ZMF Auteur - An open back ZMF

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by PacoTaco, Sep 18, 2017.

  1. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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  2. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I first got into the headphone hobby for school since I was enrolled in a music recording and production class and needed a pair of headphones to use. My dad had a old pair of Sony MDR V600 and used them for the first week but felt they didn't meet my needs so I went to Guitar Center and bought my first pair of headphones, which I still own, Beyerdynamic DT800 Pro 250Ohm. I found out about Head-Fi and my wallet has never been the same.

    Some notes about my listening preferences:

    I listen at relatively low volumes, roughly 70dB SPL, keep this in mind as our perception of frequencies is dependent on listening level.

    I prefer a sound signature that let's me hear the lowest bass notes, a smooth clear midrange and a non fatiguing treble without coloration.

    Comfort is a big priority for me as I usually wear headphones for 4+ hours at a time. Weight isn't usually an issue but clamp and uneven weight distribution are deal breakers for me. Audeze headphones and surprisingly the Utopia are uncomfortable for me to wear.

    Auteur

    My first impressions of the Auteur went something like this:
    • Wow, there is weight and solidity to the sound, a dynamic headphone with sub bass!
    • Vocals are so clear and placed right in front of me, not slightly above me.
    • I don't hear any obvious faults like boomy bass, sucked out mids, or crazy treble spikes.
    • These are kind of big and a little heavy.
    • The stock cable is just okay.
    • I don't care for the 360° adjustable gimbals as the cups move too freely and can shift when set down.
    The Auteur is the closest headphone to meet my preferred sound signature. I find them to be a warm take on neutral with a slight emphasis at 6kHz like the HD800 but at a lower amplitude giving just enough coloration to add a sense of detail or engagement. I can hear an emphasis with snares and cymbals especially in this area so I decided to switch to the perforated Eikon pads. They do a better job of smoothing out the treble but add about 3dB below 800Hz. At first I thought the pads made the Auteur sound too dark and muddy but that slight treble coloration was all but gone. Unless I specifically say, my impressions will be using the perforated Eikon pads.

    I'm usually not concerned with sound stage as long as it isn't inside my head or too 3 blob. As a generalization, dynamic headphones tend to place the sound stage further away from you compared to planars although there are always exceptions. The Aeon open had one of the worst sound stages I've heard from a planar being very inside your head like a line through your ears. On the other side of the spectrum are planars like the Code Sex and HE-1000 that have surprisingly vast sound staging. To me, it's a trade off, if you have a really wide sound stage music can sound unrealistic and the stage depth is usually lacking. I like an equally deep sound stage as I'm used to listening to speakers setup in an equilateral triangle to the listener.

    The Auteur's sound stage is decently wide, a little wider than HD650, but has better depth. You can place instruments accurately in the mix. Some might find issue with the sound stage but I think it stems from the Auteur being more semi open than truly an open headphone. They don't sound as open as an HD650, or an HE-6 but are more open than a DT880. Placing my hands over the cups has a subtle but noticeable cup effect. There is a loss in clarity, most noticeable with vocal placement as they get blurred a tiny bit.

    Here is a quick and dirty comparison of the sound stage between Auteur, HD650, and HE-6 (Code Sex):

    Auteur does the best job of pushing the sound stage completely in front of you sounding more like speakers than headphones.

    Technical Measurements:

    Here are frequency response measurements showing left and right channel matching for the Auteur with Auteur and Eikon pads. ** channel matching is very difficult with certain headphones especially if they have thick leather pads as just a nudge and they measure very differently.

    Auteur with Auteur pads:

    Auteur with Eikon pads:

    The difference in bass response on the Auteur pads seems to be partially caused by the coupler. I have to place the headphones a little differently when measuring right and left. When checking channel matching by ear with sine sweeps I found these to be very sensitive to positioning on my ears. I could hear subtle shifting off center in certain parts of the sweep but it's not a deal breaker by any means.

    The impulse response is an interesting area that I think can shed some light on why the Auteur doesn't sound as open as some other headphones. The lack of rear damping and thick leather pads, even perforated, will create reflections that affect the driver and often truncate the initial rebound and add additional movement after the initial response. Shown below is the Auteur with Auteur pads:

    Here is the Auteur's impulse response with Eikon pads:

    You can see that the Eikon pads create less extraneous movement overall as the impulse response is tighter and resolves faster after 1ms. The CSDs also confirm that the Eikon pads have have better initial decay patterns compared to the Auteur pads.

    Auteur with Auteur pads CSD:

    Auteur with Eikon pads CSD:

    The Auteur has a pretty clean CSD. It's not as clean as the HD800 or HD650 but it's better than the Atticus or Eikon. I certainly find no obvious faults with it. The ringing at 6kHz is on par with the HD800 but is less aggravating in listening. The minor ridge at 1.5kHz is most likely cup reverberation. It is there but not enough to be a distraction.

    Distortion measurements are great for a dynamic driver. Unfortunately I didn't have a quiet enough ambient noise level to feel comfortable posting my distortion measurements as they could be misinterpreted taken out of context. I can say that with what I could measure, they averaged about 0.2% distortion above 200Hz and only had one small distortion peak at 1.5kHz that was at 0.35%. They have surprisingly low distortion for a dynamic headphone especially in the low end.

    Comparisons

    Compared to the HD650 which has the closest tonality, the Auteur is more laid back in the upper mids and lower treble but has the 6kHz bump that creates a little more excitement. I find the HD650 to be just a touch too forward in this region so the Auteur does better here. Although my measurements don't show it, there is no contest with bass response. Autuer has better bass definition and much better sub bass on par with most planars. HD650 is more open sounding, has a better attack, and decays faster so it's clearer overall. If you want an HD650 with sub bass the Auteur is an excellent headphone to consider.


    The HE-6 is a unique headphone. It is one of the most visceral and engaging sounding headphones I've heard. However, to get the most out of it you need to give it a TON of power, use a warm amp/DAC, and listen at louder volumes. HE-6 is more open sounding and has better transients with faster attack and decay but has a more diffuse sound stage. Images are slightly clearer and placed better with the Auteur. The Auteur has more bass quantity and hits harder sounding less compressed. Mid range proper is also more coherent and clear on the Auteur. Treble is more linear and less harsh on the Auteur but some might find it boring in direct comparison. The tizz of the HE-6 is no where to be found with the Auteur. These two headphones require polar opposite amps to perform their best. Auteur loves tubes and doesn't need tons of power to shine. A brighter amp or tube is recommended to make the Auteur sound more alive and engaging.


    Auteur Blackwood vs Teak

    I had the opportunity to hear both versions. My review unit is Wenge wood. It sits roughly in the middle of the other two woods. Blackwood had a darker tilted presentation but had less resonance and sounds were more tangible and emanated from a blacker background. Teak is tilted the other direction. A little less bass and a little more treble. They seemed to have a more immediate and engaging sound, which seemed to be from sympathetic vibrations of the cups that excited and bolstered the sound.

    System Synergy

    I need to point out that the Auteur will probably be too warm and dark coming form most headphones, even the HD650. I was initially put off by this but instead decided to rework my system to be brighter to suit the Auteur since it did so much right. I changed my interconnects from Blue Jeans Cables to Pangea and the Auteur became much more neutral yet still musical and pleasing plus the sound stage just opened up even more. I plan on getting a silver cable for the Auteur to get the last bit of treble extension and tightness in the bass. If you find yourself wanting a little tighter bass and more treble, give the Pangea or maybe silver interconnects a try with the Auteur.

    Summary

    The Auteur has the frequency response cohesiveness of an open back headphone but the technical abilities of a semi open headphone. It won't sound as open as an HD800 or HE-6 but it's tone is tough to beat at any price point. Size and weight should be a consideration if you are coming from something like a HD650. Choose Teak if you want the most neutral sounding Auteur. Choose Blackwood if you want a slightly darker and smoother sound.

    It might seem like I've been pointing out all of the little faults or quirks of this headphone but it's because I love it so much. My issues with it are so small in comparison to just how damn good it sounds. To put it in perspective, I could easily live with just the Auteur and Andromeda as my only two headphones.
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2017
  3. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Added a system synergy section as it's important to understand how and why I changed my system.
     
  4. James Whiting

    James Whiting Facebook Friend

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    Have you compared the Auteurs with Marv's full mod HD 650's? That is what I run with a few more of my own tweaks, which slightly enhance resolution and lower mid bass bloat a bit more.
     
  5. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    My HD650 have front coin mod, front and back spiders removed, and stock foam held in place by an inverted JVC Spiral Dot tip. So it's pretty close to stock damping I would guess.
     
  6. Melvillian

    Melvillian Friend

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    @cskippy thanks for the review.

    I’m trying to establish a point of reference. Assuming you’ve heard the Eikon, how does the signature of the Auteur compare? I use a stock HD650 and I was surprised when you said the Auteur is darker and warmer.
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2017
  7. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Auteur has a little less low bass compared to EIkon and the mids on Auteur are better integrated with the treble. I prefer the Auteur to the Eikon but before I heard about the Auteur I was planning on buying an Eikon.

    I say it's darker as it has more heft or weight to the sound as it has quite a bit more low bass presence, in a good way. It gives a solid foundation to all music akin to speakers.
     
  8. I_want_all_the_tacos

    I_want_all_the_tacos Friend

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    I actually find the Auteur to be really neutral (with Auteur pads) and not warmer than stock HD650. To my ears, I consider Auteur to probably be the closest headphones I have heard to neutral. For reference I find stock HD650 to be slightly warm of neutral and stock HD800 to be slightly bright of neutral. I find HD600 to be close to neutral, but lacking in sub-bass extension and a little off in the upper mids. I didn't feel comfortable posting my Auteur review here as I am a new member (long time lurker) to sbaf and I did receive my Auteur free for review as a loaner, which I know has its implications. But if anyone does want to read my review, here is the reddit link to it. I also focus more on different headphones comparisons that I have owned to give a point of reference for those that don't know me.

    Regarding specific Eikon comparisons, an owner of Eikon and reviewer of Auteur on reddit posted up a good review with comparisons to Eikon here. OP's quote about Eikon comparisons is this:
    "Auteur vs. Eikon

    This is perhaps the easiest comparison to make. The Auteurs are made with the same driver as the Eikons, by the same ear, after all. That said, the differences are likely larger and more diverse than you might expect. The Auteurs sound more ‘open’, but what does that mean? To start with, the Auteurs have a more even bass response than the Eikons. This does mean some of the deep reverberating rumble of the Eikons is missing, but it is replaced by an extremely satisfying bass response that feels more real, and doesn’t leave the mids feeling somewhat recessed like they did on the Eikons. Bass transient response and decay is also better on the Auteurs. While the edges of notes aren’t quite as fast, the transitions between them are much better resolved, and communicate the nuance of the music more completely. The treble of the Auteur takes cues from that of the Eikon, but smooths some of the peaks, largely through gentler transitions, ample decay, and an overall more balanced midrange to stand in support of them. The Eikon certainly has its place as a deeply satisfying closed can, and one which has earned a place in my heart, but the Auteur is the technically superior headphone, sacrificing very little for all the gains that it makes."

    I have also auditioned Eikon and those impressions are in line with how I hear the Auteur differences myself.
     
  9. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    I also have to point out that my impressions, as I said in my review, are with the Eikon pads since IMO, they render the treble better but do have a darker tilt.
     
  10. James Whiting

    James Whiting Facebook Friend

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    Speaking of pads I should get some new 650 pads...just to see. I did the front spider removal. A noticeable improvement. My Sennies are extremely damped with substantial amounts of damplifier pro on the backside and damplifier under the pads on the front. Have open cell foam doughnuts to smooth rear air flow from the capsule. I don't have real sub bass I suspect. But more than stock. And what is there has plenty of kick and snap. Actually does better than my previous Paradox Slants in that regard. I also closed off two of the port holes to control mid bass!

    Will keep watching this thread while saving up!

    Thanks for your efforts
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Final notes:
    • Sounds much better than it measures. Neutralish response. 6kHz in FR and CSD. Seems more appropriate to see the FR as having a BBC 3kHz dip instead of a 6-7kHz peak.
    • Atticus is slightly better in technicalities (dynamics, microdetail, speed), but more also colored (midbass, mids)
    • However, Autuer I found overall better than Atticus. Very seductive presentation. I cannot understate this point. Like the Nikon 85mm 1.4 glass. It's not the sharpest lens, especially at the corners; but I'd kill for the bokeh and would think of nothing else better for portraits. Auteur elicits a similar feel.
    • What I would have liked the Eikon to be, although not really a fair comparison as the Auteur is open backed, which livens and opens up the Auteur's sound.
    • Like Atticus, very tempted to buy one for myself. Highly recommended, although I would have liked to see the Auteur priced a few hundred less closer to the Atticus / Eikon. Definitely worthy of a ZMF flagship.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2017
  12. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    I 100% agree with everything you've said here. I especially agree that this should have been the Eikon. With the Eikon being "semi-open" and the Auteur being... "just a tiny bit more open" - they are just too similar in practical use. If the Auteur came in a HP-3'esque form factor and an Eikon price - I'd have a much tougher time resisting a purchase.
     
  13. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    Actually not sure I agree or if that was the interpretation I get @mental but I could be wrong.

    For practical use I understand where you are coming from but the misconception is that the Eikon is a semi-open headphone.
    • The Eikon sounds no where close to open at all and provides good isolation from outside noises. It is actually not semi open. It is slightly vented under the rear driver Those ports fool everyone. They are actually all blocked minus a very very slight opening at times to help maintain consistency in balance or help correct imbalances or something (forgot the actual way they are used). I think maybe (guess) the cups from the Omni were the initial inspiration and those ports actually were open but when designing the Eikon and Atticus they were less useful during the development or may have given too much bass or something so they ended up being blocked.
    • The Auteur sounds more open than all of the Semi-open headphones I have heard including the HP3 but less open than some open backs.
    • I think the Eikon as an actual closed headphone holds up very well amongst other closed backs, namely the Z1R, LCD XC and Ether Flow C. The TH900 sounds and is more 'semi-open' than the Eikon with more airflow to and from the drivers than the Eikon than you would think by looking at it. The ports of the TH900 are at the top and bottom of the cups.
    *Another confusing headphone is the Beyer T1 which everyone calls open but is actually Semi-open. From memory the Auteur sounds about as open as that headphone, or a little more when using the Teak and Auteur pads.
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2017
  14. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    @gbeast - Thank you for clarifying. I think you and I actually discussed that before and I had a brain fart about just how closed the Eikon is. I will clarify my statement further that I have absolutely no issue with the Eikon - I actually enjoy it very much for what it is. I'm speaking more in terms of my preferences and the grand scheme of everything. I've never been a fan of closed back headphones.
     
  15. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    honestly, the closed backs never get much head time unless people in the house complain. I totally get it. I also use them for when I write lyrics because of the bass response as well.
     
  16. ductrung3993

    ductrung3993 Facebook Friend

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    Same, a $500 increase for a headphone that is slightly behind in technicalities is a bit of a turnoff to me.
     
  17. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    Narrowing down a headphones worth to a single characteristic is a bit misleading though, unless said negative attribute makes a huge impact to the experience as a whole.

    The Auteur and Atticus are very close in technicalities specifically. However the Atticus is far from a close to neutral reference headphone. It is very colored (and embraces it wholeheartedly, which is a good thing). What some may call a "fun" headphone I guess, except in the case of the Atticus, it doesn't come with the crippling negatives that most "fun" headphones have (some examples: muddy bass, non-existent mids, severe treble issues, etc). It keeps really good technicalities, plankton and even a decently sized soundstage for a closed headphone. It is not a genre master and instead masters only a few IMO. Whereas the Eikon is a fantastic closed back all rounder, sounding good with just about any genre.

    The Auteur is similar in this way to the Eikon. It is close enough to neutral with Zach's house sound applied and can sound good with just about anything outside of some of the most terrible mastered albums. Therefore the Atticus isn't going to provide the level of resolve that the Auteur can on every genre. It is also much more open than both the closed offerings being an open/semi-open back.

    My favorite between the two closed backs is the Atticus because it makes magic with some of the music I listen too and also because I always have an open back reference for my main headphone (usually modded hd800 but recently the Autuer). I wouldn't use an Atticus as my main headphone, but that's just me. Someone who just listens to rock and metal for example may get along just fine with the Atticus as their only headphone.

    As for price, personally I'm not a fan of any headphone going above $1.5k. It seems most headphones past that point are just variations on each other while still having just as many tradeoffs. Pretty often I even prefer my hd650 I bought for $350 over many of these super priced headphones.
     
    Last edited: Dec 26, 2017
  18. ductrung3993

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    I understand (or believe that) musicality is way more important than technical abilities (esp. when slight) but at the same time I can't help but question at the idea that an almost 50% jump in price does not result in (even slightly) better technicalities. But heck, that may just be me and my sour grapes since it seems that I'd really enjoy an Auteur, only for them to be too expensive for me. Afterall, the HD800 isnt that much (if any) better than the HD650, and the same could be said for HE1000 and HE-6/HE-5.

    Either way, I've made up my mind that I'd try my best not to buy headphones that are >450g or sometimes even 400g if they're not that "irresistible". So I'm looking to build a setup around Grado HP1000 or 007 mk1 for now.
     
  19. I_want_all_the_tacos

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    I have both Atticus and Auteur. I absolutely love my Atticus, but I would consider Auteur "technically" better. But it depends how you define that. I think Auteur has better sub-bass extension which shows up in measurements and also better bass texture as it is cleaner and tighter compared to Atticus. I think Auteur feels more open and has a larger soundstage. I think Auteur has more treble detail. And Auteur definitely has a more refined and even tonal balance. So those are just some of the reasons I consider it more technical. There might be other reasons that someone else might consider Auteur to be less technical compared to Atticus, but you can see how this gets a bit subjective depending on your own definitions.

    The other thing to consider is that Zach has always stated that Atticus is not "inferior" to Eikon because it costs less. It costs less because it uses a cheaper priced TPE driver compared to Eikon's biocellulose driver and is tuned differently. They are counterparts with completely different goals. So the Auteur is using the same biocellulose drivers in Eikon, but in an open back format. Again, it in a different class as the closed headphones and not meant to be an "upgrade".

    I also think you are misunderstanding the pricing. A lot has to do with woods. My Cocobolo Atticus was $1300. I believe that cost more than a Cherry Eikon when those were available. And it is only $100 less expensive than a Teak Auteur on pre-order. So pricing varies a lot based on discounts, wood types, limited editions, etc. Instead of comparing Auteur's price to its closed back siblings, compare it to other headphones in that same price range and category.

    Regarding weight, I have had this argument with others in the past. Discounting a headphone based on list weight without even touching it yourself is the same as discounting a headphone based on its FR graph without ever hearing it. It makes no sense in this hobby. Do not equate Auteur's comfort to other heavier headphones like Audeze LCD series or old Hifiman HE-400/500 series. I have experience with all those (owned a 2016 LCD-2 even) and Auteur is NOTHING like those. In fact, I consider my Auteur and Atticus the most comfortable headphones I have ever used. Even more comfortable than my HD800 because I find the pads to be too big and touches the entire side of my face and I prefer leather pads over the softer material HD800 uses. I also find it more comfortable than my HD6XX because of the ear pads on that being slightly small such that my ears touch the sides, uses velour pads instead of leather, and the clamp force is a bit too tight. The Auteur and Atticus have a full metal headband wrapped in leather that is fully bendable. You can literally bend and shape it in any way you want such that it fits around your head how you want and you can make it clamp to the force you want. I can wear the ZMfFs for many hour long sessions and never have to touch them or shift them around like I do with almost every other headphone I have auditioned or owned.
     
  20. Erikdayo

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    I appreciate the impressions on the weight and comfort. The weight has always been one of my biggest concerns with these ZMF models. Hopefully my experience is similarly pleasant when I finally order an Auteur. I had no idea about the headband being fully bendable, and I think that’ll help a lot in distributing the weight in a way that I am comfortable with for long sessions.

    The most comfortable headphones I’ve used are all much lighter. The 330g HD800 and 260g HD650 are among those, but I definitely agree with the pads being a little too big on the HD800 and a little too small/narrow on the HD650. In addition I always feel comfortable with A-T models that use the wing system. The feeling of no pressure on top of my head is quite nice.

    Most other full sized headphones I’ve used made me feel like I needed to adjust them often. With the 450g Elear some days I found them comfortable and other days they gave me some pretty bad headaches. A lot of people seem to find Focal headphones pretty comfortable so I think my sensitivity to pressure on top of my head is just a bit higher than average.

    Edit: I also have a question if anyone is willing to provide some feedback. If you were going to pick only one of the three ZMF originals which would it be? Atticus, Eikon, or Auteur? Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2017

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