[koover]

I also bought my Atticus from a fellow Head-fi'er. My pair came with the stock TRS plug. I changed that to a 4-pin XLR so I could use my new-to-me Atticus with my Mjolnir I. Balanced and effectively infinite power makes an unsubtle difference with the Atticus. Everything is better balanced. I do not have the Gugnir, I feed my Mjolnir with a balanced signal straight from my AK70 MkII. More on the Mjolnir I: as compared to the pocket-sized Fulla 2, bass is fuller, deeper, more nuanced (more overtones and details are audible) and better controlled. Soundstage is wider, Mids and highs are more audible, but still strangely "back in the mix". They aren't recessed in that they don't sound muted, it's just that they sound like they are coming from behind the bass instruments as compared to the Auteur or my HifiMAN HE-500.

I am working on a coherent report of my comparisons of the Atticus, Auteur and HE-500. More to come. Eventually.

Awesome man. Looking forward to your further and continued impression. I’ll live precariously through this post until I get mine Wednesday.

 

[erics75]

Picked up a used Violectric V100 this weekend, and i'm loving what it's doing with my Atticus! For reference, i'm running Tidal hifi through a Bimby Gen 5 usb at work. The amp before the V100 has been a Lyr 3 with the NP TS tube. I also spent many weeks with a Magni 3 and M9xx before the Lyr.

The V100 seriously wakes up the treble section of the Atticus. To the point that I hesitate calling the treble rolled off. Neutral now maybe? So for those that feel the Atticus is a bit sleepy/rolled off up top, try a V100 or the many variants made by Violectric/Lake People.

Besides the substantially increased treble extension, i'd say the overall presentation is more lively and dynamic from top to bottom. The treble stands out the most, but mids are more fleshed out, with a sweeter tone. Bass hits harder, and has more texture and nuance. Soundstage is noticeably broadened, both side to side and back to front. Air between notes is more delineated as well. Overall the V100 just presents a more vivid and holographic sound vs the Lyr/Magni/m9xx.

To be fair, though older, the V100 is close to $1K, whereas the others all come in under or at $500. So i'm not being critical, just sharing my opinions. And given the age of the Violectric amps, they can often be had used for very decent prices, given their performance.

Anyone else using Violectric/Lake People amps with their Atticus? Would love to hear more impressions. I'm really thinking of looking for a used V200 series now to see how the more upscale amps sound.

For those that prefer a softer, more delicate sound, the Lyr 3 is superior. And please don't think i'm bashing the Lyr's sound, i actually like it quite a bit. But for my tastes, it's a bit bland with the Atticus. With my T1.2 though it's perfect. Tames the brightness a bit and softens an aggressive sound signature quite nicely.

I think this is by far my favorite amp for the Atticus. Of course all this is opinion, YMMV, yada yada etc etc blah blah blah

 

[matthewh133]

Has anyone used the Eikon with the Schiit mini stack and then upgraded source/amp (maybe a Burson Soloist)? I currently just run them with a Modi 2/Magni 2 and I'm thinking of upgrading the dac/amp, but I'm interested in other's experiences and if they found a difference with an upgrade from this system.

 

[erics75]

Has anyone used the Eikon with the Schiit mini stack and then upgraded source/amp? I currently just run them with a Modi 2/Magni 2 and I'm thinking of upgrading the dac/amp, but I'm interested in other's experiences and if they found a difference with an upgrade from this system.

Good timing me and my friend were trying his eikon on my amps tonight! You're not stalking are you?

Quick answer is yes the eikon scales nicely with better equipment. We started on my m9xx. The dac on the m9xx is very well implemented, but the amp was breathing hard moving the 300ohm drivers. Volume level was fine, but dynamics were lacking. It didn't sound bad, just somewhat dull and flat.

Moving to the magni 3 improved things somewhat. Dynamic response was much better. The magni seems to handle large impedance swings much better than the amp in the m9xx. Bass grew more full, with harder slam, and more depth between soft bass and hard bass. Better dynamic range. Same goes for mids and highs. Everything opened up noticeably. We did not like the magni's tonality with the eikon, but that's very subjective to each listener.

Moving to the Lyr 3 with ts tube was not the leap we heard going from the m9xx to the magni. Because the magni has more than enough power, we're starting to get into more subjective differences. Dynamics seemed fairly similar to the magni. Tonality was as well. What differed was the refinement level of the Lyr vs the magni. On the Lyr, bass gains more texture and nuances. Mids are slightly more forward and sweeter sounding. Subtle details are easier to make out. Treble is also smoother, while also gaining a small resolution boost. Everything sounded just a touch better on the Lyr, though the gap between it and the magni was not dramatic to my ears. Better? Definitely! How much better though its harder to say. Very personal and subjective. I personally feel the Lyr is worth the extra $.

Moving onto my violectric v100 (just got it Sunday so it's very new to these ears) was quite substantial to me, less so to my friend. He thought it was too bright, I disagree completely. We did agree there was a noticeable increase in resolution, soundstage, and dynamic response. Fast bass blasts would blur together on the schiits, but stay better separated in the v100. Bass slam and speed was noticeably improved. Mids were better separated, especially on orchestral tracks. Treble definitely extends more. My friend didn't like that at all, but I loved it. He agreed the treble was not harsh or grainy, he just didn't want more treble than the schiits offered, even if the treble was of higher quality. I loved the extra extension.

So yes, as we moved up the amp chain, the eikon (and my atticus) scaled up with them. How big of a jump though is very subjective so that's something you'll have to judge on your own. I feel they scale incredibly well and would not hesitate to throw $ into better gear for them. My friend not as much. His main amp for them is the massdrop cth, which he loves. He agrees the v100 was a noticeable step up, but not worth the $ for what he feels are small incremental gains. I found the v100 to be quite an eye opener so I'm already planning on trying even better amps for my atticus.

Hope that helps.

Ps we found dacs made less differences than amps on the eikon/atticus. The m9xx dac is the same chip as the modi 2 (akm 4490) and going from it to my bifrost multibit Gen 5 USB wasn't nearly the difference we heard as going from the magni to the Lyr to the v100. Yeah it was better, but very very subtle. We also listened to his audio gd rtr dac and again differences were small.

 

[matthewh133]

Good timing me and my friend were trying his eikon on my amps tonight! You're not stalking are you?

Quick answer is yes the eikon scales nicely with better equipment. We started on my m9xx. The dac on the m9xx is very well implemented, but the amp was breathing hard moving the 300ohm drivers. Volume level was fine, but dynamics were lacking. It didn't sound bad, just somewhat dull and flat.

Moving to the magni 3 improved things somewhat. Dynamic response was much better. The magni seems to handle large impedance swings much better than the amp in the m9xx. Bass grew more full, with harder slam, and more depth between soft bass and hard bass. Better dynamic range. Same goes for mids and highs. Everything opened up noticeably. We did not like the magni's tonality with the eikon, but that's very subjective to each listener.

Moving to the Lyr 3 with ts tube was not the leap we heard going from the m9xx to the magni. Because the magni has more than enough power, we're starting to get into more subjective differences. Dynamics seemed fairly similar to the magni. Tonality was as well. What differed was the refinement level of the Lyr vs the magni. On the Lyr, bass gains more texture and nuances. Mids are slightly more forward and sweeter sounding. Subtle details are easier to make out. Treble is also smoother, while also gaining a small resolution boost. Everything sounded just a touch better on the Lyr, though the gap between it and the magni was not dramatic to my ears. Better? Definitely! How much better though its harder to say. Very personal and subjective. I personally feel the Lyr is worth the extra $.

Moving onto my violectric v100 (just got it Sunday so it's very new to these ears) was quite substantial to me, less so to my friend. He thought it was too bright, I disagree completely. We did agree there was a noticeable increase in resolution, soundstage, and dynamic response. Fast bass blasts would blur together on the schiits, but stay better separated in the v100. Bass slam and speed was noticeably improved. Mids were better separated, especially on orchestral tracks. Treble definitely extends more. My friend didn't like that at all, but I loved it. He agreed the treble was not harsh or grainy, he just didn't want more treble than the schiits offered, even if the treble was of higher quality. I loved the extra extension.

So yes, as we moved up the amp chain, the eikon (and my atticus) scaled up with them. How big of a jump though is very subjective so that's something you'll have to judge on your own. I feel they scale incredibly well and would not hesitate to throw $ into better gear for them. My friend not as much. His main amp for them is the massdrop cth, which he loves. He agrees the v100 was a noticeable step up, but not worth the $ for what he feels are small incremental gains. I found the v100 to be quite an eye opener so I'm already planning on trying even better amps for my atticus.

Hope that helps.

Ps we found dacs made less differences than amps on the eikon/atticus. The m9xx dac is the same chip as the modi 2 (akm 4490) and going from it to my bifrost multibit Gen 5 USB wasn't nearly the difference we heard as going from the magni to the Lyr to the v100. Yeah it was better, but very very subtle. We also listened to his audio gd rtr dac and again differences were small.

Thanks so much for this write-up. Very interesting. I might order a Soloist SL M2 and see how I go.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Has anyone used the Eikon with the Schiit mini stack and then upgraded source/amp (maybe a Burson Soloist)? I currently just run them with a Modi 2/Magni 2 and I'm thinking of upgrading the dac/amp, but I'm interested in other's experiences and if they found a difference with an upgrade from this system.

I listened to a borrowed Eikon at length, twice in my system. I have 2 multibit DACs, one NOS (Audio GD DAC-19 & NOS 19), so changing DACs was only a minor change in sound for the Eikon.

But I have 4-5 SS amps, and I found the Eikon clearly scales up w/increasing power & quality in amps. It sounded pretty amazing via balanced cable on the V281, also very fine on the Liquid Carbon v2. Very good, as well, on my single-ended Violectric G109-A (absolutely everything sounds good on the G109-A, a great all-round amp). The Eikon is a true high impedance headphone, so it appreciates amps that can push lots of current.

My only regret is not yet hearing the Eikon on my OTL tube amp (Woo WA3). Next time I borrow one I'll try it on the WA3 for sure, expecting high-quality and somewhat different sound.

 

[ZenErik]

If anyone is curious. Ash Atticus with suede headband, strap, and ear pads. The first pic is before I installed the suede ear pads.

The color of the cups matches perfectly btw. Just the lighting makes it look slightly off in the 2nd pic.

 

[Pharmaboy]

If anyone is curious. Ash Atticus with suede headband, strap, and ear pads. The first pic is before I installed the suede ear pads.

The color of the cups matches perfectly btw. Just the lighting makes it look slightly off in the 2nd pic.

Wow! This is the most graphic/dramatic wood I've ever seen (the figure really jumps out at your eyes).

Re color, there really isn't a lot. It's a warm-looking black & white pattern. Maybe that light-tan background color varies from sample to sample (Zach would know). Regardless, the figure is quite amazing...

 

[GrussGott]

If anyone is curious. Ash Atticus with suede headband, strap, and ear pads. The first pic is before I installed the suede ear pads.

The color of the cups matches perfectly btw. Just the lighting makes it look slightly off in the 2nd pic.

Beautiful!!

Now @zach915m just needs to get other Ash he's assembling out!

 

[mwhals]

Saw this on Facebook! Sweet!

 

[ZenErik]

Looks like a collaboration with A&S probably? Could be wrong.

 

[Stillhart]

Looks like a collaboration with A&S probably? Could be wrong.

Yes, it's clearly stated in the FB post. I'm a big fan of Justin's amps, looking forward to hearing this one eventually.

 

[GrussGott]

Looks like a collaboration with A&S probably? Could be wrong.

Yeah, I wonder what the amp is?? Thanks for posting @mwhals as I don't "facebook" : )

I'd love to see a ZMF GOTL! Sounds like they're trading stuff now ...

EDIT: even if @zach915m just had a "zmf spec" including tubes for the @2359glenn amps, it would be awesome ... I'm heavily considering a GOTL now the more I read about his stellar kit!

 

[GrussGott]

Sounds like Zach has partnered with @Aornic to distribute ZMF headphones in Europe! But it means that @Aornic won't be posting reviews anymore

 

[ProfFalkin]

Sounds like Zach has partnered with @Aornic to distribute ZMF headphones in Europe! But it means that @Aornic won't be posting reviews anymore

I think it means he won't be posting them here. He is considered a MOT, so certain HF rules now apply. I didn't get a chance to see the whole video, because Aornic talks too much, but I think he will still be doing YouTube vids.