[Minkypou]

Small note about the atticus that could be usefull to enjoy it at his full potential , and maybe the other zmf's as well? , the fit ( headband angles and placement of the pads on the ears ) is easy to get wrong , or maybe its just me ? zach videos on the band bending helped me alot .

Even just looking yourself on the mirror with the headphone ON can show you if you are wearing it wrong ( and can make you think its halloween day! ) .

More on one side than the other can happen easily when you dont think about it , altough... it felt *alright* on my head . small little mistakes that can happen and as ridiculous as it sounds , it can take very long to notice it and get natural with the placement .

 

[Malevolent]

Small note about the atticus that could be usefull to enjoy it at his full potential , and maybe the other zmf's as well? , the fit ( headband angles and placement of the pads on the ears ) is easy to get wrong , or maybe its just me ? zach videos on the band bending helped me alot .

Even just looking yourself on the mirror with the headphone ON can show you if you are wearing it wrong ( and can make you think its halloween day! ) .

More on one side than the other can happen easily when you dont think about it , altough... it felt *alright* on my head . small little mistakes that can happen and as ridiculous as it sounds , it can take very long to notice it and get natural with the placement .

I'd add that this is true, more often that not, for a majority of headphones out there. Proper fit and placement is essential to achieving optimal quality from your headphones. If the angle on your pad is skewed by several degrees, thereby losing proper seal, the bass will be the first to experience an undesired variance in sound. Some headphones are more resilient to changes, whilst others are easily affected.

 

[Wes S]

Small note about the atticus that could be usefull to enjoy it at his full potential , and maybe the other zmf's as well? , the fit ( headband angles and placement of the pads on the ears ) is easy to get wrong , or maybe its just me ? zach videos on the band bending helped me alot .

Even just looking yourself on the mirror with the headphone ON can show you if you are wearing it wrong ( and can make you think its halloween day! ) .

More on one side than the other can happen easily when you dont think about it , altough... it felt *alright* on my head . small little mistakes that can happen and as ridiculous as it sounds , it can take very long to notice it and get natural with the placement .

So true!

 

[Wes S]

I'd add that this is true, more often that not, for a majority of headphones out there. Proper fit and placement is essential to achieving optimal quality from your headphones. If the angle on your pad is skewed by several degrees, thereby losing proper seal, the bass will be the first to experience an undesired variance in sound. Some headphones are more resilient to changes, whilst others are easily affected.

I totally agree, I have played around with the fit of my Atticus quite a bit in the past and I feel like I am hearing them at their full potential. However, I just recently adjusted the fit on my VC (of which I thought was already good), but to my surprise after a headband reshaping and pad reorientation, the soundstage has become even more holographic and open (better angle of the drivers against the side of my head). I think the Ori pads on the Atticus fit my ears better, and I can always find the sweet spot when putting them on. The Auteur pads I have on my VC have more space inside and it takes me a bit more time to get them seated on my head just right (I have a super small head and wear a 6 - 5/8 hat size). So from my experience, the VC is one of those that is easily affected by fit. No worries though, as it was actually very easy to shape the headband and rotate the pads. So to all, I say get your ZMF's fitting as good as possible and you will be rewarded. Thankfully, Zach has posted videos of all the tweaks to get a better fit on the ZMF YouTube channel, and I highly recommend watching them before you start doing any adjustments.

 

[Nick-s-f]

Another overlooked aspect of pads is temperature. After 20-30 minutes of wearing a headphone, the foam inside the pads will heat up a bit and that can also help fit and seal.

 

[Malevolent]

I totally agree, I have played around with the fit of my Atticus quite a bit in the past and I feel like I am hearing them at their full potential. However, I just recently adjusted the fit on my VC (of which I thought was already good), but to my surprise after a headband reshaping and pad reorientation, the soundstage has become even more holographic and open (better angle of the drivers against the side of my head). I think the Ori pads on the Atticus fit my ears better, and I can always find the sweet spot when putting them on. The Auteur pads I have on my VC have more space inside and it takes me a bit more time to get them seated on my head just right (I have a super small head and wear a 6 - 5/8 hat size). So from my experience, the VC is one of those that is easily affected by fit. No worries though, as it was actually very easy to shape the headband and rotate the pads. So to all, I say get your ZMF's fitting as good as possible and you will be rewarded. Thankfully, Zach has posted videos of all the tweaks to get a better fit on the ZMF YouTube channel, and I highly recommend watching them before you start doing any adjustments.

Yeah, I agree about the Vérité Closed - it's very pad-sensitive, indeed. However, once you get a great fit with the right pads, the Vérité Closed sounds heavenly.

 

[Malevolent]

Here's a shot of my new Atticus and Eikon in my ZMF family -

Sadly, I didn't manage to get them in limited-wood options; the Atticus and the Eikon use camphor, and the Vérité Closed uses monkeypod.

Still, sound-wise, they are amazing headphones.

Happy New Year to my fellow ZMF fans!

 

[DenverW]

Here's a shot of my new Atticus and Eikon in my ZMF family -



Sadly, I didn't manage to get them in limited-wood options; the Atticus and the Eikon use camphor, and the Vérité Closed uses monkeypod.

Still, sound-wise, they are amazing headphones.

Happy New Year to my fellow ZMF fans!

If you got them in limited woods you’d have less to work on in 2022!

 

[Minkypou]

Here's a shot of my new Atticus and Eikon in my ZMF family -



Sadly, I didn't manage to get them in limited-wood options; the Atticus and the Eikon use camphor, and the Vérité Closed uses monkeypod.

Still, sound-wise, they are amazing headphones.

Happy New Year to my fellow ZMF fans!

the Camphor really has his charm ! thats one of those woods that looks great in the pictures but Amazing in person! that Eucalyptus smell also helps ... smell so strong when its brand new . My first one was new , it was a good feeling

 

[DenverW]

Got some great news via email today: my Eikon's are in the sanding and finishing phase! Incoming Bocote rarities from ZMF November. I'm pretty excited . I've reached out to inquire about getting a secondary eikon suede solid pad to have a different sound than the stock pads for comparison. When I had my Atticus in the past I very much preferred the eikon suede over the stock.

 

[Magol79]

Got some great news via email today: my Eikon's are in the sanding and finishing phase! Incoming Bocote rarities from ZMF November. I'm pretty excited . I've reached out to inquire about getting a secondary eikon suede solid pad to have a different sound than the stock pads for comparison. When I had my Atticus in the past I very much preferred the eikon suede over the stock.

I was watching those. They looked very nice in the pictures. I'd very much like to know how much your pair weighs when you get them.

 

[MacMan31]

So I'm seeing a set of Atticus for sale that I'm curious to try. But the seller mentions he wants try other ZMF headphones. So I thought of making a trade offer for my Aeolus. What can I expect from the Atticus compared to Aeolus? My headphone amp and DAC are Valhalla II and Bifrost II.

 

[Wes S]

So I'm seeing a set of Atticus for sale that I'm curious to try. But the seller mentions he wants try other ZMF headphones. So I thought of making a trade offer for my Aeolus. What can I expect from the Atticus compared to Aeolus? My headphone amp and DAC are Valhalla II and Bifrost II.

Having owned both together for a good while, the Atticus is more immediate sounding, with a bit more foward vocals and middbass. The Aeolus sounds like a diffused version with better balance, but is not quite as exciting for me. I kept them both for a while and the Atticus just kept engaging me more, so the Aeolus has been sold. Both are fantastic and you can hear the similarities due to the same driver, but the Atticus is just a bit more fun for me. I think the Aeolus is a better all-arounder, but with the right chain and music the Atticus is really something special.

 

[erics75]

So I'm seeing a set of Atticus for sale that I'm curious to try. But the seller mentions he wants try other ZMF headphones. So I thought of making a trade offer for my Aeolus. What can I expect from the Atticus compared to Aeolus? My headphone amp and DAC are Valhalla II and Bifrost II.

They're very very similar overall. What I found with my Atticus and Aeolus was the Atticus had more lower and upper mids presence. Midbass was harder hitting and a bit more resonant, in a good way. Guitars in the upper mids seemed a bit more forward and energetic. Overall cup resonance was noticeable on the Atticus as well, which i'm a big fan of, it gives the Atticus it's special character. The Aeolus sounds more refined and even toned in comparison. I think of the Aeolus as the more mature version of the Atticus, it's less raw sounding. Despite the differences I do think they sound more alike than different. I personally like the Atticus more for it's more energetic and engaging nature, plus the versatility of being closed, so I can use it at work and with the kiddos sleeping. My Atticus is a very early model, from the year they were first announced. The Aeolus I had and sold was made in 2021. I wonder if there have been silent revisions to the Atticus over the years. I talked to someone who's ears I trust who also owns both (his were both made in 2020), and he swears other than the added cup resonance of the Atticus, they're mostly identical sounding. That's something to consider.

 

[Wes S]

They're very very similar overall. What I found with my Atticus and Aeolus was the Atticus had more lower and upper mids presence. Midbass was harder hitting and a bit more resonant, in a good way. Guitars in the upper mids seemed a bit more forward and energetic. Overall cup resonance was noticeable on the Atticus as well, which i'm a big fan of, it gives the Atticus it's special character. The Aeolus sounds more refined and even toned in comparison. I think of the Aeolus as the more mature version of the Atticus, it's less raw sounding. Despite the differences I do think they sound more alike than different. I personally like the Atticus more for it's more energetic and engaging nature, plus the versatility of being closed, so I can use it at work and with the kiddos sleeping. My Atticus is a very early model, from the year they were first announced. The Aeolus I had and sold was made in 2021. I wonder if there have been silent revisions to the Atticus over the years. I talked to someone who's ears I trust who also owns both (his were both made in 2020), and he swears other than the added cup resonance of the Atticus, they're mostly identical sounding. That's something to consider.

Nice! You really one upped me with your post, but it sounds like we are on the same page as usual.