ZMF EIKON & ZMF ATTICUS

I've used a Hifiman adapter to do so. I set the digital volume near minimum on my pc at first, get a little volume with the amp, then slowly bring up the digital and turn down the speaker amp if needed. With the Hifiman Adapter meant for 50 ohm he-6, the speaker amp will still be looking at a high impedance load with the Eikon. Not all speaker amps may survive this. My Anthem 225 does well. But not a lot of point. High impendance, dynamic driver headphones are best with high voltage potential tube amps. Actually, I like my hard to drive planars typically current hungry, with tube amps best also. Greatest dynamics. HE6 out of speaker taps of Mogwai with Hifiman Adapter and Abyss right out of Aficionado, these tube amps have some decent current flow..

 

Me and the Suede Ori pads weren't a match with the Atticus. I did enjoy the leveled bass quite a bit (not more, but appreciated the alternative equally), but the boost in the upper-ish mids was very fatiguing. Exact same thing happened with the HE500 though, I could only handle the pleather pads on those. Might as well admit I'm sensitive up there.

 

I was really excited for the suede pads and enjoyed them a lot at first, but they only lasted on the Atticus for a few days. I don't think they'll be going back on anytime soon. I preferred the thicker, meatier sound of the stock pads.

 

I finally got around to getting an resistance adapter to test how the Atticus reacts to lowering the damping factor. The adapter is 75ohm, going between the phones and and the low gain output of the Lyr 2.

Expectation: revelatory and orgasmic changes in sub bass and treble. HD800 soundstage. Tube amp holographic sound and injections of heroin directly into my dick.

Result: I can now use a wee bit more of the volume pot.

 

Thanks to the Atticus EU laoner program I´ve had the pleasure to gather some impressions of the ZMF Atticus headphones. It was great to get to know the third member of the ZMF dynamic headphones family after having owned the Eikons for half a year and owning the Auteur Blackwood right now.

Really, so much insightful impressions have been shared about the Atticus by now that I´ll go with a somewhat alternative set of impressions:

The Atticus reminded me of Winston Churchill smoking a cigar, sipping scotch and making a V sign with palms facing inward.

or, depending on the nature of the music:

It is like a hot party on a small caribbean beach bay bathing in the sunset light.
Lots of fun for many, but for me in the end the Kelvin light temperature is a bit too low, the people are a little too sweaty and the beach is just a bit too cramped.

As good as the Atticus is, with almost every piece of music I explored for comparison, I was met with a more rewarding listening experience with the Blackwood Auteurs, which have become my personal reference. They tick almost all the boxes on my list with a bit more openness my main remaining wish.

To keep things in perspective; there is hardly any closed headphones I know of I would prefer over Eikon / Atticus, with my personal slight nod going towards the Eikons...

 

I grabbed a pair of suede Eikon pads for my Atticus. According to Zach, these keep the upper mids a little more well behaved over the suede Ori pads.

The change is pretty significant. It turns my Atticus from something that masters just a few genres to something closer to a closed reference like the Eikon. Still tight and fast bass, however the lowering of the mid bass allows the sub bass to shine a little more. Treble is brought up but still overall smooth, maybe just a little more energy than I prefer though I have a feeling this is more due to a recent change in my system that I hope to have dialed in the coming weeks. I wouldn't pair the suede Atticus with a very forward sounding setup. I doubt this would pair well with the Jot (at least the earlier iteration, I have not heard the new ones that are supposedly smoother in that area). Pairs pretty well with my ZDS with a slightly warmer tube like the RCA red base which is already really smooth in the upper mids/lower treble.

Recommended as a good compliment to the stock Ori leather pads. Will probably be a bit genre and system specific for some.

 

Ditto.

Suede-padded Atticus + ZDS w/ Black Base Fivre 6SL7GT is easily my most used combo. Bonkers good.

 

Link to buy the resistance adaptor please? Thanks!

 

It's this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IMPEDANC...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

There are several options, and most are cheaper than this, but finding one with a 1/4" plug or jack is difficult and I wanted to minimize the amount of adapters needed.

 

Thanks!

 

New "Rusted Zebra" Atticus and Eikon

http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-originals/zmf-ltd-barnyard-cherry

 

correct link:

http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-originals/zmf-ltd-rusted-zebra

 

B-Stock up!

http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-originals/used-b-and-overstock

 

Has anyone tried Auteur pads on the Atticus? The stock pads are a little small in the ear opening for me, smash the edges of my ears a bit.

 

A new limited edition Auteur, Ash, is up on the web site .... I'm waiting to see what the next LTD ZMF Eikon is and may pull the trigger ... But I think this Ash is one of cooler looking ones and more "zebra" than zebra

http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-originals/zmf-ltd-ash

 

I got an Eikon but it's not what I was expecting, maybe an Atticus would be more my flavor.

 

Tell us why... what is it about the Eikon that seems less appetizing than you thought it would/could be?

 

Compare you eikon on the ss amp to your hybrid amps. Which do you like better? I've noticed I like how full on tube amps bring the mids of the Eikon more forward. For me the Atticus does fine on ss amps and hybrids. Both however will really shine on tubes. It's not that I don't ever listen to my Eikon out of ss or hybrids, just the results of synergy and source material are mixed with regards to the solidity, impact, and how engaging the sound becomes.

 

My Eikon really does well when paired with my Metrum Musette and MCTH amp. That is a pretty wonderful matchup and I definitely like it better than any of the ss offerings that I tested with the Eikon.

 

This. I never really appreciated my Eikon until I went full tube. At that point I sold my Atticus.