ZMF Auteur Thread
Jul 4, 2018 at 10:09 AM Post #1,801 of 8,254
I’d love to see the Auteurs in a Ash Gray or Blue wood color. Something like Blue Mahoe.

If it was availabIe I would end up selling my pair for one.
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 11:31 AM Post #1,803 of 8,254
After an hour of focused listening this morning, I can confirm the Auteur constitutes an end-game pairing with the ZDS. I'm not sure what this means for the Utopia at this point. I'll probably end up keeping both, as it's likely no other existing dynamic driver will displace the crystal-clear transparency, stat-like speed, and explosive dynamics of the Focal. In terms of the Auteur, I have never experienced this kind of natural timbre from a flagship headphone before, the closest perhaps being that of the HD650/HD600, but those are not flagships despite their scalability. There is a very pleasant sense of reflection from the blackwood, but the background is so black, and notes seem to just pop. I appreciate that these are more closed than what I am used to for this reason. Resolution approaches that of the HD800 and Utopia (this is hard to quantify, and I need to listen more to where exactly in the FR this is happening), and I can see why people have made the comparison of marrying the best attributes of the HD800 and HD650 while advancing its own unique qualities.

If only today wasn't going to be 97 degrees Fahrenheit and humid. Not the best climate for a ZDS to be running all day!

I usually like to spend days/weeks before drawing conclusions so as to avoid bias from new-toy syndrome, but perhaps because I have been trialling more headphones recently, I am confident these are keepers.
 
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Jul 4, 2018 at 12:37 PM Post #1,804 of 8,254
After an hour of focused listening this morning, I can confirm the Auteur constitutes an end-game pairing with the ZDS. I'm not sure what this means for the Utopia at this point. In terms of the Auteur, I have never experienced this kind of natural timbre from a flagship headphone before, the closest perhaps being that of the HD650/HD600, but those are not flagships despite their scalability. There is a very pleasant sense of reflection from the blackwood, but the background is so black, and notes seem to just pop. I appreciate that these are more closed than what I am used to for this reason. Resolution approaches that of the HD800 and Utopia (this is hard to quantify, and I need to listen more to where exactly in the FR this is happening), and I can see why people have made the comparison of marrying the best attributes of the HD800 and HD650 while advancing its own unique qualities.

If only today wasn't going to be 97 degrees Fahrenheit and humid. Not the best climate for a ZDS to be running all day!

I usually like to spend days/weeks before drawing conclusions so as to avoid bias from new-toy syndrome, but perhaps because I have been trialling more headphones recently, I am confident these are keepers.
Awesome impressions man !
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 12:41 PM Post #1,805 of 8,254
Jul 4, 2018 at 12:51 PM Post #1,806 of 8,254
After an hour of focused listening this morning, I can confirm the Auteur constitutes an end-game pairing with the ZDS. I'm not sure what this means for the Utopia at this point. I'll probably end up keeping both, as it's likely no other existing dynamic driver will displace the crystal-clear transparency, stat-like speed, and explosive dynamics of the Focal. In terms of the Auteur, I have never experienced this kind of natural timbre from a flagship headphone before, the closest perhaps being that of the HD650/HD600, but those are not flagships despite their scalability. There is a very pleasant sense of reflection from the blackwood, but the background is so black, and notes seem to just pop. I appreciate that these are more closed than what I am used to for this reason. Resolution approaches that of the HD800 and Utopia (this is hard to quantify, and I need to listen more to where exactly in the FR this is happening), and I can see why people have made the comparison of marrying the best attributes of the HD800 and HD650 while advancing its own unique qualities.

If only today wasn't going to be 97 degrees Fahrenheit and humid. Not the best climate for a ZDS to be running all day!

I usually like to spend days/weeks before drawing conclusions so as to avoid bias from new-toy syndrome, but perhaps because I have been trialling more headphones recently, I am confident these are keepers.

What DAC are you using? I agree with your assessments, and need to listen to a pair of Utopia on the ZDS, but for casual, all-day listening, the Auteur Blackwood is the tippy tip top.

Happy 4th everyone!
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 1:47 PM Post #1,807 of 8,254
What DAC are you using? I agree with your assessments, and need to listen to a pair of Utopia on the ZDS, but for casual, all-day listening, the Auteur Blackwood is the tippy tip top.

Happy 4th everyone!

Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 mk2 SE+

I haven’t listened enough to judge whether the Auteur is that relaxing; it has seemed plenty lively to me, although smoother than Utopia (not that the latter is at all rough). I’d agree Utopia is not an “all-day” type of headphone, more of an exhilarating experience to be cherished in bits of focused listening. However, I go for two-three hours listening some times no problem.

Really looking forward to more head-time with the Auteur. Tempted to pull trigger on Headamp Gilmore Lite mk2 for hot days like this.
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 2:12 PM Post #1,808 of 8,254
My Auteurs arrived today. I had time to only listen for 20 minutes, but what I heard sounded very beautiful. I am immediately struck by their inky blackground, resolution, and balance. Can't wait to put more time on them to develop my impressions. The finish of the wood and cable (with blackwood connectors/splitter) look really nice in person. I am impressed by the entirety of the contents included with the headphones.

Wow, that cable looks really great with the wood connectors. Zach really stepped it up!

Congrats on your Auteurs! They look great!
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 2:26 PM Post #1,809 of 8,254
Wow, that cable looks really great with the wood connectors. Zach really stepped it up!

Congrats on your Auteurs! They look great!

He lives! :smile:
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 3:08 PM Post #1,810 of 8,254
Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 mk2 SE+

I haven’t listened enough to judge whether the Auteur is that relaxing; it has seemed plenty lively to me, although smoother than Utopia (not that the latter is at all rough). I’d agree Utopia is not an “all-day” type of headphone, more of an exhilarating experience to be cherished in bits of focused listening. However, I go for two-three hours listening some times no problem.

Really looking forward to more head-time with the Auteur. Tempted to pull trigger on Headamp Gilmore Lite mk2 for hot days like this.

What made you choose that as your DAC?
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 3:32 PM Post #1,811 of 8,254
Awesome! I've always been curious about the Auteur + ZDS/Aficionado pairing and this pushes that curiosity even further. I'm tempted to sell/trade my Liquid Crimson for one of those ECs just so I can do a head to head vs the Liquid Glass.

After an hour of focused listening this morning, I can confirm the Auteur constitutes an end-game pairing with the ZDS. I'm not sure what this means for the Utopia at this point. I'll probably end up keeping both, as it's likely no other existing dynamic driver will displace the crystal-clear transparency, stat-like speed, and explosive dynamics of the Focal. In terms of the Auteur, I have never experienced this kind of natural timbre from a flagship headphone before, the closest perhaps being that of the HD650/HD600, but those are not flagships despite their scalability. There is a very pleasant sense of reflection from the blackwood, but the background is so black, and notes seem to just pop. I appreciate that these are more closed than what I am used to for this reason. Resolution approaches that of the HD800 and Utopia (this is hard to quantify, and I need to listen more to where exactly in the FR this is happening), and I can see why people have made the comparison of marrying the best attributes of the HD800 and HD650 while advancing its own unique qualities.

If only today wasn't going to be 97 degrees Fahrenheit and humid. Not the best climate for a ZDS to be running all day!

I usually like to spend days/weeks before drawing conclusions so as to avoid bias from new-toy syndrome, but perhaps because I have been trialling more headphones recently, I am confident these are keepers.
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 3:57 PM Post #1,812 of 8,254
Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 mk2

I' d like to get my hands on one of those some day. I have a EAD DSP-7000 MkIII incoming,which comes highly recommended by Zach BTW.
If you ever decide to sell it,please hit me up :)
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 5:38 PM Post #1,813 of 8,254
Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 mk2 SE+

I haven’t listened enough to judge whether the Auteur is that relaxing; it has seemed plenty lively to me, although smoother than Utopia (not that the latter is at all rough). I’d agree Utopia is not an “all-day” type of headphone, more of an exhilarating experience to be cherished in bits of focused listening. However, I go for two-three hours listening some times no problem.

Really looking forward to more head-time with the Auteur. Tempted to pull trigger on Headamp Gilmore Lite mk2 for hot days like this.

The Gilmore Lite will probably be really nice with that SFD-1 as the source!
 
Jul 4, 2018 at 9:36 PM Post #1,814 of 8,254
Wow, that cable looks really great with the wood connectors. Zach really stepped it up!

Congrats on your Auteurs! They look great!

Thanks, Dan! I agree.

What made you choose that as your DAC?

A few reasons:
  1. I had read really positive reviews of it from people I trust.
  2. I had an Yggy gen 1 at the time, which is not an ideal pairing with the Utopia, since they both have the same strengths, creating fatigue on a lot of music. The Yggy paired nicely with my other headphones though and outdoes the SFD-1 in terms of technicalities and in creating the sense of presence/immediacy. From what I understand, the second generation Analog upgrade changes things and makes this worth an audition
  3. Related to the last, the SFD1 has traits that made it an ideal pairing with the Utopia, such as much more expansive stage, liquid mids, a slightly toned down treble, R2R, deep bass, strong dynamics, but all of which can be tuneable by tubes.
  4. I saw one for sale with the SE+ upgrade from a reputable seller.
  5. I still miss the Yggy though :frowning2:

I' d like to get my hands on one of those some day. I have a EAD DSP-7000 MkIII incoming,which comes highly recommended by Zach BTW.
If you ever decide to sell it,please hit me up :)

Sure! They come up from time to time.

The Gilmore Lite will probably be really nice with that SFD-1 as the source!

That's what I was thinking as well!
 
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Jul 4, 2018 at 9:47 PM Post #1,815 of 8,254
On another note, how are people storing the Auteurs when not in use? Is it okay to use a headphone stand? If so, are you just hanging it from both straps, or in between the suspension strap and the main leather band? I just want to make sure I'm promoting longevity.
 

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