ZMF Atrium Headphone Review

[@Haasaaroni]

I'm borrowing a pair of Atrium right now, and I completely agree with what you said about the midrange glare. It's definitely there, and I've heard very few others mention it. It's can be pretty intense! I actually prefer the tonality of the Auteur Classic, which is certainly in a lower tier technically, but I think tonally fits my preferences better. Still, classical guitar in the Atrium are probably the best I've ever heard them on a headphone! Thanks for the honest and thorough review.

[@David-fo6oy]

Great review. I have seen a few reviews of the Atrium that really hyped it up. I appreciate your very informative and level headed opinions. Review on, my friend, review on. Im looking for an end game headphone for chamber and symphonic music and I am always keeping an eye on your channel for seeing what is out there.

[@eastgreenlander5016]

I agree on this ☝🏽

[@freovegan]

Erzetich Phobos isn’t talked about much, but one to consider for symphonies… very engaging listen with a pretty big soundstage, dynamics and slam. Really impressed by how it showcased the difference between 64 DSD vs 256 DSD on a violin piece

[@Del_987]

Interesting comments about metal. Generally agree, especially in comparison to the Caldera or HEKSE. I find a lot of heavier stuff sounds great on this - things with 7 strings or guitars tuned into drop B. I’ll need to listen to these with some OTLs soon to get a better sense of their capabilities. Edit: playing these of an OTL is game changing. I really have a hard time reaching for my HEKse

[@Aran_Rave]

May I ask what is your word OTL mean?

[@BlueCliff72]

HYPE. I'm selling my two-channel and moving into headphones. Thinking of Atriums >> Decware OTL >> Holo May. About half of what I listened to is heavier stuff, but the other half is mostly acoustic.

[@soulfulfool]

@@Aran_Rave it means Output transformerless, its a type of tube amp

[@soulfulfool]

I was thinking about HEKse for a long time and even longer about Atrium, Hifiman treble tuning failed me many times, I guess they require specific source chain or EQ to be pleasant for me. I already own ZMF Verite closed and OTL to drive them properly, HEKse would cost me way less than Atrium but with Atrium I'm 100% sure thats the right choice since my VC is that good at least for my ears

[@dleblanc343]

You're one of the better reviewers out there, very good ear. I have a VO and VC which I love dearly, but they definitely are not Hi-Res. I was shocked by the softness of Atrium at CanJam and found it not quite to my liking. I think despite the more uneven FR of the VO, it's a better headphone through and through. The Caldera however, it was actually so engaging and higher level of fidelity - you are right about it being their true flagship now. I will be getting one.

[@wavetheorysound]

Feel free to have the Caldera sent here (only partially joking 😝)

[@Haasaaroni]

I felt similarly when I heard it all at CanJam. The impact with the Arrium is there, but the rest of the sound is very soft. The Caldera was just the best, but you gotta pay for it 😅

[@johnratcliffe6438]

Sorry to read that. I have Arya Stealth and was considering Atrium/VC as my first ZMF, but I can't lose detail or clarity compared to Arya SE. Are VC and Atrium no good for me then?

[@Haasaaroni]

@@johnratcliffe6438 I haven’t heard a headphone personally that pushes detail forward quite like the Arya. I feel like the VC and Atrium have just as much detail as the Arya Stealth, but it’s presented in a much more natural and organic way. The VC is the more detail forward of the two. By the way, I recently found out that the Atriums at CanJam were not burnt in. After hearing my friend’s fully burnt in pair, the softness I was hearing from them at CanJam was completely gone, and was replaced by a really dynamic and realistic sound. I’m plotting buying a pair myself now!

[@johnratcliffe6438]

@@Haasaaroni Amazing, thanks. Which would you go for first in my position? VC or Atrium?

[@arthurhaywood2184]

Savory is an interesting word to use…. I would classify them as very natural sounding. I think that because I find myself inherently preferring the quickness of planar’s, my critique of the Atrium is that I find it’s leading edge to be a bit slow. There’s also a slight hump in the mid bass. Neither of these things are deal breakers for me as the timbre & tonality are so good. These are headphones that are great for long listening sessions!

[@soulfulfool]

they are gorgeous and hopefully in the next month they will be mine, they are only TOTL headphones that Im interested in

[@N02tradamus]

I'm the Headfier that has them now. I think the second pads are Auteur Hybrid Perforated ...

[@pandapv]

Great review! 2 things that came to mind for me: 1. I think the alternate pads you showed were actually the auteur perf hybrids, the Be2 pads are very thin and have a thicker foam layer in front of the driver 2. Zach sells an alternate acoustic mesh you can use over the driver (it's non-perforated, as opposed to the perforated one that comes stock) that might just tame that ear gain region enough for you (it's under the diy parts section of his website)

[@wavetheorysound]

Thanks. I guessed Be2 because in the packing contents that was the one specified as suede. Would be nice if they had some sort of identifiers stitched on but that is of course extra cost. If this ever happens again I'll just send pics to Zach and ask. Also, you seem like a ZMF fan. I don't suppose you could buy a Caldera and have it sent here... 😜

[@pandapv]

@@wavetheorysound yeah they can be super annoying to tell apart, but you do get used to it. I keep mine in labeled zip loc bags. I've tried a few of their cans and they all are really interesting! I've settled on the VC and now the Atrium, but unfortunately after buying the Atrium I'm now a broke ZMF fan so I don't think Caldera will be in the cards for me for a while haha

[@pandapv]

@@wavetheorysound Re: your comment on the VC review, I don't think anything you said in it was inaccurate, but I do think they really benefit from a nice hiZ tube amp, especially on the low end. I think that might be where the slight disconnect might have been between your experience and others? Also clamp is very important on them, I find I have to re-bend the headband every few months to add a bit of clamp back (although too much clamp can collapse the sound stage a bit) Headband bending is a fundamental part of the ZMF experience IMO, which can be a bit annoying but if you put in the work you can get them to fit you better than almost any other headphone

[@olimphus26]

I don’t think that mesh even does anything regarding sound change. It’s more psychoacoustic stuff. Zac himself has said it’s not supposed to change.

[@pandapv]

@@olimphus26 I think maybe you're thinking of some comments Zach made re: the new mesh compared to the old bopp mesh. The mesh absolutely changes the sound, if you take it off it's much brighter

[@bonanzabrandon6877]

I think there's a good chance that you will like the ZMF Caldera :)

[@fabriziosiano7210]

Thank you! Thank you! Your words I trust! Please let us know out of the amps and dac used, which combo you enjoyed the most? I’m thinking of getting the V281 but will wait on your comment first to see if I should look elsewhere!

[@wavetheorysound]

For Atrium, and I'm finding in general, I leaned Berkeley -> V281. The V281 is warm, smooth, punchy, and quite resolving. It's a bit older now and was designed to optimize hi-Z listening (perfect for ZMF), but it's also done a solid job with several TOTL planars like Susvara, LCD-5, 1266, D8KPro. It doesn't make those planars sound as good as they possibly can, but they still sound excellent, so it's been an excellent reviewing tool.

[@jonandresen1483]

Thanks for the review of these headphones. I have them and can't figure out a clear use case. Mine are cocobolo and are very heavy. For comfort and sonics I prefer the ZMF Verite Closed. A lot of reviews absolutely gushed positive over the Atrium. They are good. I just can't reach for them when I also have the Verite Closed. FWIW I use Eikon Suede pads on my VC and the stock pads on the Atrium. Suede pads on the Atrium sound bad to me. Savory is a good description of the Atrium.

[@ChrisStoneinator]

Thank you for making me want these slightly less. Too many ZMF headphones are described as being "neutral" or "warm" and then it turns out they have something really weird going on somewhere in the tuning that almost nobody's talking about. The fact that you can't audition these and also can't send them back if you don't like them is of course a byproduct of Zach's exceptional craftsmanship which is the only reason these awesome headphones exist at all, but it's extremely tough to stomach as a buyer who's looking to just buy and own one headphone rather than a collection. I bought a used OG Auteur for a great price, but to be honest if I got to audition them I probably wouldn't have bought them because of the treble. I'm getting on better with them now that my ears have adjusted and I'm not picking up the 10K peak anymore, but my point stands.

[@gdemirjian]

You nailed it here. With the characteristics you describe, I have used the analogy, the 650 is like living in a plush, 4-star Manhattan hotel, the Focal Elex is like have a corner unit with a view, and the Atrium is like living in the penthouse. Also, I curious, what subject path do you teach? I teach food safety, quality and occupational safety. I love teaching adult education courses. I have done in in my field since the late 1980's. Cheers!

[@wavetheorysound]

"Also, I curious, what subject path do you teach?" - physics. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@gdemirjian]

@@wavetheorysound Very cool. I love physics and chemistry theory. Good times!

[@leeelder7463]

WaveTheory…… I would love to hear your review of the ZMF Caldera Open.

[@KeenAesthetic1]

This is the mist valuable video for gauging your taste. I bought the he1000v2 and had little to no new toy syndrome and ringing ears due ro the sharpness and limper bass. The staging just made things sound too lean and diffuse. I bought the atrium 2 weeks later due to my disappointment. With that I can hear that we have differences in taste and perception PS he1000v2 has rallied on tubes by turning my smsl vmv d1se down and my VTL IT-85 way up to 3 o'clock and selecting classical or low energy music.

[@soulfulfool]

its obvious that he prefer more technical sound, ZMF are for music lovers and tubes enthusiasts, they are not a tool to analyze music with cold blood :)

[@zenboy863]

Hmm that HE1000 is becoming even more appealing. I just cant help but feel if I get one a V3 will be released a month later.

[@wavetheorysound]

The HE1000se is the V3, as it's the 3rd iteration of the HE1000 series. I don't have enough contact with Hifiman to have any knowledge of what they're up to. My best guess is they lowered the prices of Arya se and HekV2 to space out their offerings a bit. When the HekV2 was $3k and the Hekse was (is) $3500, I imagine many skipped over V2 and just spent the extra $500 on se. Now the V2 is much more appealing and arguably one of the best deals going in hifi right now.

[@dixter1652]

The HE1000V2 could be the best deal in headphones today besides the HE6se V2.. but the HE6 needs serious power to work well... if you don't mind using EQ the HE1000 v2 can be tuned to sound better than the Susvara and the HE1000v2 doesn't need too much power... with the ifi Diablo and a little EQ its pretty much an end game... just to be clear, the HE1000V2 does not need EQ.. but you can make it sound from a great sounding headphone to an amazing sounding headphone...

[@JTB--]

@@dixter1652 The main reason I sold my HE1000se is because the ($550 Adorama New) HE6se V2 was giving me enough of what the TOTL Hifiman were doing but with some nice Bass/Punch and Slam when amped properly. Especially for the Hard Rock and Metal genre's I like. I think it is very important to know what headphone excels the most with the certain music genre's you like/listen to the most to make the smartest most informed HP purchase you can

[@wavetheorysound]

@@JTB-- excellent points. I like the HekV2 & se for a lot of metal but they are amp picky. They *can* slam pretty hard and also not split your head open with the treble, but you gotta spend $$$ to achieve that.

[@wavetheorysound]

@@dixter1652 the HE6se V2 on those Adorama deals is indeed an insane value. It is indeed power hungry but that new EF400 dac/amp handles it well, and even at its MSRP is an amazing deal on its own.

[@chronometa]

Would the VO be better for the distorted guitars?

[@AKL764]

Would you ever consider it over a susvara? How are the vocals compared to the susvara? Thanks!

[@wavetheorysound]

Only in very specific circumstances where you have a mid-fi amp that works well with hi-Z dynamics and it will take a very long time to get to an amp upgrade

[@tryingtocorrect]

What would you recommend me under 2500 dollars? I want as natural as possible and my music style is rock/pop/heavy rock type of music. Also melodic music. I prefer neutral sound. I was thinking HiFiMan HE1000se, they sell them 2600 eur here.

[@wavetheorysound]

HE1000se is one of my favorites. If you can land it for a price you're comfortable with, it's hard to say no.

[@tryingtocorrect]

@@wavetheorysound thank you. The only think I am little thinking, that are they too big for ears :). But will think about it.

[@soulfulfool]

@@tryingtocorrect for small heads I bet it could be problematic as seal will NOT be perfect

[@tryingtocorrect]

@@soulfulfool I dont really have a small head, just normal size mans head.

[@Aran_Rave]

@@tryingtocorrect get the 1000se, i confirmed it great! also if you choosing between 1000 stealth as i did, I also confirm that 1000se is better I did A/B test, 1000 stealth is not bad at all but dynamic/punch/resolution overall better on 1000se

[@darwijn1609]

I’ve yet to find a headphone or two channel system that works well with hard rock/metal. I find car audio and a surround sound home theater setup is where it shines. If you are aware of a headphone that you’d recommend for hard rock/metal, please share!

[@wavetheorysound]

Some metal is just going to sound bad, be prepared for that. There are just some bands that have great music but their recording and production make me call them "6XX bands". So, HD650/6XX and Focal Radiance are pretty consistently enjoyable for me with heavy music. Hifimans do well if you have an amp that gets their treble under control.

[@sjqideez6626]

People say the AB1266 Phi TC & LCD-5 are great choices for those genres.

[@davidcoons89]

@@wavetheorysound love it!! (6xx ref)

[@nikolaygramchev]

Not everything that glitters is gold! Fairly..., not quite.. , not like... and natural timber is no more adhesive to wood. Thank you for the review!

[@harackmw]

if only I lived in the US; ZMF is nearly double price after tariffs

[@EricRosenfield]

Probably be cheaper to fly here and buy one.

[@wavetheorysound]

@@EricRosenfield As long as it fits in your carry on 😆

[@davidcoons89]

😳😳

[@harackmw]

@@wavetheorysound or maybe someday zmf will be at duty free, they look like they could move a lot of product there!

[@nikolaygramchev]

Do you want a mint Eikon?

[@nicktan4530]

Where are you from ?

[@wavetheorysound]

To be very general, most of my life I've lived in various places in the American Midwest. There were a handful of years in the southeast too.

[@nicktan4530]

@@wavetheorysound So USA ?

[@wavetheorysound]

@@nicktan4530 yes

[@N02tradamus]

We are on the same page. I felt they did poorly with distorted guitars etc. Was listening to deftones and it was too much. For 90shiphop, soul, funk, jazz ... these are great ...

[@fatdoi003]

i just don't know why you need to compare DD vs planar headphones... their sound signatures totally different.... especially on bass region.... planar dives, DD slams....

[@wavetheorysound]

IMO the driver type matters less to the comparison type than the technical ability and enjoyability comparisons with similarly-priced options do. I think comparisons with well-known models are where real learning can begin. If I can successfully compare & contrast the sound of thing A with well-known thing B, then more people will get a better idea of what thing A might sound like. As far as what driver types do what...as price goes up I've found the distinctions you mention get fuzzy. 1266, LCD-5, D8Kpro, HE6seV2, even Susvara and the HE1000 series on the right amps, can slam, 1266 especially. Fostex TH900 series and many hi-end Focals, all dynamics, can dig pretty deep.

[@PartyMusic775]

Ampgnostic is the word you were looking for.

[@wavetheorysound]

LOL. I may steal that...

[@stevendavis1135]

You look rather cool wearing these 🤭 for some reason wearing any of those hifiman egg shaped headphones looks pretty weird.

[@wavetheorysound]

No, I make the headphones look cool 😎😆

[@N02tradamus]

My Atriums are famous :) ... lol

[@wavetheorysound]

Lol, only 2.5k subs here. "Famous" might be a bit of stretch lol

[@N02tradamus]

@@wavetheorysound Famous in my book. Keep it up. Thanks. :)

[@soulfulfool]

I dont know them but soon enough gonna know mine ;)

[@picklesandufos7860]

DMS and Goldensound call this an S tier headphone yet you make it seem like a B-

[@Aran_Rave]

I put my thrust in this channel more since they put 1000SE at tier C and Empyrean 2 at S It not make sense at all to my ear who did A/B test both of them 1000SE should be S by any mean even no EQ Huge sound stage, clean, transpareacy, dynamic, speed, separation, imaging. Honestly everything great with 1000SE, in current price drop is no brainer pick Only lack of 1000SE(accually it not lack but I want more) is impact/punch of Focal Utopia level(but that is dynamic driver strong point) Empyrean 2 is not really bad headphone but resolution is not worth the price, treble is no energy. Sound stage is good, imaging is good It just easy to listen headphone due to mid bass elevated and smooth treble. I can say it no stand out performance in any area. It should not at S tier even we ignore the high price

[@soulfulfool]

@@Aran_Rave maybe those boys like to enjoy their music not just analyze it

[@thomaskrebs8110]

Please change the backdrop. I am the first time here and probably will never come back because of it. It looks so terrible. Really, nothing against you and nothing personal.

[@wavetheorysound]

I changed it in early '23. Hang in there