ZMF Atrium - new open-back co-flagship

[Honeypot]

That’s very interesting, thanks! I’m planning to upgrade to the Bendix soon as well as a nice pair of 12AU7. Like I mentioned in the VC thread, I feel like letting the HA-3A warm up for like 2-3 hours makes it much less harsh compared to listening after 30 minutes, wondering if that’s a real thing. I’ll test it with my Bokeh tomorrow.

But to bring the discussion back on topic, judging by the FR graphs, the Atrium Open seems to me much brighter than the VC but I know that this doesn’t show the whole picture and the differences in speed/transients. Since everyone has been recommending the AO as a natural evolution to the Bokeh’s character I might go with that or the AC.

At the end of the day is your money and your choice, but I'd go for an open design rather than another ZMF closed.
Don't get me wrong here, both ao and ac are great, but the AO will introduce more options to your setup.
Unless of course, you need them to be closed back for specific reasons.
AC is a bass machine. And it's spectacular for certain genres. The AO on the other side, it's more balanced without going that deep and strong on bass. And it's very sweet sounding and expensive.

 

[Clemmaster]

At the end of the day is your money and your choice, but I'd go for an open design rather than another ZMF closed.
Don't get me wrong here, both ao and ac are great, but the AO will introduce more options to your setup.
Unless of course, you need them to be closed back for specific reasons.
AC is a bass machine. And it's spectacular for certain genres. The AO on the other side, it's more balanced without going that deep and strong on bass. And it's very sweet sounding and expensive.

If money allows, Caldera Closed is also superbly balanced (mild - but very tasteful - bass elevation, not dissimilar to the AO) and better technicalities all around.

AO was my favorite ZMF until I heard the CC. The fact it is closed is just a bonus.

 

[PapaIV]

At the end of the day is your money and your choice, but I'd go for an open design rather than another ZMF closed.
Don't get me wrong here, both ao and ac are great, but the AO will introduce more options to your setup.
Unless of course, you need them to be closed back for specific reasons.
AC is a bass machine. And it's spectacular for certain genres. The AO on the other side, it's more balanced without going that deep and strong on bass. And it's very sweet sounding and expensive.

Thanks, yeah I haven’t tried a ZMF open back yet and I’ve been wondering how they compare to the closed back ones. I was initially interested in the Caldera Open since I love open back planars for some reason but I was told these can be brighter and less mellow than the CC.

Unless of course, you need them to be closed back for specific reasons.

Nah I have no specific need for another closed back because IMO closed back designs complicate things but we all know how good ZMF is when it comes to closed backs. I’m actually trying to find out whether closed backs can have a little more tendency to be harsh compared to their open back counterparts, especially with fast drives such as the VC. On the other hand I’ve seen what the Atrium Damping System can do because the Bokeh sounds wonderfully devoid of any kind of harshness, although tuning plays an equal role as well.

AC is a bass machine. And it's spectacular for certain genres

Which would those be? EDM I’d imagine?

If money allows, Caldera Closed is also superbly balanced (mild - but very tasteful - bass elevation, not dissimilar to the AO) and better technicalities all around.

AO was my favorite ZMF until I heard the CC. The fact it is closed is just a bonus.

Yeah those two, the AO and the CC, are my two main options right now. For almost the same price in Europe I can get a stabilised AO or an Ash CC and both are equally stunning and tempting haha. I “grew up” with all sorts of planars and the Bokeh was my first dynamic headphone and I was instantly in love. That’s why if the CC sounds like a cross between planars and classic ZMF it’s very tempting.

Looking at the graphs the only thing that would maybe worry me is that 1K-3K elevation compared to the Bokeh or even the VC but the AO has that too to an extent.

I’ve heard great things about both the AO and the CC with Rock/Metal stuff - how would they compare in the way they present those genres, in a nutshell?

 

[JackarlTwo]

AC is a bass machine. And it's spectacular for certain genres. The AO on the other side, it's more balanced without going that deep and strong on bass. And it's very sweet sounding and expensive.

Yeah, AC's bass is no joke. While AC has the advantage of more sub bass the AO can slam just as hard, if not stronger depending on the music. They're both some of the hardest hitting headphones I've heard.

 

[Clemmaster]

Thanks, yeah I haven’t tried a ZMF open back yet and I’ve been wondering how they compare to the closed back ones. I was initially interested in the Caldera Open since I love open back planars for some reason but I was told these can be brighter and less mellow than the CC.



Nah I have no specific need for another closed back because IMO closed back designs complicate things but we all know how good ZMF is when it comes to closed backs. I’m actually trying to find out whether closed backs can have a little more tendency to be harsh compared to their open back counterparts, especially with fast drives such as the VC. On the other hand I’ve seen what the Atrium Damping System can do because the Bokeh sounds wonderfully devoid of any kind of harshness, although tuning plays an equal role as well.



Which would those be? EDM I’d imagine?



Yeah those two, the AO and the CC, are my two main options right now. For almost the same price in Europe I can get a stabilised AO or an Ash CC and both are equally stunning and tempting haha. I “grew up” with all sorts of planars and the Bokeh was my first dynamic headphone and I was instantly in love. That’s why if the CC sounds like a cross between planars and classic ZMF it’s very tempting.

Looking at the graphs the only thing that would maybe worry me is that 1K-3K elevation compared to the Bokeh or even the VC but the AO has that too to an extent.

I’ve heard great things about both the AO and the CC with Rock/Metal stuff - how would they compare in the way they present those genres, in a nutshell?

I haven’t listened to rock/metal with them yet. I go through phases and right now I’m more into classic/softer rock and instrumental.
Also, I have the caldera ultra perf pads on my AO, which I prefer (more balanced), so YMMV.
The Caldera Closed is Atrium Open(ish) tonality with Susvara(ish) technicalities.

 

[betula]

I was initially interested in the Caldera Open since I love open back planars for some reason but I was told these can be brighter and less mellow than the CC.

It really depends on where you are coming from, what your preference is, and the gear you are using. Not all, but most ZMFs (Atrium, Bokeh) sound quite warm and smooth. CC is more in line with that tuning. CO sounds more open, more 'neutral' in direct comparison and more dynamic, snappier. If you are used to other headphone brands, CO tonality might be closer to your preference. If you are used to ZMF dynamic sound, CC will probably be closer to your preference. I wouldn't call CO bright at all, but open and natural with great dynamics. I would rather call CC warm and mellow (softer). To me CO is perfection on R2R and tubes, but if I had SS amps, perhaps I would prefer CC.

 

[Honeypot]

It really depends on where you are coming from, what your preference is, and the gear you are using. Not all, but most ZMFs (Atrium, Bokeh) sound quite warm and smooth. CC is more in line with that tuning. CO sounds more open, more 'neutral' in direct comparison and more dynamic, snappier. If you are used to other headphone brands, CO tonality might be closer to your preference. If you are used to ZMF dynamic sound, CC will probably be closer to your preference. I wouldn't call CO bright at all, but open and natural with great dynamics. I would rather call CC warm and mellow (softer). To me CO is perfection on R2R and tubes, but if I had SS amps, perhaps I would prefer CC.

Damn this debate between zmf headphones is waking up my eager for the CC (warm and mellow), (Caldera Closed is Atrium Open(ish) tonality with Susvara(ish) technicalities.)..
I don't need more headphones, I don't need more headphones

 

[betula]

Damn this debate between zmf headphones is waking up my eager for the CC (warm and mellow), (Caldera Closed is Atrium Open(ish) tonality with Susvara(ish) technicalities.)..
I don't need more headphones, I don't need more headphones

CO edges out CC on technicalities (and Susvara edges out CO in some technical aspects), but the rest is correct. (For the record, I personally prefer CO to Susvara.)

 

[legend192]

Does anyone listen to much rock or metal on their Atrium Open headphones? I always found it to be better with slower, less aggressive genres.

 

[erics75]

Does anyone listen to much rock or metal on their Atrium Open headphones? I always found it to be better with slower, less aggressive genres.

I do! I'm treble sensitive so I like darker headphones for metal. I love stuff with horrific recording quality, so anything to tame the excessive gain and hot treble is a Godsend to me. And I love the hard hitting bass, it adds some much needed thickness to the mostly lean tracks i'm listening to. I love the forward mids as well, makes guitars stand out, and male vocals. I also love the AC for metal, it brings even more power down low while being mostly tame up top. They don't fatigue me at all. Same applies to the Atticus.

I'll also listen to metal on my Auteur Classic (ATC) at times. That's a much brighter headphone, but on tubes it's mellow enough that it doesn't usually fatigue me. It makes guitar solos and screechy vocals really stand out.

The CC is very good as well for metal if you like more top end. It's got more treble presence than the ATC but normally isn't too too fatiguing for me. Sometimes i do have to back off the volume just a bit with the worst of the recordings. But that's more on the recording than equipment.

The VC is the one ZMF I tend to avoid with metal. It has a metallic harshness up top that fatigues me with crappy recordings. With high quality recordings it's magic. But not so much with metal for me.

The Bokeh is my #1 metal headphone. It blends the bass and smoothness of the AO/AC with the increased treble presence of the ATC. It brings power both down low and up top. I love it.

Here's my personal ranking of the ZMFs i own for metal, based on my preferences and sensitivities, from most enjoyable to least:

Bokeh - AC - ATC - AO - Atticus - CC - VC (AO and ATC can easily swap places on different days, they're very close overall).

 

[Monsterzero]

Does anyone listen to much rock or metal on their Atrium Open headphones? I always found it to be better with slower, less aggressive genres.

I found that the AO kicks arse all the way up to "Kill 'em All" speed and everything slower than that. What type of metal are you listening to?

 

[Monsterzero]

I love stuff with horrific recording quality,

 

[theveterans]

JJ sound really good in the Aegis.

That may have more to do with the Aegis than the tube. I have yet to find tubes that did not play well with the Aegis.

Yep! The JJ 6SL7s and JJ KT88s to me sound really good out of the gate. The JJ KT88's to me is IMHO better than any new Russian production tubes of the same type

 

[idairyou]

I found that the AO kicks arse all the way up to "Kill 'em All" speed and everything slower than that. What type of metal are you listening to?

There are also so many sub-genres to Rock and Metal these days, and some work better on any headphone than the other.

 

[legend192]

I found that the AO kicks arse all the way up to "Kill 'em All" speed and everything slower than that. What type of metal are you listening to?

All sorts of metal, metalcore, goth metal, progressive metal, nu metal, sludge metal, etc. I find something about it seems to get crowded when you have a lot of distorted electric guitar. I don't think it is the technical ability of the driver, but more the tunning. I didn't have this problem in the Atrium Closed I used to have, which is mostly different from the AO because of the tuning.