[JoeDoe]

Man it is so cool to see these shots and to think back on the experience! Twas my first meet and I was totally blown away. Would never have had the chance to check out some of the gear in attendance if it weren't for @Oteil @Theogenes @finao1  and @jaywillin .
 
Winning a pair of ZMFs was some serious icing on the cake, but the whole event went super smoothly. Great group of guys, some excellent head-fi-ness and lots of learning. Couldn't have asked for more!
 
Here are a couple of iPhone shots showcasing Oteil's gear and Theogenes and Finao showing the ZMF's some love also!
 

 

 

[Theogenes]

Awesome, man!! Thanks for sharing!! Mind if I ask what you think about the V1 now that you've had it for a while?

(I'm still intensely jealous, in case it isn't obvious. )

 

[Fearless1]

Sorry to intrude on this meet thread, but I am glad to see some of you really appreciated the ZMF's. I have had them for around a year now and honestly it is one of my favorite closed backs I own,  Zach does a fantastic job with his mod. I think they are under appreciated around here and it is nice to see them get some exposure. Hope you all had a good time!

 

[Theogenes]

  Sorry to intrude on this meet thread, but I am glad to see some of you really appreciated the ZMF's. I have had them for around a year now and honestly it is one of my favorite closed backs I own,  Zach does a fantastic job with his mod. I think they are under appreciated around here and it is nice to see them get some exposure. Hope you all had a good time!

 
No intrusion at all, man!! Yeah, I think there is a shortage of good closed-back cans out there (or at least ones that actually isolate), and I really liked the V1 quite a bit. I think people would be really surprised by how good these can be if they'd give 'em a chance... Interested to see what Zach comes up with next!!

 

[JoeDoe]

Hey fellas, I got the V1s back from Zach earlier this week (had a driver failure after the meet AND asked if he could offer some slight mod to increase the treble brightness a touch) and thought I'd post some impressions.
 
First: In the interest of being honest, when I listened to these at the meet, I wasn't exactly blown away... Not to say I thought they sounded bad, but I've always been an open-back guy and coming from the RS1, the V1s were heavy, clampy, and congested. That's a hard pill to swallow especially given the hype train that everyone wants to be a part of. Right before we raffled I mentioned to Fred two things: 1. I would be ok if I didn't win these because at the time, I didn't think they'd get a lot of head time and 2. I never win anything. Well, irony is a sly mistress (or something like that). 
 
 
Next: First, impression: Lush. These are probably the richest mids I've ever heard (including the RS1i, HE500, and DT880/990s). The RS1 does win in texture, but given its an open back design with a healthier price tag, that's ok. Now for the V1s, the mids are just addicting. Full, manly, musical mids that have a very natural sound. Vocals are on point with the heralded HE500s. Guitars and synths have nice texture and weight without being a-Grado-essive. Second impression: Separation is excellent. I've never really enjoyed closed back cans compared to open as they always sound congested to me. If I've ever needed isolation, I just use IEMs. The V1s have grown on me in this regard. At first, they just couldn't compete with the space and separation that the HE500 and RS1 were getting. After a few days of listening, they certainly don't separate better, but I have grown accustomed to the sound and appreciate it more. There is still decent space (for a closed can) that makes hearing everything effortless. I've pared down my desktop setup and run everything through an O2/ODAC combo that certainly gives them plenty of juice. Nice and clean.
 
I'm looking forward to spending more time with these guys as well as trying out more and more of my music library. I've enjoyed my jazz/funk fusion immensely with them i.e. Snarky Puppy, Jaco, Budos Band, etc. and have recently enjoyed their capabilities with my old jazz records. I will say that even though they don't throw the largest soundstage ever, they do very well with some of my classical recordings. Holst, Prokofiev, and Beethoven all sound very natural and accurate. 
 
Big thanks again to Zach for 1. Sending em for the raffle and 2. Tuning them a bit for my taste. Also, one more shout to @Theogenes for putting the whole thing together. None of this would've been possible without him and it's certainly an understatement to say that I enjoyed myself!

 

[Theogenes]

Hey fellas, I got the V1s back from Zach earlier this week (had a driver failure after the meet AND asked if he could offer some slight mod to increase the treble brightness a touch) and thought I'd post some impressions.

First: In the interest of being honest, when I listened to these at the meet, I wasn't exactly blown away... Not to say I thought they sounded bad, but I've always been an open-back guy and coming from the RS1, the V1s were heavy, clampy, and congested. That's a hard pill to swallow especially given the hype train that everyone wants to be a part of. Right before we raffled I mentioned to Fred two things: 1. I would be ok if I didn't win these because at the time, I didn't think they'd get a lot of head time and 2. I never win anything. Well, irony is a sly mistress (or something like that). 


Next: First, impression: Lush. These are probably the richest mids I've ever heard (including the RS1i, HE500, and DT880/990s). The RS1 does win in texture, but given its an open back design with a healthier price tag, that's ok. Now for the V1s, the mids are just addicting. Full, manly, musical mids that have a very natural sound. Vocals are on point with the heralded HE500s. Guitars and synths have nice texture and weight without being a-Grado-essive. Second impression: Separation is excellent. I've never really enjoyed closed back cans compared to open as they always sound congested to me. If I've ever needed isolation, I just use IEMs. The V1s have grown on me in this regard. At first, they just couldn't compete with the space and separation that the HE500 and RS1 were getting. After a few days of listening, they certainly don't separate better, but I have grown accustomed to the sound and appreciate it more. There is still decent space (for a closed can) that makes hearing everything effortless. I've pared down my desktop setup and run everything through an O2/ODAC combo that certainly gives them plenty of juice. Nice and clean.

I'm looking forward to spending more time with these guys as well as trying out more and more of my music library. I've enjoyed my jazz/funk fusion immensely with them i.e. Snarky Puppy, Jaco, Budos Band, etc. and have recently enjoyed their capabilities with my old jazz records. I will say that even though they don't throw the largest soundstage ever, they do very well with some of my classical recordings. Holst, Prokofiev, and Beethoven all sound very natural and accurate. 

Big thanks again to Zach for 1. Sending em for the raffle and 2. Tuning them a bit for my taste. Also, one more shout to @Theogenes
 for putting the whole thing together. None of this would've been possible without him and it's certainly an understatement to say that I enjoyed myself!

Great post, Joe!! Yeah, I know, closed headphones have not, thus far, beaten their open counterparts in a lot of areas, soundstage and "openness" among them. But I think we're getting closer, and there are at least options now for a person to get a closed set of headphones (whose utility for a million situations in life can't be denied) at a reasonable pricepoint with an expectation of pretty solid quality. And although I found it to be in a different degree than you did, I also noticed the lushness of the mids, which I found rather appealing.

With that said: in a way, converting a Grado aficiando to an appreciation (or maybe tolerance is the right word) for closed cans seems like pretty much the hardest possible thing to do, given that the things Grado is most known for (open sound, treble accentuation, etc) seem to be things that are definitionally more difficult for closed headphones to accomplish. So I suppose ultimately, it's impressive in its own right that you dig the headphones... How's that for a bit of pro-hype spin?

Thanks again for posting man, definitely thanks for coming and sharing your gear, and I hope you continue to enjoy 'em!! (And if you ever decide to give 'em up, drop me a line... I sure don't need them, but I want 'em, dammit!)

Btw, on a completely unrelated note: I'm considering September for another meet. Anybody have any feelings on this, pro or con?

*If any part of this post contains misspellings, grammaical absurdities, logical non sequitors, or outright fabrications, please forgive me-- today is the cheat day on my diet, and I've had waaaay more beers than I probably should. So blame it on the al-al-al-co-hol, as they say.

 

[jaywillin]

Great post, Joe!! Yeah, I know, closed headphones have not, thus far, beaten their open counterparts in a lot of areas, soundstage and "openness" among them. But I think we're getting closer, and there are at least options now for a person to get a closed set of headphones (whose utility for a million situations in life can't be denied) at a reasonable pricepoint with an expectation of pretty solid quality. And although I found it to be in a different degree than you did, I also noticed the lushness of the mids, which I found rather appealing.

With that said: in a way, converting a Grado aficiando to an appreciation (or maybe tolerance is the right word) for closed cans seems like pretty much the hardest possible thing to do, given that the things Grado is most known for (open sound, treble accentuation, etc) seem to be things that are definitionally more difficult for closed headphones to accomplish. So I suppose ultimately, it's impressive in its own right that you dig the headphones... How's that for a bit of pro-hype spin?

Thanks again for posting man, definitely thanks for coming and sharing your gear, and I hope you continue to enjoy 'em!! (And if you ever decide to give 'em up, drop me a line... I sure don't need them, but I want 'em, dammit!)

Btw, on a completely unrelated note: I'm considering September for another meet. Anybody have any feelings on this, pro or con?

*If any part of this post contains misspellings, grammaical absurdities, logical non sequitors, or outright fabrications, please forgive me-- today is the cheat day on my diet, and I've had waaaay more beers than I probably should. So blame it on the al-al-al-co-hol, as they say.

first, agree wholeheartedly! the alpha dog is the only closed can i really like
second PRO !

 

[Theogenes]

first, agree wholeheartedly! the alpha dog is the only closed can i really like
second PRO !

Hahaha! Awesome, thanks Jay!!

 

[jaywillin]

Hahaha! Awesome, thanks Jay!!

and maybe this time, i can bring more than two headphones !

 

[ULUL]

JoeDoe, 
 
Want to second your review in terms of the lushness.  I picked up another pair - a top of the line pair - to replace the initial pair that I reviewed for this thread as I was searching for more warmth.  Got what I wanted.  It is better than the original in every way, but especially the fullness/richness. I was very surprised as normally, if something is this lush, I would expect things to lack clarity adn detail but this is not the case at all.  I would say the new pair gained in many areas, and gave up in none - quite rare to have no tradeoffs for all that gain.  I was traveling for 6 weeks and am late but will try to post my review too.  Just excellent work. 
 
UL
 
Quote:

  Hey fellas, I got the V1s back from Zach earlier this week (had a driver failure after the meet AND asked if he could offer some slight mod to increase the treble brightness a touch) and thought I'd post some impressions.
 
First: In the interest of being honest, when I listened to these at the meet, I wasn't exactly blown away... Not to say I thought they sounded bad, but I've always been an open-back guy and coming from the RS1, the V1s were heavy, clampy, and congested. That's a hard pill to swallow especially given the hype train that everyone wants to be a part of. Right before we raffled I mentioned to Fred two things: 1. I would be ok if I didn't win these because at the time, I didn't think they'd get a lot of head time and 2. I never win anything. Well, irony is a sly mistress (or something like that). 
 
 
Next: First, impression: Lush. These are probably the richest mids I've ever heard (including the RS1i, HE500, and DT880/990s). The RS1 does win in texture, but given its an open back design with a healthier price tag, that's ok. Now for the V1s, the mids are just addicting. Full, manly, musical mids that have a very natural sound. Vocals are on point with the heralded HE500s. Guitars and synths have nice texture and weight without being a-Grado-essive. Second impression: Separation is excellent. I've never really enjoyed closed back cans compared to open as they always sound congested to me. If I've ever needed isolation, I just use IEMs. The V1s have grown on me in this regard. At first, they just couldn't compete with the space and separation that the HE500 and RS1 were getting. After a few days of listening, they certainly don't separate better, but I have grown accustomed to the sound and appreciate it more. There is still decent space (for a closed can) that makes hearing everything effortless. I've pared down my desktop setup and run everything through an O2/ODAC combo that certainly gives them plenty of juice. Nice and clean.
 
I'm looking forward to spending more time with these guys as well as trying out more and more of my music library. I've enjoyed my jazz/funk fusion immensely with them i.e. Snarky Puppy, Jaco, Budos Band, etc. and have recently enjoyed their capabilities with my old jazz records. I will say that even though they don't throw the largest soundstage ever, they do very well with some of my classical recordings. Holst, Prokofiev, and Beethoven all sound very natural and accurate. 
 
Big thanks again to Zach for 1. Sending em for the raffle and 2. Tuning them a bit for my taste. Also, one more shout to @Theogenes for putting the whole thing together. None of this would've been possible without him and it's certainly an understatement to say that I enjoyed myself!

 

[Theogenes]

and maybe this time, i can bring more than two headphones !

 
Lol!! Jay, you brought plenty just by showing up . And you actually had one of the headphones I most wanted to listen to-- the much-balleyhooed Alpha Dogs!! But hey, anything you wanna bring, we'll be more than happy to listen to . 
 
@ULUL, thanks for sharing, man! Good to know that the ZMFs are getting even better . If/when you end up posting your thoughts, please come back here and share 'em with us too!

 

[skyline315]

Did you guys see the Valhalla 2 is on the way?  Several of us were impressed with the black Valhalla that Ben brought, so version 2 has me very interested...

 

[Theogenes]

Did you guys see the Valhalla 2 is on the way?  Several of us were impressed with the black Valhalla that Ben brought, so version 2 has me very interested...

Same here, as soon as I saw Jason's post, I was immediately curious about what this new baby might bring to the table... And if I'm being honest, I also thought about the dropping prices of used Valhalla 1s that people will likely sell in the near future .

Didn't see it in Jason's post, but I'm hoping that the V2 doesn't allow for tube rolling either, as that's a sickness I've already had and would like to avoid in the future.

 

[jaywillin]

Same here, as soon as I saw Jason's post, I was immediately curious about what this new baby might bring to the table... And if I'm being honest, I also thought about the dropping prices of used Valhalla 1s that people will likely sell in the near future .

Didn't see it in Jason's post, but I'm hoping that the V2 doesn't allow for tube rolling either, as that's a sickness I've already had and would like to avoid in the future.

Its rollable

 

[Theogenes]

Its rollable

Expletives. Well, I know I'm in the minority on this anway. Maybe I'll just wait until a consensus develops about which tubes work best in certain setups... Although that always seems to drive the costs of those particular tubes up. Arrrgh.

Btw, random: sitting out on my porch right now, listening to the T51p's that Ben was kind enough to sell to me on my portable rig, and man, life is good... Devin Townsend's new country album (not a typo, believe it or not) is actually pretty darn good. And this form a guy who really dislikes country pretty intensely. I really love that getting a chance to listen to other people's gear can make getting a truly satisfying system together way, way easier. Love it!!