Where to start with these amazing headphones? Great extension and air for a closed back. He said, "Herb, see if you like these." We thank ZMF headphones for this opportunity. Also experimented with dampening it a bit. Switching back to the Auteur the first thing I notice is the three dimensional depth in the soundstage, followed by the improved clarity and overall tonal balance. Preorder price of $1k was a relative steal, and I'm glad I took the chance on ZMF with dynamics after liking aspects of the Blackwood. Stay tuned). Very well said for eikon vs hexv2. The former reveals substantial detail of the room and the sharpness of the Shaham's lead violin. Sold in p It features our proprietary headphone design, and the ZMF Biocellulose driver which utilizes the highest quality materials and design to create a linear, powerful, dynamic and super resolving sound centered around the drivers ultra low distortion. Ideally I was looking for a neutral can with sub bass, pristine mids and detailed, yet not sibilant highs. Out of my Mjolnir 2, my HD-6XX seemed on par or even better than the LCD-2 in so many ways (minus the lack sub bass) that the Audeze felt very overpriced. For Canadians that want to join exclusive Group Buys for enthusiast level keyboards, keycaps as well as access to truly audiophile level headphones and audio products. EARS Measurement Lab Please read the first post before looking at any results. Perhaps it's because I own one, but the only thing I can compare the Auteur to in tonality is the CA Andromeda. It's wonderfully spacial, and acoustically recorded music has a semi-treated room feel to it. I find that bass with the Eikon is fantastic, the tasteful bass boost mixed with the clean and extremely tight texture inherent with the biocellulose drivers gives a very nice weight and rumble to the headphone. The staging on these things is incredible! Speakers Mad Dog modded T50RPs were my first back in 2012. 5.5 FT Stock Cable. January 2017 World Premiere Review! Soundstage is very wide for a closed back, with great layering. Does really well at loud volumes (can be dangerous), doesn't fall apart or distrort, gets really slamming and involving. Strap on those perforated Eikon pads. For instance, with the perforated Eikon pads, it sounds warm and a touch bassy, much like the Andro out of a source with <1 ohm of OI. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, ZMF Eikon/Verite/Auteur/Aeolus > Gumby > ECP DSHA-3F / BW2, ega | Bimby -> Bottlehead Crack + Speedball -> HD650M, Gumby->Pro iCan->Eikon | HD800 | Zeus-R | Andro | H8.2 | U12, Modded ZMF Eikons / Bryston BHA-1 / Soekris DAC1541, Schiit Hel -> THX 887 -> Aurorus Borealis, V-Moda LP2|ATH MSR7|Pinnacle P1|Dragonfly Red. The ear cups are constructed from … There is more overall bass and less uppers. Quantity is just good, it doesn’t bite and doesn’t ever get piercing, but it also doesn’t feel sparkled or tonally boosted. They have extremely satisfying bass and sub bass. It doesn't quite have the intense holographic quality I hear in the Andromeda, though it's quite close, yet I feel a sense of layering and depth to nearly every genre. ZMF Eikon Cherry - in excellent condition, like new, only 2 weeks old. The Eikon, and I'd wager the Atticus, are clearly the best closed headphones on the market right now. Although I have only had correspondence with him via email, he comes across as incredibly helpful, supportive, and proud of his work. Have you tried stax? As with most detailed neutral cans, these will expose poor mixing and mastering, too. Just wondering what you'd think of electrostat highs vs these/utopias. The pads are roomy, yet hug the head well. I say this as I am reading your review with an Auteur on my head. The ZMF Eikon headphones in African Padauk wood. I also noticed that the comply foam tips they came with are fairly neutral, but lack bass on 2.5 ohm ouput z sources. $1300+ is a big ask, but considering the market, I think it's fair. Eikon sounds like how I wish/thought the K10 would sound. Which TH-X00 wood do you have and what mods did you do? Where the Eikon goes for a leaner mid-bass, the Atticus kicks it up a notch. Really. The entirety of this review is through my main rig - a Gumby/Mjolnir2 combo with Gold Lion tubes. There is a definite three dimensional spacial quality going on here. It doesn't have the treble problems of the many t50 mods or EtherC, a much more refined presentation than the bassy fostex or sony dynamics, or even Eikon's sibling Atticus. First hifi headphone I ever heard was one in the early 00's. Lower midrange starts off a tad thick, but then stays fairly even throughout. HD800, soundstage depth? There's more "magic" with them. Atticus is VERY midbassy, warm and smooth. Resolution/detail retrieval is high, somewhere around the HD650 and HE-560 level, higher than anything Audeze, but not at the same level of an HD800, HE-6, or Utopia. Is it a Gungnir Multibit? Atticus are nice in the mean time. The ZMF Eikon Pads are their larger, round options that perfectly fit the Eikon and Atticus headphones. Rosewood and pads made a HUGE difference in comfort, soundstage and imaging - all positive. A place for discussion, news, reviews and DIY projects related to portable audio, headphones, headphone amplifiers and DACs. It's the more "airy" of the two. Same deal with the Auteur. Previously I used EQ with the CA foams to increase and normalize the bass and it's so clean it can sound as warm as you want it to. The wood here is subtle but present. The blackwood, curved yokes, perforated pads, and heft just ooze class and quality. Quick question. Would it be too much to ask for these for Christmas? Also trying to see if my DFR can power these to an acceptable level. It was the first headphone to bring beryllium-coated drivers to the 300-Ohm format. These absolutely deserve the title of "remaster" and truly sound like new recordings, while living up to the source material). Previous discussions can be found here. Let's get this out of the way, these are the sexiest, most aesthetically pleasing headphones I've ever seen or held. This is the first time I've heard a closed headphone and I've been able to say that, "they're good" instead of, "they're good for a closed back". The ZMF Eikon is the flagship dynamic driver wood headphone from Zach Merbach and is priced at $1399. https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/5azy0h/zmf_headphones_ama_five_years_ago_i_modded_a/?ref=share&ref_source=link. I've never placed a huge priority on this quality with headphones, as compared to speakers no headphone can compare in my book. The Atticus is a much warmer headphone compared to the Eikon. CNET: ZMF Eikon, one of the world’s best headphones, Period.. Press J to jump to the feed. That said, the Eikon destroyed the THx00 so thoroughly that I couldn't listen to it anymore and sold it. Treble is smooth, with a forwardness in the lower treble compared to the upper treble. "The ZMF Eikon is our flagship closed back. If speakers can stage at an A+, the best headphone might rank at a C- at best. I think the perforated Eikon pads offer the more immedately satisfying sound sig, yet the Auteur pads have a better tonality and balance. We use cookies on our websites for a number of purposes, including analytics and performance, functionality and advertising. Worn pads generally sound less … I wrote this up a couple weeks ago, seems like a great place to do a little self-plagiarism: Some Final Thoughts on the ZMF Eikon after 3 weeks... Chain is exclusively Gumby > Zana Deux (12ohm OI) > Cherry Eikon, Good extension deep, with nice subbass rumble. The wood finish is absolutely stunning and feels so authentic. The ZMF Ori and Eikon pads are also available for those looking for a little different sound. The ZMF Eikon is amazing! It's almost a contradiction how balanced it sounds as a whole, yet how the important parts get put front and center. I stand by my assertion that this is the best closed back (for me) by a decent margin. ZMF Eikon And Atticus Stereo Headphones Comparo Delivering sweet, sweet music. With the Eikon pads the midbass is boosted enough to fill out the sound sig a bit more on the low end, which for some genres actually works out quite well. Interestingly, with the perforated Eikons, this can almost feels a bit V-shaped, especially when switching from listening to an Atticus, and can feel shouty at times in the upper mids. It exhibits striking detail, yet it's not "cold" at all and it's emotionally engaging. ZMF Atticus/Eikon Feel free to share your experiences, knowledge, reviews, questions, or anything that you think might add to the conversation. You connect with it on an emotional level. A12t, etc) but they are a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" headphone. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/aornicreviews Been waiting a while for these. Very clean here with good vocal presence, especially female vocals, and good instrument separation. Review By Dave Hanson Last year, the ZMF Verité took the flagship headphone landscape by storm. I could be temporarily fooled Eikon was another planar based on these characteristics. My only other amp of significance is the Chord Mojo, which powers the Auteur just fine, but lacks the richness and detail in the upper mid/high frequencies. This is why they are getting the hype. Item: ZMF EIKON PADAUK wood Location: BRISBANE Price: $1800 Item Condition: BRAND NEW UNOPENED Reason for selling: UNUSED Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, Extra Info: ZMF EIKON BRAND SPANKING NEW w/ stock 5ft ZMF 1/4" Cable waited 3 months for these bad boys to be made, ordered 2 one for me one for a friend, but unfortunately he could not keep his end of the … With the Auteur pads, it's more like an Andro with an impedance matcher pushing up the OI to 2-3ohm. As always, please vote and suggest new topics in the poll for next week's discussion. 2 Likes. From 200 to 1khz the mids are nice and linear with no added warmth. Finally, an all rounder that smokes the HD-650 in all facets (except comfort perhaps). Lower mids, mids, and upper mids are all strong here, but I will confess this can sounds a touch V shaped, especially with the Eikon pads, if only slightly, though this could also be emphasized by my source. The Eikon is a very dynamic, smooth, and musical headphone. I'm enjoying mixing with these headphones. Wow. Not laid back, but also not peaky or fatiguing, my holy-grail especially as an HD800 mainliner. If not, I may have to pick up a Jotunheim or something. Like their other pads, the outer sleeving is flexible and will attach to most large round headphones. One thing I appreciate about the ZMF stuff is that they have so many pad options as well as being high impedance they lend themselves to changing character with source pairings. I am curious too. Bmn1251 August 20, 2020, 5:17pm #8. ZMF Headphones Eikons are hand-assembled and finished, so each one is unique. I took them home and right away thought, Wow, these headphones really disappear! I don't know all the terminology as of yet. Thanks! This driver delivers the world’s first open, high impedance, biocellulose headphone design. Atticus, highs? Not the widest soundstage, but still quite wide. They're very emotionally satisfying even if they aren't "best in class" in any specific sound category like "mids" or "soundstage". Took me months to come to this tip and previously tried spin fits but didn't spend enough time getting a perfect seal. The best comparison for the highs here are actually the Andromeda. Not really my thing but I could see why people would really like it. Great extension at both extremes, and a slower decay which especially gives great body and tonality to many acoustic instruments. Bar none. EMU Rosewood cups and I did a detachable cable mod. Very cohesive with the rest of the spectrum, no "bass AND midrange" that I often hear (Elear was particularly guilty of this). These definitely have excellent sub bass, but it is slightly more rounded out and less precise than a solid planar. I find that just neutral. r/AVexchange - [WTS][US-MA][H] ZMF Eikon with OFC Cable and new pads [W] $1250. (as an aside, the perforated Eikon pads sound incredible on my modded TH-X00, and I'll post an epic pad comparison in the future as all my pads are compatible with my over ears. ZMF Verite (Ziricote) with Eikon Suede pads. The only thing I noticed, casually, was how relaxed and unbelievably transparent they were. Everything is very cohesive and feels "right". Demo units courtesy of: Frequency Response measurements and graphs for In-Ear Monitors (IEMs) and earphones. Isolation is quite good and these can definitely be considered a closed headphone. or an Atticus with Auteur pads? Currently my work can, but I use my IEMs more often these days. By popular demand, your winner and topic for this week's discussion is... Feel free to share your experiences, knowledge, reviews, questions, or anything that you think might add to the conversation. I definitely find myself switching back and forth, but really love the Auteur pads more. Not colored like the Atticus, and somewhat lacking the syrupy thickness that headphone's epic midrange expresses, but clear and immediate. INCLUDES: ZMF Eikon Pads. The transitions from the lows to the mids and mids to the highs are seamless. The Atticus had similar bass to the THx00, except a bit more heft in the mid-bass and less distortion. Most higher end closed backs like t50p mods, Fostex TH whatevers, Atticus, K872, Sony Z1R are certainly bassier, with Ether-C and maybe Oppo PM3 being the only leaner ones I've heard. It's the intangibles. With the Eikon pads, the heightened bass pushes them back a touch and narrows the soundstage both in width and depth. I have a modded one with Eikon pads and EMU rosewood cups and I'd be surprised if these weren't very far off. For example: Warm. They justify the price if you enjoy their tonality regardless of being closed or open. Supposedly the blackwood has a blacker background than the teak and slightly narrower soundstage as a result. Does that mean any headphone with elevated mids over treble? Crisp, clear, but not overbearing or too in your face. However, the Eikon doesn't quite have that visceral slam that a well amped HE-6 or HD800 has, but is tighter and better textured than LCD-3F bass. Some of the more bass-happy cans in that realm faired a bit better from the Low-Z output, but that’s why you have both options. Arvo Pärt's Fratres for Violin, Orchestra and Percussion. Want to know what an Auteur with Ori pads sounds like? To learn more about ZMF Headphones reviews on Headfonics you can click here. (Please don't read too far into that statement - the Atticus and Eikon don't sound like those two headphones.). It features proprietary headphone design, and the ZMF Biocellulose driver which utilizes the highest quality materials and design to create a linear, powerful, dynamic and super resolving sound centered around the drivers ultra low distortion. I have forgotten sometimes I'm wearing an isolating headphone when someone needs to talk to me. Speaking of, when others and myself describe the Andromeda, words like "magic" are often used to describe the character of the sound produced. If I just talk about A, no matter what I say, there is no context or frame of reference.