ZMF Atrium - new open-back co-flagship

[Squeaky Scav]

I've heard the Caldera Ultra Perforateds are very similar to the Be2 secret-menu pads. So if I already have a pair of Be2 Suede Perfs, should I go for lambskin Ult. Perf. instead of suede?

 

[s2kphile]

I'm convinced that, over time, Zach and I will end up ordering every convolution of pad type possible. Fun stuff for product development, but easy to get lost in if there are too many variants. That's sort of the balance with released pads as well. More options is great, but the goal is to make the available options more straightforward and less confusing going forward.

Yeah, I was confused at first few with your pad offerings. Especially Caldera Ultra, TSP & TP.

I am use to perforated or non perforated. But top, top/side, top/side/inside, inside only. Hard to keep up where the holes are. Now add in wide, thick, thin. Not even getting into lamb, suede, cowhide, hybrid.

 

[kRed]

I've heard the Caldera Ultra Perforateds are very similar to the Be2 secret-menu pads. So if I already have a pair of Be2 Suede Perfs, should I go for lambskin Ult. Perf. instead of suede?

Just to report my experience: I found the Caldera UP to be definitely brighter and colder than the BE2 on the Atrium. I suspect in that particular situation, I could not get the Caldera UP to work right, but still... that was my experience.

 

[Honeypot]

They would need to be ultra-perf, and I don't believe we have those yet. As the solid inner will make the Atrium a super bass monster.

There are more Caldera/Atrium pad designs coming but we will roll them out as they get tested and we can better explain what each pad does as well.

I'm going to test it right away! Atrium bass monster!

 

[AnyDave]

Yeah, I was confused at first few with your pad offerings. Especially Caldera Ultra, TSP & TP.

I am use to perforated or non perforated. But top, top/side, top/side/inside, inside only. Hard to keep up where the holes are. Now add in wide, thick, thin. Not even getting into lamb, suede, cowhide, hybrid.

Yeah, we've had a lot of discussions on how to present the info so that it's less confusing. We'll continue to tweak it so that it hopefully is a bit easier to understand.

 

[vsrrr]

I'm convinced that, over time, Zach and I will end up ordering every convolution of pad type possible. Fun stuff for product development, but easy to get lost in if there are too many variants. That's sort of the balance with released pads as well. More options is great, but the goal is to make the available options more straightforward and less confusing going forward.

I know a couple people who have received "Caldera Top and Side Perf" pads that also have the inner perfs (I guess as a manufacturing mistake?), and they say these one-off pads are by far their favorites for their AO's and especially their CO's, so they've kept them.

...and before anyone tells me I'm talking about the Caldera Ultra Perf pads, I'm not!
I do realize the Caldera Ultra Perf has top, side, and inner perfs, but the "Ultra Perf" pad has more perforations overall, in a denser pattern, and the lambskin material is also thinner.

So if ZMF is thinking about adding one more pad to the lineup, I know which one I'm curious about!

 

[AnyDave]

I know a couple people who have received "Caldera Top and Side Perf" pads that also have the inner perfs (I guess as a manufacturing mistake?), and they say these one-off pads are by far their favorites for their AO's and especially their CO's, so they've kept them.

...and before anyone tells me I'm talking about the Caldera Ultra Perf pads, I'm not!
I do realize the Caldera Ultra Perf has top, side, and inner perfs, but the "Ultra Perf" pad has more perforations overall, in a denser pattern, and the lambskin material is also thinner.

So if ZMF is thinking about adding one more pad to the lineup, I know which one I'm curious about!

Do you have pictures of that one? A manufacturing mistake would likely occur across an entire build lot, so it's unlikely to see just a few pads pop out like that. Not only that, but it would be caught during OQC acoustic testing as a reduced number of perfs on the inside would affect performance.

Now you've got me curious...

 

[WindSwell]

Yeah, we've had a lot of discussions on how to present the info so that it's less confusing. We'll continue to tweak it so that it hopefully is a bit easier to understand.

Although it would be time consuming, I'd love to see more FR graphs on the ZMF website for recently available recommended pads. Given the wide range of user impressions due to individual hearing response, triangulating with measurements would help me better understand the pads. Case in point, I'm still struggling to fully understand just how much mid-bass response is lost on the Atrium with the Cal Ultra Perfs. Some users also report more upper-mid peaks with said pads. Knowing just 'how much' is lost or gained with measurement data would help me better decide if I will purchase them.

Totally get not wanting to swamp new potential ZMF buyers with too many choices and too much info. But, us obsessives would appreciate it.


•sidenote• FYI: If I'm not mistaken, the measurements for the Auteur on the ZMF website are for the no longer available OG, not the Classic.

 

[AnyDave]

Although it would be time consuming, I'd love to see more FR graphs on the ZMF website for recently available recommended pads. Given the wide range of user impressions due to individual hearing response, triangulating with measurements would help me better understand the pads. Case in point, I'm still struggling to fully understand just how much mid-bass response is lost on the Atrium with the Cal Ultra Perfs. Some users also report more upper-mid peaks with said pads. Knowing just 'how much' is lost or gained with measurement data would help me better decide if I will purchase them.

Totally get not wanting to swamp new potential ZMF buyers with too many choices and too much info. But, us obsessives would appreciate it.


•sidenote• FYI: If I'm not mistaken, the measurements for the Auteur on the ZMF website are for the no longer available OG, not the Classic.

Zach and I have been talking about how to present better measurements on the site. Doing it right is indeed time consuming, but I believe it's worthwhile. I think it's likely more a matter of when than if, but I don't know the timeline at the moment.

 

[Honeypot]

I know a couple people who have received "Caldera Top and Side Perf" pads that also have the inner perfs (I guess as a manufacturing mistake?), and they say these one-off pads are by far their favorites for their AO's and especially their CO's, so they've kept them.

...and before anyone tells me I'm talking about the Caldera Ultra Perf pads, I'm not!
I do realize the Caldera Ultra Perf has top, side, and inner perfs, but the "Ultra Perf" pad has more perforations overall, in a denser pattern, and the lambskin material is also thinner.

So if ZMF is thinking about adding one more pad to the lineup, I know which one I'm curious about!

In the IT world that's called canary publication
You just send a few of them in between hundreds of phones to see how people respond, and if their response is good, the more you add.

 

[vsrrr]

Do you have pictures of that one? A manufacturing mistake would likely occur across an entire build lot, so it's unlikely to see just a few pads pop out like that. Not only that, but it would be caught during OQC acoustic testing as a reduced number of perfs on the inside would affect performance.

Now you've got me curious...

Hehe new product leak!

Top Left Single: Lambskin Caldera Ultra Perf
Bottom Left Pair: Lambskin Stock Caldera Top and Side Perf with (accidental?) inner perforations as well
Bottom Right Pair: Lambskin Universe Perf

One thing of note: the lambskin material on the "Lambskin Stock Caldera Top and Side Perf with (accidental?) inner perforations" pads is noticeably thicker than the lambskin material used for the Lambskin Universe Perfs and the Lambskin Caldera Ultra Perfs.

 

[JackarlTwo]

There are more Caldera/Atrium pad designs coming but we will roll them out as they get tested and we can better explain what each pad does as well.

Curious to see what you come up with. More pads the merrier! A pad with all the magic dust and euphony of the Universe/ Auteur pads, while having the benefits of the Caldera pads would be the goldilocks.

 

[zach915m]

Hehe new product leak!

Top Left Single: Lambskin Caldera Ultra Perf
Bottom Left Pair: Lambskin Stock Caldera Top and Side Perf with (accidental?) inner perforations as well
Bottom Right Pair: Lambskin Universe Perf



One thing of note: the lambskin material on the "Lambskin Stock Caldera Top and Side Perf with (accidental?) inner perforations" pads is noticeably thicker than the lambskin material used for the Lambskin Universe Perfs and the Lambskin Caldera Ultra Perfs.

So the top pad and the bottom left pair both appear to be different runs of Universe pads.

The bottom right pads are most definitely Caldera Ultra Perf pads.

There is some variance from different runs of lambskin pads, as we only use Vegetarian Tan leather - so when we match them we match them by run.

Hope that helps!

 

[Tanalasta]

So many pad options. In the absence of an audition I ended up reading the excellent write-up here…
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/zmfheadphones-universe-pads.25839/

Resisting the urge to pad-swap for the sake of it, this delightful set arrived today with the universal Lambskin installed.

Quoting @heliosphann ”Respectable sub bass extension and excellent bass impact. Trademark ZMF tuned midrange with some lively and engaging upper mids. Treble is pleasing with satisfying extension and no peaks or grain. Immersive, but natural sounding staging with accurate imaging. Has good width, depth and vertical presentation. Comfort is decent due to pad depth” is near exactly how I would describe them. The lively and engaging upper mids being an euphemism for a slightly forward presentation, perhaps not dissimilar to the Caldera Open. Is it a ZMF house tuning preference?

They absolutely sing out of the Naim Unity HE. For those wondering re: a portable setup - I didn’t consider they were driven to full potential out of my portable MK475/SP3000 or Hugo 2. Cabled with Danacable Rhapsody although I suspect Cardas Clear Beyond might be what I try tomorrow.

I’ve only had these a few hours and will see how they evolve with burn-in. A versatile headphone, I’ve enjoyed them tonight with a range of genres from trance/dance to vocals and OST. Whilst Utopia has a cleaner, micro-detail and precise presentation, the Atrium Open are more engaging, euphonic and fun. There’s a lovely weight to the presentation.

These are very comfortable headphones.

*edit*

It may be close to midnight but I couldn’t resist having a listen to the Caldera Open in matching Amboyna Burl. The AB seems more euphonic with a subjectively slower decay than the faster transients of the stabilised resin. AB feels lighter and therefore quite a bit more comfortable than the stabilised resin. The switch up in detail is apparent moving from the Atrium to the Caldera. The ZMF tuning permeates but the personality changes. Atrium has a richer low end and mids. Caldera is more spacious, precise in placement. Vocals and instrumentals are cleaner but leaner, although depth and layering are improved from a technical perspective over the Atrium.

 

[Squeaky Scav]

Minor PSA to any small-headed friends with a Magnesium chassis Atrium.

Don't use the absolute lowest adjustment setting, it will cause the chassis paint to rub off. It doesn't affect performance at all, but is a bit unsightly. I will always keep my ZMFs one notch up moving forward.