[Deleeh]

Hello,

I understand the anger quite well.
Make sure you have all the necessary papers.
Unfortunately, Zmf does not take care of them 100%.
They only add the confirmation certificate and that's it.
If the declaration of representation is missing at customs, the whole thing will be delayed.
That's what happened to me when my Atrium went to Germany with Fedex.
The declaration of representation that you are allowed to represent it was missing.
That's why the package was at the Fedex station for almost an extra week.
And it was almost impossible to communicate with the incompetence of the Fedex hotline.
It took me half a day to find out what the problem was.

The easiest thing to do is to search online for a declaration of representation from the shipping company in your country, fill it out and ask Zmf to add it to the shipping documents.
Or you can upload it online to your shipping company.
It is also important that you have an Eori number, if you have it, customs will process it much faster.

I also have to take Zmf to task for not being able to provide ready-made documents that you only have to fill in and sign.
That requires additional staff for the company.
Since the headphones go all over the world, the buyers themselves usually know the shipping company of their country better.
Especially shipping to Europe facilitates these things best as I have described.
Since one waits after the order anyway, it is a small effort for buyers to take care of it.
Since last year, Europeans in particular have to take care of this even more intensively.

I will test this personally with my next Zmf purchase.
After the whole thing with Fedex, I'll use dhl and make sure all the paperwork is ready before shipping.
The headphones do go through but it takes time and depending on the country, customs clearance can take longer because of missing/incomplete paperwork.
This annoys the customs officers because it requires more effort for them and they have to open the parcels or call them in and open them personally.

This article is not meant to be a deterrent.
I am only telling you this so that you know why there can be delays.
You can still order from Zmf without any problems, but inform yourself beforehand so that you know what you have to do yourself, which will save you additional waiting time and trouble with customs.

In Europe, since last year, the order is that if the sender does not declare it sufficiently, the recipient has to do it himself.
This was the case when I ordered my amplifier from Australia a few weeks ago.
Another example,a private person from England sent me the Hiby player on a test basis.
from Hiby.
It got stuck at customs for several weeks because of missing declaration.
As a private recipient, you now have to do a bit more to ensure that you receive your parcel smoothly, especially in the EU.

Hope this helps.

 

[DeepBrown]

Hello,

I understand the anger quite well.
Make sure you have all the necessary papers.
Unfortunately, Zmf does not take care of them 100%.
They only add the confirmation certificate and that's it.
If the declaration of representation is missing at customs, the whole thing will be delayed.
That's what happened to me when my Atrium went to Germany with Fedex.
The declaration of representation that you are allowed to represent it was missing.
That's why the package was at the Fedex station for almost an extra week.
And it was almost impossible to communicate with the incompetence of the Fedex hotline.
It took me half a day to find out what the problem was.

The easiest thing to do is to search online for a declaration of representation from the shipping company in your country, fill it out and ask Zmf to add it to the shipping documents.
Or you can upload it online to your shipping company.
It is also important that you have an Eori number, if you have it, customs will process it much faster.

I also have to take Zmf to task for not being able to provide ready-made documents that you only have to fill in and sign.
That requires additional staff for the company.
Since the headphones go all over the world, the buyers themselves usually know the shipping company of their country better.
Especially shipping to Europe facilitates these things best as I have described.
Since one waits after the order anyway, it is a small effort for buyers to take care of it.
Since last year, Europeans in particular have to take care of this even more intensively.

I will test this personally with my next Zmf purchase.
After the whole thing with Fedex, I'll use dhl and make sure all the paperwork is ready before shipping.
The headphones do go through but it takes time and depending on the country, customs clearance can take longer because of missing/incomplete paperwork.
This annoys the customs officers because it requires more effort for them and they have to open the parcels or call them in and open them personally.

This article is not meant to be a deterrent.
I am only telling you this so that you know why there can be delays.
You can still order from Zmf without any problems, but inform yourself beforehand so that you know what you have to do yourself, which will save you additional waiting time and trouble with customs.

In Europe, since last year, the order is that if the sender does not declare it sufficiently, the recipient has to do it himself.
This was the case when I ordered my amplifier from Australia a few weeks ago.
Another example,a private person from England sent me the Hiby player on a test basis.
from Hiby.
It got stuck at customs for several weeks because of missing declaration.
As a private recipient, you now have to do a bit more to ensure that you receive your parcel smoothly, especially in the EU.

Hope this helps.

Interesting, it definitely sounds a bit more complicated for the EU. I haven't had to deal with those factors for import to Canada, but I will take a look at any more required documents (I know sometimes items above a certain price require additional documentation).

I will say for my VC customs required another commercial invoice as the one ZMF included was not adequate in detail for them. Sometimes they want a better description of materials or item function. I've done that for this atrium shipment too but still waiting for response.

All that being said, I imagine I just need to be patient with customs, not much else to be done.

 

[Renexx]

Hello,

I understand the anger quite well.
Make sure you have all the necessary papers.
Unfortunately, Zmf does not take care of them 100%.
They only add the confirmation certificate and that's it.
If the declaration of representation is missing at customs, the whole thing will be delayed.
That's what happened to me when my Atrium went to Germany with Fedex.
The declaration of representation that you are allowed to represent it was missing.
That's why the package was at the Fedex station for almost an extra week.
And it was almost impossible to communicate with the incompetence of the Fedex hotline.
It took me half a day to find out what the problem was.

The easiest thing to do is to search online for a declaration of representation from the shipping company in your country, fill it out and ask Zmf to add it to the shipping documents.
Or you can upload it online to your shipping company.
It is also important that you have an Eori number, if you have it, customs will process it much faster.

I also have to take Zmf to task for not being able to provide ready-made documents that you only have to fill in and sign.
That requires additional staff for the company.
Since the headphones go all over the world, the buyers themselves usually know the shipping company of their country better.
Especially shipping to Europe facilitates these things best as I have described.
Since one waits after the order anyway, it is a small effort for buyers to take care of it.
Since last year, Europeans in particular have to take care of this even more intensively.

I will test this personally with my next Zmf purchase.
After the whole thing with Fedex, I'll use dhl and make sure all the paperwork is ready before shipping.
The headphones do go through but it takes time and depending on the country, customs clearance can take longer because of missing/incomplete paperwork.
This annoys the customs officers because it requires more effort for them and they have to open the parcels or call them in and open them personally.

This article is not meant to be a deterrent.
I am only telling you this so that you know why there can be delays.
You can still order from Zmf without any problems, but inform yourself beforehand so that you know what you have to do yourself, which will save you additional waiting time and trouble with customs.

In Europe, since last year, the order is that if the sender does not declare it sufficiently, the recipient has to do it himself.
This was the case when I ordered my amplifier from Australia a few weeks ago.
Another example,a private person from England sent me the Hiby player on a test basis.
from Hiby.
It got stuck at customs for several weeks because of missing declaration.
As a private recipient, you now have to do a bit more to ensure that you receive your parcel smoothly, especially in the EU.

Hope this helps.

DHL express only needs proof of the order and how much you paid in Euro for private online purchases. Applying the information early to DHL4you portal is important for a fast process.
You gave yourself extra stress because you chose to save some money with FedEx shipping

My VO is already in Leipzig after 2 days of shipping and ready for customs. Can only be physically stopped by customs agent or package overload due to political stuff like that. They held my VC one week because of backlog when Brexit bureaucracy hit the customs.

 

[joe]

Mod note: Hey guys, can we bring the conversation back to the Atrium?

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

Hi everyone,

I know the common advice is to buy ZMF Headphones for aesthetic reasons first and foremost, but have any of you been able to compare the lighter woods like the stock cherry and the Redwood burl vs some of the harder ones like the mallee burls or stabilized versions? How would you characterize the differences, sonically?

I ask because I auditioned a softer-wood Vérité open and bought the African Blackwood version, and thought, from memory, that there was a difference when it came to impact/percussiveness, transients (both attack and decay), and a bit less of a mellow, relaxing sound with the Blackwood.

I got to hear the stock cherry Atrium a couple of times on loaner tours and know that my preferences lean towards having the Universe pads and the solid mesh, which tilts the signature in a darker direction and subdues the upper-mids a bit, which I found fatiguing with the standard, more open mesh.

I hear the Atrium much as others do, as organic, lush, and analogue-sounding, with a lovely rounded, soft quality to the leading edges of notes, and superb, lingering decay. Would the harder woods alter these qualities much - especially the decay? Would the Atrium become harder-hitting and perhaps more fatiguing, e.g. in the upper mids/lower treble with a harder wood?

Thanks in advance for any impressions you may be able to offer!

 

[sp33ls]

Hi everyone,

I know the common advice is to buy ZMF Headphones for aesthetic reasons first and foremost, but have any of you been able to compare the lighter woods like the stock cherry and the Redwood burl vs some of the harder ones like the mallee burls or stabilized versions? How would you characterize the differences, sonically?

I ask because I auditioned a softer-wood Vérité open and bought the African Blackwood version, and thought, from memory, that there was a difference when it came to impact/percussiveness, transients (both attack and decay), and a bit less of a mellow, relaxing sound with the Blackwood.

I got to hear the stock cherry Atrium a couple of times on loaner tours and know that my preferences lean towards having the Universe pads and the solid mesh, which tilts the signature in a darker direction and subdues the upper-mids a bit, which I found fatiguing with the standard, more open mesh.

I hear the Atrium much as others do, as organic, lush, and analogue-sounding, with a lovely rounded, soft quality to the leading edges of notes, and superb, lingering decay. Would the harder woods alter these qualities much - especially the decay? Would the Atrium become harder-hitting and perhaps more fatiguing, e.g. in the upper mids/lower treble with a harder wood?

Thanks in advance for any impressions you may be able to offer!

The same things you observed on the VO apply to the AO, IME. I prefer a more dense wood with the AO over the cherry. Only because I enjoy a more exciting presentation and less decay in the mids.

IIRC, there are more in-depth comparisons here in this thread you can try and dig up if you’d like.

 

[heliosphann]

Hi everyone,

I know the common advice is to buy ZMF Headphones for aesthetic reasons first and foremost, but have any of you been able to compare the lighter woods like the stock cherry and the Redwood burl vs some of the harder ones like the mallee burls or stabilized versions? How would you characterize the differences, sonically?

I ask because I auditioned a softer-wood Vérité open and bought the African Blackwood version, and thought, from memory, that there was a difference when it came to impact/percussiveness, transients (both attack and decay), and a bit less of a mellow, relaxing sound with the Blackwood.

I got to hear the stock cherry Atrium a couple of times on loaner tours and know that my preferences lean towards having the Universe pads and the solid mesh, which tilts the signature in a darker direction and subdues the upper-mids a bit, which I found fatiguing with the standard, more open mesh.

I hear the Atrium much as others do, as organic, lush, and analogue-sounding, with a lovely rounded, soft quality to the leading edges of notes, and superb, lingering decay. Would the harder woods alter these qualities much - especially the decay? Would the Atrium become harder-hitting and perhaps more fatiguing, e.g. in the upper mids/lower treble with a harder wood?

Thanks in advance for any impressions you may be able to offer!

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-atrium-new-open-back-co-flagship.962609/page-146#post-17080173

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-atrium-new-open-back-co-flagship.962609/page-146#post-17080173

These are great comparisons, thank you! I'm a numbskull, somehow I missed this. My apologies.

Now I can't decide which to go with - they both sound so appealing!

@sp33ls - thank you, too, I appreciate the helpful reply.

 

[JackarlTwo]

Thanks to these headphones I've been rediscovering Black Sabbath and Deep Purple again. It just sounds so good. I grew up listening to these bands and Toni's downtuned guitar in Master of Reality sounds incredible. Combine that with Atrium's treble quality and you have a really dark, glorious sound.

 

[inthere]

Got Caldera Ultra Perf pads today and I think they're on my Atrium permanently. Also got stock Caldera pads but can't get myself to take the Ultras off yet. I didn't know Tony's guitar was downtuned on Master Of Reality, I'm usually good at catching that.

 

[goldwerger]

Got Caldera Ultra Perf pads today and I think they're on my Atrium permanently.

welcome to the club

 

[G8torbyte]

Got Caldera Ultra Perf pads today and I think they're on my Atrium permanently. Also got stock Caldera pads but can't get myself to take the Ultras off yet. I didn't know Tony's guitar was downtuned on Master Of Reality, I'm usually good at catching that.

welcome to the club

Gotta agree, the Ultra Perfs work very well with the AO. It is my most comfortable ZMF with the light cherry wood and the Ultra Perfs making it feel even better.

 

[goldwerger]

Late light listening to the Atrium with the ZMF Decware OTL amp.

Listening to this wonderful cover. The hits of the drum sticks are just wonderful and true. Can't recall ever enjoying this track as much before..

 

[Nuge]

Thanks to these headphones I've been rediscovering Black Sabbath and Deep Purple again. It just sounds so good. I grew up listening to these bands and Toni's downtuned guitar in Master of Reality sounds incredible. Combine that with Atrium's treble quality and you have a really dark, glorious sound.

Can't wait to get my Bimble Box Burl Atrium so I can listen to Paranoid (especially Planet Caravan and Fairies Wear Boots).

 

[helljudgement]

Combine that with Atrium's treble quality and you have a really dark, glorious sound.

Black Sabbath's titular album is just perfection is one of albums that is just constantly on rotation on every listening session. Warning is one of my favorite metal tracks with one of the best guitar solos and the Atrium fully encapsulate that dark, grungy feel and just a treat to listen.

Lately I've been on a Rush binge and the Atrium once again shine with the way it renders guitars and drums. Caress of Steel, 2112, Fly by Night the list goes on. Definitely give The Necromancer a listen on the Atrium.