AUTEUR TEAK | Review 

Me too, for me the price to performance isn't there for me. Especially when I enjoy a fun listening experience.

It's always good to have something to aspire to

Yeah same - but in a few years when newer and cheaper headphones drop with the same build quality and sound it’s nice to say “I remember when headphones like this cost (x) dollars”.

I just kept slowly buying mid-fi cans over time in an effort to figure out what I liked, until I realized I could afford a high end pair if I sold them all... so I did.

@@Aforgamon for what?

Yeahhhh

i'm getting this headphone next week, what do you power it with ?

The problem with reviewers like him is that they usually have relatively bad amps and dacs and are generally inexperienced with running headphones like these.

@@mariodrv Bad DACs and amps? You see what's on the table behind him right?

@@killerra Yes I can see the mid-fi crap behind him, and he never had a good DAC behind anyway - so whats you point exactly?

@@mariodrv What would you consider a good amp/dac for zmf headphones or headphones in general?. I'm looking to eventually upgrade but I'm still unsure even after months of looking at stuff. I have narrowed it down a bit though. Currently looking at schiit gungnir for dac and feliks audio elise for my zmf eikon that are coming in the mail soon or violectric v280/ denafrips ares 2/gustard x26pro.

@@WyattOShea Tube amps, good tube amps, something from Ampsandsound, EC, DNA or feliks Audio. Or the Violectric V226, V340/80 or V550/80. One of my favorite new combos overall, great fordynamics and planars, at any pricepoint ist the V226 paired with a Schiit Bifrost 2.

Agree - I'd really like to hear Josh's thoughts on the Aeolus. Imho, it had all the quality of the Auteur with a warmer sound at a significantly lower price.

yeah i ordered the aeolus a month ago and i would like to hear josh's opinion before i get them lol

@NinjaN3rd yes like you and NPC i ordered it some 3 weeks ago but here in Europe from one of the European distributors, i gotta call on Monday and check whats the status of it they mentioned it should have arrived by now but i can't wait to get my hands on it. Joshua take on it will be interesting, as well as on the Verite.

A couple people have complained about the Aeolus sounding "muffled", which is probably a result of those people being used to headphones with more elevated treble where the Aeolus has a dip in it's FR. I've only heard it on the Zeos sound demo which isn't the best way, but it did sound more muffled than the Auteur to my ears. Given that both Josh and I owned and enjoyed the DT1990 it might be that he has a similar reaction, but obviously trying it out is the best way to know for sure. It also has a low end roll off that supposedly gives it less sub bass than the Auteur, if that's important to you. And if Josh thinks wide soundstage = better as he implied in this review, then he won't like the Aeolus soundstage, which is supposed to be the narrowest of the ZMF open backs.

@@Aforgamon Yea i heard about all these. I will be going from HD660s to the Aeolus and can't wait to give it a listen. Now all i need is to be sent the Aeolus. It was suppose to be in stock in one of the Euro stores "in 2-3 weeks" a bit over 3 weeks ago. Hopefully here are no major delays. I will listen to it through a Jotunheim on a balanced connection, and in the future, somewhere around September, my THX 789 will arrive and will join the listening. Meanwhile i plan to buy a tube amp to compliment it as well. Going to get Feliks Audio Espressivo MK2 and though i am new to tubes, went with other people's experience and input and already ordered specific tubes for it. All of the listening bliss will happen in the next two weeks if the gods of headphone deliveries will wish :P

I have a theory that more bass especially sub bass could make a headphone sounds more intimate. Meanwhile a headphone with a little sub bass and more mid bass, it gives more sense of space and as a result wider soundstage.

Perhaps people mistake positional accuracy with soundstage? The former can exist without the latter, but maybe not the other way around (at least not that I've ever heard)

I only heard people comparing the soundstage of the Verite to the hd800

I think you've got that backwards, an elevated treble would most likely constitute a "faster" sound, while more bass would be "slower".

​@@jeanpierresnyman652 It's Zach who said the harder/denser woods sound faster and owners of the headphones on various message boards who say the harder/denser woods sound warmer and the softer woods sound brighter.

One problem : $$$

i find the 650 to be slightly too laidback for my tastes, would i be better of going for aeolus or auteur if i want more forwardness, detail, speed and yet retain the "warmth" and lush mids of a HD650?

Agreed. The Aeolus, is the better upgrade, from hd650.

Because ZMF is the best!

Nah, inexperienced reviewers like him usually pair phones like these with subpar or wrong gear, and thus blame the headphone etc.

Hmm, the he1 is still kinda warm sounding (but in the best possible way), but still not to everyone's tastes. And despite it being the best electrostat, it still can't overcome their characteristically lean bass.

Shure VP83 :)

USPATRIOT99 from my understanding the wood does change the sound a little bit but It does not change the sound dramatically.

According to Zach's comments on head-fi, the sound change shouldn't be too noticeable unless you're comparing one of the hardest woods they've offered to one of the softest. So if you compared Silkwood or Maple vs Blackwood, there would be a noticeable difference. Softer woods are supposed to sound slightly brighter, slower, and more spacious. Harder woods are slightly warmer and faster. Porousness also factors in. However if you compared say Maple to Teak, the difference would supposedly be pretty difficult to hear.

Dude, for like entry level, the best all rounder would be Sennheiser HD6xx. If you want something that is a decent all rounder but better for rap and rock, Beyerdynamic DT770 80 ohm. Amplifier I'd buy a JDS Labs Atom and a JDS Labs OL DAC. Just my opinion.

I think the perfect all arounder, in my opinion, is either a JDS labs atom or monolith liquid spark amp. as for a dac I use a topping d10. For headphones, beyerdynamic dt770 250ohm with MrSpeakers alpha pads. It give you that fun rumbling bass for rap music while maintaining it's clarity for instrumental music. It's the perfect combo. I own it.

How much are you willing to spend? Are you going to use headphones at home or on the go? Do you need isolation?

Thanks!@@hazi5961

Thanks!@@bradlypartosan418

Audeze Mobius

Modhouse Argon

koss porta pro :D watching movies dont deserve to waste lot of money

@Bhotrim Earphones arent "headphones "

Go for audio technica M40X

@@AliArghavan I cant... The lows are too poor for me :(

@@nqmt9968 then I'd raise the budget to 160$ and go with Beyerdynamic DT770. You can probably find them lower too

Depends what kind of sound signature or frequency profile you're looking for.

What wood Auteur did you listen to and how would you define neutral in relation to it?

@@Aforgamon I actually spent a lot of time listening to each wood. Zack from ZMF actually told me "The wood doesn't really matter that much with these. People always assume that..." He went on to claim that the woods he uses have similar hardness and properties so the sound variant is almost nil... at least according to him. In any case, to me "Neutral" doesn't mean "boring," which I found the auteur to be. The Aeolous and Verite are pretty special. In any case, ZMF in general has a warm, velvety, sound-signature, with some variations in liveliness, soundstage, and bass between the models. They are great headphones, don't get me wrong... but neutral they are not, and between the three major examples, I'd say Verite is the most neutral between the three, with some special soundstage characteristics; however, I would not label any of them as "neutral" per say. Looking at my wall of headphones, I would say the most neutral thing up there is more than likely the KPH30i- although its slightly warm and grainy... or... and I hate to say this because this may be misleading... but I have a MODDED 58x that's pretty damn neutral. 600's also neutralish... Sonoma acoustics electrostats (if you don't jack the volume on them), also closer to neutral...

@@intoitreviews Zach posted on Head-fi saying that there is a noticeable difference in wood, just only if you compare the softest woods to the hardest woods (e.g. silk vs blackwood), otherwise it's not significant. I am still wondering what kind of sound signature you found the Auteur to have though, if not neutral. I know of two people who own both headphones that have said the Auteur is more neutral compared to the slightly warm Verite.

@@Aforgamon ok... good for them? Still doesn't change the fact that ZMF headphones in general are not neutral. I described their sound signature above already, so please refer back to my prior comment (in general all on the warm side to be clear). Further, what one thinks in comparison between them doesn't really matter. That's like saying Focal Speakers are neutral and one is "more neutral than the other..." when in reality they're all bright to start off with... not neutral... if one is "more neutral to you" ... "ok," but you may want to consider that they are closer in sound signature than different to begin with, and that neither are neutral in reality. But hey, I don't mistake boringness for neutrality... a lot of people do... seems like these people you know have... also, while Zack did report "a difference" in some of the woods, he also told me, directly, it was not discernible audibly... I also have listened to a number different woods... on all his models, just to double check and let my ear decide, and well... his stance is that his pads matter much more in terms of sound difference with his headphones... I would tend go agree with him. Your mileage may vary, and great for you, but I would reconsider that you are hearing what you want to hear if it does. But here is my reasoning/comparison, and why I find the verite more neutral than the auteur (while not finding either neutral in reality)... I would say that the auteur is too laid-back to be neutral, and the verite has elements that are more forward (not that they are particularly forward, just more so in comparison between the two) in the "right places" bringing it closer to neutral to my ears.

@@intoitreviews I asked about what you feel the sound signature of the Auteur is in specific if not neutral (and if less neutral than the Verite) and you offered what the general house sound of ZMF is. Virtually every review of the Auteur I've read or watched has referred to them as neutral with maybe a hint of warmth, but pretty much always neutral. So you saying flatly that they aren't neutral flies in the face of that, thus my asking you about your perception of them in the first place. I've also spoken with Zach about the wood's sonic properties. Here's his take on wood difference (quote from an email): "Well - it's more the transient attack of the note, not really the warm or fast part of the general sound. So either wood you get would have a lot of the same attributes. You can kind of think of it as overall general damping of the sound, with the heavier woods having a more damped sound."

Because 2:1 aspect ratios are coming into fashion and this looks excellent on my S9+ (only 1440p but that's alright, the extra resolution is appreciated)