[Louisiana]

Sorry
Reading english is no problem for me, writing is a little harder - but with some practice...

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Sorry
Reading english is no problem for me, writing is a little harder - but with some practice...

I absolutely did not mean to and was not making fun of it. I am not a native speaker either and I make mistakes. I just literally meant that in the German language some objects become "him" and "her", whereas in English they are "it", and it just gives it a nice flavor because the object becomes alive almost.

 

[Louisiana]

Has anyone ever ordered cables from ZMF to Europe?
What is the situation with customs and what does it cost?
I love these headphones so much that I want cables that match their quality!

 

[FloydCouncil]

I had a question: I have the Aeolus and find the bass a little low and the mid-range quite forward. These are *minor* issues. However, I have an opportunity to purchase an Eikon and sell my Aelous. Would the Eikon be a more suitable for me?

 

[jinxy245]

I had a question: I have the Aeolus and find the bass a little low and the mid-range quite forward. These are *minor* issues. However, I have an opportunity to purchase an Eikon and sell my Aelous. Would the Eikon be a more suitable for me?

If you're finding the bass a little low (I'll forego the low/bass jokes for now) I'd definitely consider how the headphones are sealing. Aeolus is a lot of things, but I don't think bass light is one of them. Unless I am misreading what you mean about the bass being low (or we have very different ideas about bass levels)

Otherwise, the chain can be problematic. under-powering or impedance mismatching can be an issue sometimes. I haven't heard the DarkVoice, but I don't think that would be a problem, IIRC there have been some positive impressions from that pairing. I'm not familiar with your DAC at all, so I can't comment there.

If the seal isn't the problem I'd contact Zach and have an email conversation with him, he is usually good about sorting these things out. I doubt it's a broken headphone, but that's not out of the realm of possibilities.

Good luck!

 

[hikaru12]

Got my Verite pads in and these are my favorite! Finally something that I think is a worthy successor to the stock pads. The Verite pads take a little getting used to compared to the other pads as they really make the bass more neutral but much more clean in my opinion. The imaging becomes quite good, the soundstage grows by a nice amount, the detail is in droves. I tested the Verite pads with tracks that I know from a producer buddy of mine who hides instruments into the mix and I was able to hear them quite clearly even with warm Brimar tubes. The Verite pads can hone in on detail like nothing else I've seen from the Aeolus and they keep that characteristic with tube rolling which is awesome! They also feel really comfortable and their slimmer design actually lends well to the look of the Aeolus. I think this is the most "true to character" Aeolus rather than an "open Atticus." If the goal was to verge off the Atticus with similar characteristics these pads do that in droves. The stock pads are actually the best "open Atticus" blend I've heard. The universe suede perf are the most seductive and closest to the Atticus tonality wise (smoother mids though) but bass stays in tact quite well.

Speaking of mids, I think the Verite pads actually excel at vocals in a different way than the Suedes. The Suedes add the euphony, seductive, warmth to everything you listen to while bringing the mids forward. The Verite pads also bring the mids forward but allow them to be more clearly heard and they cut through the fat. You can hear inflection, you can better hear that mid range detail. It brings you into the music in a different way and it's not hard to imagine being in the recording studio with the artist. If you've heard the Elear or the Elex, you know what I'm talking about.

The Verite pads aren't airy either - they just lend themselves to good soundstage and imaging. Those characteristics help with discerning on what's going on in complex instrumentals or even simple ones by artists like Saib or Galimatas. I'm having a real hard time pulling these off and deciding if I want to go full out on tonality or stick with the great neutralness but technicalities these bring. The Aeolus doesn't cease to be with these pads which is the nicest touch - you still get a relaxed treble but enjoy the benefits of a flagship. I think the Verite Pads put these cans over the Auteurs especially if you like a warmer side of neutral sound.

Would the Eikon be a more suitable for me?

If you don't like a midrange forward sound and prefer the more uneven or laid back midrange the Eikon provides, then I think they are your best bet but ZMFs typically have that as a house sound. I think that's why a lot of us love them. I think you're correlating bass with subbass which the Eikon is better at (that's the literal feel of the bass because it's in the 20hz region) but I would recommend trying a tube amp with bassy tubes or trying different pads. With different pads and the right tubes the bass nearly blows your head off. These are not bass light by any stretch of the imagination. I wouldn't really care for them if they were.

 

[Louisiana]

@hikaru12
Thank you!
So i have to order a pair of these Pads, too.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Got my Verite pads in and these are my favorite!

Which Verite pads are they? Perforated lambskin, BE-2 Lamb Perforated, BE-2 Hybrid Perforated, or BE-2 Suede Perforated? (from the Verite pads ordering page on the website -- I assume they are one of the perforated ones).

 

[hikaru12]

@hikaru12
Thank you!
So i have to order a pair of these Pads, too.

Yes I would recommend lambskin pads or even solid pads if you want explosive bass.

Which Verite pads are they? Perforated lambskin, BE-2 Lamb Perforated, BE-2 Hybrid Perforated, or BE-2 Suede Perforated? (from the Verite pads ordering page on the website -- I assume they are one of the perforated ones).

Just the regular perforated lambskin. The BE-2 from the looks of Zach's included documentation are slightly warmer than the regular Verite pads but are still quite neutral. I think Zach is doing a good job with the Hybrid pads. It's really an impossible feat to manage to blend two opposite sides of the sound spectrum as a cohesive whole but I think they fall slightly short of the mark. Hence why I went with the pure lambskin perf - they're most in line with Zach's impressions.

 

[Louisiana]

Which Verite pads are they? Perforated lambskin, BE-2 Lamb Perforated, BE-2 Hybrid Perforated, or BE-2 Suede Perforated?

Thank you, i just came back to ask this

 

[hikaru12]

Thank you, i just came back to ask this

Get these if your issue is bass:

I don't know of any pads that recess the midrange - possibly the Hybrid perforated but if you don't like a more forward midrange but still prefer warmth than Audeze is actually better for that.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Has anyone ever ordered cables from ZMF to Europe?
What is the situation with customs and what does it cost?
I love these headphones so much that I want cables that match their quality!

My favorite cables for my ZMF HPs come from Poland, right next door to you: ForzaAudioWorks. I have a 2M Noir HCP copper cable and love it. I like it even more than the more expensive Danacables Lazuli. They both sound great, but the FAW cable is easier to handle.

https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=81

 

[Pharmaboy]

I had a question: I have the Aeolus and find the bass a little low and the mid-range quite forward. These are *minor* issues. However, I have an opportunity to purchase an Eikon and sell my Aelous. Would the Eikon be a more suitable for me?

I'll defer to @jinxy245's reply about the bass issue (I agree w/every word). I would add 1 comment: I have an OTL tube amp (Woo WA3). I love the Aeolus' sound on it. But there's little doubt I get somewhat deeper, more impactful Aeolus bass on SS amps. There are many wonderful things about tubes, but barring endgame/big tube amps, tubes can't usually equal SS in bass power.

I've owned a couple borderline basshead headphones, perhaps "better" in certain ways than the Aeolus. But IMO the bass of this headphone, like every other part of the frequency spectrum, is highly musical. I never feel a lack of bass w/my Aeolus, never find myself wanting something better/different.

I owned a rather beautiful padauk Eikon until a few months ago. Only sold it because closed back designs in general tend to exaccerbate my tinnitus & migraine. Just wanted to say that I greatly admire the Eikon & think of it often: it's one of the most dynamic, rousing headphones I ever heard. The bass is borderline sensational (incl. real sub-bass).

• My point is these headphones sound rather different and are equally worth owning.

Another comment is that unlike the Eikon, for which few tried & true pad options exist, the Aeolus has 3 or 4 recommended pad options (my favorite is perforated suede universe; 2nd fave is Verite pads). Choice of pads, as well as seal, affect the bass you get from the Aeolus.

 

[GDuss]

I had a question: I have the Aeolus and find the bass a little low and the mid-range quite forward. These are *minor* issues. However, I have an opportunity to purchase an Eikon and sell my Aelous. Would the Eikon be a more suitable for me?

The sound of OTL amps (at least ones that I have used) have been quite noticeably impacted by the tubes (tube type, manufacturer, date). Some tubes are better on the low end than others. I haven't heard the DarkVoice but if it's like other OTL amps, you may just need different tubes. Or as @Pharmaboy said, try a solid state amp. If that doesn't get you what you are looking for with bass, then different headphones are probably what you need.

 

[MRHiFiReviews]

@FloydCouncil what pads are you using with your Aelous and what amp?