This is all good information to have. I’m going to borrow an Atrium, and obviously can’t monkey around with the mesh on someone else’s headphones, so it’s good to know what is possible after some tweaks, based on the baseline I’m hearing.
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The “SBAF mesh” you’re referring to is the normal Radial Vented Mesh sold for the Aeolus. It’s a little more open than the mesh that comes stock on the Atrium.
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No need for the mesh if you like them more without. If debris gets on the driver just blown it out. Just be careful when swapping the mesh not to strip the screw holes etc.
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Thank you Zach! I’ve learned from bitter experience not to overtighten screws in wood 
I’m happy to hear the drivers are ok without the mesh, I really enjoy the sound without it.
This is where I get stuck. Everything else about Atrium is very intriguing, but at this point in my musical journey anything less resolving than Verite is probably not for me. Call it Utopia syndrome, if you will. Once you hear it, you can’t un-hear it.
But I realize everyone has different priorities, and for some the balanced FR and open stage will be prioritized over sheer resolution. I just wish they could marry the two.
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This is were something like Wera’s individual/fixed torque-screwdrivers are really nice to have.
Pricey, yes, but usually less so than stripping a screw in something expensive/delicate.
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Yeah, I still have those treble needles stuck in my head!
I do like it…
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Total conjecture on my part, but it seems that’s the tradeoff still in headphone audio. If you want laser like precision/resolution, metal based drivers are the way to go. But as good as they can be, tone/timbre seem to suffer a bit compared to more natural drivers like biocellulose. Those tend to nail tone/timbre, but can’t match their metal brethren in absolute resolution. I’m curious what eventually bridges the gap and does effectively marries the traits of both in one material. I would still give the Atrium a listen though if you can. It’s not lacking in detail, it just doesn’t put resolution first, if that makes sense.
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I think you’re right, and I suspect Verite’s combination of PEN drivers with vapor-deposed Berrylium is that bridge you mention, at least as close as we’ve come so far.
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Hearing these for the past 2 months I don’t think the Atrium is any less resolving than the Verite. The Verite does have a leg up on separation, micro dynamics and speed which makes it slightly easier to hear the details but the Atrium is better at resolving textures within the recording. Drums and bass notes sounds more natural and convincing on the Atrium. I’d put it up there with the Verite but as usual ymmv.
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Stop trying to make me do a thunderdome (“two headphones enter, one headphone leaves.”) 
You know they can both stay, one doesn’t have to leave… 
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Zach just announced the new limited wood for the Atrium will be Cocobolo. I expect some very handsome headphones are on the horizon.
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They have a few Cocobolo Atriums at CanJam. Very very pretty. Also some stabilized Atriums.
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That’s definitely not normal, have you contacted ZMF to see what’s going on? They are very responsive, usually within a couple of business days or less.
I ordered my aged cherry ones on launch day, and they shipped April 25th (25 days later). I received emails along the way, confirming my order and then another when they shipped out with a tracking number.
Definitely reach out, you will get an update at the minimum.
I should point out that when I ordered an Aeolus last year it did take almost a full 12 weeks to receive them. But that was during one of the Covid peaks when things were really bad…
I would still encourage you to contact them directly, perhaps with a copy of your dealer’s email correspondence.
I didn’t realize you went through a dealer. That can add a whole other layer of complication… Good luck, it’s quite unfortunate you’ve had a bad experience… 
Really sorry to hear that!
As others have mentioned, perhaps it would be better to personally reach out to ZMF rather than relying on the dealer to do it. Zach and Bevin have always answered my inquiry Emails quickly.
Hey @Lothar_Wolf!
I’m happy to help in every way possible! Our dealers unfortunately to bear the responsibility of timely ordering from us and communication to their customers. It’s impossible for us to triangulate between dealers and their specific orders, as the dealer is our customer, and then everything after that is their responsibility. It sounds like in this situation the dealer may be doing some “covering up!”
The only order we have from our German dealer contains two sets of Aged Cherry Atriums, and this order was put in on 6/19. It’s often easier for a dealer to say “I don’t know what’s wrong with ZMF!” than to accept that they’ve sold more headphones than they’ve ordered. So I’d assume this dealer took your order and then sold more Atrium’s than they had on hand or had ordered, and then put in a subsequent order on 6/19 and blamed us for the inventory issue they had. It’s unfortunate, and we can deal with it on the back end too so this info is good to know. At the end of the day, while many dealers operate with easy to access terms and inventory - other headphone dealers just want to sell as much as possible, sometimes to the detriment of the customer or other brands they carry which may not be as “hot”, so I get why this can happen.
My suggestion would be to demand to cancel your order with them for a full refund and order from us directly, or wait for the headphones we have shipping to Germany which should go to them within 30 days. Unfortunately at this point, you’d get the headphones around the same time regardless.
As far as the 6-12 weeks - that is for direct customers only, as it’s up to the dealer to provide better information since they are in control of their orders with us, and not the other way around.
Sorry again, and do let us know if we can be of any further help. support@zmfheadphones.com
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Dear Mr. / Mrs. Merbach @zach915m ,
Thank you for your message.
Actually, your German dealer is a very, very reliable and valued business partner who has already provided me with some “exotic” headphones and in-ear models.
The reason why I order some of my headphones from this experienced dealer is the handling of import duties, warranty services and the fact that as a major customer there are various advantages when it comes to procuring spare parts and guaranteed returns.
It makes dealing with such problems a lot easier for me.
I’m sorry if I’ve upset you with my comments. 
I was, and still am, very excited about the Atrium headphones and just hope that deal still goes through. Especially in my selected type of wood.
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Great! If you indeed ordered an Aged Cherry set - yours should be going along with that order the German dealer placed on June 19th which we fulfill as promised (to the dealer) within 30-60 days. Any further info you’ll have to get directly from them. Thank you!
Also you stated: “I’m a little disappointed by ZMF in terms of the reliability of delivery.”
I am just responding to this since you mentioned it, we take delivery time very seriously and customer satisfaction. Unfortunately in this case you are the customer dealing with the dealer and not us. Our reliability is to the dealer only, since we don’t triangulate dealer orders as if they were directly from us. Hope that makes sense.
PS - I saw you ordered in March - which is a little odd, since the Atrium wasn’t released to the public until April 1st.
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