[erics75]

Does anyone know if the Ori or the Atticus has better subbass? I ask because I remember almost taking my head off when I got the Atticus because it's midbass punch hit so hard, to the point where it was encroaching on the mids. Changing pads changed the sound too much hence why I sold them.

Ori's are tough to find now. I've been looking for a year with no luck If you want subbass you might want to consider the Eikon as well. It has noticeably more subbass than the Atticus with less midbass presence, and more air up top.

 

[Wes S]

Haha that sounds like fun actually. I’ll pair those up with those Raytheon 5814s we talked about. Found a small supply of them (non matching unfortunately) but the LP isn’t too picky about that.

I don’t recall what I had with the Atticus but I believe it was a Dragon Inspire Amp. Don’t recall if it was an OTL. I do know it didn’t have a lot of gain so that could explain the mid bass bleed. The other thing is the Ori is a little easier on my head and they don’t look as goofy. Those Ori pads are huge on the Atticus so didnt really like that too much. The Aeolus nailed the right size pads for the entire lineup imo.

I did like the soundstage on the Atticus it had a very nice black background. Which can has the bigger soundstage? The Ori or Atticus?

Atticus has a bigger stage, and it can be highly immersive.

 

[Wes S]

Ori's are tough to find now. I've been looking for a year with no luck If you want subbass you might want to consider the Eikon as well. It has noticeably more subbass than the Atticus with less midbass presence, and more air up top.

Here you go, a bit pricey but this is the first pair I have seen listed in a long time.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2752069683...rentrq:98a78fbf17f0aaf609cc622efff5e208|iid:1

 

[hikaru12]

Here you go, a bit pricey but this is the first pair I have seen listed in a long time.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/275206968395?_trkparms=amclksrc=ITM&aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20160908105057&meid=7794e964cce545a4b4889789381a42aa&pid=100675&rk=5&rkt=15&sd=403480476297&itm=275206968395&pmt=0&noa=1&pg=2380057&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci:24eeadc1-a60d-11ec-80e8-8e02ba0bdda9|parentrq:98a78fbf17f0aaf609cc622efff5e208|iid:1

Haha those are the ones I'm talking the guy down on - I'm trying to decide if it's worth selling my LCD 2F bamboos. I love these cans and I really don't know if the Oris would be a better upgrade.

Ori's are tough to find now. I've been looking for a year with no luck If you want subbass you might want to consider the Eikon as well. It has noticeably more subbass than the Atticus with less midbass presence, and more air up top.

I've actually had some Paduak Eikons. They were very nice for the genres of music I listen to. They did have a bit of an uneven treble at times but never noticed it with my Sonnet Morpheus/Bottlehead Crack pairing.

 

[erics75]

Haha those are the ones I'm talking the guy down on - I'm trying to decide if it's worth selling my LCD 2F bamboos. I love these cans and I really don't know if the Oris would be a better upgrade.


I've actually had some Paduak Eikons. They were very nice for the genres of music I listen to. They did have a bit of an uneven treble at times but never noticed it with my Sonnet Morpheus/Bottlehead Crack pairing.

I agree there is at times a bit of wonkiness, for lack of a better term, in the upper region of the Eikon. On solid state it drove me nuts. On tubes it was much much better, to the point I didn't care. That subbass was potent! But I actually really love the midbass punch of the Atticus more. The Atticus really benefits from very high output impedance. I talked to Justin from ampsandsound about his when I was picking up my Kenzie amp. I thought it would make the Atticus too warm and thick, but he told me it's actually quite the opposite on the Atticus. The 300ohm tap on the Kenzie gives the Atticus more air, and tightens up the bass vs the lower settings. I didn't believe it at first but I went home and tried the 300ohm tap on my Ovation vs the 100ohm tap I normally used, and sure enough, the Atticus was airier and less congested in the mids. But still a very mid-centric signature overall.

 

[hikaru12]

I don’t have an LCD-3 but I do have an LCD-2 and an Atticus (with the ori lambskin pads). I love them both, I think the both have strengths and weaknesses and both suit my taste. It’s hard for me to compare the mids because I EQ them on both my Atticus and LCD-2. I will say that the Atticus mids sound more natural to me but there’s a big dip at around 4k and a big peak at 5k that can make it sound wonky, while the LCD-2 without eq are a bit recessed but still tonally balanced. I enjoy the mids very much on both after a little eq but I found the mids on the Atticus harder to EQ. The treble on the Atticus is reminiscent of my LCD-2: slightly less bright than harman in the lower treble with actually slightly boosted air around 11-15k. This is my preferred treble tonality although the Atticus has a bit more of a peak at around 10k if you’re sensitive to that.

Now about the bass: this is where the Audezes and Atticus diverge the most. The LCD-2, much like the 3 extends flat to 20hz. I boost from about 110hz by 4-6db depending on the track. The Atticus on the other hand has gobs of bass. On some tracks I don’t boost at all, on others I’ll give it 1 or 2db max. I do however cut the mid bass a little bit because I do think it sounds a bit bloated compared to my Audeze. What it does do better than the Audeze is slam. Kick drums feel punchier on the Atticus, partially because of that mid bass hump. That’s why I only eq it down a few db as opposed to eliminating it altogether. The Atticus also does not extend quite as low as the Audezes, however it’s reasonably capable of sub bass if you ask it to with some EQ. The Audeze has better bass imaging and texture IMO. On the Atticus I don’t always have the clearest sense of where the bass is in space. I actually find that the bass imaging is very sensitive to the headphones position on your head. If I don’t have them seated on my head perfectly it’ll sound like the kick drum is off to the left or right.

What’s interesting is I don’t feel like the slam characteristics are apples to apples the Atticus slams harder. I think it’s slammier feeling in the mid bass and upper treble, while the Audeze hits harder in the low bass and mids. E.g. I find I enjoy electronic music that uses sub bass more than mid bass more on the LCDs, and I find snares have a more natural, even punch on the LCDs. The Atticus, as I mentioned, feels slammier on kick drums and the treble feels a little… sparklier? But the mids are super smooth (which is nice in its own way). I do find that my EQ profile affects the impact of the mids a bit but I just can’t tolerate a peak at 5k for extended listening, which is what I mainly use them for.

This is what I found to be true in my case as well when I had the Atticus. The LCD-2 is just better for my genres and feels slightly less heavier although they do tend to get a hot spot that I never got with the Atticus. The mids are smoother on the Atticus, it seems darker overall with just a little sparkle in the 10k region which was nice but I find the LCD 2's to be more upfront if you find a way to compensate for them (say with like tubes in an LP for instance or the right amp pairing). This whole thing has me looking at the Oris to see if they would be an upgrade.

The 300ohm tap on the Kenzie gives the Atticus more air, and tightens up the bass vs the lower settings. I didn't believe it at first but I went home and tried the 300ohm tap on my Ovation vs the 100ohm tap I normally used, and sure enough, the Atticus was airier and less congested in the mids. But still a very mid-centric signature overall.

It would take a lot for me to go back into OTL's as I already have a SET with relatively cheap tubes so it would be a really big sinkhole to go back to them haha. I liked that the Kenzie does have speaker taps so I could run speakers. I've been foreaying into single driver speakers because I love how they do midrange (if properly designed). I can't find anything to dethrone my LCD 2F's so far. Hence why I'm looking to see if the Oris are worth it. I'm sure they have the better mids but I'm really enjoying the subbass on my Audezes. They also play nicer with a lot of different amps. The Atticus is a bit amp picky in that regard.

 

[erics75]

This is what I found to be true in my case as well when I had the Atticus. The LCD-2 is just better for my genres and feels slightly less heavier although they do tend to get a hot spot that I never got with the Atticus. The mids are smoother on the Atticus, it seems darker overall with just a little sparkle in the 10k region which was nice but I find the LCD 2's to be more upfront if you pair you find a way to compensate for them (say with like tubes in an LP for instance or the right amp pairing). This whole thing has me looking at the Oris to see if they would be an upgrade.

I miss my old LCD2, it was a prefazor unit and that bass was quite addictive. I only heard the Ori in passing at a meet years ago so unfortunately i can't comment on how they'd compare. But I did have an Alpha Prime from MrSpeakers, which is why I gave my LCD2 up. It's a Fostex mod like the Ori, and had really nice bass. The LCD went lower, but I loved the faster, more articulate presentation of the Prime. Have you heard the Prime?

EDIT - I'm with you on the Atticus being amp fussy. Honestly all my high ohm headphones are. What really drives me nuts is when the Atticus loves one amp but the Auteur hates it. It took me forever to land on an amp that satisfies all my high z cans. Planars are much easier to amp, in my experience. They like a lot of clean power mostly. Outside of that they're not as picky.

 

[hikaru12]

I miss my old LCD2, it was a prefazor unit and that bass was quite addictive. I only heard the Ori in passing at a meet years ago so unfortunately i can't comment on how they'd compare. But I did have an Alpha Prime from MrSpeakers, which is why I gave my LCD2 up. It's a Fostex mod like the Ori, and had really nice bass. The LCD went lower, but I loved the faster, more articulate presentation of the Prime. Have you heard the Prime?

I have not - are they still being sold? Did you notice any weird treble peaks? I don't these Fostex mods had to be done tunefully or they could sound really bad. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[erics75]

I have not - are they still being sold? Did you notice any weird treble peaks? I don't these Fostex mods had to be done tunefully or they could sound really bad. Thanks for the suggestion.

No Dan retired those when he moved to the Ether line. I don't like the Ethers, too neutral for my tastes. The Prime was the last great MrSpeakers for my personal tastes. It did have some harshness up top, which is definitely a consideration. It came with felt tuning pads you could put over the drivers to accentuate or temper the high frequencies. With the most aggressive treble mufflers (what i called them haha) it was not bright at all, but did sound a bit too muffled for my tastes. I went with the medium mufflers, and endured the occasional treble stab. If you put a wanted ad out i'm sure you'd get a few hits here. I did and got mine used recently for about $350 i think. I got them for nostalgia sake, but they didn't hold well to my ZMFs on tubes, so I let them go.

 

[hikaru12]

No Dan retired those when he moved to the Ether line. I don't like the Ethers, too neutral for my tastes. The Prime was the last great MrSpeakers for my personal tastes. It did have some harshness up top, which is definitely a consideration. It came with felt tuning pads you could put over the drivers to accentuate or temper the high frequencies. With the most aggressive treble mufflers (what i called them haha) it was not bright at all, but did sound a bit too muffled for my tastes. I went with the medium mufflers, and endured the occasional treble stab. If you put a wanted ad out i'm sure you'd get a few hits here. I did and got mine used recently for about $350 i think. I got them for nostalgia sake, but they didn't hold well to my ZMFs on tubes, so I let them go.

The guy on eBay selling his Ori is stuck firm at $675. Not sure if the bass will be that much of an improvement over my LCD-2s but I don’t want to derail the thread any further.

 

[Dawgfish]

I miss my old LCD2, it was a prefazor unit and that bass was quite addictive. I only heard the Ori in passing at a meet years ago so unfortunately i can't comment on how they'd compare. But I did have an Alpha Prime from MrSpeakers, which is why I gave my LCD2 up. It's a Fostex mod like the Ori, and had really nice bass. The LCD went lower, but I loved the faster, more articulate presentation of the Prime. Have you heard the Prime?

EDIT - I'm with you on the Atticus being amp fussy. Honestly all my high ohm headphones are. What really drives me nuts is when the Atticus loves one amp but the Auteur hates it. It took me forever to land on an amp that satisfies all my high z cans. Planars are much easier to amp, in my experience. They like a lot of clean power mostly. Outside of that they're not as picky.

The Bottlehead Crack I have found works great on all my high Z cans. ZMFs, HD800, entire HD6XX family, and all my Beyers all sound great on it.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Does anyone know if the Ori or the Atticus has better subbass? I ask because I remember almost taking my head off when I got the Atticus because it's midbass punch hit so hard, to the point where it was encroaching on the mids. Changing pads changed the sound too much hence why I sold them.

Definitely the Ori for sub-bass.

 

[jonathan c]

The Bottlehead Crack I have found works great on all my high Z cans. ZMFs, HD800, entire HD6XX family, and all my Beyers all sound great on it.

Same is true with Woo WA2 !!

 

[Dawgfish]

Same is true with Woo WA2 !!

I bet! That's one I really want to try.

 

[Wes S]

There is some exciting and somewhat sad news in the world of ZMF as of late with the announcement of a new headphone and the discontinuation of the Eikon. I sure am happy to hear the Atticus made the cut and will still be in the lineup. The Atticus deserves to stay in my opinion, and I am glad it will still be available for future ZMF owners.

My Atticus keep me sane and their beauty in sound and looks never ceases to amaze me. The powerful and fatigue free sound never gets boring and keeps me engaged like no other.

Long live the Atticus!