[George Hincapie]

Is Atrium Closed a reality or simply speculation?

 

[JerseyD]

Is Atrium Closed a reality or simply speculation?

Zach showed a set of Atrium Closed on that livestream with TylersEclectic (which is posted on his YouTube channel under the "Live" tab. They're real. I forget when he said was the likely release date though.

 

[goldwerger]

Is Atrium Closed a reality or simply speculation?

General release if I recall around April, but early units at CanJam NYC next month definitely

 

[George Hincapie]

General release if I recall around April, but early units at CanJam NYC next month definitely

Goodness me. Exciting, but I wish Zach would slow down, it's going to take forever to buy a pair of every model

 

[bigjako]

Don’t sleep on the 100. If I understand correctly, Zach moved from a 300 ohm default tap on the original Pendant to 100 on the SE and I’ve heard others prefer the 100. My Kenzie was 32/300 and I loved the 300 personally.

On my Stratus I prefer the Atrium on low z.

 

[shwnwllms]

Don’t sleep on the 100. If I understand correctly, Zach moved from a 300 ohm default tap on the original Pendant to 100 on the SE and I’ve heard others prefer the 100.

That is correct. My VO on the 100 ohm tap on the Pendant SE sounds sublime

 

[goldwerger]

There really isn't a right or wrong answer here. Best practice is to experiment. How tight the bass is vs. soundstage is a common trade off, but it really varies from amp to amp (and headphone to headphone).

I usually end up choosing the imepdance tap that matches the headphone's impedance in my amp (Nirvana), which often just happens to work best for my ears. But I absolutely have one or two headphones were I have a default selection that is different than their nominal impedance.

The good news is that it's super easy to play around with it (much faster than swapping pads ), and it's just another way to match options to flavor and play with!

 

[dfiled]

What I’m confused is about is the fact that Ampsandsound apparently included the 300 ohm tap with ZMFs in mind while others talk about the 1/8 rule, which would suggest something closer to 32 would be more appropriate for 300 ohm cans. I’ve never been able to reconcile theses seemingly conflicting pieces of information.

 

[Coran]

What I’m confused is about is the fact that Ampsandsound apparently included the 300 ohm tap with ZMFs in mind while others talk about the 1/8 rule, which would suggest something closer to 32 would be more appropriate for 300 ohm cans. I’ve never been able to reconcile theses seemingly conflicting pieces of information.

Well, what do your ears tell you? Isn't that all that matters?

 

[dfiled]

Hard to argue with that.

 

[goldwerger]

What I’m confused is about is the fact that Ampsandsound apparently included the 300 ohm tap with ZMFs in mind while others talk about the 1/8 rule, which would suggest something closer to 32 would be more appropriate for 300 ohm cans. I’ve never been able to reconcile theses seemingly conflicting pieces of information.

Couple points to keep in mind:

First, it doesn't have to be 8:1. I can also be 3:1 or 2:1. Yes, as a general rule, higher ratio may mean better control over the driver, but like everything it gets specific to the headphone and amp (and taste). A classic example are OTL amps where actual output impedance will be typically 50 ohms or rather higher.

Second, what you see on the amp impedance taps arenn't necesssary the actual output impedances of the amp. It's the setting that the amp builder recommends using for spec-ed headphones with those impedances. How the builder decided to calibrate and what damping factor it allows for varies amp to amp.

(a case in point, in parenthesis so as not to go too OT to this thread: I currently have the Pioneers SE-Master1 on, which is 45 ohms, and I run it off the Nirvana's 80 ohm selection, because I like it more than the 32 tap; I can assure you that I 'm not listening to a negative damping factor.. it's playing with super tight control; whatever the actual output impedance in there may be, it's lower I assure you...)

 

[erics75]

For Atrium owners with amps that have multi-impedance outputs (I have the Ampsandsound Ovation v2, with 8, 16, 32, 100, and 300 ohm outputs), which output have you enjoyed the most?

I recently sold my Ovation, but I would usually stick to 100 and 300. On my Kenzie OG Rev 2 I stick to 300. I notice on lower output impedance it loses a bit of energy up top, and the bass, though tighter, loses some of that emphatic impact the higher impedance taps give it. Spent a good hour tonight with a new Stratus and tried both the 120 and 8ohm outputs, and the 120 is way more engaging to my ears, though the 8 is a bit tighter/cleaner.

 

[erics75]

What I’m confused is about is the fact that Ampsandsound apparently included the 300 ohm tap with ZMFs in mind while others talk about the 1/8 rule, which would suggest something closer to 32 would be more appropriate for 300 ohm cans. I’ve never been able to reconcile theses seemingly conflicting pieces of information.

I talked to Justin from Ampsandsound about this specifically, and he said that's a general rule of thumb that doesn't apply as much to tube amps with transformers. He gave me a bit of the science behind it but it went over my head immediately haha. He left me with this, for his amps specifically (I was picking up my Kenzie OG Rev 2 in person) just go with what your ears say is best, don't worry about impedance matching and any 1/10 or 1/8 rules. If you are curious about the science of it give Justin a call/email, he's super friendly and helpful, and loves to help the audio community.

 

[Wes S]

There is definitely no right or wrong way to go between high and low Z for ZMF 300 ohm dynamics. I am a bit of an outlier and prefer by quite a large margin both my ZMF's on the low Z setting with both the Pendant SE and Cayin HA300mk2. I think there is more at play (tube combo, cables, DAC, personal preference, type of music, etc. . .), than just the impedance that factors in to which setting sounds "best". I like a tight, detailed and impactful sound with a huge holographic stage and listen to a lot of well recorded acoustic music (Bluegrass and Folk) and low Z has always sounded the most lifelike to me in my system. When I go up in impedance with my tubes and rest of gear, the mids get pushed forward and I loose that huge expansive staging and depth and the sound becomes to loose and warm, of which leads to a more artificial/overblown sound to my ears. The high Z tap, creates more midbass bloom and slows the sound down too much for my preferences. That's just my 2 cents on the subject after owning the Pendant SE and now a Cayin HA300mk2, of which are both SET with Low and High Z taps.

 

[RestoredSparda]

Low z for me as well with DNA Stratus. Both Atrium and Aeolus sound their best balanced and on low z. High z let's the bass get a bit boomy and less controlled.