[Exekuhtor]

I just swapped the pads.
Oh god.
Oh god no.
I don't know why they are even allowed on this. There should be a sticker attached to them with the warning "DO NOT USE ON VC".
The default pads i got are the Auteur lambskin solid pads and sound fantastic, warm but not overly warm.
The other pair that i received were the BE2 suede solid pads. Oh god.
They emphasize the upper mids and the headphone gets shouty and bright immediately, together with the less bass i could not bear it for 10 seconds. Soundstage got bigger but the whole headphone sounds so bad. I read that pads with ZMF can make a HUGE difference and i agree, the tonality shift is insane.

BUT: This explains A LOT for some reviews that didn't bother switching the pads / didn't have the right ones...

I warmed up my Echo MK2.
It sounds fantastic.

The bass is very good and vibrates and punches, but i would probably lean more towards a planar bass for my absolute favourite bass experience (maybe just a habit?)

 

[Wes S]

Pair it with good OTL and sub bass will rumble

. . .or a good SET like the Cayin HA300mk2. With some Elrog ER300B's the VC's slam and almost sound like planars.

 

[Exekuhtor]

What pads are you guys enjoying the most with your VC's?
There are a few listed in the classified...

That Cayin is expensive, Oof...

 

[robo24]

What pads are you guys enjoying the most with your VC's?
There are a few listed in the classified...

That Cayin is expensive, Oof...

BE-2 suede, lol. OK they're actually my 2nd favorites, with Universe suedes being the ones I use 90% of the time.

 

[Exekuhtor]

Damn.
Now i feel like the ZMF headphones are just a good "base" for the pads and everyone smacks their favourite pad on it et voilà: the personal favourite ZMF headphone. Is that true? Most tunable headphone, lol.
The Universe Suede pads are in the middle of "warm" and "bright" on the ZMF picture, the BE2 Suede is the most "bright" and it was awful for my taste. The Auteur Lambskin pads that i love are a bit to the warmer side.

 

[AudioDuck]

Damn.
Now i feel like the ZMF headphones are just a good "base" for the pads and everyone smacks their favourite pad on it et voilà: the personal favourite ZMF headphone. Is that true?

Bit of an oversimplification, that.

Owning two different ZMF closed-backs they have very distinct and different sound signatures, and pads (+ cables) are the “fine-tuning” to dial in the last few percent.

On that note, my ZMFs are now all reunited with their respective Nornes… (there was retermination happening of the Einvaldi). Hooray!

 

[saidentary]

Might I humbly suggest the Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL 2 (or even the MicroZOTL 3, which I've never heard, but which people say is even better) for your sub-bass evaluation? Just a thought.

 

[saidentary]

WOW.

I just picked up a VC from a user locally and IT'S SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE MDR-Z1R...
It's a VERY enjoyable sound, it's my first ZMF and i can understand why there are fans of Zach's pieces...
It's not muddy, bass-bleeding or bright. It's also not overly dark oder too warm. The VC has punch and slam.
It's... neutral fun? Is that even a thing? It's a bit more laid-back and less aggressive than neutral but on the other hand not overly laid-back...
That's a very fine line there.

Also the weight is VERY low, i got a limited Koa wood edition, it's very light and super comfortable AND IT DOES LOOK GORGEOUS.
I'm very happy with this thing...

The two complaints:
Sound isolation is weaker than the Elegia (now i want a Stellia haha)
Subbass can't compare with the Abyss (DUH, REALLY? THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE COMPLAINING?)

Pair it with good OTL and sub bass will rumble

Consider the Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL 2 (or MicroZOTL 3 [if you can swing it]). I can't compare the VC to the legendary Abyss, but...I can say that with the MicroZOTL 2, the bass (of the VC) absolutely ROCKS!

 

[AudioDuck]

Consider the Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL 2 (or MicroZOTL 3 [if you can swing it]). I can't compare the VC to the legendary Abyss, but...I can say that with the MicroZOTL 2, the bass (of the VC) absolutely ROCKS!

The WA2 does pretty well in the bass department, too. But the MicroZOTL 2 might do better with the VC, I don’t know.

I will say that I just listened to some bass- heavy tracks with the Eikon (I know, I know- this is a VC thread) and the Norne Einvaldi… and I think the Eikon is the sub-bass champ. [Gets off soap box]

 

[nachtihsahn]

After doing a TON of research (if you know you know), I went with the Quicksilver Headphone Amp option. Their factory is just a couple hours from me, so it only took a day to ship to me. I feel good supporting somebody local. Even without burn-in, the sound is incredible, and the build quality is superb. If the Quicksilver didn't exist, I would likely go for the MZ2.

 

[Rowethren]

What pads are you guys enjoying the most with your VC's?
There are a few listed in the classified...

That Cayin is expensive, Oof...

I'm very happy with the Cayin HA-3A to power my VCs which is the baby brother of the HA-300. It is only around £1500 so it is almost the same price as a pair of Elrog ER300B's on their own .

I have found the HA-3A does benefit from some new tubes but they are much more reasonably prices. I have a cracking set of Fivre 6V6G and Tungsram E80CC which in total only cost me £160.

As for pads I have a strong preference for the Auteur Hybrids, I find they combine the strengths of the stock Auteur pads but add just a little bit more at the top end. The comfort is much better as well with the suede parts in contact with your head.

 

[Exekuhtor]

Alright, i'll get both the Auteur / Universe Hybrid Solid pads, they seem to land right in the middle soundwise, more neutral than the ones i use but not overly bright and shouty like the ones i dislike. I can get both for 100€. I will let you guys know how they sound once they arrive.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Bit of an oversimplification, that.

Owning two different ZMF closed-backs they have very distinct and different sound signatures, and pads (+ cables) are the “fine-tuning” to dial in the last few percent.

On that note, my ZMFs are now all reunited with their respective Nornes… (there was retermination happening of the Einvaldi). Hooray!

Big shout-out for bocote (fabulous wood) & Norne Drausk (beautiful/good-sounding cable).

And of course, for ZMF headphones. It's hard to go wrong with those...

 

[Pharmaboy]

I think the Eikon is the sub-bass champ

I had a padauk Eikon (lovely sounding headphone), and I have to agree. I never heard sub-bass as deep and precise as that with any other headphone.

 

[AudioDuck]

I think I can only buy from these sites. Do you see any great tubes that aren't expensive you'd recommend for the WA2 in their stock?
https://www.acclaim-music.com/browse/Amplifier-Tubes
https://upscaleaudio.com/

Of these two suppliers, I’d recommend Upscale Audio. They aren’t cheap, but have good tubes and are very supportive of their customers from my experience. Otherwise there are also other good suppliers out there…

I would suggest buying a pair of adapters to allow you to use 12AU7/12AT7/12AX7-type input tubes. As nice as 6922-family tubes can be, I have had much better results with the 12A-7 families of tubes.

Frankly, the few 6922-type tubes Upscale Audio has in stock do not stand out to me, sadly. I’m admittedly being a bit of a “tube snob” when I say that, but there are 12AT7/CV455 and CV4033 new old stock tubes that make 6922 tubes like these sound pretty poor.