[SQ13]

Yeah in fairness I can realistically "get by" with the Radiance - it's pretty damn great!

ZMF had a prototype portable at Chicago canjam, may be check with him on the launch date. unfortuantely, i dont know how it sounds relative to VC or AC.

 

[defrsh]

Sadly I've decided to part ways with the Liric. It does some things very well for a closed back that have made it enjoyable to own (very open-sounding for a closed back, great comfort, design and aesthetics) but ultimately I found the quirky tonality got in the way of me enjoying too many tracks. Have been getting sibilance a fair bit, and the mids have a cold / soulless quality to them that started to bother me.

Now on the market for a closed back that balances portability and strong technicalities, ideally in same or lower price bracket as Liric. I love my Radiance but probably looking for something with a more revealing and spacious-sound. Think DCA Noire and D9200 are the top contenders here (slight concerns about D9200 having poor isolation though). Suggestions welcome!

Though I have not tried the other ones suggested, I have found the DCA Noire to be great for tonality and portability. One of the best closed backs!

 

[Mhog55]

ZMF had a prototype portable at Chicago canjam, may be check with him on the launch date. unfortuantely, i dont know how it sounds relative to VC or AC.

I'm looking forward to this one. Keep in mind that it will be priced under a grand.

 

[yrstruly]

ZMF had a prototype portable at Chicago canjam, may be check with him on the launch date. unfortuantely, i dont know how it sounds relative to VC or AC.

Thanks - just checked with Zach and apparently it'll drop sometime later this year. Can't wait!

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I'm on a long, on and off journey to find the perfect portable, foldable, good looking, comfortable, good isolating (non-ANC) and of course, great - think somewhere ZMF Atrium and Hifiman Arya - sounding closed back headphone.

Quite frankly it doesn't exist.

But if I had to pick one headphone that ticks all the boxes except sound, it would be the Marshall Major 3 headphones.

As far as physical design and build quality goes, these put many much more expensive and "high-end" brands to shame.

What would I improve on them (other than sound)?

1 - balanced wiring
2 - Sorry I've got nothing...

If I could vote for any headphone collaboration to happen it would be for some brand or some reviewer who knows good sound, to team up with Marshall and make the portable headphone to end all portable headphones.

I have to admit "everything except sound" kinda made me laugh here. I'm willing to compromise on almost any aspect of a headphone as long as it sounds good. If it looks dumb, isn't super comfortable, is heavy, or lacks features, that's a-okay by me if the music comes out good, but I won't ever buy a headphone that sounds bad no matter how great its build is.

 

[Mhog55]

I had the Marshall Major gen 1 long time ago. They sounded half decent with rock and metal, similar to the Sennheiser hd25, but not quite as in your face. I mean the resolution was poor, but they were close to serviceable for a non hifi mp3 type of deal. They must have greatly improved from then?

 

[emba4]

The Meze Liric touched my sou when i demod them, i know i shouldnt listen to stuff outside my bracket but damn they were wonderful, i aso tried the LCD-X closed but ultimately preferred the sound of the LCD-2 closed. currently having killed my 2s im down to a pair of oppo PM3 (and some frankensien LCD-X open) i still keep looking at the lirics and my credit card but i know i shouldnt. i have however seen the fostex TH900 at very reasonable prices from japan, are they really up there with the Lirics?

 

[plakat]

I’ve only had a short stint with the Liric, it didn’t do much for me. The TH900 I owned some years back. Beautiful cups, look even better in person than on the photos (the red ones, don’t care for the other color options). Amazing bass, powerful, deep reaching g and impressively clear but not overpowering everything else. My problem was that the treble was a bit sharp for my taste, making listening a bit stressful at times. Nowadays I’m happy with the D9200, which is still lively but a bit less v-shaped and therefore better balanced for my tastes.

And yes, I generally prefer dynamic drivers over planars…

 

[Pablo67]

The Meze Liric touched my sou when i demod them, i know i shouldnt listen to stuff outside my bracket but damn they were wonderful, i aso tried the LCD-X closed but ultimately preferred the sound of the LCD-2 closed. currently having killed my 2s im down to a pair of oppo PM3 (and some frankensien LCD-X open) i still keep looking at the lirics and my credit card but i know i shouldnt. i have however seen the fostex TH900 at very reasonable prices from japan, are they really up there with the Lirics?

Funny thing... I bought the Liric based on hours of research, reviews etc. No way to audition them where I'm located. I have the 109 Pro and I REALLy dig them, so I figured the Liric will be a "Plus Up" so a bought an immaculate condition open box. At first, I was kinda like meh. It was a tad bit bright for my taste and nothing super earth shattering...especially for the price. I swapped out the cable for an Audio Ninja cable and that made a difference... a BIG difference. Then I listened with my AK Kann MAXX on "Super Gain" let them burn in for a couple days and THAT changed the game!! Interestingly, the Audio Ninja cable sounded much better that the upgraded copper Meze cable with my Lirics. But I will say, it took a WHILE for me to either get into the sound of these headphones or maybe it was simply "Brain-Burn"??

 

[Pablo67]

ZMF had a prototype portable at Chicago canjam, may be check with him on the launch date. unfortuantely, i dont know how it sounds relative to VC or AC.

That sounds amazing! I would be interested in auditioning this once it drops. I do have a ZMF question for the crowd. Can you drive a pair of ZMF's (Particularly the ZMF Atrium closed back) using either an AK Kann Max or an AK SP2000...and get the the full "ZMF Sound"??

 

[Velvetmusic]

Thanks - just checked with Zach and apparently it'll drop sometime later this year. Can't wait!

but will it be as bassy as the atticus/eikon i wonder?

 

[Velvetmusic]

does anyone know what type of driver will be in the new zmf closed back?

 

[yrstruly]

but will it be as bassy as the atticus/eikon i wonder?

Some initial feedback from one of the recent Canjam threads indicated the prototype wasn’t sounding particularly bass heavy but the tuning is still being worked on/subject to change I think.

 

[OM hawk]

Just reiterating my respect for the NDH20, after discovering the great synergy with the iFi Go Bar's Xbass when using a balanced headphone cable, especially after I upgraded from the Go Bar's stock USB cable, major improvement in detail and incredibly clean strong bass.

 

[emba4]

Funny thing... I bought the Liric based on hours of research, reviews etc. No way to audition them where I'm located. I have the 109 Pro and I REALLy dig them, so I figured the Liric will be a "Plus Up" so a bought an immaculate condition open box. At first, I was kinda like meh. It was a tad bit bright for my taste and nothing super earth shattering...especially for the price. I swapped out the cable for an Audio Ninja cable and that made a difference... a BIG difference. Then I listened with my AK Kann MAXX on "Super Gain" let them burn in for a couple days and THAT changed the game!! Interestingly, the Audio Ninja cable sounded much better that the upgraded copper Meze cable with my Lirics. But I will say, it took a WHILE for me to either get into the sound of these headphones or maybe it was simply "Brain-Burn"??

Maybe, I was lucky enough to be in London for a week got work so I had chance to head to audio sanctuary for some testing against my LCDs thankfully the Lirics use the same cable and I make my own so I had a nice cable and my ifi, they were the only real other closed backs that made me sorta go "woah that's something special"

But as with all audio it's very subjective what one person loves another may hate (DCA aeon flow being a fine example for me) I know some people hate the Lirics but they're wonderful to my ears