[Monsterzero]

(1) a much open feeling soundstage,

I didn't notice a more open stage, but perhaps deeper?

(2) cleaner transition from bass to lower mids/

That I did hear, absolutely.

In contrast, for me the suede pads had a better treble extention vs. more recessed and rolled of treble with the thin calderas pads. Go figure

Yeah, we all hear differently and of course upstream gear plays a huge role as well.
I was testing out some metal tracks earlier and this track simply lost all of its attack and bite with the suede pads for me.

To my ears this was reudcing from too elevated to slightly a little elevated. Different strokes etc.

The bass is no joke on the AC with the lambskins! I think for blues, country, rock depending upon upstream gear, the AC is awesome. If you have a bass heavy DAC and/ or amp, the suede pads might be the way to go though.

For bass intensive genres, like trance & psybient this headphone with the lambskin pads is INSANITY! I havent had this much fun in years with trance. The HD250, which has been my go to headphone for trance for over 6 years, has slightly more sub bass, and perhaps slightly less midbass slam, but the sub bass on the HD250 isnt as tight, and it in no way can it compete with the AC when it comes to the stage and 3Dness. Keep in mind I also intentionally rolled in a relatively bass light rectifier in my DAC too.

I'm looking forward to DAC rolling in the coming weeks to see how those will impact the AC

 

[goldwerger]

For bass intensive genres, like trance & psybient this headphone with the lambskin pads is INSANITY! I havent had this much fun in years with trance.

Isn't awesome when you get that feeling? that high of hearing a wonderful new headphone is so great!

I think the difference in genres may have much to do with this. I don't really to metal, trance, psybient etc.. My listening is focused on a lot of acoustic music, vocals, jazz; some pop; some classical.

I can completely see how for massive bass heavy genres the leather thin would offer an insane ride!! For the more acoustic music, the cleaner separate and (to my ears) more balanced tuning and open stage of the sueds fits better. But with metal or electronic music these may not be perceived similarly? I'm curious though, so I'll try to test some tracks in those genres in the coming days.. fascinating

 

[Monsterzero]

But with metal or electronic music these may not be perceived similarly?

The genres of electronic music I listen to typically range in the 60-135BPM range, so not super fast stuff like happy hardcore or hardfloor. At those tempos the bass doesn't get in the way at all.

If you wanna loosen your teeth, test this track with lambskins on



or this one



...or this



OTOH for metal, transients can get quite complex and busy. Additionally I like to hear metal guitar riffing ala staccato. So far in limited testing, the bass is muddying up the transients a bit for my tastes. Some metal heads could care less about that, but thats just how I prefer to hear my metal.

 

[goldwerger]

If you wanna loosen your teeth, test this track with lambskins on

I'll definitely try that! (will call my dentist to be on standby..)

 

[zach915m]

Tried the suede pads tonight on the AC. First a huge "Thank You" to @goldwerger for shipping them up the Hudson about 3 hours so I could try them.

To my ears the bass was def toned down, but not to the point where it was gone. The separation between instruments was better defined and the imaging maybe tightened up some? The sound in general got much warmer, with a decrease in some of the upper frequencies, and in the case of my system and current tube roll, they actually sounded almost dark. Finally, the suede pads made my ears sweat :/

I feel like the volume decreased a bit with the suede pads as well, but that might simply be a byproduct of having less treble and upper mid energy.

Most welcome my friend

I also perceived some reduced bass going to suede, completley agree. To my ears this was reudcing from too elevated to slightly elevated. Different strokes etc.

I also got better instrument separation and tighter imaging.

In contrast, for me the suede pads had a better treble extention vs. more recessed and rolled of treble with the thin calderas pads. Go figure

Biggest differences for me though, and what got me to pounce on the suede pads: (1) a much open feeling soundstage, (2) cleaner transition from bass to lower mids.

Like you I think, I persoanlly I always go for leather. Leather pads on all my other ZMF headphones, and in general where possible. Just like the feel. Though, so far, I'm surprised I'm pretty cool with this suede. We'll see how goes..

I suspect we probably hear things a little differently (espeically on dark vs. me hereing more openness and sparkle). Got to love how much HRTF varies between all of us. Good news for ZMF users - there are fans for both options, so.. you'll likely find you prefer one of these two options greatly. Good news is it's super easy to find out..

Well - the two pads that will come with the headphones are suede and lamb thin, so I hope that should suit most tastes.

I tried Caldera thin cow a while back and found it uninspiring, if anything a third pad will be the stock caldera pads (non thin), the bass is reduced a touch through diffusion of air in how the Caldera pads work and the stage widened a bit.

I am testing a couple other styles of pads as well before release.

 

[erics75]

For AC owners who also have the Atrium open, how do the upper mids and treble compare? I find the AO to be near perfect for my tastes, so very curious how the AC compares. Super excited for this launch, I need a closed set for work and absolutely adore the AO. Really hoping the experience of listening to the AC matches the AO.

 

[Magol79]

Has anyone had the chance to directly compare the AC to the Eikon yet? I mean, except Zach of course.

 

[Rebel Chris]

Has anyone had the chance to directly compare the AC to the Eikon yet? I mean, except Zach of course.

Has Eikon owner I'm curious too. When will the headphone be avaible to purchase?

 

[erics75]

Has Eikon owner I'm curious too. When will the headphone be avaible to purchase?

April is the launch month but what day I’ve not seen yet. Super excited!!!!!

 

[Monsterzero]

I managed to reel in the sub bass on the AC considerably while using the lambskin pads. Rolled in a Brimar 5R4GY in place of the USAF 596 and swapped in a pair of Bendix 6080wb in place of the Western Electric 421. The sub bass is now much more moderate.

This is why I do not like to make definitive statements or rush a review out about how gear sounds until I have had time to explore the gear and really understand it.

#trusttheprocess

 

[zach915m]

I managed to reel in the sub bass on the AC considerably while using the lambskin pads. Rolled in a Brimar 5R4GY in place of the USAF 596 and swapped in a pair of Bendix 6080wb in place of the Western Electric 421. The sub bass is now much more moderate.

This is why I do not like to make definitive statements or rush a review out about how gear sounds until I have had time to explore the gear and really understand it.

#trusttheprocess

I think - such is the case with most OTL amps - the user will be able to really dial in the sound via the pads/tubes just because of the adaptability of high impedance drivers. Airmid is certainly a primae candidate for that! Also Feliks amps, Decware etc etc

 

[Monsterzero]

I think - such is the case with most OTL amps - the user will be able to really dial in the sound via the pads/tubes just because of the adaptability of high impedance drivers. Airmid is certainly a primae candidate for that! Also Feliks amps, Decware etc etc

...and the beauty of having a tube based DAC, though I think the removing the 421a is the main reason TBH. Now the AC sounds completely balanced to the point where I'm wanting some the sub bass back....lol

What a wacky hobby

 

[omega1990]

Has anyone had the chance to directly compare the AC to the Eikon yet? I mean, except Zach of course.

I will compare the AC to the eikon as soon as Zach sends me a pair. I was so interested in hearing these that I signed up to demo them. I will also compare them to the rest of the zmf dynamics and see where they fit in for me. I've been upgrading everything to try my zmfs with. I'll be using a cfa3, schitt folkvangr, and a rarely spoken about audeze king mk2 which has excellent synergy with zmfs I might add, but I don't wanna spoil that one yet

This coming Monday I will also be receiving a a berkley alpha reference dac to finally upgrade from my berkley alpha dac. So yes I'm still preparing for them. There was one more tube amp I wanted to have ready for them, but my finances are too stretched to add another amp at this time. Can't wait to hear and report on them!

 

[Ridewave]

I'm wondering if it will be a good all-rounder? I probably don't need this, as I have a noire and thinking about getting a radiance for the office/home.

 

[SlothRock]

If it sounds like the regular Atrium, it should be a fantastic all arounder. I love my VC’s but I preferred my Atrium as an all around headphone. Sounded great with every genre and every quality of recording. VC’s are pickier in that regard