[FallenKnight71]

  Has anyone heard news on whether the Schiit Vali has enough power for the T50rp's?  I almost jumped on one of them as I don't have a true tube amp, but then I saw it only has 550mw at 50ohms.  I know output can be deceiving...a few people said they were ordering it with their ZMF's, but I haven't heard anything...
 
 
I have heard of people using them so I know that they fit, but I have no idea what the changes will be vs the Alpha Pads/Stax Pads.

Hey Zach,
I'm listening to the Vali  with my new ZMFs.  Sounds Great!  One of the other reasons I was waiting to post impressions was I was waiting on my Vali.  I got it as soon as the website had them.
 
Michael

 

[zach915m]

 
Hey Zach,
I'm listening to the Vali  with my new ZMFs.  Sounds Great!  One of the other reasons I was waiting to post impressions was I was waiting on my Vali.  I got it as soon as the website had them.
 
Michael

 
But also....
 

 

[Groznyjgrad]

How are these for Classical music? I can't get an answer out of anyone on here 

 

[uncola]

hi Groznyjgrad, I'm not sure what you're looking for specifically for classical music.  I was never a big believer that headphones favor any one specific type of music, with the obvious exception maybe being edm and hip hop need good bass.  The zmf have very good smooth mids, fast and impactful bass but not beats/ultrasone 580 levels of subwoofer like bass.  The treble to me seems slightly less than neutral but I like that it makes them less fatiguing.  I've listened to a little classical and movie scores and it always sounded good on them, I certainly didn't notice it sounded worse compared to other genres.

 

[Maxx134]

I got my ZMF v2's today.  They look great, especially with the leather pad, faux carbon stickers and very well done gold re-jack

I put the alpha pads on them from my 3.2 Mad Dogs and started listening to them with my e12 hooked up directly to my macbook pro.
Direct comparisons have been a little hard since it is not easy to swap the pads back and forth.

(disclaimer, I am by no means an audiophile, more of a music listening enthusiast,  I have some FLAC music, but I mostly listen to 320kbps mp3's and Spotify on the highest quality streaming setting.  I know that some of these impressions could be due to my humble set up and newness to the hobby.)

My initial impression of the ZMF's are that the treble is much more forward and at times sibilant relative to the MD's.  I heard this on some vocal EDM and hip hop. To my ears, Im not sure I like the sound in this regard, relative to the MD's. However, they do sound great with organic instrumentation, especially acoustic and orchestrated music.

Even though these are the bass edition (v2) there doesn't seem to be as much sub bass / over all bass as the MD, although it is fast and punchy.


Hopefully Ill have some more to add later...

Unfortunately all I could make out of this post is that the pad swap made sound brighter and so obviously the ZMF wasn't meant of designed or tuned for those pads.
Good to know but I would rather hear about a comparison of the two headphones as they came.

 

[Claritas]

  How are these for Classical music?

 

  hi Groznyjgrad, I'm not sure what you're looking for specifically for classical music.

 
How does the sound, detail, soundstage, &c. compare to the most common recommendations for classical: K70x, DT880, HD6x0? (I don't remember if this question was answered earlier in the thread.)

 

[Groznyjgrad]

   
 
How does the sound, detail, soundstage, &c. compare to the most common recommendations for classical: K70x, DT880, HD6x0? (I don't remember if this question was answered earlier in the thread.)

That's essentially my question -- these are being put up against the DT880 for me

 

[audioKyle]

I want these badly. I need to sell my headphones first though.

It was mentioned before but the x3 will drive these fine right?

 

[zach915m]

I want these badly. I need to sell my headphones first though.

It was mentioned before but the x3 will drive these fine right?

The X3 does run them on the "high" gain setting to very adequate volume levels.  The "timbre" is quite good but can be improved upon with the use of a powerful desktop amp.  I don't know what amp (e12/e11 etc) the X3 is the equivelent of but it's pretty good.

 

[Tiemen]

   
 
How does the sound, detail, soundstage, &c. compare to the most common recommendations for classical: K70x, DT880, HD6x0? (I don't remember if this question was answered earlier in the thread.)

 
Mids are comparable to the HD650, more or less the same quality. The ZMF bass is somewhat tighter. There's more treble on the ZMF, and as a downside also more sibilance. I don't care for soundstage, so I can't commend on that.
Detail retrieval seems to be better on the ZMF.
 
The DT880 is the opposite phone of the ZMF. Where the ZMF is lush, full bodied, smooth and musical, the DT880 is cold, lightweight, analytical and bright.
Detail retrieval on both are more or less the same. There's more sibilance on the DT880.
Comfort of the DT880 is better.
 
Both the HD650 and DT880 are easier to drive.
 
Honestly, there's not so much 'better' with either of them, the ZMF being in the same league, but more a matter of taste.

 

[Claritas]

 
Mids are comparable to the HD650, more or less the same quality. The ZMF bass is somewhat tighter. There's more treble on the ZMF, and as a downside also more sibilance. I don't care for soundstage, so I can't comment on that.
Detail retrieval seems to be better on the ZMF.
 
The DT880 is the opposite phone of the ZMF. Where the ZMF is lush, full bodied, smooth and musical, the DT880 is cold, lightweight, analytical and bright.
Detail retrieval on both are more or less the same. There's more sibilance on the DT880.
Comfort of the DT880 is better.
 
Both the HD650 and DT880 are easier to drive.
 
Honestly, there's not so much 'better' with either of them, the ZMF being in the same league, but more a matter of taste.

 
Thank you very much Tiemen! You explained that so well--precisely and succinctly--and it makes a lot of sense to me. (Any thoughts on ZMF vs. K70x?)

 

[Tiemen]

   
Thank you very much Tiemen! You explained that so well--precisely and succinctly--and it makes a lot of sense to me. (Any thoughts on ZMF vs. K70x?)

 
You're welcome.
 
I never heard or owned the K70x, so no idea how they compare from first hand impressions.

 

[holyangel117]

How do these compare to the Mad Dogs?

 

[Maxx134]

How do these compare to the Mad Dogs?

If you scour the thread the impression will be that they are a different signature yet similar level of highest quality sound you can get out of it probably a side grade to all the very top mods on this specific model so definitely not lesser than any instead just debatable preference otherwise.

 

[audioKyle]

Just ordered a pair of v2s! Hopefully they come soon since I'm anxious to hear them!