Hey guys, I got a chance to visit Zach in Chicago today- he is super nice! A really swell guy. Also, and I hope Zach doesn't mind me posting about his new wooden cans, but I got a chance to hear them (apparently I 'm the first one besides the Zach himself!)
the verdict:
Fantastic!
I haven't heard a closed back pair image like that EVER. I thought the headphones were super comfortable with the alpha pads and pilot pad. Comfiest headphones I've tried in a long while. The soundstage and balance really blew me away with these. I quite liked the other headphones there, but the Turbulent, as I see its being called now, really had a sense of accuracy and pinpoint presentation - most certainly a "wow" factor headphone. I liked the version with all three bassholes out the best, but even with all of them covered the bass felt well presented and even-handed. The presentation wasn't as intimate as his other phones, more second or third row seats rather than on stage, to my ears at least. What most impressed me was the tempo of the headphones; they were neither too fast, nor too slow. for me at least, they hit a perfect balance that was easy to just aurally "hop on" to and stay engaged in the music without becoming either fatigued, or needing to turn the volume up. Even on the HD800 I always felt the need to keep fiddling with volume. Not on these. I got a chance to listen to some Wilson Sophia's early today, and honestly, these headphones reminded me quite a lot of them. Loads of accuracy and a very effortless sound, great texture and a sense of tangibility to it that only really excellent audio reproduction has (I'm a classically trained musician, so timbre, rhythm, and texture are really big for me- the Turbulent hits all the right notes to my ear)
I did hear more resolution on these than on the other cans, but I think that may have been just because the cans were clearer in general, and I felt that the added detail was because more sound was reaching my ear and not being lost in the housing. (one of the other ZMF pairs sounded a bit muffled, and though the rest were great, I tend to think Orthos sound a tad "distant" though much of that is the T50rp housing I'm sure) There was almost as much perceived resolution (though again, that warm, mor distant ortho sound) as on a pair of Grado Ps1000s I tried today too- and those fit about as well as an old banana peel!
I would buy these in a heartbeat if my budget would allow (and if they were released yet!)
I did decide to go with a pair of Grado sr325is today, just because I really dig the open-back sound and my budget was very limited. (Sorry Zach!) But if I had an opportunity to pick up a pair of closed cans, and didn't have to worry about cost, these would be my first choice, hands down. Great job Zach!