[Monsterzero]

I've heard so many differing reports on this, that perhaps it's best not to comment on it without firsthand experience. I know someone here who owns a blackwood VO and says it's his favorite ZMF. Another owns the silkwood VO and says its HIS favorite ZMF. And yet another who prefers medium density woods in general because they straddle the line.

All I know is that from the Hot Cup Summer offerings, that walnut crotch burl VO would look mighty fine next to my Pendant SE

I feel that it mostly boils down to system synergy for each owner. If you have a tight, clean, revealing system I can see where some might appreciate the longer decay factor of a softer wood ZMF, whereas if you have a warm, romantic sounding chain I can see where some might prefer the tighter, snappier sound of a hard wood.

And then of course you have some owners who do not believe in such a thing as "too warm" or "too analytical" who may prefer a softer wood on a warm system or a harder wood on a brighter system.

Finally when you factor in the various ways we each hear things, combined with the various contradictory reports out there, it makes sense.

I feel that the fine folks at ZMF cover all of the bases between the various wood types and pad options, there is something that will float most listener's boat.

 

[Tshiknn]

One thing I've been surprised by is how picky the Auteur is with seal. I thought my hearing on my right side was a lot worse than I thought; turns out I just didn't have the headphone seated quite right on that side, which created a hole in the treble. Crisis averted!!

Anyway, a couple weeks into ownership, and this thing might be my desert island pick. I'm especially impressed with how good they are for classical and orchestral recordings, which just seem super natural and lifelike. I haven't really heard a pair of headphones that nail classical music like these do. Also the resolution seems pretty good? I had heard people say these aren't the most resolving, but they seem pretty sufficient for most applications, although stats and planars are certainly smoother and with less of a tendency to get grainy. I got these over the Caldera out of budget consciousness, but I think I might prefer them for daily use regardless! I guess I won't need to buy another headphone for quite some time, although I'm sure eventually I'll catch the bug again.

 

[Daiyama]

I currently have the BE2 pads on the Auteur. I'm going to put on the Auteur and Eikon pads again, because according to the ZMF Pad Chart I'm almost in Aeolus dimensions in terms of "warmth" and see if that's really the direction I want to go.

 

[oldmankensey]

One thing I've been surprised by is how picky the Auteur is with seal. I thought my hearing on my right side was a lot worse than I thought; turns out I just didn't have the headphone seated quite right on that side, which created a hole in the treble. Crisis averted!!

Anyway, a couple weeks into ownership, and this thing might be my desert island pick. I'm especially impressed with how good they are for classical and orchestral recordings, which just seem super natural and lifelike. I haven't really heard a pair of headphones that nail classical music like these do. Also the resolution seems pretty good? I had heard people say these aren't the most resolving, but they seem pretty sufficient for most applications, although stats and planars are certainly smoother and with less of a tendency to get grainy. I got these over the Caldera out of budget consciousness, but I think I might prefer them for daily use regardless! I guess I won't need to buy another headphone for quite some time, although I'm sure eventually I'll catch the bug again.

Agreed that classical is pure magic on Auteur.

 

[Deleeh]

I currently have the BE2 pads on the Auteur. I'm going to put on the Auteur and Eikon pads again, because according to the ZMF Pad Chart I'm almost in Aeolus dimensions in terms of "warmth" and see if that's really the direction I want to go.

The Aeolus is a little deeper in the midrange and darker in its tuning as well.
I am not sure if you will like that.
I had both on the table (the Aeolus was on loan in Sapele).
My preference was clearly for the Auteur, but I missed a bit of the bass from the Aeolus.

If it should be the Aeolus you should be sure that you have a system that is rather neutrally tuned, because the Aeolus goes in the warm direction.
You should be able to get a handle on this with the Cayin ha 3A you have, I think.

The Aeolus was not necessarily wrong but not mine on the Feliks Euforia.
I also found it a little tired over time.

If you go through the reviews before the Atrium came out, the VO was the perfect counterpart to the Auteur OG.
VO was more or less an Auteur, only better with more bite in all regions.
The Aeolus was more of a starter at that time.
Just to mention the historical side of Zmf.

To put it bluntly.
VO,VC AO,AC,Caldera would be an upgrade upwards,the Aeolus without speaking badly a matter of opinion.
Many find it good and others don't.Like everything else.

 

[oldmankensey]

Yeah if I consider a “counterpart” headphone to OG Auteur I’m wondering if I should go VO or VC.

 

[Daiyama]

I know in terms of technicalities the Aeolus won‘t be an upgrade to the Auteur, but I am not sure if I am looking for higher technicalities within ZMF. I have a bunch of other headphones with high technicalities.
Aeolus is praised for its outstanding musicality and that is what I am more aiming with ZMF headphones.

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,

it's their decision at the end of the day.
You decide what you want to buy in the end,sure the Aeolus is from the Sob a beauty where just offered,so why not.
A softer wood might even suit it a bit more.

I hope the Aeolus satisfies you.

 

[Daiyama]

There is just one small obstacle, the VC redwood burl looks so damn sexy…

 

[haasaaroni]

In response to @kRed from the Aeolus forum, on comparing the Auteur Classic with the HD 600…

I find the Auteur Classic to do almost everything better. Wider, deeper, more 3-densinonal soundstage, much better impact, clearly superior detail retrieval with both greater texture and sense of reverb and space around each instrument/voice, and of course a much better-extended bass. The whole frequency response is also more balanced to my ears, not as mid-forward, and everything has a more realistic sense of warmth and “bloom” (I don’t know what other word to use there).

Where I find the HD 600 pulls ahead is in two areas: timbre and vocal intimacy. Voices and instruments aren’t as detailed, but they do seem to more realistically portray timbre. There’s some unevenness in the treble of the Auteur Classic I hear in comparison that pulls details out better, but adds some artificiality. It’s very minor though, and I only notice it as a classical guitarist with guitarists’ recordings that I know very well. And then because of the mid-forwardness of the 600, voices are even further upfront and intimate. That coupled with their excellent timbre really makes voices a fantastic experience.

I hope that helps! I’m curious if other people have similar impressions.

Side note: I like the Auteur Classic better from the 8 ohm tap of my Pendant SE, while the HD 600 is better from the 100 ohm tap. FWIW.

 

[zach915m]

HCSOB is now live for the auteur classic: https://shop.zmfheadphones.com/collections/hot-cup-summer/products/copy-of-h-c-s-o-b-auteur-classic

The auteur has a warm place in my heart - yes even the new "classic" version - because it was the first open back proprietary headphone I tuned after all the Fostex t50 mods. I think the reason I named it the classic is because to me it'll always be the classic, the OG, the first ZMF open back design, and what I consider "ZMF Neutral" ; more-so than any other model we make!

 

[shafat777]

Helly yeah @zach915m I remember when you first released that headphone. I have all our emails saved leading up to my purchase. It was my first ever high end hp at the time. It was an eye opening experience. Its still my favorite zmf hp to date, specially for its sentimental values

 

[jonathan c]

[ZMF Auteur: Stabilised Takwin]

 

[MacMan31]

In response to @kRed from the Aeolus forum, on comparing the Auteur Classic with the HD 600…

I find the Auteur Classic to do almost everything better. Wider, deeper, more 3-densinonal soundstage, much better impact, clearly superior detail retrieval with both greater texture and sense of reverb and space around each instrument/voice, and of course a much better-extended bass. The whole frequency response is also more balanced to my ears, not as mid-forward, and everything has a more realistic sense of warmth and “bloom” (I don’t know what other word to use there).

Where I find the HD 600 pulls ahead is in two areas: timbre and vocal intimacy. Voices and instruments aren’t as detailed, but they do seem to more realistically portray timbre. There’s some unevenness in the treble of the Auteur Classic I hear in comparison that pulls details out better, but adds some artificiality. It’s very minor though, and I only notice it as a classical guitarist with guitarists’ recordings that I know very well. And then because of the mid-forwardness of the 600, voices are even further upfront and intimate. That coupled with their excellent timbre really makes voices a fantastic experience.

I hope that helps! I’m curious if other people have similar impressions.

Side note: I like the Auteur Classic better from the 8 ohm tap of my Pendant SE, while the HD 600 is better from the 100 ohm tap. FWIW.

I also have the HD600 as well as ZMF Aeolus. But I really want an Auteur. Especially one of these limited versions. But at over $2,300 Canadian I find it difficult to justify the price. My amps are a Singxer SA1 and Feliks Audio Echo MK2 with Bifrost 2 DAC.

 

[oldmankensey]

I have the Auteur with Echo 2 and Bifrost 2. It’s a wonderful combination.

I also found the Auteur to be a massive upgrade over HD600. Can’t speak to Aeolus.