[mchuckp]

Hi! Newbie here to this forum. I'm itching to ascend into this hobby and plan on doing so this November with a Holo May, an Atrium and either a Holo Bliss or a Feliks Euforia Evo. I read a lot of praise for both of those amps, but demoing is difficult here in Sweden. I lean towards the Atrium for its timbre, body and sound stage.

My question is, out of the Bliss and the Euforia Evo, is there a superior amp choice for the Atrium? How big of a difference would there be? (I may opt to also go for a Caldera the next year to compliment the Atrium and from what I understand, SS is preferable with Caldera?)

I'm using an Atrium with a Feliks Audio Euforia 20th Anniversary Edition which is basically an Evo with no XLR jack and different paint job. It's a hell of an amp and pairs incredible with the Atrium. I can't really find a fault with the Euforia. I find it sounds amazing top to bottom. Big stage and great separation. I'm currently building L0rdgwyn's Aegis DIY amp. I'm VERY curious how it compares to the Euforia as I'm not keeping both long term. The advantage of the Aegis is it is a much better amp for tube rolling. If one wants a tube amp and doesn't want to tube roll, the Euforia is great out of the box with stock tubes. They did not skimp on stock tubes.

I've not hears a Holo Bliss. I'm sure it is great. I'm sure you've also heard that ZMFs sound best on tubes. Good luck!

 

[pravous]

I'm using an Atrium with a Feliks Audio Euforia 20th Anniversary Edition which is basically an Evo with no XLR jack and different paint job. It's a hell of an amp and pairs incredible with the Atrium. I can't really find a fault with the Euforia. I find it sounds amazing top to bottom. Big stage and great separation. I'm currently building L0rdgwyn's Aegis DIY amp. I'm VERY curious how it compares to the Euforia as I'm not keeping both long term. The advantage of the Aegis is it is a much better amp for tube rolling. If one wants a tube amp and doesn't want to tube roll, the Euforia is great out of the box with stock tubes. They did not skimp on stock tubes.

I've not hears a Holo Bliss. I'm sure it is great. I'm sure you've also heard that ZMFs sound best on tubes. Good luck!

Atrium with the Aegis is an amazing pairing. I have been using the Atrium and trading time between the Aegis and an OTL amp for the last 6 months or so. Instructions for the diy Aegis are meticulously thorough. Truly a TOTL headphone amp and fantastic synergy with the Atrium.

 

[goldwerger]

Hi! Newbie here to this forum. I'm itching to ascend into this hobby and plan on doing so this November with a Holo May, an Atrium and either a Holo Bliss or a Feliks Euforia Evo. I read a lot of praise for both of those amps, but demoing is difficult here in Sweden. I lean towards the Atrium for its timbre, body and sound stage.

My question is, out of the Bliss and the Euforia Evo, is there a superior amp choice for the Atrium? How big of a difference would there be? (I may opt to also go for a Caldera the next year to compliment the Atrium and from what I understand, SS is preferable with Caldera?)

Ah, you got yourself a small dilemma here given your plans.. based on my demo-only experience with these two amps, and headphones (which I do own):

The Atrium/EVO combo is stellar - if you are choosing an amp for the Atrium, the EVO is a better choice than the bliss for my subjective taste (the bliss is over damped to my taste).

For the Caldera, the Bliss is excellent (and the EVO is not).

So...

If you know you're getting both headphones, and have room for only one amp, you should get the Bliss.

If you know you're getting both headphones, and have room for two amps, the asnwer is easy

If you you know you're getting the Atium but the Caldera is far on the horizon or uncertain, get the EVO, enjoy it with the Atrium, and when you get to the next fork in the road, figure out your then budget/ugprade path...

my vote is for the the last option

 

[JerseyD]

Hi! Newbie here to this forum. I'm itching to ascend into this hobby and plan on doing so this November with a Holo May, an Atrium and either a Holo Bliss or a Feliks Euforia Evo. I read a lot of praise for both of those amps, but demoing is difficult here in Sweden. I lean towards the Atrium for its timbre, body and sound stage.

My question is, out of the Bliss and the Euforia Evo, is there a superior amp choice for the Atrium? How big of a difference would there be? (I may opt to also go for a Caldera the next year to compliment the Atrium and from what I understand, SS is preferable with Caldera?)

I tend to agree with goldwerger above. Neither of those two amps will serve you well with Atrium and Caldera both. If you want one amp for both of those headphones, perhaps consider an OTC tube amp with impedance switching like the Icon HP8 Sig. (or another more versatile amp).

 

[LongSong]

I'm currently building L0rdgwyn's Aegis DIY amp

Please post your findings of the Euforia AE vs Aegis as I'm very interested. I'm a Euforia Evo owner, bought for my VC's and Utopia's but i'm finding the synergy with the VC is sooo good that's all i'm listening to at the moment. I'm starting to think ahead to Aegis but I really wonder if there's any/much more to be had from the VC's. My eye's are also glued to the second hand market for some Atriums.

 

[LongSong]

Hi! Newbie here to this forum. I'm itching to ascend into this hobby and plan on doing so this November with a Holo May, an Atrium and either a Holo Bliss or a Feliks Euforia Evo. I read a lot of praise for both of those amps, but demoing is difficult here in Sweden. I lean towards the Atrium for its timbre, body and sound stage.

My question is, out of the Bliss and the Euforia Evo, is there a superior amp choice for the Atrium? How big of a difference would there be? (I may opt to also go for a Caldera the next year to compliment the Atrium and from what I understand, SS is preferable with Caldera?)

I also agree with @goldwerger but as a Euforia Evo owner have a different suggestion for you also. Go with the Atruim/Euforia combo and seriously consider some ZMF Verites as your next pair of headphones. The beryllium driver is light and fast and will cover much of what you'd be looking for in a planar that you don't have in the atrium but it's also a 300ohm dynamic driver that pairs wonderfully with the Euforia. You'd have two different sounds for different music on the single amp.

 

[mchuckp]

Please post your findings of the Euforia AE vs Aegis as I'm very interested. I'm a Euforia Evo owner, bought for my VC's and Utopia's but i'm finding the synergy with the VC is sooo good that's all i'm listening to at the moment. I'm starting to think ahead to Aegis but I really wonder if there's any/much more to be had from the VC's. My eye's are also glued to the second hand market for some Atriums.

Will do. I’m probably a few weeks out on finishing the build. Hopefully sooner. Still waiting on one part that is late. I’m like 80% done.

I love my Euforia. My brain is having a hard time wondering how my Atriums could sound any better on the Aegis. Maybe it won’t necessarily be better…just different. The Aegis is a really fun build and everyone in that forum raves about it. Looking forward to hearing it soon.

Anyway, more to come.

 

[AudioDuck]

Go with the Atruim/Euforia combo and seriously consider some ZMF Verites as your next pair of headphones. The beryllium driver is light and fast and will cover much of what you'd be looking for in a planar that you don't have in the atrium but it's also a 300ohm dynamic driver that pairs wonderfully with the Euforia. You'd have two different sounds for different music on the single amp.

As an OTL owner with this combo, I concur.

I’d build on that by noting that Verités using harder woods can maximize that speedy driver response… having owned both a stabilized maple Verité Closed and now an African Blackwood VC, I could hear some nuanced differences between them- as did the former owner that I swapped with.

That said, I can’t address the VC/Caldera contrasts…

 

[orbilius]

As an Atrium owner I think I would recommend a high powered, quality solid state amplifier (without going overboard) and an OTL tube amp to get the most out of ZMF headphones. I absolutely love my ZMF's on tubes for acoustic music where realistic timbre is paramount. However, for more dynamic music I find that they sound better (without losing their unique signature) on a strong SS amp. Once you do this, you will probably spend 3x+ on the tube amp while having the SS as a reference. The tube sound, in my opinion, is preferable until you need the control and micro dynamics of SS.

 

[tassardar]

I quite like my atrium out a of masskobo 475 amplifier. Maybe I should try the higher series. I also like mine out of the mha200

 

[jonathan c]

As an Atrium owner I think I would recommend a high powered, quality solid state amplifier (without going overboard) and an OTL tube amp to get the most out of ZMF headphones. I absolutely love my ZMF's on tubes for acoustic music where realistic timbre is paramount. However, for more dynamic music I find that they sound better (without losing their unique signature) on a strong SS amp. Once you do this, you will probably spend 3x+ on the tube amp while having the SS as a reference. The tube sound, in my opinion, is preferable until you need the control and micro dynamics of SS.

.... there is the Violectric HPA V281 limited reissue to consider ....

 

[Wes S]

I've not heard my Atrium from a Bliss. But I had a Vérité when I also had my Bliss and wasn't fond of the combination. I've heard a couple of friends state that the Bliss works best with planar headphones and less well with dynamic driver ones. That aligns with my experience too. This isn't to say the Bliss won't be good with the Atrium. Instead, it's just to advise you to proceed cautiously.

I got to hear the entire lineup with the Bliss/May combo, and loved them all. The Bliss is killer with all ZMF's in my opinion and I especially loved it with the VC's, and just goes to show we all have different preferences when listening.

 

[ziggz]

The only ZMF's I have currently are the Auteur Classic's. Since getting the WA22 I have been on quite a trip rediscovering my headphone collection. But I must say, having a set of Auteur Suede Perf pads, and NEVER used them. I thought I would roll 'em and see what happens. Well, F#*$ me hahaha. 2 different cans in one chassis is an understatement. Man I love this hobby. Everything I wanted out of my car audio but much easier to manage. Want a different sound? Swap cans. Want a different sound out of those cans? Tube 'em. Want another nother different sound? , swap pads. In car audio this would have necessitated pulling the speakers, installing different ones, and making new enclosures for the tweeters, usually consisting hours, sometimes days to find optimum placement, then another few days for fabrication of said enclosures. ( I do all the work myself) this saved cost on labour, and plus I love it, but still, wish I found headphones in the 90's/2000's, would have saved so much work! lol But it's all part of the journey, as stated, I'm a music lover AND a gear head, so I suppose this is all just a natural progression.

 

[robo24]

The only ZMF's I have currently are the Auteur Classic's. Since getting the WA22 I have been on quite a trip rediscovering my headphone collection. But I must say, having a set of Auteur Suede Perf pads, and NEVER used them. I thought I would roll 'em and see what happens. Well, F#*$ me hahaha. 2 different cans in one chassis is an understatement. Man I love this hobby. Everything I wanted out of my car audio but much easier to manage. Want a different sound? Swap cans. Want a different sound out of those cans? Tube 'em. Want another nother different sound? , swap pads. In car audio this would have necessitated pulling the speakers, installing different ones, and making new enclosures for the tweeters, usually consisting hours, sometimes days to find optimum placement, then another few days for fabrication of said enclosures. ( I do all the work myself) this saved cost on labour, and plus I love it, but still, wish I found headphones in the 90's/2000's, would have saved so much work! lol But it's all part of the journey, as stated, I'm a music lover AND a gear head, so I suppose this is all just a natural progression.

Eikon suedes are also fantastic on the Auteurs, both Classic and OG!

 

[infinity3914]

As an Atrium owner I think I would recommend a high powered, quality solid state amplifier (without going overboard) and an OTL tube amp to get the most out of ZMF headphones. I absolutely love my ZMF's on tubes for acoustic music where realistic timbre is paramount. However, for more dynamic music I find that they sound better (without losing their unique signature) on a strong SS amp. Once you do this, you will probably spend 3x+ on the tube amp while having the SS as a reference. The tube sound, in my opinion, is preferable until you need the control and micro dynamics of SS.

Interesting. I’m loving my Atrium so far with the Quicksilver Amp, but I’m in search of a good SS amp under $1,500 to drive them and my HE1000SE. Do you have any recommendations?