ZMF Ori (Omni) - Upcoming Semi Open Flagship
Nov 5, 2019 at 6:04 PM Post #2,461 of 2,544
I think a lot of the people who owned this headphone probably upgraded to another ZMF or another planar.

I am sure there are more than a few of us left though.

I am not sure if Zach still sells any of these or not, but I am afraid if I ever got rid of it..I would miss it too much, especially the way it presents the sub bass....

If I replaced it , I would like to do so with another ZMF closed planar:sunglasses:

I have been giving mine a spin with some new tubes.

There are some killer looking sets of Ori's in this thread.
I recently rolled some new tubes myself in my LP, and they took the Ori to an even higher level of performance. Any LP/Ori owners, I highly suggest to roll in some Holland Bugle Boy D Getter ECC88, and you can thank me later. :o2smile:
 
Nov 6, 2019 at 4:57 AM Post #2,462 of 2,544
With all of the talk last night of the Ori it inspired me to take another picture of it.

I listened to Mike Zito - First Class Life last night with these cans and it was so darn enjoyable....head bobbin' ...foot tappin' stuff :).....just spectacular.

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Nov 6, 2019 at 6:12 AM Post #2,463 of 2,544
With all of the talk last night of the Ori it inspired me to take another picture of it.

I listened to Mike Zito - First Class Life last night with these cans and it was so darn enjoyable....head bobbin' ...foot tappin' stuff :).....just spectacular.






Nice man! I have the same wood and cable. :o2smile:
 
Nov 6, 2019 at 6:06 PM Post #2,464 of 2,544
I think a lot of the people who owned this headphone probably upgraded to another ZMF or another planar.

I am sure there are more than a few of us left though.

I am not sure if Zach still sells any of these or not, but I am afraid if I ever got rid of it..I would miss it too much, especially the way it presents the sub bass....

If I replaced it , I would like to do so with another ZMF closed planar:sunglasses:

I have been giving mine a spin with some new tubes.

There are some killer looking sets of Ori's in this thread.

I'm one of those who went nuts for my Ori, then upgraded to not only other planars, but also other ZMFs.

I've have or had some fine planars: HEX v2 & LCD-2.1 pre-fazor (still have); LCD-3 & Empyrean (since sold). Each has its strengths & weaknesses, but none dethroned/replaced the Ori or made it any less fun & engaging.

I also got a gorgeous cocobolo Atticus (sold); then an equally gorgeous padauk Eikon (love it); and am in my 2nd long-term loan of the Aeolus, which impresses me to no end. But again, none of these terrific headphones can really displace the Ori.

Despite my strong preference for open-backs, I still keep going back to the Ori's wonderful, musical sound, and the best planar bass I've yet heard, apart from one concussive exposure to the big Abyss (the most uncomfortable HP I ever tried, but the bass was astonishing). The Ori is in pretty good company, when all is said & done.
 
Nov 6, 2019 at 10:27 PM Post #2,465 of 2,544
Not sure if this the right thread to post this but I ordered an Ori awhile back and I think its almost done being made. Im planning to use it on long car trips mostly so I’ll be using a Chord Mojo with it for that. What I wanted to ask was what the best desktop amp around 1000-1500 would be to pair these with. Reading around, I heard these scale well and wouldn’t mind treating myself to what the Oris can really do.
 
Nov 7, 2019 at 4:59 AM Post #2,466 of 2,544
Not sure if this the right thread to post this but I ordered an Ori awhile back and I think its almost done being made. Im planning to use it on long car trips mostly so I’ll be using a Chord Mojo with it for that. What I wanted to ask was what the best desktop amp around 1000-1500 would be to pair these with. Reading around, I heard these scale well and wouldn’t mind treating myself to what the Oris can really do.

These headphones do scale very well and you have a nice budget for an amp......you will find something nice with your budget.
Many SS amps will power it well, probably fewer pure tube amps.




I'm one of those who went nuts for my Ori, then upgraded to not only other planars, but also other ZMFs.

I've have or had some fine planars: HEX v2 & LCD-2.1 pre-fazor (still have); LCD-3 & Empyrean (since sold). Each has its strengths & weaknesses, but none dethroned/replaced the Ori or made it any less fun & engaging.

I also got a gorgeous cocobolo Atticus (sold); then an equally gorgeous padauk Eikon (love it); and am in my 2nd long-term loan of the Aeolus, which impresses me to no end. But again, none of these terrific headphones can really displace the Ori.

Despite my strong preference for open-backs, I still keep going back to the Ori's wonderful, musical sound, and the best planar bass I've yet heard, apart from one concussive exposure to the big Abyss (the most uncomfortable HP I ever tried, but the bass was astonishing). The Ori is in pretty good company, when all is said & done.



I am still listening to that wonderful LCD-3 pre-fazor that I got from you...it is a killer headphone as is the Ori.
 
Nov 11, 2019 at 7:31 PM Post #2,467 of 2,544
These headphones do scale very well and you have a nice budget for an amp......you will find something nice with your budget.
Many SS amps will power it well, probably fewer pure tube amps.








I am still listening to that wonderful LCD-3 pre-fazor that I got from you...it is a killer headphone as is the Ori.

People who think "planar sound" is all one thing really should compare those 2 headphones. They sound wonderful, but quite different.
  • I'm not sure I've ever heard any headphone better the midrange & treble of that pre-fazor LCD-3 on classical music & large scale choral music. It's a ravishing sound, seductive & highly musical.
  • The Ori is more of an everything-for-everyone design, starting w/that crushing bass, mids way better than the Fostex driver is supposed to be capable of, and strikingly good soundstaging for a closed design. The Ori plays classical & choral extremely well (like every genre I tried), but doesn't quite scale the heights of the LCD-3.
The newer ZMF dynamics have really been cleaning my clock, but there's still something so appealing to me about planar sound...
 
Nov 11, 2019 at 10:13 PM Post #2,469 of 2,544
IMO, the main difference is that Ori bass is planar bass; while Aeolus & Eikon bass is from dynamic drivers. Planar bass tends to have a density & texture that's hard to describe but easy to hear, particularly in the Ori, where the bass is crushing, dense & powerful. Bass notes really push against my ears on the Ori.

The Aeolus & Eikon sound somewhat different in general than the Ori, especially in the bass. I hear dynamic bass as somehow less crushing & dense, yet very realistic & satisfying, perhaps even more accurate in absolute terms. The bottom note plucked on an electric bass (and well amped) just hits & feels different on the Ori than any dynamic (I know I'm not describing this well--sorry!).

The Eikon's bass is fully equal to the Ori's in reach, if not a even better. The sub-bass on the Eikon is a bit more distinct & audible, though not a lot of music really exercises it. The Eikon's bass sounds detailed, higher in resolution (a characteristic of the Eikon in general). The particular timbre of bass instruments comes through very clearly on the Eikon. IMO the Eikon has borderline spectacular dynamics, and that jump-factor is fully operative in the bass. It's really top-level headphone bass (take that from a borderline bass head).

The Aeolus is another thing altogether, a real shape-shifter. I've heard it at length with stock pads, and the bass differs from both the Eikon & Ori: there's a rather pleasing midbass hump, not really bleeding in to the mids, but north of neutral, with somewhat less sub-bass than either of the others. But just change pads and the bass changes a lot: I've heard the Aeolus at length with Verite pads, and the entire frequency range, especially the bass, becomes more neutral, flatter, and level in energy (though still "fun" & very musical, smooth)...it even seems to go a bit lower in the sub-bass.

Subjectively, I prefer the bass on the Ori (in many ways) to any other headphone I've heard, and that includes some good ones, such as the Eikon & Aeolus, also the Final D8000 & Empyrean (2 high-level planars). Every time I listen to the Ori it comes back to me just how much I enjoy the feel of that bass.
 
Nov 12, 2019 at 8:21 AM Post #2,470 of 2,544
IMO, the main difference is that Ori bass is planar bass; while Aeolus & Eikon bass is from dynamic drivers. Planar bass tends to have a density & texture that's hard to describe but easy to hear, particularly in the Ori, where the bass is crushing, dense & powerful. Bass notes really push against my ears on the Ori.

The Aeolus & Eikon sound somewhat different in general than the Ori, especially in the bass. I hear dynamic bass as somehow less crushing & dense, yet very realistic & satisfying, perhaps even more accurate in absolute terms. The bottom note plucked on an electric bass (and well amped) just hits & feels different on the Ori than any dynamic (I know I'm not describing this well--sorry!).

The Eikon's bass is fully equal to the Ori's in reach, if not a even better. The sub-bass on the Eikon is a bit more distinct & audible, though not a lot of music really exercises it. The Eikon's bass sounds detailed, higher in resolution (a characteristic of the Eikon in general). The particular timbre of bass instruments comes through very clearly on the Eikon. IMO the Eikon has borderline spectacular dynamics, and that jump-factor is fully operative in the bass. It's really top-level headphone bass (take that from a borderline bass head).

The Aeolus is another thing altogether, a real shape-shifter. I've heard it at length with stock pads, and the bass differs from both the Eikon & Ori: there's a rather pleasing midbass hump, not really bleeding in to the mids, but north of neutral, with somewhat less sub-bass than either of the others. But just change pads and the bass changes a lot: I've heard the Aeolus at length with Verite pads, and the entire frequency range, especially the bass, becomes more neutral, flatter, and level in energy (though still "fun" & very musical, smooth)...it even seems to go a bit lower in the sub-bass.

Subjectively, I prefer the bass on the Ori (in many ways) to any other headphone I've heard, and that includes some good ones, such as the Eikon & Aeolus, also the Final D8000 & Empyrean (2 high-level planars). Every time I listen to the Ori it comes back to me just how much I enjoy the feel of that bass.
Damn man, well said! I nominate you the official captain, of the Ori team. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
 
Nov 14, 2019 at 7:00 PM Post #2,473 of 2,544
RE: That planar bass, I recently hooked up my TV's RCA output to my THX 789 for late night viewing (I share an apartment and subwoofer after midnight is a no-go). At first I was using my HD800S for the apparent headstage, but explosions were just too weak. Fortunately the Ori was only a few feet away, swapped it on the amp instead of the Senns, and behold -- blasts and impacts all had the proper heft again. Ori headstage is no HD800 headstage, but more than enough to remain enjoyable. Also, the Ori leaks less sound as a semi-closed, so the preferred choice of headphone for this application became obvious.
 
Nov 15, 2019 at 2:11 AM Post #2,474 of 2,544
Is this a good headphone match with the liquid spark amp?

Any opinions appreciated
Absolutely, it has sufficient power and I've always personally preferred solid state for planars. I feel the liquid spark is slightly closed-in sounding but it does well with the Ori nonetheless.
 

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