[ohcrapgorillas]

Yes these headphones are great value for their SQ and dynamics, but be prepared to purchase a decent desktop amp to power them. These are for home use and not a good a portable solution. I have used them unplugged with my iFi Micro BL and they work very well, but as a smartphone or DAP only solution its a no-go. A stackable AMP+DAP/phone solution is a must if you want to use these unplugged, Also these cans leak sound so if you are around others in a quiet office environment close to others they will be able to hear your music. They are best used at home or in a private office with a powerful desktop headphone amp.

Actually in terms of portable units, the Chord Mojo has done very impressive work driving these cans. I was NOT expecting this, given how much power it requires from desktop amps, but the Mojo is no 'mere' portable DAC/amp. I'm not the only person to notice that it has good synergy with the T50RP... but all that said, I would balk at the idea of trying to drive these with a low powered portable unit or something... so your point still stands: if you're going to make them portable cans, prepare to bring some gear with serious power.
(edited out the word Fiio)

I also use them in my office with no issues, and I have visitors in here frequently. I often ask if people can hear the music through the headphones and no one has told me they've heard anything. I'd say they're fine for an office as long as you're not in close proximity. I would not, for example, wear them on an airplane, or in a library, but offices are good to go. Anyone working in here (which contains my desk as well as a couple of specialty microscopes, some computers with expensive software, and a window AC unit for some background noise) is going to be around 4-5 ft from me at the closest, and it seems unlikely that sound leakage would bother anyone at that distance. YMMV

 

[kukkurovaca]

s. I was NOT expecting this, given how much power it requires from desktop amps, but the Mojo is no 'mere' portable DAC/amp. I'm not the only person to notice that it has good synergy with the T50RP... but all that said, I would balk at the idea of trying to drive these with a portable Fiio unit or something

Fiio A5 has more output power than the Mojo...

 

[Grayven]

Fiio A5 has more output power than the Mojo...

yeah, i can drive my Blackwood with the Q5 balanced connection easily.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

Ah, my bad guys, I edited my comment. I admit it's been a while since I kept up with portable units... since I got my Mojo. I was not familiar with the A5 and Q5.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Been listening to the ZMF Classic, don't have the Argon Mk3 on hand anymore but I had it as recently as a week ago. Boy do they sound similar... and before you say "duh, they're both modified Fostex T50RPs", the ZMF Blackwood and Ori sound much different than both of these. My Classic has the double entry cable design, a nice advantage it enjoys over other T50RP mods. The cable connectors are angled forward a bit which is ideal, even the Ori and Blackwood don't have that. The assembly of the headphone, particularly the headband I guess, is tighter on ZMF's planars than the stock T50RP MK3 and the Argon, making them more rigid and less wobbly which is great.

The Classic is, like the Argon, very dark, very bassy. Bass extends clearly below 20 Hz, treble up to 18 KHz like the Argon. Much deeper bass than the stock T50RP MK3, and much better everything. The Argon has more bass quantity, but the quality is the same to my ears.

The Argon Mk3 is known for having a wide sound stage for a $300 closed back, and the Classic sounds again very similar. Negligible difference in sound stage I'll say.

The ZMF Classic cleans up the sloppy treble of the stock T50RP MK3, and I hear no treble problems anymore. The Argon accomplishes the same thing. Treble performance is extremely similar with both; laid back but without significant dips that would cause problems, much lower treble response though than the ZMF Blackwood and Ori. Mids are nice and thick, more clear than stock T50RP MK3. No mid range frequency sticks out more than others to my ears.

Both get my top recommendation in this price range. I am surprised how similar they sound. The primary difference is the Argon has more bass quantity.

 

[Wes S]

Been listening to the ZMF Classic, don't have the Argon Mk3 on hand anymore but I had it as recently as a week ago. Boy do they sound similar... and before you say "duh, they're both modified Fostex T50RPs", the ZMF Blackwood and Ori sound much different than both of these. My Classic has the double entry cable design, a nice advantage it enjoys over other T50RP mods. The cable connectors are angled forward a bit which is ideal, even the Ori and Blackwood don't have that. The assembly of the headphone, particularly the headband I guess, is tighter on ZMF's planars than the stock T50RP MK3 and the Argon, making them more rigid and less wobbly which is great.

The Classic is, like the Argon, very dark, very bassy. Bass extends clearly below 20 Hz, treble up to 18 KHz like the Argon. Much deeper bass than the stock T50RP MK3, and much better everything. The Argon has more bass quantity, but the quality is the same to my ears.

The Argon Mk3 is known for having a wide sound stage for a $300 closed back, and the Classic sounds again very similar. Negligible difference in sound stage I'll say.

The ZMF Classic cleans up the sloppy treble of the stock T50RP MK3, and I hear no treble problems anymore. The Argon accomplishes the same thing. Treble performance is extremely similar with both; laid back but without significant dips that would cause problems, much lower treble response though than the ZMF Blackwood and Ori. Mids are nice and thick, more clear than stock T50RP MK3. No mid range frequency sticks out more than others to my ears.

Both get my top recommendation in this price range. I am surprised how similar they sound. The primary difference is the Argon has more bass quantity.

Great review! I own the Classic and have been very curious about the Argon. The Classic, have insane bass, so the Argon must really be insane. The love bass, and have to have it, and the Classic really satisfy, but now I want to hear the bass on the Argon. I just bought an Ori, that I sent off to Zach to test and make sure everything was correct, so the Argon will have to wait. However after reading your thoughts, I now know that I will have to get the Argon soon.

 

[tetan001]

Been listening to the ZMF Classic, don't have the Argon Mk3 on hand anymore but I had it as recently as a week ago. Boy do they sound similar... and before you say "duh, they're both modified Fostex T50RPs", the ZMF Blackwood and Ori sound much different than both of these. My Classic has the double entry cable design, a nice advantage it enjoys over other T50RP mods. The cable connectors are angled forward a bit which is ideal, even the Ori and Blackwood don't have that. The assembly of the headphone, particularly the headband I guess, is tighter on ZMF's planars than the stock T50RP MK3 and the Argon, making them more rigid and less wobbly which is great.

The Classic is, like the Argon, very dark, very bassy. Bass extends clearly below 20 Hz, treble up to 18 KHz like the Argon. Much deeper bass than the stock T50RP MK3, and much better everything. The Argon has more bass quantity, but the quality is the same to my ears.

The Argon Mk3 is known for having a wide sound stage for a $300 closed back, and the Classic sounds again very similar. Negligible difference in sound stage I'll say.

The ZMF Classic cleans up the sloppy treble of the stock T50RP MK3, and I hear no treble problems anymore. The Argon accomplishes the same thing. Treble performance is extremely similar with both; laid back but without significant dips that would cause problems, much lower treble response though than the ZMF Blackwood and Ori. Mids are nice and thick, more clear than stock T50RP MK3. No mid range frequency sticks out more than others to my ears.

Both get my top recommendation in this price range. I am surprised how similar they sound. The primary difference is the Argon has more bass quantity.

Excellent review and comparison Rhamnetin, to my knowledge this is the only direct comparison of these two headphones that are available online. Thank you for this and the other awesome comments you leave around head-fi.

I had some curiosity about the Argon, but honestly I find the ZMF Classic's bass to be if anything on the strong side of what I prefer. Don't get me wrong, I love these headphones and they are fantastic for their versatility, but any more bass than the Classics have would probably be too much for me. I have a set of SHP-9500s as well that I use for gaming, but it sounds like if I go for another set at some point I'll try to get something that rests between the two as the SHPs are on the bright side!

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Excellent review and comparison Rhamnetin, to my knowledge this is the only direct comparison of these two headphones that are available online. Thank you for this and the other awesome comments you leave around head-fi.

I had some curiosity about the Argon, but honestly I find the ZMF Classic's bass to be if anything on the strong side of what I prefer. Don't get me wrong, I love these headphones and they are fantastic for their versatility, but any more bass than the Classics have would probably be too much for me. I have a set of SHP-9500s as well that I use for gaming, but it sounds like if I go for another set at some point I'll try to get something that rests between the two as the SHPs are on the bright side!

I have Argons and modded SHP 9500s, the 9500s are noticeably brighter, switching between the two is like walking out of a casino at 8 am and not advised.

 

[legion1capone]

I've owned my ZMF Classic's now for roughly 2 months. I purchased the Classic's with the balanced connections. I have to start off by saying Zach has some of the best customer service I've ever experienced from any company small or large. He was responding to every email within the hour and very helpful. Zach even through in the balanced cable for free! Now onto my impressions. Holy cow what a headphone for the price! The sub bass is ridiculous. I've never heard a headphone literally rattle on my head playing notes you feel not hear. It's awesome. I can't imagine what the Argon's would sound like, this is definitely the most bass I've yet heard from a headphone. It actually took a bit to get used to at first. Blew me away. The sound that these cans produce is so full and easy to listen to I literally find myself just getting lost in my music. Can you really ask for much more than that!? I've let 2 friends borrow them and one came over for a listen. Every single one of them was blown away by how good they sound. I compared them to my buddies AKG K7XX. Comparing the 2 was frankly pointless, at least to me. The K7XX sounded so boring in comparison and did nothing other than have an airier soundstage with a bit more depth. I'm not good with descriptive words about what I hear, but what I can go by is the pure enjoyment factor. I love these headphones, period! They give me hours of enjoyment. I am very curious as to how much better the Emotiva A-100 will make these sound over my Aune X7S+XP1 through the balanced output. I've read the X7S is not the cleanest headphone amp. I've already found that it doesn't play well with lower impendance headphones. But luckily I just order the monoprice liquid spark. I wish I could be more help with promoting the Classic's because they really are very good for the money! Does anyone know of any other headphone out there under $400 that can come close? Other than another T50RP modded headphone...

 

[Ipek]

The comparison to Argons is interesting. I now know that I definitely would not like Argons. Maybe I am just weak, but I don't think I could handle more bass than the classics. I could not even handle the classics. I had to remove some of the tape covering the bass vents to lower the bass for my pair. This can was definitely made with bass heads in mind.

 

[znev777]

Oof, these are looking more and more attractive. I've been looking to try a planar, and also something closed. I'm trying to find a more natural companion to my nighthawks and the 6XX just aren't cutting it. They sound shouty and unnatural, and the lack of sub bass makes me a little sad.

 

[omniweltall]

Oof, these are looking more and more attractive. I've been looking to try a planar, and also something closed. I'm trying to find a more natural companion to my nighthawks and the 6XX just aren't cutting it. They sound shouty and unnatural, and the lack of sub bass makes me a little sad.

Which SS amp are you using, mate? Not easy to make the 6XX sound shouty.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

^my thoughts exactly, they are being driven by something shouty somewhere in the chain. They are very smooth and warm, the opposite of shouty on their own. That said, I do think the Classics are superior in a lot of ways, especially bass.

 

[znev777]

Which SS amp are you using, mate? Not easy to make the 6XX sound shouty.

I have a Jds element, and was using a ifi idsd nano for a while with the same issue. I think I have a little bit of tinnitus and I think the upper mids are a little forward and harsh for me. Previously I was using a pair of shp9500, which are suppose to be a little bright with somewhat weak mids and I never had a real problem with them. I've been using the nighthawks as my daily's and they are certainly gentler on my ears.

 

[omniweltall]

I have a Jds element, and was using a ifi idsd nano for a while with the same issue. I think I have a little bit of tinnitus and I think the upper mids are a little forward and harsh for me. Previously I was using a pair of shp9500, which are suppose to be a little bright with somewhat weak mids and I never had a real problem with them. I've been using the nighthawks as my daily's and they are certainly gentler on my ears.

Strange that you find the nighthawks gentler than HD6XX. But I'm sure you hear what you hear.

I recommend you to get a tube amp to pair with the Senns. OTL is really good with them, but I rarely recommend that if you're looking to drive other cans too, especially planar.

Hope you find a audio chain to your taste.