[DenverW]

Got an email today letting me know that my Auteurs are in the shop and starting the process of becoming classics. Good times! I've been cheating on them with the Eikon and Aeolus while they're away.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Got an email today letting me know that my Auteurs are in the shop and starting the process of becoming classics. Good times! I've been cheating on them with the Eikon and Aeolus while they're away.

I got that as well. Don’t have any other ZMFs to cheat w/ — Elite getting plenty of head time right now. Still wondering whether my Atrium will arrive before my Auteur upgrade — Atrium are in ‘Sanding & Finishing’ as of Thursday.

 

[Deleeh]

As long as it's Zmf headphones it's not cheating,hehe.
I noticed that the Hot summer cups Auteurs also drag on a bit.
I saw a few atriums but no auteurs,.

 

[PankajBihari]

I also recieved my email today and now for the first time in my life I'm looking forward to an email containing an invoice.

And once again hats off to the communication from ZMF. All communication from them is so clear.

 

[skhan007]

I for one, did not send my OG Auteur, but I'm chomping at the bit like those who did, anticipating the results!!

 

[devilsearsidleplaythings]

Jumping in here to say like many of you, this recent upgrade option and release of the Classic has reignited my desire to spend time with my OG's and I'm loving it! I am PRETTY sure I have Auteur and Eikon perf lamb pads but not 100% (bought them at 2019 CanJam direct from Z and B!). Pretty sure I'm running the Eikon's and they sound THICK and juicy. Anyone have any specific songs they recommend I use for pad rolling back and forth?

I am excited to get the upgrade and help satisfy the "itis" since I've been lusting after VO and now Atrium's since their releases. Also happy I can use this an excuse to get the upgrade to the new headband and maybe some suede pads.

Question for everyone > I am (quite happily) running my OG Cocobolo Auteurs> Laptop > Audio-gd R2R-11 DAC > Bottlehead SEX3.0+C4S > and have always wondered what this ladder dac is doing in addition to my tube amp (probably adding a lot of noise!) - any DAC recommendations to help improve my chain? Had planned on getting the RME ADI-2 but that's just silly spending in the current state of affairs > spending $400+ on this upgrade is an unplanned expense I will just HAVE to accept

 

[jonathan c]

Question for everyone > I am (quite happily) running my OG Cocobolo Auteurs> Laptop > Audio-gd R2R-11 DAC > Bottlehead SEX3.0+C4S > and have always wondered what this ladder dac is doing in addition to my tube amp (probably adding a lot of noise!) - any DAC recommendations to help improve my chain?

• I own Auteur (2) and a NOS R2R DAC (Mojo Audio EVO Mystique) which is . Your DAC is well suited to the Auteur. If you have ‘roving eyes’, you might ogle Denafrips Pontus II - another R2R DAC.
• How is the laptop being used? I feel that this is where the largest improvement could be made. Can you use streamer / CD transport / etc?

 

[devilsearsidleplaythings]

• I own Auteur (2) and a NOS R2R DAC (Mojo Audio EVO Mystique) which is . Your DAC is well suited to the Auteur. If you have ‘roving eyes’, you might ogle Denafrips Pontus II - another R2R DAC.
• How is the laptop being used? I feel that this is where the largest improvement could be made. Can you use streamer / CD transport / etc?

Laptop is mostly running Foobar2k with FLAC and occasionally I dabble with EQ (Peace APO never seems to work though) and also Apple Music. Its my main work machine so it doubles for music.

I used to run my turntable next to my work desk and ran that into the tube amp which was GLORIOUS but alas my setup doesn't really allow for that (although I have a spare turntable I may setup now ).

I was thinking more along the lines of a standard (linnear?) DAC to compare as the R2R stuff is supposedly great but isn't as clinical or accurate and with the addition of tubes I wonder if I am putting a lot of THD into these cans. Occasionally, I feel like the Auteurs run out of "clean headroom" if that makes sense? Although it could be my loud rock/metal tracks doing that. I've heard nothing but amazing stuff about Denafrips.

 

[Monsterzero]

Question for everyone > I am (quite happily) running my OG Cocobolo Auteurs> Laptop > Audio-gd R2R-11 DAC

I used to own the R2R-11 way back when. I think it is excellent value for the price, and the amp is actually quite good for it's price point, in fact the R2R-11 is the best amp I ever tried with my old ATH AD2000 non-x. When I sold the R2R-11 I had nothing that would do the AD2000s justice, so I sold that off as well, but I digress....

The R2R-11 has + bass and is quite warm, so that can work in favor of the Auteur if you prefer a warmer sound. On the downside, the staging is rather ordinary as is the imaging. I do not consider the staging of the Auteur to be huge, but the R2R-11 isn't helping that aspect at all.

IMHO, you would need to jump up to the $1K-ish price point for a dedicated DAC (no amp) to get a clear and concise jump in SQ. As noted above, a Denafrips DAC might work if you want to remain in the R2R world, as would a higher end Audio GD DAC. Any DAC much below the 1k price might give some improvements here and there in exchange for a few trade-offs...aka a "sidegrade".

How is the laptop being used? I feel that this is where the largest improvement could be made. Can you use streamer / CD transport / etc?

I tend to agree with this although the R2R-11 isnt the most resolving DAC ive heard and it might not be able to take advantage of all the the things that going from a laptop to a streamer has to offer.

 

[Monsterzero]

Laptop is mostly running Foobar2k with FLAC and occasionally I dabble with EQ (Peace APO never seems to work though) and also Apple Music. Its my main work machine so it doubles for music.

Laptops generally add noise into your chain, decreasing staging, imaging and dynamics. Also generally speaking most noise is not noticeable until its gone......

I was thinking more along the lines of a standard (linnear?) DAC to compare as the R2R stuff is supposedly great but isn't as clinical or accurate and with the addition of tubes I wonder if I am putting a lot of THD into these cans.

ttubes def add THD to the equation, and most of AGD's DACs measure pretty poorly (or so i've read) but I tend to listen with my ears, and the R2R-11 is a warm, musical sounding amp/DAC. If you're chasing more accuracy and clinical sound, you have the wrong piece of gear for that, and I would nudge you towards a d/s DAC instead.

One more note on THD, it isnt always a bad thing.

Occasionally, I feel like the Auteurs run out of "clean headroom" if that makes sense?

Are you using the R2R-11 in fixed or variable mode? I dont see how you're running out of headroom with your setup, unless you're running the R2R-11 in variable and have the volume pot set real low, or are you perhaps confusing headroom with dynamics?

 

[devilsearsidleplaythings]

Are you using the R2R-11 in fixed or variable mode? I dont see how you're running out of headroom with your setup, unless you're running the R2R-11 in variable and have the volume pot set real low, or are you perhaps confusing headroom with dynamics?

I am running Fixed mode (had to switch the internal jumper when I first received the unit from Kingwa) and also have played with High vs Low gain but the apparent "lack of headroom" always seems persistent on certain tracks that get, well, loud. I assume its the Auteurs tbh as the issue doesn't seem as noticeable with my 6XX's or Argons (although I haven't done side-by-side comparisons so I can't say I'm being scientific here - just noticed again today listening to them while reading 20+ pages of this thread).

As a guitar player with many loud tube amps and familiarity with stacking reverbs pedals and gain, I know a lack of headroom when I hear it. Dynamics are DEFINITELY there in spades. Its just when certain tracks swell the mix gets busy and I hear noticeable distortion. Happy to do an experiment if you can recommend one. Again, bought them brand new directly from Zach in 2019 and I believe they were being used as the CanJam demo unit > all the more reason to send them in to get tested/upgraded as well. I'm super thrilled with them 90% of the time, but sometimes I wonder if I can hear their limitation and ask myself about their higher-end offerings a la Verite or Atrium.

I think I will take the suggestion of trying another source. Unfortunately my only real option is vinyl as I sold off most of my CD's and don't own a transport for the few I kept. I suppose I can try comparing some FLAC files against their vinyl counterparts and see how it pans out!

 

[Monsterzero]

I am running Fixed mode (had to switch the internal jumper when I first received the unit from Kingwa) and also have played with High vs Low gain but the apparent "lack of headroom" always seems persistent on certain tracks that get, well, loud. I assume its the Auteurs tbh as the issue doesn't seem as noticeable with my 6XX's or Argons (although I haven't done side-by-side comparisons so I can't say I'm being scientific here - just noticed again today listening to them while reading 20+ pages of this thread).

As a guitar player with many loud tube amps and familiarity with stacking reverbs pedals and gain, I know a lack of headroom when I hear it. Dynamics are DEFINITELY there in spades. Its just when certain tracks swell the mix gets busy and I hear noticeable distortion. Happy to do an experiment if you can recommend one. Again, bought them brand new directly from Zach in 2019 and I believe they were being used as the CanJam demo unit > all the more reason to send them in to get tested/upgraded as well. I'm super thrilled with them 90% of the time, but sometimes I wonder if I can hear their limitation and ask myself about their higher-end offerings a la Verite or Atrium.

I think I will take the suggestion of trying another source. Unfortunately my only real option is vinyl as I sold off most of my CD's and don't own a transport for the few I kept. I suppose I can try comparing some FLAC files against their vinyl counterparts and see how it pans out!

Do you get the same results when using the internal amp of the R2R-11? If yes, it could be a driver issue.
What tubes are you using in your OTL amp?
What tracks is the distortion happening on?

I have both Verites, the Atrium and the Auteur. There's nothing inherent to the Auteur that would cause distortion in it specifically, in other words if a track distorts on the Auteur it's going to distort on all of them, barring a defective driver.

 

[TheRH]

How is the bass and sub-bass on the Classic?

 

[skhan007]

Question: I hope to find some RME ADI2 EQ parameters for the Auteur, but my number on reference (Oratory 1990) does not list this model. He does list EQ presets for the Eikon and Atticus. Would the Auteur be in the ball park of either of these? I know the Auteur is not in the same ball park as the Verite (which I own) so Verite EQ presets wouldn't be a match.

 

[Monsterzero]

Question: I hope to find some RME ADI2 EQ parameters for the Auteur, but my number on reference (Oratory 1990) does not list this model. He does list EQ presets for the Eikon and Atticus. Would the Auteur be in the ball park of either of these? I know the Auteur is not in the same ball park as the Verite (which I own) so Verite EQ presets wouldn't be a match.

I would imagine if you used EQ presets designed for the Atticus/Aeolus on the Auteur it would sound awful.

The Auteur is the brightest ZMF and the Atticus is the warmest