[Galapac]

I use this one from Slappa. https://www.amazon.com/Slappa-Full-Sized-HardBody-Headphone-Protection/dp/B075S1HDJQ?th=1
The earcups fit in snugly with zero jostling inside. The rods protrude a little but the zipper can be pulled around them (see attached)

I got the geekria case and it is pretty nice for the VCs...plenty of room for the phones and cable.
The hardware on your phones are a unique color, did you have them painted?

 

[robo24]

I got the geekria case and it is pretty nice for the VCs...plenty of room for the phones and cable.
The hardware on your phones are a unique color, did you have them painted?

That's the wine colored chassis, which was an option on the Leopardwood LTD. I've not seen it in person, but looks different every time I see it. Shown is more red, but other pics it seemed more purple. I don't think it's an option anymore, at least that I can find on their site.

 

[qboogie]

I got the geekria case and it is pretty nice for the VCs...plenty of room for the phones and cable.
The hardware on your phones are a unique color, did you have them painted?

They're the burgundy wine colored hardware that came as a new option with the leopardwood VC. The color is closer to burgundy and purple rather than red. I wonder if all the magnesium chassis are at baseline metallic grayish and they're spray painted a final color. That's maybe why they chip a little too easily. But that also means one could conceivably remove the paint with some acetone, apply a little primer and spray paint them anything you want...

 

[qboogie]

...as long as that's mentioned when reselling.

 

[497033]

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

First – from the side this is the most beautiful cans I have ever seen. Totally lived up to (high) expectations.
BUT there are some unacceptable things and some questionable things.

1. Order headband leather/leather – got suede/suede.
2. Order ¼ inch – got XLR
3. Should not the whole cup look the same?
4. Consumer service?

1.
Suede/suede headband is really ugly from my point of view, probably a bit more comfort thou. But with ambition to buy the worlds most beautiful cans I chose to go with leather/leather to make the complete package look astonishing.
Then open the box and finding suede/suede was - lets say a bit disappointing.

2.
Time to pick out cables and to my surprise they are also wrong. No ¼ as ordered but XLR on both cables. That is two really bad **** ups..

3.
As said – from the sides those VC´s look perfect. Best cans ever (except the suede/suede as previous written).
But when taking a closer look and from different angles they fail. Take a close look on the added pictures and please comment on your thoughts.
A – Bottom of pic, middle a bit to the right most obvious. Flaws and not even the same color, like not put at same thickness during process making it “shine thru” lighter on the side. (Not from flash – it IS different color)
B and C – from multiple different angles you get this really bad look – untreated light wood clearly in view beside the treated dark (beautiful) wood. Think of a chair, car or lamp that isn´t painted even all around – it doesn´t look good at all. Totally destroys the feeling of quality. Small holes for screws also untreated light wood shining thru. I have tried look on other ZMF headphones on google but not seen this on others?

4.
When emailing on failure with headband and cables the suggestion is DIY – we send some leather, new cable and you can watch online-movies on how to fix it.
On a headphone for close to 4000 euro that is a totally new experience to be asked to fix it self!! (after custom/taxes to Sweden)
Oh, I forgot – they asked me about my size. I guess that indicates a could get a t-shirt for and doing some marketing for them for free as a nice gesture..
I am not familiar with consumer service in USA but in Sweden (live there) the company would bring forward a new set of cans ASAP and ask If they could please send their best cable or something as a forgive us for a bad **** up on our most expensive gear. No more question asked. The flawed unit of course sent back.
If a more regular priced item like a HD600 or a XM3 a new set would be sent without sending back the one in first place.

To balance the critic a should write that the 10-15 mail leading up to the order of the cans with multiple questions always got good answers as expected from a top of the line company.

Sound - I do not know. I don´t have XLR so not listened to them..
I must say I am a bit shocked from my only experience so far with ZMF.

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

Pictures below first - A, second B and third - C

 

[breckstar]

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

First – from the side this is the most beautiful cans I have ever seen. Totally lived up to (high) expectations.
BUT there are some unacceptable things and some questionable things.

1. Order headband leather/leather – got suede/suede.
2. Order ¼ inch – got XLR
3. Should not the whole cup look the same?
4. Consumer service?

1.
Suede/suede headband is really ugly from my point of view, probably a bit more comfort thou. But with ambition to buy the worlds most beautiful cans I chose to go with leather/leather to make the complete package look astonishing.
Then open the box and finding suede/suede was - lets say a bit disappointing.

2.
Time to pick out cables and to my surprise they are also wrong. No ¼ as ordered but XLR on both cables. That is two really bad **** ups..

3.
As said – from the sides those VC´s look perfect. Best cans ever (except the suede/suede as previous written).
But when taking a closer look and from different angles they fail. Take a close look on the added pictures and please comment on your thoughts.
A – Bottom of pic, middle a bit to the right most obvious. Flaws and not even the same color, like not put at same thickness during process making it “shine thru” lighter on the side. (Not from flash – it IS different color)
B and C – from multiple different angles you get this really bad look – untreated light wood clearly in view beside the treated dark (beautiful) wood. Think of a chair, car or lamp that isn´t painted even all around – it doesn´t look good at all. Totally destroys the feeling of quality. Small holes for screws also untreated light wood shining thru. I have tried look on other ZMF headphones on google but not seen this on others?

4.
When emailing on failure with headband and cables the suggestion is DIY – we send some leather, new cable and you can watch online-movies on how to fix it.
On a headphone for close to 4000 euro that is a totally new experience to be asked to fix it self!! (after custom/taxes to Sweden)
Oh, I forgot – they asked me about my size. I guess that indicates a could get a t-shirt for and doing some marketing for them for free as a nice gesture..
I am not familiar with consumer service in USA but in Sweden (live there) the company would bring forward a new set of cans ASAP and ask If they could please send their best cable or something as a forgive us for a bad **** up on our most expensive gear. No more question asked. The flawed unit of course sent back.
If a more regular priced item like a HD600 or a XM3 a new set would be sent without sending back the one in first place.

To balance the critic a should write that the 10-15 mail leading up to the order of the cans with multiple questions always got good answers as expected from a top of the line company.

Sound - I do not know. I don´t have XLR so not listened to them..
I must say I am a bit shocked from my only experience so far with ZMF.

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

Pictures below first - A, second B and third - C

No doubt Zach will see this and reach out to you but go ahead and contact them via customer support. Accidents do happen. No company is exempt from that. ZMF customer service is one of the best and they do whatever they can to make things right.

 

[YtseJamer]

@undrande, Did you order a b-stock version? (They look like a b-stock version but I could be wrong..) Maybe the pair you have received was supposed to be shipped to someone else?

 

[497033]

@undrande, Did you order a b-stock version? (They look like a b-stock version) Maybe the pair you have received was supposed to be shipped to someone else?

Absolutely NO. Full retail price and not a word on b-stock.

 

[griff500]

Absolutely NO. Full retail price and not a word on b-stock.

I assume you reached out to them already or have you posted here first? I would usually reach out to them and give them the opportunity to resolve matters before doing anything else.

I am sure they will sort things out and with all the differences from your order I would wonder if you have received the wrong order. It's frustrating but mistakes do happen and it's how they are dealt with that matters.

Changing the headband over is easy - I replaced my leather one with the suede version - but it's pointless doing so if you have the other issues to resolve as well.

 

[YtseJamer]

Absolutely NO. Full retail price and not a word on b-stock.

Humm, you should talk with Zach.

 

[497033]

I assume you reached out to them already or have you posted here first? I would usually reach out to them and give them the opportunity to resolve matters before doing anything else.

I am sure they will sort things out and with all the differences from your order I would wonder if you have received the wrong order. It's frustrating but mistakes do happen and it's how they are dealt with that matters.

Changing the headband over is easy - I replaced my leather one with the suede version - but it's pointless doing so if you have the other issues to resolve as well.

Headband and cables we have contact.
About the look on cans I search info from other owners here on forum first - then I can better understand if this is really bad or ”as usual”. Without that info it is hard to have discussion with ZMF. And when comments here says ”looks like b-stock” I understand this is really bad.

 

[jjflemin]

Headband and cables we have contact.
About the look on cans I search info from other owners here on forum first - then I can better understand if this is really bad or ”as usual”. Without that info it is hard to have discussion with ZMF. And when comments here says ”looks like b-stock” I understand this is really bad.

Most b-stock seems to be for non-matching wood grain or small imperfections. All that i've seen have great finish. My VC and most I've seen here have unstained sections visible within the cutouts, but some are harder to see because of the wood and stains. For example, the darker woods don't stand out as much when unstained, but that part I would consider normal. Harder to say with the lighter spots which could be do to the varying density of the wood itself. Stain is less about thickness and more about how much the wood can absorb so there is natural variation. Also hard to say whether that is intentional or a result of the wood choice. Regardless, I would ask Zach himself.

As for sending a new pair and waiting for the old one, surely you can see that isn't reasonable with fully custom gear. As the consumer it is significantly less time to replace the headband and cables than it would be to wait for a new set. Comparing to receiving a HD 600 or XM3 is apples to oranges. They will do their best to take care of you regardless, but sorry to hear it has been a rough experience for you so far.

 

[max1236]

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

First – from the side this is the most beautiful cans I have ever seen. Totally lived up to (high) expectations.
BUT there are some unacceptable things and some questionable things.

1. Order headband leather/leather – got suede/suede.
2. Order ¼ inch – got XLR
3. Should not the whole cup look the same?
4. Consumer service?

1.
Suede/suede headband is really ugly from my point of view, probably a bit more comfort thou. But with ambition to buy the worlds most beautiful cans I chose to go with leather/leather to make the complete package look astonishing.
Then open the box and finding suede/suede was - lets say a bit disappointing.

2.
Time to pick out cables and to my surprise they are also wrong. No ¼ as ordered but XLR on both cables. That is two really bad **** ups..

3.
As said – from the sides those VC´s look perfect. Best cans ever (except the suede/suede as previous written).
But when taking a closer look and from different angles they fail. Take a close look on the added pictures and please comment on your thoughts.
A – Bottom of pic, middle a bit to the right most obvious. Flaws and not even the same color, like not put at same thickness during process making it “shine thru” lighter on the side. (Not from flash – it IS different color)
B and C – from multiple different angles you get this really bad look – untreated light wood clearly in view beside the treated dark (beautiful) wood. Think of a chair, car or lamp that isn´t painted even all around – it doesn´t look good at all. Totally destroys the feeling of quality. Small holes for screws also untreated light wood shining thru. I have tried look on other ZMF headphones on google but not seen this on others?

4.
When emailing on failure with headband and cables the suggestion is DIY – we send some leather, new cable and you can watch online-movies on how to fix it.
On a headphone for close to 4000 euro that is a totally new experience to be asked to fix it self!! (after custom/taxes to Sweden)
Oh, I forgot – they asked me about my size. I guess that indicates a could get a t-shirt for and doing some marketing for them for free as a nice gesture..
I am not familiar with consumer service in USA but in Sweden (live there) the company would bring forward a new set of cans ASAP and ask If they could please send their best cable or something as a forgive us for a bad **** up on our most expensive gear. No more question asked. The flawed unit of course sent back.
If a more regular priced item like a HD600 or a XM3 a new set would be sent without sending back the one in first place.

To balance the critic a should write that the 10-15 mail leading up to the order of the cans with multiple questions always got good answers as expected from a top of the line company.

Sound - I do not know. I don´t have XLR so not listened to them..
I must say I am a bit shocked from my only experience so far with ZMF.

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

Pictures below first - A, second B and third - C

Not sure what the problem in A is but I'm pretty sure they don't finish the inside for structural reasons. Also I'm sure he would put the headband and pads on but thats a lot of shipping and waiting for something simple.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

First – from the side this is the most beautiful cans I have ever seen. Totally lived up to (high) expectations.
BUT there are some unacceptable things and some questionable things.

1. Order headband leather/leather – got suede/suede.
2. Order ¼ inch – got XLR
3. Should not the whole cup look the same?
4. Consumer service?

1.
Suede/suede headband is really ugly from my point of view, probably a bit more comfort thou. But with ambition to buy the worlds most beautiful cans I chose to go with leather/leather to make the complete package look astonishing.
Then open the box and finding suede/suede was - lets say a bit disappointing.

2.
Time to pick out cables and to my surprise they are also wrong. No ¼ as ordered but XLR on both cables. That is two really bad **** ups..

3.
As said – from the sides those VC´s look perfect. Best cans ever (except the suede/suede as previous written).
But when taking a closer look and from different angles they fail. Take a close look on the added pictures and please comment on your thoughts.
A – Bottom of pic, middle a bit to the right most obvious. Flaws and not even the same color, like not put at same thickness during process making it “shine thru” lighter on the side. (Not from flash – it IS different color)
B and C – from multiple different angles you get this really bad look – untreated light wood clearly in view beside the treated dark (beautiful) wood. Think of a chair, car or lamp that isn´t painted even all around – it doesn´t look good at all. Totally destroys the feeling of quality. Small holes for screws also untreated light wood shining thru. I have tried look on other ZMF headphones on google but not seen this on others?

4.
When emailing on failure with headband and cables the suggestion is DIY – we send some leather, new cable and you can watch online-movies on how to fix it.
On a headphone for close to 4000 euro that is a totally new experience to be asked to fix it self!! (after custom/taxes to Sweden)
Oh, I forgot – they asked me about my size. I guess that indicates a could get a t-shirt for and doing some marketing for them for free as a nice gesture..
I am not familiar with consumer service in USA but in Sweden (live there) the company would bring forward a new set of cans ASAP and ask If they could please send their best cable or something as a forgive us for a bad **** up on our most expensive gear. No more question asked. The flawed unit of course sent back.
If a more regular priced item like a HD600 or a XM3 a new set would be sent without sending back the one in first place.

To balance the critic a should write that the 10-15 mail leading up to the order of the cans with multiple questions always got good answers as expected from a top of the line company.

Sound - I do not know. I don´t have XLR so not listened to them..
I must say I am a bit shocked from my only experience so far with ZMF.

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

Pictures below first - A, second B and third - C

Dude, ZMF has one of the best reputations in the industry for customer service. Perhaps you should have contacted them first to see what they would do and then post that experience here. I would be shocked if Zach doesn't fix your issues.

 

[zach915m]

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

First – from the side this is the most beautiful cans I have ever seen. Totally lived up to (high) expectations.
BUT there are some unacceptable things and some questionable things.

1. Order headband leather/leather – got suede/suede.
2. Order ¼ inch – got XLR
3. Should not the whole cup look the same?
4. Consumer service?

1.
Suede/suede headband is really ugly from my point of view, probably a bit more comfort thou. But with ambition to buy the worlds most beautiful cans I chose to go with leather/leather to make the complete package look astonishing.
Then open the box and finding suede/suede was - lets say a bit disappointing.

2.
Time to pick out cables and to my surprise they are also wrong. No ¼ as ordered but XLR on both cables. That is two really bad **** ups..

3.
As said – from the sides those VC´s look perfect. Best cans ever (except the suede/suede as previous written).
But when taking a closer look and from different angles they fail. Take a close look on the added pictures and please comment on your thoughts.
A – Bottom of pic, middle a bit to the right most obvious. Flaws and not even the same color, like not put at same thickness during process making it “shine thru” lighter on the side. (Not from flash – it IS different color)
B and C – from multiple different angles you get this really bad look – untreated light wood clearly in view beside the treated dark (beautiful) wood. Think of a chair, car or lamp that isn´t painted even all around – it doesn´t look good at all. Totally destroys the feeling of quality. Small holes for screws also untreated light wood shining thru. I have tried look on other ZMF headphones on google but not seen this on others?

4.
When emailing on failure with headband and cables the suggestion is DIY – we send some leather, new cable and you can watch online-movies on how to fix it.
On a headphone for close to 4000 euro that is a totally new experience to be asked to fix it self!! (after custom/taxes to Sweden)
Oh, I forgot – they asked me about my size. I guess that indicates a could get a t-shirt for and doing some marketing for them for free as a nice gesture..
I am not familiar with consumer service in USA but in Sweden (live there) the company would bring forward a new set of cans ASAP and ask If they could please send their best cable or something as a forgive us for a bad **** up on our most expensive gear. No more question asked. The flawed unit of course sent back.
If a more regular priced item like a HD600 or a XM3 a new set would be sent without sending back the one in first place.

To balance the critic a should write that the 10-15 mail leading up to the order of the cans with multiple questions always got good answers as expected from a top of the line company.

Sound - I do not know. I don´t have XLR so not listened to them..
I must say I am a bit shocked from my only experience so far with ZMF.

A really bad Monday, questionable consumer service or a new standard?

Pictures below first - A, second B and third - C

Most b-stock seems to be for non-matching wood grain or small imperfections. All that i've seen have great finish. My VC and most I've seen here have unstained sections visible within the cutouts, but some are harder to see because of the wood and stains. For example, the darker woods don't stand out as much when unstained, but that part I would consider normal. Harder to say with the lighter spots which could be do to the varying density of the wood itself. Stain is less about thickness and more about how much the wood can absorb so there is natural variation. Also hard to say whether that is intentional or a result of the wood choice. Regardless, I would ask Zach himself.

As for sending a new pair and waiting for the old one, surely you can see that isn't reasonable with fully custom gear. As the consumer it is significantly less time to replace the headband and cables than it would be to wait for a new set. Comparing to receiving a HD 600 or XM3 is apples to oranges. They will do their best to take care of you regardless, but sorry to hear it has been a rough experience for you so far.

Not sure what the problem in A is but I'm pretty sure they don't finish the inside for structural reasons. Also I'm sure he would put the headband and pads on but thats a lot of shipping and waiting for something simple.

We did receive an email from @undrande and I believe @BooUrns has already taken care of the cable mistake and the pads. You will get to keep all versions in case you decide you want the leather in the future as well as the extra XLR cable since it won't make sense to ship back to us from Sweden. We messed that up and are making it right.

Concerning this headphone and the finish -

1. This is an A stock set from ZMF November biguht as part of the Manchurian ash special. There is nothing wrong with the finish - this is just how Shou Sugi ban Manchurian ash looks.

2. We don't finish the Inside of the cup,or anything on the baffle side - it would possibly cause adherence issues and interfere with the sound. This is just ash wood so it's lighter in color.

3. This particular set is a "burst" set where we purposefully have the outer rim of the cup darker and then double stain the cup to get this look. Most people love it but I can understand certain wood looks are not for everyone. I'm sure you could easily sell these if you dont like them.

I think Bevin has been in touch with you to help on the cables but I will let her address that here as well.

I do wish for direct communication in this as I'm always happy to address how and why we build our headphones the way we do before it's brought to a public forum.