[jinxy245]

That's a very pretty design... expensive too.

 

[erics75]

HP junkies beware, the temptation is is strong at CanJams, and the ZMF room makes it especially difficult to resist purchasing one. They also bring a lot of nice gear, cables, pads and etc so there are good reasons to visit
Almost bought a Caldera at the 2023 show but glad I waited later for one of the LTD ashes. The 2024 show in NYC had some natural Limba Bokehs and just too pretty to leave without one.

You sir, are an addict! Takes one to know one hahaha.

 

[G8torbyte]

You sir, are an addict! Takes one to know one hahaha.

Aww darn it, I thought I was a connossier of art and music fidelity

 

[betula]

Hello. My name is Gumby and....I have a headphone addiction....

No worries. You are at the right place. Here everyone will help you to sink even deeper into the marshlands of audio indulgence.

 

[SecretAgent]

ZMF, Gotta Catch 'Em All

 

[SecretAgent]

Folks, Hd800s new 1.4k€ or Atrium new 3.4k€? Thank you for your help.

 

[erics75]

Folks, Hd800s new 1.4k€ or Atrium new 3.4k€? Thank you for your help.

Those are totally different sounding headphones, so the decision really depends on your preferences. The 800 is bright, revealing, ultra spacious, and very analytical sounding. You need to put serious thought into amplification with this one as the wrong synergy will make it piercing and strident, and very fatiguing. The Atrium is warmer, smoother, lusher, more musical and engaging, not as spacious nor as revealing. I actually think the Atrium driver resolves at the same level as the 800's, but the darker tuning and more emphasis on the mid range, especially the bass, hides it a bit. You don't have to be as picky with amplification with it as it's so much of an easy listening headphone. I won't comment on aesthetics, that's 100% subjective and can be decided easily based on pictures online.

EDIT - Atrium also is highly customizable with pad and mesh rolling, all available from the manufacturer. The 800 customizations are not supported by the manufacturer and may void your warranty. It's something to strongly take into consideration. If you don't love the stock Atrium sound you can easily tweak it with optional pads, and mesh/no mesh options. There's a flexability to it that's easily overlooked by non-ZMF owners. Now in the end you can't make an Atrium sound like an 800, but you can move it more towards the analytical side in general.

 

[Failed Engineer]

So these are my two favorite headphones by far (and I've climbed the entire TOTL wall past and present), well in the case of the Senn specifically the JAR800, but they do present opposite of each other. I do try to bring the Atrium as close as I can to the brighter more open sound by running mesh-less and with thin ultra perforated pads but still the Atrium is no match for the clarity and open-baffle-ish sound of the JAR800. That said, to me, the Atrium is far nicer listen to the 800/800S stock. The senn needs mods.

 

[fonna]

It's great how much you can shift the sound to your liking with a couple of changes in the system. I was craving a more relaxing listen today so I put on the Auteur pads and some warmer sounding tubes and it hits just right. Fat bass, mellow treble, and clear vocals. I couldn't listen to this forever, or maybe I could. I just love changing stuff up. Combine tubes and pad swapping and you have an almost endless fine tuning options, and ZMF does it better than so many manufacturers.

Yeah for sure, I also haven't found a pad that I truly didn't like so far, have you tried the universe hybrid suede/lamb perfs?

Edit: typo