[zach915m]

Really I only hesitate out of concern that I'll miss the OG sound.

<unrelated musing>
I was thinking about Zach's problem as a small business owner. He has to balance new product R & D, labor and shop time constraints, materials availability, marketing and PR efforts, all across a bunch of different products and services; plus some tiny amount of time devoted to a personal life. Making great products which his customers really appreciate must be quite satisfying, but also must come at a significant cost. Of course, having a great partner probably helps
</unrelated musing>

For anyone worried about these not sounding like the OG auteur's please don't, it's the OG auteur with a little more resolution, more clarity, more stage and slightly lower THD and also a little more dynamic. The sound signature absolutely is not altered though, and these are all incremental upgrades in the classic. I do want to point out though, if you're expecting some kind of all new headphone, and you love your OG auteur, an upgrade isn't necessarily mandatory. I really detest audio upgrades where the company continuously comes back at you year after year asking you to open up your wallet because they kept making the product "better and better." This is the same headphone, with some improvements from what I've learned over the last few years, our patent pending damping applied, and an all new driver and airflow system. But it does NOT turn it into some revelatory different headphone, juts incrementally "better." We ran out of OG drivers, and I wanted to make a few changes to the new batch of drivers along with the other stuff, so it just made sense.

And also - I GREATLY appreciate your empathy. This is still my hobby, just a LOT more of it and the part I love the most is making and listening to headphones. I'm so lucky to be able to do it. The most important part to me aside from the headphones is our employees and you guys! So right back at you and thank you!

Hello
Yes, me too, it's actually okay, that's about how much I estimated it to be.

I am a bit irritated about the 400$ for the first owner and 600$ for the second owner.
Perhaps there are reasons given for this, such as increased administration costs, rework, etc....

.I would have the invoice as proof if necessary.

Also, $600 is not necessarily a lot for a driver revision with all the trimmings.


Purely in terms of the second-hand market, we will probably see different prices in terms of the auteur.
There will also be refurbished auteurs I think that will be cheaper than buying new.
And also normal Auteurs that have remained exceptional in design.

I think Zach Video will bring light into the darkness again, the first brave ones will report and the stone will fall.
It will be 50:50 where the previous version is preferred and the other 50 the new version.

I'm curious to see whether the parts used in the previous version will be returned or remain the intellectual property of Zmf .
I don't think you can change back if you don't like it.

Good questions and concerns, but lets definitely not try to get ahead of ourselves and answer hypothetical questions that can't be answered yet, or that need to be answered by each individual. I will paste the upgrade details below so you have more info.

I think when you're just on the consumer side it's easy to think companies are just fleecing you "trying to get what they can," and trust me, I buy audio equipment all the time, and being on the side of it that I am, I try to think about it from both sides.

Regarding our price, one has to realize that when we're doing an upgrade, aside from the R/D, parts, man power, QC and other customer communication, that the process ends up taking more logistics than a new headphone. I hope this doesn't come off as harsh, but it's a miracle we're able to do any upgrades at all given how our processes and logistics are. I am adamant about doing it, albeit to the detriment of the business side, because I don't believe an owner who loves their wood cups, or other parts of their headphone, should have to discard that headphone. I as well spent a lot of time making each and every one of these.

It’s actually pretty amazing that the Classic is going to be sold for $1499. If I’m not mistaken, the OG Auteur was $1599 when it launched. I know there was a $200 pre-sale discount bringing it to $1399 for a limited time, but for comparison sake, the Classic is cheaper than the OG when it was new.

That’s quite an accomplishment considering everything in the world is steadily getting more expensive. I think for me personally, I might be tempted down the road to pick up a used Classic once a few become available. Right now it would be a pretty substantial investment to upgrade my 3rd-owner (though pristine) LTD Ash set. I look forward to reading the impressions from those that take the plunge and get a Classic new or as an upgrade.

I agree! The downside is there won't be as many options for the stock model. Thank you!

 

[zach915m]

Much promised logistics:

NOTE: We are limiting the upgrade process to a certain number of units at a time. Please sign up to our email list to be notified when the classic upgrade list will open. The date we will first accept upgrades is July 15th.

Upgrading gets you:

• New auteur Classic drivers
• auteur Classic Wood Baffle
• Atrium damping system (ADS)
• Titan Mesh
• Replaced Driver Grille's if needed to Moulded Version
• Full Headphone QC/measurement and recommended optional improvements

Note: If your auteur earpads are worn, and we are unable to get a match, you will be charged for a new set of pads.

Upgrade Process:

1. You will pay 50% at checkout.
2. Within 48 hours you will receive an email with shipping instructions. Ship your headphones to us! You are responsible for all ship costs.
3. After we receive the headphones, you will be notified and your headphone will be upgraded to the classic within 3 weeks. When in process, if any refurbishment is recommended or offered, you will receive and email with these options and costs.
4. When done you'll receive an invoice for the final payment and shipping.
5. Enjoy your new re-warranted auteur classic! All orders include the lifetime driver warranty, aesthetics are not covered.

 

[LCMusicLover]

It’s actually pretty amazing that the Classic is going to be sold for $1499. If I’m not mistaken, the OG Auteur was $1599 when it launched. I know there was a $200 pre-sale discount bringing it to $1399 for a limited time, but for comparison sake, the Classic is cheaper than the OG when it was new.

That’s quite an accomplishment considering everything in the world is steadily getting more expensive. I think for me personally, I might be tempted down the road to pick up a used Classic once a few become available. Right now it would be a pretty substantial investment to upgrade my 3rd-owner (though pristine) LTD Ash set. I look forward to reading the impressions from those that take the plunge and get a Classic new or as an upgrade.

Intro price for LTD Blackwoods was around $1600 IIRC. My invoice was for $1839, but that included an upgraded OFC cable.

 

[Kevintj604]

I don't quite believe that.
We will definitely have people who want the previous version.
Because they don't like the classic version.
If they do, it will only be in the short term that the price of the previous version will drop.

Even if Zach's tech video will explain and show a lot.
Can't do anything about emotions if there will be a camp where the previous version is/was better for them.
If we leave out the technical side.

@ckhirnigs113 Otherwise, the fact that they have managed to offer the price at a lower price is also something to be praised.You are right with that,.
You can also think about a second pair and own both auteur versions, which is not bad either.
And chose later what would do,keep two or sell one,.

I'm hoping that you are correct that some people will be perfectly happy with their OG Auteur and don't want to upgrade. But I suspect that most second hand buyers including someone like me who has never heard the Auteur might be more inclined to purchase a new Auteur Classic rather than buy second hand and pay an additional $600 for the upgrade costs and warranty.

That being said I waited years for the specific wood configuration to match what I'm looking for in aesthetics and sound profile for my Aeolus. So if something like @ckhirnigs113 Manchurian Ash becomes available on the second hand market where there were only 40 units ever made I'm sure it can fetch a higher price tag.

 

[warrenpchi]

We will definitely have people who want the previous version.
Because they don't like the classic version.

Personally, I would have a hard time understanding that lol.

Speaking as someone who loved the OG Auteur since it was first released, the Auteur Classic is everything that made the OG Auteur what it is, but moar of it. Add to that a welcomed increase in staging due to the new damping inherited from the Atrium, and it's pretty much a home run for me.

 

[Deleeh]

@zach915m

I'm right there with you about that.
And it's not too harsh even if you've argued it very well.
There will always be a part that doesn't see it that way or understands it that way and maybe greed plays a role.
But we shouldn't care about that .

Personally, I think it's okay and legitimate to include improvements.
It gives me the opportunity to upgrade my Auteur, which I bought second or third hand and is already 3-4 years old, with a full warranty afterwards.
I think that's perfectly fine.
There are other headphone manufacturers who don't offer this at all or the warranty is limited without naming any.
Apart from that, it is also a sustainable thing for our planet.
Far too little attention is paid to this and people prefer to throw things away and buy new ones.
That's why it's a really good step.

It's also not a rip-off - it's a fair price for future owners.
It's not a mandatory upgrade, it's more of an option.
As long as everything still works, it's absolutely OK, even if you buy used.
For me personally, if I could find a good used pair, I would think about it.
I wouldn't want to send my recently made Auteur back to the workshop now.

As far as expectations are concerned, I think it's good to have mentioned again that you should stay true to the line and not overly expect it to be a new headphone, even if there are improvements from a sound point of view.
I think that a lot of things start with the explanation of the product so that it is understood rather than being bad-mouthed afterwards, which is also often the case due to incorrect information.
So far I feel very well informed and in good hands.
Of course it is ideal to contact the Zmf support for open questions.

Of course, time will show where the rest is going, also from the side of the community.

 

[AudioDuck]

Much promised logistics:

NOTE: We are limiting the upgrade process to a certain number of units at a time. Please sign up to our email list to be notified when the classic upgrade list will open. The date we will first accept upgrades is July 15th.

Upgrading gets you:

• New auteur Classic drivers
• auteur Classic Wood Baffle
• Atrium damping system (ADS)
• Titan Mesh
• Replaced Driver Grille's if needed to Moulded Version
• Full Headphone QC/measurement and recommended optional improvements

Note: If your auteur earpads are worn, and we are unable to get a match, you will be charged for a new set of pads.

Upgrade Process:

1. You will pay 50% at checkout.
2. Within 48 hours you will receive an email with shipping instructions. Ship your headphones to us! You are responsible for all ship costs.
3. After we receive the headphones, you will be notified and your headphone will be upgraded to the classic within 3 weeks. When in process, if any refurbishment is recommended or offered, you will receive and email with these options and costs.
4. When done you'll receive an invoice for the final payment and shipping.
5. Enjoy your new re-warranted auteur classic! All orders include the lifetime driver warranty, aesthetics are not covered.

Appreciation post- scroll on if you aren’t a ZMF fan.

First, it is truly impressive that ZMF/Zach and Bevin offer an upgrade process for hand-made, heirloom-grade headphones. Stop and think about that for a second: How rare is that in ANY business today? I love that dedication to the Auteur owners.

Second, price aside (and for the record, the prices are very fair, from my perspective)- you get LIFETIME warranty on the drivers?! Again, a rarity- the only company that has that level of warranty that I can think of is Bryston, with their 20-year warranty on their gear. Honestly the warranty alone is worth quite a bit…

Third, the transparency, clarity, honesty, humility, and genuine appreciation for our community that Zach shows in his posts is just truly heart-warming. I was already a big fan of the gear, but am now a devotee of the Mehrbachs as well.

 

[Deleeh]

Can agree with that, .

 

[robo24]

I think this is all pretty great and reasonable. I was hoping it would be $400 and I can't imagine there is much profit on that. Really they could not do it at all and would probably make more by doing so if it drove people to sell and buy a whole new set. Since I got mine 2nd hand I'm not sure I'll do it but an additional $200 to gain a lifetime warranty is also quite fair.

I'm hoping they end up going to SoCal CanJam so I can hear it and decide (and hope they'll have both versions on hand to compare). Mine is also a one-off with red grills and I wouldn't do unless it was certain the grille wouldn't need to be swapped out. Though I may just see a LTD one which I can't resist (why oh why did I have to see a glimpse of that blue one on their video, lol) and then have the Classic and the OG, which isn't too crazy given some actually own more than one OG.

 

[jonathan c]

I think this is all pretty great and reasonable. I was hoping it would be $400 and I can't imagine there is much profit on that. Really they could not do it at all and would probably make more by doing so if it drove people to sell and buy a whole new set. Since I got mine 2nd hand I'm not sure I'll do it but an additional $200 to gain a lifetime warranty is also quite fair.

I'm hoping they end up going to SoCal CanJam so I can hear it and decide (and hope they'll have both versions on hand to compare). Mine is also a one-off with red grills and I wouldn't do unless it was certain the grille wouldn't need to be swapped out. Though I may just see a LTD one which I can't resist (why oh why did I have to see a glimpse of that blue one on their video, lol) and then have the Classic and the OG, which isn't too crazy given some actually own more than one OG.

 

[warrenpchi]

I'm hoping they end up going to SoCal CanJam

ZMF Headphones is indeed exhibiting at CanJam SoCal 2022.

 

[DenverW]

So it looks like I’ll be watching my email like a hawk to get on the list .

Soon to be auteur classic cocobolo:

 

[warrenpchi]

So pretty!

 

[Kevintj604]

So pretty!

Yeah. Cocobolo is my favorite wood that Zach uses. My Cocobolo Aeolus are a very dark red in colour and pop quite a bit with the Rose Gold grille. The Janka scale of the wood is perfect for my tastes as well as they sound considerably more fast and dynamic compared to the previous Mangowood & Bubinga that I owned.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Yeah. Cocobolo is my favorite wood that Zach uses. My Cocobolo Aeolus are a very dark red in colour and pop quite a bit with the Rose Gold grille. The Janka scale of the wood is perfect for my tastes as well as they sound considerably more fast and dynamic compared to the previous Mangowood & Bubinga that I owned.

Why I'll have to go for a Cocobolo Atrium