ZMF Atrium - new open-back co-flagship

[LCMusicLover]

Noticing again how great The World is a Ghetto (whole album, but esp. title track) sounds from Atrium. Lots of different things going on on that track:

- vocals, solo & harmonies
- horns
- sax
- organ
- guitar, bass, percussion

There’s lots of horn attacks and wailing saxophones and bass slam but also some incredibly smooth sections. And Atrium handles the whole deal with aplomb and panache.

 

[g0ldl10n]

Holy Moly Ravioli - Brainwavz XL Micro Suede just got delivered and, "why hello Bass, nice to meet you "

I have the Brainwavz XL PU Leather Perforated set, the ones that were used on some dudes review on YT that said they were the best thing since sliced bread om the Atriums, but they were horrific IMHO - they were way way way too dark, literally lost nearly all of the lovely highs.

However, these micro suede pads are a different story - they still result in an overall darker sound signature, but the highs are not completely lost. Do I think everyone would enjoy these, definitely not, however, if you are at all a "bass head" at times, I think you most certainly would! The bass actually rumbles the soul with these while retaining the upper range sufficiently well.

Take/Five - Pompiie .. great song to test out bass on any pair of headphones!

 

[Somatic]

Holy Moly Ravioli - Brainwavz XL Micro Suede just got delivered and, "why hello Bass, nice to meet you "

I have the Brainwavz XL PU Leather Perforated set, the ones that were used on some dudes review on YT that said they were the best thing since sliced bread om the Atriums, but they were horrific IMHO - they were way way way too dark, literally lost nearly all of the lovely highs.

However, these micro suede pads are a different story - they still result in an overall darker sound signature, but the highs are not completely lost. Do I think everyone would enjoy these, definitely not, however, if you are at all a "bass head" at times, I think you most certainly would! The bass actually rumbles the soul with these while retaining the upper range sufficiently well.

Take/Five - Pompiie .. great song to test out bass on any pair of headphones!

Hmmm. Would you say its more mid bass or more sub bass rumble than you get with stock pads?

Edit: Super cheap. Going to try them as well. If I don't like, I'll see if I can return on Amazon.

 

[karangovil]

Almost 6 months later and new life has been poured into my Atriums from my new EC 300B amp. Mingus’s Ah Uhm was taken to new heights with this combination, simply blissful

 

[AcousticMatt]

Almost 6 months later and new life has been poured into my Atriums from my new EC 300B amp. Mingus’s Ah Uhm was taken to new heights with this combination, simply blissful

Beautiful headphones, amp and..... trolls!

 

[g0ldl10n]

Hmmm. Would you say its more mid bass or more sub bass rumble than you get with stock pads?

Well compared to the stock leather perforated pads, much more bass in all aspects.

Compared to the Verite Be² Suede pads, there is more mid and sub bass, although, the sub bass is the main addition with the Brainwavz compared to this pads, as the Verite Be² Suede pads have great mid bass. The sub bass delivered thru the Brainwavz tickles your eardrums - you know, the kind that makes it feel like your whole inner ear is vibrating? I would call myself like a 50% bass head due to a large majority of music I listen to, so I am finding these extremely enjoyable.

 

[Somatic]

Well compared to the stock leather perforated pads, much more bass in all aspects.

Compared to the Verite Be² Suede pads, there is more mid and sub bass, although, the sub bass is the main addition with the Brainwavz compared to this pads, as the Verite Be² Suede pads have great mid bass. The sub bass delivered thru the Brainwavz tickles your eardrums - you know, the kind that makes it feel like your whole inner ear is vibrating? I would call myself like a 50% bass head due to a large majority of music I listen to, so I am finding these extremely enjoyable.

Wow. I'm surprised your getting sub bass rumble. Super cool. I ordered it and will try out in 2 days. What happened to the soundstage vs stock? Does it collapse? Thanks.

Are the sultry vocals still there? Or does it lose mid presence?

 

[g0ldl10n]

Wow. I'm surprised your getting sub bass rumble. Super cool. I ordered it and will try out in 2 days. What happened to the soundstage vs stock? Does it collapse? Thanks.

Are the sultry vocals still there? Or does it lose mid presence?

Oh, yes, sub bass rumble for sure - surprisingly, some of the most intense I have heard with any headphone from my Focals to Fostex.

The vocals are definitely still there listening to Sia and some other tracks. Definitely sacrifices a bit on them though, specially in comparison to the stock leather perforated pads, but are much more enjoyable imo in regards to the rest of the frequency range. However, not sure if you EQ or not, but with just a touch of EQ using the free Windows APO Equalizer with the Peace UI, you can regain the majority of that midrange - I am likely not going to be changing these pads anytime soon - absolutely love them.

And yep, they were cheap enough to give a try for sure - hopefully you find them enjoyable as well man.

 

[goldwerger]

Almost 6 months later and new life has been poured into my Atriums from my new EC 300B amp. Mingus’s Ah Uhm was taken to new heights with this combination, simply blissful

300Bs really offer some magic... congrats!

 

[g0ldl10n]

Almost 6 months later and new life has been poured into my Atriums from my new EC 300B amp. Mingus’s Ah Uhm was taken to new heights with this combination, simply blissful

Nice looking amp you got there! "One day" I tell myself

I see there is a switch for speakers - do you have any speakers you've used with it as well? How's it sound with those?

 

[karangovil]

Good eye, this can power 4/8 ohm high efficiency speakers but all I have right now are giant B&W 683 S2 which are not high efficiency at all. I’ll try to get something that’ll pair well with these in the coming months to see how it does. I have heard good things though. It does have line outs for subwoofer as well.

 

[g0ldl10n]

Wow. I'm surprised your getting sub bass rumble. Super cool. I ordered it and will try out in 2 days. What happened to the soundstage vs stock? Does it collapse? Thanks.

Are the sultry vocals still there? Or does it lose mid presence?

Oh, I forgot to add - soundstage is definitely still decent, and the thicker the pads I have tried, the more it seems to be. However, not sure what type of amp you are using, but what has impacted the soundstage the most for me, at least with my setup, are the tubes I use. I have found that dual 6U7G in 6SN7 socket really open things up in regards to soundstage/imaging with the Atriums. 6N7 in the 6SN7 socket also open the soundstage up, but I have found those lose a little something in the body/fullness of the sound, and possibly need some sort of dual input stage to really capture their magic.

So if you are running 6SN7, maybe try a couple 6U7G (can use EL32 -> 6SN7 adapter available) tubes there instead. There are some RCA 6U7G in NIB/NOS condition that are very cheap on ebay, like $3-5 a piece, depending on if you get the commercial or JAN versions.

 

[helljudgement]

Almost 6 months later and new life has been poured into my Atriums from my new EC 300B amp. Mingus’s Ah Uhm was taken to new heights with this combination, simply blissful

Great setup and the synergy with this amp is one that I could attest for but that’s pretty darn loud for the Atrium. Are you feeding this thru a preamp or lowering the output voltage of your dac?

 

[karangovil]

Great setup and the synergy with this amp is one that I could attest for but that’s pretty darn loud for the Atrium. Are you feeding this thru a preamp or lowering the output voltage of your dac?

Ah no, I hadn’t actually even started playing music when I took the picture. Just turned on the tubes for the picture. I did wonder if anyone would notice after posting the picture though

10- 11 o’clock is usually good for me, maybe 12 depending on the track. I do plan on using it as a preamp with CFA3 for my Abyss 1266 TC though.

 

[Somatic]

Curious on anyone's thoughts on the new Utopia vs the Atriums ...

Anyone own both the new Utopias and the Atriums? Wondering how they compare? Also interested in mid/sub bass and mid forwardness ...