idairyou
500+ Head-Fier
For my Limited AC the time from order to delivery was 4 weeks. It would have been sooner but FedEx delayed delivery.
ZMF Atrium - new open-back co-flagship
- Thread starter DeweyCH
- Start date
PinkyPowers
Reviewer: The Headphone List
That's promising! How long ago was that?
idairyou
500+ Head-Fier
I received them last Monday.That's promising! How long ago was that?
I placed my order on the zebra ao on 03/14
So 3 weeks and going up. Hope I don't have to wait much longer.
For the caldera was one month and a week.
Patience come to me!
So 3 weeks and going up. Hope I don't have to wait much longer.
For the caldera was one month and a week.
Patience come to me!
PinkyPowers
Reviewer: The Headphone List
Thanks! There is hope, then, for a reasonable timeframe.
A friend of mine says it took the better part of a year to get his Verite, but that was quite some time ago.
Got mine in 5 weeks, this was around ZMF November so yours might be faster
Mine was about 5 weeks exactly from order (mid-January) to delivery, Atrium open in aged cherry / copper.
JackarlTwo
500+ Head-Fier
Mine took about 4-5 weeks including shipping, but that was over a year ago and of course it will vary depending if it's during ZMF November/ holidays etc. I'd say the website is accurate.
Schuie Driver
Head-Fier
This is a great post. I gotta say though, it sure does make me want to try some tubes.First time with Atrium on Feliks Envy vs Chord DAVE solo...
Having had to sell my last Atriums to fund my Feliks Envy purchase, I managed to get some Atriums back again. I previously had them on a XIAUDIO Formula S and Powerman. But boy are they absolutely singing on this Envy.
Elrog ER300b with Brimar CV1988s. Chord DAVE as DAC. Only stock cable for now, but I have a Danacables Nirvana incoming for multiuse with an incoming LCD-4. I won't get into pad swaps for now because that's a whole other thing, but for reference I'm just using stock Universe perf.
I've been such a planar guy since getting into headphones because my 'thing' has always been chasing resolution and detail. Once I got to the end of that rainbow (relatively for me), I realised how much I enjoy a warm, softer tone than the rather clinical tone my chain was giving me.
Since moving to the Envy, all that has changed, and with the Atrium...wow! Those gorgeous mids, the lush laid-back treble, and deep rumbling bass that's also effortlessly clean.
ZMF Atrium on Chord DAVE solo
One of the advantages of having an amp/dac is just plugging headphones in when you don't want to wait for tubes to warm up, especially one with as capable an amp as DAVE's.
Tonally, the Atriums always deliver. Whether it's on a Ifi Go Blu (the soundstage does fairly collapse on that, mind) or the Envy. And the DAVE is no different.
I don't care about the supposed thinness of the DAVE. I've simply never heard that. All I've heard on the DAVE is a profound musicality. Even solo. And the Atrium demonstrates what the DAVE does: presents music in a heavenly natural manner. There's no colouration or tricks.
Of course, the Atrium bring a hint of darkness in tonality, but timbre and warmth are sublime. Yes, detailing isn't at LCD-5 or Susvara levels. But that's fine. I can listen to Atrium for hours. There is simply no fatigue with these ever. Even on the DAVE it's not incredibly resolving. But it's not gloopy tubey smeary soft mess.
So I was interested to hear the effect of moving them to tubes...
ZMF Atrium on Feliks Envy (w/ Elrog 300b and Brimar CV1988 and DAVE as DAC)
As I hit play on track 1, I prepared myself for softness. And it is definitely softer than solo DAVE. But not at the expense of details. It's warmth and a dark embery glow on top of what the DAVE gives you.
Also, as you would expect it's stage that really delivers with the Envy. Imaging expands outwards, stage widens. And there's a richness and warmth of a whole order higher than the DAVE.
It's an absolutely gorgeous sound. Breathtaking really. It's a sound that I could listen to forever.
I've heard clearer vocals. I've heard more natural vocals. But I have never heard vocals as effortlessly and beautifully rendered as on Atrium. Gagging Order by Radiohead a prime example, which on Susvara sounds a little distant. On Atrium, Thom Yorke has pulled up a stool right next to you to play. It honestly made me tear up a bit.
NB: I should note, I'm getting a very slight hum on medium gain when there's silent background. When on low gain it goes away. But stage and tonality takes a big hit.
Atrium and tube pairings
I did a 300b tube-upgrade comparison yesterday with Elrogs vs Western Electric. One track I noted in favour of the Elrogs was Nick Drake's Hazey Jane II, a beautiful, dreamy tune of acoustic bliss. Listening on Susvara for the comparison was intended to get as neutral tonal results as possible. But the Elrogs with the Atrium bring back a lot of what the Western Electric tubes bring, which is a slightly slower speed which really tells with Nick Drake and Neil Young and the like.
It's something I hadn't paid much thought to until tonight: the impact of different tubes with different headphones. This is just reinforcing for me that the Elrogs are really for me. If I can get this warm and rich tone from music via the Atriums, then that's fantastic. Now, I haven't used the Atrium with WE yet, and maybe that will throw a spanner in the works, and I will try it.
But if Nick Drake's At the Chime of a City Clock is anything to go by on Atrium, then the Elrogs are more than delivering on gorgeous mids and laidback treble. And that's exactly what I want from this headphone.
And it's a headphone I will NEVER EVER let go of again.
Knee Deep In Epoxy
500+ Head-Fier
Waiting in anticipation.I put my AO's on tonight with the intent of swapping on the Caldera Ultra Perf Suede Pads and evaluating them. Instead I just ended up listening to music for several hours...
I'll try again tomorrow.
I went back to the stock mesh for a few days but quickly found myself missing the slight extra brightness of the radial mesh.... this morning as I scramble on and try to complete some urgent work (other than being on a Head-fi forum of course), I'm taming the bass energy with the Universe Suede pads.
I think I'm done swapping the mesh now... at least for a long while... but so many pads to enjoy at different times.
That's all anyone needs as far as an open back goes.... the Atrium with the right mesh, loads of pads for different moods... then sell the rest of your headphones.
Good luck with your wait times - I heard these at Chicago CJ and they are definitely worth a wait. Nothing compared to a DNA amp wait time though! Looking for another pair of headphones to go with Stellaris when I get it, anyone used these with that amp? Utopia is the set I already have and the spatial abilities of these seemed like a good compliment.
Listening to my Atrium with my Stellaris right now. I prefer this combination over the Utopia OG but both could have a place depending upon what other chains you have in your collection.
Glad to hear you prefer them with it. Heard them originally out of an OTL - can't remember which. They had lots of cool amps in that ZMF room.
They're not going to sound like that out of the Stellaris, especially if it was the Decware OTL. Sonic ooey gooey from the Decware. The Stellaris is much more linear than an OTL or 300b, IMO.
Depends highly on tube roll (one of the pluses of this amp). With Tung-Sol 5687 the voicing is pristine, clear, detailed, and holographic. It’s the best I’ve ever heard the AO.
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