ZMF EIKON & ZMF ATTICUS

Is the Atticus darker/less detailed and airy in the highs than the HD650?

 

According to Amar over at Verum Sonus it is darker and less airy. Not sure about detailed, I know the Atticus is very clean in general.

 

Have been thinking about amp pairing for eikon (both to me and/or in general).

Although feeling somewhat sub-optimal, I still think joten is one of the safest recommendations if budget is limited.

1. Joten has fairly black and clean background, so does eikon (both regardless of asking price). black+black=good (to me)
2. Joten is very good at controlling bass and reproducing plankton. Eikon is good,too. Again, good+good
3. There's a consensus that jot is weak at staging (particularly depth). Eikon's tastefully controlled cup resonance and benign tonality (nice midrange to lower treble, and slightly tilted dark sounding) contribute to very natural staging depth (as well as width/height) to my ears. So jot's problem is largely mitigated by eikon's virtues, thus much less annoying than many open offerings such as hd6xx. Similar things can be said to slightly artificial and glaring trebles of joten.

Of course I auditioned wa5, and it was even more fantastic with eikon in every aspect.. but that stupid asking price haha.

Also, trusted people here recommended EC studio is a "Super jot", so it will be paired wonderfully with eikon. No doubt. But again, that asking price...
Maybe one can consider MJO2 as well (because of 3). Not very sure with vali2 (but quite curious). AGD's offerings might be solid, too. But these are all just my speculation.

 

When I finally find a place in Dallas and get all of my gear out of storage, I can setup and let you give it a shake with the Cavalli LG and the Rag (if you're interested).

 

Wow. Bro, those are another two totl gears I am very intersted with! I am also quite surprised that we live (relatively) close to each other haha. If a mini/regular meet is held in Dallas, I will be definitely there.. For a student, airfare to other cities is too much. Oh well..

 

Good thoughts. Is Jot what you are currently using with yours? I've got some sweet tubes in my Lyr 2 but have considered picking up a LISST which would, in theory, move the Lyr 2 much closer to a Jot once my Eikon gets here. One thing is for sure, the experimentation is half the fun, right?

 

Yes, I'm currently using jot. Quite curious about tube world tho.
Lisst sounds like a very good idea. I think schiit's tube offerings have a strong advantage that everyone has the option of lisst. I've never heard it, but technically it seems to operate like SS, but people also said that amps still had some of good traits of tube gears even with lisst.

 

Remember, Zach does reccomend OTLs for his two new dynamics, so I'd personally lean towards the EC Zana Deux Super (not to mention the price difference...yikes)

 

FWIW a lot of people, including Zach, really liked the new dynamics out of the ZD at the Chicago meet. I actually haven't heard the Eikon from anything else, but am really enjoying the pairing with ZD. (Atticus was nice out if it, great staging compared to most other amps, and very smooth but it's not quite my cup of tea). I should expand my initial impressions of Eikon/ZD from a few pages back soon, as I may be the only current owner of both

 

That might be pretty helpful. We already know Eikon's are good enough. Now we want to know how they can be maxed out!

 

Thanks! Could you please also compare the Eikon to the Utopia if possible? This year I want to pick up a totl dynamic that is fairly neutral but not bass shy (HD800 is ruled out) and I'm wondering if the Eikon can get close to the Utopia. I don't mind sacrificing the last few percent of performance and saving 3k.

 

@Rthomas

There are several headphones that can conditionally best utopia IMO. Typical examples are well modded hd650 /800 or sr007/009 (to my knowledge). I want to add eikon to this list, at least for myself.
But all these might be 'conditional', highly depending on personal sonic preference fit and synergistic matching. Utopia is definitely a safer choice among totl cans, if cost and diminishing return can be ignored.

You may also consider another point of view. Eikon is definitely way more forgiving (in terms of gear matching and recording quality). For me, this is also a very determining factor, because of my poverty level and significant portion of creepy recordings.

Whatever, I recommend you to find an opportunity to hear both. Both are worth auditioning regardless of your actual decisions.

 

I'm unfortunately not the guy you need to really answer this question as my Utopia experience isn't enough. All I can really say is what I said in my recent meet impressions, which is quoted below. With my limited impressions, controlling for chain (Gungnir Multibit > ZD) I would absolutely take Utopia over anything else I've heard or owned, including Eikon and even a bit over my beloved HD800+SDR (but that price gap is why it won't happen). Utopia has closer bass levels to Eikon than HD800 does, Eikon has more tho. Utopia is certainly more detailed, and a bit wider stage, but also a little more bright. That's really all I'm comfortable saying between the two.

 

Thanks, I will get the chance to audition both in a month's time I think.

You bring up an interesting point, I'm not sure I want something that reveals every imperfection in a recording. I look forward to seeing the Eikon measurements as well, I don't think any have been released.

 

Listening to the Atticus right now. Definitely better than the prototype I heard. Specifically in technicalities. Same midbass less upper bass and more control. Also more upper mids. Clean sounding too. More refined. I was expecting a super large soundstage based on a couple of posts but it's not so. Not bad either.

 

Good, if I wanted a darker HD800, I'd just get an HD800S and gooey tubes...

 

Good to hear that @gbeast
I've always wanted to show my hearty appreciation to you, because your early review (one of the earliest reviews of eikon and atticus to my knowledge) critically led me to preorder eikon. It was, from my perspective, nearly a blind buy. But I am now 150% (conservatively estimating) satisfied with my decision last November.

Also expecting to hear your impression how zmf cans pair with mogwai.

 

You are welcome sir.

 

No upper-midrange dip like with the Elear ?

 

Which do you prefer? A or E?