[shafat777]

I think I can only buy from these sites. Do you see any great tubes that aren't expensive you'd recommend for the WA2 in their stock?
https://www.acclaim-music.com/browse/Amplifier-Tubes
https://upscaleaudio.com/

You can pm me, i have a lot of 12at7 tubes such as Brimar Footscray, Siemens, RFT ECC81 foil getters. Id love to help out a fellow roller.

 

[gibsonsg87]

Just put the Auteur Solid on my VC. I am loving the more open sound, but I'm also hearing MORE bass on these than the Universe. Could it be my setup? Maybe I had the wrong ones on? I love it, but it's the opposite of what I've been reading through this thread.

Also correction on my original post: These came installed with the BE2 Suedes. There were no Auteur suedes in the pack. (There were the Auteur Solid, BE2 Solid and Universe Solid.)

 

[9bphillips]

Just put the Auteur Solid on my VC. I am loving the more open sound, but I'm also hearing MORE bass on these than the Universe. Could it be my setup? Maybe I had the wrong ones on? I love it, but it's the opposite of what I've been reading through this thread.

Also correction on my original post: These came installed with the BE2 Suedes. There were no Auteur suedes in the pack. (There were the Auteur Solid, BE2 Solid and Universe Solid.)

I also hear more bass with the Auteur than the universe. To me the universe doesn't go very well with the VC. I prefer the Auteur hybrid over the Auteur lambskin though.

 

[sp33ls]

My ears find that the universe pads shift the bass more towards the sub-bass region, whereas the Auteur lambs shift that more towards the mid-bass region, and as a result, have more punch too.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I strongly preferred the Auteur Lambskin pads to the Universe Lambskins when I owned the VC. I only briefly tried the Universe pads before quickly changing back to the Auteur pads. I felt like the magic was lost when using the Universe pads. The biggest thing I noticed was that the soundstage seemed much bigger with the Auteur pads. I never got a chance to use any of the hybrid or solid suede pads sadly.

@nachtihsahn Great choice of amps to go with your VC! My Quicksilver is double-boxed and on the way to Mike in California to be repaired. A rogue Tungsram EL84 took out the left channel of the amp when it met its demise. Luckily I have a nice little backup amp, the SW51+, to use while the Quicksilver is on its little cross-country trip.

 

[gibsonsg87]

I always felt something was a little off about the Universe pads. I liked them, but something felt missing. I am now going the keep the Auteur Lambskins on the VC, as the sound is much fuller and ultimately much better than the Universe. The magical ZMF sound has been restored in my opinion. I might get the Auteur hybrids in the future.

 

[sp33ls]

when I owned the VC

Do you prefer the Auteur over the VC (looking at your profile pic & signature)?

 

[Monsterzero]

I used the auteur lambskin pads when I did my VC review way back when, and for other than a few minutes to try the other pads, theyve not left my VC as, like was mentioned above, i felt the "magic" was gone with the Uni pads.

 

[Disco3]

My ears find that the universe pads shift the bass more towards the sub-bass region, whereas the Auteur lambs shift that more towards the mid-bass region, and as a result, have more punch too.

This is exactly what I hear. I prefer the sound of the Auteurs, but the universe pads are more comfortable for me. I mostly just stick with the lambskin Eikons though

 

[gibsonsg87]

I tried the Eikon lambskins on the VC. I didn't like the sound signature. Seems like it emphasized some harsher elements in my setup. Love the Eikon pads with the Atticus and Eikon, but not the VC unfortunately.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Do you prefer the Auteur over the VC (looking at your profile pic & signature)?

Yes, I did come to prefer the Auteur to the VC. In no way does this diminish how much I liked the VC though. I just found myself enamored but the mids/vocals of the bio-cellulose driver in the Auteur so much that I couldn’t justify keeping both headphones. The beautiful swirling grain of my particular Auteur is also particularly stunning. The cups on my Manchurian Ash set are tied with @Wes S’s Cocobolo Atticus as my favorite ZMFs from a purely cosmetic perspective.

Ironically, I bought two more VCs after selling the first one. In the end, the Meze Elite has stolen me away from even giving much head time to the Auteur I love so much. I’m in line to hear the new Auteur Classic in the next few months, so it will be interesting to compare it to my OG Auteur and Elite. Who knows, it’s entirely possible I could own a 4th VC at some point in the future!

 

[wolfstar76]

Yes, I did come to prefer the Auteur to the VC. In no way does this diminish how much I liked the VC though. I just found myself enamored but the mids/vocals of the bio-cellulose driver in the Auteur so much that I couldn’t justify keeping both headphones. The beautiful swirling grain of my particular Auteur is also particularly stunning. The cups on my Manchurian Ash set are tied with @Wes S’s Cocobolo Atticus as my favorite ZMFs from a purely cosmetic perspective.

Ironically, I bought two more VCs after selling the first one. In the end, the Meze Elite has stolen me away from even giving much head time to the Auteur I love so much. I’m in line to hear the new Auteur Classic in the next few months, so it will be interesting to compare it to my OG Auteur and Elite. Who knows, it’s entirely possible I could own a 4th VC at some point in the future!

Atrium maybe?

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Atrium maybe?

I actually got to demo the Atrium for a week a few months ago. I think they are a great addition to the stable for ZMF. I originally thought they offered me a natural upgrade path from my OG Auteur. They probably would have been just that if the Meze Elite hadn’t been in the equation. They have really thrown me for a loop in the best possible way. I just dig their sound presentation and comfort. They do everything I personally want from a headphone, but I still have a soft spot for ZMF, their headphones and the people.

Now that my favorite headphones are a planar, I really want to get some time with the new Caldera. I’d love to have an Elite/Caldera show down!

 

[sp33ls]

I'm sure a lot of folks looking at the Caldera probably cross-shop with the Final D8k and Meze, so those comparisons would definitely be interesting.

I'd just have such a hard time letting go of my Blackwood VC's, they're just so unique.
I'd probably keep them alongside one of those, or Caldera Closed / Atrium Closed.

I think the only thing I'm missing with the VC/HD800S combo is a guilty-pleasure-inducing, bass-head pair. The VC's bass is very good -- quality > quantity.

I loved the punch and texture of the Atrium. Makes me real curious how Zach will tune either closed version wrt bass. If I had to guess, the Caldera will probably be more "fun" than the Atrium in this aspect since the Atrium is supposed to be more "ZMF neutral."

Time will tell.

 

[AudioDuck]

I think the only thing I'm missing with the VC/HD800S combo is a guilty-pleasure-inducing, bass-head pair.

Have you thought about an Eikon with appropriate pads (to my ears, stock Eikon pads w/suede for extra comfort) and a good cable that brings the bass up a notch, like a silver/copper hybrid?

I would call my Eikons with the WA2 and punchy-sounding tubes pretty “basshead”.