first headphone I know of to do so."

The HD800 and others use a TPE driver.

Thanks for the heads up. I've corrected it. Cheers.

 

[echineko]

atticus is pure sex, shame id have to import it from murica, too expensive. ;(

Where are you located? Europe?

 

[Kermeli]

Where are you located? Europe?

Yes, finland, you guys have all the cool stuff

 

[drwlf]

Yes, finland, you guys have all the cool stuff

Sounds awful. No.. wait!

 

[Monsterzero]

Written review of the Atticus up. Will work on the video now.

http://aornic.com/reviews/2017/4/30/zmf-atticus

Nice review!
I like that you chose test music that most folks can relate to,as opposed to some who use music in reviews that nobody except a select few have ever even heard. Expanding upon that thought,im hearing from your comments that youre not thrilled with the Atticus when listening to dark classic rock recordings(Floyd,Zeppelin,etc).True?

 

[Hansotek]

@grizzlybeast - the Agartha's soundstage is huge, and I think you'd really dig the dynamics, impact, natural warmth and microdetail. But I also think the background noise would be a deal breaker for you. It is much louder than the Mogwai or Kenzie... or the Milo for that matter, but it seems that is kind of to be expected from a 300b amp.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Written review of the Atticus up. Will work on the video now.

http://aornic.com/reviews/2017/4/30/zmf-atticus

Your review of the Atticus is very accomplished. It touches on just about everything I need to know about this design. Your recent review of the Eikon was similarly excellent (I heard the Eikon, was very impressed by it, and find your comments to be spot-on).

IMO, the best aspects of these reviews are 2 "meta" factors that go beyond the requisite observations re tonality, build quality, sound w/specific recordings, etc. (all of which you also do very well):

1 - Context: You explicitly frame the sound of these headphones in the context of ZMF's "house sound" & what Zach has tried to achieve with all his designs. You contrast these new designs it to earlier ones and note how different ZMF's tuning is from that of other endgame/big $$ headphone designs.

2 - Subjective experience: You really drill into the subjective experience of listening to these headphones. You talk about how they make you feel, just as much as how they sound (I wish more reviewers of headphones, the most personal of all audio gear, did this). A quote from your earlier (also excellent) review of the Ori exemplifies this perfectly:

"The name of the game for the Ori is fun. I neither know nor care how it measures in graphs as I only know how it sounds to my ears – the most pleasing sound I’ve ever owned."​

I can't help but contrast your excellent/perceptive reviews (& those of @grizzlybeast & several others on Head-Fi) to recent ones by Tyll in Inner Fidelity: IMO Tyll's reviews (particularly of the Atticus) are slack and uninvolved. Reading between the lines, Tyll seems to like & respect Zach & what he's doing w/ZMF, but can't quite take these designs as seriously as other big-$$, "shiny object" designs (Focal Utopia, Ether C Flow, etc). By contrast, what you did was listen to these headphones entirely on their own terms, paying strict attention to the headphones, their sound, and their unique design history--not external factors (signal, not noise).

I'm a fan of your reviews!

 

[nocturaline]

Written review of the Atticus up. Will work on the video now.

http://aornic.com/reviews/2017/4/30/zmf-atticus

Superb review! Thank you so much! I can't wait to pair the Atticus—should be delivered in a few weeks, hopefully—with my Valhalla 2.

 

[Hansotek]

I listened to the Atticus for a little while on the Dragon Inspire IHA-1 for a bit today. Really nice synergy between the two! Good space and lovely forward vocals. Very clear and no sense of congestion. Definitely a combo I would like to hear more of. Would really love to do a shootout with the Inspire, DecWare CSP3 and Taboo 3, Ampsandsound Mogwai and Kenzie, and 2359Glenn GEL3N.... all of them are compelling options sitting around that $1,500-$2,000 price point.

 

[mwhals]

Is there an upgrade cable that has synergy with both the Eikon and Atticus or do they need different type cables due to their sound differences? I know ZMF has a new cable coming, but one can never have too many cables.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Is there an upgrade cable that has synergy with both the Eikon and Atticus or do they need different type cables due to their sound differences? I know ZMF has a new cable coming, but one can never have too many cables.

I just finished burning in a new balanced cable for my Ori, and it's really good (Forza AudioWorks HCP Noir). I haven't heard it w/A or E, but w/the Ori, this cable is quite good--subtle, smooth, spacious-sounding, no obvious sonic filtering or editorializing, but everything seems to sounds just a little better w/it. So far tried it w/the V281 and was impressed.

Tomorrow I'll try it w/the Ori & LC. Then on Wed I hope to hear it on my friend's Eikon.

It's hard to talk coherently about the sound of cables. But so far, I'm very pleased w/this one.