Hmmmm.I own both and that is a good question as it depends on what you are driving them withā¦ For the majority I prefer the Auteur but occasionally for specific music it is the Aeolus. Tubed I say Auteur for sure ā¦ SS COULD be the Aeolus but once again not alwaysā¦ Sorry as this probably does not help at all.
Iāve been meaning to write a first impressions for the auteur since I got them five days ago but I find it hard to write down my thoughts of a headphone without listening to them at the same time but I find that I canāt get my thoughts down without the headphone pulling me back into just listening to the music. That being said I can give some very basic impressions for now as iāve got around 30 hours of listening done on them so far. Iāll also be comparing them a bit to the Focal Elex as that was my best headphone before the auteur.
Comfort-
The first thing I feel needs mentioning is that for me personally the co-pilot pad is a requirement, I tried listening before putting it on for about 2 min before I felt a pretty bad hot spot forming on the top of my head but after putting the co-pilot pad on I was able to wear them for about 10 hours before having to take them off.
The ear pads arenāt as thick as I thought they would be but are very comfortable and I never found them to get uncomfortable during any amount of time I spent listening to the headphone.
Part of this might also have to do with how well they clamp, Which is a tiny bit tighter but exactly what you would want for a heavier headphone.
Build-
For build all I can say is if you havenāt seen or held a zmf in person, However nice you imagine the wood to be from images its significantly nicer in person, These are the most luxurious thing iāve seen or touched in person and iāve had the lucky opportunity to drive a Porsche 911 before.
I was also extremely lucky with my set and got some amazing spalting across both sides and a beautiful knot on the left cup.
Sound-
This is the one I canāt really be that in-depth about right now but eventually I might be able to go more into detail In a month or two.
The overall characteristic to these headphones for me is silky. It has this feeling of smoothness to all the details and vocals that isnāt really like any other headphone iāve had before this one while simultaneously being more detailed than the elex was. Itās not like it doesnāt have texture to it either, It just feels to an extent like there is an extra layer of sound being added in.
The low end is also the tightest and deepest Iāve heard on any headphone but is only as strong as the recording makes it, It never feels as if itās coloring the base or intruding on the mix.
The highs are crisp and sparkly but also get some of that soft and silky character I mentioned before without sounding unnatural.
The mids I canāt really fully explain but once again have that silky feeling and to me almost sound a tiny bit recessed but not really in a bad way, I feel this gives them a woody characteristic and contributes to the width of the sound stage.
Some of the other characteristics to this headphone is that they sound quite a bit bigger than the elex and have a larger soundstage to elex as well. That being said the shape of sounds in the headphones arenāt quite as realistic as the elex but also thatās something focal headphones are known for and only people who have owned or heard focalās can really understand.
The headphone also isnāt quite as clear as the elex and I almost want to say not as tonally life like either but the auteurs excel in a different kind of way for a life like sound, Itās hard to explain but the elex has more of a clean sound almost like the instruments are outside without losing any of there tonality from a lack of reflections, The auteur on the other hand feels like your listening to the music without any recording properties in a basement or a pub, It has a soul too it almost like your hearing the music before it even reaches the studio.
Sorry for the slight ramble but my overall conclusion so far for these headphones is that they are absolutely worth the price. Despite this being my most expensive purchase in audio itās the first time Iāve had zero buyerās remorse which I even had some way back when I bought my 6XXās.
For some reference Iām using them with the original JDS EL stack and my favorite bands consist of King Crimson, Portishead and massive attack, I also listened to a lot of classic rock throughout my time with them so far.
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Can anyone give some advice on what secondary pads I should get? Iām pretty sure I donāt want anything brighter over the default. I typically donāt like anything bright or V-shaped.
But ideally I donāt want any loss of clarity/detail either like was suggested with the Eikon pads.
I canāt personally give a recommendation since I went with the suede Eikon pads as a second but if you donāt get the advice your looking for on this form Iād recommend emailing ZMF. There super nice and Iām sure they would help you find the right pad for your listening preferences.
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Oh my god theyāre so beautiful, whatās the wood and finish etc???
So beautiful
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Itās just the stock maple but with a mahogany stain.
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Itās so beautiful, thank you, Iāve been wondering what wood to get the Auetur in. I think this would be it. Love the brass
Thoughts after the first few days:
- For context Iāve never heard ZMFs before, or anything really TOTL or higher end than Audeze 2Csā¦
- Itās really obvious that Zach is a musician, or frequents live shows, they have a ābeing at a good sounding venueā quality. Not sure if is the resonance playing with the wood, or the driver itself, but they have this kind of airiness or space about them without loosing detail or feeling ālostā.
- They have tremendous bass, itās not like ācampfire cascade bass cannon bone shaking rumbleā as much as it is incredibly punchy and very well controlled. They reach down into sub-bass, and without losing the lower midsā¦nice
- Vocals are wild. I bought these because I wanted something kind of mid-focused and Focals (Clear/Elex) give me a crazy hotspot after 20 minutes. At very first listen I thought āoh no, these donāt have the vocal punch or super forward upper mids of the focalās, iāve made a horrible mistakeā, but now I prefer these. Itās not as crazy forward as the Elex, but the ārenderingā, or āpresentationā ends up being more appealing. Itās relatively forward sounding, they obviously step out from the lower mids, but they just have clarity to itā¦ āeuphonyā I guess is the ZMF word.
- Exceedingly comfortable. I donāt mind big, or heavy cans if the pads and headband are comfy, but I will tolerate 0 hot spots or āpinchā above my ears on the sides of my head. These check every box, and I have no issues with all day (8+hr) use.
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Love to see the first impressions. I canāt wait to own my Auteurs one day.
Speaking on the comfort Definitely seek out a suede co-pilot pad and your favourite variant of suede ear pads that combo is like a pillow on your head. Great for winter months. If you like comfort its like a warm blanket on a cold night so comfy.
If you wanna see what that combo looks like:
^OP^
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What amp do you use with the Auteurs? I love the sound of my Matrix Mini 3 on everything except the ZMFs.
I own Eikons (so not exactly Auteurs, but in a similar ballpark pairing-wise) and Iāve liked them on both the RNHP and the Quicksilver tube amp! By proxy, Iād assume that means theyāll also pair well with a Little Labs Monotor and with other dryer tubes (such as Hagerman Tuba or LTA MZ2).
In fact, Iām listening to the Eikon on a tube amp right now (on an Allnic HPA-3000 GT, though I assume thatās out of budget).
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Just thought Iād drop in and show you guys my new Manchurian Ash Auteur. I have had a Verite Closed for almost a year, but these are really growing on me. I really lucked out snagging these beauties!
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If possible, can we get an official page for this one?
Everyone, I have had a few weeks with the Classic now and just dropped my impressions of it on my channel. Iāll link it in a reply, but really I just wanted to get some discussion going on it.
First of all, I have really enjoyed the sound that the Auteur Classic (AC) has produced!
Itās a definite mid-forward presentation. I personally prefer the Auteur Lambskin pads that it came with but I also did try it out with other pads as well.
Because it is mid-forward I wondered if it would be that intimate sound typical of like the Focal Clear MG. Itās notā¦not really. Vocals are definitely pushed forward here but you still get space here giving it a unique presentation. The upper mids can sometimes get a bit aggressive, but I wouldnāt go so far to call it shouty. Not with the lambskin Auteur pads anyway. Treble is tamed but not dark. The low end extends and is present but not over-bearing at all. I enjoyed pretty much every genre of music that I threw at it (as long as it was music I enjoy of course).
I did try out the Eikon Suede pads with itā¦not for me. It is said to warm up the sound sig, but really I got a bit of shout from it. This could be due to Suede vs Lambskinā¦or just Auteur vs Eikon pad. Either way, I just didnāt find it as smooth of a listen. Again, to my ears.
I also tried the Universe Lambskin pads from my Atriumās and those also didnāt do it for me. It made it a somewhat brighter listen but also seemed to flatten out the lower end a bit more. Not completely, but enough that I didnāt find it as engaging to me.
All of this was powered through my Jot2 and Modius stack. This time around I preferred the balanced out of the Jot2, where as with the Atrium, I was fine with either/or out. Iām sure this a unique thing to the Jot2 as I didnāt have lots of amps to try out. For shits and giggles I did pair it up with my iFi Go Bar. Hey, it powered them and I got it to a decent listen level on maxā¦but still just not as engaging of a listen. It works in a pinch for sure. That is not a knock on the Go Bar because I love the Go Bar with much easier to drive headphones that I own. I have not listened on tubes yet (other then at canjam chi) so Iāll report back once I do. Iām sure others will beat me to that punch as the only tubes I have are the BHC that I have to build still.
Comfort is fantastic after a good ole bend of the headband for my round head. Oh - and the AC pairs really well with gaming! I meanā¦really really well!
Iāll remind everyone one more time that this is all my opinion and to my ears, so take that for what it is. Iām looking forward to seeing what others think of the AC. I never heard or owned the OG Auteur so that also peaks my curiosity on the differences there between the two.
Iām sure one thing that will be asked time and time again is the comparison to the Atrium. I consider the Auteur almost like a baby Atrium. Albeit the fact the AC is mid-forward and the Atrium is not. Lots of similarities between the two and I would say the Atrium takes what the AC does and just cranks it up another 10-20%. Yeah, Iām bad with math comparisons ha but Iām sure you get what Iām saying. More detail, stage and separation/layering from the Atrium is probably the quick answer.
Either way, the AC is another fantastic ZMF to me!
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