[heliosphann]

I believe the closed backs only use solid pads, and open backs only perforated pads...

Yep. Confirmed earlier by Zach.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-atrium-new-open-back-co-flagship.962609/post-17130005

 

[9bphillips]

Do you have any experience with their perforated pads? I emailed them asking if I could change 1 of the pads to a perforated version right after I ordered and they recommended not using perforated with their closed backs. They obviously know what they're talking about. But I'm still curious what they sound like on the VC. Definitely going to try the Auteur lambskin, maybe the Eikon perforated as well.

Yes I have a VC and Atrium. I would stick to what they say.

 

[kumar402]

I have been using VC for past 3 years now. Only thing I have upgraded is DAC. Well I kind off spent all my budget on DAC only. But now I have this itch of trying something new. So I have got myself Universe Suede and Auteur suede pad.
I have been using all copper Norne and Forza cable and seriously I have no complaint but we are always looking for something new to try and hence my question-
Anyone has experience with silver cable and how does it pair with VC. Preferred pad with silver cable. Any pointer to good silver cable will be appreciated.

 

[busseysound]

I have been using VC for past 3 years now. Only thing I have upgraded is DAC. Well I kind off spent all my budget on DAC only. But now I have this itch of trying something new. So I have got myself Universe Suede and Auteur suede pad.
I have been using all copper Norne and Forza cable and seriously I have no complaint but we are always looking for something new to try and hence my question-
Anyone has experience with silver cable and how does it pair with VC. Preferred pad with silver cable. Any pointer to good silver cable will be appreciated.

I purchased a headphone cable from Viking Weave about 3 months ago (Skedra). I was amazed at the improvement - and that was over the Forza Noir Hybrid HPC which is outstanding for the price (Matt does GREAT work - not knocking his cables at all). It's expensive, but the Isa (all silver) brings out extreme clarity and huge dynamic range. Keep in mind if you're leaning toward a warmer sound you may want to stick with copper (which he has as well). VikingWeaveCables

The VC is so amazing to me - it takes any improvement you throw at it and performs every time. Oh, and I use the universe suede pad.

 

[erics75]

I have been using VC for past 3 years now. Only thing I have upgraded is DAC. Well I kind off spent all my budget on DAC only. But now I have this itch of trying something new. So I have got myself Universe Suede and Auteur suede pad.
I have been using all copper Norne and Forza cable and seriously I have no complaint but we are always looking for something new to try and hence my question-
Anyone has experience with silver cable and how does it pair with VC. Preferred pad with silver cable. Any pointer to good silver cable will be appreciated.

I got an all silver cable from Artic and it's beautiful. That being said, sonically I don't think I hear much/any difference, but my ears are dog poop now after years of abuse and tinnitus, so that's not saying much haha. Below is the model I got (not my specific cable pictured though). I got it partly out of curiosity if silver would sound different/better, and partly because I needed an ultra pliable cable at a specific length that looks good with the Atrium for my desk.

 

[running wild]

Do you have any experience with their perforated pads? I emailed them asking if I could change 1 of the pads to a perforated version right after I ordered and they recommended not using perforated with their closed backs. They obviously know what they're talking about. But I'm still curious what they sound like on the VC. Definitely going to try the Auteur lambskin, maybe the Eikon perforated as well.

Hi,
for the VC there are the non perforated pads.
The perforated are only for the Open Back phones.
I like the Auteur Hybrid pads most at the moment.
After them the Universe Lambskins are my 2nd pad of use.
The Auteur Lambskins have too much trebles for my ears for longer listening.

 

[running wild]

I have been using VC for past 3 years now. Only thing I have upgraded is DAC. Well I kind off spent all my budget on DAC only. But now I have this itch of trying something new. So I have got myself Universe Suede and Auteur suede pad.
I have been using all copper Norne and Forza cable and seriously I have no complaint but we are always looking for something new to try and hence my question-
Anyone has experience with silver cable and how does it pair with VC. Preferred pad with silver cable. Any pointer to good silver cable will be appreciated.

Hi,
I use the Grand Silver Line from Lavricable that i can highly recommend
Not cheap but it’s worth the price.
You can customise everything from length to connectors you want.
Hope this helps.

 

[AcousticMatt]

So, feeling grateful to have scored these and will be going to CanJam SoCal in a week, BUT... anyone have any favorite amp (tube or solid state) or dac recommendations? Thanks in advance!

 

[gonintendo]

So, feeling grateful to have scored these and will be going to CanJam SoCal in a week, BUT... anyone have any favorite amp (tube or solid state) or dac recommendations? Thanks in advance!

ZMFs love tubes and you should get a good tube amp to go with them (others here are more knowledgeable than me on that subject) but if you’re looking for a reasonably priced solid state to go with them I highly recommend the Cayin iHA6. Especially at ZMFs bundle price it’s a steal and pairs so well with the VCs on the highZ tap that you’d be hard pressed to find a better solid state pairing under $2k

 

[AcousticMatt]

ZMFs love tubes and you should get a good tube amp to go with them (others here are more knowledgeable than me on that subject) but if you’re looking for a reasonably priced solid state to go with them I highly recommend the Cayin iHA6. Especially at ZMFs bundle price it’s a steal and pairs so well with the VCs on the highZ tap that you’d be hard pressed to find a better solid state pairing under $2k

Ok, thank you. I guess I should mention I've got two solid state amps right now already (the Ferrum Oor w/ Hypsos power supply and iFi's Pro iDSD Signature), so I think I'm probably set there for solid state. I keep hearing that they love tubes though, but that's a whole different world for me! Looking into it, though..

 

[ckhirnigs113]

So, feeling grateful to have scored these and will be going to CanJam SoCal in a week, BUT... anyone have any favorite amp (tube or solid state) or dac recommendations? Thanks in advance!

I’m biased of course, but I haven’t found a headphone that doesn’t sound great on my Quicksilver Headphone Amp. It sounded amazing with the VC. I’ve got $500+ in tubes currently rolled in the thing, but it sounded excellent with the stock tubes as well.

Disclaimer: I haven’t used any of the $2000+ tube amps. The Quicksilver and SW51+ were my first tube amps.

 

[David A Silva]

I can confirm @ckhirnigs113 reply above, in fact his Quicksilver love is the reason I bought one as well. Great bang for the buck, really make My Auteurs sing!

 

[gonintendo]

I’m biased of course, but I haven’t found a headphone that doesn’t sound great on my Quicksilver Headphone Amp. It sounded amazing with the VC. I’ve got $500+ in tubes currently rolled in the thing, but it sounded excellent with the stock tubes as well.

Disclaimer: I haven’t used any of the $2000+ tube amps. The Quicksilver and SW51+ were my first tube amps.

I can also recommend the QHA as a solidly made, quiet and clean sounding tube amp. It’s only downsides for ZMFs are
1. Only one output impedance, and it’s pretty low. You might be interested in tubes for greater note weight and bass response. A lot of this comes from a lower damping factor (from a higher output impedance). The low OI makes it very versatile for other headphones (and it’s transformer coupled so it can drive planars) but with ZMFs I’d really suggest trying something with a higher output impedance
2. It’s a very neutral amp. This isn’t a bad thing but if you’re looking for a bit of extra flavor to differentiate from your solid state amps, look elsewhere.

There are lots of great qualities to the QHA, great staging and tonality etc. but the reason I sold mine was that when comparing it to similarly priced or more expensive solid state amps, it was doing a lot of the same things and I wanted a bit of a different experience from a tube amp.

 

[AcousticMatt]

I can also recommend the QHA as a solidly made, quiet and clean sounding tube amp. It’s only downsides for ZMFs are
1. Only one output impedance, and it’s pretty low. You might be interested in tubes for greater note weight and bass response. A lot of this comes from a lower damping factor (from a higher output impedance). The low OI makes it very versatile for other headphones (and it’s transformer coupled so it can drive planars) but with ZMFs I’d really suggest trying something with a higher output impedance
2. It’s a very neutral amp. This isn’t a bad thing but if you’re looking for a bit of extra flavor to differentiate from your solid state amps, look elsewhere.

There are lots of great qualities to the QHA, great staging and tonality etc. but the reason I sold mine was that when comparing it to similarly priced or more expensive solid state amps, it was doing a lot of the same things and I wanted a bit of a different experience from a tube amp.

This is very helpful because that's where I'm at. The Ferrum Oor amp is a pretty great sounding solid state, so I'd want something to compliment that. With the iFi I get the tube modes, but those aren't exactly a "true" tube sound, but do open the soundstage up in a nice way vs. my Chord Qutest.

 

[Disco3]

I've been looking into finally getting a tube amp to pair with my headphones, specifically my VC's (and Atriums in the future).
Anyone have experience with Kenzie OG? I know ZMF bundle Cayin amps with their headphones also. I've been trying to read as many reviews of the Kenzie, the HA-6A and the new HA-3A as I can find. There aren't too many HA-6A and 3A reviews. Feliks Euforia is another option I've been looking into

Lets say I just went with the HA-3A and bundled it with a new pair of Atriums. Are there features I'd be missing out on versus going with a HA-6A, other than sound differences? Would I have the same tube rolling options for both amps?