[steve468]

I had a search in the thread and know this has come up many times - but I'd still like to ask for fresh views from people who have heard/own both the Atrium and the Verite Open, which one do you prefer for metal & rock type of music? I'm looking for possible upgrades to my wenge Auteurs which I love. I've had them for 3 years now as a daily driver and starting to get the itch for something new. If it helps the assessment in any way, I didn't like the Aeolus when I briefly owned them, I found them way too "warm and fuzzy". I'm also considering the VC/AC, but I figured I'll ask about AO/VO in this thread.

I think honestly you might want to try both. It seems to be really down to individual taste which is better for rock. Personally, the AO never moved me as much as Verite - couldn’t say why really, I loved the tonality of the AO, but the Verite is my sound.

I think it also depends on what rock/metal you’re talking about. That’s a big slice of the music world! Basically, do you want BIG GUITARS from AO or do you want BIG SPEED from Verite?

 

[JackarlTwo]

I had a search in the thread and know this has come up many times - but I'd still like to ask for fresh views from people who have heard/own both the Atrium and the Verite Open, which one do you prefer for metal & rock type of music? I'm looking for possible upgrades to my wenge Auteurs which I love. I've had them for 3 years now as a daily driver and starting to get the itch for something new. If it helps the assessment in any way, I didn't like the Aeolus when I briefly owned them, I found them way too "warm and fuzzy". I'm also considering the VC/AC, but I figured I'll ask about AO/VO in this thread.

I love the Atrium for rock & metal. It's forgiving with a lot of genres and less than perfect recordings. I haven't heard all ZMF's yet but it remains my favorite so far, especially for progressive stuff. I really enjoyed VC too which I heard should sound close to VO and it's one I'll add to my collection at some point, but it's a different flavor to Atrium. Definitely worth trying them both if you can.

 

[Redmetal1897]

Does anyone know if there is a way to overlay the FR charts for the ZMF headphones in one chart? I know the website has individual measurements but I couldn't find a way to compare headphone to headphone. Have generated some funds by selling my Auteur/some other stuff so now trying to decide between the Atrium or the VO.

 

[spittis]

I think honestly you might want to try both. It seems to be really down to individual taste which is better for rock. Personally, the AO never moved me as much as Verite - couldn’t say why really, I loved the tonality of the AO, but the Verite is my sound.

I think it also depends on what rock/metal you’re talking about. That’s a big slice of the music world! Basically, do you want BIG GUITARS from AO or do you want BIG SPEED from Verite?

Trying both would of course be the best, sadly it's not possible to demo anything around here, the only ZMF dealer in the country went bankrupt recently.

You're right about the music too, main genres for me are various forms of death metal with lots of other metal/rock/punk genres sprinkled in. To me the overall timbre/tonality especially for the instruments is the most important, speed is less critical. Being forgiving to mediocre recordings is also a big plus.

I read a lot of reviews and opinions, and pulled the trigger on a pair of cherry Atriums from the sale. It was actually a quite easy decision once I found a few comparison-reviews mentioning that the Atrium is a lot like a TOTL Auteur/HD-650, I love both of those headphones.

Now for the hard part - to wait.

 

[sp33ls]

The Atrium is probably the safer bet if unable to listen before purchasing.

The VO, on the other hand, has earned a very dedicated following. You’ll find these die-hard fans continue to fall more in love with them as time goes on.

It seems there’s those who love either the Atrium or the Verite. And then there’s me… swapping between them every week or so.

Seriously tho, good choice. I think you’ll love them.

 

[Redmetal1897]

Friends, if someone could listen to this track and tell me if the track gets too shouty it would be super helpful. I've been using it as a reference track for upper midrange shoutiness. I listen reasonably loud. With the Aueteur it was a real challenge unless I listened low volume. I am looking at purchasing the AO or the VC as a replacement but am worried about the upper mid FR.

https://tidal.com/track/76700644

 

[MatW]

Friends, if someone could listen to this track and tell me if the track gets too shouty it would be super helpful. I've been using it as a reference track for upper midrange shoutiness. I listen reasonably loud. With the Aueteur it was a real challenge unless I listened low volume. I am looking at purchasing the AO or the VC as a replacement but am worried about the upper mid FR.

https://tidal.com/track/76700644

I love this album. For many years I went to Tuscany in the summer. They had a large pool there and I would swim in the mornings listening to this album on my APP. Good memories whenever I hear this. Anyway..

I just listened to this track with the AO and the VC. Auteur pads on both (perforated and non perforated respectively). I found a graph at crinacle that suggests that the upper mids are more elevated on the AO. However, when I listen to this track I do not hear a major difference in that area. Maybe the VC is a little more subdued there but the difference is small to my ears. There is a good presence with both, but they don't sound shouty. To me. But it is very personal of course. I have become less sensitive to elevated upper mids in the last few years. So I am not sure this is helpful for you... The song sounds good on both. Both are good headphones. I think I would prefer this on the AO, simply because of the staging and better instrument separation, which is assume is mainly due to the open back vs closed.

Edit: I haven't heard the Auteur. Looking at the graphs the upper mids seem to be a touch more elevated on the AO but I suspect it would be offset by the more elevated bass and lower mids. On the whole I would expect this song to sound less shouty on the AO. But of course there is only one way to find out...

 

[acohen001]

I had a search in the thread and know this has come up many times - but I'd still like to ask for fresh views from people who have heard/own both the Atrium and the Verite Open, which one do you prefer for metal & rock type of music? I'm looking for possible upgrades to my wenge Auteurs which I love. I've had them for 3 years now as a daily driver and starting to get the itch for something new. If it helps the assessment in any way, I didn't like the Aeolus when I briefly owned them, I found them way too "warm and fuzzy". I'm also considering the VC/AC, but I figured I'll ask about AO/VO in this thread.

I have both I have the AO and VO and the AO is the way to go for metal/rock as the bass really rocks on the Atrium. I have the VC as well and the AO still sounds better with rock/metal. I am not a "metal" guy, but I have listened to many genres on all of my cans and they all bring me the "ZMF smile" when I switch to listen to any of the ZMFs that I own. I just listen, smile and nod my head in amazement that no matter what ZMF I listen to, they all sound wonderful.

 

[steve468]

Trying both would of course be the best, sadly it's not possible to demo anything around here, the only ZMF dealer in the country went bankrupt recently.

You're right about the music too, main genres for me are various forms of death metal with lots of other metal/rock/punk genres sprinkled in. To me the overall timbre/tonality especially for the instruments is the most important, speed is less critical. Being forgiving to mediocre recordings is also a big plus.

I read a lot of reviews and opinions, and pulled the trigger on a pair of cherry Atriums from the sale. It was actually a quite easy decision once I found a few comparison-reviews mentioning that the Atrium is a lot like a TOTL Auteur/HD-650, I love both of those headphones.

Now for the hard part - to wait.

I wasn’t talking about demoing both, I meant BUY both. It is inevitable

Anyway, sounds like you made the right choice. Atrium is the more popular headphone it seems, more easy to love, and fits what you’re looking for to a T. Enjoy!

 

[YtseJamer]

To me the overall timbre/tonality especially for the instruments is the most important, speed is less critical. Being forgiving to mediocre recordings is also a big plus.

I was going to ask if timbre and tonality matters more for you than speed and details. Seems like you've pretty much answered that. As someone currently using the Atrium as my main headphone and having previously owned the Verite Closed, I would recommend going with the Atrium. I've owned the Verite Closed twice and, despite trying various setups with different amps, DACs, and pads, I never felt fully satisfied with them. Eventually, I decided to switch to the Atrium. I sold the Verite Closed mainly because the mids didn't quite do it for me. It wasn't bad, just kinda meh, especially with rock and metal. As a guitar player, I'm a bit obsessed with getting that perfect electric guitar sound, and the Atrium is nailing it for me.

 

[Redmetal1897]

I love this album. For many years I went to Tuscany in the summer. They had a large pool there and I would swim in the mornings listening to this album on my APP. Good memories whenever I hear this. Anyway..

I just listened to this track with the AO and the VC. Auteur pads on both (perforated and non perforated respectively). I found a graph at crinacle that suggests that the upper mids are more elevated on the AO. However, when I listen to this track I do not hear a major difference in that area. Maybe the VC is a little more subdued there but the difference is small to my ears. There is a good presence with both, but they don't sound shouty. To me. But it is very personal of course. I have become less sensitive to elevated upper mids in the last few years. So I am not sure this is helpful for you... The song sounds good on both. Both are good headphones. I think I would prefer this on the AO, simply because of the staging and better instrument separation, which is assume is mainly due to the open back vs closed.

Edit: I haven't heard the Auteur. Looking at the graphs the upper mids seem to be a touch more elevated on the AO but I suspect it would be offset by the more elevated bass and lower mids. On the whole I would expect this song to sound less shouty on the AO. But of course there is only one way to find out...

Appreciate the insights! Very helpful! Yes I think maybe I'm sensitive to the upper mid range. The Auteurs sound amazing except for when my ears get scorched when that part of the FR is highlighted.

Yes that album is very underrated one of the best prog albums of the last decade imo. And they are putting new music out so an album should be out soon!

 

[YtseJamer]

Friends, if someone could listen to this track and tell me if the track gets too shouty it would be super helpful. I've been using it as a reference track for upper midrange shoutiness. I listen reasonably loud. With the Aueteur it was a real challenge unless I listened low volume. I am looking at purchasing the AO or the VC as a replacement but am worried about the upper mid FR.

https://tidal.com/track/76700644

Huge Caligula’s Horse fan here! Currently cranking that song on my setup, and there's absolutely no annoying sharpness. My setup is Bifrost 2/64 --> Woo WA3 --> ZMF Atrium with the Universe pads and stock vented mesh. I'm a bit picky about those upper mids, like can't handle the HD600 with rock and metal. But I never had any issues with the upper mids of the Atrium.

 

[spittis]

I wasn’t talking about demoing both, I meant BUY both. It is inevitable

Anyway, sounds like you made the right choice. Atrium is the more popular headphone it seems, more easy to love, and fits what you’re looking for to a T. Enjoy!

Well, you never know, this is the first headphone purchase in 3 years, so I certainly haven't overdone it lately... Cheers!

I was going to ask if timbre and tonality matters more for you than speed and details. Seems like you've pretty much answered that. As someone currently using the Atrium as my main headphone and having previously owned the Verite Closed, I would recommend going with the Atrium. I've owned the Verite Closed twice and, despite trying various setups with different amps, DACs, and pads, I never felt fully satisfied with them. Eventually, I decided to switch to the Atrium. I sold the Verite Closed mainly because the mids didn't quite do it for me. It wasn't bad, just kinda meh, especially with rock and metal. As a guitar player, I'm a bit obsessed with getting that perfect electric guitar sound, and the Atrium is nailing it for me.

Your posts in various threads influenced my decision a good bit actually, so thank you! I'm happy to hear about the guitar sound, can't wait to go through some Gothenburg-metal on them.

 

[Redmetal1897]

Huge Caligula’s Horse fan here! Currently cranking that song on my setup, and there's absolutely no annoying sharpness. My setup is Bifrost 2/64 --> Woo WA3 --> ZMF Atrium with the Universe pads and stock vented mesh. I'm a bit picky about those upper mids, like can't handle the HD600 with rock and metal. But I never had any issues with the upper mids of the Atrium.

I think you and I have very similar taste in music. I listen to alot of metal too. It helps if the Atrium is forgiving because the recordings aren't the best most of the time.

 

[betula]

I was going to ask if timbre and tonality matters more for you than speed and details.

IMO the Caldera has both timbre&tonality with speed&details. For those who want everything.