[RestoredSparda]

Atrium Open (in the softer cherry wood) is still my favorite headphone by leaps and bounds. I've tried with a variety of pads over the last 1.5 years or so, but still prefer leather Auteur pads by a large margin. The overall tone and incredible headstage, imaging and layering makes this headphone near perfect for any genre IMO. Very engaging and fun but never fatiguing.

Also, if you haven't heard AO on the new Nitsch Pietus Maximus you owe it to yourself to do so asap. Jaw-dropping synergy is at play here.

 

[bunnygal23]

Does anyone have a set with the European Curly Ash wood? Curious if they heavier or lighter than the stock cherry. Thanks!

 

[G8torbyte]

Does anyone have a set with the European Curly Ash wood? Curious if they heavier or lighter than the stock cherry. Thanks!

I recently received the Caldera in Ash and pleased to find the weight is light and similar in comfort to the Cherry AO's.

 

[bunnygal23]

I recently received the Caldera in Ash and pleased to find the weight is light and similar in comfort to the Cherry AO's.

Curious if you got the Magnesium or Aluminum grill? I assume the grain pattern will be the same as that on the caldera, I don't see any pics of the lava/purple burst atriums

 

[G8torbyte]

Curious if you got the Magnesium or Aluminum grill? I assume the grain pattern will be the same as that on the caldera, I don't see any pics of the lava/purple burst atriums

I selected aluminum on all my ZMF's. I found a digital postal scale and measured three of them.

The Ash Caldera is a few grams lighter interestingly:
Cherry AO's: 569 g
Ash Caldera: 543 g
and for comparison Ironwood VC's: 674 g

 

[erics75]

It's been ages since I've played Skyrim, so when the kiddos crapped out early on NYE I rang in the new year with a new character. Who cares, right? Well the relevant part of the story is I used my Atrium while playing. I forgot how good the OST for Skyrim is, and man does the Atrium nail it with it's epic bass and sweet mids. Those large war drum hits in the title track are almost startling they hit so hard. I paid more attention to the score than I did the actual game, it was so engaging. That also got me going on other games with epic scores, and another great one is the Norse God of War games on the PS5. Also amazing on the Atrium. I don't know how good the Atrium is for FPS/positioning, but for general gaming they're stellar. Today will be spent scouring Tidal for game scores instead of working

 

[G8torbyte]

It's been ages since I've played Skyrim, so when the kiddos crapped out early on NYE I rang in the new year with a new character. Who cares, right? Well the relevant part of the story is I used my Atrium while playing. I forgot how good the OST for Skyrim is, and man does the Atrium nail it with it's epic bass and sweet mids. Those large war drum hits in the title track are almost startling they hit so hard. I paid more attention to the score than I did the actual game, it was so engaging. That also got me going on other games with epic scores, and another great one is the Norse God of War games on the PS5. Also amazing on the Atrium. I don't know how good the Atrium is for FPS/positioning, but for general gaming they're stellar. Today will be spent scouring Tidal for game scores instead of working

I agree, it's crazy to think Skyrim has been around over ten years but still fun to revisit for the music and environment. Along the same game type, you might like Witcher III which also has a great OST. I use the GoG.com gaming platform for it and they have a menu with extras where you can download the FLAC quality tracks and artwork at no extra cost.

 

[bokononista]

the Ultra Perf pads havr been my main pads for a while. But I had to EQ down the spiciness down a bit with the original mesh. Got the solid mesh today and they are now perfect.

Yess! I tried the solid mesh + Caldera UP pads - great fine tuning , its great!

 

[erics75]

I agree, it's crazy to think Skyrim has been around over ten years but still fun to revisit for the music and environment. Along the same game type, you might like Witcher III which also has a great OST. I use the GoG.com gaming platform for it and they have a menu with extras where you can download the FLAC quality tracks and artwork at no extra cost.

Yeah it's crazy to think how well that game has aged that it's still relevant and fun to this day. I have played WIII, the score is indeed epic! Video games have some pretty spectacular scores, I wonder if the medium limits their appeal to the mainstream listeners.

 

[erics75]

Yess! I tried the solid mesh + Caldera UP pads - great fine tuning , its great!

Another vote for the Caldera UP pads, they're my favorite on the Atrium. I do run mesh-less though.

 

[YtseJamer]

I've been using the Atrium with Universe leather pads exclusively for weeks, but now I'm back with the Auteur leather pads, and man, I'm mind-blown all over again! I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about the sound with these pads that's hard to describe. It's like the music becomes more tactile, the soundstage gets a 3D boost, and when I close my eyes, it feels like I'm front row at a live gig. I've tried tons of headphones over the past 20 years, and seriously, the Atrium is one of the best ones I've come across!

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

Last night I spent a few more hours playing around with mesh and pad combos.

I like swapping pads, particularly between caldera ultra perf and universe, although other options sometimes appeal too.

I had been using the solid mesh for a while, enjoying the smoothness of the sound. But I started to find it was a little too smoothed off with the universe pads.

An almost perfect combination is the stock atrium mesh with the caldera pads. It just made me smile, how good it was. But when I now use the stock mesh with the Universe pads (as I love, LOVE the universe pads' staging) I find the lower treble very slightly still too smoothed.

So another almost perfect combination I have found is the universe pads with the radial mesh. I'm getting the universe staging with a bit of the added clarity that the caldera pads bring. It doesn't quite fully deliver the dynamics and better resolution of the Caldera pads but it gets close on the clarity.

I think that the radial mesh with the Caldera pads is a little too hot but still very listenable. I may give that more of chance too from time to time. My tastes have been evolving lately, but as someone who also enjoys grados and the Arya V2, this pad/mesh combo is still well within the acceptable limits of brightness.

I've said this before but no mesh doesn't work for me. Too much treble not enough separation and definition.

So it seems I'm going to be jumping between stock perforated mesh and radial mesh and universe and caldera pads for the foreseeable future.... Until Zach one day decides to throw an ultra perf unverse pad into the mix or some other disruptor.

Lots of fun still to be had with the Atriums

I know this is a weird thing to do... But I agree with this post of mine from a week or so ago... As in I'm even more sure about it now than I was when I first wrote it:

Best Atrium for a fun (but still classy) listen - Universe Pads + Radial mesh

Best Atrium for a more neutral, more resolving (but still very enjoyable) listen - Caldera Pads + Stock perforated mesh.

 

[G8torbyte]

After spending time enjoying the Caldera on the solid state Homage, which does fantastic with electro, EBM, synth-pop etc, I've been craving some hard rock.
Caldera is fine with it but the Atrium is still tops for hard rock/metal. My favorite combo is pairing the AO to the Icon Audio HP-8 tube amp to give it some heft.

Revisited some Sevendust from the late 1990's and early 2000's:



Favorite part: 1:28-1:35 "Afraid to open up your eyes"! as I'm nodding my head jamming and nearly shaking loose my HPs again

 

[G8torbyte]

and some Prong! Ripped a lot of CDs I collected during the 90's to my NAS and love revisiting these bands of that time.



I'm going to dull my ears and snap my neck rocking these on the Atrium if I don't stop.

 

[AnyDave]

and some Prong! Ripped a lot of CDs I collected during the 90's to my NAS and love revisiting these bands of that time.



I'm going to dull my ears and snap my neck rocking these on the Atrium if I don't stop.

I remember getting Beg to Differ when I was in junior high school. That brings back memories.