[Nuge]

Listening to my Blackwood Auteur's on a Liquid Spark and it's a damn impressive combo. It feels kinda strange using a tiny $99 amp with the Auteur's, but the only thing that really matters is the end result. And this one is a winner.

I can back this up. The mids on this combo are fantastic, voices are fantastic. And the overall tone is liquid. I don't find the combo too laid back or harsh, so it's a great middle ground.

 

[sp33ls]

@zach915m snuck one OG Auteur in the drop tomorrow. It’s probably the last chance to get one from ZMF directly. It’s a very handsome set! Did anyone else notice it?

I did not, but I did notice that Zach sneaked in a couple of Eikons for this morning! :O

 

[jonathan c]

I did not, but I did notice that Zach sneaked in a couple of Eikons for this morning! :O

…. “Hurr-ee, hurr-ee, hurr-ee … step right up!”

 

[KD637]

Same here (again).

Just threw Auteur Hybrid on my Blackwood Classic w/ solid mesh. Frankly not surprised that they fall in between Auteur Lamb & Auteur Suede. I hear only pretty small differences between the three. If forced to rank them, Suede and Lamb are different, but about even. Hybrid comes in 3rd due to ‘neither fish nor fowl’, meaning not as bright/detailed/airy as lamb, but not gaining as much bottom/warmth as suede.

I guess I should thank you. After about 12 pad swaps I decided to finally bite the bullet and changed my Auteur Classic’s closed mesh for the radial vented mesh I had ordered at the same time I upgraded — 3+ months ago. In my defense, I had to do the Elite/Atrium show-down, and then had love affairs w/ both new ZMFs, needed someone to motivate me to experiment.

So … drum roll please … my favorite setup for Classic Auteur is now radial mesh with Eikon Suede or Lamb pads. And it’s not close. Eikon pads still add bass and warmth, but highs aren’t rolled off and vocals really pop out. It’ll take a while to figure out which Eikon pads are preferred. Surprisingly, lamb is noticeably brighter, maybe a bit too much, so right now suede is slightly in the lead. But both are great listens.

And still Deadphone Supreme!

Listening to He’s Gone from Live Album Collection/Amsterdam 1972 on Tidal. Every element of the track is beautifully presented, neither hiding nor overwhelming — guitars, keyboards, vocals, percussion, bass line — all come together to form a natural and coherent whole. Doesn’t sound ‘mixed together’ — sounds ‘live’.

Just for grins I tried radial mesh/Auteur Hybrid — definitely doesn’t work for me. Too much top, not enough bottom. At this point I wish I’d ordered another Auteur Lambskin w/ my Atrium — originals show their age. Oh well — just ordered a replacement set.

For all of this my comparison chains were:

Tidal on Volumio streamer (S/PDIF coax out) ==>

mTT2 (1/4 inch out) ==> Auteur
mTT2 (bal out) ==> DSHA-3F (bal out) ==> Auteur
mTT2 (bal out) ==> Liquid Gold X (bal out) ==> Auteur
mScaler (opt out) ==> (DAC in) Liquid Gold X (bal out) ==> Auteur
mTT2 (rca out) ==> Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball (1/4 inch) ==> Auteur
mTT2 (rca out) ==> Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball (1/4 inch-to-rca) ==> Liquid Gold X (bal out) ==> Auteur

Nothing really moved in terms of preferences, but differences between pads changed a fair amount with different chains, though not in a particularly consistent manner.

Note that all these pads are perforated.

hey man, i see you have the TT2 and i am wondering if you ever tried the auteur on a tube amp like the euphoria ? i am currently hesitating between euphoria evo or tt2 to pair with my pair of auteur classic, i don't have the mscaler and i'm currently using a mojo 2 as my dac.

 

[KD637]

i just got my pair of classics yesterday and i wanted to share with you guys how much i love this headphone ! i paired them with an audiosensibility 7N OCC copper cable, this headphone truly is remarkable! the only thing left to truly enjoy them is a hugo TT2 or a euphoria !

 

[LCMusicLover]

hey man, i see you have the TT2 and i am wondering if you ever tried the auteur on a tube amp like the euphoria ? i am currently hesitating between euphoria evo or tt2 to pair with my pair of auteur classic, i don't have the mscaler and i'm currently using a mojo 2 as my dac.

I’ve owned Auteur since its introduction, so it has seen lots of equipment go by. And I upgraded to ‘Classic’ soon after the upgrade was offered. Amps:

DSHA-3F
Liquid Platinum
Liquid Gold X
Audio-gd Master 11 (DAC-amp w/ XLR in to class A amp)
TT2
Hugo 2
Bottlehead Crack (highly modded)
Violectric V280
Bryston BHA-1
Romi Audio BX-2 plus (portable balanced Class A)
Liquid Carbon X

I really enjoy my Auteur (and Atrium) from this chain:

Volumio ==> mTT2 (RCA out) ==> BHC ==> ZMF

As for TT2 vs Euphoria, that’s a bit of ‘apples vs kumquats’. I mean w/ the TT2 you’re buying a high-end DAC coupled with a good neutral SS amp, while with Euphoria you’re buying a high-end tube amp, full stop.

I’ve never heard the Mojo, so no opinion on that vs TT2. I assume TT2 would be a big step up, but we know about ‘assume’.

Finally (about time), I hear Auteur as the most amp-sensitive cans I’ve owned. I don’t say ‘amp-picky’ because I don’t hear that — in fact I’ve never heard an Auteur-amp pairing I disliked. But, to my ears, different amps can really move the Auteur sound around. So

Volumio ==> mTT2 (XLR out) ==> DSHA-3F ==> Auteur
and
Volumio ==> mTT2 (RCA out) ==> BHC ==> Auteur

sound quite different, but equally pleasing.

 

[KD637]

I’ve owned Auteur since its introduction, so it has seen lots of equipment go by. And I upgraded to ‘Classic’ soon after the upgrade was offered. Amps:

DSHA-3F
Liquid Platinum
Liquid Gold X
Audio-gd Master 11 (DAC-amp w/ XLR in to class A amp)
TT2
Hugo 2
Bottlehead Crack (highly modded)
Violectric V280
Bryston BHA-1
Romi Audio BX-2 plus (portable balanced Class A)
Liquid Carbon X

I really enjoy my Auteur (and Atrium) from this chain:

Volumio ==> mTT2 (RCA out) ==> BHC ==> ZMF

As for TT2 vs Euphoria, that’s a bit of ‘apples vs kumquats’. I mean w/ the TT2 you’re buying a high-end DAC coupled with a good neutral SS amp, while with Euphoria you’re buying a high-end tube amp, full stop.

I’ve never heard the Mojo, so no opinion on that vs TT2. I assume TT2 would be a big step up, but we know about ‘assume’.

Finally (about time), I hear Auteur as the most amp-sensitive cans I’ve owned. I don’t say ‘amp-picky’ because I don’t hear that — in fact I’ve never heard an Auteur-amp pairing I disliked. But, to my ears, different amps can really move the Auteur sound around. So

Volumio ==> mTT2 (XLR out) ==> DSHA-3F ==> Auteur
and
Volumio ==> mTT2 (RCA out) ==> BHC ==> Auteur

sound quite different, but equally pleasing.

Thank you very much for your clear and detailed answer, yes i also think a TT2 would be a big step up but since you say the classic respond well to amp switching i think i might go for a euphoria more than a TT2 because of tube rolling, the TT2 can come in later.
would you say the TT2 is the best dac you ever heard ?

 

[robo24]

hey man, i see you have the TT2 and i am wondering if you ever tried the auteur on a tube amp like the euphoria ? i am currently hesitating between euphoria evo or tt2 to pair with my pair of auteur classic, i don't have the mscaler and i'm currently using a mojo 2 as my dac.

I had the TT2 for awhile and while it's an excellent DAC, with it's extremely low output impedance it's not great when used with ZMFs directly. I don't know what the evo costs but you could get the Qutest and an excellent tube amp for the price of the TT2, especially if you find a used Qutest. As the TT2 comes across somewhat bright and the Auteur is also brighter for a ZMF, I think it's an especially meh combo.

TT2 can be good for hard to drive planars, and the DAC itself is definitely a step up from the Hugo2 (which is basically the Qutest as far as DAC) it isn't a massive jump. Personally I'd say go for the evo and if you're not happy with the Mojo 2 with it, move up from there. (Though the Mojo 1 was very good DAC and I'd spend money on upgraded tubes first). Others, including Zach, have recommend the Sonnet Morpheus DAC (which he also sells) and when I got a used one and A/B'ed with the TT2 driving a tube amp it was every bit as good, with a bit more body to the sound. Sold the TT2 and got a good amount of money back even after paying for the used Morpheus.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Thank you very much for your clear and detailed answer…

You’re welcome

would you say the TT2 is the best dac you ever heard ?

I’ve owned or demoed:

Ares | Pontus | Oppo Sonica | Gumby x2 (A1 & A2) | Yggy | Soekris 2541 | Hugo 2 | TT2 | Audio-gd Master 11 (1704-based)

Honestly, I just don’t hear enough difference between the best of these to pick a ‘best ever’. But I am quite happy with the TT2 — it’s the only DAC I’m using now w/ my main system except the Audio-gd M-11 DAC/amp.

 

[KD637]

Ok guys thanks a lot for all the valuable insights you gave me. The best thing to do would be to find a place where i can demo the euphoria with my classics and mojo 2 before purchase though

 

[LCMusicLover]

Ok guys thanks a lot for all the valuable insights you gave me. The best thing to do would be to find a place where i can demo the euphoria with my classics and mojo 2 before purchase though

Demoing is definitely the best plan given the amount you'll be spending on that amp. I bought my mTT2 local (well, if 85 miles qualifies as local) -- never would have spent that much on gear without a demo.

As for a DAC, the Qutest is a good choice, or you could look for a Bitfrost 2 or a used Gumby (for around $900). I liked my Gumby(s) very much -- I think it's a good value, although the Bifrost 2 is close for a couple $hundred less.

I don't think you need to upgrade your DAC prior to buying the amp though -- while the Mojo 2 might not get you to the 'pinnacle', it won't really hold you back (much).

 

[KD637]

85 miles is starting to really stretch the meaning of local haha, the main issue is finding a store demoing the unit, i think i'm going to make a post on a local site to see if anyone with the euphoria would be keen on letting me try theirs. hopefully it will be closer than 85 miles !

well the cool thing about the quetest is i can hook it up to an M scaler later if i want to upgrade it later so it's the main competitor especially given that i have the mojo 2 and really enjoy it alot so qutest is the main contender.

Like you said the DAC will be for later, i'll let you guys know when/if i try the euphoria how it played out on my classics !

Again, thanks for the nice and useful advices !

 

[MacMan31]

Finally managed to get a set of Auteur in blackwood. Just waiting for them to arrive. Bought a used set from someone on Canuck Audio Mart (CAM). I believe it is the original and not the updated version.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Finally managed to get a set of Auteur in blackwood. Just waiting for them to arrive. Bought a used set from someone on Canuck Audio Mart (CAM). I believe it is the original and not the updated version.

Enjoy — I still love mine, which were purchased during intro and upgraded to Classic a year ago. Generally a great listen, but best headphones of all for Grateful Dead show recordings.

 

[jonathan c]

• Note on Auteur Original —> Auteur Classic. An update? Yes. An upgrade? Yes / No: depends upon the listener. From the update, some sonic attributes are gained, others are diminished. Original & Classic - each has its virtues, each stands on its own.