Same- I will listen to good recordings in my ACs in the evening if my wife has gone to bed early (she’s a middle school teacher and has to get up super early), and often I’ll hear small noises made in the recording studio off to the side of my listening chair…
Great review, thanks for sharing!Hi guys, just wanted to share some impressions after a few weeks with my olive wood AC.
My unit is very light weight, much lighter than my Verite. The magnesium chassis helps with that. It was a pre-built unit from November, so I didn't choose the magnesium specifically, but I'm happy with it, lighter is always better
As a curiosity, the cups actually have a soft olive oil smell! I remember some people reporting something similar here and I was curious about it. I mean, it's very soft but noticeable and nice.
Regarding the sound, just some comments on three aspects that have pleasantly surprised me. Always with Caldera suede pads. The stock ones are a lot of fun, but too much for me and I switched them after two weeks. I'll probably come back to them again at some point, but for now I'm settling on the suede.
First is the tonality and how it changes with the rolling of the pad. I had read the Caldera suede pads softened the bass and gave more air and a larger stage, but I didn't expect to get such a linear tonality that works so well with most genres. The excellent bass and sub-bass are there and come through when the recording requires it, but to my ears the rest of the FR is very well balanced and makes these headphones very good and versatile for me. It works very well with practically all genres, from bass-heavier like hip-hop or electronic, to others like pop, rock (Pink Floyd is delicious), jazz, acoustic, and even classical (big surprise for me, more on this later)
The second aspect is the timbre. Honestly, there is no surprise here. I love the timbre with the Verite, and now I love it with the AC too (and maybe even more). I haven't tried all the ZMFs, but I think the timbre is one of the things that has me hooked on this brand. The way these headphones reproduce the sound of instruments and voices is so natural, organic, life-like, and all that words we use to express that it’s so similar to reality. Verite’s and AC’s timbre are slightly different, but both wonderful. Neither better nor worse, just different, and well balanced with their two different sound signatures. I love the piano with the AC (the attack to the notes, the weight, sweetness and slow decay... wonderful) and I think I prefer violins and guitars with the Verite (fast, tactile and detailed but not harsh)
And the third would be the soundstage and how well the AC (I guess the ADS) works to locate the instruments in it. The Verite has been my daily driver for almost a year, and I love how it reproduces the music, specifically the classical music, with that fast and detailed, lush sound and its big and holographic stage. In the opposite, the AC sound is a bit slower with more decay, less detailed, and presents a smaller sound stage (being a closed back). So I didn’t expect to listen to much classical music with it, but surprisingly I found myself enjoying a lot of classical musical recordings with the AC. After wondering why, and doing some A/B between both the Verite and the AC, my thought is that the ADS in the AC is doing a very good job “ordering” the music and the instruments in the sound stage, and that’s important and noticeable with complex classical music recordings. Although in a smaller “space”, the instruments have always enough air to breathe, and the music never gets congested, having a natural cohesion that is fantastic. I mean, I wouldn’t say that the AC is the ideal headphone for classical, but it does very good
Well and that’s all. I’m very happy with the AC and how it complements the Verite. I’ve owned some mid-priced planar magnetic headphones in the past that sounded great, but to me the timbre and lack of weight in the notes were always the weak points. I know the Caldera is a different beast and has me intrigued (as does the upcoming CC) so maybe I’ll give them a try at some point, but for now, I think I’m done with these two nice dynamic driver headphones. I’m already starting to look for a proper tube amp to push these beauties to their limits (and beyond….)
Hey, thanks sir!Great review, thanks for sharing!
If your tube amp is specifically for these two headphones, I highly recommend going with an OTL tube amp… but I’m pretty sure you saw that coming.
I used the HA-3A with the Verite Closed and Aeolus for a while. It’s quite nice for the price. Little too linear for my taste, but I could see why others would love it.
@Rollnrock if you wanted to go more “all in” for the OTL smoother/richer sound, I certainly would recommend the Woo WA2. I don’t think you were looking for a balanced input/output (based on your other listed choices), but perhaps the Woo is more than you were thinking of spending?
That is a beautiful grain pattern.Hi guys, just wanted to share some impressions after a few weeks with my olive wood AC.
My unit is very light weight, much lighter than my Verite. The magnesium chassis helps with that. It was a pre-built unit from November, so I didn't choose the magnesium specifically, but I'm happy with it, lighter is always better
As a curiosity, the cups actually have a soft olive oil smell! I remember some people reporting something similar here and I was curious about it. I mean, it's very soft but noticeable and nice.
Regarding the sound, just some comments on three aspects that have pleasantly surprised me. Always with Caldera suede pads. The stock ones are a lot of fun, but too much for me and I switched them after two weeks. I'll probably come back to them again at some point, but for now I'm settling on the suede.
First is the tonality and how it changes with the rolling of the pad. I had read the Caldera suede pads softened the bass and gave more air and a larger stage, but I didn't expect to get such a linear tonality that works so well with most genres. The excellent bass and sub-bass are there and come through when the recording requires it, but to my ears the rest of the FR is very well balanced and makes these headphones very good and versatile for me. It works very well with practically all genres, from bass-heavier like hip-hop or electronic, to others like pop, rock (Pink Floyd is delicious), jazz, acoustic, and even classical (big surprise for me, more on this later)
The second aspect is the timbre. Honestly, there is no surprise here. I love the timbre with the Verite, and now I love it with the AC too (and maybe even more). I haven't tried all the ZMFs, but I think the timbre is one of the things that has me hooked on this brand. The way these headphones reproduce the sound of instruments and voices is so natural, organic, life-like, and all that words we use to express that it’s so similar to reality. Verite’s and AC’s timbre are slightly different, but both wonderful. Neither better nor worse, just different, and well balanced with their two different sound signatures. I love the piano with the AC (the attack to the notes, the weight, sweetness and slow decay... wonderful) and I think I prefer violins and guitars with the Verite (fast, tactile and detailed but not harsh)
And the third would be the soundstage and how well the AC (I guess the ADS) works to locate the instruments in it. The Verite has been my daily driver for almost a year, and I love how it reproduces the music, specifically the classical music, with that fast and detailed, lush sound and its big and holographic stage. In the opposite, the AC sound is a bit slower with more decay, less detailed, and presents a smaller sound stage (being a closed back). So I didn’t expect to listen to much classical music with it, but surprisingly I found myself enjoying a lot of classical musical recordings with the AC. After wondering why, and doing some A/B between both the Verite and the AC, my thought is that the ADS in the AC is doing a very good job “ordering” the music and the instruments in the sound stage, and that’s important and noticeable with complex classical music recordings. Although in a smaller “space”, the instruments have always enough air to breathe, and the music never gets congested, having a natural cohesion that is fantastic. I mean, I wouldn’t say that the AC is the ideal headphone for classical, but it does very good
Well and that’s all. I’m very happy with the AC and how it complements the Verite. I’ve owned some mid-priced planar magnetic headphones in the past that sounded great, but to me the timbre and lack of weight in the notes were always the weak points. I know the Caldera is a different beast and has me intrigued (as does the upcoming CC) so maybe I’ll give them a try at some point, but for now, I think I’m done with these two nice dynamic driver headphones. I’m already starting to look for a proper tube amp to push these beauties to their limits (and beyond….)
I am not familiar with the LCD-5 per se, but I can tell you it’s an open-back headphone and therefore doesn’t seem to fit your criteria at all.
Sorry, I neglected to mention that I already own one. So my question actually is: how would be my experience replacing the LCD-5 with the Atrium Closed.I am not familiar with the LCD-5 per se, but I can tell you it’s an open-back headphone and therefore doesn’t seem to fit your criteria at all.
One is open the other closed and the resolving power of the LCD 5 is PROBABLY not even close on the AC
Yes, it seems that Woo amplifiers are very well built and users are very happy. And specifically the WA2 seems to be a very good option for an OTL
