Just updated my original post.
Interestingly, I was planning to sell my Eikons in the near future. I might have to reconsider since after this there will be no more......
Show us your Head-Fi station at it's current state. No old pictures please...
- Thread starter HiFiGuy528
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Interestingly, I was planning to sell my Eikons in the near future. I might have to reconsider since after this there will be no more......
Just speculation on my part, but I'd be pretty shocked if a closed back version doesnt drop in the hopefully not to distant future.
Ironically, the Eikon is the only ZMF ive yet to own.
Well, if you keep your eyes peeled there might be a nice Cocobolo one in your future... Unless someone pays my tuition and negates inflation.
I'm trying to figure out a way to break it to my wife that I need to buy the amp in the photo above, Wells Dragon level 3. this amp is kraaaazy
Nice amp man! I have had my eye on that Dragon level 3 for a while now, and will own one someday. . .
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walker.777
New Head-Fier
How does Wells Dragon pair with new Atrium??new ZMF Atrium
Pharmaboy
Headphoneus Supremus
IMO the Eikon is a killer headphone. Huge/impressive in size and sound. Mine was padauk, which was pretty beyond words.
I always said listening to the Eikon was like strapping into a very fast amusement park ride. It was a thrill a minute, including epic sub-bass and a far bigger midrange than most closed backs can manage.
I only sold mine because I reluctantly concluded that closed back dynamic HPs were aggravating my tinnitus & migraine. I could only listen to the Eikon in particular for short periods, then really paid for it afterward. So I sold it, but that headphone lives on in sonic memory.
Oddly enough, my closed back planar (ZMF Ori, which I flat out adore) doesn't really aggravate my issues, so I'm able to listen to it now and then.
The holy grail really is an open back planar with the ZMF house sound. I've been chasing that very thing for ~4 years.
Having owned only OTL's for the better part of 9 years, the Dragonj is a totally different animal altogether. The first thing I noticed was how damn fast this amp is...like really fast.
The Atrium isnt slow, but its not VC fast either, but it gets pretty close on the Dragon.
Dynamics are fantastic. The first few hours I listened to it after a cross country journey from Wells Audio to my doorstep, I found the dynamics a bit lacking, but once the Dragon awoke from its slumber, the sonic assault commenced.
Mids are liquid. Not OTL liquid, but def much more creamy than your run of the mill solid state amp.
The fact that you can drive efficient IEMs, Susvara, Abyss 1266, HE6 and everything in between with a solid black background is just icing on the cake. I'll be doing a full video review of the Dragon on my Youtube channel (link in signature)
MHLC
Head-Fier
Glad the dragon is getting the exposure it definitely deserve. It's such a versatile amp and makes anything sound good if not great.
Pharmaboy
Headphoneus Supremus
I got super-interested in the Dragon for a few days, until I realized how big it is. It wouldn't possibly fit in either my main desktop system (headphones, speakers, sub) or side-system (headphones only).
However, in yet another example of my addiction to musical, slightly warm & bassy solid state amps, I just bought a Kinki Studio THR-1, an amp I've been interested in for months. It should show up in ~2 weeks. Then after 2 weeks' burn-in, it goes in the main system. I have solid work-arounds for its two main drawbacks (no remote; and no low gain setting, so this uber-powerful amp tends to blow up [or hum with] low impedance headphones). The THR-1 is a no-go with IEMs, but I don't use them and don't mind that.
Soon I'll sell a real classic amp that I rarely use these days, the Lake People G109-A single-ended amp.
(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose)
However, in yet another example of my addiction to musical, slightly warm & bassy solid state amps, I just bought a Kinki Studio THR-1, an amp I've been interested in for months. It should show up in ~2 weeks. Then after 2 weeks' burn-in, it goes in the main system. I have solid work-arounds for its two main drawbacks (no remote; and no low gain setting, so this uber-powerful amp tends to blow up [or hum with] low impedance headphones). The THR-1 is a no-go with IEMs, but I don't use them and don't mind that.
Soon I'll sell a real classic amp that I rarely use these days, the Lake People G109-A single-ended amp.
(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose)
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It is substantially longer from front to back than my GOTL, and even a few inches more than my DAC, which has an enormous footprint of its own.
Ive never heard a Lake People amp, but not from a lack of desire, as ive read lots of good things about them.
Between the VCs and the Atriums, which do you like better with metal (death, doom, black)?
MHLC
Head-Fier
I currently have a Dragon L3 but had and own the v281w/ the attenuator and the Milo with all the upgrades which is a better comparasion giving their used market price. The v281 is more clean and neutrual, letting the headphone's characteristic really shine while the Milo adds a tube like bloom to the mids. There is a bit of noise floor on the Milo unless you're using he6 or something of that sorts while the v281 is dead silent.
Both are great amps and needs more recognition. I definitely would take these two over the gsx mini which is in the same price bracket...
That is a complicated answer because of several factors, but...
1.I loathe lo-fi
2.Im a midhead
3.I adore speed in gear
4.I like my riffage and double kicks to be well articulated as opposed to a wall of blur.
The Verites are brutal on low fi recordings, so I prefer the Atrium because of them being much more gentle on garbage recordings.
The Atrium mids are some of the best I've ever heard
The Verites are speed demons. The Atrium isnt, especially on an OTL. On the Dragon, the Atrium's transients are much quicker though, still to acheive that staccato, rapid fire sound, the VC is the way to go.
So honestly that really depends on what aspects of metal appeal to you the most.
Pharmaboy
Headphoneus Supremus
Lake People owns Violectric; and in turn, both are owned by CMA Audio, which I never heard of until today.
The fabled "Violectric house sound" (which I can attest to courtesy of the V281) equally applies to Lake People gear. If you're into solid state, this is the motherlode...
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