[FullBright1]

Who got this one?

Its beautiful....

PM me when you are ready to sell it....
-
-

 

[bfreedma]

You know.... reader....the deficit in ZMF's headphone income scheme has never been about sound or workmanship, but only about "finish".
The reality is.... a satin finish, or a low sheen finish, or however you want to brand (spin) a non-glossy finish for marketing purposes....is never as visually completed as a glossy finish.
A glossy finish is the "completed" look on a piece of wood, and this is never found in a satin finish or "low gloss", etc.
"High Gloss" on wood, is spectacular, and satin and low sheen, and low gloss, is not spectacular, and in fact it always looks unfinished.
If ZMF ever creates a high gloss finish as an OPTION regarding all their wooden headphone models, they can then add this as a $300 option... that 98% of their customers will gladly pay.

I think you're overestimating the percentage of people who would pay $300 extra. Also don't agree that "A glossy finish is the "completed" look on a piece of wood, and this is never found in a satin finish or "low gloss", etc. "High Gloss" on wood, is spectacular, and satin and low sheen, and low gloss, is not spectacular, and in fact it always looks unfinished."

If you're preference is always glossy, it's understandable, but a high quality non glossy finish isn't a brand issue. I prefer a lower gloss finish and I strongly suspect more than 2% of ZMF's customers have the same preference.

 

[aloki]

My Vérité Epoxy Stabilized from the November 20th sale has arrived in all its glory.

This might be the very best one of the epoxy stabilized. Holy moly. Enjoy!

 

[FullBright1]

I prefer a lower gloss finish and I strongly suspect more than 2% of ZMF's customers have the same preference.

Stating the reality that high gloss is prettier then satin is really a no brainer.
Its just stating the obvious.
Consider a car, truck, guitar, van, piano, ... how would they look with a low gloss finish?
Woud you buy a Car, for $$$ 43,500.00 USD that has a satin finish if you can get it in High Gloss sheen?
No you would not. And why? Because GLOSS = value perception.
Glossy is prettier then non-glossy.
Thats just reality.

So, all the buyers who just purchased Zack's November Epoxy Verite's, disagree with you, as they are all high gloss.
And, Zack disagrees with you regarding his Newest Creation, which is the High Gloss version of the Verite.......Every single set.
Did you notice that not one of them is a satin finish?
Why is that?
Its because GLOSSY is BEAUTIFUL and SATIN is "nice'.
So, do you pay more for Beautiful?
Of course.
Quite a few people just did........ and would today if He had 60 more Glossy Verite's in Epoxy to sell us.

Both of my ZMF's have a finish on them, my Verite LTD and my Aelous....but, its not a glossy deep finish, which is always preferable on wood.

 

[aloki]

I think you're overestimating the percentage of people who would pay $300 extra. Also don't agree that "A glossy finish is the "completed" look on a piece of wood, and this is never found in a satin finish or "low gloss", etc. "High Gloss" on wood, is spectacular, and satin and low sheen, and low gloss, is not spectacular, and in fact it always looks unfinished."

If you're preference is always glossy, it's understandable, but a high quality non glossy finish isn't a brand issue. I prefer a lower gloss finish and I strongly suspect more than 2% of ZMF's customers have the same preference.

Agreed here. I have the Pheasantwood Verite, which is more of a satin finish and I will never part with them or exchange them from a different wood. Might add another Verite if I can snag a stabilized. I would definitely not say that the Pheasantwood satin finish makes less spectacular or look unfinished vs high gloss ZMFs.

I feel like ZMF does a good job deciding which of their offerings get a gloss vs satin depending on which goes best with particular woods.

 

[bfreedma]

Stating the reality that high gloss is prettier then satin is really a no brainer.
Its just stating the obvious.
Consider a car, truck, guitar, van, piano, ... how would they look with a low gloss finish?
Woud you buy a Car, for $$$ 43,500.00 USD that has a satin finish?
No you would not. And why? Because GLOSS = value perception.
Glossy is prettier then non-glossy.
Thats just reality.

So, all the buyers who just purchased Zack's November Epoxy Verite's, disagree with you, as they are all high gloss.
And, Zack disagrees with you regarding his Newest Creation, which is the High Gloss version of the Verite.......Every single set.
Did you notice that not one of them is a satin finish?
Why is that?
Its because GLOSSY is BEAUTIFUL and SATIN is "nice'.
So, do you pay more for Beautiful?
Of course.
Quite a few people just did........ and would today if He had 60 more Glossy Verite's in Epoxy to sell.

Both of my ZMF's have a finish on them, my Verite LTD and my Aelous....but, its not a glossy deep finish, which is always preferable on wood.

Not sure why you replaced your original post. Odd...

I respect your opinion but it's just that - you're opinion. Unless you're buying a Woodie wagon from the 40s, I don't see the relevance of comparing the finish of a car (very little if any wood) to headphones made almost entirely of wood.

I strongly suspect that the Epoxy Verite being high gloss is largely driven by the epoxy impregnation and what works best with that. I certainly wouldn't draw the conclusion that ZMF is transitioning over to high gloss for most sets or that high gloss in bespoke wood products is a global indicator of "value perception".

Again, definitely purchase what you prefer but don't assume others have the same preference. IMO Head-Fi would be a lot better place if people didn't conflate their personal preferences with a universal preference.

Edit: not sure how people purchasing high gloss Epoxy Verites demonstrates that people disagee with me given that high gloss was the only option. People certainly like the epoxy visuals and comment on that - haven't seen any/many posts that state they "love the gloss"

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Agreed here. I have the Pheasantwood Verite, which is more of a satin finish and I will never part with them or exchange them from a different wood. Might add another Verite if I can snag a stabilized. I would definitely not say that the Pheasantwood satin finish makes less spectacular or look unfinished vs high gloss ZMFs.

I feel like ZMF does a good job deciding which of their offerings get a gloss vs satin goes best with particular woods.

Pheasantwood may look "the least" handsome in photo, but when we hold it with bare hand, the feeling of our fingers touch the deep texture on there... better than any gloss feel.

 

[FullBright1]

Not sure why you replaced your original post. Odd...

Its because after i posted it, i realized that there would be at least one person who would read "glossy headphones are prettier then non glossy, and Zack's new Verite's are all High Gloss".......and this one person would feel somehow insulted regarding their satin finished ZMF's.......and i didnt want that one person to feel this, as my Post that states that Glossy is prettier then non-glossy, is not designed to cause that one insecure person to feel that im saying that their non-glossy ZMF's are not pretty.

Thats why i deleted it. For their benefit.

You see, there is always that one who is way too sensitive.... found hanging around this forum, and so, being that i knew that this one is going to read what i wrote, ... i decided that its better to be kind to them, then to be factual regarding what i wrote for the benefit of the rest of us here who do not wear our feelings on our sleeves, and are actually adults.

 

[NickT23]

Its because after i posted it, i realized that there would be at least one person who would read "glossy headphones are prettier then non glossy, and Zack's new Verite's are all High Gloss".......and this one person would feel somehow insulted......and i didnt want that one person to feel this, as my Post that states that Glossy is prettier then non-glossy, is not designed to cause that one person to feel that im saying that their non-glossy ZMF's are not pretty.

But you see, there is always that one who is way to sensitive, and so, being that i knew that this one is going to read what i wrote, ... i decided that its better to be kind to them, then to be factual regarding what i wrote for the benefit of the rest of us here who do not wear our feelings on our sleeves.

Yea people are oversensitive. Its personal preference. However, I agree with them on gloss vs non gloss, sorry to say. I prefer both but I am more leaning towards non gloss. Am siding with them.

 

[bfreedma]

Its because after i posted it, i realized that there would be at least one person who would read "glossy headphones are prettier then non glossy, and Zack's new Verite's are all High Gloss".......and this one person would feel somehow insulted regarding their satin finished ZMF's.......and i didnt want that one person to feel this, as my Post that states that Glossy is prettier then non-glossy, is not designed to cause that one insecure person to feel that im saying that their non-glossy ZMF's are not pretty.

Thats why i deleted it. For their benefit.

You see, there is always that one who is way too sensitive hanging around this forum, and so, being that i knew that this one is going to read what i wrote, ... i decided that its better to be kind to them, then to be factual regarding what i wrote for the benefit of the rest of us here who do not wear our feelings on our sleeves, and are actually adults.

I'm not insulted at all. Unlike you, I don't need to have everyone agree with my personal preferences to enjoy what I own.

Bottom line - you are incorrect when you state that "everyone prefers glossy" and that "glossy is always a sign of quality"

Not sure why you feel the need to go on the attack simply because I (and many others) don't share your opinion of glossy wood. Also not sure why pushing back at your incorrect universal statements is an indication of maturity. That's a big accusation for someone who conflates personal preference with global preference.

Either way, it doesn't matter, though I'm sure ZMF appreciates your business advice on a basic topic. Rather insulting that you think Zach and team don't understand their market. But hey, when you start your own headphone manufacturing company, make all the headphones glossy.

 

[zach915m]

I think you're overestimating the percentage of people who would pay $300 extra. Also don't agree that "A glossy finish is the "completed" look on a piece of wood, and this is never found in a satin finish or "low gloss", etc. "High Gloss" on wood, is spectacular, and satin and low sheen, and low gloss, is not spectacular, and in fact it always looks unfinished."

If you're preference is always glossy, it's understandable, but a high quality non glossy finish isn't a brand issue. I prefer a lower gloss finish and I strongly suspect more than 2% of ZMF's customers have the same preference.

Stating the reality that high gloss is prettier then satin is really a no brainer.
Its just stating the obvious.
Consider a car, truck, guitar, van, piano, ... how would they look with a low gloss finish?
Woud you buy a Car, for $$$ 43,500.00 USD that has a satin finish if you can get it in High Gloss sheen?
No you would not. And why? Because GLOSS = value perception.
Glossy is prettier then non-glossy.
Thats just reality.

So, all the buyers who just purchased Zack's November Epoxy Verite's, disagree with you, as they are all high gloss.
And, Zack disagrees with you regarding his Newest Creation, which is the High Gloss version of the Verite.......Every single set.
Did you notice that not one of them is a satin finish?
Why is that?
Its because GLOSSY is BEAUTIFUL and SATIN is "nice'.
So, do you pay more for Beautiful?
Of course.
Quite a few people just did........ and would today if He had 60 more Glossy Verite's in Epoxy to sell us.

Both of my ZMF's have a finish on them, my Verite LTD and my Aelous....but, its not a glossy deep finish, which is always preferable on wood.

Haha! I really appreciate that you guys are arguing over what type of wood finish is best. Truth is, I typically will try a number of finishes on each piece of wood, and sheen levels that I think might work before I make a final decision. All the woods get different treatment based on what makes the organic qualities natural to the wood look the most representative and beautiful. The reason the epoxy got super high gloss is because, well, when only half of the headphone is wood, super high gloss looks amazing. I have actually tried super high gloss on woods like pheasant wood and it looked awful.

This isn't to say that personal preference for gloss or satin isn't a thing, just like the tuning or use of a headphone, it's all personal, but different woods suit themselves better to different finishes.

The stabilized woods without epoxy actually get a semi gloss or satin, while the epoxy gets high gloss.

Anyways - there is no right answer, but I do take a lot of time and pride in the finishing and ofcourse as well as the sound.

In 2022 at some point I will really break down the zmf tuning, what that means, and some of the technical things that go into the acoustic side of our headphones and why I feel wood works best for that purpose.

Edit - I should also note - that since all our headphones are hand buffed, there can be descrepancies between gloss level or sheen level within the same wood species in that they are a hand made product.

 

[Smallpie]

Haha! I really appreciate that you guys are arguing over what type of wood finish is best. Truth is, I typically will try a number of finishes on each piece of wood, and sheen levels that I think might work before I make a final decision. All the woods get different treatment based on what makes the organic qualities natural to the wood look the most representative and beautiful. The reason the epoxy got super high gloss is because, well, when only half of the headphone is wood, super high gloss looks amazing. I have actually tried super high gloss on woods like pheasant wood and it looked awful.

This isn't to say that personal preference for gloss or satin isn't a thing, just like the tuning or use of a headphone, it's all personal, but different woods suit themselves better to different finishes.

The stabilized woods without epoxy actually get a semi gloss or satin, while the epoxy gets high gloss.

Anyways - there is no right answer, but I do take a lot of time and pride in the finishing and ofcourse as well as the sound.

In 2022 at some point I will really break down the zmf tuning, what that means, and some of the technical things that go into the acoustic side of our headphones and why I feel wood works best for that purpose.

Edit - I should also note - that since all our headphones are hand buffed, there can be descrepancies between gloss level or sheen level within the same wood species in that they are a hand made product.

Zach always coming with the responses! Cheers

 

[RobertSM]

Since everyone is expressing an opinion today. Let me share.

If you have the ability to run a mid-fi to upper level rig that can push solid power with headroom to spare, and you will ONLY be running your system indoors. Order a pair of ZMF Verite African Blackwoods. In my opinion they are easily the most musical headphones on the market. A real luxury of life to sit with the Blackwoods.

 

[bagofolives]

Fully equipped with verite now.

 

[Renexx]

I think I need another salire...