[heliosphann]

I guess I'd say it depends on what you would like to find next. Aeolus, Auteur & Verite will all have their adherents and each will deliver a different flavor of ZMF-ishness

A much better and accurate response than mine.

My Hiby R6 Pro drove Atrium quite well when I had a demo. I've used it extensively with my Auteur, which are close to equally demanding vs Atrium.
I actually like the Hiby better with Atrium, slightly prefer Auteur from my FiiO M15.

I had an original R6 when it was first released. Thought it was a solid DAP with a nice build, great software and good sound. I'll have to check out an R6 Pro sometime.

 

[Shockadelica]

My Hiby R6 Pro drove Atrium quite well when I had a demo. I've used it extensively with my Auteur, which are close to equally demanding vs Atrium.

I actually like the Hiby better with Atrium, slightly prefer Auteur from my FiiO M15.

I do think Hiby’s portable player range is a little underrated in general vs. some other brands.

I’ve always enjoyed my R6 Pro, and your comment is very good to hear!

 

[Monsterzero]

For "moderately priced" OTL amps I can suggest:
La Figaro 339
Woo Audio WA2

If you're handy with a soldering iron, many ZMFers like the Bottlehead Crack, though I've not heard one personally.
There are certainly more expensive OTL amps out there as well if you're so inclined to march straight to game over territory..
When considering valve amps, OTL or ortherwise, the added expense of NOS tubes needs to be factored into the budget as well.

You can also reach out to ZMF via their website and ask for amping solutions to fit your budget.

I will allow others to offer solid state and SET valve amp suggestions.

 

[DougD]

Not necessarily a buzzkill, this is good detail to know!

The amplifiers in my Buchardt speakers are “3 x 150 RMS / 330 Peak watts class D (per speaker)” if that helps?

Sorry if I am being slow-witted here.

I haven't done a lot of shopping for active (powered) speakers ... some years ago I bought a pair of inexpensive Emotivas for my desktop, and they work well for casual listening ... so I am not an expert on what's available, but I don't recall having seen any active/powered speakers that have an output headphone jack for listening to headphones. And in the one model I looked at on the Buchardt website, I don't see any mention or picture of a headphone jack.

The power of the internal amp doesn't matter for headphone use, if there's no headphone jack to connect to that amp.

So one of these speakers actually has a headphone jack? And if so, it's located close enough to your likely "h/p listening location" to be practical?

 

[yolosauce]

The power of the internal amp doesn't matter for headphone use, if there's no headphone jack to connect to that amp.

So one of these speakers actually has a headphone jack? And if so, it's located close enough to your likely "h/p listening location" to be practical?

The A500 and A700 don't have headphone jacks or volume control (need a separate streamer/preamp)

 

[Shockadelica]

The A500 and A700 don't have headphone jacks or volume control (need a separate streamer/preamp)

The Platin Stereo WISA Hub that comes with the speakers would be the connection option here (or a separate streamer/preamp as you mention).

 

[Shockadelica]

For "moderately priced" OTL amps I can suggest:
La Figaro 339
Woo Audio WA2

If you're handy with a soldering iron, many ZMFers like the Bottlehead Crack, though I've not heard one personally.
There are certainly more expensive OTL amps out there as well if you're so inclined to march straight to game over territory..
When considering valve amps, OTL or ortherwise, the added expense of NOS tubes needs to be factored into the budget as well.

You can also reach out to ZMF via their website and ask for amping solutions to fit your budget.

I will allow others to offer solid state and SET valve amp suggestions.

Not sure about my soldering iron skills, but I’ll definitely look into these options. Thanks!

 

[9bphillips]

In addition to my DAP, I have a set of active speakers (Buchardt Audio A500’s, as connected via their WISA Hub option), so my current amp setup are those as built inside the A500’s.

My main system is my wa22 but I do have a dx300 I use if I go out of town. To me the Atrium sounded pretty dang good from it. I was actually really surprised because my VC doesn't sound nearly as good on the dx300.

 

[9bphillips]

Thanks again!

Budget would be TBC for now, but if there are any particular good products in both the mid and upper end of the headphone amp price range (assuming such price categories are easy to define here of course), I can check them out when researching.

I started out my journey with solid state amps. I had the Burson Soloist 3xp and then the Burson Soloist GT. Both are outstanding amps and made both my Atrium and VC sound great. I kept hearing about ZMF and tubes so I bought a wa22 and I've been a tube junkey ever since. The hype is real with ZMF and tubes. To me tubes just brought out more emotion and soul in my music. I enjoy my wa22 way more than my solid state amps but that's not a knock on solid state. Keep in mind an otl amp won't play well with lower impedance planars. I had the lcd x when I bought the wa22 so I chose it so I could have that option of using any headphones. The wa22 sounds great with stock tubes but when you upgrade the tubes it gets seriously good! One of the cool things about tubes is how you can change the sound signature with different tubes. I am with monsterzero on suggesting a tube amp especially with ZMF headphones! It literally changed how I listened to music!

 

[Monsterzero]

@Shockadelica

I'm going to preface the following by assuming you are a bit of a novice when it comes to gear, and high end headphones and the associated gear specifically. I will attempt to not sound condescending, as that is certainly not my intent, and if i am underestimating your knowledge, forgive me in advance.

There is a pretty significant difference between the Cascade and ZMF headphones, including the impedance differences.

The Cascade does not scale very much, if at all, meaning you can plug the Cascade into your phone or a $20k amp/DAC combo and it will still sound essentially the same. The ZMFs, on the other hand, scale like mad. If you plug the Atrium into a phone, it will sound worse than the Cascades and you will think we're all doing the same drugs over here, but once you plug the Atrium into the $20k system your jaw will need scraping off of the floor. Now, I am not saying you need to spend mega coin to be able to enjoy ZMFs, but if you chose to, your ears would be rewarded. On the Cascade it would be a waste of money.

Another thing to consider is ZMF headphones are high end audiophile grade headphones, and they will expose weak links in your chain, like using 128 mp3s or Youtube as a music source, or using a PC's soundcard for playback. You can get away with stuff like that on the Cascades, on the Atrium, not so much.

ZMF headphones are worth building a system around, and in my opinion some of the very best sounding headphones in the world, but in order to reach that level of audio nirvana, the downstream chain, the source, the DAC and the amp need to be up to snuff in order to maximize your initial headphone investment.

If that all sounds like more than you want to undertake at this point, feel free to send me a PM and i can offer you some more advice, that way we keep the thread on topic.

Just my .02

 

[mfgillia]

Not necessarily a buzzkill, this is good detail to know!

The amplifiers in my Buchardt speakers are “3 x 150 RMS / 330 Peak watts class D (per speaker)” if that helps?

No worries if your point remains the same.

Are there any particular headphone amps that are known to pair particularly well with ZMF products?

The world of headphone amps is new to me, so any guidance appreciated!

I also have the A500s from the first batch a few years ago. There is no option to use the amps in either of the speakers to power headphones.

 

[SYLiu]

So I decided to do some listening on my BHC today and also do some pad rolling. I originally purchased the atrium with suede pads and have been using them for a few days, but I am generally a hybrid pad person so I had bought a set of universe hybrids as preparation and also had some BE2 hybrids sitting around. Anyways I loved the Atrium with suede pads so it can only get better right?

Originally when I got my Verite Open, I enjoyed them on the lambskin pads but don't like the feeling of lambskin on my face. I tried the universe hybrid and didn't feel like the sound changed much. It still had this sparkliness in the treble that I loved and had a major comfort improvement, maybe at a slight cost of a bit less bass. Totally worth it to me. I did try these BE2 hybrids on my Verite but it just sounded like all the treble was elevated and it made everything sound so hazy. The bass was a bit bloomier but less in volume and I just couldn't stand those pads. Oh well, guess it wasn't for me.

Anyways I tried the BE2 first on my Atrium, and my first impression was that the highs were a bit sparklier, kinda like what I heard on the Verite. The bass was much greater and had that bloomy quality I heard on the Verite too. I actually will say I thought it was just fine unlike what I thought for the Verite, it didn't kill the clarity at all but maybe added some. I did feel it took away from the midrange warmth and I started feeling like I didn't like the bass detail or the quantity. I tried hybrid universe after and found that it toned down a bit of the highs, tightened up the bass a bit, but kept a similar quantity to the BE2 hybrid. I listened to all these for a while across a few genres and I just couldn't get behind it, I felt like the magic from when I first got these just wasn't quite there. I thought the bass was too much and listening to classical/instrumental/jazz just lacked something and I didn't like it.

I think what I loved about the suedes was that they just sounded so spacious and natural for classical. It sounds like everything is more spread out compared to the other pads I tried. I have been listening to this headphone while I am working, and the music constantly makes me look up from what I am doing, wondering whether my speakers or phone were playing music. I just love that feeling of spaciousness and immersion.

So after all that, suedes are back on and probably going to stay. Man I love the way this headphone sounds. I had an HD800S that I bought as a classical music headphone and the Atrium leaves that in the dust. HD800S has been sold and its not missed lol. Its also interesting that everyone seems to hear so differently and have different impressions. I thought the BE2 was going to be amazing for the Verite based on people's reviews but it was terrible to me. Maybe I'll try BE2 suedes someday, not to mention Auteur pads which I have never tried...

 

[9bphillips]

So I decided to do some listening on my BHC today and also do some pad rolling. I originally purchased the atrium with suede pads and have been using them for a few days, but I am generally a hybrid pad person so I had bought a set of universe hybrids as preparation and also had some BE2 hybrids sitting around. Anyways I loved the Atrium with suede pads so it can only get better right?

Originally when I got my Verite Open, I enjoyed them on the lambskin pads but don't like the feeling of lambskin on my face. I tried the universe hybrid and didn't feel like the sound changed much. It still had this sparkliness in the treble that I loved and had a major comfort improvement, maybe at a slight cost of a bit less bass. Totally worth it to me. I did try these BE2 hybrids on my Verite but it just sounded like all the treble was elevated and it made everything sound so hazy. The bass was a bit bloomier but less in volume and I just couldn't stand those pads. Oh well, guess it wasn't for me.

Anyways I tried the BE2 first on my Atrium, and my first impression was that the highs were a bit sparklier, kinda like what I heard on the Verite. The bass was much greater and had that bloomy quality I heard on the Verite too. I actually will say I thought it was just fine unlike what I thought for the Verite, it didn't kill the clarity at all but maybe added some. I did feel it took away from the midrange warmth and I started feeling like I didn't like the bass detail or the quantity. I tried hybrid universe after and found that it toned down a bit of the highs, tightened up the bass a bit, but kept a similar quantity to the BE2 hybrid. I listened to all these for a while across a few genres and I just couldn't get behind it, I felt like the magic from when I first got these just wasn't quite there. I thought the bass was too much and listening to classical/instrumental/jazz just lacked something and I didn't like it.

I think what I loved about the suedes was that they just sounded so spacious and natural for classical. It sounds like everything is more spread out compared to the other pads I tried. I have been listening to this headphone while I am working, and the music constantly makes me look up from what I am doing, wondering whether my speakers or phone were playing music. I just love that feeling of spaciousness and immersion.

So after all that, suedes are back on and probably going to stay. Man I love the way this headphone sounds. I had an HD800S that I bought as a classical music headphone and the Atrium leaves that in the dust. HD800S has been sold and its not missed lol. Its also interesting that everyone seems to hear so differently and have different impressions. I thought the BE2 was going to be amazing for the Verite based on people's reviews but it was terrible to me. Maybe I'll try BE2 suedes someday, not to mention Auteur pads which I have never tried...

I am a big fan of the Be2 suede. I generally use the Universe lambskin and Be2 suede on my Atrium. To me the Be2 suede isn't as wide open as the Universe lambskin but it isn't congested by any means. To me it is a more romantic sound signature. The Be2 seemed to highlight the mids and vocals even more than the Atrium already does. They aren't overly forward just more focused. They still have plenty of bass and the highs seem to have more sparkle. I love how electric guitars and drums sound with the Be2. Electric guitars have more bite and are more lively while drums seem to have more direct impact. I think that may sound like that because they aren't as open as the Universe lambskin. The Be2 suede is also more comfortable to me. I like the way suede feels on my ears. It's still a tough call which I prefer. I may not ever come to that conclusion because they both sound great!

 

[SYLiu]

I am a big fan of the Be2 suede. I generally use the Universe lambskin and Be2 suede on my Atrium. To me the Be2 suede isn't as wide open as the Universe lambskin but it isn't congested by any means. To me it is a more romantic sound signature. The Be2 seemed to highlight the mids and vocals even more than the Atrium already does. They aren't overly forward just more focused. They still have plenty of bass and the highs seem to have more sparkle. I love how electric guitars and drums sound with the Be2. Electric guitars have more bite and are more lively while drums seem to have more direct impact. I think that may sound like that because they aren't as open as the Universe lambskin. The Be2 suede is also more comfortable to me. I like the way suede feels on my ears. It's still a tough call which I prefer. I may not ever come to that conclusion because they both sound great!

I'll have to try some BE2 suedes sometime, maybe I will like them more than I do the hybrids! I do also like the way suede feels, its really hard to convince me to use leather pads now, even for sound.

 

[hung031086]

I replaced my Soloist 3xp with the Pendant SE. Love it so far.