I'm a little late to this party so I'll try for a shorter review. There are many here that were able to go into more detail than I'm able to but I did want to jump in, especially since I feel this is such a capable headphone. I'll also include some comparisons to my Atrium. Many thanks go to a "Super Best Friend" of mine. I don't think it can be said often enough nor emphatic enough what a boon the privilege of home demo is.
Fit & comfort are standard for ZMF, and for me that's quite good. Construction is solid and I can wear them for hours. As far as weight, they felt like they were in the same ballpark as my Cherry Atrium, though I didn't weigh them. I'm not sure of the wood but I'm guessing It's the stock Ambrosia Maple, which would make sense since they're both in the 490 gram range.
Keep in mind the usual preamble:
My chain for playback is various WAV, FLAC, & MP3 files from my refurbed HP Elite Desk via USB to a Bifrost 2 to either my ifi Pro iCan (1st version) or ZMF Pendant (also 1st version). The Auteur Classic also sounded fantastic from both amps, but I still felt the best sound was from the Pendant & the majority of my listening was done with that. The fully closed Titan Mesh was used with the Atrium and stock pads were used with both headphones (Auteur pads for the Auteur Classic & Universe Pads for the Atrium.)
The Auteur Classic is a wonderfully engaging headphone for my tastes. If The Atrium is considered "ZMF neutral" The Auteur might be "ZMF incisive" since it pulls back the midbass a bit while still maintaining the ZMF warmth I enjoy. Atrium slams harder, but Auteur Classic is no slouch. It sounds to me that there's more of a sub bass focus with the Auteur Classic,though Atrium has good reach,and there was more mid bass with the Atrium though the Classic is quite far from being bass shy.
The mids sound slightly more emphasized on the Atrium than the Auteur Classic, though it's not a huge difference. Vocals and strings et al were never edgy or brittle with either headphone, constantly drawing me in with "one more song...".
I never gave the OG Auteur a fair enough shake as I found a bit too much energy in the treble. This was before Zach had committed as deeply to creating as many pads as he has to help tailor the sound. Interestingly even with the solid mesh on the Atrium, I felt the treble to be similar, with a touch more energy coming from the Auteur Classic. I imagine that would change with one of the more open mesh options available for the Atrium. Either way the Auteur Classic might have my favorite treble presentation I've heard from ZMF yet.
Not surprisingly, I found the Atrium to have a wider taller headstage, but again the Auteur Classic isn't closed in or small. It's just that the Atrium is bigger all around. Still the Classic has a coherent stage and great imaging.
As you would expect, the Atrium does resolve details better as well, but the Auteur Classic never left me wanting. I'm at a point where I'm not chasing the finest nuances anyway. Neither headphone is really lacking unless you directly compare it to the uber resolving headphone elite. When I sit down & just plain listen, I am thoroughly drawn in.
The Atrium & the Auteur Classic share quite a bit of sonic DNA, but they are voiced differently to be sure. With the Classic I'm hearing more Sub Bass, more even (still ample) mid bass and a bit more treble sparkle. With the Atrium, the bass hits harder, mids sound a bit more forward with a more relaxed treble presentation. Both are incredible sounding headphones IMO and personal preferences will play a part, but I have a hard time saying which one is "better". For my preferences the Atrium ticks the most boxes, but as they say 'I wouldn't kick the Auteur Classic out of bed for eating crackers' either. Zach did a fine job with the Auteur Classic, it's definitely worth checking out if you're in the $1500 headphone market.
Fit & comfort are standard for ZMF, and for me that's quite good. Construction is solid and I can wear them for hours. As far as weight, they felt like they were in the same ballpark as my Cherry Atrium, though I didn't weigh them. I'm not sure of the wood but I'm guessing It's the stock Ambrosia Maple, which would make sense since they're both in the 490 gram range.
Keep in mind the usual preamble:
My chain for playback is various WAV, FLAC, & MP3 files from my refurbed HP Elite Desk via USB to a Bifrost 2 to either my ifi Pro iCan (1st version) or ZMF Pendant (also 1st version). The Auteur Classic also sounded fantastic from both amps, but I still felt the best sound was from the Pendant & the majority of my listening was done with that. The fully closed Titan Mesh was used with the Atrium and stock pads were used with both headphones (Auteur pads for the Auteur Classic & Universe Pads for the Atrium.)
The Auteur Classic is a wonderfully engaging headphone for my tastes. If The Atrium is considered "ZMF neutral" The Auteur might be "ZMF incisive" since it pulls back the midbass a bit while still maintaining the ZMF warmth I enjoy. Atrium slams harder, but Auteur Classic is no slouch. It sounds to me that there's more of a sub bass focus with the Auteur Classic,though Atrium has good reach,and there was more mid bass with the Atrium though the Classic is quite far from being bass shy.
The mids sound slightly more emphasized on the Atrium than the Auteur Classic, though it's not a huge difference. Vocals and strings et al were never edgy or brittle with either headphone, constantly drawing me in with "one more song...".
I never gave the OG Auteur a fair enough shake as I found a bit too much energy in the treble. This was before Zach had committed as deeply to creating as many pads as he has to help tailor the sound. Interestingly even with the solid mesh on the Atrium, I felt the treble to be similar, with a touch more energy coming from the Auteur Classic. I imagine that would change with one of the more open mesh options available for the Atrium. Either way the Auteur Classic might have my favorite treble presentation I've heard from ZMF yet.
Not surprisingly, I found the Atrium to have a wider taller headstage, but again the Auteur Classic isn't closed in or small. It's just that the Atrium is bigger all around. Still the Classic has a coherent stage and great imaging.
As you would expect, the Atrium does resolve details better as well, but the Auteur Classic never left me wanting. I'm at a point where I'm not chasing the finest nuances anyway. Neither headphone is really lacking unless you directly compare it to the uber resolving headphone elite. When I sit down & just plain listen, I am thoroughly drawn in.
The Atrium & the Auteur Classic share quite a bit of sonic DNA, but they are voiced differently to be sure. With the Classic I'm hearing more Sub Bass, more even (still ample) mid bass and a bit more treble sparkle. With the Atrium, the bass hits harder, mids sound a bit more forward with a more relaxed treble presentation. Both are incredible sounding headphones IMO and personal preferences will play a part, but I have a hard time saying which one is "better". For my preferences the Atrium ticks the most boxes, but as they say 'I wouldn't kick the Auteur Classic out of bed for eating crackers' either. Zach did a fine job with the Auteur Classic, it's definitely worth checking out if you're in the $1500 headphone market.
