[ohcrapgorillas]

I use a Bottlehead Crack at home with mine, and it sounds incredible with a couple of caveats:

1. My Crack is super hotrodded (power cap bypasses, replaced last power cap with PP film cap, choke, CREE diodes, PP film output caps with PIO bypasses, Blue Velvet pot, Bottlehead power cable), without mods I don't think it can really push enough detail to do the Atticus justice. Fully modded, I think it's competitive with TOTL amps... it won't win, but it will at least compete. At some point I am going to open it back up and replace the signal wire with 6N OCC copper, as well as getting rid of the RCA input jacks and just have one long length of wire from volume pot to source.

2. The high output impedance is somewhat apparent, if going back and forth between the Crack and a solid state amp, there is a little bit of looseness to the low end. I mean a little bit. It is not audible if you don't have a solid state amp for direct A/B comparison. On the other hand, the Sennheiser HD600, 650, and 800 all sound fantastic out of the Crack, very sharp and detailed, that looseness is nowhere to be found.

Edit: Just wanted to mention about the CTH that I don't usually drive my Atticus with it, I use the Crack as I mentioned above. The CTH stays at my office to drive the ZMF Classic, a job which it does exceptionally well. I highly, highly recommend the Classics as a budget pair of closed backs with the ZMF house sound.

 

[G_J_P]

I’m gona agree with @ProfFalkin in regards to the ifi black label. While the ifi bl is a must-have pairing with my Aeons, it does a disservice to the Atticus. Same with the Magni2. Same with McIntosh. IMO solid states don’t pair well.

The CTH however is an excellent budget pairing. Before mine developed issues and was refunded, it was always connected to the Atticus at my desk. The soundstage was wider, bass notes had more impact; the headphone seems like it was meant to be heard this way. Going to my other amps after would sound dull, unexciting, and cramped.

Sadly I don’t have experience with higher end tube/hybrid amps but I can definitely believe there are even better pairings, worthy of the cost of upgrade.

Don’t get me wrong, the Atticus still sounds good with solid state amps, but without the CTH it’s not getting much head time from me.

I appreciate all of the input regarding the ifi BL and the Atticus/Eikon. I already have the BL as my setup needs to be portable (laptop and BL) and I am in need of some closed headphones that will pair well with BL. The ZMF ori originally caught my attention and then I started reading about the non-planar ZMFs and was pretty sold. I think I will check out the BL thread to see what other options may be better. Thanks for the nod to the Aeons/BL combo - I will give those a look. I currently have a pair of Audeze Sine as my closed cans, but I would like to relegate those to a true mobile set-up using the cipher cable and my iphone. Thanks again.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

As wonderful as the Atticus are, I would not necessarily recommend them as on-the-go headphones. They are huge and stick out from your head quite a ways... also, the craftsmanship makes me too nervous to bring them out and about for fear of scuffs or dents. I think Zach's T50RP mods are better suited to this, being smaller and easier to transport. The Classics also lack the wood cups so no fear of scuffing or damaging anything, although IME while they are all great cans his planar headphones lack the detail, separation, and finesse of his dynamics (caveat: it's been a long time since I've heard them).

Good luck on your journey, hope you find something awesome.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

Pulled the trigger on an Atticus! Honestly, I can't wait.

So now about amps . . .

I know the consensus the OTL tubes. For my budget, Lyr 3 or Mono Liquid Platinum will be my best bets (whenever LP comes back in stock).

The only wildcard in the equation seems to be the Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid. I find tons of people raving about this combo, or for $250, it seems like an amazing value.

Any point in considering the CTH, or should I just stick with OTL Tubes? Not worried about a consensus--just want to hear a variety of opinions.

 

[wordfool]

They are huge and stick out from your head quite a ways...

They do look a bit alarming... I had my gf try on my Eikons and I couldn't stop laughing at how bizarre and huge they looked on her smaller head! Wearing them out and about would IMO be like taking a tenkeyless mechanical keyboard to a Starbucks to work on your laptop.

 

[G_J_P]

As wonderful as the Atticus are, I would not necessarily recommend them as on-the-go headphones. They are huge and stick out from your head quite a ways... also, the craftsmanship makes me too nervous to bring them out and about for fear of scuffs or dents. I think Zach's T50RP mods are better suited to this, being smaller and easier to transport. The Classics also lack the wood cups so no fear of scuffing or damaging anything, although IME while they are all great cans his planar headphones lack the detail, separation, and finesse of his dynamics (caveat: it's been a long time since I've heard them).

Good luck on your journey, hope you find something awesome.

Thanks. I think I knew better than to walk down the street with these on, but who knows? I get chuckles from my family when I have my Hifiman 560s on at home, so I'm sure they'd love to see these on my head. I have a single set-up that I have to use both at home and in the office and wanted something that was easy to transport back and forth (even though all my use is at desks). I thought the BL worked well for that, so I went that route. I now see that this hobby may get expensive quick and I need to start thinking about more than just a great pair of closed cans.

I really appreciate this forum and the vast knowledge that everyone is so gracious to share. It is a great resource but makes choices that much harder to make - for me at least. Thanks again.

 

[ProfFalkin]

I know the consensus the OTL tubes. For my budget, Lyr 3 or Mono Liquid Platinum will be my best bets (whenever LP comes back in stock).

Those are tube hybrids, not OTL amps. Just thought I'd point that out. The BH Crack is OTL, and currently $100 off. It pairs wonderfully with them, so perhaps consider that? If no, I would go Liquid Plat. The MCTH is very good for the price, but I think the LP is just flat out better.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

Cool. I know MCTH is a hybrid but still hearing great things about it.

Now just need LP to come back in stock.

 

[someyoungguy]

Hi all, sorry if this has been asked before but after searching the thread for magnesium chassis I can’t find the answer.

Does ordering the Eikons with magnesium chassis upgrade reduce the weight by 33g overall or 33g per cup (66 overall)?

Looking over the ZMF website I couldn’t quite figure it out. The Verite page describes the new chassis saying:
“Our new Magnesium chassis reduces weight by 33 grams per headphone, allowing us to offer our lightest design to date, at approximately 430 grams.”

Given it says “per headphone”, singular, and the Verite weight is much lighter than other models I wondered if this means 66g for a pair of headphones? If it’s only 33 I’ll probably skip the extra expense.

Hey all, just thought I'd post that I emailed ZMF and Zach replied saying the weight reduction is 33 g overall, not per chassis. I guess every little bit counts towards prolonged wearability, but I'll see how I feel in a few months once I save up some dollars for the Eikon.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Personally, I find that ZMF headphones love tube amps. I have a Woo WA2 that I use with the Atticus, and I know that for $600 you can get a Woo WA3. I heard it pairs beautifully with the Atticus.

I second that vote for the WA3. I never heard an Atticus on it, but I have heard the open-back iteration of it, the Aeolus, at length on the WA3--very fine sound. Also heard a couple other 300 ohm HPs on it (Eikon & JAR650, a heavily modded HD650). Getting the impedance matched up produces subtle but intriguing sonic gains IMO.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I'm curious if you've any experience with the Lake People/Violectric G103/G109/V100 family. They're often touted as quite "tube" like amps for not too much money and I'm going to potentially be in the market for a SS amp soon (to complement my WA7)

Have & love the G109-A ("Anniversary" edition of the standard G109-S). It does just about everything right & nothing wrong. If all I needed was a single-ended, powerful, slightly warm SS amp, this would be it.

I also have the V281, and despite their significant design, power & price differences, these 2 amps are sonically somewhat similar (not a shock, given that Lake People also make Violectric products).

I owned an Atticus for awhile. It didn't like any of my amps much. But the Eikon just loves these 2 amps.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

I second that vote for the WA3. I never heard an Atticus on it, but I have heard the open-back iteration of it, the Aeolus, at length on the WA3--very fine sound. Also heard a couple other 300 ohm HPs on it (Eikon & JAR650, a heavily modded HD650). Getting the impedance matched up produces subtle but intriguing sonic gains IMO.

How would describe the synergy of this pairing?

For example to know Valhalla 3 is lean and dry and opens up the Atticus at the expense of the bass (at least that’s what I read).

Hybrid tube amps like Lyr 3 seem to have a fairly balanced response which is why so many people recommend this amp of the CTH

Then there is EC Jr which I’ve never heard but know is good and now I’ll add WA3. This amp is right in my price range. I have heard some say these amps don’t get good until WA-6 SE. But this is all obviously heresy. What are your thoughts? It is definitely an attractive amp!

 

[Pharmaboy]

How would describe the synergy of this pairing?

For example to know Valhalla 3 is lean and dry and opens up the Atticus at the expense of the bass (at least that’s what I read).

Hybrid tube amps like Lyr 3 seem to have a fairly balanced response which is why so many people recommend this amp of the CTH

Then there is EC Jr which I’ve never heard but know is good and now I’ll add WA3. This amp is right in my price range. I have heard some say these amps don’t get good until WA-6 SE. But this is all obviously heresy. What are your thoughts? It is definitely an attractive amp!

Never heard the EC Jr or the CTH or any hybrid. @jinxy245, whose Aeolus I have on loan, likes the CTH w/the Eikon & Aeolus.

People say all kinds of things about Woo amps. Yesterday a top member of the other headphone board trashed the WA3 & WA22; to him they sound mediocre at best. I mention it only to say other opinions besides mine exist. You should do your reading & due diligence before purchasing any amp...

What I hear in the WA3 are 3 related factors that work together to make very good sound w/high impedance headphones:

1. My WA3 does not sound slow, bloated, overly warm--things people say about tubes. I hear a pleasing purity of tone, grainlessness, smoothness, and balanced feel to the whole frequency range. Warmth is slight & bass does not sound deficient.
2. This WA3, like tube preamps & amps I've used before, makes musical notes sound more dimensional, palpable & real-sounding. And it becomes easier to hear subtle spatial cues, both in the recording venue & the soundstaging of the headphone.
3. The main value of the WA3 (of any high-impedance/OTL source) is impedance matching. I hear subtle but welcome sonic changes in any headphones over ~70 ohms on the WA3, compared with good SS amps. These changes boil down to a subtly more balanced, even rendering of frequencies + a calm & controlled feeling overall. Once I heard this, I wanted to hear it some more.

I haven't heard an Atticus on the WA3, though I have heard its open-back iteration, the Aeolus. IMHO, anything lost from the bass in absolute terms (a touch of sub-bass? not even sure about that) is way more than made up for by benefits of impedance matching, w/the entire bass range sounding more level & integrated w/other frequencies.

The Aeolus sounds somewhat more controlled & focused on the WA3 than w/my best SS amp (V281), though the bass on the V281 does go a bit lower w/more overt dynamics (the V281 has quite a kick).

Don't mean to over-praise the WA3. There are bigger/better OTLs out there, and I haven't heard any of them. I'm guessing any well-designed/constructed OTL will provide relatively similar sonic benefits.

 

[jinxy245]

IMHO the MCTH is an excellent entry into tubes hybrids...the Lyr 3 (borrowed for a week) & Cavalli Liquid Platinum (heard a couple of times) are just better across the board.
Going up in price isn't always a guarantee of better performance, but with these 3 amps I'd say it is.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

Thanks for the input guys! Very helpful.

Probably will end up getting an OTL and a hybrid before it’s all over (Clarett is a beast as SS—so loud and tons of current).

Jinx, between Lyr and LP, which did you like better? Not sure I can be like Wes and grab both!