[Taverius]

At risk of straying way off topic, I’ve tried both Monoprice $5 interconnects and Audioquests that cost 20x that and honestly couldn’t tell the difference. Maybe I didn’t have super transparent $2000 amps and headphones at the time, but my feeling is, if they can be made for $5 and sound excellent, what’s $300 buying me in overall fidelity. I know this topic polarizes many here so just thought I’d drop my 0.02 and look forward to more Auteur talk.

You're not wrong, honestly, and this from someone with relatively nice cables.

I've spent a fair bit on them, but mostly it's headphone cables for comfort reasons, where the stock one is too short/long/stiff/stays curled/etc.

It's not really worth spending money on the premium stuff unless you have a big boy amp, and that's headphone cables, which carry more voltage/power and thus their electrical properties have more of an effect.

If headphone cables are the last 5%, component interconnects are like 1% - you can tune things slightly by switching to more copper, or going silver, but for most people slapping a Loki in between and turning a knob is a better idea.

When I give a can as a present and it comes with a truly egregious stock cable, I get the basic "Color" model from Forza, which start at like 30€, are nice and flexible, and I get to make my friends and family use bright blue/green/red cables, the latter being worth the price of admission on its own

 

[hikaru12]

It’s more that I currently don’t really believe they can make a significant difference. Maybe there is some small difference, but I’m not sure my ears would be even good enough to notice. I’m happy to enough getting a high quality cable with appealing aesthetics so I’m not too worried.

As far as interconnects go I might get some ZMF 2K interconnects to complete the setup. I asked about them yesterday as I like the idea of using the same type of cable with sleeving that matches my headphone cable.

The 2K interconnects are quite pricey. $300 for a 12” pair. +50 for every 6” after. I think either 12” or 18” would be more than enough for me.

It's definitely a diminishing return - what I noticed by upgrading my cable is better mid clarity, and some more midbass. It sounded more aggressive as a result, Litz OCC uses a specific type of geometry that can make it sound a bit harsher as opposed to stranded, etc. For me, I wanted a smoother sound so Zachs cable made perfect sense as the OCC cable sounds a bit aggressive atm.

 

[jgwtriode]

FWIW:

A simple audio Maxim! You cannot recreate information lost in the path.
So keep this in mind as you consider how your choosing your components and cables. Something I learned back in my Linn/Naim days. Start with the front end and work your way back.

Happy Listening

 

[Phantaminum]

I’ve been listening to the Auteur Teaks for the last few days and I’m very much enjoying the headphones.

It’s been said before but it needs to be said again. The build quality and construction of this headphone is mind blowing. I’ll take a few snapshots of the Teaks later today to show off the grain. One side of the cup looks a little more like a Leopard and the other has more of that lined woodgrain instead of spots.

Pairing it right now with a MCTH and Gumby while I wait for Glenn’s OTL.

 

[ZenErik]

It’s been said before but it needs to be said again. The build quality and construction of this headphone is mind blowing. I’ll take a few snapshots of the Teaks later today to show off the grain. One side of the cup looks a little more like a Leopard and the other has more of that lined woodgrain instead of spots.

They're works of art as much as they are top notch headphones. Shame they're difficult to gaze at while in use.

I'll also be ordering the 2k interconnects earlier than I had originally planned. Once I heard the words 'pre-order discount' I gave in immediately. Hate how those words open my wallet so easily sometimes. It will be nice having interconnects that match my incoming headphone cable.

 

[jinrawke]

They're works of art as much as they are top notch headphones. Shame they're difficult to gaze at while in use.

I'll also be ordering the 2k interconnects earlier than I had originally planned. Once I heard the words 'pre-order discount' I gave in immediately. Hate how those words open my wallet so easily sometimes. It will be nice having interconnects that match my incoming headphone cable.

I'll be taking lots of pictures of mine when they come in (Zach said they'll be shipping soon!). I ended up upgrading my order from the OCC cable to the 2K cable as well once I saw the pre-order discount. Somehow, I also ended up getting a Metrum Onyx from Zach too..... it will be an interesting comparison to the Yggy.

 

[Phantaminum]

Cloudy outside but the pictures show how unique the Teak wood is. I’ve seen some that are almost a red color, to dark red, to brown red.

The Auteurs are more of a Sienna color bordering yellow depending on how the light hits it.

I’ve added the E-Mu Teaks for comparison.

 

[Gambitek]

Can anyone who have Auteurs and a beefy GPU crank their GPU fan to 80% and let me know if it makes -any- difference in damping the fan sounds? Just a smidgen?

 

[wazzupi]

Can anyone who have Auteurs and a beefy GPU crank their GPU fan to 80% and let me know if it makes -any- difference in damping the fan sounds? Just a smidgen?

It does but it doesnt block the noise completely when silent. I have a 1080ti.

 

[Gambitek]

Thanks. I just need some dampening, more than my 599's.

 

[ZenErik]

It does but it doesnt block the noise completely when silent. I have a 1080ti.

I have a GTX 1080 and don't really hear my GPU fan, but then again I have stock blower cooling. My case fans are more noticeable than my GPU and CPU fans.

The Auteur dampens things slightly but not a large amount. It's easy to hear if talk while wearing the Auteur. Your voice will sound a little muffled compared to a more open design like the HD650/800.

 

[Hedonism]

It's been about two weeks with these headphones, and I'm getting more used to the sound signature now. I'll try my best to give a quick rundown (all my impressions will be with the Eikon pads unless specifically noted otherwise):

Bass: Slightly above neutral in regards to impact and balance. Leans on the slower and richer side of things (but only very very slightly), which lends itself very well with acoustic bass instruments and drums. That being said, it remains clean enough with more than sufficient subbass levels to be completely satisfying for electronic music.

Mids: There's a sense of sweetness and organic timbre to mids, likely from the wood cups used. It's almost as if the Auteur adds a splash of sultriness and richness to the mids without affecting tonal balance at all. Despite the slight warmth and density in the mids, clarity is not impacted at all. Microdetails and nuances are easily heard, and transparency is among the best I've heard (including HD800). Vocals and main instruments get the attention they deserve without neglecting the rest of the band; a very nicely balanced and cohesive presentation to the mids. Highly addicting.

Treble: Very smooth with the Eikon pads (a bit too much for me with auteur pads, but I prefer my headphones dark), with peaks here and there to add air and energy when necessary. None of them bothersome. Cymbals crash with authority without becoming sibilant.

Soundstage: Absolute size is not the greatest, and the semi-open nature of these cans doesn't help either. But makes great work with the space it's been given. Separation and imaging are top-notch. Pushes the music a bit back, so it feels like a proper stage with music travelling towards you. With less expensive headphones, you often get music coming at you from the left, right and middle-centre only, with voids in the rest of the panning directions (ie. 45 degrees off centre in either direction). Not with these, the whole stage feels properly filled out and 3-dimensional. I guess this is what people mean when they say holographic?

That's all I got for now, will edit in more impressions later. These are a keeper; in fact my next step is to upgrade my DAC and amp because I think Auteur has been the closest to matching my tonal preferences ever, and so I want to build a rig worthy of them.

 

[AxelCloris]

We've removed a number of off-topic posts from the thread. Please keep the discussion within the Posting Guidelines. Thanks everyone.

 

[Gambitek]

Your impressions got my really excited for my Auteur. Gah, impatience.

 

[LCMusicLover]

It's been about two weeks with these headphones, and I'm getting more used to the sound signature now. I'll try my best to give a quick rundown (all my impressions will be with the Eikon pads unless specifically noted otherwise):

Bass: Slightly above neutral in regards to impact and balance. Leans on the slower and richer side of things (but only very very slightly), which lends itself very well with acoustic bass instruments and drums. That being said, it remains clean enough with more than sufficient subbass levels to be completely satisfying for electronic music.

Mids: There's a sense of sweetness and organic timbre to mids, likely from the wood cups used. It's almost as if the Auteur adds a splash of sultriness and richness to the mids without affecting tonal balance at all. Despite the slight warmth and density in the mids, clarity is not impacted at all. Microdetails and nuances are easily heard, and transparency is among the best I've heard (including HD800). Vocals and main instruments get the attention they deserve without neglecting the rest of the band; a very nicely balanced and cohesive presentation to the mids. Highly addicting.

Treble: Very smooth with the Eikon pads (a bit too much for me with auteur pads, but I prefer my headphones dark), with peaks here and there to add air and energy when necessary. None of them bothersome. Cymbals crash with authority without becoming sibilant.

Soundstage: Absolute size is not the greatest, and the semi-open nature of these cans doesn't help either. But makes great work with the space it's been given. Separation and imaging are top-notch. Pushes the music a bit back, so it feels like a proper stage with music travelling towards you. With less expensive headphones, you often get music coming at you from the left, right and middle-centre only, with voids in the rest of the panning directions (ie. 45 degrees off centre in either direction). Not with these, the whole stage feels properly filled out and 3-dimensional. I guess this is what people mean when they say holographic?

That's all I got for now, will edit in more impressions later. These are a keeper; in fact my next step is to upgrade my DAC and amp because I think Auteur has been the closest to matching my tonal preferences ever, and so I want to build a rig worthy of them.

May I ask which amp you are (primarily) using with your Auteurs?