[zach915m]

They're actually meant top be thinner on one side of the pad...the thinner side goes toward the front of the head, thicker to the rear (insert inappropriate joke here). It's supposed to help create a better seal believe it or not. If you're having that much trouble, I never really did any pad rolling with my Eikon, so I wouldn't be able to recommend anything... hopefully someone else, or @zach915m will have better advice.

Good luck!

If there's ever any issue with fit - you can rotate the pads so that the thicker part of the pad coincides with the area of your head that wasn't getting the best seal before rotation.

 

[Huntersknoll]

Just ordered some Eikon Suede for my Atticus. Looking forward to seeing what a bit of pad rolling can do.

Next up is my upgrading my good ol' MCTH. Think I might try to pick up a used Beyer A20. My cat will be sad he has no more tube to wack at with his paws. I straight up seen him lick the tube once and I swear the amp sounded better after he did.

 

[jinxy245]

Just ordered some Eikon Suede for my Atticus. Looking forward to seeing what a bit of pad rolling can do.

Next up is my upgrading my good ol' MCTH. Think I might try to pick up a used Beyer A20. My cat will be sad he has no more tube to wack at with his paws. I straight up seen him lick the tube once and I swear the amp sounded better after he did.

I've heard of snake oil, but cat saliva? You might have a new marketing tool there...

Seriously, looking forward to your pad rolling impressions. Not familiar with the A20, but there are definitely beter amps for the Eikon IMO than the MCTH. A solid amp to be sure, but I don't think it plays to the Eikon's strengths (YMMV etc. etc.) Happy amp hunting!!

 

[ProfFalkin]

I've heard of snake oil, but cat saliva? You might have a new marketing tool there...

Seriously, looking forward to your pad rolling impressions. Not familiar with the A20, but there are definitely beter amps for the Eikon IMO than the MCTH. A solid amp to be sure, but I don't think it plays to the Eikon's strengths (YMMV etc. etc.) Happy amp hunting!!

I agree.

When I bought the MCTH my main headphone was the Eikon. I thought the MCTH was good, but just too soft sounding and lacking punch. Even after I rolled a few different tubes through it, I couldn't find a sound that worked. The Lyr 3 on the other hand had no such problem, and I still think it's one of the best amps for Eikon until you get into kilobuck amps like the Blackwidow 2 and beyond.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I agree.

When I bought the MCTH my main headphone was the Eikon. I thought the MCTH was good, but just too soft sounding and lacking punch. Even after I rolled a few different tubes through it, I couldn't find a sound that worked. The Lyr 3 on the other hand had no such problem, and I still think it's one of the best amps for Eikon until you get into kilobuck amps like the Blackwidow 2 and beyond.

(too busy smearing catnip on the tubes of my Woo WA3 to read this...sorry!)

 

[Huntersknoll]

I've heard of snake oil, but cat saliva? You might have a new marketing tool there...

I'll sell cat licked tubes for a premium of $200 plus the cost of the tube. If my one eyed cat licks the tube then it will add an extra $50 to the price.

I agree.
When I bought the MCTH my main headphone was the Eikon. I thought the MCTH was good, but just too soft sounding and lacking punch. Even after I rolled a few different tubes through it, I couldn't find a sound that worked. The Lyr 3 on the other hand had no such problem, and I still think it's one of the best amps for Eikon until you get into kilobuck amps like the Blackwidow 2 and beyond.

I have been looking into the Lyr 3 as well. I am being cheap since you can get an a20 used for like $200.. in reality I should spend the extra and get the Lyr 3. I have yet to hear anything bad about that amp.

 

[jinxy245]

I had the Lyr3 on loan as well for a while & I thought it was a beautiful pairing with the Eikon. Best of all I found it to be responsive to tube rolling, where the MCTH...not so much.

They're not as common on the used market, but a solid amp IMO. If were talking Schiit, I've also heard really good things about the Asgard 3 & the new Magnius but that's just hearsay since I have no experience with them yet.

I've also read lots of nods to the HeadAmp Gilmore Lite Mk2 but again, no personal experience there.

Again, good luck!

 

[Junglebook3]

I love my ZMF Eikon but it's too heavy for me.

Can anyone recommend a closed back with a similar timbre and tonality? Preferably a few different options at different price points.

 

[BananaOoyoo]

I love my ZMF Eikon but it's too heavy for me.

Can anyone recommend a closed back with a similar timbre and tonality? Preferably a few different options at different price points.

Might be worth trying a lighter wood and/or mag chassis. Personally, I wasn’t too impressed by most of the higher-end closed backs available - the ZMF dynamics being the exception.

 

[TjPhysicist]

They're actually meant top be thinner on one side of the pad...the thinner side goes toward the front of the head, thicker to the rear (insert inappropriate joke here). It's supposed to help create a better seal believe it or not. If you're having that much trouble, I never really did any pad rolling with my Eikon, so I wouldn't be able to recommend anything... hopefully someone else, or @zach915m will have better advice.

Good luck!

in this case one pad has a maximum thickness that is thinner than the other. honestly it may well be that my ears are weird and there's nothing I can do..rotating helps a bit, but not fully

Zach has a pad guide on his site:
https://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmfpads

For the Eikon he recommends the Eikon stock pads for it's naturally neutron to warm tonality, and the solid Auteur pads to pull it back towards neutral a bit. I've tried both, IMO putting the Auteur pads on them ruin what makes them unique. I'd keep the stock EIkon pads.

I have the atticus. so here's the thing: from the recommendations eikon pads sounds like a cool idea...but not sure if I wanna get lambskin (possibly too bassy? idk, can't quite figure out what that description means, lol) , I don't like suede as a material...and how about the perforated?

 

[jinxy245]

in this case one pad has a maximum thickness that is thinner than the other. honestly it may well be that my ears are weird and there's nothing I can do..rotating helps a bit, but not fully

This doesn't sound normal. From the info you're giving I'd assume you don't have a 2nd pair of pads that you could have mixed one pad with, which is actually a common problem. If that's the case I would definitely contact @zach915m . I won't speak for him but I'm confident that he'll work with you.

 

[TjPhysicist]

This doesn't sound normal. From the info you're giving I'd assume you don't have a 2nd pair of pads that you could have mixed one pad with, which is actually a common problem. If that's the case I would definitely contact @zach915m . I won't speak for him but I'm confident that he'll work with you.

i did email zach about some pad recommendations. Big thank you to him for responding to my silly questions... anywho, still can't decide between "Ori Suede" or "Eikon Lambskin".

I mostly listen to Prog Rock, proto-prog, psychedelic rock, . and similar. i LOVE me them guitar twangs. I do have other random stuff I listen to, but mostly: Too much bass makes my ears hurt...I'm not sure if it was this exactly but LCD-XC made me physically ILL. I can't REALLY hear anything above 17khz anyways, but too high end ends up being a bit irritating as well (since I can't really HEAR it). E.g. Lindsey Stirling with certain headphones are unbearable to me, whereas I usually love her music.

As I said before, I don't like Seude as a material as such. But I'm newb enough to have NO IDEA how to parse sound descriptors people tend to use...so idk what either of " Girthy with deep punch and smooth transitions " or " Spacious, clean, punchy. " mean, much less how to compare them against one another.

Any help from someone who has similar music tastes?

 

[TjPhysicist]

I've heard of snake oil, but cat saliva?

Shouldn't it be BIRD saliva, and cat's FOOTSTEPS?
(ok, hands up how many of you got the reference here?)

 

[Minkypou]

just ordered the atticus with stock ori pads last week , sold my hd800s 2-3 weeks ago and wanted some warmth in my life got the meze 99 noir to have something in between , i was really surprised by those , actually i enjoy the meze more than the hd800s ..! really excited to hear that Atticus on my valhalla 2 with a ifi zen dac , already got 3-4 pairs of tubes to try with it .

 

[BananaOoyoo]

just ordered the atticus with stock ori pads last week , sold my hd800s 2-3 weeks ago and wanted some warmth in my life got the meze 99 noir to have something in between , i was really surprised by those , actually i enjoy the meze more than the hd800s ..! really excited to hear that Atticus on my valhalla 2 with a ifi zen dac , already got 3-4 pairs of tubes to try with it .

Just goes to show how important personal preferences are - Atticus should be right up your alley