[koven]

A song of Ice and Fire.. some Norne cables for my two favorite headphones!

And a closer look at the Norne Solvine which I use w/ Eikon. Draug Silver for Utopia.

 

[mwhals]

Is there a custom iem company that would be the closest to taking the Eikon, Atticus or Auteur on the road with a DAP? I have JH Angie ii universals now.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Is there a custom iem company that would be the closest to taking the Eikon, Atticus or Auteur on the road with a DAP? I have JH Angie ii universals now.

Probably not. I just take my ZMF Blackwood on the road with a Chord Mojo, eventually I will get an Eikon and do the same (once an Eikon with a wood option I like more becomes available).

 

[macdonjh]

I've been doing some comparison between my pair of HifiMAN HE-500 and a pair of Atticus I just purchased from a fellow Hear-fi-er. Here is the post I made in a different thread:

I think I made a mistake.

I removed the 1/4" TRS connector that came with the Atticus I bought a couple of weeks ago and replaced it with a 4-pin XLR. Then, to compound my error, I plugged those headphones directly into my Mjolnir. Things are really complicated now. I had been operating with the thought that I'd grow tired of the Atticus soon, it's just too closed in compared to the HE-500 for me to get comfortable with it.

Yeah, OK, that's playing single ended with a small head phone amp. Enter balanced operation with an amp that has effectively unlimited power. Gone is the disjointed sound stage I commented about earlier in this thread. Welcome really fat, round bass that still has detail and finesse. The treble is still a little recessed (farther back in the soundstage and seemingly lower in level, rather than lacking extension) compared to my HE-500s, but there is some sparkle there. I had really thought, based on first impressions, this was going to turn out to be easy, but not so.

The single song the struck me the most last night was Led Zeppelin's "Ten Years Gone", a long time favorite of mine. The first part is plaintive and almost delicate, something the HE-500s convey well, but now so do the Atticus. The Atticus present Jones' bass as heavy and full while still allowing the overtones of the vibrating strings to be heard. It's not a "one note" simplistic presentation. While I can hear the complexities of bass notes even better with my HE-500, the sound is leaner with less weight. The Atticus also does a really good job showing off all the weird stereo effects Led Zeppelin used on their recordings: "here, listen to Jimmy's acoustic guitar, it's way up here above your left ear", "Robert is singing in your right ear, no wait, now he's in the middle of your head". Not the same extent with "Ten Years Gone" as with "Whole Lotta Love" (that song through headphones almost makes me sea sick), but still there. One thing, and an original premise of my original post, is I've found the HE-500 do have some impact ability, just at higher volume than I had been using. Both my HE-500 and Atticus showed that "Ten Years Gone" doesn't really have any slam from Bonham's drum kit.

Listening, much more listening.

 

[macdonjh]

Is there a custom iem company that would be the closest to taking the Eikon, Atticus or Auteur on the road with a DAP? I have JH Angie ii universals now.

As you can see above, I am spending my compare/ contrast time between my Atticus and HE-500 right now. But, I like my Campfire Lyra II for portable listening. Stronger, deeper, livelier bass than the Westones I have used for the past couple of years. The Lyra have good detail in the mids. I wish they had a little more air at the top, but they are fun to listen to in general. I've read, but not heard for myself, that the Andromeda are wonderful, if your budget stretches that far (mine does not at this time).

 

[Rhamnetin]

I've been doing some comparison between my pair of HifiMAN HE-500 and a pair of Atticus I just purchased from a fellow Hear-fi-er. Here is the post I made in a different thread:

I think I made a mistake.

I removed the 1/4" TRS connector that came with the Atticus I bought a couple of weeks ago and replaced it with a 4-pin XLR. Then, to compound my error, I plugged those headphones directly into my Mjolnir. Things are really complicated now. I had been operating with the thought that I'd grow tired of the Atticus soon, it's just too closed in compared to the HE-500 for me to get comfortable with it.

Yeah, OK, that's playing single ended with a small head phone amp. Enter balanced operation with an amp that has effectively unlimited power. Gone is the disjointed sound stage I commented about earlier in this thread. Welcome really fat, round bass that still has detail and finesse. The treble is still a little recessed (farther back in the soundstage and seemingly lower in level, rather than lacking extension) compared to my HE-500s, but there is some sparkle there. I had really thought, based on first impressions, this was going to turn out to be easy, but not so.

The single song the struck me the most last night was Led Zeppelin's "Ten Years Gone", a long time favorite of mine. The first part is plaintive and almost delicate, something the HE-500s convey well, but now so do the Atticus. The Atticus present Jones' bass as heavy and full while still allowing the overtones of the vibrating strings to be heard. It's not a "one note" simplistic presentation. While I can hear the complexities of bass notes even better with my HE-500, the sound is leaner with less weight. The Atticus also does a really good job showing off all the weird stereo effects Led Zeppelin used on their recordings: "here, listen to Jimmy's acoustic guitar, it's way up here above your left ear", "Robert is singing in your right ear, no wait, now he's in the middle of your head". Not the same extent with "Ten Years Gone" as with "Whole Lotta Love" (that song through headphones almost makes me sea sick), but still there. One thing, and an original premise of my original post, is I've found the HE-500 do have some impact ability, just at higher volume than I had been using. Both my HE-500 and Atticus showed that "Ten Years Gone" doesn't really have any slam from Bonham's drum kit.

Listening, much more listening.

The best kind of mistake.

 

[etnt]

http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-cables/zmf-dhc-occ-braided-cable
These look like the previous occ cables rebranded?

 

[Rhamnetin]

Indeed it does look like that. You can always email Zach for clarification.

 

[zach915m]

http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-cables/zmf-dhc-occ-braided-cable
These look like the previous occ cables rebranded?

Indeed it does look like that. You can always email Zach for clarification.

They are different. The atmos is replacing the occ basic. Here's the differences:

Basic VS atmos

59 stands VS 105
4n occ VS 5n occ Litz
No insulation VS nylon insulation
.007 strand size VS .005

And some other aesthetic changes etc.

In short its just a better wire all around. We may start selling the occ basic for diy use.

 

[ibage]

Alright, with Summer just around the corner, its starting to heat up a bit. Especially in a room with a PC spitting hot air and a Schiit Valhalla 2. Its hot in here. As much as I love the Eikon, the stock pads get extremely hot. How do the suede pads fare on the Eikon? Ive heard mostly negative things, but I dont want to spend the summer limited to the HD600. Any suggestions?

 

[Sonic Defender]

Alright, with Summer just around the corner, its starting to heat up a bit. Especially in a room with a PC spitting hot air and a Schiit Valhalla 2. Its hot in here. As much as I love the Eikon, the stock pads get extremely hot. How do the suede pads fare on the Eikon? Ive heard mostly negative things, but I dont want to spend the summer limited to the HD600. Any suggestions?

Accept that there is no way that you can seal around your ears with any material in a hot climate and not get hot and sweaty. Materials may make a small difference, but your going to be hot that's it. Consider a decent set of on-ear headphones for the worst days. It gets very hot and humid here in the summer and as much of my music listening is out and about I had to stop buying over-ear portables in favour of on-ear because of the heat. On-ear really makes a big difference temperature wise that's for sure. Good luck however you go.

 

[etnt]

This zebrano is a strange animal.

The mids are not as pronouced as normal atticus (compared with another 2 padauk and zebrano), and almost sounds like a regular atticus with suede pads. Placing it somewhere between a regular atticus and eikon. Eitticus?

 

[Pharmaboy]

damn...that wood is really beautiful. Love how the brown lines meander through the lighter background...pores are also striking (kind of like padauk in that regard).

Zach strikes again!

 

[etnt]

They are different. The atmos is replacing the occ basic. Here's the differences:

Basic VS atmos

59 stands VS 105
4n occ VS 5n occ Litz
No insulation VS nylon insulation
.007 strand size VS .005

And some other aesthetic changes etc.

In short its just a better wire all around. We may start selling the occ basic for diy use.

Any sneak preview of the atmos S?

Coming soon - Atmos S!

 

[Arcamera]

"Etticus," Lol. "Atticon"?