[LCMusicLover]

I’m a little bit obsessed with the Blackwood Auteur with brushed aluminum grilles and rods. I’ve come very close to buying some other variations, but this combo is what I’m holding out for. If anyone decides to sell this combo, please shoot me a PM!

I think Blackwoods only come with black or brass grills. IIRC those were the options available while they were being produced.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I’ve seen a couple with brushed aluminum grilles/rods out in the wild. It’s very likely a rare combination, so it’s going to be hard to track down a pair.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I love the contrast of the dark wood and silver grilles.

 

[BananaOoyoo]

Yeah the Blackwood/brushed aluminum looks nice. I had the opportunity to get a Blackwood/black one before, but that was a bit too dark imo.

 

[mwhals]

I have Blackwood with black grills.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I love the contrast of the dark wood and silver grilles.

+1

 

[ProfFalkin]

I’m a little bit obsessed with the Blackwood Auteur with brushed aluminum grilles and rods. I’ve come very close to buying some other variations, but this combo is what I’m holding out for. If anyone decides to sell this combo, please shoot me a PM!

My friend has one. I've listened to it many many times. Mine is cocobolo. I've heard other woods on Auteur as well.

I must say, if you sit and do super detailed comparisons between mine and his, I think the Blackwood wins by a tiny bit*.

* For my preferences, ymmv, imo, Baskins fed her husband to the tigers, and the bowl of petunias thought "not again"...

 

[BananaOoyoo]

My friend has one. I've listened to it many many times. Mine is cocobolo. I've heard other woods on Auteur as well.

I must say, if you sit and do super detailed comparisons between mine and his, I think the Blackwood wins by a tiny bit*.

* For my preferences, ymmv, imo, Baskins fed her husband to the tigers, and the bowl of petunias thought "not again"...

I also went for the cocobolo. I know some people prefer harder/softer woods, but differences are pretty negligible - imo to the point where once you’ve picked out the specific headphone model you want, aesthetics should come before sonic differences.

 

[eatpeace]

Just got the tracking notification for the (vegan, maple, mag, ofc) auteurs I've been eagerly awaiting. I'm SO excited. Have an adi-2 dac here and a vali-2 w/ which I'll be pairing them. I've seamlessly switched from compulsively checking the zmf auteur spreadsheet to compulsively checking the fedex tracking status

Will circle back next week to share some early impressions

 

[ProfFalkin]

I also went for the cocobolo. I know some people prefer harder/softer woods, but differences are pretty negligible - imo to the point where once you’ve picked out the specific headphone model you want, aesthetics should come before sonic differences.

I'll agree with that. Unless you can sit and directly compare it, you would never know there was a microscopic difference.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Hugo2go ==> Blackwood Auteur is very listenable. Excellent headstage w/ lots of detail. Plenty of power — playing between ‘yellow’ and ‘green’.

Iron & Wine/Calexico ‘The Bitter Suite’ really sounds great:

 

[Unprogrammable]

Hello, I'm considering on purchasing s zmf can, but kinda lost as to which one, I listen to mostly metal like funeral doom, black and death for like most of the time.

I also indulge in jazz and goa trance, so yea all my music is kinda fast, aggressive, complex with layers.

I don't like my sound to be too warm. The reason I'm posting in the auetuer thread is I've read they are kinda bright and neutral which I prefer, however I also read that they are more of a relaxed and smooth sound that you can chill. Will metal work out to the contrary of its laid back presentation?

Which zmf would suit the kinda music I listen to? Any advice would be great

Thanks
Peace

 

[LCMusicLover]

Hello, I'm considering on purchasing s zmf can, but kinda lost as to which one, I listen to mostly metal like funeral doom, black and death for like most of the time.

I also indulge in jazz and goa trance, so yea all my music is kinda fast, aggressive, complex with layers.

I don't like my sound to be too warm. The reason I'm posting in the auetuer thread is I've read they are kinda bright and neutral which I prefer, however I also read that they are more of a relaxed and smooth sound that you can chill. Will metal work out to the contrary of its laid back presentation?

Which zmf would suit the kinda music I listen to? Any advice would be great

Thanks
Peace

Harder, denser wood and smaller pores (like my Blackwood) will reduce the 'laid-backness' of Auteur. Of the woods which have been used so far, Blackwood, Cocobolo and Bocote (I think) are the LTD editions which lean that direction. I think you want to avoid Teak, which is much softer and seems to change the character of the cans quite a bit.

Also, Auteur can be a chameleon with different amps. With the 'right' SS amp, they can be even less chill. I'm guessing Schiit amps will take you where you want to go. Note that while Auteur are not very demanding, they do prefer an amp with some headroom. 97 dB sensitivity @ 300 Ohms is pretty 'middle-of-the-road' as far as efficiency for full-sized cans. My Auteur have been great out of Liquid Platinum, DSHA-3F, Bryston BHA-1, Violectric V280 and Soundware P1. They also work well out of most of my DAPs (Cowon Plenue II Mk 2, Hiby R6 Pro, Opus #2). They were a bit under-powered from my OG Plenue II. Very good out of Hugo 2/2go.

While I don't listen to much (any) of the Metal genre you mention, I do indulge in a bit of Trance and a fair amount of Jazz. Auteur are quite pleasing for those genre. They are my Goldilocks cans.

 

[wishbon3]

I don't think I could ever get rid of this beauty.

 

[LevPush]

Hello, I'm considering on purchasing s zmf can, but kinda lost as to which one, I listen to mostly metal like funeral doom, black and death for like most of the time.

I also indulge in jazz and goa trance, so yea all my music is kinda fast, aggressive, complex with layers.

I don't like my sound to be too warm. The reason I'm posting in the auetuer thread is I've read they are kinda bright and neutral which I prefer, however I also read that they are more of a relaxed and smooth sound that you can chill. Will metal work out to the contrary of its laid back presentation?

Which zmf would suit the kinda music I listen to? Any advice would be great

Thanks
Peace

I feel Aeolus might suit you better. Auteur IMO is more relaxed and has better soundstage, which suits better for classical and liive jazz. Aeolus feels more energetic and music being more "pushed" to you. Verite is darker than Auteur from my experience, so probably not what you are looking for as well.