[Hifiearspeakers]

Yes,

I’ve been interested in trying those, but it seems like very few have tried them.

 

[Deleeh]

Yes, probably and conceivably.

Don't think about it if you already have a neutral system, I think that would be too much.
You're diluting the bass a bit but in a good way if you can juggle tubes you can readjust a bit.
Overall since I put in a second round I find them a bit tidier too.
But I would also say that the tubes play a crucial factor with the pads.

The first combination was a bit more on the neutral and warm side, the second is more on the warm but still neutral enough.
And has a much deeper look into the stage.

I don't want to say it won't work on SS amps, it depends a bit on the tuning where they won't be very flexible.
That's why I say on tube amps the Caldera ultra Lerf are much more of a revelation because you can be flexible.

 

[Exekuhtor]

Hey guys, i'm currently using a borrowed VO and i like it very much. I love the extremely laid-back and relaxed and smooth sound of it, while still being detailed. It sounds always enjoyable, no matter what genre, no matter how loud i turn the volume up. It's the perfect "lean back and enjoy a whisky" headphone.
Now i think about the Atrium and checked if i can get my hands onto one for an A/B comparison which one suits me better.
I read a bunch of comparisons (sadly one of the reddit comparison threads is down since reddit does its thing), and some comments seem a bit contradictory.
Some say that the Atrium is more laid back and smoother, some say that's the case with the VO.
I searched for some frequency graphs and found them:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNb4y1q6QW6VAP82gKN_XcMUmYRZ2BjhebgOPr8NnJbFV_jL1xz24rvbU9t44yhvcpvA3v4uUgxDy4_OxQDeCL0_HQTprtYCJzmGKkUtbjh1XRs4L7jLna37wwzX5EQBtbL_XGI9l5MJ0DysQoNWFBPhKkXJM8-T2lDBP5jwac0nqkvbol66R-mLT/s2400/graph (1).png
and
https://www.headphonesty.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/atrium___graph.jpg

As you can see, the midrange is more relaxed on the VO in the 2-3k region, that's what i like about it the most. It seems like i don't mind the 5-6k peak at all.
But i think i would maybe also like that slower decay that the Atrium has. The bass and treble are not that important for me for that decision, it's mostly about the midrange and how fast it can get shouty / too much / oppressive / annoying / aggressive / you know what i mean.

I have not heard the Atrium Open (under optimal conditions) yet, should i try to get one or should i be very happy with what i hear and be satisfied with the VO?

 

[goldwerger]

Hey guys, i'm currently using a borrowed VO and i like it very much. I love the extremely laid-back and relaxed and smooth sound of it, while still being detailed. It sounds always enjoyable, no matter what genre, no matter how loud i turn the volume up. It's the perfect "lean back and enjoy a whisky" headphone.
Now i think about the Atrium and checked if i can get my hands onto one for an A/B comparison which one suits me better.
I read a bunch of comparisons (sadly one of the reddit comparison threads is down since reddit does its thing), and some comments seem a bit contradictory.
Some say that the Atrium is more laid back and smoother, some say that's the case with the VO.
I searched for some frequency graphs and found them:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNb4y1q6QW6VAP82gKN_XcMUmYRZ2BjhebgOPr8NnJbFV_jL1xz24rvbU9t44yhvcpvA3v4uUgxDy4_OxQDeCL0_HQTprtYCJzmGKkUtbjh1XRs4L7jLna37wwzX5EQBtbL_XGI9l5MJ0DysQoNWFBPhKkXJM8-T2lDBP5jwac0nqkvbol66R-mLT/s2400/graph (1).png
and
https://www.headphonesty.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/atrium___graph.jpg

As you can see, the midrange is more relaxed on the VO in the 2-3k region, that's what i like about it the most. It seems like i don't mind the 5-6k peak at all.
But i think i would maybe also like that slower decay that the Atrium has. The bass and treble are not that important for me for that decision, it's mostly about the midrange and how fast it can get shouty / too much / oppressive / annoying / aggressive / you know what i mean.

I have not heard the Atrium Open (under optimal conditions) yet, should i try to get one or should i be very happy with what i hear and be satisfied with the VO?

Both headphones have wonderful mids (their biggest asset) and neither is shouty nor fatiguing (something that you never find with ZMF headphones, at least not me).

Where they are quite different is in their presentation. The VO has a fast attack and is more crisp, while the AO has a slower decay awing to its damping system, offering more reverb. The VO's sound stage is wider to my ears, while the AO's stage is more 3D/holographic. You see people often describing the Atrium as "analog", and if that helps convey a certain feel, that is so. These are all of course highly subjective and represents my feel for these headphones.

I personally love the VO. It is very well balanced and a true all-rounder. When I want a bit thicker sound (including a very thumpy mid bass), I reach for the AO.

 

[Exekuhtor]

neither is shouty nor fatiguing (something that you never find with ZMF headphones, at least not me)

I had the VC and got burned, it left a bit of a bad impression, it had (slightly, but surely) too much energy in the mids for me.

Of course every person is different, but with the VO there is absolutely no problem and i love it, always. I respect Wavetheory very much, he is also a guy that gets troubled by too much midrange energy, and he says that there is a small peak in the 2.5-3k region which can get in the way with very aggressive recordings and create a harshness. He didn't have a problem with the Verite Open anywhere (same as me), so i wonder if i should even care for the Atrium.


11:46

I have enough aggressive headphones, and the Susvara doesn't work that well for hardrock / heavy metal, that's why i was impressed by the VO, it did something unique for me.

 

[haasaaroni]

I had the VC and got burned, it left a bit of a bad impression, it had (slightly, but surely) too much energy in the mids for me.

Of course every person is different, but with the VO there is absolutely no problem and i love it, always. I respect Wavetheory very much, he is also a guy that gets troubled by too much midrange energy, and he says that there is a small peak in the 2.5-3k region which can get in the way with very aggressive recordings and create a harshness. He didn't have a problem with the Verite Open anywhere (same as me), so i wonder if i should even care for the Atrium.


11:46

I have enough aggressive headphones, and the Susvara doesn't work that well for hardrock / heavy metal, that's why i was impressed by the VO, it did something unique for me.

I personally find the Atrium too hot in the upper (2-3khz) mids, like he reported in the video review. But like Wave Theory I’m also really sensitive to shoutiness. I can do the Auteur Classic, but it’s right on the cusp of what I can handle with a lot of the electric guitar songs I listen to.

If you enjoy something like the HD600, you might really enjoy the tonal presentation of the Atrium. I like it more than the VO in timbral accuracy and overall feel. The Caldera strikes the perfect balance for me, but I couldn’t ever afford it. If you have a chance to listen before buying, I highly recommend doing so!

 

[goldwerger]

I had the VC and got burned, it left a bit of a bad impression, it had (slightly, but surely) too much energy in the mids for me.

Of course every person is different, but with the VO there is absolutely no problem and i love it, always. I respect Wavetheory very much, he is also a guy that gets troubled by too much midrange energy, and he says that there is a small peak in the 2.5-3k region which can get in the way with very aggressive recordings and create a harshness. He didn't have a problem with the Verite Open anywhere (same as me), so i wonder if i should even care for the Atrium.


11:46

I have enough aggressive headphones, and the Susvara doesn't work that well for hardrock / heavy metal, that's why i was impressed by the VO, it did something unique for me.

I've found in few instances that my subjective hearing was different than his, so you should probably take my input with a grain of salt. It's always good to find reference points that can help calibrate you based on shared tastes.

FWIW, the Atrium is one of the smoothest and easiest listens out there. I hope you find a way to demo them. If not, at least the secondary market for ZMF headphones is pretty easy. So there's that

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

I personally find the Atrium too hot in the upper (2-3khz) mids

I did, too, but the solid mesh solved this issue for me.

 

[helljudgement]

I have not heard the Atrium Open (under optimal conditions) yet, should i try to get one or should i be very happy with what i hear and be satisfied with the VO?

If there’s no chance that you can hear the Atrium just get the Verite. Having own both I will say that the Atrium does indeed have more midrange energy though keep in mind I'm using it with a vented mesh. It can be further dampened by using a solid mesh but it will have more presence than both Verite variants. Unless you have the chance to hear one I see little to no reason why you should risk taking the Atrium when you already knew the VO is something you’d enjoy.

 

[robo24]

Hey guys, i'm currently using a borrowed VO and i like it very much. I love the extremely laid-back and relaxed and smooth sound of it, while still being detailed. It sounds always enjoyable, no matter what genre, no matter how loud i turn the volume up. It's the perfect "lean back and enjoy a whisky" headphone.
Now i think about the Atrium and checked if i can get my hands onto one for an A/B comparison which one suits me better.
I read a bunch of comparisons (sadly one of the reddit comparison threads is down since reddit does its thing), and some comments seem a bit contradictory.
Some say that the Atrium is more laid back and smoother, some say that's the case with the VO.
I searched for some frequency graphs and found them:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPNb4y1q6QW6VAP82gKN_XcMUmYRZ2BjhebgOPr8NnJbFV_jL1xz24rvbU9t44yhvcpvA3v4uUgxDy4_OxQDeCL0_HQTprtYCJzmGKkUtbjh1XRs4L7jLna37wwzX5EQBtbL_XGI9l5MJ0DysQoNWFBPhKkXJM8-T2lDBP5jwac0nqkvbol66R-mLT/s2400/graph (1).png
and
https://www.headphonesty.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/atrium___graph.jpg

As you can see, the midrange is more relaxed on the VO in the 2-3k region, that's what i like about it the most. It seems like i don't mind the 5-6k peak at all.
But i think i would maybe also like that slower decay that the Atrium has. The bass and treble are not that important for me for that decision, it's mostly about the midrange and how fast it can get shouty / too much / oppressive / annoying / aggressive / you know what i mean.

I have not heard the Atrium Open (under optimal conditions) yet, should i try to get one or should i be very happy with what i hear and be satisfied with the VO?

If you know you like the Verite Open, I'd say just stick with it. It's mostly been my favorite headphone until I got the Caldera, but when I first got the Atrium I spent far more time with it than anything else for months and that could also have been considered my favorite at the time. Both sounds are very addictive.

I hear the Atrium as having the wider soundstage myself, with the Verite being more like you're in an intense ball of sound (even more so on the Verite Closed) while the Atrium is more HD800 like in that at times little details will be way off to the left or right. I perceive vocals on the Atrium as more front and center and prominent. Neither are ever shouty for me. I also perceive the Verite as more detailed but not massively so or even significantly really. It's the Caldera that has that extra jump in clarity and microdetails, especially microinflections in voices while it's kind of splitting hairs as far as details with the other two. I sometimes feel like the Atrium is more detailed by there being more space between elements in the music, and therefore standing out a little more. I think ultimately the Atirum sounds more natural/just right/analog. Tonality-wise I go back and forth depending on the track. While I think the Atrium is brighter overall, the Verite can seem brighter at times, somewhat because it's overall a more intense sound.

All of this is based on the pads I prefer and they both change quite a lot with different pads. Auteur suedes on the Atrium, and Universe suede on the Verite, and I might feel very differently about them both using other pads. The BE-2 suedes shrink the stage for me on both, seem to really increase the sub-bass on the Atrium while making the Verite more neutral and even more intense.

The other thing which makes me think you should go with the Verite, is that the midrange somtimes seeming slightly recessed tends to be the main criticism for reviewers but if the mids are what you're liking best about them then you're set!

 

[haasaaroni]

I did, too, but the solid mesh solved this issue for me.

I’m working on hearing a pair of Atriums with the solid mesh now. I had a pair of the solid mesh sent to a friend with an Atrium and am hoping to hear it soon.

What else changed between the Atrium mesh and solid mesh for you besides the midrange tuning?

 

[Exekuhtor]

Big thanks for all the helpful comments, i will just get a nice VO, i will probably wait until november.
I also borrowed the Caldera before, it was really good, but it did overlap a lot with the Susvara and i like the Sus more, so it doesn't do anything new and special for me.
I haven't heard the HD600 (blasphemy i know), but i (strongly) dislike the HD6XX since it has a small soundstage, rolloff on both ends (and i like treble), and three blob imaging. You get nice mids, so what. So i am absolutely NOT looking for a "super HD650" (which many claim the Atrium Open is), in my opinion the 6XX is overrated, i don't like it.

So i will get a VO and be very happy with it.
Thanks again, that was extremelly helpful, perfect example why i love this forum!

 

[cats4cans]

I really like the comparisons that come up now and again between the VO and Atrium. It helps me waffle back and forth over and over and over again.

There is no right answer.
There is no wrong answer.

Maybe eventually I’ll have to get both. Especially if I keep reading these forums.

 

[Wes S]

I had the VC and got burned, it left a bit of a bad impression, it had (slightly, but surely) too much energy in the mids for me.

Of course every person is different, but with the VO there is absolutely no problem and i love it, always. I respect Wavetheory very much, he is also a guy that gets troubled by too much midrange energy, and he says that there is a small peak in the 2.5-3k region which can get in the way with very aggressive recordings and create a harshness. He didn't have a problem with the Verite Open anywhere (same as me), so i wonder if i should even care for the Atrium.


11:46

I have enough aggressive headphones, and the Susvara doesn't work that well for hardrock / heavy metal, that's why i was impressed by the VO, it did something unique for me.

He has a system tuned for planars, so I would take his reviews of high impedance dynamics with a grain of salt.

 

[helljudgement]

He has a system tuned for planars, so I would take his reviews of high impedance dynamics with a grain of salt.

I'd say to take all reviews with a grain of salt but was curious with the first half of your statement. I've heard some of the amps the reviewer mentioned(Ferrum/SPL/Violectric/Cayin) on various ZMF models and they sounded very good. Is there a reason why you'd find those gear not suited for high impedance dynamic drivers?