[cute]

Just received ZMF Autuer Lambskin pads for my Eikon. I must say, another step closer to neutral/linear. The sound is more spacious, wider soundstage, and more detail is being squezeed out, not to say more comfortable with the larger ear holes. Even the Lambskin leather appears to be a higher quality than the ZMF Universe Pads that I have been using. What is not to like with the Eikon out of my Kenzie, fed by my Amethyst DAC!

I liked the first pair of Autuer Lamskin pads that I received, they appeared to be high quality. I ordered a second pair and just got them today. IMO, poor quality stitching on one of the pads, there is severe puckering/pleats, where it looks like there was more material than neede where they meet the mounting layer. Nothing that affects the sound, just poor quality control for an expensive ear pad! I've purchased at least a dozen pair of different model ear pads from ZMF, and these are the only ones constructed this poorly.

 

[zach915m]

I liked the first pair of Autuer Lamskin pads that I received, they appeared to be high quality. I ordered a second pair and just got them today. IMO, poor quality stitching on one of the pads, there is severe puckering/pleats, where it looks like there was more material than neede where they meet the mounting layer. Nothing that affects the sound, just poor quality control for an expensive ear pad! I've purchased at least a dozen pair of different model ear pads from ZMF, and these are the only ones constructed this poorly.

Wanna send an email to me at contactZMF@gmail.com with pictures of what you're talking about and we can help you out? Natural Lambskin does have variance but if there's a stitching problem we'd be happy to replace them if you want to send them back.

I'm glad you've had such good experiences with our pads that you've tried so many of them!

 

[nocturaline]

I'm thinking about getting a new amp for my Atticus. Unfortunately, this year, the funds are limited, and I'd like to stay around $600 - $800 max may be feasible.

Currently I own an X-Can V3 and a Valhalla 2. The X-Can, overall, sounds better than the Valhalla. But the X-Can not being the "warmest" of the two, I always tend to go back to the Valhalla, even if it's not really a warm amp per say.

I believe I'm looking for something more tubey-sounding. I own a Jadis DA30 (that's a hell of a tube amp, at least in terms of size and weight), but unfortunately it's a speaker amp with no headphone output, and is located over 5,000 miles from where I currently live. I have fond memories of my Stax Lamda and Jecklin Float connected to the Jadis via an Energizer, even if I don't remember how they sounded precisely.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a Woo WA3. In theory, it should sound more tubey than the Valhalla. I've never heard a Woo amp, and I'm curious. If anyone here has any suggestions, I would be thankful to hear them.

Oh, and these days, I mostly listen to Drum & Bass and Electronica, but also some blues and 70s prog rock.

Thanks in advance!

 

[hikaru12]

I'm thinking about getting a new amp for my Atticus. Unfortunately, this year, the funds are limited, and I'd like to stay around $600 - $800 max may be feasible.

Currently I own an X-Can V3 and a Valhalla 2. The X-Can, overall, sounds better than the Valhalla. But the X-Can not being the "warmest" of the two, I always tend to go back to the Valhalla, even if it's not really a warm amp per say.

I believe I'm looking for something more tubey-sounding. I own a Jadis DA30 (that's a hell of a tube amp, at least in terms of size and weight), but unfortunately it's a speaker amp with no headphone output, and is located over 5,000 miles from where I currently live. I have fond memories of my Stax Lamda and Jecklin Float connected to the Jadis via an Energizer, even if I don't remember how they sounded precisely.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a Woo WA3. In theory, it should sound more tubey than the Valhalla. I've never heard a Woo amp, and I'm curious. If anyone here has any suggestions, I would be thankful to hear them.

Oh, and these days, I mostly listen to Drum & Bass and Electronica, but also some blues and 70s prog rock.

Thanks in advance!

La Figaro 339 is your best bet to fit what you're going for. I avoided a warm amp for the Atticus as it being warm, warm with warm in this case actually leads to too much smoothing over of everything which in my opinion takes away from one of the Atticus's strengths over the Eikon - microdetail. WA6 could be better if you could stretch your budget but gets outclassed quickly by amps costing a little over $200-$300 more than it. YMMV.

 

[gLer]

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a Woo WA3. In theory, it should sound more tubey than the Valhalla. I've never heard a Woo amp, and I'm curious. If anyone here has any suggestions, I would be thankful to hear them.

I have the WA3 and it’s a great match with the Atticus. I have it hooked up to my Audio-GD R2R-11 (as a dac) and find it more resolving but a little smoother (not necessarily warmer) than the R2R amp. It controls the bass bump of the Atticus without letting it get too gooey.

That said you’re not taking night and day differences, just subtle and smooth. What you do get with Woo is a handmade piece of art in terms of design and build quality, which is why I was keen to get it over other amps like the cheaper Darkvoice and more pricey La Figaro.

The next step up is the more exotic wood-style or really expensive tube amps that keep getting referenced here, but I’m just not in the position to be buying $1500+ tube amps when the $350 R2R-11 (and WA3) sound so fantastic together. I keep having to remind myself that at this level the extra $1000 is buying me single digit refinements, not a whole new ball game.

At some stage I may consider trading up for a more powerful combo (hence my earlier question about the NFB-1, which I would look to pair with an R2R-1), but it’s not a pressing priority, more a curiosity.

So long story short, if you’re looking for a great intro to the world of Woo amps, the WA3 is a great (affordable) option.

 

[whirlwind]

I'm thinking about getting a new amp for my Atticus. Unfortunately, this year, the funds are limited, and I'd like to stay around $600 - $800 max may be feasible.

Currently I own an X-Can V3 and a Valhalla 2. The X-Can, overall, sounds better than the Valhalla. But the X-Can not being the "warmest" of the two, I always tend to go back to the Valhalla, even if it's not really a warm amp per say.

I believe I'm looking for something more tubey-sounding. I own a Jadis DA30 (that's a hell of a tube amp, at least in terms of size and weight), but unfortunately it's a speaker amp with no headphone output, and is located over 5,000 miles from where I currently live. I have fond memories of my Stax Lamda and Jecklin Float connected to the Jadis via an Energizer, even if I don't remember how they sounded precisely.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a Woo WA3. In theory, it should sound more tubey than the Valhalla. I've never heard a Woo amp, and I'm curious. If anyone here has any suggestions, I would be thankful to hear them.

Oh, and these days, I mostly listen to Drum & Bass and Electronica, but also some blues and 70s prog rock.

Thanks in advance!

Depends on how much of that $600 -$800 you want to spend.

A Glenn OTL without a bunch of upgrades could be done, just the amp in it's simplest form...with shipping will probably blow your whole budget and there will be a waiting period.

No doubt about the synergy with the Atticus though...top notch match.

Good luck on what ever you decide.....the Atticus is so much fun, what a great headphone.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I'm thinking about getting a new amp for my Atticus. Unfortunately, this year, the funds are limited, and I'd like to stay around $600 - $800 max may be feasible.

Currently I own an X-Can V3 and a Valhalla 2. The X-Can, overall, sounds better than the Valhalla. But the X-Can not being the "warmest" of the two, I always tend to go back to the Valhalla, even if it's not really a warm amp per say.

I believe I'm looking for something more tubey-sounding. I own a Jadis DA30 (that's a hell of a tube amp, at least in terms of size and weight), but unfortunately it's a speaker amp with no headphone output, and is located over 5,000 miles from where I currently live. I have fond memories of my Stax Lamda and Jecklin Float connected to the Jadis via an Energizer, even if I don't remember how they sounded precisely.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a Woo WA3. In theory, it should sound more tubey than the Valhalla. I've never heard a Woo amp, and I'm curious. If anyone here has any suggestions, I would be thankful to hear them.

Oh, and these days, I mostly listen to Drum & Bass and Electronica, but also some blues and 70s prog rock.

Thanks in advance!

Just got a brand-new Woo WA3. Will unbox & start burning it in today. Woo recommends 150 hrs burn-in, and that's what I'll do.

I have modded & stock HD650s in the house, and will start my SS vs tube comparisons w/those. May also be able to convince my Head-Fi pal (it's called "begging") to loan me his Eikon for additional, uhhh, rigorous testing (!).

 

[gLer]

Just got a brand-new Woo WA3. Will unbox & start burning it in today. Woo recommends 150 hrs burn-in, and that's what I'll do.

I have modded & stock HD650s in the house, and will start my SS vs tube comparisons w/those. May also be able to convince my Head-Fi pal (it's called "begging") to loan me his Eikon for additional, uhhh, rigorous testing (!).

Looking forward to your testing and feedback. Also very keen to hear your thoughts of Atticus vs Eikon with and without the WA3...

 

[nocturaline]

La Figaro 339 is your best bet to fit what you're going for. I avoided a warm amp for the Atticus as it being warm, warm with warm in this case actually leads to too much smoothing over of everything which in my opinion takes away from one of the Atticus's strengths over the Eikon - microdetail. WA6 could be better if you could stretch your budget but gets outclassed quickly by amps costing a little over $200-$300 more than it. YMMV.

Thanks for the advice. La Figaro would be great, but I'm not sure I want to spend $120 in shipping fees at this moment. Plus, if there's an issue, dealing with someone in China may be tough. As for the WA6, I thought about it, but since I also own an HD650, I believe an OTL should work better. It doesn't mean I won't look into it, though. Thanks!

 

[nocturaline]

I have the WA3 and it’s a great match with the Atticus. I have it hooked up to my Audio-GD R2R-11 (as a dac) and find it more resolving but a little smoother (not necessarily warmer) than the R2R amp. It controls the bass bump of the Atticus without letting it get too gooey.

That said you’re not taking night and day differences, just subtle and smooth. What you do get with Woo is a handmade piece of art in terms of design and build quality, which is why I was keen to get it over other amps like the cheaper Darkvoice and more pricey La Figaro.

The next step up is the more exotic wood-style or really expensive tube amps that keep getting referenced here, but I’m just not in the position to be buying $1500+ tube amps when the $350 R2R-11 (and WA3) sound so fantastic together. I keep having to remind myself that at this level the extra $1000 is buying me single digit refinements, not a whole new ball game.

At some stage I may consider trading up for a more powerful combo (hence my earlier question about the NFB-1, which I would look to pair with an R2R-1), but it’s not a pressing priority, more a curiosity.

So long story short, if you’re looking for a great intro to the world of Woo amps, the WA3 is a great (affordable) option.

That's pretty much what I wanted to hear Of course, I'd rather be able to afford a WA2, but that might happen next year, if I like the WA3, and I have a feeling I will. Thanks! BTW, my DAC is a Bifrost Multibit.

 

[nocturaline]

Depends on how much of that $600 -$800 you want to spend.

A Glenn OTL without a bunch of upgrades could be done, just the amp in it's simplest form...with shipping will probably blow your whole budget and there will be a waiting period.

No doubt about the synergy with the Atticus though...top notch match.

Good luck on what ever you decide.....the Atticus is so much fun, what a great headphone.

The Atticus is indeed a really fun headphone, and is my favorite of all, although I'd love to hear the Auteur. As for the Glenn OTL, I'll look into it, but I may not want to wait months for it to be built, even if that's what I did for the Atticus But in that case, I was waiting for something really unique. Thanks for your advice!

 

[Arcamera]

I like the WA3 a lot, but yes, the WA2 is even better. The Atticus/WA2 combo has kept my upgraditis at bay.

 

[heliosphann]

I like the WA3 a lot, but yes, the WA2 is even better. The Atticus/WA2 combo has kept my upgraditis at bay.

Yep. I also really recommend the WA2 with the Atticus. It's a killer pairing.

 

[hikaru12]

Yep. I also really recommend the WA2 with the Atticus. It's a killer pairing.

You didn't find it too warm? I've heard the WA2 is the most warm and gooey sounding of the bunch.

Speaking of which, I like the Eikon pads so much and what they do to the Atticus that they've definently gotten me interested in the Eikons myself specifically for rap music. My main concern is for mid clarity. I like forward mids that are smooth and detailed. It seems like the Eikons are a home run for Hip-Hop except I've heard them described as neutral. That's my only dealbreaker - can anyone who listens to these genres with their Eikons chime in?

 

[Jearly410]

You didn't find it too warm? I've heard the WA2 is the most warm and gooey sounding of the bunch.

Speaking of which, I like the Eikon pads so much and what they do to the Atticus that they've definently gotten me interested in the Eikons myself specifically for rap music. My main concern is for mid clarity. I like forward mids that are smooth and detailed. It seems like the Eikons are a home run for Hip-Hop except I've heard them described as neutral. That's my only dealbreaker - can anyone who listens to these genres with their Eikons chime in?

The leather or suede Eikon pads?