ZMF Headphones - Official Thread

Headphones
1464

Yes, the same general reasons apply to VO vs VC as apply to open- vs closed-back headphones. Having heard both VO & VC at length IMS (& currently owning a VO), I found some of the differences to be what one would expect.

  • I remember the VC as being slightly more dynamic than the VO
  • VC’s bass hit a little harder and perhaps went a bit deeper than VO’s
  • The VC could be more exciting & dramatic (not a huge difference, but somewhat)
  • Soundstaging wasn’t too far apart–VC has above average soundstaging for a closed-back, but VO is somewhat better

Having said that, I think the specific trade-off between the VO & VC is a bit more nuanced. The VO has even more of the quality I find most special about the Verite driver: high resolution sound, but presented in a relaxed, enveloping, ear-friendly vibe. The tone & timbre of the VO (what I call “tonal purity”) are easily the best I’ve heard from any headphone. With the VO, I often find myself marveling at the beauty of this or that instrument or voice. Sound through the VO flows in an organic way, whereas sound through the VC hits more (if that makes sense).

Others have said–and I agree–that the Eikon & VC are in many respects “brothers from another mother.” They’re both very dramatic, dynamic headphones. But the VO really has no good comparator in my experience. It is a singular, and singularly musical headphone.

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1465

Would my current ownership of the Aeolus suggest I should go with the VC for a more different take? Put another way, is the VO a better Aeolus and would the VC give me more variety?

1466

No. They are totally different sound signatures and many people like the Aeolus and dont like the VC or VO

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1467

How about you? Do you have a preference?

1468

For my case (I have VC/Aeolus), I usually go with the VC most of the time. For those times I just want to relax and chill (not analyzing music), I use the Aeolus. Also, VC is a better all-rounder while I often use the Aeolus for mid-range heavy music.

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1469

The VO is not a better Aeolus. Nothing is a better Aeolus. But it is in certain ways a better headphone–particularly in terms of resolution, detail, and tonal accuracy/fidelity.

I have them both & wouldn’t want to be without either. But if you put a gun to my head and made me choose, it would be the VO. There is something pretty special about that blend of high resolution with organic, flowing musicality.

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1470

This is probably a really bad analogy, but… In a very broad sense:

Aeolus is a much better HD650.
Verite Open is a better HD800.
Verite Closed is a vastly better HD820.

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1471

I find this extremely helpful, so easy to relate to! Thank you!!!

How do you think the Auteur would fare from a similar analogy?

1472

I find it extremely hard to put the Auteur into that kind of analogy.

1473

Is that a good sign?

Does that mean it’s more of an excellent all-rounder that has the good qualities from several headphones?

1474

Ok, so my take on Auteur:

It’s my paradox headphone.

It is the most neutral ZMF, but it is not a neutral headphone. It gives you enough flavor that it is definitely NOT sterile sounding. It doesn’t have too much flavor either. Staging is good. Detail is good. Everything is just good.

It is this subtle flavor that makes it kind of a chameleon though - it just blends in. Everything sounds great, but it doesn’t draw attention to anything either. That is Auteur’s perfection and it’s imperfection, all at the same time.

So, with other headphones, we can generally listen to it for a while and say “the sub bass is rolled off” or “the treble is too bright” or “there’s a nasal quality to the mids” or “the staging is borked” or whatever, ya? So if every headphone has some kind of quirk to it, and then you hear Auteur which doesn’t have a quirk that jumps out at you, that’s pretty fantastic, yeah?

But people are fricken strange creatures man. I’m a people, so I feel qualified to say this. If nothing is wrong… you miss that. You start to crave it. What was a super-awesome do-everything headphone is now just… boring.

That’s why I think Auteur is hard to categorize. Nothing else has that kind of quality to it, that I’ve heard.

Auteur is one of my favorite headphones, and I really strongly urge people to try one if they can. With that said, I don’t think it can be my one-and-done headphone. I need something else in the stable to spice things up once in a while. (It’s why I have VC and Aeolus, Empy, et al.) I get audiophile wanderlust. BUT… When I get homesick, I always have Auteur I can go back to and deeply appreciate.

I’ll try to make a point about all of this. It is rather hard for me to catalogue my ZMF journey, because I’m a little fuzzy on when certain things happened or in what order… but it goes something like this:

Bought the Vibro Mk3. Then the Ori. When the Eikon and Atticus were released, I got one of each. Sold the Vibro. Sold the Atticus. Got another Eikon (so I would have one for home and one for work). Sold the Ori. Got the Auteur. Sold an Eikon. Missed the Eikon, bought another. Got the Aeolus, then a VO. Sold the VO, Eikon and Aeolus to fund an emergency K9 surgery. Rebought the same Aeolus from the guy I sold it to. Bought a VC. Sold the VC. Bought another VC.

Reading comprehension test:

  • What’s the one ZMF headphone I’ve never sold?

Auteur. And I probably will never sell it either. It’s my perfectly imperfect not-endgame endgame headphone.

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1475

You might be a headphone audiophile if you:

:joy:. Solid description man, I think a lot of us can relate a lot with this.

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1476

I’m interested in why you sold each headphone outside of the K9 emergency. Seems most of the time you replenished it soon enough. I also see no VO replenishment yet. Any interesting reason why?

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1477

I’m glad you said it isn’t sterile sounding. That was one of my concerns in trying to decide between this or an Aeolus. I still am vacillating between them, to be honest. I wish I did not have to pick!

I can see now what you meant about why an analogy for it isn’t as straightforward as the other ZMFs. I get why it’s hard to pin down! We all yearn for that little zing from time to time. It seems like the Auteur would partner well with a lot of other headphones though, like an audio version of a palate-cleanser. That’s compelling, too.

I think this says it all though! I started my reply to this feeling undecided about which ZMF to start with. As I end my post, I am feeling more inclined to start with the Auteur. Excited to have a go at this little conundrum of a headphone!

Thank you, @ProfFalkin - for your candor and your way of explaining stuff! Very enlightening; you have a way with words! Cheers to craving the spice of life! :clinking_glasses:

4 Likes
1478

As an Autuer owner, and ex Aeolus owner, I think the Aeolus and VO/VC is the standard pair for variety. The problem with the Autuer is that it just doesn’t stand out. Because it’s hallmark is that it doesn’t do much wrong, it doesn’t create a large performance gap between itself and the Aeolus, which is only “wrong” in not being a reference type tuning.

Once you get the Autuer, this is also a problem for getting more headphones, as you really don’t “need“ them, unless you want a flavor, such as a bass cannon or a dental drill.

The good news, as always, is you really can pick up a pair fear free due to resale being so strong.

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1479

I love the way you write & wish you would do so more often & more readily.

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1480

Simply due to preference. I like the VC over the VO.

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1481

For me the Auteur has no glaring faults. I can put it on and it just sounds right. I had both the VO and Auteur in my system for about 7 months, in the end I decided to keep the Auteur and sell the VO. You can absolutely own both, but I didn’t want to have choose which one to pick up every time I wanted to listen to music. The Auteur just never does anything wrong and does everything well enough for me that I don’t feel that I have to get anything else.

I will probably pick up an Aeolus eventually, because I haven’t heard it and I am curious. But not because I feel that the Auteur is missing something.

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1482

Did you personally find any downfalls with the VO comparing to the unproblematic auteurs?

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1483

I am quite sensitive to dips in the midrange, especially with regards to vocal presence. Almost all frequency response graphs of the VO will show you that it is quite relaxed in the 1,5 - 3,3KHz range.

The VO has great qualities in it’s speed, openness, 3D soundstage, quick and well proportioned bass. But for me it just didn’t sound right in it’s vocal presentation. Voices sounded a bit mute and drawn back for my liking.

I had the same problem with the HE400i and looking at other FR graphs this seems to be common to several Hifiman models. It seems to me that this is a way to tweak sound to achieve other strengths, but for me it creates quirks that ruin immersion. The headphones lose the natural sound signature that I crave.

I did try to EQ the VO with the ADI-2, and it helped somewhat, but in the end the Auteur just sounds more natural to me. I believe this is not just FR related, but the overall timbre of the headphones come into play as well.

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