ZMF Atrium - new open-back co-flagship

[MindBreak]

Just had a scare, I was getting distortion in the left driver while driving my AO off of my Vali 3, but I quickly swapped to my MJ3 and everything was okay. Reconnected the cables to the Vali 3 and turned the power back on with no issues. , glad I didn't have to send my AO in for repair.

 

[Honeypot]

Just had a scare, I was getting distortion in the left driver while driving my AO off of my Vali 3, but I quickly swapped to my MJ3 and everything was okay. Reconnected the cables to the Vali 3 and turned the power back on with no issues. , glad I didn't have to send my AO in for repair.

These scary moments where you wonder What just happened, when you didn't touch anything for months and something goes wrong...

 

[G8torbyte]

Just had a scare, I was getting distortion in the left driver while driving my AO off of my Vali 3, but I quickly swapped to my MJ3 and everything was okay. Reconnected the cables to the Vali 3 and turned the power back on with no issues. , glad I didn't have to send my AO in for repair.

These scary moments where you wonder What just happened, when you didn't touch anything for months and something goes wrong...

Yeah, I had a recent scare when I ordered some NOS Mullard tubes and plugged them in for the first time. There was a bright flash from the filaments like when a light bulb burns out and I was "Oh nooo!!! but then all seemed OK after warming up. So I looked into it and some older tubes made in Europe have that characteristic to flash on startup.

 

[erics75]

Yeah, I had a recent scare when I ordered some NOS Mullard tubes and plugged them in for the first time. There was a bright flash from the filaments like when a light bulb burns out and I was "Oh nooo!!! but then all seemed OK after warming up. So I looked into it and some older tubes made in Europe have that characteristic to flash on startup.

My RFT 12AT7 tubes do that! First time I saw it i thought for sure they blew. But i've learned some tubes just do that at startup. Still scared the crap out of me.

 

[JackarlTwo]

Just had a scare, I was getting distortion in the left driver while driving my AO off of my Vali 3, but I quickly swapped to my MJ3 and everything was okay. Reconnected the cables to the Vali 3 and turned the power back on with no issues. , glad I didn't have to send my AO in for repair.

I had a tube break while using the Atrium. Definitely scary and not something I wanna experience again! Thankfully they survived. From now on I let NOS tubes break in with cheaper headphones

 

[Honeypot]

I had many situations like that, but I can remember of two being the most scariest.

First was, after flashing the pontus 2 with the new firmware, then I turned it on, connected to the SS fa-12, and the lcdx hooked up. The headphones were on my head, and the the volume pot was on 0.

The moment I clicked on play, a monstrous sound came out all loud, like a big ducking thunder that wasn't stopping. So loud I went into panic mode, I didn't know if pause, remove the headphones from my head, or just run out of the room screaming..

It turned out that the pot of the fa-12, which has a relay control was at 100%. I realized when it's on and you turn volume up to max (for w.e reason), if you turn the amp off and put back the volume to minimum, it will not save that setting.
So here is the deal. Before you play music on a relay control amp, remember to play with the pot 1 or 2 clicks up, then down, with the amp on, before any music is played.. it will save your ears, your headphones, and your heart.
The second story for another day

 

[michael2v]

For anyone who is treble or upper-mid sensitive like me, don't sleep on the solid acoustic mesh for the Atrium Open. Between that and the Auteur perforated leather pads, this really takes the Atrium to a whole new level of refinement and enjoyment. Maybe a little too much warmth for some, but it makes it a much more "coherent" sound profile for my ears, all while keeping the full richness that is so great about these headphones. If anything, it somehow seems to round out the low end as well (and an even greater sense of space), but maybe it's just easier to discern given the less prominent upper frequencies. 10/10, highly recommended.

Orchestral music is now like a nice glass of bourbon next to a warm fire. Listening to the Rachmaninoff piano concertos by Yuja Wang and the LA Philharmonic.

 

[Honeypot]

For anyone who is treble or upper-mid sensitive like me, don't sleep on the solid acoustic mesh for the Atrium Open. Between that and the Auteur perforated leather pads, this really takes the Atrium to a whole new level of refinement and enjoyment. Maybe a little too much warmth for some, but it makes it a much more "coherent" sound profile for my ears, all while keeping the full richness that is so great about these headphones. If anything, it somehow seems to round out the low end as well (and an even greater sense of space), but maybe it's just easier to discern given the less prominent upper frequencies. 10/10, highly recommended.

Orchestral music is now like a nice glass of bourbon next to a warm fire. Listening to the Rachmaninoff piano concertos by Yuja Wang and the LA Philharmonic.

After trying like 14 pads auteur lambskin perf is my go to and staying forever on the AO, the universe wasn't bad, but it's exactly what you described. Coherent, cohesive, warm, very three dimensional, I find bass kicks harder than universe and treble is just a candy. Im fine with stock mesh though

 

[TommehHiFi]

Favorite stabilized I've seen this November. They can't keep getting away with this.

 

[Ninadada]

If you're trying to avoid the wait, another option is going to a CanJam. You get the advantage of actually seeing the sets available in person, and testing them on a ton of really cool equipment. No joke, the ZMF room is IMO the best at CJ. And you can talk to all wonderful people at ZMF.

Agreed, agreed, agreed. And, usually a substantial show discount! However, the next SoCal CanJam is more than 4-10 weeks away!

 

[JackarlTwo]

Favorite stabilized I've seen this November. They can't keep getting away with this.

Their stabilized releases are so impressive. I think one of my favorite cups I've seen this year is the 'Amboyna burl' and not a stabilized set, (I absolutely love the stabs). It's right up there with some Blackwood and B&W Ebony as far as woodies goes.

 

[Honeypot]

Favorite stabilized I've seen this November. They can't keep getting away with this.

Hooly.... Makes me wanna sell my zebras and get a pair of these... Although I love the wooden cups too..

 

[ThanatosVI]

Does someone have a list of all recommended Pads and working Meshes for Atrium open and closed?

 

[PapaIV]

Does someone have a list of all recommended Pads and working Meshes for Atrium open and closed?

Yes please I need that too because I just ordered my stabilised AO

 

[cats4cans]

Does someone have a list of all recommended Pads and working Meshes for Atrium open and closed?

The pad guru is @heliosphann
Lots of ZMF info in several places, the Atrium pads are here.