[zach915m]

@zach915m Caldera release tomorrow is at 830 or 9AM CST?

830 AM CST!

aiming for a Caldera. this will be my 1st TOTL headphone. My only pair atm is Sennheiser HD 560s. Spent a good 3 months prior to Socal Camjam diving down the audiophile rabbit hole. Tried Atrium open/close, Verite close, and had only 10 mins w/ Caldera before I had to leave. But within those 10 mins I knew they were the one. Been working copious overtime at work to save up for a headphone, amp, and dac.

Hey I'm honored. Please keep in touch with our team about how we can help make the experience the best it can be for you in any way - ZMF can be slightly confusing with different pads and the mantle mesh, but the chance to "tune" the sound to your liking is very high, and since you already heard it you should be good!

Wow, thanks for the detailed explanation!

I agree on Atticus, it's a monster but you have to be ready for it. It's very detailed, but surprisingly fast and powerful. I just got my first one of that model line with this past release, and I really enjoy it for the mid bass speed. I didn't really think of it like that until you described it that way, as I couldn't really put into words what I was hearing.

Very cool reading the process being outlined, and that ZMF uses custom made drivers. Also, years to develop! Now that is patience.

I'd love to hear the sound sometime what was wrong about the sound when you stuffed the other drivers into the other models chassis. Do you keep the early demo/build models or take them apart once you know it isn't working for you? It'd be cool to hear a Caldera driver in the Atrium cup, etc. Was it too muddy, too powerful, too forward? Why didn't it "work?"

Appreciate you sharing, such a neat process to read about. I can see what you mean though, as an Atrium closed sounds totally different than a Verite closed, but yet somehow manages to keep the ZMF house sound intact.

Lovely stuff. Speaks to my inner nerd

Well - I can try to answer this in a video at some point as I do have some interesting and honestly funny prototypes from various headphones. The first aeolus with the 3D printed grille that I machined in my basement is well...haphazard!

Some of them when you listened to them it was so far from anything enjoyable I don't even know what to call the sound lol. But that's the journey and the fun of it, going from whatever the first thing is, to the final form, there's nothing like seeing a project through that takes you years to finish, it's why I got into filmmaking and just making things in general.

 

[zach915m]

Well for those of you who are still up, here's the HOMAGE video:

Special shout out to Blind Willie Johnson and those artists who have paid Homage to his music through the years!

Oh and PS - If anyone is wondering why my eyes look a little messed up, I'm slightly Benedryl'd up here as last night I ate something I was allergic to, I'm all good don't worry!

 

[hmss007]

Haha every time I think I'm keeping a headphone our team decides to bring it CanJam to show what we can do and it gets sold. The stuff on my desk right here, which is my home video editing station is right now and Homage, a Violectric V590 and two Verite's, one in a rare burmese padauk that was very figured, and the other a curlier silk set. I'll take a crappy phone pic of each and post in a moment.

At work I have a Caldera Closed proto that I've ben working on hard lately, and honestly, my favorite headphone is always the one I've been working on a lot, right now I am finally quite happy with how the Caldera Closed has been sounding, we have a couple really good options for it and are now dialing it in to it's final form before we show it at Canjam NYC.

Of the previous headphones in the Line-up it really depends on my mood honestly, which I think is always the most under accounted for change in our audio tastes, but hey, us audiophiles don't have moods do we?

Oh sorry! Just added them to the site:

The Homage unpackaged weighs 4 LBS.

Dimensions: 9" x 7.5" x 3.75" (23 cm x 19 cm x 9.5 cm)

7.5” wide or 9” wide?

Thanks and can’t wait to hear it.

 

[avin13]

Hey I'm honored. Please keep in touch with our team about how we can help make the experience the best it can be for you in any way - ZMF can be slightly confusing with different pads and the mantle mesh, but the chance to "tune" the sound to your liking is very high, and since you already heard it you should be good!

Thanks for reaching out. I plan on going with the lamb skin and thick pad. One quick question what is the difference between the headbands leather vs suede.

Wow that's a massive upgrade! Those poor HD 560s

They'll still get play time haha . prob for work. I originally bought for the intent to use when gaming. I was planning on getting back into pc gaming back in August but curiosity lead me here and the PC is on the back burner till the audio gear is complete.

I drove to Chicago to get my first Caldera . I was so excited about it. Worth every mile. Beast of a headphone. Beats out many that costs much more, but it's not even a value for money thing. I don't want to give Zach any ideas, but he could sell it for more and it'd be worth it (please don't raise prices )

It's one of the most natural sets I own, the music just seems to flow out of it. As many others have said, it just sounds "right." Also I've tried it on multiple listening stations and it scales beautifully.

Edit: I just read that you are going from a 560 to Caldera!? Duuuuude, just wait and see . I did a test with the woman where I went from multiple low end, lower cost headphones (650, DCA, Hifiman, etc) to the TOTL ZMF. She said it best at the end, she said "these make those sound like toy headphones."

IMO the only 2 that come close are Susvara and Utopia, but both are more expensive and also more intense. Makes both hard to listen to for extended periods of time.

I drove a hour for camjam w/ the only intent of listening to ZMF headphones. I Did try out Arya organic and focal utopia. But i kept walking back to the ZMF room. I'm really glad I waited this long. It's been a interesting journey and learning curve. I initially thought that atrium open was for me but ending up loving the Caldera and enjoying the atrium close a lil more vs open. Will prob go back next year to hear the Caldera close and go from there.


Thats how it's been for the past couple months, thinking back at the exp I had from Camjam when it *clicked* and getting a first hand exp(very brief moment) of what I've been watching on youtube / reading all these months and going ohhhhhh now I get it. excited to exp again in a quiet environment


I was planning on getting a holo may and bliss to pair for the headphone. You mentioned you tried it on multiple stations, any suggestions?

 

[zach915m]

7.5” wide or 9” wide?

Thanks and can’t wait to hear it.

The Homage unpackaged weighs 4 LBS.

Dimensions: 9" Length x 7.5" Width x 3.75" Height (23 cm x 19 cm x 9.5 cm)

Sorry about that!

 

[eTHE2]

The envelope continues to be pushed! Can’t wait to hear it.

 

[heliosphann]

Well, looks like I'm going to have to coin flip which colorway to go with. They both look so damn sexy.

 

[cats4cans]

A matching stabilized set would be amazing for the custom shop. Get 2 headphones and the Homage all with the same color scheme, possibly from the same piece of wood.

Another idea would be if you integrated a headphone stand similar to what the Beyerdynamic A2 had, but in wood,

 

[heliosphann]

I audibly gasped when I saw that DNA Stratus precariously perched on an uneven box in the Homage video b-roll.

 

[zach915m]

I audibly gasped when I saw that DNA Stratus precariously perched on an uneven box in the Homage video b-roll.

Hahahah I promise it was only there a minute while I shop the video. It's safe and sound. =)

But yes we need moar space!

 

[omni94]

@zach915m

Hi Zach, by any chance, is this model going up for sale? as I cant seem to find it. (The one on the bottom)

 

[AcousticMatt]

@zach915m

Hi Zach, by any chance, is this model going up for sale? as I cant seem to find it. (The one on the bottom)

Pretty sure that's Amaretto (Atrium Closed)!

 

[NiGHTS4EVA]

Wow that's a massive upgrade! Those poor HD 560s

Was about to say the same but then I remembered I went from Beats to Arya v2 when it was still $1700 This hobby is a gift and a curse

 

[omni94]

Pretty sure that's Amaretto (Atrium Closed)!

The Amaretto is the one on the top, not the one on the bottom I believe.

 

[cangle]

The Amaretto is the one on the top, not the one on the bottom I believe.

Yes. I just looked for the one on the bottom in the Atrium closed listings and I don't see it either. It is close to "Timbre" but not the same one.