[Progmeister]

I am thinking of selling my ZMF Auteur cans and wanting advive regarding how much i should sel them for?

 

[msing539]

I remember when you got these. What wood are they? Chassis material? Does it include the case and is it a pelican or wooden box? Do you have extra pads or cables?

And most important, what's the condition of the wood and chassis?

Pricing is more in Europe and the UK than in the US, it seems.

 

[Progmeister]

Mint condition. spare cable XLR

 

[Progmeister]

Mint condition. spare cable XLR

 

[msing539]

In the US, I'm guessing this would be $950-1000. But like I said, pricing seems higher in Europe and the UK.

The Auteur doesn't come up frequently in the UK. Wild guess, £1,200 and open to offers, plus be prepared to ship in Europe.

 

[Monsterzero]

Your amps output impedance is 1.3 ohms, likely not the best match for the 300ohm Auteur, which really blossom with a high output impedance amp. Have you tried another amp and/or swapping pads?

1000.00 seems to be what most Auteurs go for these days.

 

[Progmeister]

Your amps output impedance is 1.3 ohms, likely not the best match for the 300ohm Auteur, which really blossom with a high output impedance amp. Have you tried another amp and/or swapping pads?

1000.00 seems to be what most Auteurs go for these days.

Mmmmm, So i am probably better off selling them then as it sounds like i will have to buy an expensive headphone amp to power them properly?

 

[Progmeister]

Thought i would check the specs of my HPA. I was assured by the manufacturer that it would drive the Auteurs no problem.
Headphone Impedance Range: 8 ohms to 600 ohms (or higher)
Recommended Input Level: 150mV to 3.0V (1-2.0V recommended)
Preamplifier Output Level: 500mV / 1.0V / 2.0V (adjusted via gain switch)
Preamplifier Output Impedance: 600 ohms


Frequency Response: 10Hz - 50kHz (-1dB @ 50kHz)
Total Harmonic Distortion: (32 ohms / BW=80kHz / unweighted) <0.002% (1kHz) / 0.003% (10kHz) / 0.003% (20kHz)
Stereo Crosstalk: -83dBu (1kHz) / -75dBu (10kHz) / -70dBu (20kHz)
Maximum Output Power: (Both channels driven <1% THD) 3.7W (22 ohms) / 3.1W (32 ohms) / 2.2W (50 ohms) / 195mW (600 ohms)
Input Impedance: 12K
Headphone Output Impedance: (Ref 1kHz / 600ohms) 1.3 ohms

According to my ownres manual the output impedance is 600 ohms.

 

[Monsterzero]

Mmmmm, So i am probably better off selling them then as it sounds like i will have to buy an expensive headphone amp to power them properly?

What are you not liking about them?

 

[Monsterzero]

Headphone Output Impedance: (Ref 1kHz / 600ohms) 1.3 ohms

No, the output impedance is 1.3 on your amp, which is quite normal for many amps. I think my Violectric v550 has an even lower output impedance than that.

You're getting plenty of power to the Auteur, it;s not a hard HP to drive. It's more about the sonic benefits that a higher impedance output amp can give to high impedance headphone. For example, many ZMF owners use an OTL valve amp for ZMFs. Typically OTLs are around 60-100 ohms output. Also vintage solid state receivers from the 1970s have a high output impedance on the HP jack, so they rock ZMFs as well.

Typically you will hear a more rich, musical sound with fuller bass when using a high ohm output amp with high impedance headphones. On the other hand, high impedance output amps don't sound good with most planars and a low impedance headphones.

About 95% of headphones made today are under a 75 ohm impedance, both dynamic and planars, so it makes sense that most amps will have a low output impedance

If you want to get a good amp for ZMFs for not alot of money, look into the Schiit x Nitsch Piety.

 

[Progmeister]

Have i then misread the specs above? As it says that the output impedance of my amp is 600 ohms

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Have i then misread the specs above? As it says that the output impedance of my amp is 600 ohms

I think that stuff in parenthesis was the load on the amp when output impedance was measured. So with a 600-ohm headphone playing a 1 kHz tone, the measured output impedance of the amp is 1.3 ohms.

 

[Daiyama]

Thought i would check the specs of my HPA. I was assured by the manufacturer that it would drive the Auteurs no problem.
Headphone Impedance Range: 8 ohms to 600 ohms (or higher)
Recommended Input Level: 150mV to 3.0V (1-2.0V recommended)
Preamplifier Output Level: 500mV / 1.0V / 2.0V (adjusted via gain switch)
Preamplifier Output Impedance: 600 ohms


Frequency Response: 10Hz - 50kHz (-1dB @ 50kHz)
Total Harmonic Distortion: (32 ohms / BW=80kHz / unweighted) <0.002% (1kHz) / 0.003% (10kHz) / 0.003% (20kHz)
Stereo Crosstalk: -83dBu (1kHz) / -75dBu (10kHz) / -70dBu (20kHz)
Maximum Output Power: (Both channels driven <1% THD) 3.7W (22 ohms) / 3.1W (32 ohms) / 2.2W (50 ohms) / 195mW (600 ohms)
Input Impedance: 12K
Headphone Output Impedance: (Ref 1kHz / 600ohms) 1.3 ohms

According to my ownres manual the output impedance is 600 ohms.

The preamplifier output has 600 ohms.

 

[Progmeister]

The preamplifier output has 600 ohms.

Which other HPA's would you recommend?

 

[haasaaroni]

Which other HPA's would you recommend?

I would them on an OTL tube amp, doesn't have to be expensive. Like a Bottlehead Crack or Feliks Echo Mk II. Hearing my Auteur on an Ampsandsound amp (Kenzie) for the first time was a mind blowing experience, but you don't need to go that far to get a taste of what the Auteur can do when properly impedance matched.

There are even a couple amps on the solid state side of things that work well, like the Cayin iHA-6 and Kinki Studios THR-1, both of which having unusually high output impedance options for being solid states. And there are other pairings, like the Schiit x Nitsch Piety that @Monsterzero mentioned, that seem like they would pair really well.