ATTICUS and EIKON, the new dynamic driver headphones from ZMF
Apr 4, 2019 at 1:33 PM Post #6,916 of 9,711
i'd hate to see you sell it before you hear it with a good amp. hopefully you get a chance to try it on some new amps.

I'm going to give it a shot. I'll take it to a few nearby stores (including the Schiiter store) and try it with a few rigs. The Southern Cal CanJam is also coming up and I might try to go and discuss, demo, etc. to see what might rise to the surface. Fingers crossed.
 
Apr 4, 2019 at 2:44 PM Post #6,917 of 9,711
His true vileness shines when owning multiple ZMF's. i had an Eikon for awhile with my Atticus, and they liked the opposite amps! so to hear them at their best i'd have to swap amps constantly. for awhile i ran a splitter from my dac to the V100 (for Atticus) and Vali 2 (for Eikon). for 3 wonderful months i got to babysit my buddy's mjolnir 2 while he was traveling, and swapped out the Vali 2 for it. the Eikon liked the M2 quite a bit. everyone laughed at my work desk, it was piled with headphone equipment haha. thankfully my current job is as relaxed as can be, so i can do more or less what i want, equipment-wise. i even listen to open headphones at work as i'm in my own office now, and everyone listens to computer speakers all day, so no one cares about noise pollution :)

Zach be reading this thread like:

https://giphy.com/gifs/laughing-joker-jack-nicholson-tMyCJmeXHBetq
 
Apr 4, 2019 at 2:59 PM Post #6,918 of 9,711
Apr 4, 2019 at 3:28 PM Post #6,919 of 9,711
Hi everyone.
Today I received the ZMF Eikon from AcornAudio.
I could not resist and I immediately tried to put them to the test with Thomas Stanko's trumpet.
What to say: trial passed successfully!
Taking into account that they are new and still need to improve with use, I am really happy with the purchase.
Thanks Zach, thanks Aaren and thanks to all of you for the advice !!!!!!!
:smile_phones:
Lu
 
Apr 4, 2019 at 4:59 PM Post #6,920 of 9,711
Hi everyone.
Today I received the ZMF Eikon from AcornAudio.
I could not resist and I immediately tried to put them to the test with Thomas Stanko's trumpet.
What to say: trial passed successfully!
Taking into account that they are new and still need to improve with use, I am really happy with the purchase.
Thanks Zach, thanks Aaren and thanks to all of you for the advice !!!!!!!
:smile_phones:
Lu


How bout a pic of this beauty....I never get tired of seeing pics of Zach's headphones
 
Apr 4, 2019 at 5:43 PM Post #6,921 of 9,711
Hi everyone.
Today I received the ZMF Eikon from AcornAudio.
I could not resist and I immediately tried to put them to the test with Thomas Stanko's trumpet.
What to say: trial passed successfully!
Taking into account that they are new and still need to improve with use, I am really happy with the purchase.
Thanks Zach, thanks Aaren and thanks to all of you for the advice !!!!!!!
:smile_phones:
Lu

Right on. Enjoy!
 
Apr 4, 2019 at 8:53 PM Post #6,922 of 9,711
After a long thought, last night, I decided to give myself a ZMF Eikon.
I thank all the guys from the forum and especially in this thread, for helping me with my choice.
I also thank the Acorn Audio guys for their wonderful service!
Next week those beauties will come to their new home :smile_phones:

Lu

P.S.
And Zach of course, for his art!

Good choice! Which wood did you get?

These really are amazing headphones. Great sound & superb wood craftsmanship (as with all the top ZMF HPs).
 
Apr 4, 2019 at 9:00 PM Post #6,923 of 9,711
the amps i've heard that sound great with the Atticus (all my personal opinion based on my own tastes, yours will vary):
Violectric V100 (which sound identical to the Lake People G109, and RS series, so all those would be options)
Violectric V280 via balanced output only. single ended is a bit too smooth and warm for my tastes
Lake People RS-08 (a V100 on steriods, same sound signature, more dynamic range and driver control, imo THE best amp for the atticus i've heard, and i regret selling it to this day, and i will be buying another)
Arcam Rhead
Gilmore Lite MK2
Auralic Taurus MK2
Bryston BHA-1
Ragnarok
The above group just sounds good. i wont add individual notes as they'll all say the same basic thing: instantly engaging, but not fatiguing. endless dynamic range and driver control. excellent synergy. you cannot go wrong here (for my tastes!)

Good but not great (synergy and personal tastes heavy at play here. for some, these could go in the top group):
Jotunheim via balanced output. it's pretty good overall, very dynamic and lively, but the treble glare i was hearing from my jotunheim was eventually a deal breaker for me. i had a very early jot, and i've read there was a silent revision to the amp which smoothed things out a bit, but i have no firsthand experience on that, sorry.
Violectric V280 via single ended output. this is essentially a V200 if using the SE output, and i found it to be just too smooth and warm for the atticus. it just didnt wow me like the v100 did.
RNHP was good but lacked headroom and high volume grunt. as the volume went up, the sound got a bit ragged and sloppy. i think the amp was hitting it's output limits, and distorting. at low/medium volume very nice sounding though. i'm a loud listener so it didnt work out for me here, but if you're not trying to kill your eardrums, it would work just fine.
Mjolnir 2 various tubes this is my buddies and i've logged hundreds of hours on it. my thoughts on the V280 single ended apply here. it was just a bit too polite compared to other amps i've heard.
Woo WA3 various tubes this one was tough. it's my buddies and all his tubes are of the traditional/syrupy type (per his assessment, he knows tubes way better than i do). this thing was very warm, like the V280 single ended, but more engaging. i almost put it in the top group, but i could only do this pairing for short bursts as it eventually sounded too warm and overwhelming. but at first listen i was quite impressed. this one has me so curious with neutral tubes that i'm on a mission to grab a used one on the cheap :)

Not good (remember, just my opinions!)
Lyr 3 new production TS tube just too boring overall. it was nice and neutral, and very clean sounding, but lacked dynamic range. i was underwhelmed.
Asgard 2 not bad, but like the Lyr 3, it was ho hum. i felt bored by the pairing. more treble hardness than the lyr 3
Grace m9xx i sound like a broken record, but much ho humming here too. the grace dac is great, but the amp section just wasnt pushing the atticus well enough for me. dynamics were lacking, and i was bored.
Dragonfly Red lacked headroom and dynamic range. not surprising given it's modest power output. it had plenty of volume, but had issues with driver control. bass got boomy, and treble had a slight glare
Fulla Schiit 2 my notes on the DFR apply here, just doesnt have the power, sounded dynamically limited
Magni 3 a return of the ho hums! plenty of power, but plenty boring. it actually sounded much like the lyr 3 to me, but less refined. same tonality and timbre though, with a bit more metallic-ness up top.

i've heard a few others in short bursts, but all the amps above i've logged at least a few hours with, with my atticus.

I have a Woo WA3 purchased w/the upgrade power tubes (Amperex Holland 6922s) and I find the sound relatively neutral, despite the slight warmth many tube amps have. By no means is this a warm, syrupy amp. At least in my WA3, warmth is a mild flavor, not a filter.

More to the point, the WA3, like any good OTL, provides a better impedance match to 300 ohm headphones than most SS amps can. I didn't have the WA3 when I had the Atticus (if I had, might not have sold them). But I've listened to it extensively with the Eikon, my friend's Aeolus (open-back variant of the Atticus), and HD650. Get very interesting & worthwhile results from all 3.
 
Apr 4, 2019 at 10:08 PM Post #6,924 of 9,711
His true vileness shines when owning multiple ZMF's. i had an Eikon for awhile with my Atticus, and they liked the opposite amps! so to hear them at their best i'd have to swap amps constantly. for awhile i ran a splitter from my dac to the V100 (for Atticus) and Vali 2 (for Eikon). for 3 wonderful months i got to babysit my buddy's mjolnir 2 while he was traveling, and swapped out the Vali 2 for it. the Eikon liked the M2 quite a bit. everyone laughed at my work desk, it was piled with headphone equipment haha. thankfully my current job is as relaxed as can be, so i can do more or less what i want, equipment-wise. i even listen to open headphones at work as i'm in my own office now, and everyone listens to computer speakers all day, so no one cares about noise pollution :)


Hear, hear!! I am plagued by this vileness to this day, still have two separate setups to accommodate both Atticus and Eikon
 
Apr 4, 2019 at 10:18 PM Post #6,926 of 9,711
A Zach quote? I thought he had recommended OTL amps at some point. The Valhalla 2 is an OTL. Interesting.

The Valhalla is a very different sounding OTL, so not speaking for Zach, but from my personal experience it lacks the magic of other OTL amps (like the Glenn).
 
Apr 5, 2019 at 1:04 PM Post #6,927 of 9,711
How bout a pic of this beauty....I never get tired of seeing pics of Zach's headphones

Here it is.
Certainly a bad cell phone photo that does not do justice to these true works of art.
Lu
IMG_20190405_185250[1].jpg
 
Apr 5, 2019 at 1:07 PM Post #6,928 of 9,711
Good choice! Which wood did you get?

These really are amazing headphones. Great sound & superb wood craftsmanship (as with all the top ZMF HPs).

Yes they are !!!!!!
I love camphor wood !!!!!

Lu
 
Apr 5, 2019 at 1:12 PM Post #6,929 of 9,711
Here it is.
Certainly a bad cell phone photo that does not do justice to these true works of art.
Lu

How do you like Atticus with that Audio-gd stack? I've been loving mine out of the Audio-gd 28.38.
 
Apr 5, 2019 at 1:25 PM Post #6,930 of 9,711
How do you like Atticus with that Audio-gd stack? I've been loving mine out of the Audio-gd 28.38.

I can only give you my first impressions: the Eikon arrived yesterday afternoon.
My system is slightly different from your 28.38. I don't say worse or better, just a little different
My dac is an R2R1 that I use in NOS mode, while your internal dac I believe is based on a Sabre Chip.
I think the amp is the same for both.
Anyway, imho, great dynamics (music is dynamic, not only but it is), great detail, no harshness at all.
In my opinion an excellent engine for the splendid Eikon, as I am sure it is the 28.38!

Lester Bowie and his trumpet are here with me!

Lu
 

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