[Henrim]

I have a doubt. When Zach mentions the system impedance, is referring to output impedance (Output Impedance: Less than 0.1 ohms, at either gain setting) or the power according headphone impedance? (Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 1.2W RMS per channel) these specs are from Jot2. If it is the Output impedance, the Jot2 is a low impedance SS amp?

I believe Zach is referring to the output impedence of the amp. All else equal, increasing the output impedence reduces the damping factor, which can impact the sound in a big way. Generally, the sound becomes looser and less controlled, I particularly notice this in the bass.

 

[helljudgement]

Not discontinued and sorry about the confusion! Supply chain issues, but they will be back in stock within a month or so. Just didn't want to sell the wire before we have it on hand.

Makes sense. I'm considering a second set as I do not want to wear my plugs by constantly switching between VO and Atrium. Wondering if copper or silver cables would be a better match for Atrium. The stock OFC cable do work nicely so may plenty of things to consider.

Well I ordered the solid mesh to give it a try, but at this point, I am just tinkering. I have to admit that either of these headphones are so far beyond my expectations of just a couple years ago. Headphones have collectively gotten better, but ZMF has just spoiled me. It's undeniably interesting to try all the tuning options and makes for great discussion to say the least.

Here's hoping the solid mesh works for you. The solid mesh does noticeably attenuate the 5k ish region to my ears and certainly sounds smoother but perhaps a tad much for my taste which is why I swap it out for perf mesh. I did use the stock mesh for a couple of weeks before switching and eventually settling on the perf mesh. Hoping there will be a mesh that slot between the perf mesh and solid mesh but currently I'm happy with my perf mesh.

the issue I'm having is with my ears, not the Atrium.

Nothing wrong with your ears mate. There are plenty of tuning options such as swapping mesh, earpads headband etc specifically to tune a headphone to your individual liking. Head and ear shapes differs from each individual and having the various padding can specifically tune to suit individual HRTF and sound preferences. That is why you won't find a consensus on the best pad/mesh pairing for ZMF's headphone. It is totally fine for a headphone to not suit your head/ear/sound profile despite that myriad of tuning options and that is certainly not an issue with your ears/hearing abilities. Great that @zach915m recognizes this and gives users a certain level of freedom to change their headphones shape to cater for their own HRTF and this is extremely rare in headphone especially in this price range. There is no universal best shape that will suit all end users.

 

[Mike C]

I received my Atrium last Friday, but I’ve had a really unusual experience with them. I have a clue what’s going on now, but I hope that some of you fine folks might be able to help.

Simply put, my Atrium hurts to listen to, moreso than anything else I own. They’re also the best headphone I’ve ever owned in many regards, which has made the past week rather confusing.

The way it hurts me is similar to the reaction you’d get from sibilance, that uncomfortable cringe, but throughout the treble range. Depending on what I was listening to, the Atrium would be either slightly dark or aggravatingly treble-dominant, and it could switch instantly. I found this out the hard way when I was deliberately seeking out chill music and listened to some Coldplay, because I really liked them as a kid. It worked for a song or two, until Chris Martin hit a high note, and for a split-second, it felt like Chris Martin was right in front of me and about to murder me. While I have to applaud the ZMF team for making such a fantastic headphone that can make the artist appear in front of you, I don’t think that’s what either artist had in mind!

Clearly something’s not right in my case. So, I figured I should do a sine sweep test with visuals to see where the issue is. The best I could find was on Youtube (I know, I know…), and the results surprised me.

While I passed a hearing test at an audiologist with flying colors a year ago, those only test to see if you have enough hearing. What they don’t test for is if you have too much hearing! According to a couple different video tests, at 2600-3000, 6000, and 8000, I have some rather sizable peaks in my hearing. I tried it on three different headphones, and that basic pattern applied across all of them for me, even if the headphones and the tests had slightly different results.

So, the problem is just me then, right? Well, yes and no. Here’s the odd thing: the other two headphones I used were the Focal Clear and Hifiman Arya, and while both of those headphones are obviously designed to be more treble-heavy than the Atrium, they don’t bother me remotely as much as the Atrium does at those peaks, not even close. Something about the Atrium brings those peaks to the forefront of my hearing in a way that nothing else I own has ever done.

So, after all of that, I have two questions:
1. Is there a proper, Head-fi approved piece of software to do these kinds of sine sweeps with? I’m looking to essentially create an EQ for my ears, so I’d like to be precise and have it be a properly valid result. I’d like to do better than Youtube for that!
2. Why is it that the Atrium would aggravate my ears so much more than a Clear or an Arya?

So, final score: 10/10, comfy, pretty, Chris Martin tried to murder me. Thanks for reading my blog, and any help would be appreciated!

Just a suggestion.
Though several people like the Atrium right away, I personally found that they improved very significantly with running in, about 200 hours over about 3 weeks.
I suggest you do nothing until you have run them in fully, then get further advice on pads, mesh, amps, whatever based on your results at that time.

These are quality, delicate instruments so run them in carefully; not 24 hours a day (give a few hours rest), at a normal listening volume, and on a stand or something to close up the cup giving a load similar to your head.
If this shows promise, I would then suggest a good OTL valve amp as I find the Atrium loves these; but hold off for now.

 

[433521]

I love Atrium with the right electronics, though it's wide open sound with the stock pads takes a little too much auditory concentration and I prefer the closed in sound of the Auteur. So I swapped pads. Now, Atrium is much closer to what I want with I think Eikon (or Atrium), perf, lambskin pads (they should really NUMBER THE PADS).

Suede was sadly a FAIL, AGAIN, love how they feel but hate the sound.

Haven't tried the BE pads or w/e the spare set is for Atrium.

So far I still prefer DCA Stealth with HQ tube+txformer amplification for overall sound though.

 

[rhenom]

I love Atrium with the right electronics, though it's wide open sound with the stock pads takes a little too much auditory concentration and I prefer the closed in sound of the Auteur. So I swapped pads. Now, Atrium is much closer to what I want with I think Eikon (or Atrium), perf, lambskin pads (they should really NUMBER THE PADS).

Suede was sadly a FAIL, AGAIN, love how they feel but hate the sound.

Haven't tried the BE pads or w/e the spare set is for Atrium.

So far I still prefer DCA Stealth with HQ tube+txformer amplification for overall sound though.

Everyone has their preference, it might not be the most fair fight, pitting a $4000 planar vs a $2500 dynamic though.

 

[zach915m]

I love Atrium with the right electronics, though it's wide open sound with the stock pads takes a little too much auditory concentration and I prefer the closed in sound of the Auteur. So I swapped pads. Now, Atrium is much closer to what I want with I think Eikon (or Atrium), perf, lambskin pads (they should really NUMBER THE PADS).

Suede was sadly a FAIL, AGAIN, love how they feel but hate the sound.

Haven't tried the BE pads or w/e the spare set is for Atrium.

So far I still prefer DCA Stealth with HQ tube+txformer amplification for overall sound though.

Were always super happy to help with anything zmf if there's ever anything personal to you that we can help with - support@zmfheadphones.com

As far as the pads - we sell earpad bags that can help keep the earpads organized that are an easy add on: https://shop.zmfheadphones.com/collections/pads/products/earpad-bag

Regular plastic zip locks and work too.

Suede is definitely a personal preference, some people love the smoother sound, I like lambskin as well but do like suede for longer sessions since it dulls the transients.

Low impedance planar headphones like the DCA stealth definitely utilize opposite to your systems than the zmf IMHO, ofcourse it all comes down to personal preference.

Any issues feel free to email us. Happy to help.

 

[dougq]

@zach915m have you measured the change higher impedance amps cause? I was really curious. I do not have a desktop high impedance amp (but am definitely considering the iha-6). With that said I just on a whim was going into the living room and plugging these into my denon avr and I'll be 100% honest I was shocked. I'm sure my wife thought I was crazy going back and forth to my living room and my desk but it really did feel like I was hearing a difference but it was hard to tell what frequencies were being changed. Definitely the bass was different.

I was wondering if this is something I could adjust via PEQ on my RME and replicate the sound of. Apologies I feel like this may be a PITA question but I've never really heard a higher impedance amp with high impedance headphones before so I was shocked to hear the difference.

Last question, do you design your drivers around the assumption it will be used on a higher impedance amp or that it will work optimally with all and its just user preference?

 

[Henrim]

With that said I just on a whim was going into the living room and plugging these into my denon avr and I'll be 100% honest I was shocked. I'm sure my wife thought I was crazy going back and forth to my living room and my desk but it really did feel like I was hearing a difference but it was hard to tell what frequencies were being changed. Definitely the bass was different.

Awesome! Sounds fun!

I was wondering if this is something I could adjust via PEQ on my RME and replicate the sound of.

Not entirely. In my understanding, changing the output impedence, and hence damping factor, can impact the frequency response, but not necesserily. It changes the shape of the transients. You noted the bass changed, find a track with a lot of attack in the bass (like an uncompressed bass synth, or EDM or something) and listen to the initial transients on both sources. The high output impedence source should be less defined and bloom more. This might be a substle effect, depending on the damping factor!

In terms of theory, damping factor is equal to the headphone impedence divided by the output impedence (assuing the cable has negligible impedence). So the Atriums are 300 ohm, and my SS source has an output impedence of 1, so the damping factor is 300. My OTL tube amp has an output impedence of around 50 I think, so the damping factor is 6 (300/50). In general, a damping factor of 8-10 is enough for a controlled sound.

To complicate things further, headphone impedence can vary by frequency, and similarly for the output impedence of the source I assume. So the damping factor can vary by frequency too, making it very hard to predict what will happen to the sound when you up the output impedence for a given headphone. For the Focal Utopias, it boosted the bass, but I don't think that will happen for every headphone! So to your point, it would be interesting if Zach has measured what happens to the Atriums.

 

[433521]

Low impedance planar headphones like the DCA stealth definitely utilize opposite to your systems than the zmf IMHO, ofcourse it all comes down to personal preference.

OTxC tubes don't work with ZMF headphones? They'll sound EVEN BETTER with OTL?

I believe Zach is referring to the output impedence of the amp. All else equal, increasing the output impedence reduces the damping factor, which can impact the sound in a big way. Generally, the sound becomes looser and less controlled, I particularly notice this in the bass.

Cleaner and tighter, seems like the instruments are more distinct from one another in a smaller space. More space between the sound, and a smaller soundstage. ZMF from 8 ohm tap is thinner than from 300 ohm tap. Not as full.

Like most things, depending on the source material either could be best.

 

[paddington206]

Anyone know why I can't post images without needing to use a URL/link of some sort? Trying to share images of my Koa in stainless steel that I just got .

 

[Renexx]

Anyone know why I can't post images without needing to use a URL/link of some sort? Trying to share images of my Koa in stainless steel that I just got .

I'm not sure maybe because you are new to headfi ?
We would love to see your stainless steel set

 

[paddington206]

I'm not sure maybe because you are new to headfi ?
We would love to see your stainless steel set

yeah, that's too bad... I've tried uploading to flickr and imgur and sharing the link and it's still not accepting it. You'll just have to take my word for it that it's beautiful

 

[Renexx]

yeah, that's too bad... I've tried uploading to flickr and imgur and sharing the link and it's still not accepting it. You'll just have to take my word for it that it's beautiful

We need physical proof

 

[paddington206]

We need physical proof

Amazing, it works now for some reason! Enjoy!

 

[Wes S]

Amazing, it works now for some reason! Enjoy!

Lovely looking pair of headphones and nice looking base on that BHC too!