ZMF EIKON & ZMF ATTICUS

Damn, that's probably the clearest (and most concise) comparison I've read yet, my humble thanks. I think I know which one to go for now, at least for the next 15 to 30 minutes.

 

I like his video.

I didn't watch the whole thing but he made some good points.

A couple things contrary to my opinion.
- The Atticus is a little more dipped in the upper mids compared to the Vibro has a very similar balance otherwise but the way the driver behaves makes it sound way different. It even makes the signature sound different. You can have the same exact balance on two different driver types and one can sound more full in the midrange than the other or even more distant or close.

- The Atticus soundstage is a little larger than the Eikon

- The Atticus bass extension is identical to the Eikon but just has a more enveloping response and midbass punch. Sub bass on the Atticus is just as present and full as on the Eikon, just less focused. It makes it seem like the Eikon reaches further but they are actually the same almost in extension. The Eikon does good with electronic music as well but I do pick up the Atticus more so for that genre.

 

OH NO YOU DIDN'T!

Haha

 

I find that hard to imagine.
In fact,
It's time to see things for what they are.
The "emperor" (Utopia) has no clothes.
*Edit* ("no clothes" = no bottom end basd heft
& no hd800 or HEK or stax009 level of Soundstage)

Utopia is not the (end game) savior.
For any of the possible Utopia technical advances in any particular specific driver performance criteria,
What is the result You hear?
To me it was frustrating for Utopia to have top level resolution, but deficiencies in other areas.


In the end, once the dust clears,
I would not envision Utopia having anything "super" over any other can.
It's all relative to what you like.

Utopia was flavor of the day,
Now it is Eikon time..

Edit:
Edited for clarity as it did come across a bit hyped by saying it's Eikon's time...
But it is.

 

Lets not get too Hype-fi. They're still very different headphones and neither have been fully explored as to what they're capable of.

 

Tried to hear different amp settings to find my 'optimal' amp for eikon.

Interestingly, I could really enjoy all the pairings I tried, no matter how much they costed. Tubes clearly helped more impact, body, and better layered sound stages. But SS such as jotun went well with eikon giving cleaner and faster bass definitions. I am still not very sure which amp to go (very impressed with decware taboo tho), but clearly decided to have both ss and tube for the eikon. Want to try Schiit MJO2 and EC offerings later.

BTW I also found that my hd6xx in most case showed slightly more dramatic changes by changing amps.

 

^I think the Eikon is less picky than the Atticus. That makes sense that the 600 is more revealing of system changes.

I did post the review of the Atticus on Earphiles

I welcome feedback and discussion on the differences heard from what I expressed in my review. My measurement rig will be done soon so I will post measurements (unsanctioned) of it as well and comment on what I hear. I like the Atticus a lot but know it's not for everyone. I actually give it more head time than the Eikon and with the Auris HA2-SE inbound as well as the Mogwai and and loaner Milo(eventually) I will be expecting to use it and the 650 more than the Eikon for testing differences.

P.S. Did you hear the taboo UFO? or MKIII?

 

I heard mk2 (somewhat old one). From the consensus among users, I assume both mk3 and ufo made reasonable improvements over mk2. And taboo ufo is one of my strong candidates indeed. lol

 

You know what I would love to see from someone with a measurement rig? (Slightly off topic here, sorry...) Set it up with the same source, DAC and headphone, and switch amps. Like on headphones that are sensitive to amp pairings. Like the Atticus. I want to see impressions of what sounded best to the reviewer before said test, and then run that test to see what quantifiable changes are going on that makes amp X a better pairing than amps Y and Z.

Ya know?

 

^Thats a dope idea... even tube rolling

 

I've seen @Ishcabible do this exactly with the Eikon to try and get a feel for any impedance curve oddities. Measured the same on the Krell Klone and S.E.X. I believe.

 

Nice writeup! Enjoyed your review much.

One interesting point is that I've seen some liked atticus while others meh-ed. The review enabled me to develop several hypotheses to explain it. Personal tastes/preferences, Zach's intentions/purposes, and amplifications all together may be associated with one's liking atticus.

Liked this statement a lot.

BTW @gbeast , how about eikon's pairing between he9 and mogwai? I guess eikon works well with both, but I want to know what changes you noticed.

 

The Atticus soundstage has a tiny bit more depth, due to the presence sounding a bit further because of the first bullet you listed. I had reviewed mine with the Eikon and Atticus being on the same wood...and I would that the Atticus SOUNDS deeper, but the Eikon IS larger.

Your last point is 100% on the money. While being completely different in intent and soundstage, they have a lot of similarities. They're just...used differently.

Having used Zach's Decware, I prefered the Atticus on my NFB-11, as the tubes made the bass go into "way too much" territory. With the Eikon, I preferred it on the tube amp (but it went just as well with the NFB-11.)

I should have my own non-reviewer Eikon this week.

 

What would be the better buy between the Oppo PMX2 and the Eikon?

I'm looking for a reference sound with a bit of warmth and better bass than my hd650.

 

Those modded PM2's I've read about? Haven't heard them personally, but doesn't everyone describe them as having ruler-flat FR? Due to that and your stated preference, I'd go Eikon, hands down. I'm also biased, so... grain of salt and whatnot.

 

I actually hear the Atticus as wider as well....YmmV

The elear has a steeper dip in the upper midrange but it's soundstage is smaller than all of them.

 

The Eikon did only a little better on the HE9 than the Atticus but still had better body, layering, and microdynamics on the Mogwai.

I understand what Paco means by the Atticus having too much bass on a Decware but the right tube amp gives the Atticus better macrodynamics and nuance than anything AGD can offer.

 

From a "DIY" standpoint, the upgraded UFO Transformers are an improvement,
But the choice of the Jupiter Beeswax not make sense to me.
I tried these caps myself, and cryo treated or not, you are settling with that particular coupling cap's sound.

For any top amp , the obvious choice Should have been a copper foil cap for most transparent sound.
You can't get away from introduction of cap affecting sound if you using for interstage coupling ,
So they should have went for any copper foils.

The Jupiter Beeswax is still an above average choice which introduce a natural sound but also thickness to lower end, from my trials.

 

Some short impressions after having my Eikons (Paduak) for a week.

Compared to HD800:
+No dip before 6k like the 800. Female vocals and guitars really shine.
+Bass digs deeper and slams appropriatly
+I prefer the overal tone of the mids on the Eikon. Sounds more forward where the 800 can be a little recessed in the upper mids without mods.
-Soundstage not as wide or deep

Compared to HD650:
+Bass is more articulate, doesn't sound as muddy as the 650 can on some systems.
-Not as smooth transition to treble, 650 still king here (Eikons are kinda close I feel)
=Can't decide which midrange I prefer. This is probably a good thing.
=Soudstage about equal, Eikons might has a slight edge but the closed nature gives me the sense the 650 may be a little better.

The upper mids of the Eikon really reminds me of the HD600 (from memory, sold my 600 a couple months ago)

These are definitely a keeper. They sound beautiful from my Sonett 1 on low gain.

 

Wow, nice impressions. Can't wait to get my set next week. Curious how close they will get to the Utopia.