It seems people are often asking for comparisons of ZMF's headphones, so I wanted to compile some comparisons of the headphones across various dimensions of their sound. I figured the Summit-Fi forum would be a good place for this since I'd consider most ZMFs summit-fi, and people on this forum are more likely to have had multiple ZMFs, so hopefully we can get some participation to continue to update and improve this guide.
Below are the "rankings" of all the headphones for different categories. I will continue to update these if there are comments stating that the rankings seem incorrect or if there are comments suggesting additional categories or non-ZMF headphones to add to the rankings to use as reference points.
Resolution:
Caldera > VO = VC > Atrium Open = Atrium Closed > Auteur Classic > Aeolus > Atticus > HD 6XX
Speed:
Caldera > VO > VC > Atrium Open > Atrium Closed > Auteur Classic > Aeolus > Atticus > HD 6XX
Imaging:
Caldera > Atrium Open > Atrium Closed > Auteur Classic > VO > VC > Aeolus > Atticus > HD 6XX
Punch / Slam:
Atticus > Atrium Closed > Aeolus > Atrium Open > Caldera > VC > VO > Auteur Classic > HD 6XX
Soundstage width:
Atrium Open > VO > Auteur Classic > Caldera > Aeolus > Atrium Closed > VC > Atticus = HD 6XX
Soundstage depth:
Atrium Open > VO > Caldera >Auteur Classic > Aeolus > Atrium Closed > VC > Atticus = HD 6XX
Treble quantity:
Auteur Classic > Caldera > VO > Atrium Open = Atrium Closed > VC > Aeolus > Atticus > HD 6XX
Upper mids quantity:
Atrium Open > Atrium Closed > HD 6XX > Auteur Classic > Aeolus > Atticus > Caldera = VC > VO
Lower mids quantity:
Atticus > Aeolus > VO = VC > HD 6XX > Auteur Classic = Atrium Open = Atrium Closed = Caldera
Mid-bass quantity:
Atticus > Aeolus > Atrium Closed > Atrium Open > VO = VC > HD 6XX > Auteur Classic > Caldera
Sub-bass quantity:
Atrium Closed > Caldera > VO = VC > Auteur Classic > Atrium Open > Atticus > Aeolus >> HD 6XX
Obviously timbre is a huge strength of ZMFs, so these comparisons won't tell us everything but hopefully they're a good starting point for people trying to find the right headphone for themselves!
Below are the "rankings" of all the headphones for different categories. I will continue to update these if there are comments stating that the rankings seem incorrect or if there are comments suggesting additional categories or non-ZMF headphones to add to the rankings to use as reference points.
Resolution:
Caldera > VO = VC > Atrium Open = Atrium Closed > Auteur Classic > Aeolus > Atticus > HD 6XX
Speed:
Caldera > VO > VC > Atrium Open > Atrium Closed > Auteur Classic > Aeolus > Atticus > HD 6XX
Imaging:
Caldera > Atrium Open > Atrium Closed > Auteur Classic > VO > VC > Aeolus > Atticus > HD 6XX
Punch / Slam:
Atticus > Atrium Closed > Aeolus > Atrium Open > Caldera > VC > VO > Auteur Classic > HD 6XX
Soundstage width:
Atrium Open > VO > Auteur Classic > Caldera > Aeolus > Atrium Closed > VC > Atticus = HD 6XX
Soundstage depth:
Atrium Open > VO > Caldera >Auteur Classic > Aeolus > Atrium Closed > VC > Atticus = HD 6XX
Treble quantity:
Auteur Classic > Caldera > VO > Atrium Open = Atrium Closed > VC > Aeolus > Atticus > HD 6XX
Upper mids quantity:
Atrium Open > Atrium Closed > HD 6XX > Auteur Classic > Aeolus > Atticus > Caldera = VC > VO
Lower mids quantity:
Atticus > Aeolus > VO = VC > HD 6XX > Auteur Classic = Atrium Open = Atrium Closed = Caldera
Mid-bass quantity:
Atticus > Aeolus > Atrium Closed > Atrium Open > VO = VC > HD 6XX > Auteur Classic > Caldera
Sub-bass quantity:
Atrium Closed > Caldera > VO = VC > Auteur Classic > Atrium Open > Atticus > Aeolus >> HD 6XX
Obviously timbre is a huge strength of ZMFs, so these comparisons won't tell us everything but hopefully they're a good starting point for people trying to find the right headphone for themselves!
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