[mrjayviper]

is vegan friendly limited to not using animal leather? (as that's the only animal part I can think of that is used on headphones)

 

[robo24]

is vegan friendly limited to not using animal leather? (as that's the only animal part I can think of that is used on headphones)

Well it would exclude the protein leather which is made from eggshells, which companies like Audeze use to have a non-animal skin leather. Can't think of any other animal products use in headphones.

 

[bluenight]

I find it hard to find High end Closed-back Vegan Headphones.
Its can be frustrating.
Zmf Atrium Closed custom ordered Vegan or Coming Zmf Caldera Closed would probably be my first option today. Have to turn down Dca E3 which would had been my first choice if it was completely vegan.


Also is The Zmf Suede pads sufficient enough for sound quality as people's have said they make them brighter and loose sub bass if i am correct. Also suede on a Closed back Headphone wouldn't that leak alot more then there stock Leather pads. They should have one more vegan option that mimic more firm leather imo. Why settle for less?

Any suggestions on high end closed back vegan Headphones?

 

[robo24]

I find it hard to find High end Closed-back Vegan Headphones.
Its can be frustrating.
Zmf Atrium Closed custom ordered Vegan or Coming Zmf Caldera Closed would probably be my first option today. Have to turn down Dca E3 which would had been my first choice if it was completely vegan.


Also is The Zmf Suede pads sufficient enough for sound quality as people's have said they make them brighter and loose sub bass if i am correct. Also suede on a Closed back Headphone wouldn't that leak alot more then there stock Leather pads. They should have one more vegan option that mimic more firm leather imo. Why settle for less?

Any suggestions on high end closed back vegan Headphones?

Well I wouldn't say their suede pads are "less" and some people actually prefer them over leather and they don't have much impact on isolation/leakage. For the Atrium Closed I've been using the new Caldera Suede which is sold for the Bokeh. It's much closer sounding to the lambskin than the regular Caldera Suede with minimal loss of sub-bass. The Atrium Closed is also tuned brighter than the Open. It's closed on the inside and outside and only perforated where it touches the face, while the regular is perforated there and on the outside, so it does definitely reduce the sub-bass. Once I put the Bokeh pads on they were everything I'd hoped after hearing them with lambskin. I imagine if you order one you could request that suede pad instead of the regular Caldera, though it's not on the site yet to buy separately. I've never liked any of their protein leather pads, and I assume if they were synthetic leather they'd be less porous and worse sounding.

Zach shared with me that he's found a suede headband for the Bokeh so the all suede Bokeh should be available soon. It's not a TOTL but I preferred it over both their Eikon and Atticus, but the Atrium Closed is still up a level for me. He's mentioned hoping to at least demo the Caldera Closed at CanJam NYC, and maybe start selling then or soon after. That was the case with the Atrium Closed last year. If it's as good as the open Caldera it will immediately become my favorite headphone.

 

[bluenight]

Well I wouldn't say their suede pads are "less" and some people actually prefer them over leather and they don't have much impact on isolation/leakage. For the Atrium Closed I've been using the new Caldera Suede which is sold for the Bokeh. It's much closer sounding to the lambskin than the regular Caldera Suede with minimal loss of sub-bass. The Atrium Closed is also tuned brighter than the Open. It's closed on the inside and outside and only perforated where it touches the face, while the regular is perforated there and on the outside, so it does definitely reduce the sub-bass. Once I put the Bokeh pads on they were everything I'd hoped after hearing them with lambskin. I imagine if you order one you could request that suede pad instead of the regular Caldera, though it's not on the site yet to buy separately. I've never liked any of their protein leather pads, and I assume if they were synthetic leather they'd be less porous and worse sounding.

Zach shared with me that he's found a suede headband for the Bokeh so the all suede Bokeh should be available soon. It's not a TOTL but I preferred it over both their Eikon and Atticus, but the Atrium Closed is still up a level for me. He's mentioned hoping to at least demo the Caldera Closed at CanJam NYC, and maybe start selling then or soon after. That was the case with the Atrium Closed last year. If it's as good as the open Caldera it will immediately become my favorite headphone.

Thanks for the informative post.

You have convinced me that suede is a great option for closed backs.

So they dont seem to necessarily loose sub bass and isolation/leakage properties. Its just depends on how they are designed.

I think the use of suede pads on the beyerdynamic dt 770 pro indicates that to with great subb bass extension and not to bad leakeage as can be seen on rtings.com measurements.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/beyerdynamic/dt-770-pro
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
46.44 dB

I will note the new caldera suede pad as the favourite choice. And will await the Zmf caldera closed.

 

[robo24]

I'd still say there is less sub-bass than the leather ones, but with the new pads it's minimal. Saw elsewhere Zach did mention getting the other pads on the site soon.

 

[jorcorex]

Hi all,

3 topics here:

- v-moda - I checked with them and they (David S from Roland Corporation, the parent company of v-moda) have confirmed they don't use animal products so their headphone line is vegan friendly (at least the wired sets as, with wireless ones batteries have to be taken into consideration);

- Verum - This Ukrainian company currently makes one model of planar headphones that are highly acclaimed by several reviewers. Never tried them but I have reached out to them and despite having leather earpads, they told me that vegans can request synthetic earpads after ordering and they have those in stock. Despite long waiting periods that can take up to months between ordering and actually receiving the product due to the war, all reviewers agree that it was more than worth it;

- Hifiman - I understand this brand has several models on the list but because it appears to be somewhat out of date, I checked with them and the reply I got from Jane is that all Hifiman headphones are vegan friendly. This is great news! Are there any contradictory messages you have received from Hifiman in the near past?

Thanks all

 

[Misunari]

Hello,

I asked Austrian Audio regarding their Composer, and this is the reply they sent me.

Since protein leather is made with eggshells as far as I know, they aren’t an inclusion on the list, but I thought I’d leave the reply anyways for future reference.

 

[SteS]

is vegan friendly limited to not using animal leather? (as that's the only animal part I can think of that is used on headphones)

None of the headphone compaines undergo a vegan certification process, as far as I'm aware, so you're never going to know what's in the glues, plastics or synthetic leathers they use. Therefore it's going to be about excluding the only known animal product in headphones, leather.

 

[smodtactical]

None of the headphone compaines undergo a vegan certification process, as far as I'm aware, so you're never going to know what's in the glues, plastics or synthetic leathers they use. Therefore it's going to be about excluding the only known animal product in headphones, leather.

Ya I don't take it to the levels of glue, plastic etc. If you take it to that level its a slippery slope. I'd imagine almost no tech is completely free of all traces of animals. Veganism is about reducing animal products as far as is practical.

 

[jorcorex]

Hi,

This is my perspective and I'm sure it will trigger some but the way I see it is a bit different.

You do have 2 brands (at least, that I know of) who publicly claim their products contain no animal components: Erzetich Audio and Ollo Audio.

On the other hand, you have brands that have confirmed to several of us via email/phone that some products of theirs are safe for vegans, others contain animal materials.

And finally, you have the 3rd, brands that either do not offer anything free of animal suffering or are willing to make some changes via custom order.

My perspective is that as a vegan, your money and support should go to the companies that share your views or the ones who accommodate you and not the ones that either do not care or make you request custom changes (something I see a lot of in here). This would have to do with your commitment to animals versus your need to own more gear (as, by giving these companies money you are allowing them to place it towards every other area).

I compare this to going grocery shopping and looking for butter, you can either buy the vegan brand that has been there for you since day one and shares your beliefs or go with the vegan alternatives made by dairy brands that are now starting to ride the vegan train because it's turning out to be profitable. The latter is contributing largely to the exploitation of animals in the dairy industry in a similar way buying regular butter would.

No one asked, I know, but that's my 2 cents

 

[bluenight]

Ya I don't take it to the levels of glue, plastic etc. If you take it to that level its a slippery slope. I'd imagine almost no tech is completely free of all traces of animals. Veganism is about reducing animal products as far as is practical.

Yeah i agree. Otherwise you can not buy anything to enjoy.

 

[smodtactical]

Hi,

This is my perspective and I'm sure it will trigger some but the way I see it is a bit different.

You do have 2 brands (at least, that I know of) who publicly claim their products contain no animal components: Erzetich Audio and Ollo Audio.

On the other hand, you have brands that have confirmed to several of us via email/phone that some products of theirs are safe for vegans, others contain animal materials.

And finally, you have the 3rd, brands that either do not offer anything free of animal suffering or are willing to make some changes via custom order.

My perspective is that as a vegan, your money and support should go to the companies that share your views or the ones who accommodate you and not the ones that either do not care or make you request custom changes (something I see a lot of in here). This would have to do with your commitment to animals versus your need to own more gear (as, by giving these companies money you are allowing them to place it towards every other area).

I compare this to going grocery shopping and looking for butter, you can either buy the vegan brand that has been there for you since day one and shares your beliefs or go with the vegan alternatives made by dairy brands that are now starting to ride the vegan train because it's turning out to be profitable. The latter is contributing largely to the exploitation of animals in the dairy industry in a similar way buying regular butter would.

No one asked, I know, but that's my 2 cents

I see where you are coming from but look at it this way. If you did purchase a vegan friendly headphone from a headphone company that just started to offer it, they would then see a demand and maybe would expand their product line into more vegan offerings. This would help to not only potentially shift some more of their product into vegan friendly products away from animal leathers etc but it also puts the idea of veganism in the minds of many people who wouldn't even consider it before. Who knows they might start researching it more and become more interested in it themselves.

I think supporting vegan companies and buying vegan options from non-vegan companies are both beneficial to the animals and the Vegan movement.

 

[smodtactical]

Is the final d7000 vegan friendly ? looks to be free of leather