ZMF Atrium - new open-back co-flagship

[g0ldl10n]

Are the ovals the Ori pads?

Nah, the Oval and Ori pads are two different models.

https://shop.zmfheadphones.com/collections/pads/products/zmf-oval-earpads

https://shop.zmfheadphones.com/collections/pads/products/ori-pads

 

[geoffalter11]

Gotcha... Give em a try and let us all know your results.

 

[g0ldl10n]

Gotcha... Give em a try and let us all know your results.

I sure might, they look intriguing.

 

[gonintendo]

I think those are meant for the t50s, not sure how they’d sound on the atrium

 

[geoffalter11]

I think those are meant for the t50s, not sure how they’d sound on the atrium

I believe I had a pair of cowhides yrs ago on my Blackwood.

 

[g0ldl10n]

I think those are meant for the t50s, not sure how they’d sound on the atrium

They do look that way, but the description is definitely targeting other full sized headphones, "Try them on ZMFs or your favorite headphone as our pads will fit most full sized cans, be it oval or round."

Really curious as to how these would sound on the Atrium.

 

[Skyediver]

Hey gang, a favor to ask: what are the TOTL 2 or 3 OTL amps you’d recommend for the Atriums?

Now that I’m leaning on getting the Atriums, I’d like to have an OTL amp in mind to complete the chain. Source DAC that will be feeding all this is the Holo May KTE edition.

One request in advance, please? I have no interest in hearing about the unobtainium models like the Glenn or the Airmid, yada yada. Not that they aren’t amazing, but the truth is the fact that it’s so freaking hard to buy them unless you’re either extremely lucky in the classifieds or in some super secret velvet rope club is decidedly an off-putting part of this hobby. I hate this aspect of the hobby, if I’m being truthful. Also, not thinking budget models like DIY Bottleheads. Great for what they are, just not what I’m looking for with this request/goal.

Zach mentioned to me in a brief conversation at CanJam the Decware OTL model, but it didn’t blow me away on brief listen in noisy CanJam environment, so not writing it off, just sharing that context.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Skyediver]

Hey gang, a favor to ask: what are the TOTL 2 or 3 OTL amps you’d recommend for the Atriums?

Now that I’m leaning on getting the Atriums, I’d like to have an OTL amp in mind to complete the chain. Source DAC that will be feeding all this is the Holo May KTE edition.

One request in advance, please? I have no interest in hearing about the unobtainium models like the Glenn or the Airmid, yada yada. Not that they aren’t amazing, but the truth is the fact that it’s so freaking hard to buy them unless you’re either extremely lucky in the classifieds or in some super secret velvet rope club is decidedly an off-putting part of this hobby. I hate this aspect of the hobby, if I’m being truthful. Also, not thinking budget models like DIY Bottleheads. Great for what they are, just not what I’m looking for with this request/goal.

Zach mentioned to me in a brief conversation at CanJam the Decware OTL model, but it didn’t blow me away on brief listen in noisy CanJam environment, so not writing it off, just sharing that context.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, one more data point: if there’s an OTL amp that works well for both the Atriums and Verite Open, that’s extra special sauce on top that gives me a smile too.

 

[Dawgfish]

Hey gang, a favor to ask: what are the TOTL 2 or 3 OTL amps you’d recommend for the Atriums?

Now that I’m leaning on getting the Atriums, I’d like to have an OTL amp in mind to complete the chain. Source DAC that will be feeding all this is the Holo May KTE edition.

One request in advance, please? I have no interest in hearing about the unobtainium models like the Glenn or the Airmid, yada yada. Not that they aren’t amazing, but the truth is the fact that it’s so freaking hard to buy them unless you’re either extremely lucky in the classifieds or in some super secret velvet rope club is decidedly an off-putting part of this hobby. I hate this aspect of the hobby, if I’m being truthful. Also, not thinking budget models like DIY Bottleheads. Great for what they are, just not what I’m looking for with this request/goal.

Zach mentioned to me in a brief conversation at CanJam the Decware OTL model, but it didn’t blow me away on brief listen in noisy CanJam environment, so not writing it off, just sharing that context.

Thanks in advance!

You might want to check out the Woo WA2 or one of the Feliks models such as the Elise or Euforia. I'm sure there are others that some of the other folks can recommend but that's what comes to mind.

 

[Marutks]

Hey gang, a favor to ask: what are the TOTL 2 or 3 OTL amps you’d recommend for the Atriums?

I like my Blue Halo amp

 

[goldwerger]

Perhaps if that rumored Decware/ZMF collab finally comes about?

https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1654475223

 

[thecrow]

I enjoy my woo wa2 with my hd800, and previously, the auteur.

silky smooth sound

 

[gonintendo]

They do look that way, but the description is definitely targeting other full sized headphones, "Try them on ZMFs or your favorite headphone as our pads will fit most full sized cans, be it oval or round."

Really curious as to how these would sound on the Atrium.

Do what you want with your money but I do not think those will sound good on the atrium. The t50 is a closed back, and as such the only oval pads I see available on the site are solid leather. ZMF open backs work best with perforated leather as they're already pretty bassy. Having tried some ZMF solid pads on their open headphones out of curiosity I think the oval pads will dramatically increase bass to beyond enjoyable levels.

 

[Monsterzero]

One request in advance, please? I have no interest in hearing about the unobtainium models like the Glenn or the Airmid, yada yada. Not that they aren’t amazing, but the truth is the fact that it’s so freaking hard to buy them unless you’re either extremely lucky in the classifieds or in some super secret velvet rope club is decidedly an off-putting part of this hobby. I hate this aspect of the hobby, if I’m being truthful.

As someone who has been fortunate to own both the Glenn and the Airmid, I feel obligated to respond here. In actuality there is no "velvet rope secret club" and if there is, I'm not in it.

I used to own the La Figaro 339 and spent hours reading that thread, learning about various tube rolling combos. One member in particular, @UntilThen seemed to know a lot about tubes that sounded great in the 339, so I reached out to him via DM. In one of our conversations he mentioned he was buying a Glenn OTL, and suggested I check out the Glenn thread, so I did. A few months later I sent Glenn a deposit for my own GOTL and 3 months later, I was a Glenn owner. No secret handshake required.

I spent quite a bit of time in that thread, and the other GOTL owners, who are a bunch of passionate and helpful members, helped me learn the ins and outs of owning this amazing amp and draining my wallet by suggesting various tube types and rolls for the Glenn.

One of those members whom I spent time interacting with, @L0rdGwyn , announced he was selling his GOTL and building his own amp. Of course I was curious to hear what LG had come up with, so several months later he sent me his prototype, called the Airmid, to listen to and possibly review. Well, needless to say I was impressed enough with the Airmid that I posted in the Glenn thread that I was putting my GOTL up for sale. @robo24 responded literally within less than 5 minutes of me posting, and now he is enjoying my GOTL. Lucky perhaps, but again no secret handshake required.

LG's plan originally was to build and sell the Airmid, and in my Airmid review I did say to "run, not walk" and order your own Airmid. Unfortunately for several reasons, the Airmid was only available for sale for a few weeks, hence why there are only six in existence AFAIK, and have become unobtanium.

I mention all of this because I currently have another entirely different amp in my home that was designed and built by LG that I will be reviewing soon. This amp, called the Aegis, shares many of the same sonic qualities of the Airmid. Not only that, unlike the Airmid, it sounds great with planars too.

If you want admission to " the secret club" one only needs to read and interact with other members. A subscribe to my Youtube channel (link in signature) will help as well.

 

[UntilThen]

Where do I begin? I'm usually quiet going about my own business but sometimes my name gets mention, like now for instance by @Monsterzero I am no expert though and I'm not technical. I live by experience by trying out the amps for myself.

First of all, I have enjoyed my time with 3 ZMF headphones - Atticus, Eikon and Verite Open and God knows why I sold them. I went through more headphones and amps than my daily meals. There's always the intention to get another ZMF headphone again in the future but there's always that one more tube amp to get. It's like I don't have enough !

More of the ZMF dynamic headphones are ideally suited with OTL amps and also transformer coupled amps that I have owned in the past and also presently. The amps are:-

La Figaro 339i (OTL amp) - this is a diamond in the rough. Amazing bass weight and wide soundstage. Get a pair of Tung Sol 5998 or Bendix 6080wb and you'll be smiling. Other tubes that are more affordable are the Mullard 6080, Svetlana 6H13. The holy grail is of course the GEC 6AS7G.

Felix Audio Elise and Euforia - OTL amp as well. These have lovely traditional tube amp tone that should pair very well with ZMF headphones. They share the same La Figaro's power tubes mentioned above.

Glenn OTL amp - I owned this for about 2 years. This is the Super 9 OTL amp that I call it because there are 6 sockets for power tubes (6BX7), 2 for c3g drivers or one 6SN7 driver. Love this amp and should have kept it but in the name of the game, I have to move on.

ALO Audio Studio Six - this is a very nice transformer coupled amp for ZMF headphones but it's a bit pricey but 2nd hands once are more affordable. It's very well made and have 4 headphones output. You can literally plug in 4 ZMF headphones and it won't run out of steam.

Woo Audio WA22 - another transformer coupled amp that shares the same compliments of power tubes as La Figaro 339. This is another superb amp for ZMF headphones. How do I know? Because I've used it with my 3 previous ZMF headphones before.

Ultrasonic Studio Oblivion - this I have currently and will drive any headphones including Susvara. Clarity, details, wide soundstage and fast transients are it's traits. This one's a keeper for me.

Ultrasonic Studio Odyssey - transformer coupled amp that uses KT88, EL34, 6550, 6L6GC, etc as power tubes. This one uses very good boutique parts such as Sowter transformers, Yamamoto sockets, Mundorf caps, etc. This is my priced baby.

I had known @L0rdGwyn since the days of Glenn OTL amps and I am pleased to see he is now a very competent amp builder but he doesn't have time to do it on the side line. On his thread, you can see a wide array of amps that he has build. They are amazing looking but I never had the pleasure of listening to one. There are some who have own it and praise them highly. Zach himself has a couple of Keenan's amps.

Other boutique amp builder are the 1010 amp thread. Hope I got that name right. Lovely amps there too. @leftside is probably the best person to contribute on this as he has 2 amps build by that amp builder.

Other tube amps that I never had the pleasure to try are DNA Stratus, Stellaris and Eddie Current Studio 300b amps. They should be lovely. I would have love to try these but hey there are only so many tube amps I can get my hands on and I am about to retire from more amps after the arrival of Telemachus (300b amp) next April 2023.

Last but not least there are the range of Cayin amps and Ampandsound amps. Too many for you to choose from. You can't complain there aren't enough to choose from.

However getting the amps is just the beginning. Then follows the hunt for lovely NOS tubes. Aren't you glad you fall into this rabbit hole? Enjoy because there is no life without tube amps.

P/S - there's also Auris Nirvana and it's siblings. I've audition Nirvana twice and then had Odyssey custom made. At this level, the amps are pricey but gorgeous in looks and sound.