[cskippy]

Or just change one pad at a time like me.

 

[gLer]

OK, the Teak Auteur is here with the (upgrade) OCC cable (5 feet). It's a very nice sound, different from the Eikon (and Atticus).
Compared to the Eikon, It is much more open sounding with a deeper, more spacious soundfield.
It has more of a live sound. The vocals are more distinct and sharper.
The bass is full but more transparent and detailed. There seems to be more detail everywhere. I do really like it and it complements the Eikon and Atticus nicely, sort of a more thrilling ride.

I do find that the Eikon has a more relaxed sound though. I find that a little EQ with the Auteur in my Jriver-23 helps.
My EQ settings after some experiments:
3hz: -3 db
6hz: -4 db
12hz: -2.5 db
14hz: -0.5 db
All other frequency levels flat.

I do not use EQ with the Atticus or Eikon.

I have not tried the other pads supplied yet.

But I am very impressed with the wide-open-space sound and the smoothness and lack of any grain I can detect. The natural, liquid vocals are very nice. The overall liquidity is also great. It is a very refined, sophisticated sound. The texture of vocals and instruments is very vivid. In fact, vivid is how I would describe the sound overall. Vivid but not overbearing.

This vividness (and speed) makes for really great percussion. It is very satisfying. It just slams and is tight and tuneful with sudden impact. But there is just right amount of sweetness to make it appealing without being painful at all.

These headphone are extremely comfortable and very very light on the head. I'm not sure, but they may even be as light as Grado GSs. They feel barely there. There is no clamp that I feel, and I am sensitive to that. These are great for long-term sessions.
They seem sturdy and well built.

The only other cable I tried was a Dana Lazulli non-reference I picked up for my audeze, but while this did mellow out the highs, it kind of messed up the bass, making it too blurred, so I don't recommend it.
The ZMF OCC cable has really great tight fast bass.

I sense that the Auteur is very sensitive to the cable used.

OK, these are just first impressions with no break in, but I just wanted to report my findings. Back to listening.

Thanks, great impressions! What’s the bass like compared to the Atticus and Eikon in terms of slam and heft? Also can you compare it to bass from other open headphones (like LCDs)? What source are you using? Thx.

 

[jgwtriode]

I'm not sure why somebody would use gold in a cable... Gold only has 70% of the conductivity of copper. In comparison, Silver has 105% and OCC has about 103%. Lowering the conductivity is generally a bad thing.

Neotech and Mundorf mix approximately 1% gold into there premium silver cable/connectors. It adds a subtle warmth and sweetness. Improving tone without losing any of the other benefits of silver.

Happy listening!

 

[mwhals]

OK, the Teak Auteur is here with the (upgrade) OCC cable (5 feet). It's a very nice sound, different from the Eikon (and Atticus).
Compared to the Eikon, It is much more open sounding with a deeper, more spacious soundfield.
It has more of a live sound. The vocals are more distinct and sharper.
The bass is full but more transparent and detailed. There seems to be more detail everywhere. I do really like it and it complements the Eikon and Atticus nicely, sort of a more thrilling ride.

I do find that the Eikon has a more relaxed sound though. I find that a little EQ with the Auteur in my Jriver-23 helps.
My EQ settings after some experiments:
3hz: -3 db
6hz: -4 db
12hz: -2.5 db
14hz: -0.5 db
All other frequency levels flat.

I do not use EQ with the Atticus or Eikon.

I have not tried the other pads supplied yet.

But I am very impressed with the wide-open-space sound and the smoothness and lack of any grain I can detect. The natural, liquid vocals are very nice. The overall liquidity is also great. It is a very refined, sophisticated sound. The texture of vocals and instruments is very vivid. In fact, vivid is how I would describe the sound overall. Vivid but not overbearing.

These headphone are extremely comfortable and very very light on the head. I'm not sure, but they may even be as light as Grado GSs. They feel barely there. There is no clamp that I feel, and I am sensitive to that. These are great for long-term sessions.
They seem sturdy and well built.

The only other cable I tried was a Dana Lazulli non-reference I picked up for my audeze, but while this did mellow out the highs, it kind of messed up the bass, making it too blurred, so I don't recommend it.
The ZMF OCC cable has really great tight fast bass.

I sense that the Auteur is very sensitive to the cable used.

OK, these are just first impressions with no break in, but I just wanted to report my findings. Back to listening.

Glad to see another that owns the Eikon, Atticus and Auteur. I won’t have my Blackwood Auteur until later since it is still in machining, LOL.

 

[yates7592]

I do find that the Eikon has a more relaxed sound though. I find that a little EQ with the Auteur in my Jriver-23 helps.
My EQ settings after some experiments:
3hz: -3 db
6hz: -4 db
12hz: -2.5 db
14hz: -0.5 db
All other frequency levels flat.

Is that hz or khz?

 

[yates7592]

I would buy the Auteur immediately if it had the soundstage approaching HD800, but from all the reviews I have read, whilst it is larger than average, its not in HD800 territory (but what is eh?). It's a real shame, because tonally these sound exactly right for me.

 

[Redmetal1897]

OK, the Teak Auteur is here with the (upgrade) OCC cable (5 feet). It's a very nice sound, different from the Eikon (and Atticus).
Compared to the Eikon, It is much more open sounding with a deeper, more spacious soundfield.
It has more of a live sound. The vocals are more distinct and sharper.
The bass is full but more transparent and detailed. There seems to be more detail everywhere. I do really like it and it complements the Eikon and Atticus nicely, sort of a more thrilling ride.

I do find that the Eikon has a more relaxed sound though. I find that a little EQ with the Auteur in my Jriver-23 helps.
My EQ settings after some experiments:
3hz: -3 db
6hz: -4 db
12hz: -2.5 db
14hz: -0.5 db
All other frequency levels flat.

I do not use EQ with the Atticus or Eikon.

I have not tried the other pads supplied yet.

But I am very impressed with the wide-open-space sound and the smoothness and lack of any grain I can detect. The natural, liquid vocals are very nice. The overall liquidity is also great. It is a very refined, sophisticated sound. The texture of vocals and instruments is very vivid. In fact, vivid is how I would describe the sound overall. Vivid but not overbearing.

This vividness (and speed) makes for really great percussion. It is very satisfying. It just slams and is tight and tuneful with sudden impact. But there is just the right amount of sweetness to make it appealing without being painful at all.

These headphones are extremely comfortable and very very light on the head. I'm not sure, but they may even be as light as Grado GSs. They feel barely there. There is no clamp that I feel, and I am sensitive to that. These are great for long-term sessions.
They seem sturdy and well built.

The only other cable I tried was a Dana Lazulli non-reference I picked up for my audeze, but while this did mellow out the highs, it kind of messed up the bass, making it too blurred, so I don't recommend it.
The ZMF OCC cable has really great tight fast bass.

I sense that the Auteur is very sensitive to the cable used.

OK, these are just first impressions with no break in, but I just wanted to report my findings. Back to listening.

Great impressions!

Eagerly awaiting more impressions and counting the days till I can get my hands on one!

 

[rgs9200m]

OOPS, I meant kHz in the EQ settings of course; my boneheaded mistake (now quoted permanently unfortunately).

PS, FWIW, another couple of hours with the Auteur with that can't-stop-listening feeling puts these on my personal wall of fame.
The brilliant imaging and texture is captivating to my ears.

Vocals are awesome, very life-like. I did more listening to long-familiar female vocal and they just sound extremely Feminine.
All vocals are smooth and human, but they don't resort to being syrupy to achieve this. Just plain real.

This is a sweet/impactful/organic headphone, the definition of a balanced sound.

The bass is just right and just seems to fit perfectly. It's neither a lightweight or basshead bass, but tuneful with a very firm foundation. It is clearer than the Eikon to me, with more nice reverb, and maybe more depth/subbass, but I'd have to A/B. All I know is that I wouldn't change a thing in the bass presentation. This is with the ZMF OCC cable.

Nothing sounds opaque to me in the Auteur.

Source is Chord DAVE / Rudistor RP010B amp. Listening with my old ripped regular CDs, definitely not audiophile-grade recordings.

 

[givemetacos]

I would buy the Auteur immediately if it had the soundstage approaching HD800, but from all the reviews I have read, whilst it is larger than average, its not in HD800 territory (but what is eh?). It's a real shame, because tonally these sound exactly right for me.

I have HD800 and reviewed the Auteur here. No headphone has the soundstage of HD800, but I don't see that as a negative. HD800 has that wide soundstage at the expense of making it feel artificially big and also making upper mids and vocals feel more pushed back. By correcting the tonal balance to be warmer and bringing mids and vocals forward, you are automatically creating a more intimate space. I know the HD800 soundstage works well for certain genres like orchestral stuff, but I actually dislike the forced wide staging for smaller band and acoustic type of stuff. The Auteur doesn't feel particularly narrow like HD650 or Utopia might, and it doesn't feel overly expansive. It just feels "correct". It never feels congested and instruments separation is excellent along with solid imaging. If the track you are listening to is mastered to feel more open and wide, it does. If it is a solo acoustic singer-songwriter it feels closer and more intimate. I think sometimes it is nice to just have something that stays true to what the music calls for and nails the right tonality.

 

[rgs9200m]

Nah, actually, if soundstaging is your thing, I would say definitely get the Auteur. There is nothing closed in about this sound. And it does the micro-staging thing well too, with rounded images and nice natural not-artificially sharp image boundaries. Nice layering aspects too.
Not up to Stax SR009 layering, but at really satisfying levels.

 

[FunctionalDoc]

Don't forget to try the perf Eikon pads!

More shipments going out in the next couple days.

EDIT: When changing earpads:

Make sure to put something between the cups to keep them from banging into each other, a towel will do.

Each earpad has a back flap that can attach to the headphones. The easiest way to attach an earpad is to turn it inside out like you would a giant sock that's hard to get on your foot! Place the earpad in the position you want it to end up in, and work your way around the earcup with one hand while using your other hand to hold the pad in place.

I moving up the list like a consistent glacier flow and craftsmanship takes time.

 

[FunctionalDoc]

Don't forget to try the perf Eikon pads!

More shipments going out in the next couple days.

EDIT: When changing earpads:

Make sure to put something between the cups to keep them from banging into each other, a towel will do.

Each earpad has a back flap that can attach to the headphones. The easiest way to attach an earpad is to turn it inside out like you would a giant sock that's hard to get on your foot! Place the earpad in the position you want it to end up in, and work your way around the earcup with one hand while using your other hand to hold the pad in place.

I moving up the list like a consistent glacier flow and craftsmanship takes time.

 

[mwhals]

Like the Eikon and Atticus. It looks like I will not have my Auteur before my birthday in two weeks.

On the bright side, our house will be paid off before my birthday. That means more money to buy audio gear.

 

[bmnathe]

Like the Eikon and Atticus. It looks like I will not have my Auteur before my birthday in two weeks.

On the bright side, our house will be paid off before my birthday. That means more money to buy audio gear.

Mine shipped and it looks like I'll receive them one day AFTER my birthday.

 

[Bern2]

Like the Eikon and Atticus. It looks like I will not have my Auteur before my birthday in two weeks.

On the bright side, our house will be paid off before my birthday. That means more money to buy audio gear.

I've already spent my budgeted allowance for this year....will have to wait for 2019. That'll give me some time to clear out the items that I'm not using I guess.

Bern