[Anatidae]

 
I think any sort of discussion of these got buried under the Atticus and Eikon hype. Zach's cheapest model at $299 is a highly modified Fostex T50RP MK3, available single ended or balanced. In his own words..."Since the ZMF's were first introduced in 2011, we have learned a lot about what makes a headphone sound good and introduced our full line of custom planar magnetic headphones.  This presented an opportunity to add this knowledge as we designed the ZMF Classic mod for the Fostex t50rp MK III.  It worked...the ZMF Classic is truly an instant. Classic."
 
Graph below taken from the ZMF website - looks to increase the sub-bass significantly over stock and kills the 10khz peak. Graph shows a very natural, almost neutral set of headphones.
 
(NOTE: measurement rig has the 500-2000 KHZ area slightly recessed)
 

 
Has anyone picked these up and got any impressions to share?

 

 

[zach915m]

 
 
I think any sort of discussion of these got buried under the Atticus and Eikon hype. Zak's cheapest model at $299 is a highly modified Fostex T50RP MK3, available single ended or balanced. In his own words..."Since the ZMF's were first introduced in 2011, we have learned a lot about what makes a headphone sound good and introduced our full line of custom planar magnetic headphones.  This presented an opportunity to add this knowledge as we designed the ZMF Classic mod for the Fostex t50rp MK III.  It worked...the ZMF Classic is truly an instant. Classic."
 
Graph below taken from the ZMF website - looks to increase the sub-bass significantly over stock and kills the 10khz peak. Graph shows a very natural, almost neutral set of headphones.
 
(NOTE: measurement rig has the 500-2000 KHZ area slightly recessed)
 

 
Has anyone picked these up and got any impressions to share?

 
 
Since we released these we have significantly upgraded our measurement rig and I will post measurements of stock VS modded again later today with easier to read measurements.    @Ishcabible - at some point is coming out with a t50 mod blowout as well and had these for a month or two up until a couple weeks ago.  I know he's a fan of the classic.
 
I definitely think the Classic is our best value, as it offers most of what our more expensive stuff does sonically at a fraction of the price.  I'm happy to answer any questions anyone might have, otherwise I'll get out of the way!

 

[Anatidae]

   
 
Since we released these we have significantly upgraded our measurement rig and I will post measurements of stock VS modded again later today with easier to read measurements.    @Ishcabible - at some point is coming out with a t50 mod blowout as well and had these for a month or two up until a couple weeks ago.  I know he's a fan of the classic.
 
I definitely think the Classic is our best value, as it offers most of what our more expensive stuff does sonically at a fraction of the price.  I'm happy to answer any questions anyone might have, otherwise I'll get out of the way!

 
Thanks for the reply Zach - updated measurements would be great to see!
 
I'm going to be purchasing these and importing to the UK next pay day, so I'll be able to post my own impressions soon enough. Always good to hear the lessons learned and tech from the higher end models are trickling down into these.

 

[Anatidae]

   
 
Since we released these we have significantly upgraded our measurement rig and I will post measurements of stock VS modded again later today with easier to read measurements.    @Ishcabible - at some point is coming out with a t50 mod blowout as well and had these for a month or two up until a couple weeks ago.  I know he's a fan of the classic.
 
I definitely think the Classic is our best value, as it offers most of what our more expensive stuff does sonically at a fraction of the price.  I'm happy to answer any questions anyone might have, otherwise I'll get out of the way!

 
Sorry to trouble you again, but did you ever get round to putting together anything new measurements for these?

 

[Big Dawg]

I'm also curious to see the new measurements.

Question: if I plan to run these into a single-ended 1/4" jack, is there any benefit to getting the mini-XLR upgrade? For example, I read somewhere that there is a slight imbalance in the stock headphones L vs R that was due to the presence of the 3.5mm jack in only one cup. Any truth to this?

The only t50rp I've ever heard was the Mr. Speakers Alpha (Prime or Dog, I don't know which) that I heard 2-3 years ago at the NY Audio Show. They blew my mind due to the soundstage produced by a closed can, along with their tremendous warm but accurate musicality. Try as I might, I can't find any comparison between the alphas and the ZMFs.

I'm anticipating purchasing the ZMF Classics due to current budget constraints, but when I'm ready, how much of a step up to the Vibro and on to the Blackwood (for use in an office setting).

 

[zach915m]

Hey guys, sorry for the delay on this, I just wanted to get our newest rig build with better mics so I could get the most realistic measurements possible to you for the comparison.  The green line is the ZMF Classic, the yellow/orange line is the stock t50.  The classic has part of the driver enclosure mod that the Ori and Blackwood get.  A lot of the ideas for the mod came from all those other headphones, especially the damping scheme.  It has it's roots int he original ZMF t50 MK II mods but I was able to improve everything with this version.  I also find the txx MK III has much higher potential in modding than the MK II FWIW.  There are just more options to tweak the sound.  Thanks for the interest I'm happy to answer any questions.
 

 

[Big Dawg]

I get that your target is a downward-sloping response curve, but I'm curious for anyone that's heard it if the treble is too recessed?  I don't know how much I can hear above 10-15K, and I know that taming the peak in that range was a key goal in modding the txxrp mk2, so really I'm just asking how well the classic meets the goals you set for the target sound signature.  It certainly appears to be a much smoother curve!
 
BTW, I live in NJ and work in NY.  Is there anywhere I can go to hear one?

 

[Big Dawg]

   
Thanks for the reply Zach - updated measurements would be great to see!
 
I'm going to be purchasing these and importing to the UK next pay day, so I'll be able to post my own impressions soon enough. Always good to hear the lessons learned and tech from the higher end models are trickling down into these.

I don't know if you posted this elsewhere, but I am very interested to learn of your impressions.

 

[zach915m]

  I get that your target is a downward-sloping response curve, but I'm curious for anyone that's heard it if the treble is too recessed?  I don't know how much I can hear above 10-15K, and I know that taming the peak in that range was a key goal in modding the txxrp mk2, so really I'm just asking how well the classic meets the goals you set for the target sound signature.  It certainly appears to be a much smoother curve!
 
BTW, I live in NJ and work in NY.  Is there anywhere I can go to hear one?

 
Oops I missed this post.  We are basically smoothing the treble and taking out the peaks, they are mostly closed so they will not have the "air" that an open headphone does, but I wouldn't call them muted or anything like that.
 
There is a head fi meet in June on Long Island I believe, I'll have one there with me.

 

[Spaceman24]

Man I can't find a single review on these, but they look awesome! Does anyone have impressions out yet? Shopping this, the Shure srh1540 and Ultrasone Perfomance 880 (also considering Meze 99C, but don't think it'll be a big upgrade). Currently have Beyer COP and looking for overall upgrade

 

[gug42]

Hello,

How does it compare / compete against ZMF blackwood ? I find some hardness in trebble with the zmf blackwood .... it's seems from the frequency response to have some soft trebble, can you confirm ?

And by the way I didn't find any review

Thank you !

 

[Valens7]

Would be interested in learning from an experienced someone how the Classic MK3 stacks up against other quality T50RP mods that don't swap out the cups, such as LFF Paradox and MrSpeakers Mad Dog Pro. Or the Cascadia Talos, which is also a MK3 mod. The Classic is rather affordably priced and that FR looks pretty on point as far as laid-back neutrality goes.

 

[gug42]

Yep me too !
Well The frequency response is really interesting for me and wake up my curiosity about it

 

[jkjk123]

This looks like a great headphone for my sound signature preferences. Has anyone been able to try these out?

Also, are the oval pads the ones being used on these?

 

[HiFi8Lover]

Im planning to buy one for gaming as i heared it has a big soundstage for a closed cans