[shafat777]

I'm pretty sure this isn't gonna work, but I'll try anyway...

Don't. Don't do it. It shouldn't matter that this has the new Atrium Damping System, which provides for the soundstage that everybody is raving about -- because let's be honest, you haven't heard it so you have no idea what you're missing. IOW, nowhere in your audible memory does that staging exist for you, so there's nothing to miss. Nor do you need any of the wood options being offered now, because while we may all want certain wood offerings, we don't technically need any of them. You're all set, just ignore us.

I should have ignored you guys long time ago LOL. Its too late now, i just cant look away. The addiction is real, no known cure. I relapse very other week. Only thing that helps is ZMF headphone pictures.

 

[helljudgement]

My only other headphone is a drop 6xx with ZMF perf leather pads. My source is a Bluesound Node 2i streaming Flac from a local music server.
Only my second night with the Atrium. Most noticeable improvement over the 6xx is the soundstage. Much wider presentation and the imaging is more precise.
The other thing that jumps out is that the bass presence is much stronger. Rumbles, but not in a bloomy way. Better sub bass perhaps?
Last thing that I have noticed is that the Atrium is slightly quieter than the 6xx at the same volume levels. Usually start at around 11/46 on 6xx and it feels like I need maybe 15/46 to get to the same level.
I also own a Bottlehead Crack/Speedball and Schiit coaster amp. I will give those a listen tomorrow. When I read the reviews of the Atrium multiple people mentioned that this headphone is more forgiving of lesser recordings. It is a weird paradox that this headphone can both be more precise than the 6xx and at the same time more enjoyable with rougher recordings. My impressions on my gear so YMMV.

Thanks for sharing. The bass performance jump from 6xx to modern higher end dynamic drivers like Atrium, VO and Utopia is very noticeable. One of the things I noticed a few years ago when I started looking for upgrades to my previous setup was how much better the dynamic drivers are able to render bass texture and slam compared to the dynamic drivers from before.

 

[Bkido]

Has anyone of the Review-Unit members tried both the closed mesh and the new default Atrium mesh and could share some comparison between the two?

 

[warrenpchi]

I should have ignored you guys long time ago LOL. Its too late now, i just cant look away. The addiction is real, no known cure. I relapse very other week. Only thing that helps is ZMF headphone pictures.

I tried!

 

[pravous]

My slightly better gear is in a Covid Quarantine zone right now. My bedroom BHC/SB has been carrying me and its phenomenal. Telefunken input and a Tung Sol 6AS7G currently on mine.

Atrium does indeed sound great with the crack. Soundstage not quite as wide as the Airmid. That being said the Atrium sounds fantastic on the BHC/SB.

 

[Monsterzero]

Team aged cherry and brass checking in.

 

[dougq]

Team I placed my order and I need to turn off notifications to this thread until I get my headphones checking in.

 

[galileaux]

Mine finally shipped today! Hopefully getting them tomorrow or the day after. Can’t wait to try these out.

 

[SlothRock]

Team I placed my order and I need to turn off notifications to this thread until I get my headphones checking in.

Reporting for duty lol

 

[fuhransahis]

Aged Cherry order was placed on Friday

Was a tough split over the Koa with brass... but in the end the Aged Cherry finish looks so darn visually cohesive, as if the copper grills are an extension of the cherry wood itself and just... then the cherry ages with you too... plus the discount doesn't hurt

Can't wait!

 

[heliosphann]

Has anyone of the Review-Unit members tried both the closed mesh and the new default Atrium mesh and could share some comparison between the two?

Here's my post in the other thread:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-zmf-atrium-and-other-cool-ltd-zmf-stuff.962604/post-16898921

 

[heliosphann]

Aged Cherry order was placed on Friday

Was a tough split over the Koa with brass... but in the end the Aged Cherry finish looks so darn visually cohesive, as if the copper grills are an extension of the cherry wood itself and just... then the cherry ages with you too... plus the discount does that hurt

Can't wait!

The Cherry wood also smells quite divine.

 

[JS27]

In late last week and a couple days for either brain and/or driver burn, whatever your belief.......impressed. Being candid I made the highly educated decision to buy the Atrium on the basis of "These have super-duper snazzy grills". So right-away....Bubinga/steel....yep, looks great in-person.

Like Campfire Audio, like Grado.....I really dig that ZMF looks to curate a sonic profile with their releases. I know that's not the market-dominate position in a sea of bass-neutral releases.....but I'm a "listens to music via gear" dude first and foremost and I look for HP's/IEM's that can bring elevation through flavor. Some quick-thoughts:

The Tuning: It's bass/lower-mids focused and a bit dark. That's not my usual preference in a tuning vacuum. While bringing some thump, the bass is clean/decently tight and scales as the mix calls for it. The bass and mids share space well; treble is by no means an afterthought but there is "ease" in the presentation upper-mids into the treble range. For me a bit of jump-back life in the upper-treble......depending on the hale and hardiness of your individual earholes I'm betting the treble range can be perceived pretty differently on these cans.....from a bit dark to just 'dark'. For me the treble makes sense with the overall tuning approach...it's there, just not much 'air' or an electric-rise profile from the upper-mids. Speed is quick.....not the fastest I've heard but couldn't imagine it being lacking unless you needed a purpose-aimed speed freak. Clarity/resolution/detail appropriate for the $2K-$3K space if not class-leading in that rarified bracket. They dynamics are real fun on this and a highlight.....rocks hard and fast in presenting tonal contrast note-to-note.....audio roller-coaster ride. This is one where I've started to make the "Oh, I turned it up too loud" flinch over to the volume knob...and it's really just the dynamic shifts as opposed to being harsh or sibilant. Zen Pro's do that for me in an IEM.

The "Seasonings": Boy howdy, the special-sauce(s) is where this thing really kills. It's not as wide as the HD800/S but really, only the HD800/S needs to be as wide as the HD800/S. These are crazy spacious enough and have a great sense of scale/height for a HP. And jeebus does the music just swirl and dance in a holographic way in that space. I'm going to go out on a limb and take a wild guess the preceding is why ZMF called this the "Atrium" and cribbed a cathedral window on the grill. Mission accomplished there. Layer into that very impressive texture and tonal weight....add it to the speed and note-to-note dynamics.......this is a unique and impressive fella' that earns it's price-tag relative to the market. In most HP's that focus on space/swirl you get an etheral-light or treble-focused tuning. These are unique (to what I've come across) in bringing the swirling space with meaty, bass-lower mid thump. The very, very impressive design outcome here is what keeps this glued to my head even though the basic tuning profile isn't my treble/upper-mids tizzy rocket preference.

So I likes em"

 

[Pharmaboy]

The Cherry wood also smells quite divine.

Interesting...

(it never even occurred to me to smell this headphone)

 

[heliosphann]

Interesting...

(it never even occurred to me to smell this headphone)

Mine was quite noticeable for the first few weeks, but it's faded a lot now.