Bottlehead Forum
Bottlehead Kits => Crack => Topic started by: jtori on December 06, 2018, 10:38:23 AM
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I just acquired a lightly used pair of ZMF Auteurs (Teak). Though they are rarely discussed in conjunction with the Crack, I must say they are a magical pairing. Impedance and sensitivity are roughly the same as the Sennheiser HD600s (300 ohms, 98dB/mW). Something to consider.
Best,
Joe.
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I personally dislike it when headphone companies try to sell/market these things as luxury accessories, with exotic woods and use words that sound as if they’re selling me an expensive bottle of wine.
Close to $2,000 and one of your top reviews is from a Reddit user? LOL, I’ll pass. One of the beautiful things about the Crack and Bottlehead in general to me is that they aren’t what I described above. At all.
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Thanks for the kind words about our products. I don't disagree that marketing in audio is often rather off-putting. However what I would like to express is that we endeavor to keep it friendly here and let everyone express their enthusiasm for something without putting a damper on it. If Joe likes that headphone - based upon his actual listening experience - I think his post here is quite useful to the community.
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I personally dislike it when headphone companies try to sell/market these things as luxury accessories, with exotic woods and use words that sound as if they’re selling me an expensive bottle of wine.
Close to $2,000 and one of your top reviews is from a Reddit user? LOL, I’ll pass. One of the beautiful things about the Crack and Bottlehead in general to me is that they aren’t what I described above. At all.
The great thing about Bottlehead products is their flexibility. You can be minimalist and build them bare bones or add every optional bell, whistle, and boutique part and make your self a "luxury" product. The choice is yours.
As for the Auteur, it is a fantastic headphone and has been universally lauded, not just by Reddit users, a quick Google search will show you that. I pair it with my Crackatwoa. Yes it is $1600 (not $2000), but they are hand made, sound amazing, and you get a lifetime warranty for driver failure. Zach at ZMF is a super cool guy, offers top-of-the-line customer service and a very personalized buying experience.
Don't be so quick to write them off as another audiophile snake oil company. Yeah there are tons of them out there, but ZMF is one of the high-end headphone companies that really gives you what you pay for. And they pair excellently with BH's awesome headphone amps ;)
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I just acquired a lightly used pair of ZMF Auteurs (Teak). Though they are rarely discussed in conjunction with the Crack, I must say they are a magical pairing. Impedance and sensitivity are roughly the same as the Sennheiser HD600s (300 ohms, 98dB/mW). Something to consider.
Best,
Joe.
Joe - how do you like these? I'm in Illinois and like to use local folk if possible and ZMF will be at the AXPONA in April so I can get some hands on with them.
Thanks!
Aaron
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Joe - how do you like these? I'm in Illinois and like to use local folk if possible and ZMF will be at the AXPONA in April so I can get some hands on with them.
Thanks!
Aaron
Hi Aaron,
I think they are an extraordinary pairing with the Crack/Speedball and Mainline. While they are not inexpensive, they are very nicely made and well accessorized (including hard case). It's clear Zach and co. have taken great care in the design and build of the headphones.
The Auteurs popped up on my radar as I was contemplating the purchase of either the Sennheiser HD800 or 800S. I was looking for a top-notch pair of phones to use with my Mainline. I wanted something that would deliver the sort of synergy the HD600s do with the Crack. I couldn't decide between the two Sennheisers, each of which has its own pluses and minuses. So -- being analytical by nature -- I investigated what else was available. At first I was skeptical, since I didn't know much about ZMF and generally stick to companies that have been around awhile and have a solid reputation for quality and service. What I learned was that, though they haven't been around all that long, Zach and ZMF have built a solid reputation.
From an audio-quality perspective, I would would describe the Auteurs as being detailed (not hypertransparent), nuanced and realistic in their rendering of mids and highs; they are by no means etched sounding. The mid-bass and bass are well articulated and punchy; when low frequencies are present, they are reproduced in a way that sounds natural to me. A plucked or bowed double bass, for example, is sonorous and has extraordinary pitch definition. What they are not is a pair of Audeze LCDs, which have what I would describe as slam on the low end. Imaging and sense of space are exceptional.
If I had to describe them, I would say they sound like a vintage pair of Klipschorns driven by a vintage Mac tube amp.
What I didn't expect is how much better they sound with the Crack than the HD600s. I own a pair and will not be getting rid of them anytime soon. But, the 600s have pretty much sat in the drawer since I acquired the Auteurs.
Once I decided to buy the Auteurs, I kept my eyes open for a used pair. I saved a few buck and couldn't be happier with the them.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Joe.
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I've seen quite a bit of chat about the ZMF headphones, and the Auteurs by all counts are reported to be excellent. They've been on my radar/short list as a headphone to try.
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Just back from AXPONA. Talked to Zach yesterday briefly and today for a bit longer. Came home with a pair of Auteurs. Got a great deal on these as he tried to show me some blemish on them that I can't find but I certainly wasn't going to argue with him! Also provided the upgraded RCA cable (just the OFC - 1 step up from basic) and he threw in the XLR basic cable. Quite the deal!
Got them on the Mainline and have been listening for a couple of hours. Very nice.
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Just back from AXPONA. Talked to Zach yesterday briefly and today for a bit longer. Came home with a pair of Auteurs. Got a great deal on these as he tried to show me some blemish on them that I can't find but I certainly wasn't going to argue with him! Also provided the upgraded RCA cable (just the OFC - 1 step up from basic) and he threw in the XLR basic cable. Quite the deal!
Got them on the Mainline and have been listening for a couple of hours. Very nice.
Nice! Please keep us posted on your impressions. I'm listening to mine now on the Mainline and couldn't be happier. What wood are yours?
Best,
Joe.
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ummm...don't laugh....whitish pale wood... :o
I told him I really liked some of the woods but understood some were premium and when they're on my head I really can't see them so the wood wasn't important to me, I was looking for bang for buck at this point.
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They sure look nice. I wish there was a dealer near me that could audition. I notice they have a close backed model as well. I've been searching for a good closed back headphone for work.
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Call Zach and see if he’ll send out a demo pair. I didn’t listen to the closed back models.
Won’t hurt to ask.
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I believe these are the Ambrosia Maple wood.
I've had these on for hours now. I switched in the Senn HD800s' for a bit for comparison. The HD's are more "analytical". I don't know how else to describe them. The ZMF's are "warmer" but by no means lesser.
A couple of times I've caught myself looking towards sounds outside the normal headphone listening plain only to find that it's the headphones. I'll say I never experienced that with the Senn's. These have a holography that the Senn's do not have.
I'm hoping to hear back from Zach about where to source the ends so I can build a longer cable. I sit about 10' from the amp and this 5' cable isn't doing it for me.
These are a very enjoyable and well built headphone. I'd highly recommend them.
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I believe these are the Ambrosia Maple wood.
I've had these on for hours now. I switched in the Senn HD800s' for a bit for comparison. The HD's are more "analytical". I don't know how else to describe them. The ZMF's are "warmer" but by no means lesser.
A couple of times I've caught myself looking towards sounds outside the normal headphone listening plain only to find that it's the headphones. I'll say I never experienced that with the Senn's. These have a holography that the Senn's do not have.
I'm hoping to hear back from Zach about where to source the ends so I can build a longer cable. I sit about 10' from the amp and this 5' cable isn't doing it for me.
These are a very enjoyable and well built headphone. I'd highly recommend them.
Any 4 pin miniXLR plug will work, but I've found the best to be from ViaBlue. Search the Audeze website for which pins to wire to +/-. Zach uses the same wiring.
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Just by accident I found that they are, indeed, mini-XLR's! Was looking over 1/4 plugs and noticed one.
I bought Furutech and I'm looking for ViaBlue. I've used ViaBlue in speaker cable builds. I also googled up the pinout and found what looks to be reasonable. I'll grab my meter and verify before I start the build.
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Just back from AXPONA. Talked to Zach yesterday briefly and today for a bit longer. Came home with a pair of Auteurs. Got a great deal on these as he tried to show me some blemish on them that I can't find but I certainly wasn't going to argue with him! Also provided the upgraded RCA cable (just the OFC - 1 step up from basic) and he threw in the XLR basic cable. Quite the deal!
Got them on the Mainline and have been listening for a couple of hours. Very nice.
Did you try the Verite? That's another interesting headphone introduced at end of last year. :)
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How much power can the Auteur's handle? I can't find any specs on that. These headphones are getting some pretty good reviews, with a number of reviewers stating that the Auteurs compare favorably with Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-3 - both of which like a fair amount of wattage. They're not planars, so I expect they don't need as much juice as the LCD series, but I wonder if they'd open up even more through a S.E.X. or even a Stereomour? (I listen to my LCD-4s through a Stereomour ). I seem to recall that one reviewer paired his Auteurs with a HeadAmp GS-X - a solid state amp that can put out up to about 6W (3 Wpc). Any Auteur owners out there with a S.E.X. or Stereomour willing to give this a try and post impressions?
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I find Zach's naming conventions a bit confusing so I really don't know if I did audition the Verite. I was looking for a price point/deal and came away very happy.
I believe the Auteur is 300 ohm. I've run it on the Mainline and had it about the same volume settings as the Senn HD800s with plenty of volume and more "clicks" to go if needed. Given some time I'll try them on the S.E.X. but I really don't think you'd need the Stereomour to run them effectively. I do have the speaker terminal to headphone jack adapter so it could be that I'll try them on that eventually.
I'm down a DAC right now (Yggy is heading to Washington for the analog board upgrade) so my S.E.X. system is crippled as I've stolen the Bifrost from it to run the main rig.
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How much power can the Auteur's handle? I can't find any specs on that. These headphones are getting some pretty good reviews, with a number of reviewers stating that the Auteurs compare favorably with Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-3 - both of which like a fair amount of wattage. They're not planars, so I expect they don't need as much juice as the LCD series, but I wonder if they'd open up even more through a S.E.X. or even a Stereomour? (I listen to my LCD-4s through a Stereomour ). I seem to recall that one reviewer paired his Auteurs with a HeadAmp GS-X - a solid state amp that can put out up to about 6W (3 Wpc). Any Auteur owners out there with a S.E.X. or Stereomour willing to give this a try and post impressions?
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They are 300 ohm cans, but they are all north of 96dB SPL/mW efficient. I've driven my Eikon, Auteur, and Verite from the Crack, and they all love it. Plenty of volume left, and they have no issue with slam or driver control. I've also run the Eikon from a dragonfly black on a laptop, and it's passable, but could be much better. It starts to muffle bass at any volume above 80dB-ish, which is louder than I usually listen to them.
The Auteur is not hard to drive, but it scales well with better amps and loves clean sounding tubes.
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Thanks Aaron and elnrik - It sounds like the Auteurs and the Crack are a very nice match. In which case, the next step up in amplification might be the Crack-a-two-a with its shunt voltage regulation. With my Stereomour, going from stock to stock+shunt reg was a night and day improvement (and I was pretty happy with the stock sound).
... but I'm still curious to know whether the Auteurs play well with a S.E.X.
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I'm closer to testing but until the Yggy gets back I'm going to put the S.E.X. test ::) on hold.
Cable parts came in yesterday. Furez on both ends. Between the new Hako soldering iron and that brand this was very easy to do. Now I've got 12' instead of 5'.
Pinout on the mini XLR: Pin 1 is signal, Pin 3 is ground.
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They are 300 ohm cans, but they are all north of 96dB SPL/mW efficient. I've driven my Eikon, Auteur, and Verite from the Crack, and they all love it. Plenty of volume left, and they have no issue with slam or driver control. I've also run the Eikon from a dragonfly black on a laptop, and it's passable, but could be much better. It starts to muffle bass at any volume above 80dB-ish, which is louder than I usually listen to them.
The Auteur is not hard to drive, but it scales well with better amps and loves clean sounding tubes.
I don't believe the Crack is the only amp you have. LOL
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LOL...I'd be surprised if he only had a Crack amp also!
Had my amps mixed up in my head. Can't test the Stereomour but I did run the MrSpeakers Alpha Prime closed headphones and the Auteur's on the S.E.X. and the BAC (big a.s.s. crack)
Both cans sounded good on both amps. Plenty of volume, I don't think I got past the 10 oclock position with either of them.
The Auteur sounded best on the BAC. I believe I had the impedance on the S.e.x. set to 8 ohm which might not have been perfect for the Alpha's (25 or 30 ohm cans). I didn't run the Alpha's on the BAC because of their impedance.
If I hadn't have been comparing these I'd have been very happy with the Alpha's on the S.e.x. but the BAC/Auteur combination had better frequency extension on both ends of the band.
A friend recommended rather jokingly a band but I like them. Wooden Shjips is what I think would be called a psychedelic/ambient band. "...play minimal, droning, garage band-meets-Krautrock psychedelia...". I'm not sure if I could listen to them all day. Reminds me a bit of The Doors and some late 60's music.
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I don't believe the Crack is the only amp you have. LOL
Crack, Black Widow 2, DSHA-3F, Mjolnir 2, Jotunheim currently owned. Recently departed: Lyr 3, Dragon Inspire iha-1, Feliks Elise, MCTH, Liquid Platinum (the original), Vali 2, Magni, Asgard 2, Valhalla 2, (I had a Schiit phase), some Chinese AGD crap, and so many more amps I can't recall half of their names off the top of my head. Truly.
The Crack has remained a constant despite having seen so many amps, and far more expensive ones at that, come and go.
As ALL212 said, it has a particularly good synergy with the Auteur. :)
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Listening to my Cocobolo Auteur right now out of the Crackatwoa, good synergy indeed, definitely scale well with a nice set of tubes. Zach is quite the tube man himself and keeps this in mind when he designs his headphones, they work really well with OTL topologies.
I own the Auteur, Atticus, and the HD800 if anyone would like any thoughts/comparisons.
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Is the Atticus a closed can? How does it compare to the Auteur?
Running the Auteur vs. Senn HD650 on the Mainline tonight.
HD650 sounded very good - many have verified it's a good mix with the Mainline.
Auteur is winning. Bass is better, treble is better (HD's sounded a bit muffled compared to the ZMF's) and I think the soundstage is better.
Both cans have the same cable (Mogami W2534) and both have Furutech 1/4" plugs.
My only complaint with the ZMF is the headband. I'm a bit ( ::) ) follically challenged and that inner leather strap isn't as comfortable as the Senn headband is.
I think I'll email Zach and see what if he has any ideas for us baldy guys. I could remove that strap...
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I think a thinner, softer, more compliant leather strap completely fixes the issue. Pretty easy to get some good leather at just about any craft store.
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Is the Atticus a closed can? How does it compare to the Auteur?
Running the Auteur vs. Senn HD650 on the Mainline tonight.
HD650 sounded very good - many have verified it's a good mix with the Mainline.
Auteur is winning. Bass is better, treble is better (HD's sounded a bit muffled compared to the ZMF's) and I think the soundstage is better.
Both cans have the same cable (Mogami W2534) and both have Furutech 1/4" plugs.
My only complaint with the ZMF is the headband. I'm a bit ( ::) ) follically challenged and that inner leather strap isn't as comfortable as the Senn headband is.
I think I'll email Zach and see what if he has any ideas for us baldy guys. I could remove that strap...
Yes, the Atticus is ZMF's "cheapest" wood cup dynamic driver headphones, it is a closed back. One notable difference in ZMF's headphone lineup is Zach utilizes different driver materials for different headphones. The Aelous (open) and Atticus (closed) use the same thermoplastic elastomer driver. The Auteur (open) and Eikon (closed) use the same biocellulose driver. The Vérité (open) uses a polyethylene naphthalate driver with vapor deposed beryllium. Each driver has a different timbre and the open vs. closed back version sound markedly different (from what I am told, I have not heard every one).
As far as how the Atticus differs from the Auteur, different driver material so different timbre altogether. Sound stage is smaller given it is a closed back, but very spacious for a closed back I would say. The Atticus is known for its mid-bass emphasis, it is an unapologetically colored, warm, dynamic headphone. In terms of its frequency response, it is often compared to the HD650, given it's mid-bass emphasis, relaxed treble and sub-bass roll-off. I find that it is a nice complement to the Auteur when I want less refinement and a big bass-boost :) seems people like to use them for high-energy genres like rock, punk, metal, EDM, etc. Hope that helps!
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Thanks Aaron and elnrik - It sounds like the Auteurs and the Crack are a very nice match. In which case, the next step up in amplification might be the Crack-a-two-a with its shunt voltage regulation. With my Stereomour, going from stock to stock+shunt reg was a night and day improvement (and I was pretty happy with the stock sound).
... but I'm still curious to know whether the Auteurs play well with a S.E.X.
I’ve never heard the Auteur or Eikon, but I have a pair of Atticus and a SEX 3.0 C4S and a stock non speedball Crack. They use a different material than the drivers in the Auteur/eikon, but very similar specs-wise ... pretty sure Zach said they can take 250mw, off the top of my head. Edit: yep, found a post elsewhere where he says that.
Very much prefer the Crack to the SEX 3.0 ... it just has the right kind of synergy to it... plus it is more customizable with the input and output tube options vs only one tube type per channel on the SEX. I didn’t like the speedball in the Crack (only tried with HD650 a long time ago) so it may be that I also don’t care for the C4S in the SEX 3.0, though I’ve never heard it without since I acquired it fully built. It just makes my ears a bit sensitive after listening for awhile, so I mainly use the SEX for speakers now. The Crack speedball did the same thing with HD650, but that was a few years ago.
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@L0rdGwyn - thanks for the review! Good info on the different formula's for the cones.
As to the headband that I mentioned earlier - ZMF already has a solution and I just didn't know it existed. Under the "ZMF Pads" section there is listed a Pilot Pad with three different variations specifically designed to make these more comfortable. I've ordered the Lambskin and suede and will report back when they arrive.
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Ditto. Thanks for trying with the S.E.X.
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I'm compelled to post when I feel especially inspired. I listen to music pretty much every day at the close of business. On listening to Take 6's "Take 6" on the Crack/Speedball with my Auteurs, I thought, man, I've got to reiterate my love of this pairing. Absolutely magical! Love this amp and these phones, which, by the way, sound equally good, albeit different. on the Mainline.
Best,
Joe.
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Could I perhaps get people's more in-depth comparisons of the Auteur on the Crack+Speedball vs the Mainline? I'm debating between the Crack-a-two-a and The Mainline for mine and I'm unsure which amp would be the better pairing. On one hand the crack sounds like a cacophony of euphonic fun, but I like the sound of the Mainline's transparency, resolve and more open soundstage. Any head-to-head impressions would be greatly appreciated!! :)
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Could I perhaps get people's more in-depth comparisons of the Auteur on the Crack+Speedball vs the Mainline? I'm debating between the Crack-a-two-a and The Mainline for mine and I'm unsure which amp would be the better pairing. On one hand the crack sounds like a cacophony of euphonic fun, but I like the sound of the Mainline's transparency, resolve and more open soundstage. Any head-to-head impressions would be greatly appreciated!! :)
Happy to give you my impressions. I switch off between the two amps with the Auteurs. On the Crack, of course, I listen single ended. On the Mainline, balanced. Here are my thoughts:
- Crack/Speedball -- The Auteurs sound incisive, slightly more tilt toward treble (though not in a bad way) with a midrange that appears more forward to my ears. The low end is there and punchy. Good drive and pace. Solid and clean. Again, incisive, but not in any way etched. Good air and space: not dissimilar from the single ended 300B sound, with a little more control on the low end. Also reminds me of my Maggie 3.5Rs driven by the ARC VT200.
- Mainline -- The Auteurs sound more rounded and mellow here. Think ARC tube amp or Mac amp driving Spendors or B&Ws. Or, the B&W 801IIIs I had, driven by Class-A, Krell KMA160s., realistic. While there's a touch of warmth, cymbals, snares, higher register piano notes all sound very realistically rendered. Vocals, too, are realistic in their presentation. In general, there's more there there. Bottom end is solid and anchored. The mids sound right to me, though, depending on my mood and music selection, I may tend toward the Crack. This amp really controls the phones.
I hope this was in some way helpful. If not, I'll try to hone my vocabulary and give you something more to work with. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with either amp. I flop between the two. If I had to keep one set of headphones for both amps, the Auteurs would be them.