[dbull12]

As someone who has pretty much no experience with any TOTL offerings other than a few minutes with the Atrium Closed, Verite Closed, DCA Stealth, and HE-1 at CanJam Chicago, it seems that in general the consensus is that TOTL headphones will naturally be less forgiving of sub-optimal recordings than less resolving headphones.

I'm curious which TOTL headphones, if any, really place an emphasis on musical engagement regarding of recording quality (of course recognizing that better recordings will be optimal on nice headphones) rather than technicalities. For example, it seems the Atrium is more forgiving than the Verite or Caldera. It seems like the Meze Elite might fall in the more 'forgiving' category too? Are there any others?

 

[Ciggavelli]

I actually think the Susvaras are very forgiving. I use them with poorly recorded black metal, and they sound great. They are my preferred headphones for poorly recorded albums

 

[dbull12]

I actually think the Susvaras are very forgiving. I use them with poorly recorded black metal, and they sound great. They are my preferred headphones for poorly recorded albums

That's interesting, Susvara isn't one that I would've thought would be forgiving! I listen to a decent amount of atmospheric black metal, post-metal, and sludge metal, so those are definitely some of the genres I have in mind when looking for a forgiving headphone. I saw in the Caldera thread that you ordered one in Redwood Burl, so I'd be curious to hear how you feel those do with black metal once you get them!

 

[draytonklammer]

I actually think the Susvaras are very forgiving. I use them with poorly recorded black metal, and they sound great. They are my preferred headphones for poorly recorded albums

Yeah, I was surprised to find this out.
It's probably part of the reason I enjoy the Susvara.

Seems to sound good with most recordings.

Darker headphones tend to be pretty kind, too.
Something like the Meze Empyrean or LCD-4 may be considered a bit forgiving.
Even the 1266 Phi was much more forgiving than the TC, in my opinion.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I think anything that doesn't have a brighter or more analytical signature would be a bit more forgiving. So I'd stay away from stats, ribbons, etc. and like mentioned earlier headphones with warmer signatures.

 

[protoss]

No way, disagree.

Do not avoid stats, biggest noobish lie. They were all about the warm sound until greed took over and all the analytical, clarity nonsense individuals took over

Stax 007mk2
Stax l500
Es1A
Audeze CRBN
HE1 Better than plywoodman Shangri-la SR
----------------------‐-----

Meze Empyrean
LCD4Z
HE-R10P
Susvara
Abyss Dina V2
Audio technica W2022
Audio technica Awas
Lots of ZMF

To combat bright headphones you need tube amplifers and R2R dacs and class A amplifiers.
Use 300B Tubes with R2R dac and say good bye to all bright headphones. Not even HD800 can cut through the glass with its sharp treble.

So, yes, you can enjoy a HD800 and make it warm and musical with gear matching.

1 example of a very warm class A, musical gear match system. Denafrips R2R dac at the back.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

ZMF Atrium with Auteur perforated leather pads is just simultaneously awesome and forgiving

They’re just so good.

 

[number1sixerfan]

No way, disagree.

Do not avoid stats, biggest noobish lie. They were all about the warm sound until greed took over and all the analytical, clarity nonsense individuals took over

Stax 007mk2
Stax l500
Es1A
Audeze CRBN
HE1 Better than plywoodman Shangri-la SR
----------------------‐-----

Meze Empyrean
LCD4Z
HE-R10P
Susvara
Abyss Dina V2
Audio technica W2022
Audio technica Awas
Lots of ZMF

To combat bright headphones you need tube amplifers and R2R dacs and class A amplifiers.
Use 300B Tubes with R2R dac and say good bye to all bright headphones. Not even HD800 can cut through the glass with its sharp treble.

So, yes, you can enjoy a HD800 and make it warm and musical with gear matching.

1 example of a very warm class A, musical gear match system. Denafrips R2R dac at the back.

It's not just about tonality. It's about detailed and analytical presentations that are much less forgiving on poor recordings. Stats are simply less forgiving, as are ribbons. Yes there are a few that aren't, but that's beside the point in trying to steer a new user in the right direction with a "forgiving" nature being a priority. I know you like to troll, but let's not steer new users in bad directions..

 

[ufospls2]

Solitaire P is pretty forgiving in its stock tuning and stock pads (non ultrawide.) LCD-4 is also fairly forgiving. The problem is that TOTL headphones by their very nature, regardless of tuning, are going to be a bit less forgiving as they are (mostly) more resolving, detailed, and transparent. Empyrean is also worth a try imo.

 

[protoss]

It's not just about tonality. It's about detailed and analytical presentations that are much less forgiving on poor recordings. Stats are simply less forgiving, as are ribbons. Yes there are a few that aren't, but that's besides the point in trying to steer a new user in the right direction with a "forgiving" nature being a priority. I know you like to troll, but let's not steer new users in bad directions..

Totally disagree

Troll is a useless word. All I speak is facts. Straight to the core. No fluff.

I listed my pick with accuracy

Let's see your pick? And you can't resue mine. Let's see some original picks. If not, of course protoss is always right

I want to see a list, no wordplay. If you want to help it's a list.

 

[JackarlTwo]

Atrium with solid mesh is one of the most forgiving headphone I've tried so far. Dark & sonorous. Works well with just about anything.

 

[dbull12]

Thanks everyone for the input so far! I really wish I could get an at-home demo with the Atrium Open or Closed since I feel like on paper it would be right up my alley with the biocell timbre and forgiving nature, but at CanJam I actually preferred the Atticus and VC to it since I found the upper mids a little too forward. I think this was due to a combination of listening at lower volumes than usual due to the CanJam room being kinda noisy, and also I know the Atrium really benefits from burn-in and have seen many people say theirs have become smoother over time. Of course it's also possible that I should just trust my initial impressions! Passion For Sound did an interview with Zach on his Youtube channel and Zach mentioned that there's kind of two different ZMF camps - the Aeolus/Atticus/Verite camp and the Auteur/Atrium camp - so maybe I'm part of the former since I love my Atticus and I also don't necessarily look for neutrality, I and really enjoy 'colored' presentations that are musically engaging.

I think the Verite Open would just about be the perfect complement to my Atticus given my preferences, as I'd like a complementary headphone that's more spacious with a 3D/holographic stage and beautiful timbre, but the only issue with the VO is so many people say it's fairly unforgiving. If only there were something with those strengths of the VO but more forgiving - I wonder if the Meze Elite is close to that?

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Thanks everyone for the input so far! I really wish I could get an at-home demo with the Atrium Open or Closed since I feel like on paper it would be right up my alley with the biocell timbre and forgiving nature, but at CanJam I actually preferred the Atticus and VC to it since I found the upper mids a little too forward. I think this was due to a combination of listening at lower volumes than usual due to the CanJam room being kinda noisy, and also I know the Atrium really benefits from burn-in and have seen many people say theirs have become smoother over time. Of course it's also possible that I should just trust my initial impressions! Passion For Sound did an interview with Zach on his Youtube channel and Zach mentioned that there's kind of two different ZMF camps - the Aeolus/Atticus/Verite camp and the Auteur/Atrium camp - so maybe I'm part of the former since I love my Atticus and I also don't necessarily look for neutrality, I and really enjoy 'colored' presentations that are musically engaging.

I think the Verite Open would just about be the perfect complement to my Atticus given my preferences, as I'd like a complementary headphone that's more spacious with a 3D/holographic stage and beautiful timbre, but the only issue with the VO is so many people say it's fairly unforgiving. If only there were something with those strengths of the VO but more forgiving - I wonder if the Meze Elite is close to that?

I find the Meze Elite pretty forgiving, but it also sounds much better with higher quality recordings. It sounds great with every genre I’ve thrown at it and has slowly become the headphone I use 99% of the time. It’s highly musical with an excellent soundstage, all without sacrificing resolution/detail.

I’m a huge ZMf fan, but I prefer the Elite to the VC, Auteur, Aeolus and Atrium. I haven’t heard the Caldera yet, but that might be a good fit for you as well.

 

[helljudgement]

If only there were something with those strengths of the VO but more forgiving

VO is plenty forgiving. It has near Utopia level of resolution but with a tuning that is more euphonic and slightly rounded transient as opposed to the Utopia's sharper and more abrupt response. I find it works well even with less than ideal recordings. Even better if you can get one in stock or softer wood variant. Best to hear it before committing to such an expensive purchase as we all should.

 

[dbull12]

I find the Meze Elite pretty forgiving, but it also sounds much better with higher quality recordings. It sounds great with every genre I’ve thrown at it and has slowly become the headphone I use 99% of the time. It’s highly musical with an excellent soundstage, all without sacrificing resolution/detail.

I’m a huge ZMf fan, but I prefer the Elite to the VC, Auteur, Aeolus and Atrium. I haven’t heard the Caldera yet, but that might be a good fit for you as well.

VO is plenty forgiving. It has near Utopia level of resolution but with a tuning that is more euphonic and slightly rounded transient as opposed to the Utopia's sharper and more abrupt response. I find it works well even with less than ideal recordings. Even better if you can get one in stock or softer wood variant. Best to hear it before committing to such an expensive purchase as we all should.

Hopefully in the next year Zach will be able to have some ZMF listening events since I'm in the Chicago area! I keep going through phases where one of their open backs sounds like it would be exactly what I'm looking for, and then I start thinking more about one of their other headphones and I change my mind haha. Up until a couple weeks ago it was the Auteur Classic since I feel it would do a lot that the Atticus doesn't, but now I have my eyes on the VO. I'll definitely hold out though until I get to try their open backs more. And hopefully Meze will be at next year's CanJam Chicago as their headphones also appeal to me! I think Abyss, Focal, and Hifiman probably wouldn't appeal as much to me (except maybe the Susvara but I can't see myself spending that kind of money). I didn't try the upcoming Modhouse Tungsten at CanJam, but that's another one I'll be keeping an eye on!

Anyway, I've kind of turned this thread into trying to find the 'perfect' headphone for myself but I am also just curious in hearing discussion about TOTL headphones that they feel offer something very special while maybe not being focused on being analytical. Even if many of the headphones wouldn't appeal to me I always like learning more and seeing discussion!