Awesome to hear the Caldera pads working well with the Aeolus. Very curious about the lambskin version since I prefer the Universe lambskin pads on mine.
Well the only way is to try it out and see if you’ll like it.
I have been listening to my Aeolus a lot more than my VO this week since. It’s simply awesome that a change of pads on the ZMF could do so much to the sonic presentation; it’s as good as tube rolling.
Last week I did something I've been meaning to try again: put a pair of Verite pads (perforated lambskin) on the Aeolus, after several years of using the perforated suede universe pads.
Damn, that sounds good! I'd forgotten how the Verite pads make the Aeolus a bit more linear and resolving without robbing it of its fun musicality.
Last week I did something I've been meaning to try again: put a pair of Verite pads (perforated lambskin) on the Aeolus, after several years of using the perforated suede universe pads.
Damn, that sounds good! I'd forgotten how the Verite pads make the Aeolus a bit more linear and resolving without robbing it of its fun musicality.
Hi guys, how are the mids of the Aeolus compared to the HD6xx? I used to own the HD600 but haven't had one for years. I find myself missing the smooth luscious mids, and I was about to buy one when I saw a used Aeolus for sale. I get that the Aeolus is a superior headphone overall, but does it have the same quality of mids or even better mids?
Hi guys, how are the mids of the Aeolus compared to the HD6xx? I used to own the HD600 but haven't had one for years. I find myself missing the smooth luscious mids, and I was about to buy one when I saw a used Aeolus for sale. I get that the Aeolus is a superior headphone overall, but does it have the same quality of mids or even better mids?
Hi guys, how are the mids of the Aeolus compared to the HD6xx? I used to own the HD600 but haven't had one for years. I find myself missing the smooth luscious mids, and I was about to buy one when I saw a used Aeolus for sale. I get that the Aeolus is a superior headphone overall, but does it have the same quality of mids or even better mids?
Aside from the different tonality (the Aeolus are more relaxed in the upper midrange, but do have a similarly warm lower midrange), I’d say the mids are pretty equal. With the Aeolus pads they really make the 6XX sound normal in comparison though. It’s a very lush and warm midrange, and very BIG sounding too.
The main area they differ to me is in the treble. I find the 6XX more natural sounding, but the Aeolus can sound a little bright in some spots and and a little dark in others. A little less natural and more “enhanced” in that regard.
Aside from the different tonality (the Aeolus are more relaxed in the upper midrange, but do have a similarly warm lower midrange), I’d say the mids are pretty equal. With the Aeolus pads they really make the 6XX sound normal in comparison though. It’s a very lush and warm midrange, and very BIG sounding too.
The main area they differ to me is in the treble. I find the 6XX more natural sounding, but the Aeolus can sound a little bright in some spots and and a little dark in others. A little less natural and more “enhanced” in that regard.
… a nice hybrid copper / silver interwoven (not plated) headphone cable works a charm with Aeolus. [I have been using Norne Audio Vygarde, Forza Audio Works Noir Hybrid.]
Aside from the different tonality (the Aeolus are more relaxed in the upper midrange, but do have a similarly warm lower midrange), I’d say the mids are pretty equal. With the Aeolus pads they really make the 6XX sound normal in comparison though. It’s a very lush and warm midrange, and very BIG sounding too.
The main area they differ to me is in the treble. I find the 6XX more natural sounding, but the Aeolus can sound a little bright in some spots and and a little dark in others. A little less natural and more “enhanced” in that regard.
Do you mean the stock Aeolus perforated pads? I eventually bought the used Aeolus, it came with the perforated suede and lambskin pads. I haven't tried the suede ones yet but so far I like the warmth of the lambskin pads.
Are there other pads from ZMF that I could consider getting?
Do you mean the stock Aeolus perforated pads? I eventually bought the used Aeolus, it came with the perforated suede and lambskin pads. I haven't tried the suede ones yet but so far I like the warmth of the lambskin pads.
Are there other pads from ZMF that I could consider getting?
Do you mean the stock Aeolus perforated pads? I eventually bought the used Aeolus, it came with the perforated suede and lambskin pads. I haven't tried the suede ones yet but so far I like the warmth of the lambskin pads.
Are there other pads from ZMF that I could consider getting?
Do you mean the stock Aeolus perforated pads? I eventually bought the used Aeolus, it came with the perforated suede and lambskin pads. I haven't tried the suede ones yet but so far I like the warmth of the lambskin pads.
Are there other pads from ZMF that I could consider getting?
Yeah I’m talking about the OG Aeolus pads, in lambskin. They might be hard to track down unless you reach out to ZMF directly, since they were discontinued a little while ago. Idk why, I hated them when I first heard the Aeolus and now they’re all I can listen to the Aeolus with.
The ones you have are probably the Universe Lambskin (the current stock pads) and suedes, but that’s just a guess.
I bought a used Aeolus a few days ago and admit that I didn’t check the drivers visually during the purchase. It sounded fine to me when I was testing it.
I bought a used Aeolus a few days ago and admit that I didn’t check the drivers visually during the purchase. It sounded fine to me when I was testing it.
That material is the bopp mesh filter that came with older Aeolus models. It sits in front of the driver to help tame some treble energy. Due to the rigidity of that filter, it had a tendency to deform when changing pads. That bend will not cause issues besides making sounds if the pad happens to interact with it.
Newer Aeolus models come with a less rigid and vented filter. It is available for purchase here (Radial Vented option). Zach has mentioned that it should be acoustically identical to the older filter but some here have noticed that it may be a slight bit brighter. I updated mine and did not notice a significant change to the overall sound.
I've been listening with the aeolus for a few months now and it's terrific. For my ears there was a bit of shoutiness in the upper mids with some music, like Mancini's pieces. But actually suede pads and some subtle EQ tamed that.
Currently the chain is schiit modi/magni3+ which is nice but I probably lose a little soundstage and timbre compared to fancier stuff. Over the winter I will build a bottlehead amp for them. I've read some glowing things about ZMF and OTL amps so that feels like an exciting rabbit hole.
Does anyone have a favourite DAC to recommend for a crackatwoa / aeolus set up? I tried a denafrips ares and an IfiZenDac and the little Modi worked the best for me.
Maybe the AKM chipset plays particularly nicely with ZMF? Or could it be a Schiit synergy? What's other people's experience?
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