- ZMF All In the Family-
I may not be able to explain the headphones to Meathead, but Ill try my best explaining them to you! Slowly but surely I will try to point out the differences in sound, and I hope it helps you readers in determining the differences of the new ZMF’s!


I was sent out the Aeolus and Verite on loan from ZMF to give an honest review of them. I thought that since I already owned the Auteur that I would throw that guy into the mix of the review as well! I wanted to share the journey I took through the three newest headphones from ZMF. It was not only surprising but also gave me deeper insight on these three unique headphones.

Disclaimer: Aeolus and Vérité were pre production pieces, and the Verite I received is an unreleased wood. Zach, the owner of ZMF states that even though the woods have changed since then, the internals have remained the same. The performance of each is what production will sound like, give or take the nuances of the wood.

The Aeolus- In sapele wood- “medium density for a nice fast sound”- (ZMF website)


The Auteur- In cocobolo wood- “Cocobolo is a denser wood, not quite as dense as African Blackwood, but harder than most rosewoods. It has a quick speed, but possesses an inviting romance more-so than Blackwood and other dense woods. The utmost of speed, musicality and technicalities are combined for what is one of our favorite tonewoods.” - (ZMF website)


The Vérité- In mahogany wood- finding more information online I found that this wood should share similar sonic characteristics to the stock silk wood Vérité. Silkwood is described as “...ultra light weight, adds nice decay to the super fast Vérité driver, and shows a glowing iridescence that plays with any luminescence bestowed upon it.” - (ZMF website)


What DAC?

The DAC that I used during the time of listening is the M2tech Young DAC. This is the DAC that I use daily and have easily kept the longest. Here is an article about my DAC if you’re interested. https://www.stereophile.com/content...amp-palmer-power-station-battery-power-supply. I find it to be fairly neutral sounding and also the music seems to be more upfront then compared to other R2R dacs that I have owned. Speaking of, here us a link to what I have owned in the past. I feel this might shed insight into my tastes when it comes to headphones and also gear if your curious. https://www.head-fi.org/members/bunnynamedcraig.401250/

What amp?

There's no denying that ZMF headphones mate well with tube amps. Due to their 300 ohm impedance, something like an OTL “Output Transformer-Less” tube amp can really push them in the right direction, with great synergy. The body of my listening was done with the Glenn OTL amp (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/2359glenn-studio.600110/).


Since switching tubes can greatly affect the sonic characteristics of any headphone, I wanted to share what each tube roll was being used at each time of listening. The next section is a general description of each tube, described by my fellow respected headfi’ers. Please feel free to skip the section if you like, but I just felt it necessary to share how each roll can perpetuate the strengths and weaknesses of each headphone. I hope by doing so this can shed light on what I am describing and also be of help to fellow tube enthusiasts!


(GZ32, 2, Chatham 6as7g, Ken Rad VT231)

“Romantic Warrior” by Return to Forever. This is one of my all time favorite test tracks…

So I pretty much couldn't take the Vérité off my head when I started this 11 minute track. I had the intention of directly AB’ing the Vérité to the Auteur but this song was so engaging I just let it ride. After listening the whole time with the Vérité, I put the Auteur on. After four minutes, a couple things stood out to me. The Auteur is more neutral and I noticed this by the piano being less recessed compared to the other instruments. With the Vérité I felt the piano was there but just recessed comparatively.

The big differences to me is that there is an immediacy to every note with the Vérité. The piano strikes feel like strikes… The separation of instruments and their notes are more defined with the Vérité. The Auteur on the flip-side has such a delicacy of the mids and treble that I really ended up appreciating, and finding different about the track. The sound of the piano came off with such elegance, something I did not get from the Vérité. I am defining elegance by smoother overall sound with less separation. Since the transients are slower, the piano segments flowed instead of making me take note of the precision and performers (which are exceptional performers!). I was able to enjoy it on more of an artistic level with the Auteur.

Something that surprised me about the Auteur was the bass. I really expected the Auteur be bass light compared to the Vérité. The bass was totally present and I got feeling out of it , but it did not have the tightness that the Vérité shows off. The bass guitar in particular to this song still had a good separation from the other instruments though. The attack in general of the auteur isn’t as fast, and the decay seems longer. Separation in general is a key proponent of the Vérité while a cohesion of the sounds are what embodies the auteur more. I don't think I am capable of hearing the sound as a whole as easily with the Vérité as I do the Auteur. These are things to consider when thinking about either one. For this track the Auteur truly made it Romantic, while the Vérité showed that behind the elegance and grace there lies top-notch instrumentation.

After this comparison I put the Aeolus on my head for a round three of listening to Romantic warrior in its entirety. First thing comes to mind is “wow”. The Aeolus took me by surprise on this track. I just got enjoyment from the song in two separate times and now I'm getting a third crack at it in a unique way. First things first, the elevated midbass is present, but it’s tastefully done IMO that it never made me feel like it distracted me from the mids and treble. I hate wanting to call this headphone the most fun of the three for romantic warrior, but I will explain how I view it and then you can then decide. I got less separation than the Auteur and the music sounded slightly closer to me. This headphone had me analyzing the sound less, and just moving and grooving with it. Normally fast transients are the bees knees for me to enjoy something (like with the Vérité). Even without the blistering speed,the mid bass bump coupled with the better cohesion of the sound as a whole, the Aeuolus really took me for a ride…. I got to 7:39 of Romantic Warrior and that was the point that I could collect my thoughts and finally say “wait a minute! I see now what you did there…” The realization was that the song was engaging because the Aeolus is constructed in a way to try and stop you from analyzing the music. It just puts the song out there with the right amount of speed, bass boost to get you moving, and enough detail but not to the extent of beating you over the the head with it like “look and focus on me!”. I have listened to enough “bass” headphones that have not/could not achieve what the Aeolus is capable of doing in this regard. Its pretty interesting to me.

In regards to detail retrial though, I believe it is is slightly under the Auteur. But it's just slight enough that I don't notice it immediately. When I listened to the Atticus after owning the auteur for a while it was totally apparent to me that there was a drop in detail. This headphone does not do that to me at all. It's tuning kept the music flowing and you’re just along for the ride. The piano is present with good strikes but it's not too hot or too sharp. With that said I don't feel that it’s rolled off either. Its always impressive to me when a headphone can find that balance with the treble. I feel like the transient response of the Aeolus is faster than the Auteur btw but this might just be my perception of it.

“Burn the Witch” by Radiohead. With the Aeolus this track let me detect how the mid bass affects the mids and treble, compared to the Auteur. The Auteur presents sounds more neutral and almost a sense of “cleaner” to my ears. In other words, this track can breathe a little freer and I could make out every sound easier. Listening to different Radiohead tracks off of the album “heart shaped Pool”, I have to give male vocals to the Auteur. They are the most clear to me, where as the Aeolus mid bass stops me from being able to focus on what he is saying. This is the first time that I found that the mid bass might overshadow the mids depending on how the song was mixed. The Vérité once again pulls me into what sounds like violins in the beginning. To me they sound like they have better depth then the auteur and Aeolus and definitely makes them stand out!

(GZ 32, 4 6bx7’s, Haltron 13d1)

“Salt Shaker” by the Yin Yang Twins. Due to this songs excellent use of alliteration and gerunds, if not only keeps the listener affixed but also deeply seized by every word… OK I just made that all up. But seriously I think this is one of the greatest club songs of all time!! HA

Aeolus- I put this on first, because I was curious how much difference in detail I would hear when switching to the Vérité and the Auteur. That thought went straight out of my head close to when the beat dropped HA! The added sub bass mixing with the quick pick up of the treble made me get into this song really quickly. Once again the Aeolus takes me for a ride and doesn't want me to pick the song apart, but instead enjoy it as a whole. Putting the Vérité on revealed separation of everything a lot more and really great definition to the electronic drum “cracks” in the beginning. The sub bass rumble that happens at .03 seconds sounds sharper treble wise and definitely sounds faster from the Vérité. The Aeolus in comparison sounds warmer and looser. The sound of the Aeolus from direct A/B as well lets me realize the sub bass fills in the gaps of the treble and mids creating a fuller sound. This is not to be confused with saying the Vérité is thin sounding. Neither Vérité or Auteur ever come off as thin to me really (maybe in part by owning the HD800 for years?). Speaking of the Auteur- when I put them on I hear the bass come down some dB’s and everything is more neutral sounding. The mids are easier to discern, as if to bring them into focus. It takes me a minute to stop thinking about it and at that point I was engaged in the music again. It amazes me how all three once again have their perceived strengths and weaknesses. What is too much bass for one person will be perfect to another. A headphone thats too warm to one person is just right to someone else…

“Cloud Busting” by Kate Bush. So other than the fact that I have a real emotional connection to this track, I chose it because I was curious to hear how Kate Bush's voice came across an all three cans. I was also curious to find out if the added bass would be too much from Aulous.

Vérité- I am immediately impressed by the detail of her voice. I am able to make out her mouth noises with the “s”’s lol. By curiosity’s sake the Aeulous is capable of showing this detail as well, but not to the point of the Vérité. I was happy to find out that the Aeolus was not too warm or bassy to be able to flesh out that detail.

In regards to the cello, the Vérité lets me define the instrument a lot better in the track, where as the bass of the Aeolus almost pushes it back in the soundstage, rendering it a little more difficult to make out. The bass of this song through the Aeolus is definitely meatier and more present, almost to the point of punch! I never heard the song sound like this and it almost deters my focus from her vocals. With this said it adds drama to the track which I didn't get with the other two cans, but this is one instance where the Aeolus doesn’t make me view the song as a whole. I found this to be really interesting given that my other listening periods with it showed otherwise. Listening to this track with the Auteur gave it a different feel then with the Vérité or Aeolus. It sounds like it “flows” more between her vocals and also the instrumentation, developing a very engrossing emotional connection with her lyrics and the sound.

-To sum it up / random last take aways-

Vérité

• Very fast… The speed is definitely reminiscent of electrostatic speed.
• Treble to die for.Hyper detail with realism. Sparkle where there needs to be, without being sharp. I found this to be such a stand out area of the headphone.
• Tone seems to be warm and slightly dark to my ears.
• I love how it responds to tubes… Tubes can really manipulate how this headphone sounds. It can either make it punchy and bassy as hell or dial that way back and make it a more causal listen. The other headphones were less responsive by comparatives sake.
• Mids are slightly recessed and becomes apparent when you listen to the quality of the bass and treble. With tubes I am trying to do a “natural” EQ of sorts to try and pull them forward a bit for my own tastes.
• Great depth of the soundstage! The width of the stage is narrow by comparisons sake to the other two.
• One genre of music that it’s superb with- Electronica

Aeolus

• Impressive mix of “fun” and “analytical” sound.
• Transients seem faster then the Auteur but below the Vérité.
• Less separation then the Auteur and Vérité but the Aeolus shows thats nots always a bad thing…
• Most mid bass quantity of all three. Bass raised over the treble and mids.
• One genre of music that it’s superb with - Rock

Auteur

• Capable of being the most neutral of the three but still engaging.
• Separation is below the Vérité and above the Aeolus.
• Truly a jack of all trades music wise, making it the easiest to mate to any genre you throw at it.
• Smoothness to it that I didn’t get from the other two. Beautiful mids because of it.
• One genre of music that its superb with- Jazz

That’s a wrap, my brain needs a break!

I want to thank ZMF for giving me an opportunity to spend ample time with the Aeolus and Vérité. After going round and round with all three, Its apparent to me that all were engaging in unique ways. I was able to listen to the same song three separate times in a row and enjoy it for very different reasons. Due to their unique characteristics, I found that they can compliment each other very well… Since everyone has different tastes (even at different times of the day!) I cannot recommend one as “the best”. It truly comes down to what is important to you. I hope that I shed some light on their key characteristics without confusing you more!

If I were to try and describe ZMF house sound I would say that no matter which of their headphones it is, I am always engaged in the sound. I never feel like I am just analyzing the gear/sound instead of listening to the music. In the end thats what I think keeps all three of these headphones "all in the family" .

(If anyone reading would like more info about my review or even my opinion on the tubes I used, feel free to hit me up in a PM!)

Thanks,
-BNC