[Pesado]

Brought one last week.

Amazing cans but the cable is ridiculous, i immediately replaced it.

 

[George Hincapie]

I started listening to my new Zeus for the first time today. My only other headphones are AQ NightHawk Carbon.

Not quite sure what to make of these Zeus TBH. They don't seem to deal with volume very well. Everything can get a bit messy on busy tracks, as though they are just being overwhelmed. I listen to some tracks and they sound amazing; really good imaging and soundstage. Listen to others and they sound crap.

In comparison to my AQ; I'd say the NHs have a lot more control, at all times, but the soundstage seems slightly more distant and narrower in comparison to the Zeus.

Was a bit disappointed to see dirty fingerprints on the silver part of the headband when I took them out of the box. I'm not happy with the supplied cable either; it's only 1m when I need 3m and it's SE balanced, so you have to use the supplied adapters to use proper SE.

I am going to grab a better cable for it from Artic or Periapt with a 4 pin XLR and then we'll reassess.

My initial view is that the Zeus is OK, but they haven't blown me away and I can do better. They definitely are not 'the ones'. I'm still waiting for my HD660S, so it'll be nice to have another point of comparison.

I am getting a bit wary of keep buying £300-£600 cans and am just wondering whether it might not be a better idea to just drop £1K and buy something top tier.

Just an update on this. I gifted the Zeus to a friend and bought HiFiMan Sundara. Super happy with my choice. Really excellent headphones.

 

[conquerator2]

Not that many posts about this headphone. I am looking at it and the Avantone Planars. They're both similarly priced. I know I don't want the Sundara. I really enjoyed the Clear but they're too pricey. Elex is a bit too steely in the timbre. Subjectively, the R70X just hits the spot for me tonality wise, but I am kind of hoping the Zeus or the Planar might be a step up technically

 

[CT007]

Not that many posts about this headphone. I am looking at it and the Avantone Planars. They're both similarly priced. I know I don't want the Sundara. I really enjoyed the Clear but they're too pricey. Elex is a bit too steely in the timbre. Subjectively, the R70X just hits the spot for me tonality wise, but I am kind of hoping the Zeus or the Planar might be a step up technically

It wasn't quite a keeper for me, but ModHouse Argon(T60RP) I think would really impress a lot of folks. I got nothing out of Zeus, but if you enjoy really great sub-bass and comfort at the very least, Argon will impress. I liked E-MU Teak more than Zeus also, but Argon is a significant step(s) above Teak, as well. I thought Clear was just OK, nothing special, and too metallic and intimate. Stellia was nice, but incredibly costly...

 

[conquerator2]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[conquerator2]

Absolutely.
As a matter of fact, when i wrote a review of those very unique headphones here on HF-O, i described them, similarly.
In both cases, the tuning is not an accident.

You know, just like most pop stars in the recent decade can't really sing, (thank you Auto-Tune).... many people who tune headphones, can't tune them for beauty, as they don't understand that music is not meant to be a beat, its meant to be a melody.
So, when you have headphone tuners, and people Mixing and Mastering music for Artist's....who never understood the meaning of melody, and only understand a kick drum and loops and compression and loudness that lacks dynamics......then, in both cases, you don't get music coming out of the end product, ...you get details, you get insight, and you get analytics.........but you dont get music.

So, with the Avantone's, as with the HDZeus, at first listen, you think.....hummmm, where is the "V" shape.....where is the 6-8 kHz glare, where is the icepick treble...... where is that dark sterile Planar sound......
Well, that is not musical....its just CLEAN........so, when we are trained to think that Auto tune is a real vocal and that Sterile and Bright is "good headphone sound"........then we can stumble and fail to recognize a musical sound, or a musical sounding headphone.
Both the Avantone and the HDZeus provide not aggressive sound, but musical sound.
This is why you can put them on and listen for hours, and your ears are not annoyed or abused or otherwise insulted.

How would you compare the two, the Zeus and the Planar? I am kind of stuck choosing between the two of them

 

[conquerator2]

Alright, I'll be joining the club soon. Grabbed a mint pair, quite excited to hear them

 

[cayne]

Alright, I'll be joining the club soon. Grabbed a mint pair, quite excited to hear them

Nice, would love to hear your impressions when you get them.

 

[conquerator2]

Nice, would love to hear your impressions when you get them.

I'll definitely share them

 

[conquerator2]

Alrright, received these today! First impressions are positive, if a little mixed. The sound profile is definitely on the warm, smooth side. Everything sounds a little muted, dark, very easy to listen to and enjoy. It is a big, fairly dynamic sound overall; I can see why the comparison to a music hall. While the soundstage is not gigantic, the dark tilt and good warmth definitely make the HP sound grandious. I think calling them veiled would not be fair, but the dark tilt certainly mutes details a little and they are not quite as good in micro details, though macro details are very good. They definitely sound musical and have an engaging sound. Bass is very good in terms of being enveloping and punchy, though sub-bass is a little rolled off. Mids are very smooth and due to the upper bass blanket effect, very smooth, but the texture is certainly good, if a little blunted. Treble extension seems reasonably good, certainly smooth, though not very airy. Sibilance is managed very well with these, vocals can sound a little honky due to the emphasis, but this depends on the range a lot and is not bad. Imaging is average. Comfort is fairly good. The headband could use a little more padding, but so far no hotspots; pads are very nice but the overall clamp is a little high and the headband does not seem receptive to bending. Overall, I'd say these are a very easy listen headphones. I am not sure I'll be keeping them; they are not exactly to my preferences, but they are very pleasant and toe tapping to listen to!

 

[conquerator2]

Actually enjoying the headphone the more I listen. Very easy to keep going on end

 

[Huffdipuffdi]

Just wondering about the cable. Some did upgrade on this, as the original is short and stiff. What to recomend? I like the HP, but not the cable.

 

[Pesado]

The stock cable is well made, but my issue with it is the 4.4mm plug and two adapters which make them comically impractical if you don't have a native 4.4mm port on your amp.

I usually "borrow" my ibasso sr2 cable to use with it.

 

[Huffdipuffdi]

I use it with the 4.4, but XLR would also work. Balanced is fine and shure the best option. That thing is just so short.

 

[mattxo]

Just wondering about the cable. Some did upgrade on this, as the original is short and stiff. What to recomend? I like the HP, but not the cable.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001642424244.html is damn near perfect imo