Between the two I would say go for the Auteur my friend. You already have the Atticus as a closed back ZMF. Or if you'll go with the Eikon prepare a tube roll to lower a small peak around upper mids / lower treble. The Eikon has a bit more subbass though
Your post caught my attention. I am interested with ZMF Auteur and have the Clear. Would be interested to read your impressions as to what makes the Auteur grabbing more of your head time compared to the Clear? Most impression I read thus far seems to suggest they share, to some extent, similar qualities and I am wondering if they are distinct enough to keep both or if you have to keep one which would you choose?
Would this also be of interest, you may have already seen it http://earphiles.org/2017/12/zmf-auteur-zenith-pmx2-focal-clear-shootout/
Don’t doubt the sub bass chops of the Auteur. It has more (and better) sub bass slam than the Atticus I used to own, and the Elear/Elex I do own. When it needs to it’ll rattle your head.
I’ll be honest, I like the Autuer much more than the Clear, to me they have much better tone. The Autuer soundstage is bigger and they are the more musical of the two.
I agree with gLer. I own the Eikon, and have had an Auteur for loan. I never found the Eikon treble peak to be particularly bothersome, and the sub-bass quantity of the Auteur is there when it's called for. The Auteur just seems to even out a lot of the peaks and valleys.... Tones down the bass a bit, much more present in the upper mids, similar treble extension but not as sharp. I love the Eikon, but the Auteur is a hella good headphone in its own right.
Been listening to a couple of albums of "Youngblood Brass Band" lately and the Auteur sounds overly impressive, transients seem on point, attack, decay, treble bite!! on point! What's magical is the Auteur's 3D soundscape, the instruments the band is playing are attacking my brain from all sorts of angles. Shock & Awe!!!!
More and better subbass slam on Autuer than Eikon? What? Do you agree that the Autuer has more subbass slam than the Eikon? I'm not doubting anyone here, I just want to learn more. I am really interested in the Eikon for it's subbass but if the Autuer his harder and is open, what does the Eikon bring besides being a closed back or semi closed headphone?
No, if you re-read it, I said the Auteur has more sub-bass slam than the Atticus. I have no doubt the Eikon, being closed, has a little more down low than the Auteur, but likely, being closed, will have a smaller soundstage and a few erratic peaks due to cup resonance.
No I definitely wasn't saying Auteur has more sub-bass than Eikon. Eikon has more for sure. I'm saying that the Auteur hits pretty hard down low when called for.
The Auteur definitely does out sub-bass the Atticus, too. It's enough to satisfy a planarhead like me, while the Atticus always sounds like it's missing a little something.
