mimart7
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2014
- Posts
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This my first online review of anything. Let me know what you think.
ZMF Classic Headphone review:
Full Disclosure, I had the highest bid during the Not So Silent Auction at the New York Spring Meet, for the headphones.
Zach handed me a nondescript white box with a ZMF sticker on it. For a moment, I thought I was being handed a cake. Much to my surprise, what was inside that box was far better than a cake, but it was just as sweet. Zach takes great pains to build such a high quality set of headphones, and it shows in this pair.
This is the first pair of relatively high end head phones that I have ever owned, so I really don’t have anything to compare them to.
Construction: 9/10
The headphones appear to be made with some Fostex components, but are of very high quality. The padded headband and ear cups are made of lambskin. They are very solid.
Comfort: 9/10
The maximum time I have worn these has been for two hours, at a clip. I haven’t had the opportunity to wear them for longer, life gets in the way, lol.
These are an absolute pleasure to wear. I wear glasses, and there was no discomfort while they were on. The generous padding on the headband and ear cups, accounts for the comfort.
My setup is as follows:
Asus Xonar STX
Little Dot MK III with GE Jan 5654 W tubes
Media Monkey, equalizer is not used.
The Xonar STX is inside a home built PC. Everything is hooked up to a UPS. The UPS has a couple of advantages. Besides providing a backup source of power to shut down in case of power loss, it aids in “cleaning up” the electricity from the wall. It also protects your equipment from power surges, and drops. If you have spent a fair amount of money on equipment, I recommend that you protect your investment with a good quality UPS.
Now, on to how they sound. Like many of us here, I listen to a wide variety of music. My tastes run the gamut, Classical, Jazz, Bossa Nova, Blues, Rock ‘n Roll, Metal, etc.
Impressions:
After a bit of burn in for both headphones and tubes, the sound really opened up for me. Before burn in the soundstage was narrow, and so was the audio range. There was a noticeable difference after about 20 hours, and after 50 hours, the headphones really started to shine.
To me they sound very neutral, unlike other headphones, which can be bass heavy, or others that have a “V shaped” sound.
The highs were very pleasant, and there was no trace of sibilance in any of the tracks I had listened to. Guitars, and cymbals all sound crisp.
The mids were very well reproduced, leaving very little to be desired.
The bass left a little something to be desired, but sounded solid over all. I found that in some of the tracks the bass was slightly muddy. I found this to be so in some of the fast metal I had listened too. Listening to reggae was perfectly fine though. So was listening to Classic Rock. Beebop Jazz was an absolute pleasure.
Conclusion:
I would definitely recommend these anyone looking for a starter pair of higher end headphones. Just because they aren’t made by a large manufacturer, does not mean that one should overlook ZMF headphones. Zach stands behind every set of headphones he sells.
ZMF Classic Headphone review:
Full Disclosure, I had the highest bid during the Not So Silent Auction at the New York Spring Meet, for the headphones.
Zach handed me a nondescript white box with a ZMF sticker on it. For a moment, I thought I was being handed a cake. Much to my surprise, what was inside that box was far better than a cake, but it was just as sweet. Zach takes great pains to build such a high quality set of headphones, and it shows in this pair.
This is the first pair of relatively high end head phones that I have ever owned, so I really don’t have anything to compare them to.
Construction: 9/10
The headphones appear to be made with some Fostex components, but are of very high quality. The padded headband and ear cups are made of lambskin. They are very solid.
Comfort: 9/10
The maximum time I have worn these has been for two hours, at a clip. I haven’t had the opportunity to wear them for longer, life gets in the way, lol.
These are an absolute pleasure to wear. I wear glasses, and there was no discomfort while they were on. The generous padding on the headband and ear cups, accounts for the comfort.
My setup is as follows:
Asus Xonar STX
Little Dot MK III with GE Jan 5654 W tubes
Media Monkey, equalizer is not used.
The Xonar STX is inside a home built PC. Everything is hooked up to a UPS. The UPS has a couple of advantages. Besides providing a backup source of power to shut down in case of power loss, it aids in “cleaning up” the electricity from the wall. It also protects your equipment from power surges, and drops. If you have spent a fair amount of money on equipment, I recommend that you protect your investment with a good quality UPS.
Now, on to how they sound. Like many of us here, I listen to a wide variety of music. My tastes run the gamut, Classical, Jazz, Bossa Nova, Blues, Rock ‘n Roll, Metal, etc.
Impressions:
After a bit of burn in for both headphones and tubes, the sound really opened up for me. Before burn in the soundstage was narrow, and so was the audio range. There was a noticeable difference after about 20 hours, and after 50 hours, the headphones really started to shine.
To me they sound very neutral, unlike other headphones, which can be bass heavy, or others that have a “V shaped” sound.
The highs were very pleasant, and there was no trace of sibilance in any of the tracks I had listened to. Guitars, and cymbals all sound crisp.
The mids were very well reproduced, leaving very little to be desired.
The bass left a little something to be desired, but sounded solid over all. I found that in some of the tracks the bass was slightly muddy. I found this to be so in some of the fast metal I had listened too. Listening to reggae was perfectly fine though. So was listening to Classic Rock. Beebop Jazz was an absolute pleasure.
Conclusion:
I would definitely recommend these anyone looking for a starter pair of higher end headphones. Just because they aren’t made by a large manufacturer, does not mean that one should overlook ZMF headphones. Zach stands behind every set of headphones he sells.
