UPDATE 6/30/2015
 
Yesterday I received a message from Kennerton on Head-Fi thanking me for the review. They believe that customs must have opened the package and damaged the cup, and offered to send me a replacement cup in the mail. I definitely appreciate them being proactive about reaching out to contact me about this and rectify the problem.
 
Intro & Disclaimer
 
Some while back I first saw the Kennerton Magister as a possible option on Massdrop, and I was instantly interested. I really do have a thing for closed-back headphones, and the only information I could find on this pair was extremely positive, placing it at or above the level of the Fostex TH900. So, I went ahead and cast my vote and proceeded to forget about it.
 
It was a couple months later that Kennerton offered a promotion here on Head-Fi to buy the Magister at a discounted price in exchange for writing a review. I jumped on the chance, and here we are!
 
For those of you who don't know, Kennerton is the "upscale" brand for products by Fischer Audio. The Kennerton Magister is actually based on the Fischer FA-003 Ti. From what I understand, the differences include the wood cups, higher quality cable, real lambskin leather for the pads, and a driver revision.
 
Ordering Experience
 
I wanted to put in a bit about the ordering experience just because it ended up being a little convoluted. Kennerton/Fischer is based out of Russia, so while everyone was courteous and gracious, I feel like there was a bit of a language barrier at times.
 
After initially contacting Kennerton through the forums here and getting a very quick response, I hadn't heard anything for a few days so I messaged back. I was then given the contact email for the person who would take my order, a lady named Alla. She instructed me to send the payment via PayPal to a mail.com account, which to be honest kind of concerned me. I replied back and asked if I could have an invoice, as I had been hoping to use PayPal Credit (initially because I was waiting on a check, but at this point as an extra level of security for myself). She replied that she could send me an invoice and just needed my address to do so. At this point I breathed a sigh of relief, which dissipated a bit after I received a PDF invoice in the next email. After I clarified that I would like a PayPal invoice, she said she would see if it was possible and sent it to me shortly after.
 
Overall, all of this turned out fine, but it was just a little odd. Alla and the other people involved were very accommodating. I do think most of the issue was due to the language barrier, or it could be that these processes are a little different in Russia. Shipping did take a couple weeks, and I began to hope pretty quickly that there was no reason I would have to send the headphones back.
 
Design & Comfort
 
The cups are made of ancient bog oak, which as I understand is basically semi-fossilized wood that has been in a peat bog for a long time, in this case over 2000 years. Two things here: First, it's kind of cool owning something that is literally older than the holy grail. Second, it really is beautiful. The finish is very minimal; a friend who works with wood for a living noted that it might only be a coat of linseed oil, and the aesthetic definitely works. Unfortunately, my particular pair does have an imperfection on one cup.
 

 
From what I understand this kind of flaw is not uncommon in bog oak and can be caused by the forming process. It also doesn't seem to affect the sound. Still, it is unfortunate to see something like this in such a high end product, especially when a lot of the luxury quality comes from the cups itself. However, as this was an aesthetic problem (and possibly even within Kennerton's QA tolerance) I didn't want to go through the trouble of sending them all the way back to Russia. (UPDATE: As mentioned above, Kennerton contacted me proactively and offered to send me a new cup free of charge. Definitely get some solid customer service points for that!)
 
Upon taking them out of the box, I was immediately surprised by how light in weight these are. I believe the bog oak must be fairly light (or fairly thin), because in spite of the large wood cups, the Kennerton weighs barely more than my Ultrasone Signature Pros.
 
One thing I don't particularly like is the cable. It seems to be high quality and has plenty of length, but the coating reminds me of those big "snake" cables they use for professional A/V setups. In addition it's rather thick and there are some microphonics if the upper part of the cable rubs your shirt. Honestly it's not really a big issue, but I am glad it's easily replaceable. It does have a nice 1/8" termination and includes a screw-on 1/4" adapter.
 
Out of the box, clamp is somewhat high, but if you stretch out the headband comfort is very good. The pads fully enclose your ears and have enough thickness for long listening sessions. Having real leather is definitely a nice touch. The headband could use a little more cushion for my preference, but it's thin enough to buy a cheap aftermarket pilot pad, so I wouldn't consider it a major issue.
 
Sound
 
Sound impressions are from my personal setup, a Mousai MSD192 DAC and a Purity Audio K.I.C.A.S. Caliente headphone amp. I also want to point out that I let the Magister burn in on pink noise for about 20 hours due to my experience with titanium drivers. It definitely improved the sound from out of the box, particularly the first 5 hours. It could be that more burn in would improve the sound further, but I think 20 hours is a fair amount of time to spend.
 
Okay... I'm really kind of divided here. Let's touch on the good stuff first.
 
Soundstage and imaging are phenomenal, and I would say THE major strength of the Magister. I had the chance to directly compare them to the ZMF Omni prototype, Fostex TH600, and my own Ultrasone Sig Pros, and the Kennerton was not beaten by any of them. I won't say it was unequivocally "better" than these, but it certainly held its own and then some.
 
Bass is nice and punchy. My amp definitely contributes to this, but the bass was perfectly acceptable on other setups as well. Highs are a little hot for my taste, but detail is extremely high. I don't generally pay attention to cymbals in recordings, but percussion in general is very noticeable. For example, I just heard a tambourine right now in a recording that I've listened to for years and never noticed. These seem to be quite neutral for better or worse. I like to listen to my music fairly loud, but with this pair I find I have to turn it down or I get fatigued.
 
There is something about the overall tonality of these headphones that just doesn't seem right to me. This is especially prevalent in the mids when listening to male vocals and electric guitar, but seems to be present in the overall sound signature. It could actually well be related to the open nature of the sound, as I feel a distinct lack of weight and texture that I'm used to in my other closed headphones. There's a lot of attack and detail, but that's about it. It actually reminds me of the aspects of the HD 800 that I don't particularly like.
 
It could be that a darker setup with a tube amp would help the Magister quite a bit. But my concern here is that while my setup is fairly detail oriented, it definitely isn't particularly bright.
 
Isolation is excellent. I think it might even be better than my Sig Pros, which is high praise indeed. Sensitivity is also fairly high, and it uses the same volume range as the Sig Pros on my amp. When music isn't playing, there's a very pleasant blackness in the silence.
 
Actually, just as a quick experiment, I turned down the volume knob, and I definitely prefer these on lower volumes. The tonality doesn't sound off anymore, and the mids are fine. It's not really either exciting or relaxing, but just clear. I think this may be the ideal way to listen to these.
 
Conclusion
 
The Kennerton Magister definitely isn't for me, and it's likely that my pair will be going up on the classifieds soon. If you're looking to be immersed in the music, I don't think this is where you want to end up. Compared to other high end closed headphones, they don't have the visceral, impactful, engaging quality that I love.
 
That being said, I can understand how some people would like these. They're extremely open and neutral while still having excellent isolation. If you prefer the sound of open headphones but have a situation that won't allow for sound leakage, these definitely might hold some appeal for you.
 
In terms of price and the value proposition, I think it really depends on which perspective you hold. If you really can't stand the "closed headphone" sound but need the isolation, I could definitely see you paying MSRP for these. On the other hand, I couldn't really put a value on them as for my personal taste there are a lot of better alternatives at or below this price range.

ZMF Blackwood Review
 

 
Intro & Disclaimer
 
I'd never actually had any real experience with ZMF Headphones until somewhat recently. To be entirely frank, when I heard that ZMF models were another T50rp mod, I had absolutely no interest in even listening to them. With all the rave reviews about LFF's Paradox as well as the Mad Dog and Alpha Dog lines (none of which I had heard at the time), I assumed ZMF was an also-ran. Even when Zach (the "Z" in ZMF) set up next to me at the latest Chicago meet, I didn't plug any of his headphones in until well over halfway through the day.
 
If this were a conversation, I would have to apologize right now, because I just zoned out for about 10 minutes listening to the headphones on my head. If you can guess which ones, you can also pretty fairly guess how much of an idiot I was.
 
At the meet, I heard the Sennheiser HD800. I heard the Audeze LCD-2. I heard the Paradox. I heard the new Sony MDR-Z7. All of these were good (although I didn't care for the Sony at all). But the biggest surprise of all was the prototype ZMF Blackwood, which I enjoyed more than any of these. I ended up sitting there for a solid half hour going back and forth, trying to decide if I liked them better than my Ultrasone Signature Pros. So when Zach offered an extended trial session sometime soon, I jumped at the chance. (To be fair, I did like the Fostex TH900 more than my Sig Pros and the Blackwoods. But... seriously, that's the TH900.)
 
So I guess here's the disclaimer part. I'm in no way affiliated with ZMF Headphones other than my acquaintance with Zach (the owner and designer), and the pair of ZMF Blackwoods I'm reviewing was not a purchased retail unit, but one of the prototypes given to me on loan. Zach did not ask me for anything in return, not even the following review.
 
So, what do I think? Did they dethrone my mighty Ultrasones? How do they stand up to the other T50rp 'phones out there? Read on!
 
Design & Comfort
 
Let's just get this out of the way. The Blackwood is a beautiful headphone. The craftsmanship of the wood cups is excellent, and the African Blackwood has a really beautiful color and grain. Pictures really don't do it justice (especially when taken by me). Zach tells me the finishing on this prototype isn't as good as the final units, and I'm not entirely sure how it could get much better. The overall design is very "finished" and professional. While I liked the homemade aesthetic of the Enigma, I couldn't imagine it sitting on a shelf at Best Buy. The Blackwoods wouldn't be terribly out of place at a Magnolia Center.

The only thing that really hinders the overall finish is the fact that several Fostex design elements are still glaringly obvious. For instance, if you choose the leather suspension band, there's still a big Fostex logo on the top of the headband. It's not really a drawback, but it does remind you that these headphones weren't built from the ground up. Comparing these to the original ZMF Master Model, it makes you wonder how far Zach will eventually go to make these his own. It should definitely be interesting.
 
Comfort is very good. The Blackwoods use comfy Alpha Pads, and either a Pilot Pad for cushioning on top or a leather suspension band. I thought I would like the Pilot Pad better, but this pair has the suspension band and has so far been very comfortable. I understand new options may be in the works at some point. These definitely aren't light, but it hasn't bothered me at all. Clamp force is not very high and weight distribution is good. If something doesn't fit right, the headband can be beat up and bent to all heck to make it fit. Comfort isn't quite up there with the cloud-like Fostex TH900, but for something this substantial it's probably the best you're going to get.
 
I don't have any expertise in this area, but I did want to mention that the internals have some extensive design modification compared to the stock Fostex. Zach does a high quality internal rewire with copper or silver (don't know which this pair is). Apparently there's some other stuff going on, but as I don't know how much is a trade secret and would probably explain it wrong anyways, suffice it to say it all sounds really cool. (Edited last sentence by request. Apparently I was still not vague enough, lol.)
 
Zach also provided me with a cable, which I believe is the 8 wire OCC braided hybrid he offers on his website. I'm not really a cable guy, but this seems to be good quality, especially for what he's charging. I was never worried about durability. You do hear some noise in the ear cups if the cord is rubbing against your clothes on the last foot or so closest to where it connects to the cups. I'm not a big fan of the plain rubber coating, as it kind of feels like braided noodles. I know, of all the things to complain about... But even Charleston Cable Company is more expensive, so I think it's a fair
 
Sound
 
All sound impressions are from my personal setup. I use a Mousai MSD192 DAC going into a Purity Audio K.I.C.A.S. Caliente headphone amp. It's a very clean and fast setup, basically neutral but with powerful, deep bass and an engaging presentation. I would definitely say the Blackwoods need a dedicated amp. I need to turn the dial on my amp up twice as high as I do for my Ultrasone Signature Pros.
 
The word that keeps getting thrown around on the Blackwood impressions thread is "natural," and I think this is probably the best word you can use. The sound is not only extremely natural, but engaging as well. I did get a chance to finally hear the Paradox, and it is very laid back compared to the Blackwoods. I guess it would make a good chill-out can, but IMO Enigma does that much better. The Blackwoods go in the other direction, having impact and presence without going to the extremes of Ultrasone and high-end Fostex. This is an inherently musical set of headphones, and it actually sounds very much like it looks; classy and artistic without being boring.
 
Soundstage is extremely good for a closed headphone. Width is much better than my Ultrasones, and while not quite as wide as the Enigma, depth is much better. Overall imaging is just very good, and separation likewise. You won't mistake them for HD800s, but you might mistake them for an open headphone in general. But isolation is still very good, probably on par with Sig Pros. Speaking of which, the Sig Pros do still have that holographic presentation due to S-Logic, and it's hard for me to choose which I prefer. The Ultrasones have a more exciting presentation, and the Blackwoods are extremely natural (there's that word again).
 
The overall sound signature is very balanced. Bass and treble extension are both good, but you have to understand I'm really spoiled on that front. Bass control is very good and in general the bass quantity never leaves me wanting, but it doesn't get quite as deep as my Sig Pros. On my particular amp, mid-bass can sometimes approach being a little boomy. There are three bass ports in each cup that can be plugged with little rubber caps (included with the headphones), and covering one of those on each cup did tame the bass just enough. I think I still prefer the sound with all of them open, though. Treble is a little rolled off, but not necessarily in a bad way. Details are still very audible, and the top end is non-fatiguing without being boring. Mids are impactful with rich timbre, and are definitely a strong point.
 
I think perhaps one of the things I like best about the Blackwoods is how versatile they are. They sound at home whether the genre is classical, bluegrass, folk, rock, metal, or EDM. Are they better than everything else for every specific song and genre? No. But they never sound bad or "wrong" either. I did try them for gaming, as well, and while they were extremely immersive, I still preferred the uncanny imaging of my Sig Pros.
 
Conclusions
 
In its price range, I think the ZMF Blackwood is quite possibly the best option for a closed headphone and a strong contender even among open sets. Eminently natural and engaging, this is a set that understands music is not just to be heard, but to be experienced and enjoyed.
 
Will I be selling my Signature Pros? You know, there were actually a couple times that I was listening to a track on the Blackwoods and I started to wonder that myself. After going back and forth numerous times, I almost always decided that the Sig Pros were just doing something I really liked. The fact that I was even considering it actually made me a little nervous! But honestly, the Sig Pros are almost twice the price as the Blackwoods, and even the dirt cheapest place you can find them is over $1000. And the Ultrasone sound isn't for everyone, while I think the Blackwoods are much more universally appealing. The fact that I like Ultrasone Signature Pros or Fostex TH900s better isn't by any means a mark against the Blackwood.
 
I also wanted to convey how much Zach is a pleasure to talk to and deal with. From my own impressions, he seems a very honest, fair, and humble person. He wants his headphones to sound good, and he wants the customer to be happy with what they get. There is a large amount of custom tuning he's willing to do, and he even offers an upgrade option for people who have bought certain older models. As much as I was impressed with his headphones, I was just as impressed by his character. Even though I'm probably not buying these, I'll find something for him to work on for me in the near future.

Well, I hope this was helpful, and I also hope that I introduced a few people to something they may not have paid much attention to previously. The Blackwood is the real deal, and I highly recommend giving it a try.

Note: I'm not sure why, but for whatever reason the little bars at the side aren't matching what I put them to. Audio Quality, Design, and Value I all consider to be top notch, with comfort having some very minor issues. Details below, of course.

INTRO
 
The following are my impressions of LFF's (relatively) new headphones, the Enigma. My heartfelt 
appreciation goes out to Head-Fi user gelocks, who lent me his personal pair and is therefore in my books an 
outstanding guy. I've had them for a couple weeks now, they're going back tomorrow, and I promised 
some thorough impressions, so here we go!
 
LISTENING STATION
 
The setup that I used for the entirety of my listening was the DAC portion of my trusty Aune T1 using 
an Amperex 7308 tube fed through a Purity Audio K.I.C.A.S. solid state headphone amp. The amp is 
definitely on the warmer side, and as the Amperex is a very full-bodied tube, I might be getting a 
Telefunken E88CC down the road to clear up the sound a little. My cables are all cheap garbage, and I 
actually have some upgrades in that department only a few weeks away. My regular headphones are 
Ultrasone Signature Pros that I've had for almost a year now.
 
EXPOSITION + INITIAL THOUGHTS
 
When I first caught wind of these new headphones, I was very interested. Unlike a lot of people, I 
actually prefer the sound of closed headphones. My preferred brand has been Ultrasone since I got 
into this hobby, and I'm a huge fan of the visceral impact and contradictory sense of space that 
Ultrasone does well in their entire lineup. Throw in the relatively neutral sound of their Signature 
Pros, and you have a VERY nice pair of headphones that straddles the line between classy and fun, 
like a sexy librarian or that one TA you had freshman year.
 
However, it's not all sunshine and daisies. The Sig Pros can sound a little narrow and congested at 
times, in spite of their excellent sense of space. I tend to fiddle with where they sit on my ears, 
and the S-Logic technology they use can make the soundstage a little confusing (much like the 
aforementioned librarian and TA). After acquiring the K.I.C.A.S., I realized how much of a difference 
a good amp makes with them, but the weaknesses are diminished, not removed. When I heard of the 
Enigmas, I hoped to find a pair of headphones that would have many of the same strengths as the Sig 
Pros, but would improve on width, clarity, detail, separation, and imaging. I think in a lot of ways 
I found something close to what I was looking for.
 
HOW THE BIG PICTURE SOUNDS
 
One thing to understand from the get-go; if the Sig Pros are a sexy librarian, the Enigma is the 
Grand Canyon, or maybe the view of Earth from space. It's not that one is objectively more appealing 
than the other, it's just that they're appealing to entirely different parts of you. The Enigma is 
definitely the victor when it comes to detail, separation, width, clarity, and (subjectively) overall 
sound quality.
 
The difference is in where that sound puts you. Listening to the Enigmas is like watching a storm 
from a tall hill. You can see every detail of the light and shadow, and how the wind blows the rain 
in different directions. You can pick out exactly how the thunder is rolling over the landscape. The 
Signature Pros, on the other hand, place you directly in the middle of the same storm. Maybe you 
can't see where the lightning came from, but the light is blinding. Even though you can't see every 
intricacy of how the rain flows, you feel exactly how icy cold it is. And you'd better believe you 
FEEL the thunder.
 
I know I just made the Sig Pros sound awesome, and in a lot of ways they are. But sometimes it's 
definitely better to have that distance; I can't imagine a worse place to see a sunset than standing 
on the sun. That's where the Enigmas start to make a lot of sense. They pull you back and let you see 
the bigger picture. If the Signature Pros sound like humanity, Enigma sounds like transcendence. It 
was an extremely enlightening experience listening to different genres of music with two pairs of 
closed headphones that take such different approaches.
 
BUILD QUALITY, COMFORT, AND VALUE
 
I wanted to take an interlude here and talk logistics. Build quality is great. Luis obviously takes 
pride in what he makes. Even though they weren't my headphones, I never felt nervous that they were 
going to get damaged. You can definitely tell they weren't made in a factory, but they don't look 
like a homework project. They're unapologetic. I like that.
 
Comfort was both good and bad. I'll admit right off the bat that the suspension strap just didn't 
work for me. When I took it off the comfort level definitely improved. In general, I liked the snug 
fit, but at the same time pressure was a little high. If they were my personal pair, I would have definitely 
stretched the headband a little bit. The Alpha Pads are nice and cushy and thick. Definitely a 
different philosophy from the smaller sheepskin pads on my Sig Pros.
 
I know one typically talks about value at the end of the review, but it felt appropriate to put it 
right here. Frankly, the value is ridiculous. There are several options, but the standard finishes 
cost under 1000 USD. I could easily see people paying twice that. You're getting a fully custom 
orthodynamic headphone, handbuilt personally by the designer, just for you. They do not come with a 
cable, but if you don't want to spend a whole lot you don't have to. The Audeze stock cable will work 
(which is what gelocks loaned me with this pair), or get something from Charleston Cable Company for 
a little more, or go absolutely crazy and get those $4,000 cables infused with demon blood; it's your 
call. (I understand that Luis does make cables as well, and last I asked he also carries the WyWires 
Red.)
 
SOUND + BALANCE
 
There's a lot I could say here about measurements and technicalities, but I've never really been big 
on much of that. I could repeat what a lot of people have said and talk about the bass being bumped 
and the mids being luscious and the top being slightly rolled off, because it's all true. And I guess 
I just did, didn't I? Well, I guess that's out of the way.
 
What really jumped out to me about these headphones is the raw texture of the sound that comes out of 
them. I'm a euphonium player, and listening to brass on these reproduces almost the exact way that 
the sound of a brass instrument actually feels coming through the air. The same applies to acoustic 
string instruments. Even synthesized and digital sound has an entire new facet revealed. It could be 
that what I'm hearing is characteristic of orthodynamic drivers, but in any case I'm really digging 
it.
 
The bass on these is excellent. It doesn't hit hard like the Sig Pros, but instead feels like a deep, 
deep ocean. Combine that with the texture that I just talked about and you get an EXTREMELY fun take 
on dubstep and other EDM. The Enigma also reproduces female vocals very well, so anything from 
someone like Ellie Goulding or La Roux is a pure joy. Right now I'm listening to a Pandora station I 
titled Dub/Heavy, and it really is transcendent. I could listen to this for hours. To quote Sir 
Thomas Beecham, “The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought,” and 
if so, the Enigmas are rapidly approaching music's true ideal. These might not be exactly neutral, 
but I'm not really missing any frequencies. Very well done.
 
Detail retrieval is really good. That's a fairly large understatement. I can hear every breath, 
fingers on guitar strings, keys and valves clicking on horns, basically everything. And all of those 
little details have individual textures. I know I keep talking about that, but it really is something 
impressive to hear. I'm sure there's something out there with more detail, but I'm having a hard time 
imagining it. I know this is a short paragraph. That's because I have nothing to complain about.
 
If I have any complaints, the first is that some sounds (like male vocals) seem to lose their 
resonance. Maybe it's because I expect them to have a stronger, more present impact. The texture is 
spot on, but the impact is off. If you use these for TV or movies, you might notice dialogue has a 
hollow quality to it. I think this most probably is due to the Enigmas making you hear sounds exactly 
as they were recorded.
 
I mentioned pressure when talking about comfort levels. There's also a peculiar pressure 
actually present in the sound, especially at louder volumes. This definitely is not present in any of 
my Ultrasones, and I have to wonder if the difference has to do with Ultrasone's S-Logic technology, 
or maybe how the drivers are positioned, or the size of the resonance chamber. I don't know. I just 
thought it was interesting, and at the very least wanted to point it out.
 
SOUNDSTAGE ETC.
 
In spite of being closed and having an excellent seal, the Enigma has a very wide, open soundstage. 
As I mentioned earlier, width, separation, and imaging are all superior to Sig Pros (with a caveat or 
two, I'll get to that). It's very easy to pick out exactly where a sound is coming from and where 
it's going. It doesn't seem especially deep, though. Almost like standing in the middle of a hallway 
facing one of the walls. That analogy really makes it sound worse than it is. It's not like there's a 
complete lack of depth; it's just not a particularly strong point.
 
I think part of my issue here might once again be related to S-Logic. One of the cool things that I 
enjoyed even with my first pair of Ultrasones was the illusion of realism. Before I got used to it, I 
often had to shift my headphones just to make sure someone wasn't knocking at my door or something 
similar to that. With my Signature Pros, sounds can sometimes seem to be coming from outside of the 
headphones. In spite of their better width and soundstage, I seldom had that same impression with 
the Enigmas. I guess I always took it for granted, but you can definitely color me impressed now that 
I have something to reference the Sig Pros against. A lot of people say that the Signature DJs are 
even better in this regard.
 
FINAL THOUGHTS
 
I really like these. Enough to sell my Sig Pros? No. But enough to want them both. The Enigma is 
clearly superior technically. You see so much more in the music. When I want to wind down at the end 
of the day, these are the headphones I've been reaching for. In addition to their surprisingly 
impressive take on dubstep, they're absolutely phenomenal with acoustic, ambient, and really any 
music that's meant to be relaxing. If it's not meant to be relaxing? Well... I can definitely miss a 
little punch, a little THUD. That's where the Sig Pro hits like a baseball bat. And since I can't 
bear to abandon the hotrod, I'm going to have to send the spaceship back to gelocks for now. But 
believe me, when it becomes feasible, I'll be back in orbit with no regrets.
 
Man... This hobby is flippin' expensive...