[tutetibiimperes]

Can't go wrong with either IMO, both are amazing headphones. easy enough to peruse both forums to figure which suits your preference best.
Edit: forgot to mention, I think they both are an excellent compliment to the Auteur, but personally I think the Closed would be a good contrast. It does depend on what you're looking for.

I love how natural and open the Auteur is with great and precise imaging. I think it also somehow has more bass than the VC.

I haven’t heard any Atrium yet, I’m not sure how different they’d be from the Auteur, but something with even more bass slam and sub bass rumble with some upper mids sparkle would be ideal.

 

[AnyDave]

I'm in love with the Caldera + DIY Aegis combo these past 2 days. Really amazing combo.

I nabbed a pair of NOS RCA 6550s for a good price but USPS just updated me today that the package is pretty much lost. Its been two weeks past the supposed arrival date. Am super annoyed about that.

I somehow missed that these were lost and not just delayed. That's a bummer. They do pop up, though.

 

[mchuckp]

I love how natural and open the Auteur is with great and precise imaging. I think it also somehow has more bass than the VC.

I haven’t heard any Atrium yet, I’m not sure how different they’d be from the Auteur, but something with even more bass slam and sub bass rumble with some upper mids sparkle would be ideal.

I have not heard the Auteur but I've had the Atrium open for over a year and recently got some VCs used to try. I felt the VCs were bass light compared to the Atriums even though they were closed. The Atriums also had a larger and enveloping sound stage by a pretty big margin. I'm treble sensitive and felt the VC was just too hot for me unless I used some dark tubes in my amp to calm it down. I thought the VC might be a good compliment to my Atriums but in the end, I couldn't find a genre of music that I preferred the VCs. I sold them after a few weeks realizing they just weren't for me. Opinions will vary and this is just mine. We don't all have the same tastes and hearing.

The Atrium has some great low end and a lot of meat on the bones. They may not have the technical prowess of some other things on the market but they certainly are no slouch in that department. I've given up on highly technical headphones. They sound incredible on 10% of what I listen to and make 90% of the rest leaving much to be desired having me go back to the 10%. The Atriums are more forgiving and I can listen to a lot more stuff with them without being greatly disappointed or having my ears bleed.

Long story short....I'm a big Atrium fanboy!!!!

 

[JackarlTwo]

I love how natural and open the Auteur is with great and precise imaging. I think it also somehow has more bass than the VC.

I haven’t heard any Atrium yet, I’m not sure how different they’d be from the Auteur, but something with even more bass slam and sub bass rumble with some upper mids sparkle would be ideal.

I haven't heard the Auteur to compare, but Atrium closed will definitely give you that sub bass. Atrium open is more mid-bass heavy, still a decent amount of sub-bass with a slightly darker treble than its sibling. Both AC and AO have plenty of upper mid sparkle so I really don't think you can go wrong with either.

The more I've listened to tubes these past few weeks the more I realize how great Atrium sounds on tubes. I've barely scratched the surface of tube rolling but I recently got some RCA VT-231 gray glass and that little tube pairs very well with Atrium. Warm and with a hefty bass, yet detailed and wide sounding.

Got to love tubes!

 

[Monsterzero]

I love how natural and open the Auteur is with great and precise imaging. I think it also somehow has more bass than the VC.

I haven’t heard any Atrium yet, I’m not sure how different they’d be from the Auteur, but something with even more bass slam and sub bass rumble with some upper mids sparkle would be ideal.

Grab an Atrium closed in a hard wood, or resin. I have two AC and the harder wood has more sparkle up top than the softer wood version

 

[senseitedj]

I have not heard the Auteur but I've had the Atrium open for over a year and recently got some VCs used to try. I felt the VCs were bass light compared to the Atriums even though they were closed. The Atriums also had a larger and enveloping sound stage by a pretty big margin. I'm treble sensitive and felt the VC was just too hot for me unless I used some dark tubes in my amp to calm it down. I thought the VC might be a good compliment to my Atriums but in the end, I couldn't find a genre of music that I preferred the VCs. I sold them after a few weeks realizing they just weren't for me. Opinions will vary and this is just mine. We don't all have the same tastes and hearing.

The Atrium has some great low end and a lot of meat on the bones. They may not have the technical prowess of some other things on the market but they certainly are no slouch in that department. I've given up on highly technical headphones. They sound incredible on 10% of what I listen to and make 90% of the rest leaving much to be desired having me go back to the 10%. The Atriums are more forgiving and I can listen to a lot more stuff with them without being greatly disappointed or having my ears bleed.

Long story short....I'm a big Atrium fanboy!!!!

There is something magical about the atrium biocell driver combined with the ADS. In particular it's spatial qualities stand out

I find that to get best results, you to go high gain or impedance settings on your amp. This will increase the tonal density and richness of notes. With this all the details otherwise hidden will pop out.

I feel that these comments about atrium having less detail is mis understood as it does feel that way when your amp is underpowered. Notes sound floaty and details are not brought to the fore as clear in this situation.

 

[tutetibiimperes]

Grab an Atrium closed in a hard wood, or resin. I have two AC and the harder wood has more sparkle up top than the softer wood version

Would Cocobolo be considered a hard wood? I really like the look of those.

My VCs are stabilized maple, and my Auteurs are Wenge. I don’t know how the hardness of those compares.

I just hope they’re still for sale when the Aegis comes out.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I love how natural and open the Auteur is with great and precise imaging. I think it also somehow has more bass than the VC.

I haven’t heard any Atrium yet, I’m not sure how different they’d be from the Auteur, but something with even more bass slam and sub bass rumble with some upper mids sparkle would be ideal.

Looks like I can help you out. I have owned my OG Auteur for quite a few years now. I had many different VCs over the years as well, but found I preferred the Auteur over it in the end. I found it always sounded more natural no matter the musical genre.

Flash forward to today, I still have my Auteur but have added an Atrium Closed. I got to hear the Atrium Open, Auteur Classic, and Caldera along the way as well. I think the Atrium Closed might be the perfect compliment to your Auteur if you want to get more sub-bass. I think the Auteur is a bit more mid-forward, but what a great midrange it is! The AC has better imaging and soundstage with the new ADS system.

The Caldera would also be a good choice to contrast with the Auteur, but it’s quite a bit more expensive. I have a Meze Elite alongside my two ZMFs, and it might be my favorite overall. When on my ears though, they’re all uniquely satisfying, so they’re all staying put!

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Would Cocobolo be considered a hard wood? I really like the look of those.

My VCs are stabilized maple, and my Auteurs are Wenge. I don’t know how the hardness of those compares.

I just hope they’re still for sale when the Aegis comes out.

Cocobolo is definitely a hard wood. It’s heavy, dense and beautiful. I really love my mid-density Ash AC. In my mind, I’m getting a nice mix of the best qualities of hard and soft woods.

 

[jonathan c]

Looks like I can help you out. I have owned my OG Auteur for years now. I had many different VCs over the years as well, but found I preferred the Auteur over it in the end. I found it always sounded more natural no matte the musical genre.

Flash forward to today, I still have my Auteur but have added an Atrium Closed. I got to hear the Atrium Open, Auteur Classic, and Caldera along the way as well. I think the Atrium Closed might be the perfect compliment to your Auteur if you want to get more sub-bass. I think the Auteur is a bit more mid-forward, but what a great midrange it is! The AC has better imaging and soundstage with the new ADS system.

The Caldera would also be a good choice to contrast with the Auteur but it’s quite a bit more expensive. I have a Meze Elite alongside my two ZMFs, and it might be my favorite overall. When on my ears though, they’re all uniquely satisfying so they’re all staying put!

 

[robo24]

Grab an Atrium closed in a hard wood, or resin. I have two AC and the harder wood has more sparkle up top than the softer wood version

That's so interesting because it's the opposite for my two! Who knows might be me using the Bokeh suedes or specific woods. Mine are Redwood Burl & Macassar Ebony. By the way, got those WE 421a you'd mentioned elsewhere in my Glenn OTL along with Tung Sol BGRP I think you'd sent with the Glenn and wow the bass on these!

 

[Monsterzero]

That's so interesting because it's the opposite for my two! Who knows might be me using the Bokeh suedes or specific woods. Mine are Redwood Burl & Macassar Ebony. By the way, got those WE 421a you'd mentioned elsewhere in my Glenn OTL along with Tung Sol BGRP I think you'd sent with the Glenn and wow the bass on these!

Nice! Yeah they def bring the thunder.
I didn't want to skew your thoughts, but do you hear a difference between the 421a and 5998s?

 

[tutetibiimperes]

Looks like I can help you out. I have owned my OG Auteur for quite a few years now. I had many different VCs over the years as well, but found I preferred the Auteur over it in the end. I found it always sounded more natural no matter the musical genre.

Flash forward to today, I still have my Auteur but have added an Atrium Closed. I got to hear the Atrium Open, Auteur Classic, and Caldera along the way as well. I think the Atrium Closed might be the perfect compliment to your Auteur if you want to get more sub-bass. I think the Auteur is a bit more mid-forward, but what a great midrange it is! The AC has better imaging and soundstage with the new ADS system.

The Caldera would also be a good choice to contrast with the Auteur, but it’s quite a bit more expensive. I have a Meze Elite alongside my two ZMFs, and it might be my favorite overall. When on my ears though, they’re all uniquely satisfying, so they’re all staying put!

Thank you!

The AC does sound like it would be a great choice then. It’s funny, I used to just automatically write-off closed bad headphones as sub-par, but after picking up a Sony Z7M2 on a whim and then being blown away by the VC at an audio show and grabbing one of those I’m realizing they can be great, especially with how open the VC sounds.

I’d like to hear the Caldera sometime. I think I’m good on planars right now because I have my LCD-5 which is the fastest and most detailed headphone I’ve ever heard, and my HE6se which is a great counterpart because it’s just so fun and slammy, but I’m always open to check out more.

 

[oldmankensey]

I also got an AC to complement my Auteur and it worked out so well. The rock music I enjoy sounds stunning.

 

[goldwerger]

I’d like to hear the Caldera sometime. I think I’m good on planars right now because I have my LCD-5 which is the fastest and most detailed headphone I’ve ever heard, and my HE6se which is a great counterpart because it’s just so fun and slammy, but I’m always open to check out more.

The Caldera will give you equal (or imo better) technicalities to the LCD-5 coupled with equal or better physicality of the HE6SE