[G8torbyte]

No, I listen to a lot if female vocals (Joni, Gretchen Peters, The Be Good Tanyas, Marissa Nader, Cowboy Junkies, 10,000 Maniacs, Ajeet Kaur, Fleetwood Mac/Christine/Stevie) and I love listening to them from my AO.

TBH, I prefer my HEKse for classical. For big orchestral works the HEK headstage is superior.

Natalie Merchant, Tigerlily album, love it. And I like her ealier work with the 10K Maniacs. I was fortunate to see all members of Fleetwood Mac in concert at the University of FL many years ago. Christine McVie is one of my favorite female vocalists.

 

[goldwerger]

I listen to a lot of female-vocalist pop, along with musical soundtracks and a fair amount of classical. I adore the look of the AO, with the vents, would it be better suited to my taste in music than the AC?

For your genres, I’d go with the AO (and recommend the Caldera lambskin ultra perforated pads as a bonus)

 

[acohen001]

For your genres, I’d go with the AO (and recommend the Caldera lambskin ultra perforated pads as a bonus)

This is the setup on my AO. I bought mine @ CANJAM Dallas and Zach picked the two pads to go w/them and he put the Caldera Ultra Perf on them - which I have yet to roll the pads as the sound is perfect for me.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Natalie Merchant, Tigerlily album, love it. And I like her ealier work with the 10K Maniacs...

Ditto!

Also, Annie Lennox 'Diva'

...I was fortunate to see all members of Fleetwood Mac in concert at the University of FL many years ago...

Which lineup? Peter Green? Bob Welch? Or Lindsey/Stevie...?

I saw the Lindsey/Stevie lineup at the Us Festival (man was that a hot weekend)!

...Christine McVie is one of my favorite female vocalists.

Yep, gorgeous voice ... RIP

 

[peepoclap]

Hey folks, amateur headphone enthusiast and new Atrium owner here . After being relatively content with my HD6XXs for the past six or so years I recently began looking for an upgrade and the Atrium seemed like the perfect option. While at CanJam NYC, I bought this stabilized AO and it sounds and looks absolutely incredible. Huge thanks to Zach, Bevin, AJ and everyone else at the venue for being so nice and helpful while I was stumbling my way through testing everything they had to offer.

 

[spittis]

Hey folks, amateur headphone enthusiast and new Atrium owner here . After being relatively content with my HD6XXs for the past six or so years I recently began looking for an upgrade and the Atrium seemed like the perfect option. While at CanJam NYC, I bought this stabilized AO and it sounds and looks absolutely incredible. Huge thanks to Zach, Bevin, AJ and everyone else at the venue for being so nice and helpful while I was stumbling my way through testing everything they had to offer.

Congrats, beautiful set, and I'd say you went straight to the top from the Sennheisers.

 

[YtseJamer]

Congrats, beautiful set, and I'd say you went straight to the top from the Sennheisers.

After trying out the Atrium for the first time, I thought to myself, "Yep, this is pretty much how I imagined the follow-up to the HD650 would sound."

 

[G8torbyte]

Ditto!

Which lineup? Peter Green? Bob Welch? Or Lindsey/Stevie...?

I saw the Lindsey/Stevie lineup at the Us Festival (man was that a hot weekend)!

Yep, gorgeous voice ... RIP

Correction, It was around 1990 or 1991 with most members except Lindsey. Mick, John, Stevie, Rick Vito and Christine were there. Christine performed her songs wonderfully.

 

[Erick Muller]

Hey folks, amateur headphone enthusiast and new Atrium owner here . After being relatively content with my HD6XXs for the past six or so years I recently began looking for an upgrade and the Atrium seemed like the perfect option. While at CanJam NYC, I bought this stabilized AO and it sounds and looks absolutely incredible. Huge thanks to Zach, Bevin, AJ and everyone else at the venue for being so nice and helpful while I was stumbling my way through testing everything they had to offer.

Absolutely beautiful, jesus I would commit war crimes to own a pair.

 

[Majuto]

If someone remembers, in the Atrium thread was some comments about Verite ultra perforated lambskin pads. I got them yesterday and now listened with them installed to Atrium open for a while.
These are clearly thinner than Universe pads and only mildly angled. The first minute reaction was: where is the bass? After half an hour listening I'm convincing that bass really is here, but not so prominent as with Universe pads. Interesting things follows: mid frequencies are more forward, bass is a bit more articulate. The whole sound feels more reference tuned, the soundstage is a bit smaller and layering more straighforward compared to Universe. I've got BP2 pads too, but haven't used them much. These Verite ultra perforated imo clearly resemble more BP2 than Universe, which is no wonder considering their structure. All in all, I have to say I really like these ultra perforated Verite pads. When I ordered them, ZMF had a few pairs left as b-stock priced 27,90 €. An interesting option for quite balanced and neutral Atrium open sound. Caldera pads has this ultra perforated option also, but for their other structural properties compared to this Verite pad I don't know.

 

[Failed Engineer]

I'm glad someone else has tried my favorite Atrium pads! I concur with your assessment that it is more reference tuning sounding and a smaller headstage and compressed layering (which I've never prioritized with headphones). But I'll also add the imaging and resolve is better and that's a trade-off I prefer. Overall, maybe sacrificing some of the ZMF-ey sound in the process. Could be sacrilegious to say in this thread, but the Atriums (open and closed) are the only ZMF's I jive with, and maybe that preference inform my off the beaten path pad choice in the Verite ultra perf pads.

Happy for your experimentation, @Majuto

 

[goldwerger]

IOverall, maybe sacrificing some of the ZMF-ey sound in the process. Could be sacrilegious to say in this thread, but the Atriums (open and closed) are the only ZMF's I jive with, and maybe that preference inform my off the beaten path pad choice in the Verite ultra perf pads.

Whatever sounds best to you IS the best. There are no absolutes, all goes.. whatever it takes to make anyone happy with their headphones is, always, a great choice!

 

[jinxy245]

If someone remembers, in the Atrium thread was some comments about Verite ultra perforated lambskin pads. I got them yesterday and now listened with them installed to Atrium open for a while.
These are clearly thinner than Universe pads and only mildly angled. The first minute reaction was: where is the bass? After half an hour listening I'm convincing that bass really is here, but not so prominent as with Universe pads. Interesting things follows: mid frequencies are more forward, bass is a bit more articulate. The whole sound feels more reference tuned, the soundstage is a bit smaller and layering more straighforward compared to Universe. I've got BP2 pads too, but haven't used them much. These Verite ultra perforated imo clearly resemble more BP2 than Universe, which is no wonder considering their structure. All in all, I have to say I really like these ultra perforated Verite pads. When I ordered them, ZMF had a few pairs left as b-stock priced 27,90 €. An interesting option for quite balanced and neutral Atrium open sound. Caldera pads has this ultra perforated option also, but for their other structural properties compared to this Verite pad I don't know.

Nitpicking not calling you out (I swear!) but I'm pretty sure they're Caldera Ultra-Perf.

Either way I just picked up a set of those pads at CanJam, and I really enjoy them too. I honestly don't even notice a reduction in headstage. I'm sure it's there, but Atrium is so good at it already, and like you I don't prioritize staging that much with headphones, though it is a nice bonus.

Definitely sound more reference to me too. I was scared that the treble would be too tipped up for my preference, but that definitely wasn't the case for me. IDK if I'm fully team Ultra-Perf, but I'm really glad I have as many options as I do.

 

[JackarlTwo]

Nitpicking not calling you out (I swear!) but I'm pretty sure they're Caldera Ultra-Perf.

Either way I just picked up a set of those pads at CanJam, and I really enjoy them too. I honestly don't even notice a reduction in headstage. I'm sure it's there, but Atrium is so good at it already, and like you I don't prioritize staging that much with headphones, though it is a nice bonus.

Definitely sound more reference to me too. I was scared that the treble would be too tipped up for my preference, but that definitely wasn't the case for me. IDK if I'm fully team Ultra-Perf, but I'm really glad I have as many options as I do.

The Verite and BE2 pads always come across as "reference sounding" to me, and I mean that in a good way. They kind of smooth out the frequency curve and you do sacrifice a bit of the stock Atrium magic. The Caldera pads take that approach but improve in staging/ imaging (whatever people call it) and even the sub-bass to my ears.

 

[Promee]

Just got my pair and they definitely sound impressive although I’m also getting the sense there’s a little treble peakiness, harshness or imbalance that requires some more use or burn-in. For example, I let them burn-in overnight, and the sound now seems to be slightly more relaxed, cohesive, open and clear overall unless I’m imagining it. I’ve gone through this process with numerous headphones, so I am familiar with how sound can slightly evolve with new headphones. I didn’t see any mention of factory burn-in when I went through the ordering process and also wonder how these biodynamic drivers in particular may change over prolonged time periods, for example, 200, 400, 600, etc.+ hours.

I am noticing continued improvement around 200 hours. The change has been really significant actually. I freaked out a little when I got them because I was really expecting to be over the moon with them, but the peakiness was getting to me. Now that I’m about 5 weeks in, I have been right where I expected to be with them for about the past week. If your experience is like mine, then your ears do not deceive you, just give it a little time and you shall be rewarded