[Toonartist]

The Auteur Suede Solids seemed a little deeper than the Caldera Suedes (perf). My ears touch slightly with the stock AC pads but don't with the other two!

 

[NiGHTS4EVA]

I just realised my AC is also labelled as Demo, could also be seen in the picture, never realised it before.
Couldn’t care less. Still looks and sounds great.

Wow that is really hard to spot. I wonder if the suede headband just makes it more obvious than a leather one.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I also have an LTD Ash on order, and I also have large ears, which measure roughly 70mm tall, stick out around 30mm, and are very sensitive to touching anything. Because of my ears size, I suspect I will not use the stock thin pads. I asked if I could swap in Caldera standard pads instead, but we'll see.

As backup earpads, I chose the Caldera suede and skipped the Bokeh earpads because the Bokeh's are based on the Caldera thins.

As for deeper earpads, I also already own a pair of Caldera thick, which I've been using on a set of Dan Clark Audio Ether CX (requires a +6 bass shelf at 150Hz for me but is extremely comfortable with the Caldera thick pads). I also have a set of Auteur lambskin perf pads sitting around that I'll try for fit and comfort, after which I might order a set of Auteur suede, lambskin solids, or hybrids.

At the end of the day, I suspect I'll use the Caldera thick pads with the AC for comfort, but I'd be interested in Caldera thick suede or hybrid and/or Bokeh thick suede, hybrid, or lamb, too.

I think the thickest pad recommended for the AC is the Auteur Suede (Solid). Next best option would be the Caldera Suede. I’ve got all 4 options on order with my AC, so I’m sure I’ll find one I like.

@Quadrangulator Did you go for natural Ash or one of the burst options?

To all you current Ash AC owners, have any of you had the chance to compare it to a softer or harder wood AC? After owning quite a few Ash ZMFs, I’ve found Ash is a pretty perfect medium density so you get a nice mix of the attributes of soft and hard woods.

 

[Quadrangulator]

I think the thickest pad recommended for the AC is the Auteur Suede (Solid). Next best option would be the Caldera Suede. I’ve got all 4 options on order with my AC, so I’m sure I’ll find one I like.

@Quadrangulator Did you go for natural Ash or one of the burst options?

To all you current Ash AC owners, have any of you had the chance to compare it to a softer or harder wood AC? After owning quite a few Ash ZMFs, I’ve found Ash is a pretty perfect medium density so you get a nice mix of the attributes of soft and hard woods.

I got a natural ash. How about you?

I considered the purple, but it's hue was too red/pink for me (would have bought a more blue leaning/violet purple, though).

For the pads, I index hard for comfort, which for me equals ear hole size and pad depth. I'm good with eq if the most comfortable pad skews the frequency response a bit. But I'll keep the Auteur suede in mind if the various Caldera options don't work for me.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I got natural Ash as well. I am a huge fan of this wood type for both looks and sound. I wanted an AC to match my beautiful Ash Auteur. I have to be careful to not let collecting Ash ZMFs become a compulsion!

 

[Wes S]

The redwoods have arrived! Thanks ZMF. And a few hours before the new tubes too.

Immediate impressions after an hour is that I had to take off the Caldera suedes that were just too sharp in the treble for my preferences. Once lambskins were on, treble was calmed down a bit with the benefit of bigger bass at the expense of a bit of an overall darker presentation and the loss of that creamy suede mids timbre. It's definitely an Atrium line of headphone sounding closer to the AO than not to me lol; my canjam impressions didn't change. The redwood light weight is amazing and could result in these cans getting more head time than they normally would. Now to decide if the xDuoo TA-30 into AC will be my cooking or bedside table setup...

Hard to get a good pic in cloudy December. Cable is Arctic Cables Talos v2 with all dark coating if anyone is curious.





and current jam of the week

WOW!!!! Those look incredible!

 

[Kevintj604]

Never thought I was going to find a closed back to replace the Radiance. I went through enormous lengths to get a Radiance after they got discontinued and figured I’d want them in my collection for life. As soon as I got AC in the house I A/B’d them and the Radiance never sounded worse.

I’ve been using the AC a lot more than Caldera and I got them both a week apart. I’m enamored with the AC. So much so that I sold the Radiance yesterday. Is what it is. This hobby’s crazy like that sometimes.

Anyone else sell something they thought they’d never because of another product?

 

[erics75]

Never thought I was going to find a closed back to replace the Radiance. I went through enormous lengths to get a Radiance after they got discontinued and figured I’d want them in my collection for life. As soon as I got AC in the house I A/B’d them and the Radiance never sounded worse.

I’ve been using the AC a lot more than Caldera and I got them both a week apart. I’m enamored with the AC. So much so that I sold the Radiance yesterday. Is what it is. This hobby’s crazy like that sometimes.

Anyone else sell something they thought they’d never because of another product?

Haha ZMF tends to do that. I went through a similar situation years ago with MrSpeakers. Had an Alpha Prime, Ether closed and open, and a Mad Dog Pro and thought no way I’d find anything better. Impulse purchased used Atticus and Eikon for a steal of a price and found myself selling off the MrSpeakers lot. No offense to Dan he does great work and is one of the nicest guys, but the ZMF tuning is just far more compatible with my preferences than his more neutral approach.

And totally agree on the AC is a special set. I reacted to it much like that Atticus way back when. Just fell in love with the sound and knew it was for me.

 

[NiGHTS4EVA]

Never thought I was going to find a closed back to replace the Radiance. I went through enormous lengths to get a Radiance after they got discontinued and figured I’d want them in my collection for life. As soon as I got AC in the house I A/B’d them and the Radiance never sounded worse.

I’ve been using the AC a lot more than Caldera and I got them both a week apart. I’m enamored with the AC. So much so that I sold the Radiance yesterday. Is what it is. This hobby’s crazy like that sometimes.

Anyone else sell something they thought they’d never because of another product?

Not yet but ever since I got the Folkvangr/VC combo my Aryas and Burson combo haven’t gotten nearly as much play time. And now I have an AC on the way…

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Never thought I was going to find a closed back to replace the Radiance. I went through enormous lengths to get a Radiance after they got discontinued and figured I’d want them in my collection for life. As soon as I got AC in the house I A/B’d them and the Radiance never sounded worse.

I’ve been using the AC a lot more than Caldera and I got them both a week apart. I’m enamored with the AC. So much so that I sold the Radiance yesterday. Is what it is. This hobby’s crazy like that sometimes.

Anyone else sell something they thought they’d never because of another product?

Never thought I'd sell my first VC. I got a "rarity" during ZMF November years ago. It was a red-stained Manchurian Ash. I had already sold my first ZMF before getting the VC, a Sapele Aeolus. Then on a whim, I bought a beautiful Ash Auteur basically because it looked so amazing. I really didn't expect to like the Auteur's sound more than my VC, but after months with both, I found I preferred the Auteur overall. I sold my VC, and now fast forward a few years and I have an Ash AC on order. I hope to keep both Ash ZMFs, but we shall see.

 

[AnamCeoil]

Never thought I was going to find a closed back to replace the Radiance. I went through enormous lengths to get a Radiance after they got discontinued and figured I’d want them in my collection for life. As soon as I got AC in the house I A/B’d them and the Radiance never sounded worse.

I’ve been using the AC a lot more than Caldera and I got them both a week apart. I’m enamored with the AC. So much so that I sold the Radiance yesterday. Is what it is. This hobby’s crazy like that sometimes.

Anyone else sell something they thought they’d never because of another product?

Not sure if it qualifies, but am seriously considering selling my Violectric V202 since I got the Beyerdynamic A20...it just does something amazing with my ZMFs that the V202 can't replicate. Still quite new to the amp/ source game, so will wait a few months...but at the moment the A20 and ZMFs are getting all my headtime since I got it in October.

 

[goldwerger]

Anyone else sell something they thought they’d never because of another product?

All the time. And I always enjoy the journey to continued discovery…

 

[AcousticMatt]

Anyone else sell something they thought they’d never because of another product?

Yes. Am actually considering selling a couple things right now that I never thought I'd sell based on how much I'm enjoying my current set-up (Caldera being at the top of that enjoyment!)

Also, my walnut AC is out for delivery today! Wahoo!

 

[AudioDuck]

Anyone else sell something they thought they’d never because of another product?

I had a similar experience with the Focal Stellia. An excellent, excellent headphone that deserves all the accolades it has received (and the leather discoloration reputation- IYKYK).

Then I “met” ZMF through the Auteur, realized ZMF’s tuning was very much what I was looking for (especially with my OTL tube amp), and I’ve not looked back.

Looking ahead, I’m wondering if my VC is “at risk”. I’ve barely touched it since the AC arrived, and I don’t think it’s “new toy syndrome”… We’ll see though.

I’ll give it time, but it might more sense to own an Atrium as the biocellulose driver magic appeals very much to me.

 

[sp33ls]

Anyone else sell something they thought they’d never because of another product?

Despite already being uber high-end, and oozing quality “, I sold both of these:

For some VFET goodness:



Those who know, know.

I initially thought I’d never sell the Pioneer stack; how could things get any better? But alas, here we are. This hobby is crazy like that.

Just plain smitten with all of my gear, including my cans. ZMF has kept me off the hype train so many times (well, except for when Zach drops a new model!!)