MODHOUSE TUNGSTEN – REVIEW In recent years, there has been an incredible array of new headphones launched into the market, pushing the boundaries of sound quality and fidelity. Of those, only a few have truly stood out for me and made me yearn for another listen, time and time again. The upcoming Tungsten headphones are one of those rare breeds and have emotionally moved me to share a detailed, in-depth, long-term review of my experiences with the headphone community. Whispers of the Tungsten’s early prototypes have gradually amplified into a...

DECWARE ZMF REFERENCE OTL - REVIEW The long anticipated ZMF and Decware amplifier collaboration was first confirmed by Steve Deckert last year. As he then posted on the Decware forums: “A CSP3 with full anniversary mods comes close, but this is noticeably better, and it should be... If you live in your headphones and want a reference OTL headphone amplifier/line stage, I seriously doubt you'll find anything that sounds even close for the money”. I have had the rare pleasure of testing this output transformerless (OTL) amplifier over the last four...

ATRIUM CLOSED – FIRST IMPRESSIONS ZMF's latest headphone, the Atrium Closed, is one of the most widely anticipated upcoming headphone launches. A closed-back version of the immensely popular open back Atrium headphones launched last year at CanJam Chicago, this sibling is expected to make its debut at the upcoming CanJam NYC and become available to the public in the coming weeks. Following are my first pressions of these exciting new headphones. Please note that these are first impressions only, based on several days of listening. As always, I may...

A COMFORTABLE GRADO? – CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I’ve never previously owned a Grado. There are many factors that go into my process of selecting new headphones, and they are mostly focused on sonic presentation. While I value tremendously well-built headphones, I will make the occasional tradeoff in chasing a new and exciting sound. However, I will never buy headphones I cannot comfortably wear for many hours. And that is why I have never previously owned a Grado. Until now. When I saw a brand new Grado GS3000x offered for sale at steep discount, I...

ZMF CALDERA – FIRST IMPRESSIONS I have now had the Caldera in my hands for a week and, while it is obviously too short a time for a serious review, I am sharing my first impressions knowing that many community members are eager to learn more about the Caldera in advance of its upcoming launch. TLDR The most resolving ZMF to date, the Caldera offers a densely textured timbre with a palpable “weight” behind the notes. Most notably, it has an excellent bass, the kind that moves you both physically and emotionally, without being artificially...