I decided to try the suede pads again and Iâm so glad that I didnât give up on them. Rather than keep switching back and forth between pads, I decided to leave the suedes on the whole weekend, starting with the Olive AC. I also decided to use the same 100 ohm tap on my Nautilus that I normally use for my other ZMFs, because I wanted to hear what the headphones sounded like without compensating for anything. I also used my Burson Soloist 3XP (using Burson's 5A Supercharger power supply) to see how it sounded on a solid state amp.
I eased into this with some acoustic guitar music, which I'd also enjoyed with the lambskin pads, as I wondered what I would lose with the suede. Starting with Eric Clapton playing âLaylaâ on his Unplugged album, I was happy to still feel the texture of the guitar strings. I also found Claptonâs voice was nice and strong, whereas with the lambskin pads, his voice was a little recessed, probably because the bass was overpowering the mids. Switching to another acoustic guitar track, The Sundays playing âHere's Where The Story Endsâ, Harriet Wheelerâs voice was possibly even more forward than Claptonâs.
I then moved into the ACâs sweet spot (for me at least), atmospheric guitar music with tons of reverb, starting with Mojave 3âs âLove Songs On The Radioâ, Mazzy Starâs âFade Into Youâ, Chris Isaakâs âWicked Gameâ, Cowboy Junkiesâ âBlue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis)â and Lana Del Reyâs âVideo Gamesâ, finishing that session with something a little harder hitting, My Morning Jacketâs âMahgeetahâ. Absolutely sublime.
From there, I wanted to leave the hazy realm of reverb-drenched music and try something tighter. From Stevie Wonderâs âSuperstitionâ to James Brownâs âSay It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proudâ to Spoonâs âI Turn My Camera Onâ, all three songs had my foot tapping to the rhythm.
Onto some songs with some of my favorite bass lines, Talking Headsâ âPsycho Killerâ, Rage Against The Machineâs âBullet In The Headâ and The Breedersâ Cannonball, and although the suede pads have less overall bass than the lambskins, I was much more impressed with the texture of the bass strings that I was now hearing.
And taking
@geoffalter11's advice to try bass played without a pick, I tried Tom Waitsâ âStep Right Upâ, where you can literally feel the strings of the upright bass quivering.
Switching to Selena Gomezâs âLose You To Love Meâ and Alison Kraussâ âDown To The River To Prayâ proved that the AC can focus on female vocals, and Johnny Cashâs rich baritone also shone in his duet with Joe Strummer, âRedemption Songâ.
I used the 30 second drum solo at the start Van Halenâs âHot For Teacherâ to see if the AC was going to sound slow, but it kept itâs rhythm, with clear separation between each drum beat. And as Eddieâs guitar burst in, I could see that the AC isnât just great at acoustic guitar, but also shines with metal guitar histrionics. Another torture test with Helloweenâs âHalloweenâ and Metallicaâs âCreeping Deathâ proved that it can easily handle metal.
As expected, the AC also excels with electronic music. I was concerned that losing the extra bass of the lambskin pads would be detrimental, but I soon realized that I was only losing volume, not depth, and the tighter bass actually gave electronic music a great foundation. Jean Michel Jarreâs âEquinoxe, Part 5â sounded expansive, with the keyboard melody propelling you along. It passed every reviewerâs favorite sub-bass test, TrentemĂžllerâs âChameleonâ, followed by the dubstep bass wobbles of Skrillexâs âScary Monsters And Nice Spritesâ and the screaming vocals over a wall of melodic electronic sound in Crystal Castleâs âBaptismâ.
I was so impressed with the Olive/suede combination that I wondered if the Cherry would sound as good with the suede pads, so I played through all the above music again, and didnât care that I was hearing the same songs again, because I was enjoying the experience so much. The difference between the 2 woods was still there, but to a much lesser extent than with the lambskin pads. The Cherry added a little more reverb, a tiny bit more warmth, but otherwise, I would have been happy listening to music with either headphone.