[oldmankensey]

I have an Auteur OG, the sound of which I truly enjoy and feel to be quite special: not perfect, special. Not wanting to give up that attribute but desirous of Atrium’s virtues, I saved up for Atrium. Now both coexist ‘chez moi’.

That was my thinking, instead of making an Auteur sound like an Atrium…just get an Atrium! I lucked out blind-buying the Auteur but I’m not sure I want to necessarily do that again, given the cost.

 

[jonathan c]

ZMF Auteur: LTD Stabilised Takwin;
Cable: Forza Audio Works Noir Hybrid;
Amp / Tubes: Woo Audio WA3 / Chatham JAN 5998, Western Electric 396A (2C51);
Lyrics: “Wait” (Lennon / McCartney).

 

[haasaaroni]

That was my thinking, instead of making an Auteur sound like an Atrium…just get an Atrium! I lucked out blind-buying the Auteur but I’m not sure I want to necessarily do that again, given the cost.

Any chance you live near someone who owns a pair so you can try one out? If I blind bought the Atrium, I would have ended up selling it because it doesn’t fit my preferences, despite the rave reviews and positive feedback.

 

[ThanatosVI]

ZMF Auteur: LTD Stabilised Takwin;
Cable: Forza Audio Works Noir Hybrid;
Amp / Tubes: Woo Audio WA3 / Chatham JAN 5998, Western Electric 396A (2C51);
Lyrics: “Wait” (Lennon / McCartney).

Really nice LTD Auteur

 

[dbull12]

For those of you who have had or extensively tried the Auteur Classic in both a soft wood and a hard wood / stabilized, how noticeable is the difference in sound? I gravitate towards warmer headphones like my Atticus and 6XX, but I really want the AuC as a complement to those. If softer woods take a little bit of treble energy away while still retaining good clarity and air then I might go for the upcoming redwood burl, but if there's not much difference or if people feel they really shine with harder woods then I'll probably wait it out til November for a stabilized one. I appreciate any insights!

 

[haasaaroni]

For those of you who have had or extensively tried the Auteur Classic in both a soft wood and a hard wood / stabilized, how noticeable is the difference in sound? I gravitate towards warmer headphones like my Atticus and 6XX, but I really want the AuC as a complement to those. If softer woods take a little bit of treble energy away while still retaining good clarity and air then I might go for the upcoming redwood burl, but if there's not much difference or if people feel they really shine with harder woods then I'll probably wait it out til November for a stabilized one. I appreciate any insights!

I think in general, the harder woods actually have the darker tonality compared with lighter woods. That was certainly the case with my Wenge (relatively dense and heavy) vs Black Limba (a very light hardwood). The Wenge pair also had a much more immediate sound with greater impact, and it had a smaller soundstage as well. I think the lighter you go, the more perceived space there is, as well as a bit more treble energy from the cup resonance.

Do keep in mind that this is with the OG Auteur, not the Classic.

 

[Monsterzero]

I think in general, the harder woods actually have the darker tonality compared with lighter woods. That was certainly the case with my Wenge (relatively dense and heavy) vs Black Limba (a very light hardwood). The Wenge pair also had a much more immediate sound with greater impact, and it had a smaller soundstage as well. I think the lighter you go, the more perceived space there is, as well as a bit more treble energy from the cup resonance.

Do keep in mind that this is with the OG Auteur, not the Classic.

On the Atrium closed, the harder wood has a bit more sparkle up top vs the softer wood.

 

[Tshiknn]

These came in a couple days ago, and oh god, aren't they pretty? This is the new LTD ash.
This is the first pair of kilobuck+ headphones I've bought after several years in the hobby and eartime with a lot of amazing systems. These can hold their own in any company, that's for sure. I don't have any super expensive amps, but I'm finding these run pretty well off my Jot2.

 

[LXMc]

These came in a couple days ago, and oh god, aren't they pretty? This is the new LTD ash.
This is the first pair of kilobuck+ headphones I've bought after several years in the hobby and eartime with a lot of amazing systems. These can hold their own in any company, that's for sure. I don't have any super expensive amps, but I'm finding these run pretty well off my Jot2.

Wow, those came fast! Didn't they just go live on the site this week (outside of copies at Canjam)? Either way, congrats on a great looking set of a great headphone.

 

[haasaaroni]

These came in a couple days ago, and oh god, aren't they pretty? This is the new LTD ash.
This is the first pair of kilobuck+ headphones I've bought after several years in the hobby and eartime with a lot of amazing systems. These can hold their own in any company, that's for sure. I don't have any super expensive amps, but I'm finding these run pretty well off my Jot2.

Looks like you got the cover model from the website! Man these look sweet. Enjoy the beautifully natural Auteur sound!!

 

[heliosphann]

For those of you who have had or extensively tried the Auteur Classic in both a soft wood and a hard wood / stabilized, how noticeable is the difference in sound? I gravitate towards warmer headphones like my Atticus and 6XX, but I really want the AuC as a complement to those. If softer woods take a little bit of treble energy away while still retaining good clarity and air then I might go for the upcoming redwood burl, but if there's not much difference or if people feel they really shine with harder woods then I'll probably wait it out til November for a stabilized one. I appreciate any insights!

Exactly two years ago today I wrote about comparing the Teak and Blackwood Auteur OG's I used to have:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-auteur-thread.862918/post-16457308

 

[dbull12]

I think in general, the harder woods actually have the darker tonality compared with lighter woods. That was certainly the case with my Wenge (relatively dense and heavy) vs Black Limba (a very light hardwood). The Wenge pair also had a much more immediate sound with greater impact, and it had a smaller soundstage as well. I think the lighter you go, the more perceived space there is, as well as a bit more treble energy from the cup resonance.

Do keep in mind that this is with the OG Auteur, not the Classic.

Exactly two years ago today I wrote about comparing the Teak and Blackwood Auteur OG's I used to have:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-auteur-thread.862918/post-16457308

Thanks! This'll be a pretty tough decision then haha. On the one hand it would be nice to have the bigger stage with the softer wood to make them more different from my Atticus, but on the other hand based on what I've read I probably wouldn't mind making the AuC just a touch darker sounding, and since richness and lushness are some of the main reasons I love ZMF, getting more of that from the harder wood is appealing.

Hopefully this isn't opening up a whole other can of worms, but is there any reason to expect a pair of stabilized headphones w/ resin to sound any different than a normal wood set with a very similar hardness?

 

[Tshiknn]

Wow, those came fast! Didn't they just go live on the site this week (outside of copies at Canjam)? Either way, congrats on a great looking set of a great headphone.

I had been in contact with Zach for a couple months angling for one of the LTD sets, so I think these got shipped out as soon as they were done photographing them for the website. Big thanks to him for being communicative and helping me get my hands on a really pretty set

Looks like you got the cover model from the website! Man these look sweet. Enjoy the beautifully natural Auteur sound!!

I believe so! I sure am enjoying it so far! They are really versatile and they just sound super vivid and colorful and alive.

 

[heliosphann]

Thanks! This'll be a pretty tough decision then haha. On the one hand it would be nice to have the bigger stage with the softer wood to make them more different from my Atticus, but on the other hand based on what I've read I probably wouldn't mind making the AuC just a touch darker sounding, and since richness and lushness are some of the main reasons I love ZMF, getting more of that from the harder wood is appealing.

Hopefully this isn't opening up a whole other can of worms, but is there any reason to expect a pair of stabilized headphones w/ resin to sound any different than a normal wood set with a very similar hardness?

Especially for the Classic, I'd probably just go with what looks best to you. The differences will be pretty minimal, most likely even more so since the Classic has the Atrium Dampening system.

I believe the majority of the stabilized sets are going to be in the high 2000's of the Janka scale, regardless of their wood species.

 

[haasaaroni]

Especially for the Classic, I'd probably just go with what looks best to you.

Agreed! Looks and weight, if that’s a concern. You can always pad roll to change the sound in a different way too.