[Monsterzero]

I realize we all tend to hear things somewhat differently and that our audio chain feeding out headphones has a great impact on the end result, but these comments about some treble harshness some are experiencing with the Atrium open is giving me pause. I am presently using a pair of Aeolus with a Woo WA3 OTL amp and love the combination. I experience no harshness and have no need for more detail, but have been seriously considering moving up to a pair of Atriums and calling it a day. Most all of the reviews I've read or watched talk about their forgiving nature, some calling them dark. These are attributes I am attracted to; I am very sensitive to treble harshness. The fact that there is a new ZMF headphone pad being recommended to help out with this treble issue in combination with some of these comments makes me wonder if the Atrium is my end game headphone after all, or maybe I should stick with the Aeolus.

+3 for the solid mesh, which is whats on my pair. I am one of those who find the Atrium too dark with the solid mesh and have been meaning to swap it out, but I am currently frying bigger fish.

 

[JackarlTwo]

I agree with what the others have said. The treble is not harsh at all, far from it. It's pretty dark & warmish, especially with the solid mesh. I wouldn't call it rolled off either because the treble remain well extended with good air, it's seriously awesome. Other people have described the treble on Aeolus as slightly edgier/ less refined (or more in quantity) compared to Atrium, but I haven't heard Aeolus. The only times I've found the treble to be "too much" is with the more open radial mesh and some poorly mastered records where I can notice the ~5KHz peak more easily, but my chain is relatively neutral so that might be another factor.

 

[spittis]

I have personally never perceived any harshness with the Atrium even in stock configuration and driven on my ADI-2 DAC, unless the music really calls for it, as in it's a production choice. By comparison I could see someone finding the Auteurs a bit fatiguing. I will say that I wasn't fond of the stock Aeolus sound though, I found them too "veiled".

 

[YtseJamer]

I realize we all tend to hear things somewhat differently and that our audio chain feeding out headphones has a great impact on the end result, but these comments about some treble harshness some are experiencing with the Atrium open is giving me pause. I am presently using a pair of Aeolus with a Woo WA3 OTL amp and love the combination. I experience no harshness and have no need for more detail, but have been seriously considering moving up to a pair of Atriums and calling it a day. Most all of the reviews I've read or watched talk about their forgiving nature, some calling them dark. These are attributes I am attracted to; I am very sensitive to treble harshness. The fact that there is a new ZMF headphone pad being recommended to help out with this treble issue in combination with some of these comments makes me wonder if the Atrium is my end game headphone after all, or maybe I should stick with the Aeolus.

I've never had any issues with treble harshness on my Atrium, which is crucial for me as I'm sensitive to it due to tinnitus in my left ear. The Atrium became my favorite after using the Aeolus for quite some time. I also gave the Verite Closed and Auteur a shot, but eventually sold them. The Atrium just suits my taste perfectly. By the way, I'm using the same amp as you, the Woo WA3, it pairs amazingly with the Atrium. As for the pads, I usually go with the Universe pads and the stock vented mesh. However, on days when my tinnitus acts up more, I switch to the Auteur leather pads.

 

[SMG52]

Thank you everyone for your generous responses regarding any treble issues with the Atrium open. I still have them in my sights.

 

[Machiavelli1310]

The solid mesh is much better than the radial mesh for me. This finally allows me to increase the volume to where I want it to be. I'll try going back after like a couple of months to see if burn in has helped, but for now it's solid mesh FTW.

 

[walterboss]

I've got Atrium open arriving today. Can't wait! Need a good counterpoint to my existing cans which can be a little analytical. Excited for some lush warm tones for once!

 

[SMG52]

In reading that a number of people seem to prefer the Atrium Open with the solid mesh, I took a look at the solid mesh on the ZMF website. I assume it must be porous to some degree, unless the sound travels by 'vibrating' the mesh itself, which is hard to imagine. I assume it can only block so much of the sound. Maybe it works a bit like the special earplugs I use for attending any amplified live performances I might attend. I never leave home without them when attending a live concert; not only do they lower the decibel level, but they are able to filter the sound in such a way that one can more easily discern the sounds of the instruments and the singers.

 

[AnyDave]

In reading that a number of people seem to prefer the Atrium Open with the solid mesh, I took a look at the solid mesh on the ZMF website. I assume it must be porous to some degree, unless the sound travels by 'vibrating' the mesh itself, which is hard to imagine. I assume it can only block so much of the sound. Maybe it works a bit like the special earplugs I use for attending any amplified live performances I might attend. I never leave home without them when attending a live concert; not only do they lower the decibel level, but they are able to filter the sound in such a way that one can more easily discern the sounds of the instruments and the singers.

All of the mesh variants are basically acoustic resistors, designed to damp the frequency response of the drivers, so yes, they are definitely porous.

1.) The solid mesh is the highest resistance, so it will attenuate the most.
2.) The patterned mesh still attenuates the response, but the relief cuts in the damper reduce the level of resistance.
3.) No front damper is wide open, so that that leaves the headphone effectively undamped from the front.

Damping typically affects the response from the primary peak (at roughly 2.9kHz) and beyond. The greater the level of resistance, the higher the damping and the smoother the response. The stock option was chosen as sort of a median approach, giving ZMF owners the ability to tweak them up or down via damping (and also pads).

 

[LCMusicLover]

In reading that a number of people seem to prefer the Atrium Open with the solid mesh, I took a look at the solid mesh on the ZMF website. I assume it must be porous to some degree, unless the sound travels by 'vibrating' the mesh itself, which is hard to imagine. I assume it can only block so much of the sound. Maybe it works a bit like the special earplugs I use for attending any amplified live performances I might attend. I never leave home without them when attending a live concert; not only do they lower the decibel level, but they are able to filter the sound in such a way that one can more easily discern the sounds of the instruments and the singers.

Personally, I prefer the radial vented mesh.

 

[shafat777]

Personally, I prefer the radial vented mesh.

Add +1 to that from my end

 

[YtseJamer]

For me, the stock mesh hits the sweet spot when paired with the Universe and Auteur pads. I gave the full mesh a shot a few times, but the sound got a bit too dark for my liking.

 

[zach915m]

Some new looks coming out tomorrow - full info here for all the other other things: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf...ule-for-caldera-closed-and-bokeh-open.971900/



Also the stock Cherry got a bit of a make-over with an ambered finish cherry:

 

[crakers7]

Some new looks coming out tomorrow - full info here for all the other other things: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf...ule-for-caldera-closed-and-bokeh-open.971900/



Also the stock Cherry got a bit of a make-over with an ambered finish cherry:

that zebra wood is beautifull !!

 

[YtseJamer]

Wow, the new Atrium 2024 looks stunning!