[Wes S]

The Marblecake Walnut and Walnut Burl on your old Pendant SE are a match made in heaven. (Plus they sound incredible together)

Here’s the full photo showing them next to the Pendant SE (the grain on the Marblecake is really something isn’t it?)

That combo looks insane! I always thought that was the best looking Pendant out there, and it matches up great with that pair of AC. Love me some good burl!

 

[erics75]

Been burning in a review AC Redwood Burl unit for a few days now. Thought I'd pop in to offer some impressions after the first few days. Zach warned the unit was not burned in, to give it time, so big grain of salt here.

First things first, these are dam gorgeous! I love burl (still lobbying for "In Burl we Trust" or Buy my Burl!" for the upcoming November burl blowout). They look more brown than red in person, the red really comes out in pictures. Either way, they're stunning. I think these have a mag chassis, they look painted, but I cannot verify for sure. But point being they're surprisingly light. I have the Atrium open (AO), and Atticus (AT), and both of those with aluminum chassis feel heavier.

The earpads are a bit surprising if you're used to ZMF. Normally it's solid material for closed sets and perforated for open. But these are hybrid. The inner wall is solid, with perforations on the outside and the side that presses against your face. Speaking of pads, one set is lambskin, the other suede. Per the norm, they're super comfy and feel great against my face. Quality is top notch.

Early sound impressions (lamb pads unless noted):

Holy hell these things have bass. Like the unit physically vibrates on my head, as well as slams my eardrums. My first thought was TH900 subbass. Man these dig low to bring the rumble and thunder. Moving up to the midbass it's still strong and elevated. The AC matches the AO's strong midbass punch and adds deeper subbass rumble. Epic bass for sure. And my initial thought was maybe too much. The bass quality is great, it's nimble, tight, and detailed. But boy does it come on strong. That was my initial reaction. As both the unit and my brain has burned in, I might just back that off and say just right. Maybe... the jury is still out. They straddle the border between perfect and just a touch too much.

The mids are rich and euphonic, and remind me of the AO. My one SLIGHT gripe is i'd like the mids to be just a touch farther forward. They're not recessed, but not as forward as the AO or AT. I like forward mids though, so grain of salt. All in all another solid mids performance by ZMF, which have some of the best mids, period. IMO of course!

The treble initially was very soft. Like oh man these are HD650 rolled off up top. But that seems to have changed quite a bit as the unit accumulates hours. Now strings and female vocals have excellent presence and bite. The AO has more treble presence, but the AC is fine now. If I could nudge the treble up just a touch I'd do so, but as is now, I'm fine. And what is here is smooth, detailed, and non-fatiguing. Been blasting a lot of guitar rock lately and the AC has not fatigued me at all. Johnny Winter, John 5, Dick Dale, and Jeff Loomis sound excellent on the AC, even with it's slightly soft upper regions. Strings have good bite and reverb, with natural decay without being overly resonant. Overtones and distortion sound natural and thick. High piano notes sometimes bother my tinitus, but nothing offended me so far. I do like the treble on the AO a tad more, but they're really close overall.

Soundstage is excellent. I forget i'm wearing closed headphones often with the AC. I'm not a huge soundstage person myself, anything on par or better than the HD600/650 is adequate, and these are better than that. Nuff said.

Overall these sound very similar to the AO, with a few distinct differences. First is that epic subbass. The AC is just straight bassier than the AO. The mids and treble are SLIGHTLY farther back than the AO. Nothing horrible, but they're just not as forward sounding to my ears. I just give the volume a slight nudge up and i'm fine. No fatigue, and more of that bass...

Pad rolling: All the above was with the lambskin pads. Swapping for the suede pads shifts the response pretty significantly. The bass is tempered down quite a bit, while the upper mids and treble move much more forward. Suddenly the AC with suede pads sounds a lot like the Auteur (OG, not the newer version). Much brighter, with much more reserved bass. The bass still has great impact and presence, it's not weak at all. But it is lessened quite a bit. I'm treble sensitive so I found the suede pads to be just a bit too intense. It wasn't shouty, per se, but it is energetic up top with suede. I enjoyed the difference, but ultimately went back to the lamb pads as I like a darker signature.

Amp rolling: This is a huge "In Progress". I love ZMFs on tubes and the AC is no different. But synergy has been elusive so far. My Kenzie OG2 sounds good with my most neutral tube roll, but I think that's still not neutral enough, making the AC a bit thick sounding no matter what I've rolled, tube-wise. I just got my Stratus and am still using the stock tubes. On the AO I found excellent synergy there, but not as much with the AC. Again, a bit too thick sounding. It's not bad sounding by any means, just not as synergistic as the AO/Stratus. My MicroZOTL 2 is pretty neutral sounding with just a hint of warmth, and wonderful tube spaciousness. So far this has been my preferred combo. I need more time to test here.

So far I'm loving my time with the AC. It's very similar overall to the AO, with a touch of the Atticus' thickness added. Very very fun headphone that brings the fun in spades. I'll do a formal review in time as both the unit and my brain are still burning in. But I already know these are winners.

If there's one wishlist item it would be a Goldilocks pad that sits between the leather and suede pads sonically. I know Zach is working on some pad designs for the upcoming release so hopefully it will be available then. What I'd like is a very slight tempering of the bass with a more noticeable increase in the mids/treble. That would slot right between the two stock pads and IMO give a better mid ground between them.

 

[Monsterzero]

Been burning in a review AC Redwood Burl unit for a few days now. Thought I'd pop in to offer some impressions after the first few days. Zach warned the unit was not burned in, to give it time, so big grain of salt here.

First things first, these are dam gorgeous! I love burl (still lobbying for "In Burl we Trust" or Buy my Burl!" for the upcoming November burl blowout). They look more brown than red in person, the red really comes out in pictures. Either way, they're stunning. I think these have a mag chassis, they look painted, but I cannot verify for sure. But point being they're surprisingly light. I have the Atrium open (AO), and Atticus (AT), and both of those with aluminum chassis feel heavier.

The earpads are a bit surprising if you're used to ZMF. Normally it's solid material for closed sets and perforated for open. But these are hybrid. The inner wall is solid, with perforations on the outside and the side that presses against your face. Speaking of pads, one set is lambskin, the other suede. Per the norm, they're super comfy and feel great against my face. Quality is top notch.

Early sound impressions (lamb pads unless noted):

Holy hell these things have bass. Like the unit physically vibrates on my head, as well as slams my eardrums. My first thought was TH900 subbass. Man these dig low to bring the rumble and thunder. Moving up to the midbass it's still strong and elevated. The AC matches the AO's strong midbass punch and adds deeper subbass rumble. Epic bass for sure. And my initial thought was maybe too much. The bass quality is great, it's nimble, tight, and detailed. But boy does it come on strong. That was my initial reaction. As both the unit and my brain has burned in, I might just back that off and say just right. Maybe... the jury is still out. They straddle the border between perfect and just a touch too much.

The mids are rich and euphonic, and remind me of the AO. My one SLIGHT gripe is i'd like the mids to be just a touch farther forward. They're not recessed, but not as forward as the AO or AT. I like forward mids though, so grain of salt. All in all another solid mids performance by ZMF, which have some of the best mids, period. IMO of course!

The treble initially was very soft. Like oh man these are HD650 rolled off up top. But that seems to have changed quite a bit as the unit accumulates hours. Now strings and female vocals have excellent presence and bite. The AO has more treble presence, but the AC is fine now. If I could nudge the treble up just a touch I'd do so, but as is now, I'm fine. And what is here is smooth, detailed, and non-fatiguing. Been blasting a lot of guitar rock lately and the AC has not fatigued me at all. Johnny Winter, John 5, Dick Dale, and Jeff Loomis sound excellent on the AC, even with it's slightly soft upper regions. Strings have good bite and reverb, with natural decay without being overly resonant. Overtones and distortion sound natural and thick. High piano notes sometimes bother my tinitus, but nothing offended me so far. I do like the treble on the AO a tad more, but they're really close overall.

Soundstage is excellent. I forget i'm wearing closed headphones often with the AC. I'm not a huge soundstage person myself, anything on par or better than the HD600/650 is adequate, and these are better than that. Nuff said.

Overall these sound very similar to the AO, with a few distinct differences. First is that epic subbass. The AC is just straight bassier than the AO. The mids and treble are SLIGHTLY farther back than the AO. Nothing horrible, but they're just not as forward sounding to my ears. I just give the volume a slight nudge up and i'm fine. No fatigue, and more of that bass...

Pad rolling: All the above was with the lambskin pads. Swapping for the suede pads shifts the response pretty significantly. The bass is tempered down quite a bit, while the upper mids and treble move much more forward. Suddenly the AC with suede pads sounds a lot like the Auteur (OG, not the newer version). Much brighter, with much more reserved bass. The bass still has great impact and presence, it's not weak at all. But it is lessened quite a bit. I'm treble sensitive so I found the suede pads to be just a bit too intense. It wasn't shouty, per se, but it is energetic up top with suede. I enjoyed the difference, but ultimately went back to the lamb pads as I like a darker signature.

Amp rolling: This is a huge "In Progress". I love ZMFs on tubes and the AC is no different. But synergy has been elusive so far. My Kenzie OG2 sounds good with my most neutral tube roll, but I think that's still not neutral enough, making the AC a bit thick sounding no matter what I've rolled, tube-wise. I just got my Stratus and am still using the stock tubes. On the AO I found excellent synergy there, but not as much with the AC. Again, a bit too thick sounding. It's not bad sounding by any means, just not as synergistic as the AO/Stratus. My MicroZOTL 2 is pretty neutral sounding with just a hint of warmth, and wonderful tube spaciousness. So far this has been my preferred combo. I need more time to test here.

So far I'm loving my time with the AC. It's very similar overall to the AO, with a touch of the Atticus' thickness added. Very very fun headphone that brings the fun in spades. I'll do a formal review in time as both the unit and my brain are still burning in. But I already know these are winners.

If there's one wishlist item it would be a Goldilocks pad that sits between the leather and suede pads sonically. I know Zach is working on some pad designs for the upcoming release so hopefully it will be available then. What I'd like is a very slight tempering of the bass with a more noticeable increase in the mids/treble. That would slot right between the two stock pads and IMO give a better mid ground between them.

Damn another gorgeous pair of AC!

Give the AC some more time. If you have tubes, get to rolling. The bass is most def legit and can overwhelm, but the upstream gear goes a long ways towards how the AC sounds.

I find the treble to be quite good on the AC. I haven't begun the a/b phase yet, but I find the treble to be quite extended and apparent without any harshness or sibilance

 

[SlothRock]

The hybrid pads are my absolute favorite with my VC's and after reading Goldwerger & Erics review, it seems like they may be a killer set of pads for the AC as well. Tame the bass just slightly while bringing the mids/highs more forward. Exactly why I prefer them on my VC's

 

[erics75]

Damn another gorgeous pair of AC!

Give the AC some more time. If you have tubes, get to rolling. The bass is most def legit and can overwhelm, but the upstream gear goes a long ways towards how the AC sounds.

I find the treble to be quite good on the AC. I haven't begun the a/b phase yet, but I find the treble to be quite extended and apparent without any harshness or sibilance

I have an email out to Brent Jessee about some 2a3 and 5u4g tubes for my Stratus I've given the NP stock tubes enough burn in, time for some NOS stuff.

I have noticed the AC seems to be the most sensitive ZMF to upstream gear changes. The VC from memory was also quite sensitive as well. When dialed in, it is a fun ride for sure. The bass on my warmest amp, my Kenzie with a warm tube roll, was way too much. But running different power tubes really tightened things up. Still a lot of bass, but in a good way then. I'm loving the AC so far. I normally despise the breakin period of headphones, but lately with the last few ZMFs i've been enjoying the journey. It was fun to hear how the AO transformed from it's out of the box to fully broken in sound signature. I'm noticing much the same with the AC. They need some serious time to really loosen up, but once there they're stunning.

I've only done a bit of A/B on the AO/AC but what initially stood out was the AC's treble had a bit more initial bite and attack, but sounds a bit farther back, making it softer in a way. The AO has a bit longer decay and lingers a bit more, while also sitting a bit more forward. Gives me the impression of more treble, though I'm not really sure it is. Both do treble excellently.

 

[zach915m]

The hybrid pads are my absolute favorite with my VC's and after reading Goldwerger & Erics review, it seems like they may be a killer set of pads for the AC as well. Tame the bass just slightly while bringing the mids/highs more forward. Exactly why I prefer them on my VC's

I'm working on some alternate pads to the lambskin and suede. I still prefer the lambskin by a bit, but I know a lot of people have said they prefer the suede. So those very likely will be the two stock pads. I will however always strive to have 3 good pads for each headphone, so likely one more version is coming.

I'm loving the AC so far. I normally despise the breakin period of headphones, but lately with the last few ZMFs i've been enjoying the journey. It was fun to hear how the AO transformed from it's out of the box to fully broken in sound signature. I'm noticing much the same with the AC. They need some serious time to really loosen up, but once there they're stunning.

Yeah the AC and AO have seemingly the "most" profound effect after burn in than any headphone I've built. They just almost seem to be a much more grown up, mature headphone when done. I think the delicate nature of closed back tuning and the wood and Atrium damping system makes the AC the most susceptible to this of any of them. When the next batch of review units goes out next week I'm going to try to make sure they all have around 100 hrs on them at least.

 

[goldwerger]

Been burning in a review AC Redwood Burl unit for a few days now. Thought I'd pop in to offer some impressions after the first few days. Zach warned the unit was not burned in, to give it time, so big grain of salt here.

First things first, these are dam gorgeous! I love burl (still lobbying for "In Burl we Trust" or Buy my Burl!" for the upcoming November burl blowout). They look more brown than red in person, the red really comes out in pictures. Either way, they're stunning. I think these have a mag chassis, they look painted, but I cannot verify for sure. But point being they're surprisingly light. I have the Atrium open (AO), and Atticus (AT), and both of those with aluminum chassis feel heavier.

The earpads are a bit surprising if you're used to ZMF. Normally it's solid material for closed sets and perforated for open. But these are hybrid. The inner wall is solid, with perforations on the outside and the side that presses against your face. Speaking of pads, one set is lambskin, the other suede. Per the norm, they're super comfy and feel great against my face. Quality is top notch.

Early sound impressions (lamb pads unless noted):

Holy hell these things have bass. Like the unit physically vibrates on my head, as well as slams my eardrums. My first thought was TH900 subbass. Man these dig low to bring the rumble and thunder. Moving up to the midbass it's still strong and elevated. The AC matches the AO's strong midbass punch and adds deeper subbass rumble. Epic bass for sure. And my initial thought was maybe too much. The bass quality is great, it's nimble, tight, and detailed. But boy does it come on strong. That was my initial reaction. As both the unit and my brain has burned in, I might just back that off and say just right. Maybe... the jury is still out. They straddle the border between perfect and just a touch too much.

The mids are rich and euphonic, and remind me of the AO. My one SLIGHT gripe is i'd like the mids to be just a touch farther forward. They're not recessed, but not as forward as the AO or AT. I like forward mids though, so grain of salt. All in all another solid mids performance by ZMF, which have some of the best mids, period. IMO of course!

The treble initially was very soft. Like oh man these are HD650 rolled off up top. But that seems to have changed quite a bit as the unit accumulates hours. Now strings and female vocals have excellent presence and bite. The AO has more treble presence, but the AC is fine now. If I could nudge the treble up just a touch I'd do so, but as is now, I'm fine. And what is here is smooth, detailed, and non-fatiguing. Been blasting a lot of guitar rock lately and the AC has not fatigued me at all. Johnny Winter, John 5, Dick Dale, and Jeff Loomis sound excellent on the AC, even with it's slightly soft upper regions. Strings have good bite and reverb, with natural decay without being overly resonant. Overtones and distortion sound natural and thick. High piano notes sometimes bother my tinitus, but nothing offended me so far. I do like the treble on the AO a tad more, but they're really close overall.

Soundstage is excellent. I forget i'm wearing closed headphones often with the AC. I'm not a huge soundstage person myself, anything on par or better than the HD600/650 is adequate, and these are better than that. Nuff said.

Overall these sound very similar to the AO, with a few distinct differences. First is that epic subbass. The AC is just straight bassier than the AO. The mids and treble are SLIGHTLY farther back than the AO. Nothing horrible, but they're just not as forward sounding to my ears. I just give the volume a slight nudge up and i'm fine. No fatigue, and more of that bass...

Pad rolling: All the above was with the lambskin pads. Swapping for the suede pads shifts the response pretty significantly. The bass is tempered down quite a bit, while the upper mids and treble move much more forward. Suddenly the AC with suede pads sounds a lot like the Auteur (OG, not the newer version). Much brighter, with much more reserved bass. The bass still has great impact and presence, it's not weak at all. But it is lessened quite a bit. I'm treble sensitive so I found the suede pads to be just a bit too intense. It wasn't shouty, per se, but it is energetic up top with suede. I enjoyed the difference, but ultimately went back to the lamb pads as I like a darker signature.

Amp rolling: This is a huge "In Progress". I love ZMFs on tubes and the AC is no different. But synergy has been elusive so far. My Kenzie OG2 sounds good with my most neutral tube roll, but I think that's still not neutral enough, making the AC a bit thick sounding no matter what I've rolled, tube-wise. I just got my Stratus and am still using the stock tubes. On the AO I found excellent synergy there, but not as much with the AC. Again, a bit too thick sounding. It's not bad sounding by any means, just not as synergistic as the AO/Stratus. My MicroZOTL 2 is pretty neutral sounding with just a hint of warmth, and wonderful tube spaciousness. So far this has been my preferred combo. I need more time to test here.

So far I'm loving my time with the AC. It's very similar overall to the AO, with a touch of the Atticus' thickness added. Very very fun headphone that brings the fun in spades. I'll do a formal review in time as both the unit and my brain are still burning in. But I already know these are winners.

If there's one wishlist item it would be a Goldilocks pad that sits between the leather and suede pads sonically. I know Zach is working on some pad designs for the upcoming release so hopefully it will be available then. What I'd like is a very slight tempering of the bass with a more noticeable increase in the mids/treble. That would slot right between the two stock pads and IMO give a better mid ground between them.

Great write up, enjoyed reading it a lot!

 

[goldwerger]

I'm working on some alternate pads to the lambskin and suede.

 

[g0ldl10n]

I'm working on some alternate pads to the lambskin and suede. I still prefer the lambskin by a bit, but I know a lot of people have said they prefer the suede. So those very likely will be the two stock pads. I will however always strive to have 3 good pads for each headphone, so likely one more version is coming.

If I may make a suggestion, especially for your open headphones, can you look into maybe testing a pad with about only half the number of perforations your current pads have? With all my tweaking/moding of your current perforated pads (and solid offerings), the number/amount of perforations, and where they are placed on the pads (inside or outside) make a HUGE difference in the final reproduction of sound you hear. And for me, one of my favorite pads for the Atrium Open are the Auteur Hybrids with about 65-70% (really hard to get exact percentage on this) perfs on the outside part of the pads covered, and leaving the rest of the perfs alone.

 

[zach915m]

If I may make a suggestion, especially for your open headphones, can you look into maybe testing a pad with about only half the number of perforations your current pads have? With all my tweaking/moding of your current perforated pads (and solid offerings), the number/amount of perforations, and where they are placed on the pads (inside or outside) make a HUGE difference in the final reproduction of sound you hear. And for me, one of my favorite pads for the Atrium Open are the Auteur Hybrids with about 65-70% (really hard to get exact percentage on this) perfs on the outside part of the pads covered, and leaving the rest of the perfs alone.

Totally agree the airflow in each part matters!

The original prototype tester Caldera pads utilized perforations at 6mm and 4.5mm distance, but they ended up being far too bassy with too little airflow. The final 3mm perforation works best with the additional fluting of the Caldera pad from inside to out.

So anyways that's a long way of saying, more perforations would be needed for an in between pad for lambskin, Or less perf for suede.

Anyways - you're absolutely right and I appreciate the insight! I promise the third pad for AC will end up in the middle between the two current stock options, and as with our other headphones, you'll be able to choose the secondary pad at checkout.

 

[erics75]

Totally agree the airflow in each part matters!

The original prototype tester Caldera pads utilized perforations at 6mm and 4.5mm distance, but they ended up being far too bassy with too little airflow. The final 3mm perforation works best with the additional fluting of the Caldera pad from inside to out.

So anyways that's a long way of saying, more perforations would be needed for an in between pad for lambskin, Or less perf for suede.

Anyways - you're absolutely right and I appreciate the insight! I promise the third pad for AC will end up in the middle between the two current stock options, and as with our other headphones, you'll be able to choose the secondary pad at checkout.

Ok ok big brain is on today…. Perf plugs!!!! Do as many perforations as possible and offer plugs for us to use to tune to taste! I’m only half joking though, if it were feasible it would rock. Just not sure it’s feasible

 

[zach915m]

Ok ok big brain is on today…. Perf plugs!!!! Do as many perforations as possible and offer plugs for us to use to tune to taste! I’m only half joking though, if it were feasible it would rock. Just not sure it’s feasible

Haha little tiny rubber plugs! We will send you 100 and try not to lose them!

In all seriousness though, when we've finished a batch of pads and the airflow isn't quite right I will use electrical tape to mess around with the airflow and where and what is perforated to figure out the next builds.

 

[G8torbyte]

Haha little tiny rubber plugs! We will send you 100 and try not to lose them!

In all seriousness though, when we've finished a batch of pads and the airflow isn't quite right I will use electrical tape to mess around with the airflow and where and what is perforated to figure out the next builds.

Thanks Zach! Your experimentation, innovations and collaborations are what makes ZMF so enjoyable.

 

[SlothRock]

Haha little tiny rubber plugs! We will send you 100 and try not to lose them!

In all seriousness though, when we've finished a batch of pads and the airflow isn't quite right I will use electrical tape to mess around with the airflow and where and what is perforated to figure out the next builds.

Why is part of me already putting together an entire audiophile market for this? Silver plugs, copper plugs, titanium plugs, diamond coated plugs. All changing the sound!

 

[mjstealey]

Haha little tiny rubber plugs! We will send you 100 and try not to lose them!

In all seriousness though, when we've finished a batch of pads and the airflow isn't quite right I will use electrical tape to mess around with the airflow and where and what is perforated to figure out the next builds.

Why is part of me already putting together an entire audiophile market for this? Silver plugs, copper plugs, titanium plugs, diamond coated plugs. All changing the sound!

I was thing more along the lines of "audiophile electrical tape"

Seriously though, some inventor/tinkerer DIY at it's finest - function first, aesthetics later