[dfarina]

Sorry. I thought perforated was implied on open backs, but of course some people are more adventurous than I.

No worries,I wasn’t aware of this,but it all makes sense now

 

[jonathan c]

To @dfarina: continuing my thought in post #6,534 ... if you can locate / purchase a nice condition Woo WA3 and provide it some judicious tube upgrades, you will have a of an amp. Aeolus sound will truly 'blossom' and have the impact, punch that you seek.

 

[jonathan c]

Another pairing for Aeolus:

[DNA Sonett2 output impedance @ 'IEC' and '0dB' toggle settings is 120 ohms: perfect for ZMF dynamic-driver headphones.]

 

[SMG52]

To @dfarina: continuing my thought in post #6,534 ... if you can locate / purchase a nice condition Woo WA3 and provide it some judicious tube upgrades, you will have a of an amp. Aeolus sound will truly 'blossom' and have the impact, punch that you seek.

What he says. Jonathan recommended this amp for my Aeolus headphones. I kept an eye on the classifieds and scored a mint condition WA3. It's a ridiculously great value, a jewel of an amp.

 

[DarthVader92]

Great home brewed coffee, Spyro Gyra and Aeolus on a beautiful Saturday morning is Chef's kiss I love these headphones so much!!

https://open.qobuz.com/artist/38675

 

[VanHai]

Another pairing for Aeolus: [DNA Sonett2 output impedance @ 'IEC' and '0dB' toggle settings is 120 ohms: perfect for ZMF dynamic-driver headphones.]

I approved it. Identical twin, separated at birth.

 

[DarthVader92]

Curious.....but what pads do you guys use for your Aeolus?

The pads that came with the one I bought used had the Universe lambskin and Universe Suede pads. I've been using the lambskin as it sounded way better, more natural and better bass punch. But I just got the Aeolus og lambskin pads today, and boy what a difference. I really love them....warmer, more of a darker sound for sure, more hump in the mid bass from what I can tell, slightly more sub bass but nothing crazy noticeable.

 

[cats4cans]

Curious.....but what pads do you guys use for your Aeolus?

The pads that came with the one I bought used had the Universe lambskin and Universe Suede pads. I've been using the lambskin as it sounded way better, more natural and better bass punch. But I just got the Aeolus og lambskin pads today, and boy what a difference. I really love them....warmer, more of a darker sound for sure, more hump in the mid bass from what I can tell, slightly more sub bass but nothing crazy noticeable.

It seems like you’ve already found 2 that meet your preference. I like the Uni suede best, but it can also depend on the amp I’m using. The Uni lamb and OG Aeolus pads get a little bass heavy for me. The Be2 pads tend to go the other way on the bass, but open up the space a little.

 

[haasaaroni]

Curious.....but what pads do you guys use for your Aeolus?

The pads that came with the one I bought used had the Universe lambskin and Universe Suede pads. I've been using the lambskin as it sounded way better, more natural and better bass punch. But I just got the Aeolus og lambskin pads today, and boy what a difference. I really love them....warmer, more of a darker sound for sure, more hump in the mid bass from what I can tell, slightly more sub bass but nothing crazy noticeable.

Nice! Yeah I also feel that the Aeolus is at its best with the og Aeolus lambskin pads. The treble spike at 5k-ish is less noticeable, timbre is excellent, and it has a similar bass slam to the Atticus without quite going that far. I’d been using the universe suedes for a while when I had a warmer setup (Bottlehead Crack and then Ampsandsound Forge) and loved them, but once I got a more neutral amp, the Aeolus lambskin pads became my favorites.

 

[DarthVader92]

It seems like you’ve already found 2 that meet your preference. I like the Uni suede best, but it can also depend on the amp I’m using. The Uni lamb and OG Aeolus pads get a little bass heavy for me. The Be2 pads tend to go the other way on the bass, but open up the space a little.

I don't know why, but I really did not like the universe suede pads. Something sounded off even though more detail came through and it opened up a bit. I did switch between the uni lambskin and og aeolus pads a few times with my favorite tracks and every time, I just preferred the og aeolus pads. Since the universe lambskin have a bigger cup and slightly thicker, sometimes music especially vocals would sound more distant and lose some of that fun mid bass punch. I'm just happy I have three sets of pads that I can alter the sound sig with. Love ZMF's!

 

[DarthVader92]

Nice! Yeah I also feel that the Aeolus is at its best with the og Aeolus lambskin pads. The treble spike at 5k-ish is less noticeable, timbre is excellent, and it has a similar bass slam to the Atticus without quite going that far. I’d been using the universe suedes for a while when I had a warmer setup (Bottlehead Crack and then Ampsandsound Forge) and loved them, but once I got a more neutral amp, the Aeolus lambskin pads became my favorites.

Yep, I guess it also depends on your amp/dac set up. I can see what you mean by complimenting pads with the type of amp you have. I definitely have a neutral amp at the moment. I'm itching to get a tube amp, but need to save some monies after buying this Aeolus and a Bokeh

 

[SMG52]

My Aeolus headphones, which I had purchased second hand, came with the universal lambskin pads as well as a set of hybrid pads. Since the hybrid pads were already on the headphones, I was using them for a while, then switched to the lambskin pads and was happy with them. I was curious about the suede perforated because they seemed to be the favorite among many users, so I ordered a set. I used them for just a few hours and was happy to go back to the lambskin pads. I do have a preference for a warmer overall tonality vs a more neutral presentation. In that light, and because I was interested in what they might bring to the table, I ordered a set of the OG Aeolus pads, but found - in my set up and to my ears - that they were a tad muddy and settled back with the universal lambskin pads, which appear to be the 'goldilocks' pads for my set up and my taste. (I have the suede pads for sale on US Audiomart if anyone is interested. May sell the OG pads as well.) As people have already mentioned, ones' set up, the music one listens to, etc., all play into ones' preference for the pads. I will say though that after scoring a Woo WA3 amp and the tubes Jonathan C. had recommended, the Aeolus headphones are sounding so awesome, it's the sort of time where you think "Can it get any better?" I know, you needn't answer that.....

 

[DarthVader92]

My Aeolus headphones, which I had purchased second hand, came with the universal lambskin pads as well as a set of hybrid pads. Since the hybrid pads were already on the headphones, I was using them for a while, then switched to the lambskin pads and was happy with them. I was curious about the suede perforated because they seemed to be the favorite among many users, so I ordered a set. I used them for just a few hours and was happy to go back to the lambskin pads. I do have a preference for a warmer overall tonality vs a more neutral presentation. In that light, and because I was interested in what they might bring to the table, I ordered a set of the OG Aeolus pads, but found - in my set up and to my ears - that they were a tad muddy and settled back with the universal lambskin pads, which appear to be the 'goldilocks' pads for my set up and my taste. (I have the suede pads for sale on US Audiomart if anyone is interested. May sell the OG pads as well.) As people have already mentioned, ones' set up, the music one listens to, etc., all play into ones' preference for the pads. I will say though that after scoring a Woo WA3 amp and the tubes Jonathan C. had recommended, the Aeolus headphones are sounding so awesome, it's the sort of time where you think "Can it get any better?" I know, you needn't answer that.....

Great explanation! I do also prefer a warmer tonality most of the time. Although I do have HD600's as a palate cleanser haha. Everyone's ears and set ups are different so it's cool that ZMF headphones in particular are more sensitive to pad rolling than other headphones. Can really fine tune to your personal preferences and tastes, which is awesome.

 

[dfarina]

I have the stock perf lambskin and the univ suede pads,prefer the suede pads,but ideally wanted something in between.Contacted ZMF and explained to them what I was looking for and they recommended the Caldera Ultra Perf pads.Been listening to the Caldera pads for a week now and thats exactly how they sound to my ears,in between the the stock lambskin and univ suede pads.Trying different meshes also has an effect,the combination of mesh/pads has so many variants it can make your head spin.
Bottom line obviously is how it sounds overall,I have a warmer DAC (Denafrips r2r) and a warmer amp (Violectric) so that has a huge effect on the end result,I do like a warm sound but the combination of every component leaning towards warm was too much with the perf lambskin.Right now the Caldera Ultra Perf pads with the titan mesh seems to be a good combo for me.

 

[jonathan c]

LTD Camphor Burl is headlining with a supremely able supporting cast!

[TEAC VRDS 701-T CD transport and MUSICIAN Taurus R2R DAC]