[RiddleyWalker]

I got to listen to the Blackwood Omni w/ Protein Pads at the Nashville meet last weekend.  Xpost from the meet impressions thread:
 
I'm a big ZMF fan, and I really like my (regular) Blackwoods.  Zach kindly sent us a pair of his new semi-open design, the Omni.  Compared side by side to my Blackwoods, I found the Omnis a bit unimpressive.  The sound was less full-bodied, a bit shrill, and sounded more distant and less engaging.  Now, it's difficult to categorically judge the Omni - there are 3 different woods and 3 different pads available, for a total of 6 possible configurations.  I know first-hand that changing pads on Zach's phones can bring a big difference.  This demo was using the "protein pads", which are the brightest pads he sells.  Combined with the aggressive tonality that African blackwood offers, it was just a bit too much to my ears.  I bet the lambskin or cowhide pads would have brought the signature closer to my liking.  I'll need to wait for impressions with different wood/pad configurations to decide if I want to spring for the upgrade.

 

[grizzlybeast]

My blackwood Omni is a clear, pun intended upgrade from the regular blackwood. We all hear differently and I am using Lambskin. Mine sound more punchy with clearer and more accurate mids, more engaging and energetic than the regular blackwoods and not subtly so. I'm a bit surprised at that.

 

[Ishcabible]

I briefly tried the Blackwood with the Protein pads and they weren't a good match to my ears. I'd give them another shot with other pads.

 

[ThePianoMan]

I found that I liked the blackwoods with Cowhide (less so with lambskin, not much with protein) the Cherry sounded best with Protein and Lambskins, and Walnut was peachy with lambs. YMMV, and I know Zach has other preferences, but those were just my findings fwiw.

 

[zach915m]

  I got to listen to the Blackwood Omni w/ Protein Pads at the Nashville meet last weekend.  Xpost from the meet impressions thread:
 
I'm a big ZMF fan, and I really like my (regular) Blackwoods.  Zach kindly sent us a pair of his new semi-open design, the Omni.  Compared side by side to my Blackwoods, I found the Omnis a bit unimpressive.  The sound was less full-bodied, a bit shrill, and sounded more distant and less engaging.  Now, it's difficult to categorically judge the Omni - there are 3 different woods and 3 different pads available, for a total of 6 possible configurations.  I know first-hand that changing pads on Zach's phones can bring a big difference.  This demo was using the "protein pads", which are the brightest pads he sells.  Combined with the aggressive tonality that African blackwood offers, it was just a bit too much to my ears.  I bet the lambskin or cowhide pads would have brought the signature closer to my liking.  I'll need to wait for impressions with different wood/pad configurations to decide if I want to spring for the upgrade.

 
I got that set back today, and unfortunately the right driver is messed up and causing huge amounts of distortion and they just sound wonky and unmatched because of it.  Sorry about that, kinda rushed that set out for the meet without burning in enough as they sounded/measured fine when sent, but obviously got wonky at some point.
 
That being said the protein pads are dryer, as they use different foam than the Lambskin and Cowhide sets purposely for a db or two less bass and a db more treble.
 
PS:  The sets at CanJam this weekend are two of my personal master sets.  So no excuses! 

 

[RiddleyWalker]

   
I got that set back today, and unfortunately the right driver is messed up and causing huge amounts of distortion and they just sound wonky and unmatched because of it.  Sorry about that, kinda rushed that set out for the meet without burning in enough as they sounded/measured fine when sent, but obviously got wonky at some point.
 
That being said the protein pads are dryer, as they use different foam than the Lambskin and Cowhide sets purposely for a db or two less bass and a db more treble.
 
PS:  The sets at CanJam this weekend are two of my personal master sets.  So no excuses! 

Thanks for the info Zach, I knew something was wrong with those Omnis!  I'll let the meet peeps know.

 

[Law87]

  I found that I liked the blackwoods with Cowhide (less so with lambskin, not much with protein) the Cherry sounded best with Protein and Lambskins, and Walnut was peachy with lambs. YMMV, and I know Zach has other preferences, but those were just my findings fwiw.

did you have zach tune your set?

p.s how do you guys ask for tuning? 

 

[ThePianoMan]

did you have zach tune your set?


p.s how do you guys ask for tuning? 

I'm not aware of any special tuning Zach did, but certainly my preference is usually for a slightly more open soundstage with a little less subwoofer effect in the bass. I found the bass with cowhide on cherry to be too fatiguing, and the mids darker than I'd like. That said, I enjoyed my audition of the backwoods with cow hides and lambskins, but the bass and aggressive sig while energetic and impressive at first was something I knew could get fatiguing (I sometimes listen over very long periods of time. I also have to listen to things for class work quite a bit, and something enjoyable with one kind of music can quickly be fatiguing it distracting with another. I tend to prefer relaxed neutrality because of this)
I suppose if I were to ask for any special tuning it might be for a gentle rise between 250/500 hz and 1000hz as in the Harmon jargon curve. I've found this a wonderfully natural Tweak for most headphones I've heard. That said, the on is are rich and gorgeous the way they are, and I've no desire to change the sound regardless of whether there are any improvements to be made. (That should say something right there) I also trust Zachs tuning, and would worry about coherency issues when deviating too much from standard tuning.

 

[Law87]

I'm not aware of any special tuning Zach did, but certainly my preference is usually for a slightly more open soundstage with a little less subwoofer effect in the bass. I found the bass with cowhide on cherry to be too fatiguing, and the mids darker than I'd like. That said, I enjoyed my audition of the backwoods with cow hides and lambskins, but the bass and aggressive sig while energetic and impressive at first was something I knew could get fatiguing (I sometimes listen over very long periods of time. I also have to listen to things for class work quite a bit, and something enjoyable with one kind of music can quickly be fatiguing it distracting with another. I tend to prefer relaxed neutrality because of this)
I suppose if I were to ask for any special tuning it might be for a gentle rise between 250/500 hz and 1000hz as in the Harmon jargon curve. I've found this a wonderfully natural Tweak for most headphones I've heard. That said, the on is are rich and gorgeous the way they are, and I've no desire to change the sound regardless of whether there are any improvements to be made. (That should say something right there) I also trust Zachs tuning, and would worry about coherency issues when deviating too much from standard tuning.

 
 
hmmm the cherry is supposed to be the most wide open one.

@zach915m can you tune for slightly less bass as per pianoman? I have a feeling that my listening taste is like his.

 

[imac2much]

For those of you who have received your Omni already, how is the comfort and weight?  I am very eager to get my hands on these headphones, but I am coming from the HE-400i and I'm worried that the Omni's extra weight may be distracting.  Are they as heavy as Audeze headphones?
 
I've tried the HE-500 before and found them a little heavy but not too uncomfortable.  I did find the HE-400i much more comfortable though.  The Walnut Omni should be around 450-500g, which would make them around the same weight as the HE-500.  Is the weight distributed better than the HE-500?

 

[ThePianoMan]

hmmm the cherry is supposed to be the most wide open one.

@zach915m
 can you tune for slightly less bass as per pianoman? I have a feeling that my listening taste is like his.

I think the protein pads tame the bass quite tastefully actually. With a little brain burn-in it's just where I like it. upfront slam and tightness when needed, solid foundation of the music in the background when not needed.

 

[ThePianoMan]

For those of you who have received your Omni already, how is the comfort and weight?  I am very eager to get my hands on these headphones, but I am coming from the HE-400i and I'm worried that the Omni's extra weight may be distracting.  Are they as heavy as Audeze headphones?

I've tried the HE-500 before and found them a little heavy but not too uncomfortable.  I did find the HE-400i much more comfortable though.  The Walnut Omni should be around 450-500g, which would make them around the same weight as the HE-500.  Is the weight distributed better than the HE-500?

fwiw I found them Way comfier than the 400i, and even comfier than the Ether. The pads and headband he uses are so luxuriously soft it's unreal. The protein leather can get a bit sweaty in warmer times and climates though, while cowhide seems coolest, and lambskin in the middle. I'm used to well-ventilated velours and it's not really enough to bother me, but if you live in somewhere close to the equator, humidity might be a consideration.
I found the weight really nicely distributed tbh, even though they're heavy they feel quite light on the head. I can certainly forget that they're on my head with a little adjustment. Not at all like the Audeze cans that tend to wear their weight a little awkwardly sometimes.
Ear openings are a fair bit bigger and further from the ears than the 400i too, if that's something that bothers you

Edit: this new iPhone spellcheck is playing havoc with me

 

[Wildcatsare1]

fwiw I found them Way comfier than the 400i, and even comfier than the Ether. The pads and headband he uses are so luxuriously soft it's unreal. The protein leather can get a bit sweaty in warmer times and climates though, while cowhide seems coolest, and lambskin in the middle. I'm used to well-ventilated velours and it's not really enough to bother me, but if you live in somewhere close to the equator, humidity might be a consideration.
I found the weight really nicely distributed tbh, even though they're heavy they feel quite light on the head. I can certainly forget that they're on my head with a little adjustment. Not at all like the Audeze cans that tend to wear their weight a little awkwardly sometimes.
Ear openings are a fair bit bigger and further from the ears than the 400i too, if that's something that bothers you

Edit: this new iPhone spellcheck is playing havoc with me

How does the Omni compare in comfort to the HD800? I have found the after wearing the 800s my HE560s feel a little "confining" and uncomfortable.

 

[grizzlybeast]

I know you aren't asking me but I'll chime in. I cant compare to the hd800 but the hd700 (said to be less comfortable than the HD800) is a bit more comfortable to me overall than both the cherry and blackwood Omni except for how the pads feel around the ears. But they are less confining. There is not a strong clamping force because Zach makes the headband a little more wide. The pads are amazing but when I did have the 400s here I felt them to trade off in different areas when it came to comfort. The blackwood Omnis are heavy though. The cherry Omni was more prob comfortable than the he 400s. The pads are definitely a step up from the alpha pads that ripped and tore when I swapped them, had smaller openings for the ears, and less comfortable foam. The ZMF pads haven't had one tear yet and I can be rough with them because they are real leather and feel extra comfy.

 

[zach915m]

   
 
hmmm the cherry is supposed to be the most wide open one.

@zach915m can you tune for slightly less bass as per pianoman? I have a feeling that my listening taste is like his.

 
I can tune once post headphone receival for no cost but shipping.  My advice is usually to get the headphones, check out the stock tuning and then we can adjust from there.  There's just too many combinations of sound with earpads, woods, audio chain/amp/dac's to know why people hear what they hear (and how to equate it to your system), so always best to test your own set-up, then let me know what you need and I'll make it happen.
 
It's actually pretty rare I need to make a change, but the times I have done it the end user was really happy with the result.