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ZMF Aeolus Measurements

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Aug 24, 2020.

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  1. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    Darn was hoping for a C+ heh.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2020
    Ruined, Sep 1, 2020
    #41
  2. ChaChaRealSmooth

    ChaChaRealSmooth SBAF's Mr. Bean

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    If you read the ZMF compendium comparison chart post you'd know that I think all headphones stage like ass, with the highest grade being a D (maybe a D+). The only exception to this is the SR1a, which has actual soundstage which exists outside of your head to some extent.
     
    ChaChaRealSmooth, Sep 1, 2020
    #42
  3. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    I looked at your chart but didn't read the text. Which i now see, ha.

    Headphones I've heard I really like the stage on:
    Hd800 (A+), hd800s (A), hd820 (B+), hd700 (B)

    Headphones I've heard I felt had a stage I could live with but not ideal (C+}:
    Grado Hemp

    Everything else I've owned has been F for me in terms of stage, but I've never heard any ZMF - mostly the entire Senn lineup heh

    Was looking for a new open back in 1.5k range and these looked interesting
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2020
    Ruined, Sep 1, 2020
    #43
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    K1000 C-
    SR1a D+
    HD800 D
    HD700 D-
    ZMF F+
    HD600 F
    Utopia F-
    Grado F-
    LCD* F--
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2020
    purr1n, Sep 1, 2020
    #44
  5. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    I am going to buy in about a week or two, will see.

    read around a bit and heard everything from the "soundstage is good, not hd800 good, but still very good" to "like the vocalist is in the closet and you are outside with the door closed, while hd700 is like the vocalist is on the lawn singing" (seriously)

    But anyway it seems a step up from HD6xx which I really dislike staging of, kills headphone for me. I can't speak for other Grados but I like the Hemp staging better than the HD6xx, although it might just be the grados brightness makes me perceive a more lively sound that makes up for the soundstage.

    Will have to do some thinking ,but the ltd ed sure looks sweet. Big fan of cocobolo. Want to get something a little more chill but more spicy than HD6xx.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2020
    Ruined, Sep 1, 2020
    #45
  6. jnak00

    jnak00 Friend

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    @Ruined What do you mean by "more chill but more spicy than HD6xx"? Sounds like you want cold and hot at the same time.

    Are you going to order new? If so, be prepared to wait. I don't know what the turnaround is like right now, but mine took over 3 months and I ordered them pre-COVID. It seems used pairs sell pretty quickly, too.
     
    jnak00, Sep 2, 2020
    #46
  7. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    I owned the HD600 for like 6 months tried on a few amps and pretty much just bored me to tears. Soundstage was too small, seemed like all mids.

    But right now I have 3 bright-leaning headphones (hd820, hd700, hemp) so it would be nice to have a more "supple" one to complement them - but it needs to be bigger soundstage and more dynamic than the hd600 was because that was just too conservative for my tastes. This ZMF sounded interesting because from descriptions it seems to be a more conservative sound but with a bit bigger soundstage and more color to spice things up a bit as I noted. Doesn't need to match HD7xx/hd8xx soundstage but Hemp soundstage is basically the minimum I would accept (bigger would be better).

    I don't mind waiting, have plenty to listen to in the meantime
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2020
    Ruined, Sep 2, 2020
    #47
  8. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Have you ever heard Denon/Fostex/DropTH? That would be my first stop to try and ascertain if ZMF is a possibility. Big dynamic driver/biocellulose sound, with various flavors and amounts of cup reverb isn't everyone's cup of tea, and judging by your preferences something like Utopia might be a better fit.
     
    yotacowboy, Sep 2, 2020
    #48
  9. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    Nope, nope, and nope. I didn't get into headphones seriously until HD7xx/HD8xx came out because I never liked the soundstage of previous hifi headphones i had tried and thus only used them as lesser option when I couldnt use speakers - didn't know soundstage like HD7xx/HD8xx was even possible in a headphone. If the soundstage is tiny I have no desire to listen to the rest of the headphone, basically.

    I used to live near a big city and had opportunity to demo stuff pretty easily, and visited Senn store frequently. I kinda got sucked into their marketing and have heard and/or bought virtually their entire lineup. But more recently I moved out to the boonies and now not much opportunity to demo esoteric stuff that Best Buy doesn't carry.

    This new headphone i am looking for will only be used at late night because I need closed back isolation during the day. Bought HD820 for that because it sounds like an open back despite being closed (again, soundstage #1 for me). So now looking to branch out a little for an open back to listen to when its quiet and just seeing what my options are and maybe try something a little different tonally, but over a couple hundred bucks its basically gonna have to be a buy/sell affair to demo stuff.

    Or, option B is to get the HD800S to complete the "sennheiser big soundstage collection" heh
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2020
    Ruined, Sep 2, 2020
    #49
  10. ChaChaRealSmooth

    ChaChaRealSmooth SBAF's Mr. Bean

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    ZMF Aeolus - Revisited

    20210122_164102.jpg

    I originally heard the Aeolus a while back. With the pads provided (Universe Suede) I thought it was decent, but not to my tastes; I much preferred Auteur and Verite. However, since then I have learned that for some reason, I do not like the suede pads on ZMFs since to my ears the suede pads compromise on transients and timbre too much. Thanks to a good SBAF friend, I have the opportunity to revisit Aeolus, this time with more pads on-hand. In short, I still don't prefer Aeolus over Auteur or Verite, but now I definitely get how people may prefer Aeolus over the other ZMFs.

    Sonics

    I won't go into too much detail, since the Aeolus has been rather extensively covered in this thread, in the Verite/Aeolus thread, and a bit in the ZMF Compendium (for those too lazy to peruse those threads, my opinion that it sounds like a souped-up HD650 that's fast, slams, has more clarity/blackness, and is both more colored and "ZMF" still stands). Instead, I'll highlight a few key areas that, with a swap of pads, pushed the Aeolus into territory where depending on use case, I'd consider it over the other ZMFs. Keep in mind that for my use personally, the Aeolus makes literally no sense for me to own. Also, most of the comments are going to be comparative to its ZMF stablemates.

    One of the main things that bothers me with the suede pads is the dryness it introduces to the timbre. On something like Auteur which has kind of an inherent tube-like "wetness," this may not be a bad thing depending on chain and pad used, but on Aeolus, I did not like the resulting timbre. The first time around, I attributed the timbre to the TPE driver, but revisiting it now with the Universe Lambskin pads, I really dig the Aeolus's timbre. Not quite as rich as the Auteur, but the TPE driver in Aeolus almost sounds like a biocellulose driver.

    The other area where suede pads bother me is transients. I find them to be very weird-sounding with suede pads; kind of both indistinct and sharp at the same time, without much definition. The lambskin pads happily fix this for me; Aeolus transients are snappy and fast (although not as fast as the Verite) and hit quite hard.

    Conclusion

    Overall, I very much enjoyed auditioning Aeolus a second time and am glad that I was able to give it a second shot. It is definitely worth consideration over Auteur and Verite depending on tastes, and those that do prefer Aeolus also get to benefit from its cheaper price than the other two.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2021
    ChaChaRealSmooth, Jan 22, 2021
    #50
  11. snatex

    snatex Facebook Friend

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    Thanks for the update. Can you go into a little more detail on what you think are the key non-financial factors in making the choice between the Aeolus, Auteur and Verite? Also, some detail on how they currently rank for you (in your favorite pads) and why?
     
    snatex, Jan 25, 2021
    #51
  12. ChaChaRealSmooth

    ChaChaRealSmooth SBAF's Mr. Bean

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    Please peruse the ZMF Compendium, esepcially the ZMF Spider Chart I put together for the answer to this question.

    I'm assuming you're asking for my opinion in regards to comparing Aeolus to other open-back ZMFs. Personally I still like them the least of all ZMF open-back dynamics regardless of pads used (both Verite lambskin and Universe lambskin I found very enjoyable), but there no longer exists a gulf in my preferences between Aeolus and Auteur.

    My preference: Verite > Verite Closed > Auteur > Aeolus = Atticus > Eikon

    I prize resolving ability, microdynamics, and layering ability above the other sonic attributes (the others are important for me but not as much). As long as timbre isn't fucked by being overly grainy/plasticky/etc I'm okay with most driver timbre because every transducer has a sound for better or worse (the Verite's timbre sounds rich and I love it).

    Now, if your question is where the Aeolus ranks in terms of my personal top headphones list, it doesn't make the cut. It's too expensive to knock off the cheaper reference that is the JAR modded HD600 (it also isn't better in the areas I really care about), and frankly the Utopia does everything the Aeolus does and is much better in certain aspects.
     
    ChaChaRealSmooth, Jan 25, 2021
    #52
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