I thought Aeolus, Atticus and Eikon severely lacked clarity/resolution/detail, were very blanketed in the bass and midrange, were very veiled in the treble, had very muffled and unnatural timbre, and had a tiny soundstage with very smeared/muddled/messy imaging and instrument separation. I also thought that Aeolus had bad dynamics/punch/potency/tactility across the whole range, while Atticus and Eikon had great dynamics in the bass, but were bad in the midrange and treble.

I had Atticus and Aeolus for a year before I conceded that I was never going to like them. Eikon I put up for sale quickly when I realized it was just more of the same. It's not that I don't like warm or dark headphones -- I adore HD650, CAL!, NTH-100 and a certain planar starting with V that shall not be named. I also liked LCD-2C.

In addition to the stock pads, I used Eikon suede, Universe suede and Universe perforated suede on Aeolus. On Atticus and Eikon, I used Eikon suede and Universe suede in addition to the stock pads.

As for Ori, it's a long time ago since I used it and I no longer remember what I specifically disliked about it.

Auteur is my favorite headphone. Usually, I find that headphones fall either on the bright side or the dark side of the spectrum, but Auteur is the first pair of headphones where I can't place it on either side, as if it's right in the middle, completely neutral. The upper midrange is perfect to me as well -- not shouty / too hot, nor sucked out / distant. The lower midrange and upper bass have a slight bloom that gives Auteur slightly more body and a hint of warmth. The sub-bass is a little rolled off, but I don't really care as I don't find the bass quality/technicalities to be up to snuff anyway, especially when EQ'd, so I switch to TH900 PW when I want fast, taut, snappy, punchy bass.

The timbre is the most natural I've heard in a pair of headphones or earphones. Usually, I find timbre more or less dry, bright, lush, tinny, muffled, metallic, glassy, shouty, etc., but with Auteur, it's... uncharacteristic. It has maybe a hint of sweetness, likely due to the slight bloom in the lower midrange and upper bass. Acoustic guitar and the violin, which are two of my favorite instruments and the instruments I have the most real-life experience with, sound life-like.

The dynamics are good across the whole range, making everything sound punchy or lively, and acoustic guitar plucks especially sound tactile.

The resolution is very clear and it digs into details like throatiness, raspiness, spittiness, the breath between notes.

The imaging is cohesive and instrument separation is well-delineated. The width of the soundstage is very wide (not quite wide as HD800). The depth of the soundstage is shallow/intimate, presenting me close to the mouth of the singer, which I prefer as Auteur is my midrange and timbre specialist pair of headphones.