[humzebra]

I have enjoyed the Atticus with liquid glass hybrid, Mogwai, souped up Ksa5 (ss) clone, Audio GD NFB-1 Amp & SA31SE, IFI dsd micro, Ember II hybrid, and magni 3. I have also enjoyed my Eikon out of these amps. *Track/genre dependent, but I generally prefer the Atticus out of SS where the Eikon takes the back seat. I prefer the Eikon out of the Mogwai, hybrids are a toss up, but I felt the Atticus has the upper hand out of the Liquid Glass. It has a more lively sound and sounds really well balanced with proper midrange presence out of the hybrids. I do like the Eikon a lot out of the Ember II, however. I generally listen to the eikon for acoustic and classical music and the Atticus for rock/pop/metal. I at first preferred the Eikon across the board, but the punchy and more even midrange of the Atticus have really won me over for a lot of classic rock and metal listening.

 

[whirlwind]

I will be able to finally order my Atticus in a couple of weeks.

Seems like the wait has been very long, but it is finally going to happen.

I am set with amps and source.

I will contact you in a couple of weeks Zach

 

[rgs9200m]

I don't find that there is any particular extra affinity for tube amps for the ZMF phones than for other headphones like Audeze, Grado, or others I have owned.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

I've been sworn to House Sennheiser for most of my time as an audiophile, but I think that changed once I got the HD800. Actually, it changed when I rearranged my room and ended up getting way way more satisfaction out of my speakers. The HD800 are as close to speakers as headphones get (excluding estats), but they still fall far short of actual speakers. So now I find the HD800 collecting dust except late at night when people are trying to sleep. And even then, I find myself wanting not speaker-headphones, but headphone headphones, headphones that do things headphones are good at: tight, textured bass that no subwoofer I could afford is capable of. intimacy. isolation. lushness. I find myself wanting after the rich sound of the non-fazor LCD2, but still being unable to stand their weight and being totally unwilling to sell my (heavily modded) Bottlehead Crack. I also feel like the differences between the HD600 and the HD800, while certainly vast, do not merit the full increase in price... so I'm keeping the HD600. Hell, nothing could convince me to sell these damn headphones.

I asked around and I think the Atticus is exactly what I'm looking for. And besides, what could be a better combo than handmade in USA headphones with a handmade in USA (by me!) tube amp. I haven't heard them yet, but I have faith in Zach's ability to tune headphones after meeting him and hearing his T50RP mods at a meet a couple of years ago.

I put up my HD800 for trade for a pair as I'm 95% sure it's exactly what I'm looking for... fingers crossed for padauk... but still hoping that maybe there's someone in Austin, TX that could let me audition them?

 

[dunkyboy]

Given that source components will add flavor to the headphones (some more than others) I agree that yes it is important to tweak your setup based on personal preference. With that being said, I think this is being blown way out of proportion. To me, the atticus sounds great on any decent amp/dac combo. The question is to what lengths will you go to to find your true happy place. I feed my atticus with the theta pro prime ii --> audio-gd nfb 1 amp and I am extremely happy with the results. I will eventually invest in a good tube amp down the line but there is no reason to think they will sound like crap out of a solid state. Zach has done a great job engineering all of his headphones with the glorious zmf house sound.

Just to add a counterpoint, in my experience though the Eikon never sounded bad through any of the amps I tested (just varying degrees of great), the Atticus on the other hand sounds actually bad through the Valhalla 2. Like, uneven, loose, and unpleasant. So IME, amp matching - at least with the Atticus - really is important. That said it only sounded bad for 1 out of the 3 amps I tested it with, so your chances are good for any given amp.

Just... don't discount the Atticus if it doesn't sound good out of your current amp.

 

[Serge Bernamej]

Ok I did not recieve my Atticus yet but I'm just a bit concerned by the mecanism of the earcup sliders...are they ferm enough? And durably ferm as to not necessitate a recurrent releveloing? Because I have a rather small head and would not want the cups to keep on sliding loosely while listening. With the Audeze there could not possibly be that problem, because there are "stoppers" at ever level.
And I don't see any screw that allows us to tighten the cups to the slider.

 

[dunkyboy]

Ok I did not recieve my Atticus yet but I'm just a bit concerned by the mecanism of the earcup sliders...are they ferm enough? And durably ferm as to not necessitate a recurrent releveloing? Because I have a rather small head and would not want the cups to keep on sliding loosely while listening. With the Audeze there could not possibly be that problem, because there are "stoppers" at ever level.
And I don't see any screw that allows us to tighten the cups to the slider.

It varies a bit. My Atticus are quite firm, but my Eikon are a bit too loose - need to adjust every time. Quite annoying.

Dunc

 

[captkirk]

My Atticus needs adjusting before each listen. Once on my head, it's good. No issues.

 

[mysticstryk]

Just to add a counterpoint, in my experience though the Eikon never sounded bad through any of the amps I tested (just varying degrees of great), the Atticus on the other hand sounds actually bad through the Valhalla 2. Like, uneven, loose, and unpleasant. So IME, amp matching - at least with the Atticus - really is important. That said it only sounded bad for 1 out of the 3 amps I tested it with, so your chances are good for any given amp.

Just... don't discount the Atticus if it doesn't sound good out of your current amp.

I'm not surprised the Valhalla 2 didn't pair well with the Atticus. My Valhalla 2 is long gone now, but was my main amp for several months. The bass is a bit rolled off and soft on the Valhalla 2, which I imagine wouldn't do well for the Atticus which needs a better grip on the bass. Great amp, just not surprised it doesn't work for the Atticus.

 

[Serge Bernamej]

It varies a bit. My Atticus are quite firm, but my Eikon are a bit too loose - need to adjust every time. Quite annoying.

Dunc

But once you adjust it, does it slide while you listen ?
And so there is no way to make it firm?

 

[dunkyboy]

But once you adjust it, does it slide while you listen ?
And so there is no way to make it firm?

It's not a problem once it's on your head - doesn't slide. It's not like it slides freely, just a bit loosely, such that each time you put it on you might have to adjust it a bit. Annoying, but not a big deal.

Dunc

 

[headfirocks]

Has anyone found a headphone stand they really like with these?

 

[heliosphann]

My Atticus needs adjusting before each listen. Once on my head, it's good. No issues.

It varies a bit. My Atticus are quite firm, but my Eikon are a bit too loose - need to adjust every time. Quite annoying.

Dunc

Zach said on newer Atticus/Eikon's they loosened them up because they were damaging the headbands. My Atticus has this issue, my Eikon (which was a pre-order) did not. The "detent" rods that the Auteur uses are a solution, but it's not as easy as just swapping them out

 

[Serge Bernamej]

Zach said on newer Atticus/Eikon's they loosened them up because they were damaging the headbands. My Atticus has this issue, my Eikon (which was a pre-order) did not. The "detent" rods that the Auteur uses are a solution, but it's not as easy as just swapping them out

Damnit, you think it can be an issue for smaller skulls?

 

[heliosphann]

Damnit, you think it can be an issue for smaller skulls?

No, the rods being looser have no real bearing in terms of fit. Once on your head they stay in place, it's just when you take them off. For fit purposes, you can always bend the the headband to tighten/loosen the clamp.