[Wes S]

Agreed. Kind of. The Ca2a has a better design, and might get him closer to an amp suitable to the critical listening thing right off the bat. The additional cost and build difficulty is the only thing making me say try the Crack first. They do resell very well, so he is less likely to take a hit money-wise.

@erics75 - Mind if I get a few opinions out into the wild here? Not trying to insult anyone, I just feel a sudden need to express myself. Okay, here goes...

Don't think I'm against OTL. I love OTL, when done right. When I say done right, I mean Crack+SB with good tubes. Not the Woo WA3 or Elise. It's one thing to be warm but it's another to be so gooey you muddle up detail, or make instruments sound like they were put through some kind of reverse auto-tune tone mangler, respectively. (I'll pause here to let the gasps from Woo and Elise fanboys die down.)

Remember: I'm just being honest here.

I have owned the Elise, heard the wa3 more than a few times, and I am probably the only person on HF who will tell you those are crap. Or at the very least, extremely overpriced. So take that as you will.

I also think analytical listening is rubbish. When I sit down and listen, I want to get lost in the music and kind of float along with it. I don't want to analyze every little note and guitar pluck. I think doing so is, frankly, counterproductive to enjoyment. But hey, to each their own, and if that's what you enjoy, that's cool.

I'm just letting you know I come from a different perspective. All I want to do is to try to give advice best suited for you, based on what you said, and the experiences I've had. I think Lord G is too. That's why I caution against the other products you mentioned. I think if you want the warm sound of OTL, and also have an analytical listen, you're probably going to need two different amps to do it.

Anyway, when done correctly, OTL has an engagement factor you won't get on 99.8% of solid state amplifiers. (ECP DSHA-3F being an exception.) It's pretty much the antithesis of solid state. Sometimes it rolls off at the ends, it's not power efficient, and it adds distortion. Glorious, magical distortion. Yummy.

I personally think building the Crack is a must have experience for anybody in the hobby using high Z headphones. I personally know it is a amazing pairing with the Auteur.

Good luck!

I trust this man's opinion, and have been following and buying similar and the same gear, and he has never led me astray. I just bought a Bottlehead Crack, and can't wait to pair, that baby, with my Aeolus, when I get them.

 

[ProfFalkin]

I trust this man's opinion, and have been following and buying similar and the same gear, and he has, and he has never led me astray. I just bought a Bottlehead Crack, and can't wait to pair, that baby, with my Aeolus, when I get them.

That's high praise. Thanks. Enjoy that Crack!

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I trust this man's opinion, and have been following and buying similar and the same gear, and he has never led me astray. I just bought a Bottlehead Crack, and can't wait to pair, that baby, with my Aeolus, when I get them.

You'll love it man. I think I remember seeing around some threads that you have some high quality 6SN7's, grab a 6SN7 to 12AU7 adapter and a solid output tube and you are rollin'! (no pun intended).

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I trust this man's opinion, and have been following and buying similar and the same gear, and he has never led me astray. I just bought a Bottlehead Crack, and can't wait to pair, that baby, with my Aeolus, when I get them.

So basically the Professor is your gateway to Crack, excuse me Internet ‍ Police we have a situation here.

 

[ProfFalkin]

All substances can be legal when used properly "for science".

Also, I think Pat and Doc said 6SN7 is fine w/ adapter, but you really should have the Speedball installed to run it properly.

 

[Psy974]

Hi guys !
do you think the woo audio WA6SE gen 1 and the auteur would be good match ?

 

[claud W]

So, every time you buy new headphones, your wife reams you a new one. ZMF has a cure for this. Just order your ZMF headphones with the Seahorse case. Your headphones then arrive in a box that has Seahorse all over it. You did not buy new ZMF headphones. You bought a nice traveling case for your headphones. Note: my wife can not tell one set of headphones, let alone cables from another.

 

[claud W]

See what I mean about the box? Who would think that inside of the actual Seahorse case in the box are your ZMF headphones.

 

[Wes S]

See what I mean about the box? Who would think that inside of the actual Seahorse case in the box are your ZMF headphones.

Coming from someone, that works in the shipping and receiving business, that really is a smart way (packaging), to ship them. Another thing that ZMF, does right. . .Love this company!

 

[saxelrod92]

Tldr; I'd love to come away knowing: auteur or aeolus? cocobolo or maple/do they matter that much? How my music examples (Periphery and Phaeleh) sound on both, and ideally compared to the alpha primes. Thanks for reading my long winded way of asking one sentence worth of questions lol. More specific details for my preferences and usage cases in the mess of words below...

So I've been doing a couple weeks of research so far on my next headphone/setup change, and ZMF seems to be where I landed. I'm a one headphone, one amp, one dac kind of guy, and just change things up by selling off the old and using that money to get the new (filling in the differences in price as needed, but not to unreasonable levels lol). Right now I have whats in my sig, alpha prime, v281, bifrost uber. I enjoy that setup as a general baseline for the type of sound I like, but it has it's issues that I'm trying to improve upon, hence the time for change. The main issue is with the alpha primes, they sound great and neutral, I like that, but since I listen to 80% metal (well recorded and mastered mostly like Periphery, but some can be brighter, others have a nice heaviness in the bass) the alphas can get too harsh or in your face in the treble region. I also like the sub-bass but they can sometimes lack a bit of bass slam overall (classic planar issue, granted the alphas are better than most planars in this area). I also listen to electronic music with lots of sub-bass and midbass, with treble elements, kinda like what Phaeleh songs are like as an example. The rest of the time I'm using headphones as my general use listening method: youtube, netflix, gaming, etc.

I've been looking for a headphone that doesn't stray too far from the sound I've grown used to, but helps fix some of those issues I mentioned. Because those issues cause enough fatigue and sometimes slight pain on a couple bright albums I have, that it takes away from the enjoyment in the long run. The hard part is that I dont want to go too warm and soft to compensate, I enjoy the detail, speed, clarity, slight edge in my music. I just like don't want to cross that line into too sharp and edgy, while getting a little bit more thump in the bass without losing the detail and sub-bass overall. The other issue was comfort, but thats due entirely to the hinge mechanism of the earcups, since my head apparently is smaller/narrower or something where most headphones have the earcups tilt outward on my head slightly, think matching the angle of your jawline rather than perfectly vertical on the sides of your face. Just slightly, but apparently its just at the edge of where that earcup can tilt and it causes slightly more pressure at the top than bottom as a result, as well as feeling like its slightly less secure to my face as I would like. I figure literally anything other than another t50rp type mod will solve that specific issue lol. Weight is not too much of a problem with this similar double headband/leather strap design used on both ZMF and Mr. Speakers headphones, but as my head is a smidge smaller, the lighter a headphone is the less my neck will feel any kind of discomfort after 8 hours each day.

So by now you probably see where this is going and why I'm posting on the auteur thread. As far as I can tell they seem to be the best fit to my needs, I've even asked some of the other posters in the metal thread about this choice and they also agreed on the auteur for me. To be thorough, I figured I'd ask here as well before parting ways with my current setup and spending 1600 on a new headphone that I cant return for full price. Basically it comes down to this: auteur or aeolus? for the most part I think it seems the consensus for me is auteur, but some reinforcement or strong convictions to the other option would be welcome. If auteur, then how much of a difference would the two current wood options make for my preferences: ambrosia maple or cocobolo? Because money wise I can get the maple and use my leftovers for the amp (since I will be selling the v281 as its overkill for my needs, and is the bulk of where I'm getting the money for all this). Otherwise I could put more towards the denser wood and save up for a better amp later and just go with whatever I can afford until then. The other question is will the weight of the cocobolo be bothersome, or should I say is there enough change to the sound that putting up with the extra weight is worth it? Is the change to the sound closer to what I would prefer, or would the maple work just fine for me. My two biggest worries regarding this in general: Will the headphones be too dark? Will the headphones be too bass light, compared to what I'm used to with the alphas?

I used to have the original LCD 2, and really did not like it at all, it was way too soft in the bass for me and too dark in the treble overall. Hence why I went with alpha primes in the first place afterwards, which are truly very close to what I like and want, just a tad too much into the sharp and harsh at times. The thing is I also had a pair of Denon D-5000 which for me showed me what a great biocell dynamic driver could do for bass. I always wanted to combine that biocell bass thump with the clarity, balance and sub-bass rumble of the alphas. I also liked that D-5000 was never fatiguing or harsh, but obviously it greatly lacked detail, mids, clarity, and imaging at all lol, it just allowed anything I played to never hurt though. I hope this is enough info and details into what the last two weeks of my research has been like, and if anyone with experience using the alphas, and maybe hearing some of the music I mentioned (Periphery for metal, Phaeleh for electronic, if you look either up and listen to anything recently released that will give a good estimate to the rest of my music would sound) could help me out that would be awesome!

 

[breckstar]

Tldr; I'd love to come away knowing: auteur or aeolus? cocobolo or maple/do they matter that much? How my music examples (Periphery and Phaeleh) sound on both, and ideally compared to the alpha primes. Thanks for reading my long winded way of asking one sentence worth of questions lol. More specific details for my preferences and usage cases in the mess of words below...

So I've been doing a couple weeks of research so far on my next headphone/setup change, and ZMF seems to be where I landed. I'm a one headphone, one amp, one dac kind of guy, and just change things up by selling off the old and using that money to get the new (filling in the differences in price as needed, but not to unreasonable levels lol). Right now I have whats in my sig, alpha prime, v281, bifrost uber. I enjoy that setup as a general baseline for the type of sound I like, but it has it's issues that I'm trying to improve upon, hence the time for change. The main issue is with the alpha primes, they sound great and neutral, I like that, but since I listen to 80% metal (well recorded and mastered mostly like Periphery, but some can be brighter, others have a nice heaviness in the bass) the alphas can get too harsh or in your face in the treble region. I also like the sub-bass but they can sometimes lack a bit of bass slam overall (classic planar issue, granted the alphas are better than most planars in this area). I also listen to electronic music with lots of sub-bass and midbass, with treble elements, kinda like what Phaeleh songs are like as an example. The rest of the time I'm using headphones as my general use listening method: youtube, netflix, gaming, etc.

I've been looking for a headphone that doesn't stray too far from the sound I've grown used to, but helps fix some of those issues I mentioned. Because those issues cause enough fatigue and sometimes slight pain on a couple bright albums I have, that it takes away from the enjoyment in the long run. The hard part is that I dont want to go too warm and soft to compensate, I enjoy the detail, speed, clarity, slight edge in my music. I just like don't want to cross that line into too sharp and edgy, while getting a little bit more thump in the bass without losing the detail and sub-bass overall. The other issue was comfort, but thats due entirely to the hinge mechanism of the earcups, since my head apparently is smaller/narrower or something where most headphones have the earcups tilt outward on my head slightly, think matching the angle of your jawline rather than perfectly vertical on the sides of your face. Just slightly, but apparently its just at the edge of where that earcup can tilt and it causes slightly more pressure at the top than bottom as a result, as well as feeling like its slightly less secure to my face as I would like. I figure literally anything other than another t50rp type mod will solve that specific issue lol. Weight is not too much of a problem with this similar double headband/leather strap design used on both ZMF and Mr. Speakers headphones, but as my head is a smidge smaller, the lighter a headphone is the less my neck will feel any kind of discomfort after 8 hours each day.

So by now you probably see where this is going and why I'm posting on the auteur thread. As far as I can tell they seem to be the best fit to my needs, I've even asked some of the other posters in the metal thread about this choice and they also agreed on the auteur for me. To be thorough, I figured I'd ask here as well before parting ways with my current setup and spending 1600 on a new headphone that I cant return for full price. Basically it comes down to this: auteur or aeolus? for the most part I think it seems the consensus for me is auteur, but some reinforcement or strong convictions to the other option would be welcome. If auteur, then how much of a difference would the two current wood options make for my preferences: ambrosia maple or cocobolo? Because money wise I can get the maple and use my leftovers for the amp (since I will be selling the v281 as its overkill for my needs, and is the bulk of where I'm getting the money for all this). Otherwise I could put more towards the denser wood and save up for a better amp later and just go with whatever I can afford until then. The other question is will the weight of the cocobolo be bothersome, or should I say is there enough change to the sound that putting up with the extra weight is worth it? Is the change to the sound closer to what I would prefer, or would the maple work just fine for me. My two biggest worries regarding this in general: Will the headphones be too dark? Will the headphones be too bass light, compared to what I'm used to with the alphas?

I used to have the original LCD 2, and really did not like it at all, it was way too soft in the bass for me and too dark in the treble overall. Hence why I went with alpha primes in the first place afterwards, which are truly very close to what I like and want, just a tad too much into the sharp and harsh at times. The thing is I also had a pair of Denon D-5000 which for me showed me what a great biocell dynamic driver could do for bass. I always wanted to combine that biocell bass thump with the clarity, balance and sub-bass rumble of the alphas. I also liked that D-5000 was never fatiguing or harsh, but obviously it greatly lacked detail, mids, clarity, and imaging at all lol, it just allowed anything I played to never hurt though. I hope this is enough info and details into what the last two weeks of my research has been like, and if anyone with experience using the alphas, and maybe hearing some of the music I mentioned (Periphery for metal, Phaeleh for electronic, if you look either up and listen to anything recently released that will give a good estimate to the rest of my music would sound) could help me out that would be awesome!

Hopefully others can chime in on this but I'll give my 0.02.

I have not heard Aeolus unfortunately, but I have heard blackwood Auteur and pheasantwood verite. I was A/Bing them from a local headfi user and I felt like I vastly preferred the verite for metal. I listen to bands like August Burns Red, The Ghost Inside, TDWP, etc.

Verite sounded so much faster than the Auteur. The kicks/snares/guitar chugs were so much more in sync sounding than the autuer. Almost sounded like it was struggling to keep up compared to the Verite in the speed department.

Auteur sounded more boomy in the bass, could have been the pads as I'm not sure what it had on. The verite just sounded so much cleaner and tighter. I believe the Verite had the Verite pads (flatter pads).

All of the listening was done on a CMA-400i.

 

[Monsterzero]

Tldr; I'd love to come away knowing: auteur or aeolus?

I think you'd prefer the Auteur,based upon your LCD-2 comments. The Auteur is more neutrally tuned vs. Aeolus. The Aeolus slams harder,but its also warmer sounding,not too unlike an LCD-2 type sound.
Swapping pads on the Auteur gives you very different sounding results as well.

RE: wood types

I havent heard every single wood type on all of ZMFs headphones,but ZMF has said several times that the differences in wood does not make a huge difference in sound character.
I had the Verite in silk and pheasantwood here with me at the same time. I found the differences to be rather small,and ended up choosing the pheasantwood because of the way it looked,more than anything.

 

[saxelrod92]

Hopefully others can chime in on this but I'll give my 0.02.

I have not heard Aeolus unfortunately, but I have heard blackwood Auteur and pheasantwood verite. I was A/Bing them from a local headfi user and I felt like I vastly preferred the verite for metal. I listen to bands like August Burns Red, The Ghost Inside, TDWP, etc.

Verite sounded so much faster than the Auteur. The kicks/snares/guitar chugs were so much more in sync sounding than the autuer. Almost sounded like it was struggling to keep up compared to the Verite in the speed department.

Auteur sounded more boomy in the bass, could have been the pads as I'm not sure what it had on. The verite just sounded so much cleaner and tighter. I believe the Verite had the Verite pads (flatter pads).

All of the listening was done on a CMA-400i.

I have read this in a few places, but since the verite is just too far outside my budget I can't really include it as an option. Alternatively there is also the ether c 1.1 as an option? But I dont know how that compares to zmf.

I think you'd prefer the Auteur,based upon your LCD-2 comments. The Auteur is more neutrally tuned vs. Aeolus. The Aeolus slams harder,but its also warmer sounding,not too unlike an LCD-2 type sound.
Swapping pads on the Auteur gives you very different sounding results as well.

RE: wood types

I havent heard every single wood type on all of ZMFs headphones,but ZMF has said several times that the differences in wood does not make a huge difference in sound character.
I had the Verite in silk and pheasantwood here with me at the same time. I found the differences to be rather small,and ended up choosing the pheasantwood because of the way it looked,more than anything.

Yeah I was worried the aeolus would be too close to lcd 2 for me, even after pad swaps. Which is why I mostly settled on auteur and could potentially swap pads there to tweak the sound to my liking more. As for the wood cups, I guess I should go for weight savings over potential sound changes then, since for how long I wear headphones that would probably matter more over time.

 

[Monsterzero]

I have read this in a few places, but since the verite is just too far outside my budget I can't really include it as an option. Alternatively there is also the ether c 1.1 as an option? But I dont know how that compares to zmf.



Yeah I was worried the aeolus would be too close to lcd 2 for me, even after pad swaps. Which is why I mostly settled on auteur and could potentially swap pads there to tweak the sound to my liking more. As for the wood cups, I guess I should go for weight savings over potential sound changes then, since for how long I wear headphones that would probably matter more over time.

No,I was not suggesting the Verite,rather that its the only ZMF headphone where Ive had two different wood types in front of me for an extended period of time. I was expecting a lot more difference in sound than what was actually there TBH. Does that translate to other ZMF headphones,im not sure,but based upon ZMF's comments I would believe they do.

RE: Aeolus.
I feel the Aeolus is superior sounding to the LCD-2,but it does share a similar warmth,so if warmth isnt your bag,then I'd suggest the Auteur.
Detail retrieval isnt my thing,so Ive always used the warmest,heavy slamming pads,but do not under estimate what the various pads can do to tailor the sound of these headphones. Its much more than subtle.

 

[saxelrod92]

No,I was not suggesting the Verite,rather that its the only ZMF headphone where Ive had two different wood types in front of me for an extended period of time. I was expecting a lot more difference in sound than what was actually there TBH. Does that translate to other ZMF headphones,im not sure,but based upon ZMF's comments I would believe they do.

RE: Aeolus.
I feel the Aeolus is superior sounding to the LCD-2,but it does share a similar warmth,so if warmth isnt your bag,then I'd suggest the Auteur.
Detail retrieval isnt my thing,so Ive always used the warmest,heavy slamming pads,but do not under estimate what the various pads can do to tailor the sound of these headphones. Its much more than subtle.

I was replying to the other user about the verite, since he suggested it is much faster than the auteur and thus much better suited for metal genres. Sorry if that got mixed up in my quote replies.

I do enjoy my detail, but not at the sacrifice of overall enjoyment. I like a warm tilt or at least smoother treble, but I dont like slow, dark, and soft in the bass headphones, thats what I would consider the lcd 2. I guess now I'm looking between auteur or ether c flow 1.1, as they are the same price and both the closest to my preference in sound as far as I can tell from reviews and personal experience with alpha primes.