ZMF Auteur - An open back ZMF

The pre-order page is live, but they're not taking orders yet.

Pre-Order: 11.10.17 at 10AM CST (USA)

http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-originals/zmf-auteur

 

interesting, but I want my Emac 535SE first!

 

My review Auteur is coming soon! ( Along with an Eikon for comparison, and a Kenzie/Amethyst to compare with my Modi Multibit/Magni 3.)

 

When do you expect it to be up?

 

Zach's shipping everything today or tomorrow, so I should have a review up before the preorders open.

 

Is the gold grill on the teak or blackwood?

Don't know why I am asking since I can't afford one but damn I love the look of those headphones.

 

According to Zach's site...

The "gold" or brass grill will only be available on the 1st limited-run of the Blackwood. Teak will only be available with the black grill.

 

Zach shipped the headphones tonight. I should be getting them tomorrow afternoon. Woot!

 

Alrighty, so the packages are the fedex truck for delivery with an expected delivery date of today (this morning.)

It was changed to Tuesday and STILL on the truck for delivery. So I may not have them until then.

 

Nevermind...rude post...apologies

 

Fair enough. Either way, the post was a bit of waste since Fedex ended up delivering it out of nowhere (and it still says it's being delivered Tuesday...even though I have it right here.)

Onwards towards the topic at hand: three things became very apparent in my first few hours of listening:

1) These are a lot lighter than the Eikon.

2) These scale very well with the Kenzie vs. the Magni 3, and it revealed quite a bit of a detail and background difference between the Modi Multibit and Amethyst (to the Magni 3.)

3) I don't want to do too many Eikon comparisons just yet until the Eikons are in, but the slam is still very much there, and the midbass is much more linear. I can't confirm this since I'm going of memory of 9+ months ago, but female vocals are a lot better on the Auteur than I remember them being on the Eikon.

So far....it is very much the most neutral can Zach has ever made. I didn't expect it to be as airy or bright (it's not brighter than usual, just compared to his other headphones) as it is. It's a touch darker than my HD580 out of the same amp, and sounds quite a bit more open. I'll understand it a bit more as I spend the three weeks with it, but it's pretty damn promising so far.

Edit: Forgot the picture of the set-up:

(well, the forum won't let me post the picture for some reason, so here's a link to the Imgur: https://imgur.com/shBxmc4)

 

So, I've been messing with the Auteur a couple of days now and I wanted to pass along some details about it so far. I'll do the review a closer to three weeks once I know this headphone inside and out, but here's some stuff more I've noticed so far:

1) While the Auteur scales pretty well, it doesn't react much to high impedance outputs. On the 600 ohm output of the Kenzie (which is actually 600 ohms,) the Auteur gains a bit of midbass (not much, but noticeable,) and gains a bit more air/treble over the 32 ohm output. It's a subtle difference, but I appreciated it. Just to compare this to another headphones' reaction, my HD580 actually gained quite a bit of midbass (night and day difference actually,) and a bit more treble/air.

2) The Auteur pads, while having smooth treble, are a bit more prevalent than I remember the Eikon being (though smoother) and definitely a lot more than the Atticus. I like the increased air and clarity the Auteur pads provide, but they can get a bit fatiguing. The other pads (Eikon Perferated, but I'll just refer to them as "Darker Pads,") make things...darker and punchier. I can't confirm this until I have the Eikon to compare with it, but I actually think there its darker than the Eikon and more leaning towards the Atticus with these pads. Midbass is elevated as well, providing a slightly punchier sound. I can see people being 50/50 on this. Personally, I prefer the Auteur pads, but, if I still owned a HD800, I would probably stick to the darker pads to have more differentiation between my headphones.

3) I can pick DAC issues/differences a lot easier with the Auteur than I can the HD580. This might be attributed to the increased resolve, soundstage and bass over the HD580.

 

Zach posted a sneak peak at the Teak cups over on HF.

 

Edit: @Mystic beat me to the teak post.

Must admit, I like the teak more than the blackwood. Big fan of the assentuated grain.

 

That was a nice "sneak teak"

 

Teak is kind of hard to work with, it likes to chip. Looks very good though.

 

I thought this was pretty neat. Here is a comparison of the Atticus, Auteur, and Eikon on my measurement rig. Notice the very similar tuning or house sound by Zach. Great work man!

 

Yeah, I'm selling some stuff and will be happy with Code Sex and Auteur. Maybe a closed Aeon down the road if needed. Of course HD650 will never be sold.