[Another Audiophile]

The receipt says it was sold as new by a retailer (Headphone auditions amsterdam, 2020). What we need to know is that would you consider this a normal, A-stock quality? That's the crux of the matter - the seller claims this is just how your handmade headphones look like - imperfect.

Edit - We need a straight answer here, to be honest. It's a case of a seller who advertises them as new, takes a number of photos but deliberately leaves that crack out of them, and then claims to be surprised, that it's totally normal for ZMF headphones to be sold like that, as new from either a retailer or direct from you.

I think if you have the sn and the owner’s card then Stefan from HAA will be happy to tell you the story. I bought mine from that store and very happy with the service

 

[Wes S]

Yeah...crack or no crack these are great headphones. I'm surprised how different these are compared to Atticus. One could easily justify owning both.

I own both and totally agree. They are different enough, to where I prefer a different tube roll for each one.

 

[zach915m]

The receipt says it was sold as new by a retailer (Headphone auditions amsterdam, 2020). What we need to know is that would you consider this a normal, A-stock quality? That's the crux of the matter - the seller claims this is just how your handmade headphones look like - imperfect.

Edit - We need a straight answer here, to be honest. It's a case of a seller who advertises them as new, takes a number of photos but deliberately leaves that crack out of them, and then claims to be surprised, that it's totally normal for ZMF headphones to be sold like that, as new from either a retailer or direct from you.

Edit2 - It was sold for full price - 1349€. I doubt they'd sell a headphone with such a crack on it at full price, knowing that store. Still, we need @zach915m to give us a straight answer, that's what matters right now.

Without seeing the headphones in person it's impossible for me to tell the exact condition, if the marking is open and repaired or not. A lot of times we send demo units to dealers and then they sell them, we cannot police every dealer and how they sell their units to customers, but we do have language in our dealer agreements that they must examine every unit and describe it correctly to customers. Do they do that? I hope so! But again it's impossible for me to make finite remarks on a headphone we didn't sell directly to a customer, and well after the transaction has taken place. I do hope that when a dealer sells a headphone to a customer they accurately show the headphone, regardless if it's being sold as A or B stock.

If it was sold by Stefan at HAA it'd definitely be worth getting in touch with him. As he carried this transaction through, not zmf directly. He may remember the set and whether the marking/split was on it when it was sold or not.

Again - were happy to examine the headphone in person to see if it was ever repaired, is an open crack, is a shallow wood characteristic etc etc.

 

[robo24]

We do have a small issue with us selling headphones as b stock and then users on the open market testing to sell them as A stock to get a better price. We do mark all the owners cards as b stock when they are such.

Yep! When I sold my b-stock Aeolus several months ago I clearly indicated it was b-stock and included a pic of the owner card stating so. A week later it was re-listed without that info for a higher price. I'd be very suspicious buying used if the card is not shown nor included unless that is explained.

 

[BooUrns]

Edit: We found the email regarding this headphone! Zach replied and we will help in any way possible!

 

[smoothb0re]

Without seeing the headphones in person it's impossible for me to tell the exact condition, if the marking is open and repaired or not. A lot of times we send demo units to dealers and then they sell them, we cannot police every dealer and how they sell their units to customers, but we do have language in our dealer agreements that they must examine every unit and describe it correctly to customers. Do they do that? I hope so! But again it's impossible for me to make finite remarks on a headphone we didn't sell directly to a customer, and well after the transaction has taken place. I do hope that when a dealer sells a headphone to a customer they accurately show the headphone, regardless if it's being sold as A or B stock.

If it was sold by Stefan at HAA it'd definitely be worth getting in touch with him. As he carried this transaction through, not zmf directly. He may remember the set and whether the marking/split was on it when it was sold or not.

Again - were happy to examine the headphone in person to see if it was ever repaired, is an open crack, is a shallow wood characteristic etc etc.

This can be deleted.

 

[dougq]

I think you're misunderstanding the issue. It's a 1mm deep crack originating from the screw socket. Not filled in. I wish you had the courage to say whether that is normal. Should we now assume this is the ZMF standard? The issue here is a dishonest seller, who tried to hide said crack, and is now claiming that such cracks are to be expected of handmade ZMF headphones.

Whether it was like this when it left the retailer is beside the point - it was sold at 100% full price, and he made the decision to take it. Had he not hidden said crack, it'd be a different matter.

To simplify it further - is this what you would consider to be A stock, new condition? Does it adhere to the ZMF standard?

He clearly indicated in a prior post they don't sell headphones that are not stabilized. It's might not be possible to determine that over forum pictures.

 

[Roderick]

Edit: We found the email regarding this headphone! Zach replied and we will help in any way possible!

Thanks ZMF for fast reply! I will handle this with zach via email. No need to crowd this thread over the matter anymore.

 

[jnak00]

I think you're misunderstanding the issue. It's a 1mm deep crack originating from the screw socket. Not filled in. I wish you had the courage to say whether that is normal. Should we now assume this is the ZMF standard? The issue here is a dishonest seller, who tried to hide said crack, and is now claiming that such cracks are to be expected of handmade ZMF headphones.

Whether it was like this when it left the retailer is beside the point - it was sold at 100% full price, and he made the decision to take it. Had he not hidden said crack, it'd be a different matter.

To simplify it further - is this what you would consider to be A stock, new condition? Does it adhere to the ZMF standard?

Not sure why you're so upset over someone else's headphones, which ZMF didn't even sell. If you've already concluded the seller is dishonest, why would you believe when they say it's expected of ZMF headphones? Look at all the comments from people who have purchased A-stock headphones from ZMF directly - have you ever seen someone complain about an imperfection like that? If this were normal, you would see a lot more complaints, particularly at the prices the products command.

 

[Twizzleshnizzle]

Not sure why you're so upset over someone else's headphones, which ZMF didn't even sell. If you've already concluded the seller is dishonest, why would you believe when they say it's expected of ZMF headphones? Look at all the comments from people who have purchased A-stock headphones from ZMF directly - have you ever seen someone complain about an imperfection like that? If this were normal, you would see a lot more complaints, particularly at the prices the products command.

We all know this is a re-seller issue. ZMF are a ridiculously customer friendly manufacturer.

Tomorrow I'm writing to the Vatican... Zach for Patron Saint of Headphones!!!

 

[Pharmaboy]

But it's like being a teacher and ranking 6 of your straight A students.

ba-da-BING!

 

[Pharmaboy]

We all know this is a re-seller issue. ZMF are a ridiculously customer friendly manufacturer.

Tomorrow I'm writing to the Vatican... Zach for Patron Saint of Headphones!!!

Potential problem with sainthood: many saints achieved their status via martyrdom.

(just saying)

 

[Roderick]

How they differ from the Atticus?

These are naturally very early impressions so grain of salt and so forth. I think Aeolus is more neutral. I would characterize it punchy and agile vs Atticus being powerfull and robust. Atticus has excellent timbre but because of cup colorations it not always that apparent. Aeolus on other hand is always very natural sounding. So far Aeolus has not yet given me those "WOW!" moments like Atticus does on regular basis. There are things Atticus does expectionally well (strings, live-albums) but it sometimes falls short when things pick up pace with more complex stuff. At this early stage of listening Aeolus seems like a more solid allrounder which does not excel with anything particular but always does a good job without having downsides of Atticus. It would be hard to pick a favorite. Surprisingly I think Atticus has a bigger soundstage. Maybe it's the cup reflections playing tricks or something else. Whatever it is soundstage size on Atticus is remarkable for a closed headphone. Going by memory I think it's bigger than on th900 and on par or bigger than JVC dx1000.

 

[Hamlap]

I've heard only good things about the Jot2 + ZMF combo.

I've also heard that Gustard's new H16 amp is great for the Aeolus. Considering its price, power and performance, it seems like an insane deal. Their older H20 flagship is the best SS amp I ever got to hear with my Aeolus before I was forced to sell both, so if the H16 is anywhere near as good, it'll be great.

Did you try the H16 with the Aeolus ?

 

[arar]

So many "I've heard good things!" amps in the ~500usd price bracket, so little time and money... I keep going between SA-1 and RebelAmp and Jot 2 and some tube hybrids and now Gustard H16 too as my next/permanent-ish amp upgrade. Even if the pandemic wasn't a thing, I don't think I'd have any way to audition any of them, so it's just gonna be a blind purchase. Going by the impressions online, Jot 2 sounds closest to what I want (warm and punchy), but it's also the one with the most technical/QA issue posts I've seen.