Hi everyone, i have an ZMF Aeolus (sapele) and i love it, really, really love it, but iĀ“m looking for a complement HP. I am looking to the Focal Clear or Elex and also to the ZMF Auteur. Although the price difference is a bit, ZMFĀ“s are well worth it imo. But is only if the sound signature is worth it in terms of detail retrieval, vocals (voacl intimacy) and good treble. Can anyone tell me if the Auteur is that much difference/better in technicalities than the Aeolus, and/or if its on par with the Clear?
I have a couple ZMF headphones, and should get to hear the Auteurs next week. I also own the Clears. I think they would be a pretty good contrast to any of the ZMFs I own and have heard, and would stand out as different from them. While all the ZMFs have a different tuning, they all lean towards the warm side. I personally prefer the Verite and Eikon to my Aeolus, but they all feel like they are in the same family to me. The Clears will be brighter, and have a lot more detail than the Aeolus will. I also donāt think you can go wrong with any of your choices though. They are all great headphones
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Thanks Onaha. Do you think that your Eikon as the same level of detail as the Clears? Asking because it has the same driver as the Auteur. What do you prefer for music enjoyment.? Clear or Eikon? Verite i canĀ“t reach money wise.
Short answer, no. The Eikons have much more detail for me than the Aeolus, but the Clears are on a slight tier above. The Eikons add warmth and are a little more refined in doing that than the Aeolus. That warmth is enhanced on a tube amp, and I donāt think a tube amp affects the Aeolus as much for what itās worth. I think both the Aeolus and Eikon are easier to drive than the Clears. Depending on the sources you are running, you may be better off with the Elex.
I had no intention on getting the Eikon or Auteur. I had decided to order an Aeolus and Verite, and while I was waiting for my order to be filled my friend bought and received a demo unit Eikon from the ZMF Black Friday sale. I had a chance to hear it, and I liked it so much I talked him into selling it to me. I convinced him to buy an Auteur and I plan to try to talk him into selling it to me when he gets it next week. I personally seem to prefer the Eikon/Auteur driver to the Atticus/Aeolus, and the Eikons are probably my favorite all-around headphone.
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Finally, someone who will be able to compare an auteur against other zmfās on this forum.
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Iām looking forward to it! Iām really curious to see how it compares to the Eikon, because the Eikon already sounds open to me. If anyone wants to fund my Atticus and Verite Closed purchases, I will happily compare those as well.
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Iām trying to fund my own ZMF purchases, not about to start doing that for others! ^^
I can try. But, in all honesty, all the praise ZMF gets is deserved. I donāt think the Aeolus is my personal favorite, but if I hadnāt heard the others Iād say I loved it. I really donāt think you can go wrong with any of his headphones
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Is the HIFIMAN Arya in the same tier as the average ZMF cans but just different sound signature because dynamics vs planar? Guessing thereās no ābetterā here, just different.
I havenāt heard the Arya. I own the 6se, which I have seen compared to the Arya, only with ridiculous power requirements, and I like them a lot. I just think I personally prefer dynamic + tube over most any other headphone configuration.
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Onaha, when you said that a ātube amp wonĀ“t affect the Aeolus that muchā, you mean that the Aeolus donĀ“t respond that well with tube amps as other ZMFĀ“s? Because iĀ“m thinking of buying a Feliks Audio Echo for my Aeolus. Do you have any recomendations? If yoy donĀ“t mind, since you have some other ZMFās.
Is the Eikon that good? As opposed to the Clears, being close and all that.
This guy does a pretty good review and compares the auteur to the clears about 24 minutes in. I havenāt heard either but, depending on my experience when my Aeolus finally come in, I may become a ZMF fan boy. I just like the idea of the handmade headphones and supporting smaller companies.
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From everything I read and hear, the eikons or the auteur will be my next pair when I can rebuild my splurge money lol. Provided I donāt hate my Aeolus for some reason (doubtful)
Iāve got an otl tube amp. The difference between SS and tube on the aeolus is crazy. Definitely better on tube.
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The Aeolus is a great headphone, is a fun headphone, but also very capable, mid-based focused, but with a very present and laid back treble, midrange is smooth and very enjoyable. Its the perfeIMOct headphone to sit back and chilld with my music all night long. Extremely confortable and its a masterpiece of craftmanship. You wonĀ“t regret it. I too have become a litlle of a ZMF fan, but IMO
ZMF headphones are something special.
Nice to know for sure. Can you tell what tube amp youĀ“re using with the Aeolus? I was thinking up to at Echo from Feliks Audio. Any sugestions up to 700, 800?
The Hagerman Audio Labs Tuba:
$650-750 depending on whether you want wood panels or not.
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Just a thought for the future. Brandon.
If you link a review someone produced over probably more than 24 minutes- show some respect and write down his name. So we all benfit from. Especially if the video is embedded in the browser or the app on your phone or tablet. You donāt get the channel name etc.
You have first to share the Link, to open it in youtube.
In this case itās by Andrew Park and it is from his prior channel Resolve Reviews. His new channel is called the Headphone Show
Congrats on the Aeolus.
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The simplicity of the circuit of that thing scares me.
If I owned one, it would sit over a mirror so I can stare under its skirt all the time.
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ā¦ I didnāt mean to be ādisrespectfulāā¦ 
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