ZMF EIKON & ZMF ATTICUS

Hi it had great sound, I would have liked a little more body to the mid bass but the biggest thing was comfort.

I just could not get it adjusted correctly and the pads didn't sit well on my head, maybe the Auteur pads would have been nicer. It was also on the heavy side. It's the first headphone I had to take off from not liking how it felt before I normally would.

 

Yeah if bass body is your thing, Atticus is far favorable in that department. But even then, Eikon and Atticus are built the same so weight is the same.

Did you follow Zach's guide on headband bending?


The weight is always an issue with the ZMF headphones, so getting the headband adjusted right is key to making it comfortable. You really need to find a way to bend it so that it distributes weight evenly on your head. For instance, I used to have LCD-2F and that headphone is about the same weight but the non-adjustable headband causes the headphones to sit very heavy with a lot of pressure and not a good weight distribution. The Lohb strap helps somewhat, but it never feels great. The LCD2C does a much better job with the suspensions style headband, but it clamps a bit more than I like. For me, I prefer to give my ZMF headbands a sharp point to the top, like an upside-down "V". I find that helps move pressure away from sitting on the top of my head and instead spreads it out across the sides. And going along with that you have to shape the headband in a way to get the earcups to sit with the right amount of pressure you prefer. That helps a lot in getting the pads to sit well.

 

Fwiw, I tried the Auteur pads with the Eikon and didn't like the sound at all, there was a noticeable bass roll off.

 

As did I. It was very much not good.

 

Were they the non-perforated Auteur pads? Don't think Zach would recommend anything but the non-perforated version for the Eikon.

 

They were the perforated auteur pads.

 

Ash Atticus with suede headband, strap, and pads. The suede pads aren’t installed on the first pic.

The wood color on the cups matches perfectly. Just bad lighting on the 2nd pic.

 

Sounds like @zach915m has partnered with Aornic in Europe!

 

Well, this is good news for the U.K. and us other Europeans wanting to buy a ZMF dynamic headphone with less hassle (at least as long as Brexit is not finalised). Webshop is online already. Prices look fair, especially the introductory offer with 100 pounds off this month: link
While I am at it... my Auteur Blackwoods still leave me utterly satisfied after a few months of use. I have not looked left or right since and been focusing on music instead of gear.

edit July 17:
Just received a note that there will be a dealer/sales point in the Netherlands as well.
Choice is a little limited for now: link
I really feel happy for Zach that his headphone creations start getting well deserved interest worldwide more and more.

 

I have found that I also like quite s bit of vee in my Auteurs headband...but it looks a bit funky. Kind of coneheadish! Going to try rounding it out. Also like the improved clamping. They felt a bit too loose previously!

Yes indeed the Blackwoods are flat amazing. Particilarly stunning on live recordings and high resolution DSD!

Done a lot of upgrading and tweaking and they just continue to amaze me. Bob Pragnell at Mad Scientist was kind enough to indulge my curiosity about running his carbon fiber graphene cables. So he built me a 2M cable as a prototype. He may be turning it into a real product on his site. Going to compare with my Silver/Gold OCC which sounds pretty amazing right now!

Happy listening!

 

I've been testing out both of them lately - I don't have enough equipment or experience to do any kind of real review, but I can say where I'm coming from: basshead, jot/Modi Multibit, love the th-x00 and I oddly prefer the hd600s to the hd650s.

In trying the atticus my immediate reaction was "they're pretty good", I wasn't blown away, but I do think an improvement on the th-x00 (again i'm early days - it'll be a few months). I liked the bass, things are good, so I switched in the Eikons ...

The Eikons .... bizarre!

Everything, and I mean everything, just sounds WAY BETTER. Which probably sounds ridiculous, but here's what I mean:

If you play a track you're used to, the eikon takes it, separates everything in it and blows it way out, so now you can not only pick out individual instruments but you place them in space. And not just that, each has become much more vivid. For me this drastically changes tracks and every time I listen it generates question marks. And I listen to all kinds of music: EDM, pop, jazz, rock, trip-hop, deep house - the Eikon fucks with all of them. Old REM to Jessica Krall to Blue Tech to Punch Brothers.

An example is Alannah Myles' Black Velvet - it came on because I use Tidal Hi-fi and was bopping around and got lost listening to a compilation. I hate that song, and I hate her voice in it. Or I used to. It came on the Eikons and I was thinking WOW! what a great track! Who is this, I need to get some more and ... wait. WAIT. Is this Black Velvet?? What the hell is going on?? Anyway, call me a fan of that track now. That's what the Eikons do: make sucky stuff not suck.

And then there's the sub-bass. I was POSITIVE I'd like the Atticus more - and I might - but I've never gotten back to them because the Eikons are so bizarre and their sub-bass is super addictive. I think maybe I'm a sub-bass-head, because I find the Eikons to give nothing up to the TH-X00. If you like those, to my ear, the Eikons are better in every way, and then throw in some magic tricks on top.

So that's where I am - quick-tried the Atticus, switched to the Eikons, and I'm totally perplexed: they're doing some weird magical Wizard-of-Oz shit I can't comprehend yet.

It's like going into your closet to get that comfy flannel shirt, you open the door and

 

Yeah, I think people get a wrong impression because Atticus is known as the "bassy" one of the pair. But it is really mid-bass specific so it is that thicker, bloomy bass and it isn't that weighty rumble of sub-bass. I think Eikon works better for most of those genres you mentioned, particularly anything electronic with synthesized fast and deep bass. I think Atticus' magic is in its timbre. Throw on some singer-songwriter intimate vocals and Atticus shines with its rich and lush nature. I also like it with jazz and natural instrument focused music. It isn't trying to be neutral in the slightest, but it just sounds euphonic. It also works really well for metal because of its hefty bass, speed, and being able to bring screeching electric guitars front and center without being harsh. When you go back to comparisons with Atticus try finding music that plays to the strengths of each headphone. They are both great and are quite complementary to each other.

 

Just put suede Eikon pads on my Atticus, these really are a great all around headphone now. Mids and timbre are still natural/slightly euphonic sounding, but there is better definition across the spectrum. The lowered mid bass really helps clear things up, kick drum hits are now well separated from bass guitar and double bass even when struck on the same beat. Overall instrument separation sounds better. Listening now to "No More Workhorse Blues" from Bonnie Prince Billy's Sings Greatest Palace Music, I'm really enjoying the interplay between the bass backup vocals from David Berman, the double bass and piano. Things were getting a little too thik with my recent addition of Gungnir Multibit and my already slightly lush sounding amp.
Thanks to @Mystic and @captkirk for the recommendation.

 

What amp / dac are you using?

 

Modded Musical Paradise Mp301/Gungnir Multibit

 

I know people are more excited about the verite/aeolus that got announced at RMAF, but I received some like-new b-stock purpleheart eikon and atticus from zach recently (zach still has some b-stock left! see my post in the deals thread), and thought people would be interested if I posted about them here (apparently zach only made 5-6 purpleheart atticus/eikon in total)

I'm hesitant to post full-on sound impressions, because I feel the purple hearts haven't fully burned in yet, and I feel my current ha2se -> little dot 1+ setup is not doing them full justice. I have a Modi Multibit and lyr 3 on the way and a cherry eikon I'll compare them against later next week. I'll try to answer any immediate specific questions, though, if anyone has any.

For now, here are some photos!








p.s. is it normal for the eikon to feel a bit anemic and then "warm up" and be much more full sounding after playing music for a while? .-. I'm having that experience, and can't tell if it's because the eikon's just aren't burnt in fully yet, or I'm just crazy.

 

Yes, I had that a lot with the Eikon pads. Takes 15 minutes or so for the pads to warm up and it gets bassier in that time. Eikon also seems to rely more on seal than other closed headphones. With my glasses I could bring down the bass to neutral levels while also not giving up too much extension. Other closed headphones usually stay bassy even with my glasses.

 

Ah, that makes a lot of sense Yeah, I agree that it seems to rely more on a seal - I didn't notice it as much with the atticus, maybe because on it are a bit thicker?