ZMF Auteur Thread
Sep 27, 2018 at 7:31 PM Post #2,431 of 8,254
Got the blackwoods [...] Early days yet though, will update as I get more thoughts.

I just received new blackwood Eikons as well -- with the intention of replacing the teaks I already have (thanks @Daanish for the tip on reaching out to Zach directly on this :)).

I only had to listen to them for two minutes to decide I need to stick 'em in a shoebox, set the pink noise track to auto-repeat, forget about them for a week, and only then start listening to them for real. Fresh out of the box, they have zero magic compared to my already-burned-in pair. Maybe this is obvious to current owners, but I figured it's worth a quick comment... Anyway, I'm not stressed about it; been through this routine too many times, eh heh. They really do look great though! :)
 
Sep 27, 2018 at 11:09 PM Post #2,432 of 8,254
I listen to mostly kpop, english pop, alt rock and little bit of screamo-kinda songs, around 70/30 female/male vocals

Planar imo is quite fun & lush generally with V shaped sound.... HE4xx (really fun but rolls off bit too early), Fostex T60rp (very well balanced), Ether CX (think you'll like this one for your genres)
Dynamic great for vocals and bass really drills into you..... HD6xx (great reference standard for comparison and vocals), Elex (quite similar in sound compared to Clear and less than 1/2 price).... Auteur??? (still waiting for mine to arrive TBC)

If vocal your main requirement I'll go for dynamic drivers....

If I'm starting from scratch, for Auteur money I will get Elex (open/dynamic)+Ether CX (closed/planar)..... imo no one headphone can serve all genres.....
 
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Sep 28, 2018 at 12:22 AM Post #2,433 of 8,254
Hey guys :)

Kinda new to headphones, been primarily using iems thus far, but think i wanna get into them.

If anyone is able to help me out, looking for a pair of headphones that has good non-recessed mids, vocals clear and upfront, bass not as important but pref it to have presence (punchy), non sibilant.

Currently looking at focal clear, elex, elear, zmf eikon, auteur, Aeon flow closed/open but open to more options as I don't know much

I listen to mostly kpop, english pop, alt rock and little bit of screamo-kinda songs

Thanksss!!
My bet is asking that question on an auteur thread will give you answers weighted towards the auteur. Good luck nonetheless
 
Sep 28, 2018 at 3:30 AM Post #2,434 of 8,254
Planar imo is quite fun & lush generally with V shaped sound.... HE4xx (really fun but rolls off bit too early), Fostex T60rp (very well balanced), Ether CX (think you'll like this one for your genres)
Dynamic great for vocals and bass really drills into you..... HD6xx (great reference standard for comparison and vocals), Elex (quite similar in sound compared to Clear and less than 1/2 price).... Auteur??? (still waiting for mine to arrive TBC)

If vocal your main requirement I'll go for dynamic drivers....

If I'm starting from scratch, for Auteur money I will get Elex (open/dynamic)+Ether CX (closed/planar)..... imo no one headphone can serve all genres.....

I see...thanks!! In your opinion how does the clear differ from the elex? Both interest me haha. Ether C is also another interesting HP
 
Sep 28, 2018 at 3:31 AM Post #2,435 of 8,254
My bet is asking that question on an auteur thread will give you answers weighted towards the auteur. Good luck nonetheless

Haha was trying to find a general HP thread or a HP recommendation thread but couldn't find one. So i decided to take a chance on one of the more active HP threads tryna see the opinions of others
 
Sep 28, 2018 at 5:12 AM Post #2,436 of 8,254
I see...thanks!! In your opinion how does the clear differ from the elex? Both interest me haha. Ether C is also another interesting HP

I found Clear and Elex is seriously similar,Close has better body, extension but you're talking about few % difference.... not worth the price difference.

IMG_20180602_132301.jpg
 
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Sep 28, 2018 at 8:38 AM Post #2,437 of 8,254
Hey guys :)

Kinda new to headphones, been primarily using iems thus far, but think i wanna get into them.

If anyone is able to help me out, looking for a pair of headphones that has good non-recessed mids, vocals clear and upfront, bass not as important but pref it to have presence (punchy), non sibilant.

Currently looking at focal clear, elex, elear, zmf eikon, auteur, Aeon flow closed/open but open to more options as I don't know much

I listen to mostly kpop, english pop, alt rock and little bit of screamo-kinda songs

Thanksss!!

Of the headphones you listed, my recommendation would lean towards the Auteur. Not sure how it would hold up with screamo but it is great with pop and rock.

As a point of comparison:
Focal Clear: I did not like this headphone. Seemed harsh in the upper mids and had an unnatural tonality. Technically proficient headphone that I think Focal just barely missed the mark.

Elear: The upper mid dip is aggressive and kills some electric guitar crunch and some strings. This was a non starter for me due to my preferences for metal and string instruments.

Eikon: This is a great all-rounder and I would recommend taking a look if you needed a closed headphone. If your good with open I would lean towards Auteur though. (Personally I prefer Atticus as a closed option).

Aeon Closed: I found this rather hollow sounding. If you like mids I'm not sure this would be a good recommendation. Apparently it has received tuning changes since I owned it so if you go this route and buy used, ask the seller if it's been updated/recently bought.

I cannot comment on Elex or Aeon Open, though apparently the Elex is similar to the Clear.

Disclaimer: My preferences generally lean just a little warm of neutral. I tend to find headphones from ZMF and Sennheiser fit my preferences quite often.
 
Sep 28, 2018 at 2:18 PM Post #2,438 of 8,254
...Elex (quite similar in sound compared to Clear and less than 1/2 price)...If I'm starting from scratch, for Auteur money I will get Elex (open/dynamic)+Ether CX (closed/planar)...
I found Clear and Elex is seriously similar,Close has better body, extension but you're talking about few % difference.... not worth the price difference...
I assume @Fatdoi meant to say that the Clear has better body, extension...
...Focal Clear: I did not like this headphone. Seemed harsh in the upper mids and had an unnatural tonality. Technically proficient headphone that I think Focal just barely missed the mark.

Elear: The upper mid dip is aggressive and kills some electric guitar crunch and some strings. This was a non starter for me due to my preferences for metal and string instruments....
These disparate just goes to reinforce the 'Your ears, my ears' dictum.

FWIW, if forced to sell all but one set of my cans, I would choose to keep my Auteur.
 
Sep 28, 2018 at 11:11 PM Post #2,439 of 8,254
Just received these last night! About to head out for the day, so I didn't even get to take these out of the case... but here is my Cocobolo Auteur!

FtKj1tX.jpg
 
Sep 28, 2018 at 11:15 PM Post #2,440 of 8,254
I found Clear and Elex is seriously similar,Close has better body, extension but you're talking about few % difference.... not worth the price difference.

Just for the sake of saving somebody from believing one opinion as truth, I got to disagree with Clear sounding like Elex. They don't. Elex sounds like Utopia jr, and Clear doesn't sound as close the Utopia as Elex. Clear has more mainstream tuning that jives better with all sorts of recordings, or better balanced in tonality out of the bunch.

Although I've never heard the Elear, and based on description of the upper-mids recession, I'd guess Elex recesses less, but still not fully there to sound right IMO.
 
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Sep 28, 2018 at 11:29 PM Post #2,441 of 8,254
Just for the sake of saving somebody from believing one opinion as truth, I got to disagree with Clear sounding like Elex. They don't. Elex sounds like Utopia jr, and Clear doesn't sound as close the Utopia as Elex. Clear has more mainstream tuning that jives better with all sorts of recordings, or better balanced in tonality out of the bunch.

Although I've never heard the Elear, and based on description of the upper-mids recession, I'd guess Elex recesses less, but still not fully there to sound right IMO.

Not at all, audio is like wine or coffee, everyone's opinion and preference is different... there's no right or wrong about it, just different point of view.....

Also i'm not as susceptible to 10k spike as my friend who experienced on his Elex.... so take mine as grain of salt.....
 
Sep 29, 2018 at 2:43 AM Post #2,442 of 8,254
Hey guys :)

Kinda new to headphones, been primarily using iems thus far, but think i wanna get into them.

If anyone is able to help me out, looking for a pair of headphones that has good non-recessed mids, vocals clear and upfront, bass not as important but pref it to have presence (punchy), non sibilant.

Currently looking at focal clear, elex, elear, zmf eikon, auteur, Aeon flow closed/open but open to more options as I don't know much

I listen to mostly kpop, english pop, alt rock and little bit of screamo-kinda songs

Thanksss!!

I figure I would chime in since I owned or have auditioned each of the headphones you listed.

Like someone mentioned, I actually would recommend starting with a HD650 or HD6xx. That headphone could be a pretty good indication if you will like the Auteur or not. For 2+ years, my main setup was HD650 + Bottlehead crack. I got the upgrade itch and went on a journey.

Focal Elear - auditioned these and found them too harsh

Focal Clear - Owned these for a little bit and then sold them. I thought they were a pretty good headphone and I could see why many people liked them. But they weren't for me ( felt like vocals and guitar were a bit thin )

Aeon Flow Open - These were very good and I felt they were 'almost' there. I say almost... while they sounded good, they would also cause me fatigue which is a showstopper for me since I would listen for hours at a time while working.

ZMF Auteur - And well, here we are. I finally found my upgrade to the HD650 and have no real intention of 'searching' for another headphone. The only way I would sell these is if I went in too deep in home theater / loud speakers ( I just bought 2 subs for $1300 each.... RIP wallet ).

Hope this helps a bit.
 
Sep 29, 2018 at 7:03 AM Post #2,443 of 8,254
Thank yall for helping me out :D

Appreciate it alot. I've narrowed my choices to clear, elex, auteur and eikon.

Most probably final choice would be auteur. The reviews i read about auteur..damn....poisonous

Now gotta find time to head down and demo :)
 
Sep 29, 2018 at 9:22 AM Post #2,445 of 8,254
This might seem like a dumb question, but... How do I get the Auteurs back into the case? I can almost close the case, but it feels like they’re being forced down or compressed.

Which case? I actually just emailed Zach about this exact thing hahaha

I think all the headphones fit in the Seahorse case pretty easily, but with the wooden case...
Auteur: shorten the rods all the way, then place the headphones in the case so that ZMF is right-side up. They closed all the way (more or less) - so that no additional pressure was required for the latch.
Atticus... not sure. The bigger earcups mean that the case doesn't close all the way without putting some force on it.

Edit: Heard back from Zach, and it seems like the wooden cases were designed to put some pressure on the headphones to prevent them from moving around inside.
 
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