[oldmankensey]

Oh man these headphones are crazy good with classical. 100% seal of approval.

The pairing of my OG and classical is something I’ll never, ever part with.

 

[ext23]

Urgh I can't wait to buy my pair in November. As for cables, I run my 6XX with a 2.5mm balanced cable out of my Qudelix for a bit of extra juice, would a similar cable work with the Auteur Classic (aesthetic concerns aside lol).

 

[jonathan c]

This seems to be the case with a lot of headphones. Whenever someone attempts to fix something that was already working so well they end up changing the tuning too much.

Indeed! ... brings to mind this astute epithet: "if it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is" .... .

 

[stanrozenfeld]

I just got the Auteur OG used and love them. Very unique experience. They especially sound great with Woo Audio WA2 amp and Chord Qutest.

But I am really curious about classic. I might have to buy classic separately and compare the two myself.

One thing I did notice reading last several pages of this thread is that most people feel they need to choose one, which means that for most people owning one does make the other redundant.

 

[jonathan c]

I just got the Auteur OG used and love them. Very unique experience. They especially sound great with Woo Audio WA2 amp and Chord Qutest.

But I am really curious about classic. I might have to buy classic separately and compare the two myself.

One thing I did notice reading last several pages of this thread is that most people feel they need to choose one, which means that for most people owning one does make the other redundant.

.... not necessarily 'redundant' .... OG & Classic have their individual sonic strenghts & overlaps with a few important differences. Also, the 'need to choose one' may be driven by financial limitations - in which case redundancy is not germane.

 

[equalspeace]

Classic sounds fantastic out of the very portable Fiio Q11 as well. I was outside last night enjoying the warmer temp w a cigar in a state of bliss. The mids on Classic are to die for.

 

[robo24]

.... not necessarily 'redundant' .... OG & Classic have their individual sonic strenghts & overlaps with a few important differences. Also, the 'need to choose one' may be driven by financial limitations - in which case redundancy is not germane.

I love & own the OG and heard the Classic upon release and wasn't going to ever buy it until a stabilized one I couldn't resist came up, and I magically talked myself into it! I do find I don't use the OG nearly as much since because the Classic is overall similar but simply has more of a full sound and is just a better headphone. I still find it difficult to consider selling the OG both because of both the look and it does have an edge in terms of more prominent vocals. So I do still reach for it and it never feels lacking when wanting to focus on vocals or with more acoustic music. In general though I'd steer people towards the Classic.

 

[jonathan c]

I'll go by @robo24's last sentence, especially for a first-time ZMF buyer / owner. Auteur Classic, in my opinion, represents the "sweet spot" in the ZMF lineup of sonics vs price.

 

[Nayyte]

Got me a set of BE2 suede pads today for my Auteur OG. First impressions are good! Comfort wise these feel more secure on my head than the Auteur Lambskin or the Eikon lambskin. The pressure is even all around my ear which doesn't happen with the other two pads. I really like this and I suppose it's due to the BE2 having less angle to the design. More of my outer ear touches the driver than the other two which also makes sense with it having less depth. Sound wise I am still hearing everything I love about the Auteur. I'm noticing the vocals are more focused which is great. The bass is toned down but still present with plenty of air, I would prefer just a bit more bass though. I think that the soundstage depth is shallower than the Auteur Lambskins actually. This still works here for an enjoyable listen but I think its robbing the headphone of a good bit of ZMF magic. The music is entering and exiting right next to my ears, while the AL was like the music was dancing a few feet in front of me. I don't think this is ideal sound stage from the BE2 suede.

That's as much as I can say without talking out of my butt and confusing myself lol.
I'm curious now if I should try the Universe pad here as a middle ground between the AL and BE2 suede. I am scared too because the Eikon lambskin pads I have make my Auteur sound so undesirable and uncomfortable (I think because of the smaller ear cavitiy of the Eikon).
Also just getting new AL pads could be smart since mine are probably old as the dickens

 

[jonathan c]

Got me a set of BE2 suede pads today for my Auteur OG. First impressions are good! Comfort wise these feel more secure on my head than the Auteur Lambskin or the Eikon lambskin. The pressure is even all around my ear which doesn't happen with the other two pads. I really like this and I suppose it's due to the BE2 having less angle to the design. More of my outer ear touches the driver than the other two which also makes sense with it having less depth. Sound wise I am still hearing everything I love about the Auteur. I'm noticing the vocals are more focused which is great. The bass is toned down but still present with plenty of air, I would prefer just a bit more bass though. I think that the soundstage depth is shallower than the Auteur Lambskins actually. This still works here for an enjoyable listen but I think its robbing the headphone of a good bit of ZMF magic. The music is entering and exiting right next to my ears, while the AL was like the music was dancing a few feet in front of me. I don't think this is ideal sound stage from the BE2 suede.

That's as much as I can say without talking out of my butt and confusing myself lol.
I'm curious now if I should try the Universe pad here as a middle ground between the AL and BE2 suede. I am scared too because the Eikon lambskin pads I have make my Auteur sound so undesirable and uncomfortable (I think because of the smaller ear cavitiy of the Eikon).
Also just getting new AL pads could be smart since mine are probably old as the dickens

.... get new Auteur Lambskin pads then reassess the sonic landscape ....

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Got me a set of BE2 suede pads today for my Auteur OG. First impressions are good! Comfort wise these feel more secure on my head than the Auteur Lambskin or the Eikon lambskin. The pressure is even all around my ear which doesn't happen with the other two pads. I really like this and I suppose it's due to the BE2 having less angle to the design. More of my outer ear touches the driver than the other two which also makes sense with it having less depth. Sound wise I am still hearing everything I love about the Auteur. I'm noticing the vocals are more focused which is great. The bass is toned down but still present with plenty of air, I would prefer just a bit more bass though. I think that the soundstage depth is shallower than the Auteur Lambskins actually. This still works here for an enjoyable listen but I think its robbing the headphone of a good bit of ZMF magic. The music is entering and exiting right next to my ears, while the AL was like the music was dancing a few feet in front of me. I don't think this is ideal sound stage from the BE2 suede.

That's as much as I can say without talking out of my butt and confusing myself lol.
I'm curious now if I should try the Universe pad here as a middle ground between the AL and BE2 suede. I am scared too because the Eikon lambskin pads I have make my Auteur sound so undesirable and uncomfortable (I think because of the smaller ear cavitiy of the Eikon).
Also just getting new AL pads could be smart since mine are probably old as the dickens

I recently got new Auteur Lambskin pads because mine were so old (5+ years). It made a noticeable improvement over the flattened old pads. I had been using Eikon Suede pads for a while, but I’m back it to the stock pads now.

I personally didn’t like Universe, Verite or BE2 pads on the OG Auteur. The three I recommend are stock Auteur Lambskins, Auteur Hybrids and Eikon Suedes. I haven’t tried any of my Caldera pads on the Auteur yet. I’m not sure if they’d be a good fit.

 

[Nayyte]

I recently got new Auteur Lambskin pads because mine were so old (5+ years). It made a noticeable improvement over the flattened old pads. I had been using Eikon Suede pads for a while, but I’m back it to the stock pads now.

I personally didn’t like Universe, Verite or BE2 pads on the OG Auteur. The three I recommend are stock Auteur Lambskins, Auteur Hybrids and Eikon Suedes. I haven’t tried any of my Caldera pads on the Auteur yet. I’m not sure if they’d be a good fit.

I'm leaning towards the Auteur Hybrids for the comfort of the suede on my skin.

 

[LXMc]

Since we're talking pads - I just picked up the [newly released] Caldera Suede Ultra Perforated pads to try out. My general go-to pads on the Classic are the stock Auteur Lambskin (AL) and the Eikon Suede (ES).

I've found the Suede Ultra Perfs to be a decent contender. Comfort isn't quite as good as the others due to the Caldera pads' thinner surface contact area so there's less distribution of clamp pressure and they're a bit shallower. I expected these to be a bit brighter than the stock pads, and they are - upper mids and treble are more accentuated and they make the Classic feel like a slightly faster, crispier headphone. What surprised me is the bass quantity is actually still quite good - I didn't find myself wanting in sub or mid-bass even coming from the AL pads and the faster transients tighten it up from the slightly more lush, reverb of the other two pads. I would almost say they tilt the Classic in the direction of v-shaped. I have a bit of a tough time discerning staging and imaging differences here, I wouldn't say they're far off from the AL to me.

Overall I quite like the Caldera Suede Ultra Perforated pads for the Auteur Classic and they give it a more exciting and more intense sound than the AL or ES pads I normally use. That said, I don't think I could use these as a daily driver for that exact reason - I love the Classic for being very even-keeled and an easy, relaxing listen and I think I will find these get a bit fatiguing longer term due to their increased intensity. For a short term swap to mix things up though I enjoy them.

 

[skhan007]

Got me a set of BE2 suede pads today for my Auteur OG. First impressions are good! Comfort wise these feel more secure on my head than the Auteur Lambskin or the Eikon lambskin. The pressure is even all around my ear which doesn't happen with the other two pads. I really like this and I suppose it's due to the BE2 having less angle to the design. More of my outer ear touches the driver than the other two which also makes sense with it having less depth. Sound wise I am still hearing everything I love about the Auteur. I'm noticing the vocals are more focused which is great. The bass is toned down but still present with plenty of air, I would prefer just a bit more bass though. I think that the soundstage depth is shallower than the Auteur Lambskins actually. This still works here for an enjoyable listen but I think its robbing the headphone of a good bit of ZMF magic. The music is entering and exiting right next to my ears, while the AL was like the music was dancing a few feet in front of me. I don't think this is ideal sound stage from the BE2 suede.

That's as much as I can say without talking out of my butt and confusing myself lol.
I'm curious now if I should try the Universe pad here as a middle ground between the AL and BE2 suede. I am scared too because the Eikon lambskin pads I have make my Auteur sound so undesirable and uncomfortable (I think because of the smaller ear cavitiy of the Eikon).
Also just getting new AL pads could be smart since mine are probably old as the dickens

That's interesting- I found the Be2 perf suede to accentuate the bass frequencies and mellow the highs a bit. Oh well, we all hear things differently. I do think the stock lamb perf Auteur pads continue to be my go-to on my OG.

 

[Nayyte]

That's interesting- I found the Be2 perf suede to accentuate the bass frequencies and mellow the highs a bit. Oh well, we all hear things differently. I do think the stock lamb perf Auteur pads continue to be my go-to on my OG.

With the BE2 pads my ears are very close to the drivers. I hear a lot more air in the bass rather than the bass tones. The bass went from being wide and vast to quick, airy, and minute in scale. Less surface area for the sound to reflect on makes sense. I like it a lot for vocal heavy and strings music but edm and ambient/lofi music lost a lot of depth. I will rock the BE2 suede for a bit and get some miles out of it. I plan to order the Auteur hybrids and a triple B strap.