[erics75]

I thought this looked interesting for people looking for an affordable amp option for their ZMF dynamics. I generally find anything that works well with the HD650 has worked reasonably well with my ZMF dynamics. Right now I'm using a Modi 3/Vali 2 for a bedside setup, and would definitely consider this to replace the Vali 2 if it's worthwhile.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ifi...6xx-is-what-your-sennheiser-cans-want.936743/

 

[MIR05LAV]

Yeah what can I say? Simple, the Burson feels like an old grandma

Come on, give it some time!
Well I haven't have a possibility to listen to my Eikon on C3X yet, cos it is being repaired by @zach915m, but it sounded really good on my previous Burson Playmate! Also had a possibility to listen to my Eikon and some other nice cans on good otl tube and Burson CV2+, and if I had to choose only one of them I would probably took Burson instead of that OTL. It was better for harder hitting tracks, like rock, while tubes were great for acoustic and soft jazz with female vocals.. Tbh you really need both, lol.
Anyway, it is hard to believe that c3 eould be so much worse than c2. It really changes with burn-in. I am sure it has enough power to properly power ZMF's. My friend is using C3X with the Verite Closed and finds it much more musical than f.e. Rme adi-2. 330mv @300 ohm is quite a lot. Burson usually has more power than specified (look at c3 review here on head-fi).
Of course you may not like the sound signature, but it really shouldn't be bassless and without life.
Anyway, will have a chance to check it with my Eikon probably next week when they get back form Zach
Cheers!

 

[Swisshead]

Come on, give it some time!
Well I haven't have a possibility to listen to my Eikon on C3X yet, cos it is being repaired by @zach915m, but it sounded really good on my previous Burson Playmate! Also had a possibility to listen to my Eikon and some other nice cans on good otl tube and Burson CV2+, and if I had to choose only one of them I would probably took Burson instead of that OTL. It was better for harder hitting tracks, like rock, while tubes were great for acoustic and soft jazz with female vocals.. Tbh you really need both, lol.
Anyway, it is hard to believe that c3 eould be so much worse than c2. It really changes with burn-in. I am sure it has enough power to properly power ZMF's. My friend is using C3X with the Verite Closed and finds it much more musical than f.e. Rme adi-2. 330mv @300 ohm is quite a lot. Burson usually has more power than specified (look at c3 review here on head-fi).
Of course you may not like the sound signature, but it really shouldn't be bassless and without life.
Anyway, will have a chance to check it with my Eikon probably next week when they get back form Zach
Cheers!

Yes, thank you very much! Yes must now give the new things some time and continue to listen to the new things. It is quite possible that there will be something more with the time. You always have to get used to a new signature. The Burson sounds quite different from my usual iFi amplifiers. That also takes getting used to.

Last night I listened through the whole "Carmen" opera with the LCDi4 and the Burson. A dream! This harmonizes perfectly with each other. Otherwise I find the sound of the Burson very beautiful. The stage is a bit wider and more open like with iFi, he sounds more velvety.

If you had to describe it with cars. The iFi is the American muscle car with a big V8. The Burson is more the discreet beautiful limousine with a decent engine. That should fit the comparison very well.

I'm curious about my Verite, how it is doing. But the Atticus sounds great with the iCan, you have to give it credit!

 

[Swisshead]

This is really a perfect combination!

Already a good 4 hours playing time on the headphones. I can follow the test reports so far. Beautiful bass foundation. Absolutely not glaring in sound, very discreet. Upper mids and highs may be a bit brighter. But just so it is a relief with aggressively recorded pop songs.

Think even with longer recordings it will still open up a bit. Otherwise you could still change pads.

But basically more than satisfied. Makes enormous fun to listen to. Workmanship beyond any doubt! Absolutely top. Optically beautiful with the wood and leather!

Congratulations and thanks to Zack! I'm looking forward to the Verite Open even more! It should be a really great combination, Verite open and Atticus! It will be great!

By the way it is very comfortable. Super soft ear pads. Doesn't pinch or pinch anywhere and you don't feel the weight at all! On the head it certainly feels lighter as it really is. Fits!

 

[Pharmaboy]

Yes, thank you very much! Yes must now give the new things some time and continue to listen to the new things. It is quite possible that there will be something more with the time. You always have to get used to a new signature. The Burson sounds quite different from my usual iFi amplifiers. That also takes getting used to.

Last night I listened through the whole "Carmen" opera with the LCDi4 and the Burson. A dream! This harmonizes perfectly with each other. Otherwise I find the sound of the Burson very beautiful. The stage is a bit wider and more open like with iFi, he sounds more velvety.

If you had to describe it with cars. The iFi is the American muscle car with a big V8. The Burson is more the discreet beautiful limousine with a decent engine. That should fit the comparison very well.

I'm curious about my Verite, how it is doing. But the Atticus sounds great with the iCan, you have to give it credit!

Thanks for a terrific car analogy!

 

[Swisshead]

A new Trance-King ist born!

Yesterday and today I heard extensive trance with the Atticus. Yeah, what's to ask? Until now the LCD-X was clearly my trance king.

But the Atticus is at least as good, if not better. Last night I already asked myself if Zach was a big trance fan when he designed the Atticus!

Yeah, that's really something! Ultra-precise and fast kick basses, they really get you going. Plus just the right amount of mid and high frequencies. The LCD-X has a little too much on top sometimes, the Atticus doesn't. Just made for this genre!

Thanks Zach, great job!

 

[Wyville]

Just wanted to check if my impressions of the Atticus and Eikon so far are accurate. If I read it correctly the Atticus is the more musical one with a touch more warmth and a slightly more laid-back feel, whereas the Eikon is closer to neutral, although still musical, with a more revealing signature. The Eikon seems to have a bit more sub-bass, while the Atticus has a slight mid-bass lift. Mids have more body on the Atticus, which also seem to be great vocal performers. Treble is perhaps a bit more sparkly on the Atticus, while the Eikon are more airy. Is that about right?

I am having one hell of a time trying to figure out if the Atticus or the Eikon fit my preferences best. I listen to a lot of classical music, but at the same time do appreciate musicality and am a big fan of good vocals. ...and that is not even starting on the whole closed-back vs. open-back (Aeolus/Auteur) issue.

 

[chrisdrop]

Just wanted to check if my impressions of the Atticus and Eikon so far are accurate. If I read it correctly the Atticus is the more musical one with a touch more warmth and a slightly more laid-back feel, whereas the Eikon is closer to neutral, although still musical, with a more revealing signature. The Eikon seems to have a bit more sub-bass, while the Atticus has a slight mid-bass lift. Mids have more body on the Atticus, which also seem to be great vocal performers. Treble is perhaps a bit more sparkly on the Atticus, while the Eikon are more airy. Is that about right?

I am having one hell of a time trying to figure out if the Atticus or the Eikon fit my preferences best. I listen to a lot of classical music, but at the same time do appreciate musicality and am a big fan of good vocals. ...and that is not even starting on the whole closed-back vs. open-back (Aeolus/Auteur) issue.

Your description is pretty good. That said, based on the "description words", I thought I wanted an Atticus. As soon as I listened, I bought an Eikon. IMO it is really important to listen if at all possible.

 

[Wyville]

Your description is pretty good. That said, based on the "description words", I thought I wanted an Atticus. As soon as I listened, I bought an Eikon. IMO it is really important to listen if at all possible.

Yeah, that is always important and something I will certainly look into. I know one store quite well who might be prepared to send me over a demo unit, but I believe they only have the Atticus in stock. Will look around at other stores and see what might be possible. Most of them require a longer journey, which is a little more difficult in the current (Covid-19) situation.

 

[Swisshead]

So, let's hear a little interim conclusion after a few days!

The headphones smell damn good! It's really addictive and you could sniff it all day long... seems to be a special wax! Never before a headphone of mine has smelled so good!

Right to the first negative point. Sorry Zach, no offense. But the standard cord is a disgrace, I can't say otherwise! You can get that with 100USD headphones, but definitely not with 1000USD headphones! There it is totally out of place! It's optically absolutely ugly, it's damn stiff and sounds very bad. I now have an Audeze copper cable on it, it sounds much better and is much easier to handle. Well understood, is a cable, which comes standard with LCD-2 upwards. It costs in CHF 189.-- to buy later, so much better quality. No dear Zach, you have to work on the standard cables. Also disappointing what comes with the 3000USD Verite. In this price range the demands are higher. I have now ordered a silver cable from Zach, but it shouldn't be necessary in this class. You would expect a very good cable. This by the way. And I hope Zach will think about it. Personally I would rather do without the wooden box and get a very good cable instead. Anyway, the wooden box will end up in the storage room soon.

But now the most important thing, the sound! No, it is absolutely brilliant. I like the sound tuning extremely well! I mainly listen to trance, rock and "poisonously" recorded pop songs. That is absolutely outstanding. Strong, clean bass foundation and yes, they can also really hit it when they have to. Very nice mids, beautiful voices and clear highs, rather decent and absolutely not poisonous. Absolutely brilliant tuning. It all fits perfectly and I enjoy the visually beautiful and sonically excellent headphones every day! For this I would like to thank and compliment Zach.

If it weren't for the lousy cable, it would be perfect for this kind of music. But I hate it when I buy expensive headphones and then have to buy an expensive cable. But otherwise great!

 

[jinxy245]

So, let's hear a little interim conclusion after a few days!

The headphones smell damn good! It's really addictive and you could sniff it all day long... seems to be a special wax! Never before a headphone of mine has smelled so good!

Right to the first negative point. Sorry Zach, no offense. But the standard cord is a disgrace, I can't say otherwise! You can get that with 100USD headphones, but definitely not with 1000USD headphones! There it is totally out of place! It's optically absolutely ugly, it's damn stiff and sounds very bad. I now have an Audeze copper cable on it, it sounds much better and is much easier to handle. Well understood, is a cable, which comes standard with LCD-2 upwards. It costs in CHF 189.-- to buy later, so much better quality. No dear Zach, you have to work on the standard cables. Also disappointing what comes with the 3000USD Verite. In this price range the demands are higher. I have now ordered a silver cable from Zach, but it shouldn't be necessary in this class. You would expect a very good cable. This by the way. And I hope Zach will think about it. Personally I would rather do without the wooden box and get a very good cable instead. Anyway, the wooden box will end up in the storage room soon.

But now the most important thing, the sound! No, it is absolutely brilliant. I like the sound tuning extremely well! I mainly listen to trance, rock and "poisonously" recorded pop songs. That is absolutely outstanding. Strong, clean bass foundation and yes, they can also really hit it when they have to. Very nice mids, beautiful voices and clear highs, rather decent and absolutely not poisonous. Absolutely brilliant tuning. It all fits perfectly and I enjoy the visually beautiful and sonically excellent headphones every day! For this I would like to thank and compliment Zach.

If it weren't for the lousy cable, it would be perfect for this kind of music. But I hate it when I buy expensive headphones and then have to buy an expensive cable. But otherwise great!

I'll start with congrats...glad you like the sound! (and the smell...that's a side benefit ) I agree Zach has a knack for tuning headphones.


As for the cable, I get your aesthetic complaints, but truth to be told the ribbon cable (I assume that's the one) may look less than optimal, and I'll grant you it is a bit unwieldy, though I've experienced worse from far more expensive cables. I'm not trying to cause a rukus or anything but in the end I found it to be quite durable & it sounds fine. I am a self admitted cable agnostic, so YMMV of course. I do believe that there are readily discernible differences between cables, but they are more subtle rather than transformative IME. Great for dialing in just the right sound, but I don't believe in the "night and day" claims some people make. I'll reiterate, YMMV and obviously does.

Keep the impressions coming though...enjoy the music!

 

[robo24]

The Verite is $2499 in the US and comes with the OFC cable and other models you can get the OFC for $60. When buying direct, upgraded cables are cheaper than if bought separately. I don't know how it works though if one buys from a dealer.

 

[Pharmaboy]

So, let's hear a little interim conclusion after a few days!

The headphones smell damn good! It's really addictive and you could sniff it all day long... seems to be a special wax! Never before a headphone of mine has smelled so good!

Right to the first negative point. Sorry Zach, no offense. But the standard cord is a disgrace, I can't say otherwise! You can get that with 100USD headphones, but definitely not with 1000USD headphones! There it is totally out of place! It's optically absolutely ugly, it's damn stiff and sounds very bad. I now have an Audeze copper cable on it, it sounds much better and is much easier to handle. Well understood, is a cable, which comes standard with LCD-2 upwards. It costs in CHF 189.-- to buy later, so much better quality. No dear Zach, you have to work on the standard cables. Also disappointing what comes with the 3000USD Verite. In this price range the demands are higher. I have now ordered a silver cable from Zach, but it shouldn't be necessary in this class. You would expect a very good cable. This by the way. And I hope Zach will think about it. Personally I would rather do without the wooden box and get a very good cable instead. Anyway, the wooden box will end up in the storage room soon.

But now the most important thing, the sound! No, it is absolutely brilliant. I like the sound tuning extremely well! I mainly listen to trance, rock and "poisonously" recorded pop songs. That is absolutely outstanding. Strong, clean bass foundation and yes, they can also really hit it when they have to. Very nice mids, beautiful voices and clear highs, rather decent and absolutely not poisonous. Absolutely brilliant tuning. It all fits perfectly and I enjoy the visually beautiful and sonically excellent headphones every day! For this I would like to thank and compliment Zach.

If it weren't for the lousy cable, it would be perfect for this kind of music. But I hate it when I buy expensive headphones and then have to buy an expensive cable. But otherwise great!

When I got my first ZMF headphone, the Ori (4+ yrs ago), I used the stock ribbon cable for awhile. I got what looked like the same ribbon cable with other ZMF headphones a little later on. When I got my first after-market cables (ForzaAudioWorks HCP Noir MKII; and ZMF's own OFC cable), I went through a very brief phase of comparing them to the stock ZMF cable. They both sounded better (FAW took the race by a nose), though not to an earth-shaking extent. The improvements struck me as similar to what I typically hear when upgrading interconnects & other line-level cables.

But here's the thing: the ZMF headphones I own/owned (Ori, Atticus, Eikon, Aeolus) are plenty good enough to not only reveal small sonic improvements resulting from cable upgrades--but also to completely justify the expense of the upgrade IMO. Indeed, I could probably bump up these headphones' performance yet again by going for even higher cost/different construction aftermarket cables--something I may eventually do if can manage to chew through the restraints...

So yes, I was able to better the sound of ZMF's stock cable. But I can't bring myself to resent ZMF for offering a stock cable of less than pennultimate quality; after all, they face profit margin decisions like all audio mfrs. Plus their headphones sound freakishly good and justify any expense of aftermarket cables.

(all strictly my opinion--but at least in my system, my opinion rules)

PS: "But now the most important thing, the sound! No, it is absolutely brilliant." (exactly)

 

[Nick-s-f]

I can understand disliking the stock cable, not a fan of ribbons of any kind, but the connector on the 1/4'' version looks pretty nice though.

I love the step-up OFC cable; its tough, never kinks, resists memory-tangle and has a nice industrial feel.

 

[Swisshead]

No, I want to say this. Maybe I didn't express it right in the last post. I also don't know whether Europeans or especially Swiss people are more sensitive here than Americans. Correct me if I am wrong.

In Switzerland we have a great many manufacturers of luxury goods. Just think of the beautiful watches here.

For me, ZMF is a luxury manufacturer of headphones. The cheapest one costs more than 1000 USD. It is a manufactory, like the watch manufacturers here. It means small quantities, handmade with a lot of love for detail, means offering the customer an experience. Not only ws the sound is concerned, but also optically, with the beautiful processing, here with wood. You can also feel that Zach is passionate about his work. He tries extremely hard to create a wonderful product that meets high standards. You can see this in the many beautiful details on the headphones, the beautifully crafted wooden cases, the beautiful storage box. All made with a lot of love and attention to detail. And this is also where the concept should be finished. This means that every detail should be taken care of so that the overall impression is right and fits. And that includes the cable.

Here you can see that many other manufacturers also make a lot of effort. I'm thinking of Focal, who supply beautiful cables that can satisfy even the most demanding customers. Also Audeze, from LCD-2 on there is a nice 150USD cable, the big ones like LCD-4 come with the super expensive 600USD cable. The LCDi4 comes with the very nice silver cable worth 400USD. Dan Clark delivers the Ether 2 with a 300USD cable, which can also fully satisfy. Then you see ZMF. With the small model comes the stick cable in the value of 50USD. This just does not fit. I would immediately kick that out of the ZMF range, it just has no place in an upscale manufacturer, you can sell it at Alibaba for 19.99, but not at ZMF. That disturbs the whole otherwise extremely harmonious overall picture of the headphones. It just doesn't fit. It would be the same if a watch manufacturer here in Switzerland would deliver a 4000USD watch with a 20 USD bracelet. That would be simply unthinkable here in Switzerland. I hope you know what I mean. It's about the overall impression of the whole product.

I would just like to suggest to Zach. Like I said, the standard cable to the bin. That has no place in the ZMF product range. For the lower models, I would include the ZMF OFC cable. This would be the lowest standard for me. The Verite comes with at least one Letrik cable. That would be the minimum you would expect as a customer. I would even go that far and if the calculation is tight, I would increase the price of the Verite 100USD and include the nice cable. Then the whole thing would be right, the quality offered extends from the headphones to the speaker to the cable. Then everything fits and the customer is happy that he gets a perfect package without having to buy an expensive extra cable. Of course you can order it from Zach, I have now also made it. But then I get stick cable and the extra one. Yes is 50USD cheaper. But in a case like this, I don't need the standard anymore. That will stay with me in the chest and would then later on give it with any sale of the headphones. But this way it just has a slightly bitter aftertaste. It would be like if I bought a Rolex and got a 20USD bracelet as standard and then had to check the box for a decent bracelet. But I don't have to do that there, there is a high quality bracelet included. It's just part of it, like a cable belongs to a headphone, it doesn't work without it.

Hope my English could express it correctly. I don't mean it badly, it would only be a suggestion for Zach to put the icing on the cake for his absolutely outstanding and beautiful products. Then everything would be perfect from A-Z.