Okay... Let's try this again in the right thread.
REDWOOD vs. CHERRY WOOD ATRIUM CLOSED COMPARISON
I wasn’t originally planning on doing a comparison of my Redwood Atrium Closed and the Cherry Wood AC demo still in my possession. After all, the Janka difference is pretty small, especially when top end hardwoods are x2-x3 times the rating as Cherry wood. Thankfully, I decided to do a few A/B track comparisons. What I heard was quite surprising.
From past experience when comparing ZMF’s models in different woods, I expected the Redwood AC’s to have a few notable traits different from the Cherry AC’s. First, was that there would be extra decay, especially in regards to the bass. I also thought there would be a varying degree of increased bass quantity. These both ended up being true. Second, which Zach actually mentioned to me, was that the bass response was more “dimensional”. This also was spot on, although it ended up being slightly more than that. What really piqued my interest was that very quickly, I noticed that there were staging differences between the two headphones.
TESTING
For my comparison I tried to eliminate as many variables as possible. Both headphones have well over 250 hours on them, and both have the stock Caldera Thin Lambskin pads. 4-pin XLR ZMF OFC cables (say that 10 times quick) were used with both headphones. I broke up my listening sessions over several different days to avoid fatigue and to have a fresh set of “ears”. A DNA Stratus and Cavalli Liquid Gold (OG) were the only amps used, both at separate times. Finally all tracks were played through TIDAL through my normal source chain.
After comparing numerous songs, the differences I heard from the Redwood Atrium Closed vs. the Cherry Wood Atrium Closed are as follows:
- Bass has slightly more slam/impact
- More bass quantity
- Increased bass decay
- Staging is more vertical and not as wide
- Staging wraps around more front and back
- Mids are pushed forward
- Bump in upper midrange
- Small increase in the lower treble
The first three items came at no surprise, but everything else was not expected. Usually you might see a slight bump in the upper mids/lower treble going to a super high Janka rated headphone, but to find that change in the lowest Janka rated wood used by ZMF to date, well that's interesting. The staging shift was what really threw me off the most. It’s very noticeable, as vocals and instruments are presented differently between the two headphones. For example, instruments might shift more behind your ear compared to being directly out from it. Perhaps with certain woods at the end of the hardness scale, things just get a little… weird? I owned a pair of African Blackwood Auteur’s and they also had some magic to them, although not quite in the same way as the Redwood AC’s.
SONG EXAMPLES
I broke down several tracks to further explain the differences I’ve been hearing between the Redwood and Cherry Atrium Closed. Use the Songlink URL to easily listen to the track on a plethora of streaming options.
ANDREW BIRD “Never Fall Apart”
https://song.link/i/1616750177
The double bass is much more supple and pronounced, with increased attack and longer decay. The acoustic guitar doesn't stand out quite as much. Vocals have more clarity and are pushed forward and slightly up.
FARAH - “Rock Show” (
Some of you will hate this, but I love it dearly. It’s even better if you pretend Lucy from Twin Peaks is actually singing this…)
https://song.link/i/1551424810
The finger snaps are much clearer and have significantly more decay. They are also presented more forward and slightly wrap behind you. Bass drum hits harder with more reverb and decay. Vocals are a little more defined and pushed forward.
METRONOMY - “The Look”
https://song.link/i/425214904
Organ is more dispersed and less cohesive when fading in. Bass kick hits harder, but isn’t as focused. Lower right channel snare doesn’t stand out as much. Vocals are more pronounced. Left channel cymbals are crisper and more wrapped up and around.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’d like to point out that this is only a sample size of one. It’s possible that there is some sort of aberration in one of these headphones, although I think that's very unlikely. Despite the differences I found between the two Atrium Closed units, they sound far more similar than not. More likely is that Redwood has some unique traits other woods lack when used in this application. Regardless of its sonic differences, I feel pretty safe saying that the Redwood Burl Atrium Closed is pretty special. The weight is incredible and they look absolutely stunning. I believe the Summer of Burl sale still has a few more days to go, so if you haven’t pulled the trigger on one, you might want to ASAP.
