I too am considering getting a pair and listen to a good amount of rock and metal. Do they punch hard enough for those genres? I briefly heard one years ago, but the music was “serious audiophile music” and not the stuff I usually listen to.
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Send me a few tracks and tell me what you’re worried about, drive, extension, etc. I’d be happy to give it a try.
This is one of my favourites in the looks department. Simply beautiful.
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Thanks, I appreciate that! Your profile is private so I cannot send tracks to you. Shall I just post them here?
That would be good.
You can’t pm me? Huh. I must of broke something.
Thank you. Tracks:
Dream Theater - Fall Into The Light
Lindsey Stirling - Crystallize
In Flames - Bullet Ride
I’m interested in how well they punch and whether you can actually feel the bass rather than just hear it. I also value bass detail/texture - I.e. I don’t like “one-note” bass.
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Will work on this tonight.
All listend to lossless tidal → pi2aes → Chord Hugo 2 → Bryston BHA → Autuers.
All listening impressions are just that, to my ears, on this day, in this mood, with this hangover.
Fall into the Light: can easily follow the bass lines through the mix. The bass drum and low toms have great attack and decay. Most of the punch here is from the low register guitar crunching, which is great.
Crystalize: No problem following the bass line, you can hear every note beginning middle and end. 1:14 great effect on headphones. fun track. The pulsating bass at around 2:50 is sorted out no problem. Honestly, this sounds great.
Bullet Ride: :39 can hear the attack, decay, and string on fret reverb. no problem following the moving bass line through the mix. This drum set is not nearly as well recorded as the first one. The kick drum doesn’t have much detail, but the bass line is right there.
Feel the bass: I never have this feeling with headphones, so I might be the worst guy to ask. When I hear bass like on Bullet Ride, I want it to be coming out of concert gear and have the waves literally compress my chest.
The autuer never left me feeling like I was missing something, but they are simultaneously closer to what I would call a reference bass presentation than a tilted up response.
Bonus track from my own listening: Soundgarden Rusty Cage. I have never heard this amount of detail available about the bass line in 25 years of listening to this track. You can hear the plucks. The drive comes through, If the Verite have more detail than this, you’d be able to tell what Ben Shepherd had for breakfast.
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Thank you - this is extremely helpful.
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From what you are saying you might want to look into an Eikon or Verite O/C.
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Stunners for sure! That is the best looking pair of Wenge I have ever seen. Congrats!
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@mfadio did a fantastic job describing their impressions of the tracks. I think we may have similar musical tastes Nuance, so I’ll chime in. I wear glasses and prefer a dark leaning sound with textured mids and base. For these reasons I tracked down a blackwood Auteur and use the hybrid non-perforated universal pads. IMHO the non-perforated pads help add a bit of bass pressure and ameliorate the slight loss of seal due to my glasses.
Lyndsey Stirlings’ Shatter Me is one of my test tracks and everything I want to hear in the track is present on the Autuer. The watch winding at the beginning is sharp and distinct, her violin sounds sufficiently present, and Lzzy Hale’s vocals have all the texture and vocal fry I would want.
If you do get the Autuer, try pad rolling. It’s a modest investment to dial in the sound to what you want to hear.
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Thank you - this is awesome info!
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Impressions / Review
Disclaimers:
- I’m not a professional reviewer, and I don’t have a pile of headphones to compare these with. If that’s what you want, call Zeos. I hear he’s great at having lots of stuff.
- I like small businesses. I hope Zach succeeds. This is a bias.
- Impressions, opinions and interpretations are mine. If you don’t like them, go get your own. It was noted on the headphones.com forum that musicians don’t seem to mind listening on mid-fi or low-fi equipment. It’s because they are listening to the performance, not the sound. I’m a musician and sometimes, I still slip into caring more about the music than the sound. Again, if you don’t like it, go roll your own.
The Autuer:
Build quality of the ZMF family of headphones is well reviewed and documented. Let me just make a few comments about the particulars of my own build.
Suede band and leather strap: This is very comfortable for me. I am concerned about heat this summer. The Aeolus I had was leather / leather which I also liked. It would be best to try a couple and see what you prefer.
Pads: All listening has been on stock pads.
Wood: LTD Wenge. It’s a knockout.
Cables:
- the new stock cable is excellent. very comfortable, flexy and light.
- the OFC copper is a very similar feel and weight to a Grado prestige series cord. I would skip past this step next time and upgrade further.
- I had asked for one of the cables to be terminated in Mini-XLR so I could use my Hart Cable adapters, but ZMF was unable to accommodate this request. They were extremely gracious in dealing with this disappointment.
Comfort: I’m huge. Like… giant big. Whatever I think about the comfort, I promise it is not transferrable.
Sound.
These are often referred to as the “reference” standard for the ZMF line. In practice, compared to the Aeolus, this seems to be a shorthand way of noting the treble has more energy, the bass is not emphasized much, and the midrange is more controlled.
As such you may find, as I have, that if you have a problem with the reproduction of the Autuer, you actually have a problem with the recording you are listening to. Although I would not class them as ruthlessly revealing, they will not pretend poo is anything other than poo.
Tracks:
The Bleeding Heart Show - (The New Pornographers): Detail retrieval is sufficient to be able to hear the guitar pick individually impacting each of the six strings on the rhythm guitar in the opening. Drums are placed towards the back of the soundstage, Bass, vocals, rhythm guitar are all relative to each other in, or “the mix is level”. Nico Case’s voice anchors the shout chorus, with the Autuer letting you either focus on her, the chorus, or to start picking individual voices our of the chorus if you’re bored.
Animal: (Miike Snow): Electronic bass thumps on the side of your head properly. Mixed vocal harmonies are easily pulled apart or listened to at this level of fidelity, which is delightful.
Nobody Wants to Be You (Dan Reeder): When Dan sings an ode to bad decisions, you want to feel. This may be the Autuers weaker spot. It’s less emotional, and more representative. In my experience a systems ability to make me feel is more representative of my mental state than the headphone. Will try this track again after a bourbon. I bet I’m singing along.
Flight from the City (Jóhann Jóhannsson): There is no weakness in the reproduction of the lowest tones. They are full and rich, even while the electronic distortion and static plays over them. Again, we return to the theme of the Autuer being a bit of a choose your own adventure can. Do you want to chase individual melodies, or do you want to luxuriate in a wall of sound? Open your eyes, and lean forward, or close them and lie down? Equally valid here.
Impressions (Conrad Herwig): Horn lines are able to convey brightness, and bite without inflicting pain. Amazing percussion fidelity here. Piano resolves well, For people unused to live music up close (unamplified) notes are always at least three parts. Attack, sustain and decay. the Autuer lets you hear the three components, rather than just notes.
Before We Were Together (Margaret Glaspy): I’m only here for one thing, but then I hear how good the cymbals are recorded. But at the end of the day, it’s Ms. Glaspy I came to hear, and it is great. You can hear the effect of the mouth shaping the sustain of a note. Or you can just pump your fist with the bass.
Conclusions:
To my ears, for the way I listen, and with the music I listen to, the Autuer is as advertised. A more reference grade headphone from ZMF than the Aeolus. I suppose if you are looking to understand if this headphone is for you, you need to know if you want to know the truth about things, or if you prefer to be lied to in comforting ways. The Autuer, although truthful, is not ruthless. There is a difference between noticing I have a tad less hairline than in my prime, and pointing and screaming with laughter. The Autuer tends towards the more delicate, or even tactful truth.
Most delightfully, they lend themselves to listening actively or in the background while I read. They allow relentless focus, but do not demand it. Although the treble may not hold the ultimate level of available detail, and there are more spacious stagers available, we have reached the price point where none of the options is the best at everything. Similarly, although the bass is clear, extended and appropriate, it is not emphasized. Many of us use these differences and preferences as an excuse to continue to acquire. I have chosen to go the other way and have sold most everything else in my collection since getting these. I am not sure what more I need from a headphone.
Associated gears:
Pi2AES, Choid hugo2, Bryston BHA1, Cables by Worlds Best & Blue Jeans. Coffee by Valhalla.
Super secret hidden bonus track
Gimme Chocolate! (BabyMetal): Great slam and drive from drum set. Vocals maintain all of their unique character, while not cutting glass. Guitar riffing is set hard to left in stage, feels like the stage is smaller than it could / should be. Detail is abundant, allowing you to hear into the vocal multitrack sections. As a musician I should not be surpised by the new segment of guitar solos that sound exacty like a guitar hero riff, but I am anyway.
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Good stuff, and well written. Thanks for sharing! The Auteur are my next ZMF, no doubt.
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I about choked. LoL
Great review! Thank you
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Good read.
Given the Latin meaning, should this headphone have been called Verite.
Even at the highest price point, I don’t believe the best at everything currently exists.
Shots fired.
This should be a component of every review.
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Well said. With this statement, you captured why I love the Auteur sound. When I’m listening to less well recorded or mastered tracks, I can respectfully focus on the musicality or sentiment of the performance. However, if I want to focus on the technicalities (such as lack of dynamic range), the Autuer allows me to do so.
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Finally, a reviewer that aligns with my musical preference of Baby Metal 
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Great impressions @mfadio and very well written too.
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