[gLer]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Burson amps known for being on the brighter side? And doesn't their integrated DAC use the bright Sabre chipset (I believe so based on the 9018 in the model name)? I'm wondering if your issue is simply that you have a really bright chain so a slightly warmer headphone just pairs better.

Bright vs Just Right is a valid comparison, but it's important to take the entire signal chain into account when making that determination. What sounds better on the Burson/Sabre might not sound better on a different amp/DAC combo (e.g. something super warm).

Agreed. That’s why I’ve decided to stick to ladder dacs and transparent amps that just get out of the way and let all the organic goodness shine through.

 

[smodtactical]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Burson amps known for being on the brighter side? And doesn't their integrated DAC use the bright Sabre chipset (I believe so based on the 9018 in the model name)? I'm wondering if your issue is simply that you have a really bright chain so a slightly warmer headphone just pairs better.

Bright vs Just Right is a valid comparison, but it's important to take the entire signal chain into account when making that determination. What sounds better on the Burson/Sabre might not sound better on a different amp/DAC combo (e.g. something super warm).

I think you are absolutely right (although I do have the 1793 burr brown dac and I tried that too and found the changes more subtle than large). Another path I could have taken is just getting HDV 820 and using it with my HD800S and I would have probably brought out the bass and got a warmer but still very detailed sound, I still might do this. I was just curious as to how the ZMF headphones sound and the fact Zach could make me a vegan version was quite appealing.

More listening impressions going from the HD800S to the Auteur listening to Nicholas Gunn - The sacred fire the differences between these headphones were quite readily highlighted. The HD800S is still the king of soundstage and sounds much larger than the auteur and the immediate impact the soundstage has on you is quite intense. It feels like a vast soundscape where you can pick out every nuance and detail... its really impressive. I think to the untrained ear the Auteur may initially sound inferior. But if you listen closely you can hear the Auteur bring an added romantic depth and musicality and cohesiveness that is missing on the HD800S. All the while the auteur's detail is still impressive and the music might be even more engaging. I think both sound fantastic and are just different flavours/presentation of sound.

I rolled the pads over to the Eikon suede perforated pads... WOW... I thought I put the Atticus on. Again listening to Steffi - nightspacer, the bass became monsterous and slamming while the headphone still sounded detailed (moreso than atticus) and open. I am shocked what a big difference the pad roll made. It seems the Auteur is quite a chameleon, it can be neutral but romantic or dark and imposing. Actually when I was using the auteur suede perforated pads the bass increase over the HD800 was not massive (maybe a bit more in the sub bass)... noticeably more but not massive. But with the Eikon pads it takes on the some of the character of the Atticus and becomes far more robust in its slam and rumble over the HD 800S (of course the Atticus still has more insane and powerful bass).

EDIT: I think the soundstage also opened up with the Eikon pads also... I could be imagining it but soundstage seems closer to HD800S with Eikon pads. Overall I think the Eikon pads make the Auteur sound so much better, more authority, more fun, virtually all the detail, bigger soundstage. Its become like an Atticus, 800S hybrid... the exact sound I wanted all along.

 

[smodtactical]

I want to be careful here not to disrespect Sennheiser or the HD800S... but man... the Auteur makes them sound... life less

Listening to Nicholas Gunn - Call of the Wild the Auteur pulls you into the experience and the pounding drums as the flute soars through the reverberating ambience. The 800S again bests the Auteur in soundstage but not by a ton. But the 800S sounds much thinner, flatter... less 3d and less immersive. There is a little extra treble detail and sparkle with the flute on the 800S but this is massively trumped by the overall dynamic and cohesive picture the Auteur paints. Its simply more emotionally moving and powerful than the thin and less involving HD800S.

I still love the HD800S and I think its probably still superior with some genres like classical. But the Auteur is now my main headphone and probably my end game headphone. Also to be fair to the HD800S I am sure I could pair it with something better that would warm it up and make it more engaging. If I do eventually get a new amp and dac I'll compare them again and write new impressions. I'd really like to compare these headphones on something like a ZDS or DNA Stratus.

 

[gibby]

For anyone wondering, Zach appears to be caught up and these are shipping pretty quickly. I missed my delivery today and have to pick up at the post office, but I think it took under two weeks.

 

[LCMusicLover]

For anyone wondering, Zach appears to be caught up and these are shipping pretty quickly. I missed my delivery today and have to pick up at the post office, but I think it took under two weeks.

I wonder if they sound as good when you don’t have to wait 2+ months for them?

 

[thecrow]

I want to be careful here not to disrespect Sennheiser or the HD800S... but man... the Auteur makes them sound... life less

Listening to Nicholas Gunn - Call of the Wild the Auteur pulls you into the experience and the pounding drums as the flute soars through the reverberating ambience. The 800S again bests the Auteur in soundstage but not by a ton. But the 800S sounds much thinner, flatter... less 3d and less immersive. There is a little extra treble detail and sparkle with the flute on the 800S but this is massively trumped by the overall dynamic and cohesive picture the Auteur paints. Its simply more emotionally moving and powerful than the thin and less involving HD800S.

I still love the HD800S and I think its probably still superior with some genres like classical. But the Auteur is now my main headphone and probably my end game headphone. Also to be fair to the HD800S I am sure I could pair it with something better that would warm it up and make it more engaging. If I do eventually get a new amp and dac I'll compare them again and write new impressions. I'd really like to compare these headphones on something like a ZDS or DNA Stratus.

Or even try them with something a bit cheaper but well suited like the woo wa2 if you get a chance

 

[gibby]

Anyone using the Questyle CMA400i? How’s it sound with the Auteur? I ordered the Auteur on Monday and have been checking the spreadsheet multiple times a day.


<edit>
Testing and shipping! Woohoo!!!

My Auteurs have arrived. I can say that they in fact sound fantastic with my Questyle amp. These sound better than the Focal Clear to me and I’m glad I made the switch. I just received them yesterday. It took like 10 days.

 

[Bern2]

My Auteurs have arrived. I can say that they in fact sound fantastic with my Questyle amp. These sound better than the Focal Clear to me and I’m glad I made the switch. I just received them yesterday. It took like 10 days.

C'mon! You know the old saying...pix...or it didn't happen.

I'm in headphone timeout...but Auteur next on the list.

Bern

 

[heliosphann]

C'mon! You know the old saying...pix...or it didn't happen.

I'm in headphone timeout...but Auteur next on the list.

Bern

I wish someone would put me in one of those "timeouts".

 

[gibby]

C'mon! You know the old saying...pix...or it didn't happen.

I'm in headphone timeout...but Auteur next on the list.

Bern

Doing some burn in with Spotify.

 

[thecrow]

So I've had some considerable time to spend with the LCD 2's (pre-fazor) and my equipment and some recently purchased solid state amps including the A2 and the Project Headbox. From what I can tell the LCD 2 trumps the Auteurs on pure dynamics alone (probably due to the PM design). The bass hits a lot harder (similar to the Atticus but it's all subbass and it's deep) and the treble is well extended and has energy at the right spots (10k) to keep from being fatiguing but exciting and forward. While the Auteur's top end is extended, it can sound a bit bright with it's extension from both SS amps I've tried. With tubes and many different tube combinations I've noticed no harshness from the Auteur in the treble. Even poorly remastered tracks like Julie London "Perfida" or Julio Igleasias "Por Amor Du Una Mujer" sound as they should without any fatigue but with good detail and energy.

The Auteurs are definently more sensitive despite the low impedance of the Headbox. They can be driven quite loud and don't sound thin. I'd describe it as a "wire with a gain" type system with no coloration to my ears. That being said, the A2 makes them sound a slight bit fuller with more nuanced detail. Honestly, at $129 the difference between the two amps was really slim and nitpicking. I honestly prefer the Headbox for the price! It's quite remarkable and a breath of fresh air from the typical SS sound. It's nice to take a break from tube rolling as well lol.

Comparing the Auteurs and LCD-2's mids, the Auteur has more definition and detail in the mids. They sound less forward and more realistic, there is more detail like breaths, gulps, attentunations, artifacts in the artists voice are all clearly heard - thanks most likely to the biocelluose driver and borrowing from the engineering from the Eikon. The mids on the LCD-2's are richer and more forward which is actually quite a compliment for the LCD2's as if they were pushed back they would sound quite recessed with the pure power and dynamics they put out. This keeps it as a very balanced, energetic, fun headphone. Comparing it to the Auteur on this regard, the LCD-2 wins hands down. The Auteurs just sound too neutral and have no crazy over-coloration to stir up the party. They were intended to stay true to their source and be super transparent which they excel at - every songs production can be picked out quite easily and different songs between an artist can easily be distinguished from each other without even looking at the track title.

Speaking of transparency; because the Auteur takes to it quite well, it actually responds with more dynamics with a SS amp especially the A2. It gets louder faster, the subbass really begins to slam, and the treble starts to get a little hot but still enjoyable (I have a pretty good tolerance to treble peaks especially since the Auteur doesn't focus on the highest energy points like 5-6K or such). For those who think the Auteur sounds too boring or slow or smooth, a solid state amp will fix that right up. That being said, the characteristics of this headphone - being neutral with a warmer, richer tilt means that it takes a lot better to tubes. The softness of some tubes with the added spaciousness and micro-detail really brings out what the Auteur is capable of. It makes vocals and acoustics sound a treat. Rock and Hip-Hop suffer as a result though because they really require the pure slam of a SS amp imo.

To wrap this up, the LCD-2 is a very fun headphone that plays better across a lot of genres. It's hard to falt the original 2009 model which I think has been Audeze's best in their entire lineup (I haven't heard the 4's). They really hit the nail with it by balancing energetic and fun with smooth mids and a darker tilt. Anything besides the Pre-Fazor LCD 2 is honestly too dark tilted or too far off their house sound to really say like it was the best. Sometimes, if it ain't broke don't fix it. By attempting to go more precise and clean up grainess with the fazor or reinvent a Classic with the 2C they just made it worse. The LCD 2 is a knock out of the park. So where does that leave the Auteur? The Auteur is a more sophisticated successor to the LCD series. It strikes a great balance of detailed mids and micro-detail with the fun sound of the LCD-3. The Auteur really just gives you a window into the music, but be warned it can sound a bit too smooth or relaxed as without overt colorations it can get a bit boring. Certainly not as boring as the Code X or HifiMan Edition X but high energy or fast paced music will suffer especially when not pairing it with a SS. That being said, I've heard the EC ZDS tube amp is a good compliment to the Auteurs as it can bring some of that energy, wide soundstage, and good detail to even out their sometimes sleepy attitude.

Bottom line - get the Auteurs if you want to really get an idea of what your music actually sounds like. It's highly transparent, detailed, and musical. On this regard, I think it hits a lot of good balances between the Focal Clear, 800S, and other headphones in it's price range. If you want something you can jam too, have fun with, and still get a good amount of detail the LCD-2 or the Atticus is your choice. The LCD-2s dynamics can be made akin sort of to the ELear or Utopia - they can hit hard but I've never found them fatiguing as opposed to the latter. Think of it as a well tamed Chord Dave. Gorgeous mids with authoritative bass and some sparkle thrown in.

Right now, I'm seriously considering keeping the LCD2's over the Auteurs because they've won me over and got me over the rollercoaster of tube rolling. The only thing keeping me from going all in is the fact that the Auteurs are great for relaxing to at the end of the day, and can handle low volume playback quite well while the LCDs need plenty of power to come alive and lose some of their charm at lower volumes. Hope this helps anyone who was looking to compare the two!

Great post. I apprecaite the detail/info and effort in it

 

[mtmercer]

Joining the thread as when I get a chance to listen lately my Auteur Blackwood's are what I reach for 1st. Tonight I listened to the Road Waves album by Willie Jones. I really enjoyed the Auteur's with this album. It is a singer songwriter style album with a lot of acoustic instruments. The sound has a naturalness that I have not heard from other headphones. I A/B'd the album with the Focal Clear's as well. The clears are a good sounding HP, but the Auteur is a more enjoyable listen. The bass extension is probably a little more linear on the clears but that is probably the only aspect the clear has an advantage.

The smoothness, weight/fullness, detail/nuance/subtlety, soundstage, and frequency response of the Auteur BW make what may be the end of the HP line for me.

 

[smodtactical]

Basically:

ZMF Atticus = Super HD650 +++
ZMF Auteur = HD650 + HD800S Hybrid

HD800S still has an addicting soundstage and detail and sometimes I am in the mood for that detailed big airy sound so it still has its place in my collection and is a great headphone!
Auteur presents a realistic, weighty, palpable and atmospheric musical experience that is more intimate yet detailed with still a decent amount of air.
Atticus is just the bad bad dude... showing up just at the right time in an action movie to blow everything to hell and do it with a smile! My dedicated techno + rap headphone.

I love them all! Damn it my wallet is crying. Going to work today on a civic holiday just to heal my poor wallet.

 

[Phantaminum]

Great post. I apprecaite the detail/info and effort in it

I would add that changing to the Eikon preforated pads will change the sound. They add warmth and pushes the mids forward while eleminating any prickly treble. It also sounds more cohesive going from sub bass to mids then to highs. The sound stage does collapse but it's wider than the HD650.

They'll never be as fast as planars but really do an admirable job.

 

[thecrow]

I would add that changing to the Eikon preforated pads will change the sound. They add warmth and pushes the mids forward while eleminating any prickly treble. It also sounds more cohesive going from sub bass to mids then to highs. The sound stage does collapse but it's wider than the HD650.

They'll never be as fast as planars but really do an admirable job.

Apologies if you’ve posted before (and I've read it) how do you compare the auteur to the ed x v2? Have you owned the auteur or had for a while or demoed much?

Ta