[Schuie Driver]

People weren't joking when they said ZMF and OTL's are a great pairing. Still in the early days and stock tubes but Atrium sounds pretty incredible on this amp. Hits like a truck when called for. I've never actually heard an OTL before so this is a breath of fresh air.

What do you notice to be different between it and your prior SS amp?

 

[Promee]

Caldera Suede Ultra Perf pads came in yesterday. Got to spend some time with them on the AO today. Thank you very much @zach915m for the recommendation! Very little change was needed now that they are much more broken in, but this took the last little resonance out of the 2.5k for me and problematic passages sound just fine now! Also glad to be able to keep the AO vegan, so I really appreciate the options!

Other changes I have noticed - imaging is still very good, but sound stage does feel a bit more intimate. Bass feels just as strong as Universe Suede. Treble detail is still remarkable but maybe the slightest bit down relative to Universe Suede. That’s not a problem to me at all. With these pads, I think the sound is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for from the Atrium before getting it!

Comfort is great. Depth might be the slightest bit less, my left ear (which is notorious for this) is just barely touching the mesh, but it is not at all uncomfortable or bothersome (it totally ruins the LCD-X for me, but is fine here, just barely touching). Also noteworthy, the Universe Suede, BE2 Suede, and Auteur Suede did not fix the frequency I was sensitive to, so if any of you guys have tried a few pads with it and are feeling a little low treble sting, it is absolutely worth grabbing a pair of the Caldera Ultra Perf Suede and giving them a shot!

 

[JackarlTwo]

What do you notice to be different between it and your prior SS amp?

Much more full bodied. Smoother treble, more dynamic, bassier/ punchier. Some nice coloration in the midrange and it's "textured." Going to the SS amp the sound is a bit thinner and neutral. I think the tubes definitely boosts Atrium's strengths, but you can't go wrong with the more linear SS sound either.

 

[Schuie Driver]

Much more full bodied. Smoother treble, more dynamic, bassier/ punchier. Some nice coloration in the midrange and it's "textured." Going to the SS amp the sound is a bit thinner and neutral. I think the tubes definitely boosts Atrium's strengths, but you can't go wrong with the more linear SS sound either.

Thanks! Have you noticed slower bass by chance or it being "loose" compared to your SS gear?

 

[JackarlTwo]

Thanks! Have you noticed slower bass by chance or it being "loose" compared to your SS gear?

It's slightly more loose and not as fast, but it's not an issue for me. Bass notes are clearly defined and doesn't feel smeared in any way. I always thought the Atrium driver is pretty fast for a dynamic driver, not to the level of Verite or a planar of course.

 

[spruce]

Still assessing and burning in my new Atriums. I’m currently running my Ares II & Burson Soloist with BE2 pads. Still early impressions but I think these are endgame for me, and I’ve purchased a lot of headphones in the past—need to update some recent headphone and amp/dac purchases in my signature/profile. I think for the asking price these should most importantly have almost no faults and right now I’m hearing all around, and very enjoyable, solid performance. To put it briefly, these seem to check all the boxes for me with underlying great timbre (high personal priority) in addition to all around technical performance. And from my perspective there are significant diminishing returns with headphones, but getting those last few ounces for audiophiles can make all the difference. For example, if you’re not interested with every last detail then getting the 600 and 6XX for instance can be all you need.


I’ve also purchased a few earpads and tuning materials so I think I’ll have plenty of options to tweak for years to come as well. I briefly connected my Earmen Tradutto and Singxer SA1 last night and it sounded good too but I’ll need to spend more time listening with that chain. Curiously, I was not necessarily impressed with my liquid platinum amp or wa6 with brief listening but will revisit.

I really enjoy my other headphones for various reasons, and love having a large collection, but in the case of the Atrium I believe it’s the most complete package by a good margin that I’ve heard/own from my early impressions and hard for me to think about searching or wanting anything more when it comes to the headphone hobby.

I’ll come back and update as I have more time to burn, settle in, and acclimate with these headphones as early impressions can be misleading or wrong but so far very impressed and glad I made the purchase.

 

[JackarlTwo]

Some more subjective comparisons with my SS amps and tubes. The sound is a bit sharper out of my SS amps and "dry" sounding, especially the edges of notes. It's nothing I'd notice unless I directly switched between the amps and volume matched them, playing the same song and really listened for it. So while you lose a little bit of that solid-state edge you gain so much more in musicality with tubes. Vocals and acoustic music are even more "real" - very hard to describe! It just sounds awesome and that's what matters.

 

[crakers7]

For those of you who haven't seen it yet , a great method for pad rolling

 

[Schuie Driver]

Some more subjective comparisons with my SS amps and tubes. The sound is a bit sharper out of my SS amps and "dry" sounding, especially the edges of notes. It's nothing I'd notice unless I directly switched between the amps and volume matched them, playing the same song and really listened for it. So while you lose a little bit of that solid-state edge you gain so much more in musicality with tubes. Vocals and acoustic music are even more "real" - very hard to describe! It just sounds awesome and that's what matters.

Thanks. Yeah a buddy of mine has been into tubes for years and has a harder time sticking with listening via SS gear as it's just missing "something". I have yet to determine if that spend (on a tube amp) is worth it to me..........

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

Gosh I love these Headphones.

I've been listening to a lot of IEMs lately so they have had less time on my head recently. But I think the time I've spent with IEMs has enabled me to better appreciate the thinner pads.

Today I switched back from the radial mesh to the stock mesh because I wanted a softer sound. Then I went from caldera pads back to universe. Whilst I love both of those pads and rank them as my top two, today I needed a less energetic sound.

I fount my way to the BE2 suede, then the Verite leather (lovely but too smooth), then back to the BE2 suede. I have a new appreciation for the BE2 Suede. Yes you lose the the huge stage and space but the bass takes over in the best way possible. Punchy and dynamic and then there's a warmth added to the whole spectrum which is like warm honey being poured over the entire frequency range, yet the sounds across the whole range pop through the surface like little bubbles.

Yum!

 

[spittis]

Spent a few days with the new ZMF Pro Cable 2024, which replaced the OFC cable that came with my Atriums. It's a big improvement aesthetically and even more so in comfort. It's very flexible, doesn't tangle, and no microphonics (the OFC cable had bad microphonics at the splitter). My only wish is that instead of the "ZMFheadphones" text on the 6.3mm plug, they'd use just the ZMF logo like on the splitter, it would look better IMO. But as a cable, 10/10. I might order one for my Bokeh too.

 

[funkyfish]

@spittis A bit off topic, but can you tell me which wood the headphone stand is? I know the headphone stand, but can't tell which wood you have.

 

[spittis]

@spittis A bit off topic, but can you tell me which wood the headphone stand is? I know the headphone stand, but can't tell which wood you have.

It's the walnut version.

 

[funkyfish]

It's the walnut version.

Thanks!

 

[JackarlTwo]

This was recorded in a barn. I love it. Atrium is particularly good at capturing/ reproducing the space and the appropriate reverb and so on. Maybe that's why it's my favorite headphone I've ever heard. It just nails the room/ the tonality of the music every time.