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.
