[LCMusicLover]

NGL I was thinking about selling mine to get a Utopia but the more I think about it and actually look at them, I don’t think I feel like I could ever part with them.

I own both, and I'd sell Utopia before Auteur. Apparently I value musicality over technicality.

 

[jinxy245]

I purchased an LCD-2 back in October and was immediately disappointed upon hearing it. The dark sound signature does not work for me. For example, banjos sound so recessed with the LCD-2 that it ruins bluegrass for me. It's maddening. When I first heard my HD6XX, I also felt underwhelmed, but that faded as my ears adjusted. I thought the same thing would happen with the LCD-2, so I kept listening and essentially forced myself to be okay with it. I picked up the Sundara on a whim last month and liked it immediately. I haven’t listened to the LCD-2 since. So, I had come to terms with the fact that I just cannot stand a dark sound signature. With EQ, the LCD-2 is fantastic, but that only helps me with digital music. Half of my listening is vinyl and the LCD-2 just doesn’t get used for that. I’ve decided to part with my LCD-2 and have ALMOST settled on an Auteur. I listen to a wide variety of genres, so I need headphones that can keep up with most of them. Additionally, I picked up a Darkvoice, which has me really digging the HD6XX again. The Auteur is also appealing because it sounds like it loves tubes. I'm already planning for an upgrade OTL amp purchase. With that, I have a few questions. The auteur skews warm, but it’s not dark, correct? How does the Auteur handle extremely busy songs? Some of the comments on this thread refer to it as relaxed, which slightly concerns me. Lastly, it sounds as if the sub-bass is strong on the Auteur, but mid-bass is fantastic on the Aeolus. Is the mid-bass still decently authoritative on the Auteur? I listen to a good amount of metal and a punchy bass drum sound is important to me. I don’t think I’ll like the Aeolus though…it sounds as if it may be too warm and lush for my tastes. This would be a big purchase for me, so I need to be sure that I'm making the right decision.

I've only had an Auteur as a loaner, but IME Auteur is the least 'dark' headphone Zach has produced. Upper mids in particular are forward. more so than I usually enjoy. The "relaxed" moniker I can only attribute to the biodynamic driver, which doesn't have the speed of some other materials, but it never sounded sluggish to me at all.

Mid bass is no slouch on the Auteur either IMO, not really accented the way the Aeolus is with stock pads, it's still present & satisfying to my tastes. Which brings up that other point: bass, and other aspects of the sound signature can be tweaked a bit depending on your choice of pads.

If what you're looking for is a headphone that's not too warm & lush but is still musical, Auteur is a good bet IMO. Keep in mind I'm not familiar with the Darkvoice either, the synergy between the two will likely have an impact on your experience. I'm sure others here with more experience will chime in.

 

[jonathan c]

Auteur is neutral with great ambience and soundstage. Very natural sounding. At 300 ohms stated resistance, Auteur is a prime OTL tube h/p/a candidate: Bottlehead Crack 1.1 (with speedball etc), Woo Audio WA3 (secondhand because discontinued). High synergy with the WA3 !

 

[Barnstormer13]

I purchased an LCD-2 back in October and was immediately disappointed upon hearing it. The dark sound signature does not work for me. For example, banjos sound so recessed with the LCD-2 that it ruins bluegrass for me. It's maddening. When I first heard my HD6XX, I also felt underwhelmed, but that faded as my ears adjusted. I thought the same thing would happen with the LCD-2, so I kept listening and essentially forced myself to be okay with it. I picked up the Sundara on a whim last month and liked it immediately. I haven’t listened to the LCD-2 since. So, I had come to terms with the fact that I just cannot stand a dark sound signature. With EQ, the LCD-2 is fantastic, but that only helps me with digital music. Half of my listening is vinyl and the LCD-2 just doesn’t get used for that. I’ve decided to part with my LCD-2 and have ALMOST settled on an Auteur. I listen to a wide variety of genres, so I need headphones that can keep up with most of them. Additionally, I picked up a Darkvoice, which has me really digging the HD6XX again. The Auteur is also appealing because it sounds like it loves tubes. I'm already planning for an upgrade OTL amp purchase. With that, I have a few questions. The auteur skews warm, but it’s not dark, correct? How does the Auteur handle extremely busy songs? Some of the comments on this thread refer to it as relaxed, which slightly concerns me. Lastly, it sounds as if the sub-bass is strong on the Auteur, but mid-bass is fantastic on the Aeolus. Is the mid-bass still decently authoritative on the Auteur? I listen to a good amount of metal and a punchy bass drum sound is important to me. I don’t think I’ll like the Aeolus though…it sounds as if it may be too warm and lush for my tastes. This would be a big purchase for me, so I need to be sure that I'm making the right decision.

At least with my amp, I found the timbre of the HDXX and Auteur pretty close though the Auteur is better technically. The bass and clarity on the Auteur is much better.

 

[LoryWiv]

I purchased an LCD-2 back in October and was immediately disappointed upon hearing it. The dark sound signature does not work for me. For example, banjos sound so recessed with the LCD-2 that it ruins bluegrass for me. It's maddening. When I first heard my HD6XX, I also felt underwhelmed, but that faded as my ears adjusted. I thought the same thing would happen with the LCD-2, so I kept listening and essentially forced myself to be okay with it. I picked up the Sundara on a whim last month and liked it immediately. I haven’t listened to the LCD-2 since. So, I had come to terms with the fact that I just cannot stand a dark sound signature. With EQ, the LCD-2 is fantastic, but that only helps me with digital music. Half of my listening is vinyl and the LCD-2 just doesn’t get used for that. I’ve decided to part with my LCD-2 and have ALMOST settled on an Auteur. I listen to a wide variety of genres, so I need headphones that can keep up with most of them. Additionally, I picked up a Darkvoice, which has me really digging the HD6XX again. The Auteur is also appealing because it sounds like it loves tubes. I'm already planning for an upgrade OTL amp purchase. With that, I have a few questions. The auteur skews warm, but it’s not dark, correct? How does the Auteur handle extremely busy songs? Some of the comments on this thread refer to it as relaxed, which slightly concerns me. Lastly, it sounds as if the sub-bass is strong on the Auteur, but mid-bass is fantastic on the Aeolus. Is the mid-bass still decently authoritative on the Auteur? I listen to a good amount of metal and a punchy bass drum sound is important to me. I don’t think I’ll like the Aeolus though…it sounds as if it may be too warm and lush for my tastes. This would be a big purchase for me, so I need to be sure that I'm making the right decision.

I don't view the Auteur as warm (definitely not dark) but rather euphonic and musical. The mids are beautiful and highs don't roll off more than I would want them to to avoid listening fatigue. I have heard Utopia and certainly don't think Auteur reaches that level of micro-detail but it is quite resolving. Layering with complex music is definitely not congested. However, the aspect I enjoy most about Auteur is it it's wonderful tone. It sounds "hi-fi" but natural at the same time, a major accomplishment. Auteur rewards both relaxed as well as critical listening. In addition, driven by my Elise OTL (and likely your Darkvoice) amp. it responsds substantially to tube rolling to allow further customization of the sound.

Comparisons are tough but I can say that some years ago I owned an HD600 (back before there was an HD6XX) and Auteur has some similarities but scales up the quality. As you can tell I am very pleased with mine, YMMV.

Addendum: Pads matter. I use the stock Auteur lambskin now exclusively, but when I used the Eikon lambskin they did warm the sound, more than I wanted, and narrowed the soundstage. Perhaps that explains some of the discrepant views.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I don't view the Auteur as warm (definitely not dark) but rather euphonic and musical. The mids are beautiful and highs don't roll off more than I would want them to to avoid listening fatigue. I have heard Utopia and certainly don't think Auteur reaches that level of micro-detail but it is quite resolving. Layering with complex music is definitely not congested. However, the aspect I enjoy most about Auteur is it it's wonderful tone. It sounds "hi-fi" but natural at the same time, a major accomplishment. Auteur rewards both relaxed as well as critical listening. In addition, driven by my Elise OTL (and likely your Darkvoice) amp. it responsds substantially to tube rolling to allow further customization of the sound.

Comparisons are tough but I can say that some years ago I owned an HD600 (back before there was an HD6XX) and Auteur has some similarities but scales up the quality. As you can tell I am very pleased with mine, YMMV.

Addendum: Pads matter. I use the stock Auteur lambskin now exclusively, but when I used the Eikon lambskin they did warm the sound, more than I wanted, and narrow the soundstage. Perhaps that explains some of the discrepant views.

Amazingly, I actually agree with every word of this post (except comments about pairing with Elise which I don't have).

Like you, I was using the Auteur lambskin pads exclusively. However, I recently tried the Auteur and Eikon suede pads. To my ears, they both offered small but noticeable tweaks to the sound, though not on the order of the 'substantial customization' you mentioned in reference to tube-rolling. My initial impressions of the Auteur suede:

Auteur perf suede produce more open, airy headstage w/ increased depth. Also recesses mids and boosts sub-bass a touch (vs stock Auteur perf lambskin).

Eikon perf suede are very close -- maybe a little less effect on headstage with a little more sub-bass boost compared to Auteur suede, as well as a touch more reduction of mids. But Auteur suede vs Eikon suede is so close that the pad-swap interval makes it nearly impossible to be sure. If someone showed up with a spare Blackwood Auteur, I'm not sure I could tell the two suede pads apart in a blind test. Conversely, I'm sure I could tell the Auteur and Eikon lambskins apart.

BTW -- discrepant -- didn't even know that was a word

Cheers!

 

[Varmint Cong]

I've only had an Auteur as a loaner, but IME Auteur is the least 'dark' headphone Zach has produced. Upper mids in particular are forward. more so than I usually enjoy. The "relaxed" moniker I can only attribute to the biodynamic driver, which doesn't have the speed of some other materials, but it never sounded sluggish to me at all.

Mid bass is no slouch on the Auteur either IMO, not really accented the way the Aeolus is with stock pads, it's still present & satisfying to my tastes. Which brings up that other point: bass, and other aspects of the sound signature can be tweaked a bit depending on your choice of pads.

If what you're looking for is a headphone that's not too warm & lush but is still musical, Auteur is a good bet IMO. Keep in mind I'm not familiar with the Darkvoice either, the synergy between the two will likely have an impact on your experience. I'm sure others here with more experience will chime in.

At least with my amp, I found the timbre of the HDXX and Auteur pretty close though the Auteur is better technically. The bass and clarity on the Auteur is much better.

I don't view the Auteur as warm (definitely not dark) but rather euphonic and musical. The mids are beautiful and highs don't roll off more than I would want them to to avoid listening fatigue. I have heard Utopia and certainly don't think Auteur reaches that level of micro-detail but it is quite resolving. Layering with complex music is definitely not congested. However, the aspect I enjoy most about Auteur is it it's wonderful tone. It sounds "hi-fi" but natural at the same time, a major accomplishment. Auteur rewards both relaxed as well as critical listening. In addition, driven by my Elise OTL (and likely your Darkvoice) amp. it responsds substantially to tube rolling to allow further customization of the sound.

Comparisons are tough but I can say that some years ago I owned an HD600 (back before there was an HD6XX) and Auteur has some similarities but scales up the quality. As you can tell I am very pleased with mine, YMMV.

Addendum: Pads matter. I use the stock Auteur lambskin now exclusively, but when I used the Eikon lambskin they did warm the sound, more than I wanted, and narrowed the soundstage. Perhaps that explains some of the discrepant views.

This all confirms my gut feeling that the Auteur is probably a good fit for my tastes. The fact that it can be rewarding for both relaxed and critical listening is especially compelling. It sounds like it will be a solid all-arounder for me. I'm going to get the process started soon. The wait is going to feel like an eternity, I'm sure!

 

[Marutks]

I have heard Utopia and certainly don't think Auteur reaches that level of micro-detail but it is quite resolving.

Does Verite reach that level of micro-detail?

 

[Barnstormer13]

Does Verite reach that level of micro-detail?

The Verite certainly has the most microdetail of all the ZMFs. I haven’t heard the Utopia, but reviewers I trust suggest the Utopia has just a touch more. That said, once you get to that level, there are other factors which are more important, such as how good is the synergy with the rest of the system.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

The Verite certainly has the most microdetail of all the ZMFs. I haven’t heard the Utopia, but reviewers I trust suggest the Utopia has just a touch more. That said, once you get to that level, there are other factors which are more important, such as how good is the synergy with the rest of the system.

count me agree so much with this statement

 

[AngryTank]

This all confirms my gut feeling that the Auteur is probably a good fit for my tastes. The fact that it can be rewarding for both relaxed and critical listening is especially compelling. It sounds like it will be a solid all-arounder for me. I'm going to get the process started soon. The wait is going to feel like an eternity, I'm sure!

I upgraded from an Elex which was my standard for an all rounder headphone prior, but I wanted to step it up a notch and I ended up with the Auteur as it felt like what I wanted. It definitely is an enjoyable headphone that I would consider an All-Rounder but I want to see what’s on the other side of the spectrums.

 

[S0undJunk1e]

Currently using the Eikon right now, can anyone tell me if the Auteur has "hashy" treble like the Eikon does? The ZMF website says it's "less hashy" than the Eikon. I definitely want zero hash though. Also, I notice that the Eikon seems to get pretty blurred with complex passages, can the Auteur maintain it's layering and separation on busier tracks or are the individual parts still hard to pick out?

 

[kid vic]

Currently using the Eikon right now, can anyone tell me if the Auteur has "hashy" treble like the Eikon does? The ZMF website says it's "less hashy" than the Eikon. I definitely want zero hash though. Also, I notice that the Eikon seems to get pretty blurred with complex passages, can the Auteur maintain it's layering and separation on busier tracks or are the individual parts still hard to pick out?

Depending on the pads your currently using, swapping to the suede Auteur pads or the the hybrid Auteur pads might solve the congestion and treble issues. The Auteur pads will widen and deepen the sound stage while the suede will smooth out/refine the treble. A cheaper method to consider.

 

[S0undJunk1e]

I did some pad rolling on a pair of blackwoods and that did not go well at all. Plus I buy second hand, so it'll only cost a little more than a pad swap to get an Auteur. I just went back to some older tubes on my amp and that seems to have fixed the treble issue.

 

[S0undJunk1e]

I run the Auteur and Echo combo, it's terrific. Like you said, Resolving AND Musical.

How does this combo do with complicated arrangements or fast music? I am using a Feliks Espressivo and I'm thinking about an Auteur.