Listening to them on my own Crack with Speedball right now, oh yeah itās glorious. Real glad I built it!
Iāve been reading up on ZMFās and ended up here with the Aeolus model.
Can anyone help and describe how they handle Blade Runner soundtrack?
This can give me a better reference point on how these handle bass. I hope they can handle this soundtrack well enough (the Eikonās may do this better? but I really donāt like the rest of their presentation).
Thanks.
Get the Auetur instead for that kind of listening. To quote zeos. If you want to listen to the interstella soundtrack all day the Auetur.
That makes sense, but I donāt particularly listen to movie scores all that much. I was interested to see how Aeolus performs on these soundtracks to get a reference point.
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Generally what the Aeolus sounds like:
It sounds like a 6XX with more mid bass punch and way more dynamic and darker treble with no veil still got that mid range magic but itās a different kind of mid range magic.
On solid state:
Very enjoyable. Iād you use it on solid state its super faster in regards to speed.
On a tube;
On a tube its a wider stage for those big tracks. Treble is way more laid big more mid range magic. Because the soundstage isnāt huge itās not as grand as a HD800/Arya or the Auetur. A more fun dark sound. If you leave the Bopp filter off.
When paired with the right DAC and ampā¦this is an endgame pair of headphones. Works with all genres and I can listen to them all day long. I often prefer these to my Verite. These are just crazy great headphonesā¦if you like laid back and slightly darker than neutral phones.
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How do these compare to Ananda, Elex, Borealis etc? On SBAF, I even see people saying these are basically HD6XX but the HD6XX will outperform it with a good amp
Anyone using these cans paired with the rebel amp?
Wanna know if it would be a good pairing
Pairs nicely with mine, but the zmf pendant amp makes them just perfect.
The rebel powers them just fine. Sounds very good. Aeolus likes the class A.
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I have Ananda and Elex and Clearsā¦(and Verite)ā¦I listen to the Aeolus the most. They have a laid back vibe (feel like Iām in a smoking hot bar) that will either totally appeal to you or wonāt. I have more expensive headphones and listen to these 80% of the time. YMMV. Great headphones. Love them with my Tuba amp and my Rebel, but especially my Pendant. Hope this helps.
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thanks for your replies, really helpful! Im more into warm, lush and syrupy headphones so the aeolus seem like the right choice.
Gonna pair them with the darkvoice 336se and rebelamp for now and hopefully enjoy
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I think that with the rebelā¦you will fall in love.
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I think I will too lol, Iāll leave my impressions when I get my ZMF Aeolus 
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Hi there, it has been a few months, I was wondering if you had ever gotten some impressions of the Aeolus. I ordered mine about a month ago now, and wanted to read up on the headphones. Thank you!
Well but the bullet on these to replace my now dead set of Elex. Biggest thing that sold me is costumer service. Drop and focal want nothing to do with me and I canāt get new drivers so here we are lol.
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Comprehensive long term review of my Cocobolo Aeolusā¦
Build:
The wood is beautiful really is world class, the deep brick red my Aeolus has is to die for in the Cocobolo. My brass faded and patinaād really fast which I was hoping to enjoy its shine a bit longer but I am a sucker for that aged look.
Comfort is excellent on this headphone. It is heavy, thanks to the headband system that is alleviated and so friendly for long use especially with the suede pilot pad and ear pad combo thanks to @Darthpool for recommending it so comfy.
My right ear cup from the rod keeps unscrewing which is the only draw back of the build that has been unpleasant if someone could recommend the best way to keep it permanently fixed that would be great or at least a solution to stop it from unscrewing so easily as the threading is shallow so once it begins its quick to come off. Easy to fix but a real pain.
Sound:
I love this headphone, note basic mods Iāve removed the bopp filter and Iāve got Universe Perf suede pads. The pads I feel are an absolute must I do find the headphone very dynamic with stock pads but overall ā¦ Iāve seen stock measurements and it sounds like its missing that ear gain clarity. Sounds wrong so I donāt run them personally Iāve seen a lot of people recommend these pads. Would love to get feedback on the pads everyone else runs.
The reason for removing the Bopp filter was easy it felt as if specifically treble energy was being held back once removed the headphone speed and response and treble felt so fast. I also feel like this isnāt just my feeling on this the new bopp filter for the aeolus has SIGNIFICANTLY opened up tuning vents
Once I did this, it made the Aeolus my favourite headphone. Note as well to retain the clamp as much as you can the seal is so dependant on the bass response. I was finding after a while the overall headphone was feeling bland as the clamp softened. After some headband bending HOLY MOLY the magic was back.
The sound: flat bass I love it. Heaps of resolution perfect. not much more to say its as it should be.
The mid range is thick its got the midrange magic, also remanicent of the Sennheiser HD 650 / 6XX. Its thicker here I feel it may be masking detail in the lower treble. This is a case where adding a bit too much is dulling the experience in another part of the headphone but giving the headphone tons of character a lot of singer song writers wonāt sound the same once you hear them on the Aeolus.
Treble. this is where this headphone has some trouble when you add the Suede perf pads you get a peak at 5-6khz which add sibilance which is a pain unfortunately but Iād much rather have this than the completely dark no treble resolution than stock pads. and unfortunately where there was previously wasnāt any air with stock pads, now theres too much it does sound fun but its definitiely means the Aeolus doesnāt have the weight it used to.
The best part of the treble is how intimate the soundstage is, its not small the soundstage youāre in the soundstage its amazing, not many headphones like it and easily the best part. Its agressive its an unrelenting if you put on some fast percussion Iād say give Kamasi Washington: the epic, a try a grand staging Jazz album. Youāll see what I mean its intense.
This headphone is one of the few that hides some details it is true but the overall experience is terrific. Certainly Iām being critical as a buyer and long term owner now that is how you know its real.
Solid state is where if you prefer an intense experience really does shine.
Tube. This is the way I know so many people run the Aeolus and its great certainly helps with the 2khz scoop the headphone has but requires a bit of a setup for sure, I found running 2x 62S2ās reflectors tubes with an adapter from a 6SN7 socket [this is a 6SN7 dual triode divided out into single triode tubes] greatly enhanced what was there wheras just running a base 6SN7 with a 6AS7 Winged C [Sveltana reflector] power tube setup seemed to really only slightly enhance what was there.
Overall the headphone for its price has some draw backs I certainly havenāt found the perfect pad for it and Iāll report back when I do.
I love the experience in the bass and midrange of this headphone coupled with the right tubes oh man the midrange sounds perfect. The treble is where Iām ironing out some issues hopefully be resolved soon. The coloured sound is a big topic overall it covers up some details which means its WAY more forgiving on a headphone and makes daily running of this so easy cause everything sounds good. Sometimes I wish for more detail but unmasking those details may ruin this quality of the headphone. Something Iām sure Iāll report back on as well.
Customer service from Zacās team is perfect and knowing that it has the driver warranty is awesome and certainly does keep me a client for life [looking forward to the Auteur purchase in future.]
Edit: some pics
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Hello,
great report and thank you for it.
I am also interested in these headphones.
And will take it into consideration.
I might have a little tip for you.
You wrote that it masks the details.
The cause could be the Darkvoice with the Svetlana.
I also had them installed in the Feliks Euforia.
And my impression has been confirmed that the Svetlana masks the details.
My suggestion would be to try a 6080 tube.
That should be better if you havenāt tried it yet.
The Svetlana is not bad if the capacitors are good.
I changed the Euforia to Vcaps and it was suddenly better with the tube. Nothing masked anymore and it just goes tight.
But it would not be necessary to change the Darkvoice because of that.
But it is probably possible.
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All impressions around sound are done on solid state, they were done on my Burson Soloist 3x.
Thereās a scoop at 2k right after the 1k mid range boost this is the cause for detail masking in the upper midrange with suede perf pads as you can see below.
The tubes definitely help this dip and is definitely why people say it sounds better on tubes.
Interesting your experience with the Svetlana I havenāt had any masking issues to speak of with the this tube in the Darkvoice.
Any 6080 tubes youād recommend though?
My set should be in my hands this week!!!