[KaiFi]

Just got mine--twenty minutes before leaving for the day! It needed a signature, so I'm really glad I was here for that.

Initial build impressions are that they are beautiful, much darker and redder than I thought. They feel pretty heavy in the hand, but when you put them on your head, the weight is better distributed than the Atticus. They're also not very clampy at all. So they're surprisingly comfortable for being as bulky as they are. Isolation is better than the Atticus, but that makes sense because the Atticus is effectively semi-closed.

Initial listening impressions are positive; I think the default pads may be a bit too warm for me, but they're not quite as bassy as I was thinking they would be. Some of you had me worried these would be boomier than the Atticus, but that is not my impression. The Atticus with the default pads is an insane bass cannon; it was basically unlistenable in that state to me and I could only listen with the suede pads. That is not the case with the Bokeh. I'm noticing these do need a bit more power to get to the volume I want, but overall they just sound very balanced--they're warm, but I'm hearing more high-end than on the Atticus, which was a little too rolled off sometimes. Just tested with some hip hop (Young Thug), some indie pop (Frances Forever), and later I'll test with classical, which is what's most important to me. I'll also test with the other pads later too.

Anyway, that's all I can do right now before I have to get to class, but very positive first impressions (And this is just listening with the headphone port on my MacBook Pro because I am sadly amp-less right now).

 

[keithw]

You gotta try the hybrids *chef's kiss*

 

[erics75]

Just got mine--twenty minutes before leaving for the day! It needed a signature, so I'm really glad I was here for that.

Initial build impressions are that they are beautiful, much darker and redder than I thought. They feel pretty heavy in the hand, but when you put them on your head, the weight is better distributed than the Atticus. They're also not very clampy at all. So they're surprisingly comfortable for being as bulky as they are. Isolation is better than the Atticus, but that makes sense because the Atticus is effectively semi-closed.

Initial listening impressions are positive; I think the default pads may be a bit too warm for me, but they're not quite as bassy as I was thinking they would be. Some of you had me worried these would be boomier than the Atticus, but that is not my impression. The Atticus with the default pads is an insane bass cannon; it was basically unlistenable in that state to me and I could only listen with the suede pads. That is not the case with the Bokeh. I'm noticing these do need a bit more power to get to the volume I want, but overall they just sound very balanced--they're warm, but I'm hearing more high-end than on the Atticus, which was a little too rolled off sometimes. Just tested with some hip hop (Young Thug), some indie pop (Frances Forever), and later I'll test with classical, which is what's most important to me. I'll also test with the other pads later too.

Anyway, that's all I can do right now before I have to get to class, but very positive first impressions (And this is just listening with the headphone port on my MacBook Pro because I am sadly amp-less right now).

Were you running an amp on the Atticus when you had it? I'm wondering if the Bokeh's bass is just not present when underpowered. When I compared my Atticus and Bokeh side by side with stock pads on both the Bokeh was the bassier set to me. But that was running both headphones on powerful desktop amps. What I was hearing was stronger initial transient strikes on the Bokeh. That initial thump hit harder. But after the leading edge of the bass note transitions to decay, the Atticus would decay just a bit slower, giving it a bit more fullness. But the transient performance of the Bokeh was so strong and dominant that no matter how I listened to it, when comparing to the Atticus it just sounds bassier to me.

Let us know how the Bokeh sounds when amped when you can, I'm eager to hear your feedback.

 

[Alenotta]

Anyone have a cable they think looks/pairs really nice with the Bokeh? Affordability is good but please feel free to share any.

I love the look of the ZMF braided 4.4 tbh. It has like parachute cable / camera strap pattern on it. I think Zach is going to offer more of that for the other cable terminations. I haven't tested 3rd party cables on the Bokeh because I don't have any others of this type in the collection.

 

[erics75]

I love the look of the ZMF braided 4.4 tbh. It has like parachute cable / camera strap pattern on it. I think Zach is going to offer more of that for the other cable terminations. I haven't tested 3rd party cables on the Bokeh because I don't have any others of this type in the collection.

I have a Hart Audio cable I use for my Focals and it sounds as good/the same as the stock ZMF cable to my ears. Way more pliable though, which I like.

 

[GarlicBiscuit]

Anyone have a cable they think looks/pairs really nice with the Bokeh? Affordability is good but please feel free to share any.

I have an Arctic cable currently being made that I plan to use with the Bokeh (whenever it arrives later this year). I have their budget cable, the Core series, for my HD 800 and it has done me great. Very flexible, plenty of options for custom splitters and sleeve colors, and it doesn't tangle too easily.

 

[DenverW]

For all the new bokeh owners I want to mention that it was a steadily improving headphone over the first 20 hours at least. However you do or don’t subscribe to burn in I’d give it a bit of time before making a full impression. I’ve noticed many of the other reviews have mentioned this as well.

 

[KaiFi]

Is there any way to order the stock 4.4m cable for the Bokeh separately? Seems that the cables for sale on their website are all still mini-XLR only...

 

[alreadyused]

Is there any way to order the stock 4.4m cable for the Bokeh separately? Seems that the cables for sale on their website are all still mini-XLR only...

Send them an email at support@zmfheadphones.com and they will get it done.

 

[zach915m]

Btw, any recommendation for a carrying case for the Bokeh?

ZMF is supposed to be releasing a carry case Q1 this year

Our case is nearly done I'll have it on the site soon. It's fairly sizeable but I made it so the headphone sits flat so it fits in a backpack nicely.

Is there any way to order the stock 4.4m cable for the Bokeh separately? Seems that the cables for sale on their website are all still mini-XLR only...

I'll have these on the site this week.

 

[KirinX]

While these are amazingly good all-rounders, I think the genres I'm enjoying most on these are 80s Rock/Synth/Pop, and Lo-Fi. And I don't feel like it's an insult to say that Lo-Fi sounds good on a set of cans...

 

[MarkPharaohII]

Got mine today. Nice having a ZMF in the home again. For a more "portable" offering from ZMF these things are HEAVY in the hand (but are fine on the head). Cable seems to have some memory which I'm not a fan of, but probably needs more time to relax. I am finding the installed pads to be quite shallow, the top of my ears, especially the right one, is touching the mesh liner. That didn't happen with my Eikons and not sure if I'll get use to that or not. The sound itself right out of the box has been great considering the price of these cans.

 

[DaJustin]

Looking forward to giving them a listen.

 

[zach915m]

Got mine today. Nice having a ZMF in the home again. For a more "portable" offering from ZMF these things are HEAVY in the hand (but are fine on the head). Cable seems to have some memory which I'm not a fan of, but probably needs more time to relax. I am finding the installed pads to be quite shallow, the top of my ears, especially the right one, is touching the mesh liner. That didn't happen with my Eikons and not sure if I'll get use to that or not. The sound itself right out of the box has been great considering the price of these cans.

If your ears need more space don't forget the old paracord under the foam and above the pad mesh over the driver trick.

 

[haasaaroni]

If your ears need more space don't forget the old paracord under the foam and above the pad mesh over the driver trick.

I didn’t know this trick! I’ll absolutely try it out with my giant ears though. Is there any trick to it?