30 posts were split to a new topic: Discussion surrounding reviewer incentives, sales, and other issues
Hasn’t been able to or didn’t?
There’s a big difference, and any number of “HEADPHONE Community” members would have happily loaned him theirs (there’s a lot of us) if asked (myself included).
There’s only so much time in the day.
Beyond publishing his own measurements (see various threads, on various forums), Zach has never objected (nor, frankly, even commented as far as I’m aware) on measurements of his headphones done here or elsewhere.
Anyone that buys a set of ZMF cans (and @Resolve owns, as I recall, as set of open Vérité) can publish their measurements of them. Holding that back from “formal reviewers” would be counter-productive.
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I feel that way about my wooden Fostex headphones. I don’t necessarily think they sound better than, say, my plastic Sennheiser headphones. I sure do like looking at them, though, and also showing them off.
Awesome! So you guys will be there? Got my tickets a couple of months ago and cannot wait for the experience!
Kudos to you guys as my wife is not an audio enthusiast but even she stopped to admire when she saw me watching the video when you introduced the Atrium.
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Yep we will be at Canjam Chicago! Very very excited, lots of new gear since I was last at a canjam. Should be fun.
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Back to actual talk about a headphone 
Had a chance to listen to them a little last night. Initial thought: I do love a bio-cellulose driver and these have the best sense of space (width and depth) of any others that I’ve heard (to be fair the others have all been closed back). Need to get quite a bit more listening in but initial feelings were positive.
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We still have an open door to covering anything that’s out there if it makes sense to do - it’s just that given their position, we’re unable to go through official channels to receive review units (from them). Obviously for me, I’d much rather go through the official channels, for the reasons I mentioned, but we’ve spoken about this and I understand why they’re not going to send them for us to check out.
In the meantime, to get this thread back on track, there are other channels out there covering their stuff. I know you guys want my take, but it’s worth getting a sense of the conversation from other places as well. Make sure you get information from more than just one source - so don’t just look at my evaluations haha:
I really recommend Sajid’s channel, and hopefully he gets the Atrium in at some point.
And of course, our man DMS will have a review out soon on his channel, so definitely check that out.
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The Atrium is my favorite headphone on the market right now. I have or have had a TON of ZMF cans - started with Auteurs (beautiful, unique almond wood), then got a pair of stabilized VCs, then got a secondhand pair of Aeolus, then got yet another pair of stabilized VCs (sold the first pair) and a pair of stabilized VOs, and then Zach was kind enough to include me in the review process of the Atriums. Atrium is just otherworldly. From the start, my description of them has been “take the fun-to-listen factor of the Aeolus, the fabulous mids of the Auteur, crank up the clarity to like 95% of the Verites, and blow the soundstage right out your butt.”
I’m really looking forward to hearing the Auteur Classics when they drop; very interested to see what the Atrium damping system does to my ZMF gateway drug.
One cool thing on the Atrium, too… you can now mesh-roll like you can pad-roll on Zach’s cans. When my review pair arrived, they had solid meshes on them, which made for a really unique, syrupy experience. Nothing quite like it. You may like it or hate it, but it’s very distinct. Swapped those for the radial vented titanium meshes designed for the Aeolus, and it ratcheted up clarity and turned the Atrium into a more neutral (but still extremely fun) listen. Haven’t heard yet the meshes that ended up going out with the production models, but supposedly it’s a bit of a split between the two.
I may have to put the solids back on. It’s so very different than any other headphone.
Sorry if this sounds like gushing, but I am an unabashed ZMF fanboy and the Atriums are my favorite cans from my favorite headphone brand.
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I’m about a month in now, new toy syndrome has subsided, and the unit is fully burned in. Well at first listen I knew these were for me, I loved the sound. Do I still feel so now? Hell yeah! Over the weekend I got the Atticus and Auteur out for some much needed head time, and for perspective sake. While burning in the Atrium I kept thinking it seems to capture the essence of both the Atticus’ dynamic punch and the Auteur’s even handedness and rolled them into one. After comparing them head to head, that thought solidified for me.
The Atrium is a very dynamic sounding headphone. It’s ability to punch with weight and natural decay is excellent. The bass hits hard, lingers an appropriate amount of time, and decays naturally. It can’t match the total bass quantity of the Atticus, but I’m ok with that. It manages to capture the essence of the Atticus’ fun, engaging demeanor without having to match it’s total output. Well done. Now if you’re a basshead then look elsewhere.
The Atrium has wonderful upper mids and treble. Like the bass/Atticus, the Atrium can’t match the quantity of the Auteur’s upper range, but it captures the essence of it. Where the Atticus seems stuffy at times, the Auteur has a wonderful sense of air, bringing life to strings and upper range vocals. The Atrium also gives me that sense of air, though it’s not as bright as the Auteur. I don’t feel myself wanting to grab the Auteur for female vocals or strings like I do when I’m listening with the Atticus.
So for me, it marries the Atticus’ fun, engaging bass performance with the Auteur’s air of upper range performance. Mids on all are great, though different. The Atticus is thicker and bassier, the Auteur brighter and a bit thinner sounding, with the Atrium sitting in between those two. The mids are slightly forward, and sound warm and engaging, without the Atticus’ thickness.
The Atrium’s soundstage is better than either as well. It’s wider, deeper, and more dimensional. I can better place individual elements on the stage, especially when they tend to overlap. It won’t match the HD800 for stage placement and precision, but it’s more than adequate. It easily trumps my Focal Clear OG, Atticus, Auteur, and Celestee in the soundstage department. I don’t care much about soundstage, all headphones sound small to me to a degree, as I’m used to speakers. But I do acknowledge some headphones do staging better than others. The Atrium is among the best I’ve heard, stage-wise.
Amping the Atrium has been interesting. The Atticus and Auteur tend to like the same amps I have, which is nice. And though the Atrium does do well on them, it sounds just a bit off to me. Before going farther, my main amp is a Kenzie Ovation Rev 1 with a large assortment of tubes. I also have a Kenzie OG Rev 2 I rotate in for fun. I originally got the OG for it’s small form factor, but reworked my work layout to accommodate the big Ovation, as I prefer it’s 5 output impedance jacks vs the OG’s 2. I also have a Hagerman Tuba, Gilmore Lite MK2, Beyerdynamic A20, and Asgard 3.
I love the Atticus/Auteur on the Ovation, it’s a beast that synergizes well with those headphones. On the 100ohm tap the Atticus has tight bass slam and good air up top. On the 300ohm tap the Auteur has a very smooth and extended top end while gaining some weight in the mids. On either of those two taps the Atrium sounds good, but I can’t help but think it could be better. I want a touch more air from the 100ohm tap, but love the bass. I want a touch more bass control and speed on the 300ohm tap, but love the treble. Why can’t I have both!? I’ve tube rolled everything in my inventory, and I just can’t get there. After trying the Kenzie OG and also coming up a bit short, I moved to my Gilmore. The Gilmore sounds great, with tight bass control and slam, while giving me the air I wanted. But it also sounds a touch harsh compared to tubes, and loses the holographic nature of them as well. Enter the Tuba. That with set of NOS Zenith labeled tubes has been the Goldilocks amp I’ve been looking for. I won’t lie, it’s not 100% there, but close enough. I’ll likely grab whatever Decware amp Zach offers as well, since he owns my wallet… Hopefully that will get me completely where I want to be. But don’t take this as a knock on the Atrium, it’s not. I’m just exceedingly picky about synergy, and have a mental illness (6th sense) that tells me when it’s “just right” haha.
With the Tuba, I have the air I love, the bass impact and control I love, and an overall tonality that fits me like a glove. But no matter the amp, when I compare the Atticus/Auteur to it, the Atrium just sounds best. I don’t feel I need to grab the Atticus for fun/engagement, nor the Auteur for air/naturalness. Yes, the Atticus out-slams the Atrium. Yes, the Auteur has more air/treble than the Atrium. But when I listen to either of them, I come across tracks that I find myself wanting the other. Example, I might have the Atticus and hit a random blues track that makes me want the Auteur for it’s air, giving the guitar the proper presence it deserves. Or I might have the Auteur, hit a random rock/metal track that makes me want the Atticus for it’s percussive attack and excitement, while being softer up top for the inevitable harshness metal/rock recordings are known for. The Atrium does it all in one headphone for me, it’s my Goldilocks headphone.
Finally, though the Atrium hits my preferences so well, it’s not perfect, nothing is. I could use a touch more air. I might try taking the mesh off completely to see if that gets me where I want to be. Also, resolution is good but not great when looking at other top tier headphones. I don’t care about resolution that much, but I did notice it’s not as resolving as my HD800. It’s infinitely more engaging and musical, but if resolution is your main objective, look elsewhere. Lastly, at times the soundstage sound…odd. I have not been able to pinpoint what’s going on, but at times, it sounds like the center stage almost overlaps, like if someone was dead center, they would split in two then overlap each other, creating a slight echo/resonance. This might be my gear or the music, and the Atrium just picks it up more than the others, but I don’t notice it with the others at all. Again, I don’t hear anything wrong per se, I just can’t help but notice at times the center of the stage seems a bit off. I’m not convinced it’s the headphones yet, but I have to mention it just in case others have been experiencing the same phenomenon. And it could be 100% in my imagination…
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nice review (and appreciate you doing your part to get back on the topic 
)
I think I was feeling this way a little last night listening. Need to give it a bit more time as initial listens are often all over the place for me.
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i’m going to try removing the mesh and see how that sounds. i have a feeling it might get me where i want to be up top. hopefully! i’d do it now at work but despite being a big office, there is not ONE SCREWDRIVER anywhere!!! 
if i didn’t have to work through lunch i’d have run to walmart to get one just for myself.
Which mesh is on there now?
It’s the stock radial perforated mesh Zach finalized after the demo units were out and feedback started coming in.
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I removed the mesh and will paste what I wrote on headfi. TLDR love it without the mesh. subtle changes but add to a meaningful improvement for me based on my tastes.
“Good call on the mesh removal. I’ve logged about 6 hours without it, and I can’t stop thinking this was exactly what I was looking for. There’s a small but noticeable increase in the upper mids and treble, without affecting the bass or proper mids. It’s closer now to the stock Auteur tuning up top, though still not as bright. It’s a bit more forward sounding, which I like. I love the bite guitars have now as well. It’s not a dramatic change, but well worth exploring for those who find the stock configuration a bit too dark and laid back. I can’t get over how dynamic this headphone is. So far I’ve not encountered anything that would make me want to put the mesh back on. I don’t notice any increase in harshness or sibilance, just a bit more forward of an overall presentation.”
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@zach915m question regarding the new drivers in the Atrium. I removed the mesh as I like the sonic changes, but am wondering if the mesh is needed as a protective shield for the driver. am i risking debris damaging the driver by not using the mesh?
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Mod Comment
Please keep the discussion focused around the ZMF Atrium.
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I had wondered that myself…curious to see Zach’s response.
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Interesting. thanks! The pair I have been using aren’t mine so I won’t muck with things but appreciate hearing the results of your tinkering with the setup
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This is really interesting. I was already confused about the 3 different meshes and now you’re saying you like it without the mesh??? My head just exploded 
I believe there is a “SBAF mesh” you can order from ZMF that gives you a little more treble than the stock, so if ZMF recommends you use something for protection, I wonder if that’s your best bet.
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IMO that’s the beauty of ZMF, the configuration possibilities. You have options on the wood itself, tons of options on the ear pads, and also the meshes. I love being able to easily tweak my set to best match my preferences, and to do so within the manufacturer’s own product family. I’ve had mixed results with random internet mods (lots of messy Audio Technica blue tack mods out there, from experience!), so having options directly from the manufacturer is awesome. I’m actually quite surprised how much I like the Atrium without any mesh. I normally fatigue very quickly from treble, even well done treble. But yesterday I did about a 6 hour stint minus the mesh, without issue. and today i’m another 4 hours in listening a bit too loudly to some of my favorite guitarists (Buckethead, John 5, Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani, Bumblefoot, etc) without issue. It’s funny, the Atrium is making me fall back in love with treble. I used to love loud treble as a kid, blasting Metallica, etc. As I aged, and the years of abuse on my ears accumulated, I started to avoid treble like a plague. But despite the volume, I’m not getting tired at all, nor aggravated ringing that typically happens when my tinnitus spikes. I remember after one very tiring session with the beyer T90 my ears were ringing and hissing badly until I fell asleep. And that was at a lower than usual volume level!
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