[Wes S]

Good catch!
I took pictures with the cable on and off. And while doing so, I reversed by mistake. And realized it after hitting the "post reply" button. Oh well.
(Of course I immediately switched. haha)

Nice! I just wanted to make sure you were getting full enjoyment

 

[Taverius]

I'm not sure @zach915m has released them yet, but they have been making the rounds for reviewers... Might be called the BE2 pads, but I think they're the Universe suede pads he's talking about here:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-aeolus-impressions-thread.890441/page-72#post-14905946

They're my choice for the Veritè. I like the stage and chill of universe lamb on v but the dips in the FR were so pronounced it made some of my favourite stuff sound a bit hollow/cold/distant.

Haven't tried them on Aeolus though, because what I'd want over Aeolus pads is more Atticus-osity* and slam, not less.

I might have to try Eikon perf lamb on them. I don't like suede pads generally, i find leather more comfortable, only using them on Atticus because it lets me turn them into a general purpose neutral closed without having to lose stage depth from a very thin leather pad or having to sell them and buy an Eikon.

The benefit of being able to afford a bunch of cans is if I want to be a neutral head I just pull out the Auteur

* that's a word now.

 

[Wes S]

Tonight's middleweight bout - Bottlehead Crack Speedball vs. Liquid Platinum

Both with Aeolus and Gumby (A1)

 

[donato]

Haven't been able to add much to this thread (too many new toys), but here's at least a photo of my new-to-me Aeolus.

 

[Wes S]

Haven't been able to add much to this thread (too many new toys), but here's at least a photo of my new-to-me Aeolus.

Nice shot! Love the grain, with the Sapele. Every pair I have seen look really good. Really dig this wood!

 

[koover]

I really dig the Saple too.
Zach choose Sapele for a reason (im sure there’s many) as it’s the stock wood. Not only is it beautiful, It was obviously originally tuned with this wood I would presume. All other woods are user preference. In turn the sound sig is every so slightly changed up.
Not knowing Zach but knowing business, if a customer wanted the trunk from a Pygmy palm tree for their cups and it was available, have at it. Of course I’d explain how the trunk wood may be a pain for upkeep and how it would change the sound, but if that’s what someone wants?.... ok.

I love my Sapele Aeolus the way they sit and won’t change a thing about them, even the perf leather pads.

 

[Wes S]

I really dig the Saple too.
Zach choose Sapele for a reason (im sure there’s many) as it’s the stock wood. Not only is it beautiful, It was obviously originally tuned with this wood I would presume. All other woods are user preference. In turn the sound sig is every so slightly changed up.
Not knowing Zach but knowing business, if a customer wanted the trunk from a Pygmy palm tree for their cups and it was available, have at it. Of course I’d explain how the trunk wood may be a pain for upkeep and how it would change the sound, but if that’s what someone wants?.... ok.

I love my Sapele Aeolus the way they sit and won’t change a thing about them, even the perf leather pads.

What he said!

 

[max1236]

After 9 weeks of building and 1 week of shipping the longest wait of my life is over( new buyers dont worry about that, I got on the list at almost 90, when I left there was 20 people on the list) I finally have my babies!(also I never want to see a spreadsheet again, but if youre on the list google has automatic emails for changes in the top menu under tools) Running off my ifi micro black label I was really surprised that I was at 2-3 oclock on the black label in normal mode, it was even usable in turbo. One thing for sure is make sure your getting a good seal, watch zachs headphone bending video, he has two I'd watch both.

They are very comfortable. The build is obviously beautiful. The only thing I could nit pick about the build is one of the pads looks slight worn but that's just a visual thing. This headphone isnt broken in obviously but right a way it impresses. For reference Ive used the m1060s, quad drivers, dt990s aeon flow closed. This headphone really separates itself from the rest, the only one that can compare is the aeon, which has better sub bass but gets blown out of the water in slam, timbre, dynamics. One bump I could give to the flow is if you prefer a more neutral presentation with about the same resolution . I could see how Aeolus might be too warm for some people, if that seems like you I'd recommend looking into suede pads( I dont have them but the measurements looks good).

Like I said very natural timbre, intimate sound stage but not closed in, imaging gives a crazy out of head experience. (like holy crap someones in my head). The bass does not disappoint, im somewhat of a bass addict and with the bassx switch on it dig deeps and has incredible texture, the thump is very satisfying. vocals sound ultra realistic, I think they're the star of the aeolus right now, It's hard to explain but its almost like you can hear the emotion in their voice. drums,guitars all are served well and have a great tone. Theres no frequency that bothers, If i had to nitpick I wish there was more subbass at 20-30 but I think this is just a limit of dynamic drivers, maybe a pad swap could do something? I listen to a lot of genres( hip hop to metal, pop/rock, edm, soundtracks etc. etc. ) these babies will put you right there with the music, you hear somethings and it just makes you grin like an idiot, the tuning lends it self to just blasting music . I've only burned in 24 hours, listened for 12 hours so I will update if I notice anything else after burn in. Im keen to try them with a new amp but my wallet is very sad right now. I think the black label brings out a lot of detail anyways.
Thank you zach and the zmf team, the work you do is not easy and you've really made a unique headphone. this headphone makes me very happy! Now have some crappy phone pics!

 

[Wildcatsare1]

After 9 weeks of building and 1 week of shipping the longest wait of my life is over( new buyers dont worry about that, I got on the list at almost 90, when I left there was 20 people on the list) I finally have my babies!(also I never want to see a spreadsheet again, but if youre on the list google has automatic emails for changes in the top menu under tools) Running off my ifi micro black label I was really surprised that I was at 2-3 oclock on the black label in normal mode, it was even usable in turbo. One thing for sure is make sure your getting a good seal, watch zachs headphone bending video, he has two I'd watch both.

They are very comfortable. The build is obviously beautiful. The only thing I could nit pick about the build is one of the pads looks slight worn but that's just a visual thing. This headphone isnt broken in obviously but right a way it impresses. For reference Ive used the m1060s, quad drivers, dt990s aeon flow closed. This headphone really separates itself from the rest, the only one that can compare is the aeon, which has better sub bass but gets blown out of the water in slam, timbre, dynamics. One bump I could give to the flow is if you prefer a more neutral presentation with about the same resolution . I could see how Aeolus might be too warm for some people, if that seems like you I'd recommend looking into suede pads( I dont have them but the measurements looks good).

Like I said very natural timbre, intimate sound stage but not closed in, imaging gives a crazy out of head experience. (like holy **** someones in my head). The bass does not disappoint, im somewhat of a bass addict and with the bassx switch on it dig deeps and has incredible texture, the thump is very satisfying. vocals sound ultra realistic, I think they're the star of the aeolus right now, It's hard to explain but its almost like you can hear the emotion in their voice. drums,guitars all are served well and have a great tone. Theres no frequency that bothers, If i had to nitpick I wish there was more subbass at 20-30 but I think this is just a limit of dynamic drivers, maybe a pad swap could do something? I listen to a lot of genres( hip hop to metal, pop/rock, edm, soundtracks etc. etc. ) these babies will put you right there with the music, you hear somethings and it just makes you grin like an idiot, the tuning lends it self to just blasting music . I've only burned in 24 hours, listened for 12 hours so I will update if I notice anything else after burn in. Im keen to try them with a new amp but my wallet is very sad right now. I think the black label brings out a lot of detail anyways.
Thank you zach and the zmf team, the work you do is not easy and you've really made a unique headphone. this headphone makes me very happy! Now have some ****ty phone pics!

Beautiful headphones!

 

[max1236]

the "just one more song" effect is so real, these headphones really suck you in to the music, then hours go by. The burn in with these things is very noticeable (at about 30 hours using brown/pink noise), the bass/subbass sounds tighter and deeper, these blow my mind everytime I use them seriously they are such an enjoyable experience. I showed them to my friend and he started laughing like crazy and moving around. Theres no distorition and the tuning is perfect for me, I can eq the bass and theres seemingly no end and can slam like a hammer. the image and detail fantastic with amazing tonality. im totally in love.

 

[sp0525]

I've been testing Auteur Suede pads. What a large head stage!

Tonality is closer to the stock (Universe Lamb) than to Universe Suede.Darker and warmer than what I consider neutral. But still a lot of details there.

To me this pad is as enjoyable as universe lamb but without highmid dullness. Those who love original Aeolus sounding should try this pad. By comparison, universe suede substantially changes Aeolus tonality.

Interestingly, I didn't like this pad much with my Auteur (Blackwood) because of a bit too sharp and edged female vocals with particular tracks. Aeolus' generous nature gets along much better with this 'Auteur' pad. Sounds quite ironic, doesn't it?

 

[Wes S]

Happy Saturday, to the Aeolus club!

I am currently burning in my Bottlehead Crack Speedball, with my Aeolus, and it's new Silver Michanikos cable. So far, the LP and Crack are neck and neck, with both being great pairings. The Crack, is an incredible amp, for the money, and the mids are to die for! It is still to early to tell, but I think the Crack is going to be the winner, for me. I will report back with comparisons, after some more burn in.

Gonna be a fun Saturday!

 

[Wes S]

I am swimming in waves of midrange!

BHC ( Tung Sol 5998/Mullard ECC82 Long Plate) > Gumby > Aeolus.

Thom Yorke's voice, never sounded so good!

 

[sp0525]

Next to Auteur Suede, now I am hearing Eikon Suede pads on Aeolus. On Auteur, these two suede pads sound very similar -- Auteur suede was a bit more aggressive while eikon suede was tad tone-downed though.

With Aeolus, the sound of eikon suede pads is slightly more down-tilted than auteur suede. Bass and midrange are lifted by a few decibels. Treble is more polite by comparison. Nevertheless, top ends were still great. Rather I could hear a little more air with eikon suede. While I liked eikon suede over auteur suede with Auteur, I definitely prefer auteur suede's tonality with Aeolus.

Possibly due to increased inner space depth, head stage is deeper as well as sounds more distant. My staging preference depends on tracks and genres. I prefer auteur suede for naturally mic'd recordings. Eikon suede sounded better with marginal recordings.

Beside sonic character, 'eikon' pads (both suede and lambskin) might be struggled with big ears. It's a non issue in my case, but I heard at least a couple of audio pals who disliked eikon pads for this reason.

 

[KESM]

Yeah to clarify - there have been zero production sets that don't have what we are now calling the Aeolus pads on them. If you have a set with the original universe epads you already know it because you were a reviewer. We also tuned those preproduction sets to match how the aeolus pads sound, so there's that.

Anyhow for pads on the Aeolus from warmest to most neutral.

Aeolus > universe lamb perf > universe suede perf > Verite

The universe lamb perf is stitched a little looser because of the thicker leather used, has less dense foam and sits a touch further form the ear because of the above.

Personally my two favorite pads are the aeolus and universe perf suede.

If you want a true neutral headphone, the Verite pads are the way to go, they just don't sound as exciting to me!

Currently using the universe suede perforated pads; literally changes the tuning on the Aeolus...more sparkle to my ears. However these are not replacements but rather complimentary...provides another tuning option for the Aeolus...2 for 1 HPs...& in a very good way.