[gonintendo]

Guys chill this is a forum about listening to music on headphones for fun

 

[rustydabear]

I love how we are a bit like a momma bear defending our favourite cubs, ZMF and Zach

 

[joshua1122]

I think EQing is great but pad swapping is pretty different. If the pad geometry is different it might be solving problems you can’t with EQ (ant least not very easily or potentially as consistently). Pad material is similar, I’ve never been able to EQ an ZMF suede pad to sound like leather. Everyone should try both IMO.

That's a very good point, indeed. And I agree ZMF suede does have a different sound characteristic that doesn't seem to be associated with the FR.

If there's a dip in your ear's perceived tuning FR because of phase cancellation, throwing more dB's at it will only give you distortion around the region, whereas a different pad geometry could potentially overcome the dips.

I have a Focal Elegia that has a perceived 14dB dip around 4.3kHz/Q=4 with the stock pads, and it is awful sounding. I can add +6dB to it before it starts sounding awfully distorted and destroying everything around it. But swap pads with a Dekoni, and that dip goes away. It feels like a miracle of a fix.

 

[wkesquire]

I am satisfied by many other companies service and service starts with how you handle you terms and documentation.

Ok, and from what I’ve seen in this thread, you’ve gotten excellent customer service from @zach915m. He’s clarified the policy, including which drivers it applies to (i.e., all of them whether dynamic or planar) and how it applies even to owners other than the original owner. The policy and everything he has said publicly in this forum is completely reasonable. You may think that’s subjective, but I’d wager that you’d be an outlier in your view that the policy and the service you’ve gotten here is unreasonable.

Unless you’ve bought ZMF headphones and have direct experience with their customer service as an owner that contradicts the excellent service that you appear to have received here as a prospective customer, I’d encourage you to take very seriously the overwhelmingly positive reports of ZMFs customer service that you are hearing in this thread.

I love how we are a bit like a momma bear defending our favourite cubs, ZMF and Zach

Haha… I agree, but think it’s worth making one more point, which I’m directing again towards @Sharppain, then I’ll shut up and get back to talking about headphones.

Most of the people in the thread have never met Zach personally, but they seem to like and even love his headphones and respect the service ZMF provides. Elsewhere on this forum, you’ll find headfiers who love other headphones by other manufacturers but have far less positive things to say about the customer service they receive. That says a lot, and even if you’ve had similarly positive experiences with other companies, I don’t think it’s controversial to say the customer service you get from ZMF is as good or about as good as a customer should expect. If I were in your shoes (and I was last year) I would feel comfortable investing in a set of ZMF headphones from a customer service standpoint. Now from a sound standpoint, I assume you know what you like.

 

[zach915m]

Fourth, I am satisfied by many other companies service and service starts with how you handle you terms and documentation.

I changed the terms to be for all drivers not just dynamic immediately when you pointed that out. Do let me know if you find that stated elsewhere on our website. We don't have a dedicated team aside from me to doing this as our company is geared towards building headphones more-so. Thank you.

 

[Monsterzero]

Wow, you think the Caldera has the ZMF house sound! Well, I heard something else elsewhere!

It is quite clearly a ZMF headphone, with the ZMF house sound:
warm, non fatiguing, incredible texture, off the charts musicality, hard hitting satisfying bass, gorgeous mids.

I have the Caldera, Atrium, Verite open, Verite closed, Auteur classic, Auteur OG and used to own the Atticus and reviewed the Aeolus, so yeah, I think I know what a ZMF sounds like.

And second, where did I complained on sound!?

I was speaking in general terms. Sound is highly subjective.

Third, 'none better' is quite subjective.

Well, after 57 years on this planet I've had my fair share of crappy customer service. In the USA we do not have any laws protecting us from garbage products like you guys in Europe do, so as an American consumer I take bad customer service quite seriously and am personally livid and insulted by being taken advantage of.

My wife and I had to buy a new dishwasher last week because our 15 month old LG dishwasher literally died on us. We had a 5 year extended warranty on it, but the soonest a repair guy could come out was in January, so $1100.00 plus extended warranty cost flushed down the toilet, not to mention the cost of our new dishwasher, the cost of having it installed as well, so yeah I think i'm pretty qualified to know the difference between excellent customer service vs. predatory indifference.

Focusing just on the headphone hobby, I've had less than satisfactory customer service from Sony( HAP S1) Focal (Clear) and Hifiman ( HE6).

Perhaps you're new to ZMF headphones, but their customer service is next level and IMO the very last thing anyone could complain about.

 

[joshua1122]

Unless you’ve bought ZMF headphones and have direct experience with their customer service as an owner that contradicts the excellent service that you appear to have received here as a prospective customer, I’d encourage you to take very seriously the overwhelmingly positive reports of ZMFs customer service that you are hearing in this thread.

I've had 4 interactions with ZMF support just this past month, and they've always been incredible!

1. DIY cable kit showed shipped but not picked up by USPS: Reply in 1 business day, given explanation of backlog (I don't blame them, with ZMF November and Caldera), shipped and received over the weekend.
2. Zach personally offered the wood case option to early Kingwood Caldera buyers that didn't have the option. I said yes, and the 5 emails back and forth were done within an hour!
3. Asked that Stabilized Atrium #213 for my wife could have the Owner's Card in her name. 66 minutes later, they emailed back saying it's been updated.
4. Caldera came with OFC cable broken around the splitter. 95 minutes later (at 8:14PM, no less), they acknowledged and will be sending replacement next day!

I have had customer support with other US companies (e.g., Schiit, etc.) and they've always been slower or no response. I've had customer support with Chi-Fi companies where responses are days, and shipping takes another week (plus extra delivery overseas).

ZMF has done a great job as a US small business, and I applaud them for it.

 

[breckstar]

I think EQing is great but pad swapping is pretty different. If the pad geometry is different it might be solving problems you can’t with EQ (ant least not very easily or potentially as consistently). Pad material is similar, I’ve never been able to EQ an ZMF suede pad to sound like leather. Everyone should try both IMO.

That's a very good point, indeed. And I agree ZMF suede does have a different sound characteristic that doesn't seem to be associated with the FR.

If there's a dip in your ear's perceived tuning FR because of phase cancellation, throwing more dB's at it will only give you distortion around the region, whereas a different pad geometry could potentially overcome the dips.

I have a Focal Elegia that has a perceived 14dB dip around 4.3kHz/Q=4 with the stock pads, and it is awful sounding. I can add +6dB to it before it starts sounding awfully distorted and destroying everything around it. But swap pads with a Dekoni, and that dip goes away. It feels like a miracle of a fix.

Agreed 100%. The pad is more or less the room like with speakers. You are changing a lot of factors with the exterior pad material, perf/no perf, size of perfs, foam, inner volume, speaker distance and angle relative to ear, and probably more. EQ won't fix it or make one sound the like the other, just another tool in the belt.

 

[Jaebug]

I guess I'm an optimist because I just assumed the warranty page hadn't been updated yet rather than this being an elaborate plot to exempt the Caldera from the coverage

Keeping this Caldera related, will the oak age/get a patina the same way lighter woods like maple and cherry do?

 

[dfiled]

But if someone has something specific they want to address, like treble sensitivity or wanting more/less prominence at a particular frequency, EQ can be like a scalpel.

 

[DenverW]

I own a Susvara and feel the same way you do. I realize I might be in the minority, but for me the D8000 Pro betters the Susvara in resolution and adds impact and liveliness. I defintely prefer the D8000 pro. That said, I would not disparage the Susvara. I do not use mine much, but I certainly respect it.

Now, because this is a ZMF thread, I have a question. I like bright sound, but rich. I do not like boosted lower midrange that congests vocals. I do like impact/slam, value clarity above all else, and generally, I prefer a neutral sound. I do not like treble roll-off, but I do not want it to stick out either. If anything, I prefer forward midrange to recessed. I have heard some say the Atrium or Auteur Classic would be a great choice for me. I hear people clambering for a Caldera Closed - is one scheduled to come out? If so, is there an idea about how it might sound?

For people who have heard the D8000 Pro, given how much I like it, can someone recommend which ZMF headphone that might sound most similar? Only flaw I find is D8000 Pro vocals a little too chesty and I'd like mids a touch more forward, while remaining natural.

Thanks for any help.

I just wanted to ad to @helljudgement by mentioning if you do get to demo the caldera look for suede caldera pads. I feel that based on your preference they would be a better fit for you vs stock.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

@zach915m Are there any hybrid pads in the works for the Caldera?

 

[DenverW]

Wow, you think the Caldera has the ZMF house sound! Well, I heard something else elsewhere!
And second, where did I complained on sound!? You are not capturing the core of my comments.
Third, 'none better' is quite subjective. And also depends on what you had the chance to try/test/listen/have.
Fourth, I am satisfied by many other companies service and service starts with how you handle you terms and documentation.

Hey there! If you’d like I’d be happy to chat via PM and share experiences with zmf in areas like repair and customer service. Sometimes when things shift away from the forum topic of the headphones they can get a bit heated. If you’d like to hear personal experiences just hit me up.

 

[zach915m]

@zach915m Are there any hybrid pads in the works for the Caldera?

Not yet, I tested a couple but they didn't offer enough or a difference to make me want to offer them like they do with dynamics. Maybe at some point but my goal is not to unnecessarily confuse people with too much!

 

[misternoe]

woohoo shipping notification about an hour ago. Base model w/aluminum purchased right at launch.