[haasaaroni]

@Deleeh Well I'm not a bass head so perhaps a "thinner" sounding bass would not be such a bad thing.



Yeah true. Some have said the Bifrost 2 and Jot 2 tend to lean on the warmer side. Perhaps I need a more "neutral" sounding DAC and/or Amp.

Personally, with something like the BHC you have that's where the Aeolus is at its best. The XLR out on the Jot 2 would be better than the SE output if you want more clarity. In my experience though, adding a more analytical amp to the Aeolus brings out too much of that 6kHz peak. I'm very sensitive to that area though, so YMMV.

An Auteur sounds right up your alley though. It has an even greater ability to change "colors" with whatever amp or dac you're pairing with it, so you can really "author" your sound with it, as the namesake suggests. I'm particularly in love with the OG Auteur sound with an Ampsandsound amp like the Kenzie. The bass just comes alive like nothing I've ever heard, and it has a lot of that clarity in the upper midrange where the Aeolus tends to pull back a bit.

 

[David222]

@Deleeh Well I'm not a bass head so perhaps a "thinner" sounding bass would not be such a bad thing.



Yeah true. Some have said the Bifrost 2 and Jot 2 tend to lean on the warmer side. Perhaps I need a more "neutral" sounding DAC and/or Amp.

Exactly. Just north of BF2 (in price) is the RME ADI2 FS. You might enjoy a totally different experience (with Aeolus) if the RME is feeding your AMP vs. the BF2. So many option (of course) alll budget and preference depending.

 

[Deleeh]

Personally, with something like the BHC you have that's where the Aeolus is at its best. The XLR out on the Jot 2 would be better than the SE output if you want more clarity. In my experience though, adding a more analytical amp to the Aeolus brings out too much of that 6kHz peak. I'm very sensitive to that area though, so YMMV.

An Auteur sounds right up your alley though. It has an even greater ability to change "colors" with whatever amp or dac you're pairing with it, so you can really "author" your sound with it, as the namesake suggests. I'm particularly in love with the OG Auteur sound with an Ampsandsound amp like the Kenzie. The bass just comes alive like nothing I've ever heard, and it has a lot of that clarity in the upper midrange where the Aeolus tends to pull back a bit.

It's just my personal taste.
With the Feliks Euforia, I almost need warmer tubes in both sectors, otherwise the sound is too cold for me.
But this is also due to the Euforia, as it also tends to be neutral in terms of implementation.
But the Euforia has so much leeway that it gives me what I need or want when I juggle with tubes.

The Auteur Og was one of the last in this form and I will not have it converted for the time being.
I like it too much as it is.
I agree with you, although it is neutral, it is very colour-coordinated and you can l it well.

In the meantime I have also moved away from the Basshead and prefer something like the Auteur or Lcd 2.
The Aeolus would probably be more of a fun headphone for me.

 

[jinxy245]

@Deleeh Well I'm not a bass head so perhaps a "thinner" sounding bass would not be such a bad thing.



Yeah true. Some have said the Bifrost 2 and Jot 2 tend to lean on the warmer side. Perhaps I need a more "neutral" sounding DAC and/or Amp.

There are also pads to consider. The OG Aeolus pads and the Universe pads accentuated the bass the most. Fun sound, definitely not for everybody. The Universe suede pads seem to be the happy medium a lot of people enjoy, but the BE & Verite pads toned the bass down even further without killing it, while still maintaining the Aeolus mids. The BE & Verite are underrated pads IMO. As always YMMV.

*Keep in mind that all pads I'm speaking of are perforated (as all pads for ZMF open backs are recommended to be) and the Aeolus & Verite pads I believe are discontinued.

 

[MacMan31]

There are also pads to consider. The OG Aeolus pads and the Universe pads accentuated the bass the most. Fun sound, definitely not for everybody. The Universe suede pads seem to be the happy medium a lot of people enjoy, but the BE & Verite pads toned the bass down even further without killing it, while still maintaining the Aeolus mids. The BE & Verite are underrated pads IMO. As always YMMV.

*Keep in mind that all pads I'm speaking of are perforated (as all pads for ZMF open backs are recommended to be) and the Aeolus & Verite pads I believe are discontinued. A

Right now I have the Universe suede pads. But I may try the BE or Verite pads. Seems there are three different perforated options for BE pads which are all listed with the Verite pads. Suede, Lambskin or Hybrid. Does it matter which one I choose?

 

[Mattyjm]

Right now I have the Universe suede pads. But I may try the BE or Verite pads. Seems there are three different perforated options for BE pads which are all listed with the Verite pads. Suede, Lambskin or Hybrid. Does it matter which one I choose?

refer back to the aeolus chart on their website; its either the lambskin or suede. Rememer that for open back headphones, pads should be perforated

 

[jinxy245]

Right now I have the Universe suede pads. But I may try the BE or Verite pads. Seems there are three different perforated options for BE pads which are all listed with the Verite pads. Suede, Lambskin or Hybrid. Does it matter which one I choose?

Again, for open backed ZMF only use perforated pads, the others will likely give an undesirable effect,(though individual preference might be different from the norm). I'm only familiar with the lambskin perforated personally, that would be my preference.

 

[Mau10]

Just a reminder to not overlook your amplification in this equation. By way of example, with my Violectric I can drive the Aeolus into sounding "less" warm and more forward. On my Woo Audio gear, if I pick the wrong tube pairing, then it's molasses city, however with a carefully chosen 12AT7 I can drive into a more neutral / forward position and the Aeolus (again) sounds absolutely fantastic

Have you tried the Amperex 7062? That equivalent of a 12at7 in my pendant sounds terrific with my Aeolus. It has a similar effect of what you describe as more forward. I described it as "warm" cause it has a lot of body in the mids and is not lacking bass, but the qualities of the low end, lean more on the tight textured bass and no about the quantity. However the speed of that tube is just incredible. Is one of those High quality tubes that you still find at affordable prices. A quote of what I posted in the Pendant thread about that tube...

"- Amperex 7062 $39 (12aT7 equivalent ): Not really sure of this tube being mentioned before in the thread, so I will write a few lines about it...
This is in the top of my list cause it ticks a lot of boxes of a nice tube. They were only made by Amperex in Holland and USA, so there aren't any other lower quality versions for what I could find. The sound of the 7062 in my system is fast, holographic and punchy. Bass is tight and impactful, Texture of the midrange is superb, providing that classic Amperex warmth. The top end is detailed and without any glare or harshness. The soundstage is big and kind of 3D, it has the expected imaging of a long plate input tube.
I have been able to try three versions of this tube:
>Holland D-Getter (Pinched waist): Warmer, Holographic, the presentation is more mid forward.
>Holland D-Getter: While still in the warm side, this tube is more neutral.
>USA "O" Getter: A bit less transparent, still very good but I find it less detailed.

There are some caveats when searching for a 7062 for your collection, in contrast to other tall tubes like 12bh7, this tubes are not prone to be noisy, but they tend to be a bit microphonic, it can be normal to a certain point. Other minor thing is that the ¨burning in¨ process of this tubes require a lot of patience."

* Update. Now with more that 70hrs with the pinched waist D getter, the sound is even more linear and holographic than the other versions, with no loss of detail or speed.

 

[Mau10]

Again, for open backed ZMF only use perforated pads, the others will likely give an undesirable effect,(though individual preference might be different from the norm). I'm only familiar with the lambskin perforated personally, that would be my preference.

Even when I have a variety of pads, I never tried all of them in the Aeolus, thinking that something different to the Universe pads, could make the soundstage a bit claustrophobic. It's going to be an interesting experiment. (Perforated Be2 and Verite).

 

[Pharmaboy]

Even when I have a variety of pads, I never tried all of them in the Aeolus, thinking that something different to the Universe pads, could make the soundstage a bit claustrophobic. It's going to be an interesting experiment. (Perforated Be2 and Verite).

Once I put the perforated suede Universe pads on my Aeolus, I never took them off.

Tried Verite pads before that and admired that sound. It's the most neutral the Aeolus can get, though it still sings and conveys the soul of music brilliantly.

 

[guiver777]

Would anyone be able to assist me in identifying the unknown ZMF pads in the pictures? I currently have the Uni Suede Perf Pads on my Aeolus and was looking for some other options. My local dealer has 2 pairs in stock but was only able to identify the BE2 pads.
Any ideas?

 

[Mattyjm]

Would anyone be able to assist me in identifying the unknown ZMF pads in the pictures? I currently have the Uni Suede Perf Pads on my Aeolus and was looking for some other options. My local dealer has 2 pairs in stock but was only able to identify the BE2 pads.
Any ideas?

measuring them might be useful; at first glance that looks like uni lambskin? I might be wrong

 

[jinxy245]

Would anyone be able to assist me in identifying the unknown ZMF pads in the pictures? I currently have the Uni Suede Perf Pads on my Aeolus and was looking for some other options. My local dealer has 2 pairs in stock but was only able to identify the BE2 pads.
Any ideas?

@zach915m would likely have the best idea, but @heliosphann has an uncanny knack at IDing them too. Gun to my head, I agree with @Mattyjm looks like Uni to me.

 

[Mau10]

Would anyone be able to assist me in identifying the unknown ZMF pads in the pictures? I currently have the Uni Suede Perf Pads on my Aeolus and was looking for some other options. My local dealer has 2 pairs in stock but was only able to identify the BE2 pads.
Any ideas?

From left to right ( Universe, Be2, Verite) lambskin pads. At first glance I also thought that they were universe pads, but for what I can see, the universe pads have a smaller earhole placed just in the middle of the pad. In my opinion those look like Auteur lambskin perforated pads. the earhole is placed more forward and is wider also.

 

[zach915m]

Has anyone found a transit case that works well? I change countries a couple times a year and haven't found a headphone I like more after hearing them in Singapore. I would have bought them, the case was just too large for me to travel with at the time.

Since they lay flat, something similar to the wood display case in plastic or similar?

Those are auteur pads on the left, not the ideal pad for Aeolus, but nothing against them if you like them.

Weird that the dealer doesn't have the stock universe pads to use with them?