My bad! Yes you are right like @KlaraKlang said above.
I meant reversed as is in the Right input should be on the Left side (matching the RCA like you mentioned) probably still thinking of @Aendir picture.
Sorry for the confusion!
ZMF x JDS Labs Homage Amp
- Thread starter HeavyCn
- Start date
I meant reversed as is in the Right input should be on the Left side (matching the RCA like you mentioned) probably still thinking of @Aendir picture.
Sorry for the confusion!
My Homage order has not shipped yet. I will definitely follow-up with a comparison
I recently received my ZMF Caldera order and it is performing great on the Schiit Bifrost 2/64 to the V222.
As soon as the Homage arrives I'll use the Geshelli J2 DAC going to the Homage and report back.
It arrived today just in time for the holidays! I'm enjoying the Homage after a few hours but if I had to choose between the two amps I'd give the edge to the V222. The engineering, power, and depth/fullness to the sound on the Violectric, especially with the Caldera's planar drivers, are excellent. The Homage is close in performance and both of these amps have nice features with adjustable gain switching, XLR inputs, and good volume pots. Although the Homage volume dial is kind of stiff as others have noticed. I paired it with the Geshelli Labs J2 DAC, and tried it with Caldera, Verite Closed and Atrium Open.
My sound impressions are similar to what @joshua1122 mentioned earlier in this thread. There is a nice spaciousness with the Homage and the AO's sound lovely on it, very airy and expansive. The VC's sounded even a little more open than I noticed on other combos for a closed HP. The Homage output does seem brighter/lighter and the bass is a bit leaner. The impedance switch on the Homage did not have a noticeable change to me with the dynamic Atrium or VC's (hi or low) but it did make a difference on the Caldera as it sounded better as expected when switched to the lower setting. The V222 and Homage both perform nicely as solid state amps with useful features to accommodate a variety of HP's. However, in my sound impressions, the V222 has the fullness and smoothness that is more to my liking.
Can't go wrong with either. Vintage style points will go to the Homage and it's classic VU meter is a nice touch. The V222 is built like a tank, very solid, and it does have a 6.35mm whereas the Homage only has XLR and the 4.4mm jacks.
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Thanks for the comparison. I originally had eyes on the Homage but by the time it released an opportunity had come up to grab a V226. The Violectric also just had more features I wanted but this helps a bit with that 'what if..' that always seems to happen.
jdaeira
Head-Fier
Thank you very much for your impressions. I was trying to decide between the two AMP's. The V222 sounds more like my preference in sound as well. I'll probably go with that one.
xDoritosJackedx
New Head-Fier
I've been using the Homage with my Aeolus for a few weeks now and I'm a big fan. I don't really have much to compare it to but it is noticeably wider/3D than the Topping EX5 and a bit less sharp sounding than the Fiio K9 Pro ESS. I've been using the Fiio as the DAC for it with the Homage on high gain and impedance switch flipped down which I believe is low. In my experience, impedance switch flipped up is a cleaner sound and flipped down gives it a less detailed low end, raises the volume a bit, and has more spacious sound which I prefer 
I've found the VU meter very useful as it helps me set a static source volume which doesn't clip the audio.
I've found the VU meter very useful as it helps me set a static source volume which doesn't clip the audio.Just following up on a few more nice pairings I'm finding with the Homage. It is working very well on planar HPs with lower impedance. I tried my Aeon 2 Noire and Monoprice M570. The M570 has the same orthodynamic drivers as the Sendy and Sivga models. These HPs have relatively lower impedance but like a good amount of current. The Homage settings with the impedance switched down and the gain at mid-level (switched down) is a good match for these. I mentioned earlier I use this same setting with the Caldera and it sounds very nice. Also hooked up the Audeze LCD-2C I have not used in a long time and it seemed to open up. It sounded a bit less forward and more expansive (kind of spread out more but recessed) when I switched up the impedance. I'm using the Geshelli J2 DAC (AKM 4493) set at its full output volume with the Homage at this time.
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ctaxxxx
1000+ Head-Fier
My VU meter has stopped working. Not sure when it happened, but I barely have much hours on the amp.
droptables
New Head-Fier
My homage just arrived, going to give it some time before I share my opinions on it. I will say though it can definitely drive the Modhouse tungsten double sided better than anything else I have.
Ouch. do you leave the amp on at all times? Sometimes I turn my amp off because I don’t want the VU meter to go out. Not sure if that actually helps or not.
ctaxxxx
1000+ Head-Fier
No, I never leave amps on. The only thing I can think of is a sudden power outage we had, but that's never killed the VU meters in the Cayin HA-3A I have.
That is interesting if the Homage can push the Tungstens effectively. There are a lot of questions on what amps will pair well with it over at the Tungsten thread:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mod...headphones-impressions-and-discussion.968835/
The voltage requirements are high from what I gather on the discussions.
droptables
New Head-Fier
Yeah,
It’s been tough finding a pairing that I like that I didn’t like a different headphone with more. My ha-3a I liked with the tungstens but if I’m going to use up some tube life, I much preferred my ZMFs with that amp. With the homage it just makes everything sound good. The gain levels are different with it than I am use to. Where it is more based off your inputs so running it with the Schiit Bifrost 2/64 it works the best on low gain. ZMFs product info page explains how the gain levels work. Which is just different than any of the amps I have used in the past.
omega1990
100+ Head-Fier
Zmf homage vs jds element 3 mk2
I've been enjoying the homage amp for a few weeks now and wanted to post my thoughts on it. I tried it with different headphones and iems, but before I mention my findings I decided to first compare the element 3 mk2 that I used for my bokeh review to the new zmf homage amp using the element 3 dac. I used the hybrid pads and solid titan mesh on the bokeh because I didn't want to go through the process of swapping meshs again. Just know the solid mesh makes the bokeh smoother than with the burst mesh.
The element 3 dac was connected to the homage's rca input using the rca cables that can be ordered on the jds website. First off, using the element 3 dac is a more clinical/analytical sound, it wants to get the job done sounding generally clean. The bokeh on the element 3 is direct and pretty quick sounding.
On the homage amp, there is an immediate increase in overall soundstage, not a huge difference but there is a bit of distance between you and the music so it's not as in your face as the element 3. Also there is this sense of smoothness over the music that makes things sound less analytical. Their is an added sense of air on the homage which took a moment to get used to. I also tried the impedance switch and that added a little more to the sense of stage. It also took a moment for my brain to recognize that the impedance switch made the bokeh a little more holographic to my ears.
This amp is no where near as colored as the mjolnir 3, but it's not that typical clinical neutral sound like the element 3 or my memory of previously owning a THX 789 amp. Since they are using the same dac the technical difference is not big but noticable. What I find so convenient is that the element 3 fits perfectly on top of the homage amp. So if you buy a jds dac, it looks like it will fit just fine on top and get the job done. At least this seems to be an affordable way to make use of the homage amp if you want a simple dac and nothing fancy. The homage amp with the element 3 dac using the bokeh (using the solid mesh) is a good balance of pleasant but still exciting listen.
Special amps over the years have gained quite the following. Some of these include ECP DSHA3F Ravenswood 3F which was designed for focals headphones but reports mentioned that zmfs also worked well on it. Another amp from the same brand, ECP Audio T4 amp (uses tubes) which I would like to try some day was also claimed to work with zmf's but it's no longer in production. The mjolnir 3 that I have is also unique sounding for a solid state amp. Sure there are plenty of amps like the element 3, but amps like the homage and other amps mentioned above can be difficult to get at times. If the sound of these amps catch your fancy, they're probably no alternatives to them since each one from what I've read sound pretty different from each other. Typically tube amps are the kinds of amps that change the sound in unique ways but solid state amps like some of the ones mentioned above are pretty uncommon and you gotta do some research if you wanna know they exist.
Since I have no upgrade cables for the bokeh I decided to use my favorite headphone the zmf aeolus with zmfs grand silver paladium cable through the 4pin xlr output still using the element 3 as the dac and I decided to use high gain/impedance switch down so output at .7ohms. This setup played the aeolus straight and true, no gimmicks. So to my ears this is the aeolus as I've always known it to be, nothing is being messed with. I then used the impedance switch which changes the output impedance to 47ohms. On this setting the same thing happened again. Things were a little more holographic and the stage was a little bigger.
I then used my aeolus with the homage amp using my berkley reference dac with my xlr cables and the homage amp did a great job of scaling with a better dac. The sound gained another layer of weight and clarity. It also sounded more dynamic and punchy with this combination. The homage amp still comes off as smoother than the element 3 and also with more I wanna say euphonics so it's less clinical than my cfa3 off the top of my head. For both the bokeh and aeolus I felt fine listening to the amp regardless of which setting the impedance switch was at.
I think that if your not sure what amp to get for your zmfs the homage so far has a straightforward synergy with zmf headphones that will smooth out the aggressiveness of cheap dacs. So if your on a budget the homage and a basic dac works great, I detected no harshness when using the homage with my element 3.
After a few hours I feel that the homage amp captures my feeling about the zmf house sound showing that balance of the technical and musical. If there is a uniqueness to this amps sound, it is smoother than typical neutral amps with notes that have a little weight to them combined with a sense of added air. Sometimes warmer amps can make my zmfs sound a bit dark at times or even congested, but the homage is a euphonic neutral amp to my ears. I remember seeing zachs video on the homage mentioning he likes the more ethereal sound of higher end solid states. I will say that yes, while this amp is smooth it is a bit ethereal in its sense of air. It's like my zmfs can breath in its staging as opposed to cheaper solid state amps that didn't quite do it for me so that's pretty unique. If that's the magic Zach was talking about, I can confirm it's definitely here.
I really like how the aeolus sounds on this amp. While I have not compared it to my decware yet I already think they would work well with each other. The zmf/decware otl I know is much more lush vs the homage which is euphonic (so smooth/pleasing). Both amps are dynamic and engaging, just depends on which direction you wanna take your headphones.
Even from memory of when I owned a burson 3xp performance amp, that amp was much more raw sounding than the homage.
I've been enjoying the homage amp for a few weeks now and wanted to post my thoughts on it. I tried it with different headphones and iems, but before I mention my findings I decided to first compare the element 3 mk2 that I used for my bokeh review to the new zmf homage amp using the element 3 dac. I used the hybrid pads and solid titan mesh on the bokeh because I didn't want to go through the process of swapping meshs again. Just know the solid mesh makes the bokeh smoother than with the burst mesh.
The element 3 dac was connected to the homage's rca input using the rca cables that can be ordered on the jds website. First off, using the element 3 dac is a more clinical/analytical sound, it wants to get the job done sounding generally clean. The bokeh on the element 3 is direct and pretty quick sounding.
On the homage amp, there is an immediate increase in overall soundstage, not a huge difference but there is a bit of distance between you and the music so it's not as in your face as the element 3. Also there is this sense of smoothness over the music that makes things sound less analytical. Their is an added sense of air on the homage which took a moment to get used to. I also tried the impedance switch and that added a little more to the sense of stage. It also took a moment for my brain to recognize that the impedance switch made the bokeh a little more holographic to my ears.
This amp is no where near as colored as the mjolnir 3, but it's not that typical clinical neutral sound like the element 3 or my memory of previously owning a THX 789 amp. Since they are using the same dac the technical difference is not big but noticable. What I find so convenient is that the element 3 fits perfectly on top of the homage amp. So if you buy a jds dac, it looks like it will fit just fine on top and get the job done. At least this seems to be an affordable way to make use of the homage amp if you want a simple dac and nothing fancy. The homage amp with the element 3 dac using the bokeh (using the solid mesh) is a good balance of pleasant but still exciting listen.
Special amps over the years have gained quite the following. Some of these include ECP DSHA3F Ravenswood 3F which was designed for focals headphones but reports mentioned that zmfs also worked well on it. Another amp from the same brand, ECP Audio T4 amp (uses tubes) which I would like to try some day was also claimed to work with zmf's but it's no longer in production. The mjolnir 3 that I have is also unique sounding for a solid state amp. Sure there are plenty of amps like the element 3, but amps like the homage and other amps mentioned above can be difficult to get at times. If the sound of these amps catch your fancy, they're probably no alternatives to them since each one from what I've read sound pretty different from each other. Typically tube amps are the kinds of amps that change the sound in unique ways but solid state amps like some of the ones mentioned above are pretty uncommon and you gotta do some research if you wanna know they exist.
Since I have no upgrade cables for the bokeh I decided to use my favorite headphone the zmf aeolus with zmfs grand silver paladium cable through the 4pin xlr output still using the element 3 as the dac and I decided to use high gain/impedance switch down so output at .7ohms. This setup played the aeolus straight and true, no gimmicks. So to my ears this is the aeolus as I've always known it to be, nothing is being messed with. I then used the impedance switch which changes the output impedance to 47ohms. On this setting the same thing happened again. Things were a little more holographic and the stage was a little bigger.
I then used my aeolus with the homage amp using my berkley reference dac with my xlr cables and the homage amp did a great job of scaling with a better dac. The sound gained another layer of weight and clarity. It also sounded more dynamic and punchy with this combination. The homage amp still comes off as smoother than the element 3 and also with more I wanna say euphonics so it's less clinical than my cfa3 off the top of my head. For both the bokeh and aeolus I felt fine listening to the amp regardless of which setting the impedance switch was at.
I think that if your not sure what amp to get for your zmfs the homage so far has a straightforward synergy with zmf headphones that will smooth out the aggressiveness of cheap dacs. So if your on a budget the homage and a basic dac works great, I detected no harshness when using the homage with my element 3.
After a few hours I feel that the homage amp captures my feeling about the zmf house sound showing that balance of the technical and musical. If there is a uniqueness to this amps sound, it is smoother than typical neutral amps with notes that have a little weight to them combined with a sense of added air. Sometimes warmer amps can make my zmfs sound a bit dark at times or even congested, but the homage is a euphonic neutral amp to my ears. I remember seeing zachs video on the homage mentioning he likes the more ethereal sound of higher end solid states. I will say that yes, while this amp is smooth it is a bit ethereal in its sense of air. It's like my zmfs can breath in its staging as opposed to cheaper solid state amps that didn't quite do it for me so that's pretty unique. If that's the magic Zach was talking about, I can confirm it's definitely here.
I really like how the aeolus sounds on this amp. While I have not compared it to my decware yet I already think they would work well with each other. The zmf/decware otl I know is much more lush vs the homage which is euphonic (so smooth/pleasing). Both amps are dynamic and engaging, just depends on which direction you wanna take your headphones.
Even from memory of when I owned a burson 3xp performance amp, that amp was much more raw sounding than the homage.
Attachments
omega1990
100+ Head-Fier
Sennheiser ie600 and ie900 on the Homage
Since this amp is safe to use with iems, I decided to use it with my sennheiser ie900 first. Up until now I've mainly used my moon river 2 so I've never really listened to a setup for my iems that pushed them further. The homage with my berkley dac really surprised me. This setup makes the ie900 so dynamic and transparent while keeping that weighted smoothness. I did like using the impedance switch turned up on this iem. The dynamic driver of the ie900 works really well with this amp. I did consider buying a dap for my iems, but for my use case, the homage is all I want at this time for my iems. I knew the ie900 was pretty revealing, but didn't realize it could be pushed this far. In other words since you can use the homage amp with any dac I can push my iems as far as I want and safely drive them with the homage amp. This setup is neutral so the ie900 isn't messed with, only empowered.
The ie600 on this setup is the also the best I've ever heard it. I usually prefer the ie900 and now it's kind of a close call because of the added fullness the homage provides. On my moon river 2 the ie600 is more raw and v shaped. The homage fills in the mid range and makes the ie600 a super punchy and balanced version of itself or at least a little less v shaped imo. It's sounds more complete to my ears like this. At least now if I ever buy a higher end iem, I know this setup won't hold anything back. Didn't know iems could scale like this. I've been curious about summit fi iems but I have not made up my mind about which one to get yet, and now the homage has only increased that curiosity to hear one of them. For iems, I left the gain switch on low which is the middle setting and I'm getting more than plenty of range on the volume pot, no need for any additional gain.
I decided to keep using the ie600 and hook up my zmf/decware otl using rca to xlr cables and this is my first time trying tubes with iems. Using the decware as a preamp it's really interesting to hear the homage amp convey some of the staging capabilites of the decware into the ie600. Never heard an iem taking on the lush effects of the decaware, it took a moment for my brain to acknowledge this, lol. The decware adds layering to the stage and a liquid effect to the decay and just like sennheisers headphones, turns out their iems also like tubes! I decided to turn down the impedance switch since the tube amps adding the holographic effects on its own. When I turned the impedance switch up, the stage grew alot, but it might be too much of a good thing depending on what you want so you'll need to decide if you want intimacy or a big stage. With the impedance switch down the ie600 is much more direct and physical by reducing the size of the soundstage, but even with the switch up the sound is still plenty physical. The sennhisers iems sound very complete with the homage. I just don't get the feeling I'm missing anything even when using no tube preamp. Even with the praise I'm giving this I'd still say to take my iem impressions with a grain of salt because I don't primarily listen to iems and I've tried very few iems so I don't think I'm the best point of reference on this sort of thing, not yet anyway. I'm very surprised iems can look this deep into the details of recordings. The ie900's stage is almost twice as big as the ie600 which I know isn't much since their iems, but the ie900 is pretty grand when using a tube as a preamp. I did like the ie900 with the impedance switch down when using the decware because the images in the stage became too distant when the switch was up. Do I prefer iems with or without a tube preamp? I enjoyed them either way. If you want a larger/more etheral soundstage with added lushness then tubes should be considered, but even without a tube amp, iems sound so good on the homage I really don't feel the need to use a tube preamp. I think the tube preamp might be prefered with the homage if you listen to acoustic music, but on edm music, I like it more without a tube preamp. Also since you can flip the impedance switch to add a bit of an effect that reminds me of tube amps you might feel like your not missing out on anything if you play with that switch. Yes tube amps add more of what that switch does but its not necessary, I felt fine without using tube preamps.
Since this amp is safe to use with iems, I decided to use it with my sennheiser ie900 first. Up until now I've mainly used my moon river 2 so I've never really listened to a setup for my iems that pushed them further. The homage with my berkley dac really surprised me. This setup makes the ie900 so dynamic and transparent while keeping that weighted smoothness. I did like using the impedance switch turned up on this iem. The dynamic driver of the ie900 works really well with this amp. I did consider buying a dap for my iems, but for my use case, the homage is all I want at this time for my iems. I knew the ie900 was pretty revealing, but didn't realize it could be pushed this far. In other words since you can use the homage amp with any dac I can push my iems as far as I want and safely drive them with the homage amp. This setup is neutral so the ie900 isn't messed with, only empowered.
The ie600 on this setup is the also the best I've ever heard it. I usually prefer the ie900 and now it's kind of a close call because of the added fullness the homage provides. On my moon river 2 the ie600 is more raw and v shaped. The homage fills in the mid range and makes the ie600 a super punchy and balanced version of itself or at least a little less v shaped imo. It's sounds more complete to my ears like this. At least now if I ever buy a higher end iem, I know this setup won't hold anything back. Didn't know iems could scale like this. I've been curious about summit fi iems but I have not made up my mind about which one to get yet, and now the homage has only increased that curiosity to hear one of them. For iems, I left the gain switch on low which is the middle setting and I'm getting more than plenty of range on the volume pot, no need for any additional gain.
I decided to keep using the ie600 and hook up my zmf/decware otl using rca to xlr cables and this is my first time trying tubes with iems. Using the decware as a preamp it's really interesting to hear the homage amp convey some of the staging capabilites of the decware into the ie600. Never heard an iem taking on the lush effects of the decaware, it took a moment for my brain to acknowledge this, lol. The decware adds layering to the stage and a liquid effect to the decay and just like sennheisers headphones, turns out their iems also like tubes! I decided to turn down the impedance switch since the tube amps adding the holographic effects on its own. When I turned the impedance switch up, the stage grew alot, but it might be too much of a good thing depending on what you want so you'll need to decide if you want intimacy or a big stage. With the impedance switch down the ie600 is much more direct and physical by reducing the size of the soundstage, but even with the switch up the sound is still plenty physical. The sennhisers iems sound very complete with the homage. I just don't get the feeling I'm missing anything even when using no tube preamp. Even with the praise I'm giving this I'd still say to take my iem impressions with a grain of salt because I don't primarily listen to iems and I've tried very few iems so I don't think I'm the best point of reference on this sort of thing, not yet anyway. I'm very surprised iems can look this deep into the details of recordings. The ie900's stage is almost twice as big as the ie600 which I know isn't much since their iems, but the ie900 is pretty grand when using a tube as a preamp. I did like the ie900 with the impedance switch down when using the decware because the images in the stage became too distant when the switch was up. Do I prefer iems with or without a tube preamp? I enjoyed them either way. If you want a larger/more etheral soundstage with added lushness then tubes should be considered, but even without a tube amp, iems sound so good on the homage I really don't feel the need to use a tube preamp. I think the tube preamp might be prefered with the homage if you listen to acoustic music, but on edm music, I like it more without a tube preamp. Also since you can flip the impedance switch to add a bit of an effect that reminds me of tube amps you might feel like your not missing out on anything if you play with that switch. Yes tube amps add more of what that switch does but its not necessary, I felt fine without using tube preamps.
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