[BunnyNamedCraig]

Gents, it's taken far too long, but as of today I'm a proud member of the Auteur Owners Association!

Zach has crafted what I can only describe as a work of absolute art, a headphone so elegant yet ruggedly beautiful, it hurts me to put them on my head where I can no longer see them. I'd auditioned the Teak Auteur numerous times, and each time found it exceptional, although perhaps lacking a touch of heft (compared to what I considered my 'endgame' headphone, the LCD-3), and a touch of speed and dynamism (compared to my daily driver, the Elex). Zach suggested I try the Auteur in a harder wood, and while I couldn't quite stretch to the Blackwood, when he showed me a demo pair he made out of African Wenge - complete with brushed aluminium hardware - it was love at first sight.

And so the final piece of my desktop system is in place, and I have at last a headphone that will, with good fortune, be passed down through generations of my family. I'll be sure to post impressions (maybe even a longer review, if there's any interest), but on first listen Zach's masterpiece is everything I'd hoped for: organic, natural, and oh so real, but with the speed and heft of the denser, darker Wenge.

I can go on and on, but I'd rather just show you...

Dang those are nice... really beautiful contrast and the wood is so rich and classy Ha. Just looks excellent.

Glad you’re enjoying the sound too!

 

[JTori]

Gents, it's taken far too long, but as of today I'm a proud member of the Auteur Owners Association!

Zach has crafted what I can only describe as a work of absolute art, a headphone so elegant yet ruggedly beautiful, it hurts me to put them on my head where I can no longer see them. I'd auditioned the Teak Auteur numerous times, and each time found it exceptional, although perhaps lacking a touch of heft (compared to what I considered my 'endgame' headphone, the LCD-3), and a touch of speed and dynamism (compared to my daily driver, the Elex). Zach suggested I try the Auteur in a harder wood, and while I couldn't quite stretch to the Blackwood, when he showed me a demo pair he made out of African Wenge - complete with brushed aluminium hardware - it was love at first sight.

And so the final piece of my desktop system is in place, and I have at last a headphone that will, with good fortune, be passed down through generations of my family. I'll be sure to post impressions (maybe even a longer review, if there's any interest), but on first listen Zach's masterpiece is everything I'd hoped for: organic, natural, and oh so real, but with the speed and heft of the denser, darker Wenge.

I can go on and on, but I'd rather just show you...

Nice phones, and beautiful images!

 

[jgwtriode]

Got my Auteurs after Zach and Bevin refinished them for me. Had not gotten a chance to listen to them with the graphene impreg carbon fiber cables I have had sitting waiting for last few weeks . Well I can tell you they are quite a bit betterthe silver1%gold Neotech. Much larger deeper bigger stage. More detail, lower noise floor, and more tonally and harmonically consistent top to bottom. Dynamics slightly better,microdynamics noticeably better. Silver gold has a wonderful low to mid bass punch and added weight that is addictive but most likely a bit of coloration. This cable is very close but not quite but it's bass is more articulate and better integrated into the upper bass/ lower mid-range!

I also put a pair of Bob's magic tubes on the cables just after the output. Subetly balances the cable out and improves liquidity even more and nicely smoothes a bit of the Auteurs slight brightness on songs where that is usually more noticeable. The Auteur Blackwoods are now even better!

Happy Listening!

 

[thecrow]

For me: The volsund works well with the auteur as they are singing from the same hymn sheet.

I did enjoy the silver draug too but I’ve been too lazy or not compelled enough to switch back to it since putting the volsund on. I shall though

The silver draug has no element of a dry or sterile sound that some silver cables can have. And there is the new less gauge new version too that norne just put in their site

Put the silver draug back on last night. I didn’t realise how much i mssed them

 

[Monsterzero]

Twas the night before my Auteurs arrive....

Pix to follow.

 

[SLC1966]

Twas the night before my Auteurs arrive....

Pix to follow.

+1 tomorrow. They have been sitting outside of town for three days now. FedEx does not like to deliver early!

 

[Phantaminum]

Twas the night before my Auteurs arrive....

Pix to follow.

Monster you got the Auteurs? Welcome to the club!

They do so well with the GOTL.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Monster you got the Auteurs? Welcome to the club!

They do so well with the GOTL.

Ain’t that the truth...

Got 6, 6bx7s in at the moment and got the Auteur to give me some more weight and pop!

Can only imagine what the Verite would do with this combo... probably blow my head off like a cork

 

[Monsterzero]

Ain’t that the truth...

Got 6, 6bx7s in at the moment and got the Auteur to give me some more weight and pop!

Can only imagine what the Verite would do with this combo... probably blow my head off like a cork

Yes! The 6BX7s sound great with the Auteurs.
I had a real hard time with them+Verite though. The bass was overkill for me.

 

[gLer]

Got my Auteurs after Zach and Bevin refinished them for me. Had not gotten a chance to listen to them with the graphene impreg carbon fiber cables I have had sitting waiting for last few weeks . Well I can tell you they are quite a bit betterthe silver1%gold Neotech. Much larger deeper bigger stage. More detail, lower noise floor, and more tonally and harmonically consistent top to bottom. Dynamics slightly better,microdynamics noticeably better. Silver gold has a wonderful low to mid bass punch and added weight that is addictive but most likely a bit of coloration. This cable is very close but not quite but it's bass is more articulate and better integrated into the upper bass/ lower mid-range!

I also put a pair of Bob's magic tubes on the cables just after the output. Subetly balances the cable out and improves liquidity even more and nicely smoothes a bit of the Auteurs slight brightness on songs where that is usually more noticeable. The Auteur Blackwoods are now even better!

Happy Listening!

I love reading your posts @jgwtriode, they always start my day off with a good chuckle, and humour is so important to maintain a healthy balance in life!

Bob’s Magic Tubes. Classic!

 

[LoryWiv]

Put the silver draug back on last night. I didn’t realise how much i mssed them

I am using Volsund with my Auteur....what are the differences you find between it and silver draug?

 

[jgwtriode]

Well I can still hear quite a difference even over the holiday laughter...so enjoy the perceived humor. I'm laughing and listening with more joy then ever!


Merry Listening and some happy new gear!

 

[thecrow]

I am using Volsund with my Auteur....what are the differences you find between it and silver draug?

It’s brighter in that the top end has more presence. Not sharp or dry or peaky.
Smooth. In fact i find both cables are quite smooth.

The silver draug is (imho) most neutral and the volsund is neutralish but definitely a sonewhat warmer leaning. The volsund definitely somewhat laid back in style. The silver draug not at all laid back but not “stiff” in sound

I find the volsund ia still quite open

I have not done a side by side comparison as such so I can’t give an opinion of whether (for eg) the silver has a more open soundstage, it might have but that might just be the more present top end.

I enjoy both and the auteur takes to them both nicely

It would depend on your set up and what you listen too. And what ither headphones you mat want to complement. The silver draug heads you towards an hd800 direction

If you want me to check anything more specific let me know and i can when/if i get a chance soon.

(I also have a solv x3 which is a cracker with the lcd2 - a great surprise for me)

 

[jgwtriode]

The new jplay 7 with femto server is insane much better than 6.2! Been playing with it tonight! Oh my are the Auteurs awesome. Soundstage is much improved as are dynamics detail and noise floor. The layering and focus are superlative. Wow I will bet with the new algorithms and direct native DSD conversion this thing beats HQ player. You gotta hear it
DAC link is dead stable at 1000hz even DSD. Think 700 hz is magic for me with modded oppo sonica!

Merry listening and some happy new gear!

 

[felix3650]

I do know some "heavy loaded" PCs with all that cr*p would cause CPU cycles and HDD IOPS to spike but a good coded player does mitigate this problem (JRiver, foobar2k, Audirvana & HQPlayer come to mind). And usually such problem becomes audible as a delay or a click/pop during the playback. Most software however don't manifest this problem. I and others I know at least, didn't notice much difference between good players. The only exception is the ones using noise shaping and software modulation such as HQPlayer with it's DSD realtime transcoding but that's a topic for another thread. Anyway, my Auteur improved when I used some better built cables (like the 2K or Solv Hybrid) and a better shielded QED USB (I live near some cellphone transmitter antenaes unfortunately) versus the crappy printer cable I was using before...other than that it's been the same