[Grayven]

It seems like I would really like the sound of e-mu! Thank you very much I wonder why e-mu's aren't as popular as x00's.

less availability.

 

[dnalekaw]

Has anyone had the chance to compare the Classics and Vibro mk2? The only major difference between the two (on an EARS rig) Is the upper mids and treble. I know that there are most likely other characteristic differences but it would be nice to know.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

I recently bought a pre-owned pair of Blackwoods in Padauk, and I am very very excited. I heard the Blackwoods at a meet back in I think 2015? and they were by far my favorite of the ZMF lineup at the time (this was before Zach had his own dynamics; I also own the Atticus in cocobolo and they are my favorite headphones in the world so far). These are going to replace a pair of balanced Classics that I have in my office, which are excellent for the price and I think put the HD600 and 650 to shame for not much more money... but the Blackwoods are in a different league. I'll be driving them with a Massdrop CTH amp and Modi Multibit DAC.

This pair that I got doesn't come with bass plugs, does anyone have any extras that they would be willing to send to me? PM me if so and thanks.

 

[Wes S]

I recently bought a pre-owned pair of Blackwoods in Padauk, and I am very very excited. I heard the Blackwoods at a meet back in I think 2015? and they were by far my favorite of the ZMF lineup at the time (this was before Zach had his own dynamics; I also own the Atticus in cocobolo and they are my favorite headphones in the world so far). These are going to replace a pair of balanced Classics that I have in my office, which are excellent for the price and I think put the HD600 and 650 to shame for not much more money... but the Blackwoods are in a different league. I'll be driving them with a Massdrop CTH amp and Modi Multibit DAC.

This pair that I got doesn't come with bass plugs, does anyone have any extras that they would be willing to send to me? PM me if so and thanks.

Hey man! I have had my Blackwoods for a couple years now, and they blow my mind, every time I use them. They have a killer mids! Welcome to the club! I personally think they are still the best closed back, under $1000, to this day! I will never sell my Blackwood, and actually just had a killer listening session, with them last night. The Liquid Platinum amp, drives them to perfection. Here is a little pic, of mine. Happy Friday fellow Blackwood fans!

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

Yeah, they arrived on Wednesday night and are on my head right now (Elder - "Lore"). They are amazing, and definitely a step up from the ZMF Classic in a lot of ways. These are definitely my office end-game. Now I just need an Airist R2RDAC w/ LPS to pair with the (mass)drop CTH and my office rig will be totally complete. Currently running a Modi Multibit v2 as my DAC with two sources, LG V40 via USB and Cayin N3 via coax.

As can be the case with used headphones, the pads on these are totally screwed. They compress all the way immediately and that puts the drivers right up on my ears. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if the person that sold them did so because they weren't "wowed" by the sound anymore but didn't realize that that's just because the pads were f@#$ed. Don't get me wrong--they're still fantastic and have that "wow" factor for me, but it's definitely not ideal to have the drivers right up on my ears, makes the upper mids just a little shouty. I've ordered a new pair and waiting for them to ship. In the meantime, they still sound amazing and look gorgeous while doing it. I LOVE the look of padauk and am so happy that I ended up with a pair in that specific wood. I originally ordered my Atticus in padauk but Zach emailed me about the upcoming limited cocobolo run and I couldn't have passed that up.

(edit: added photo)

 

[Wes S]

Yeah, they arrived on Wednesday night and are on my head right now (Elder - "Lore"). They are amazing, and definitely a step up from the ZMF Classic in a lot of ways. These are definitely my office end-game. Now I just need an Airist R2RDAC w/ LPS to pair with the (mass)drop CTH and my office rig will be totally complete. Currently running a Modi Multibit v2 as my DAC with two sources, LG V40 via USB and Cayin N3 via coax.

As can be the case with used headphones, the pads on these are totally screwed. They compress all the way immediately and that puts the drivers right up on my ears. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if the person that sold them did so because they weren't "wowed" by the sound anymore but didn't realize that that's just because the pads were f@#$ed. Don't get me wrong--they're still fantastic and have that "wow" factor for me, but it's definitely not ideal to have the drivers right up on my ears, makes the upper mids just a little shouty. I've ordered a new pair and waiting for them to ship. In the meantime, they still sound amazing and look gorgeous while doing it. I LOVE the look of padauk and am so happy that I ended up with a pair in that specific wood. I originally ordered my Atticus in padauk but Zach emailed me about the upcoming limited cocobolo run and I couldn't have passed that up.

(edit: added photo)

Yes sir! I put fresh cowhide oval pads on mine, first thing. I hope you ordered the cowhide, as those are the best and became the stock pads. I have a little trick, while storing them, to keep the pads from compressing. I do this with all my T50 mods. Here is a pic. I basically get a pencil, and wrap it with black tape, and put some grey foam on the tips, where they will touch the headband. The pencil wrapped in black tape is just long enough to keep the pads from touching, so as to not stretch out the headband as well.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

Yeah, I went with the cowhide. I also ordered a new lambskin pilot pad. Should arrive on Monday. In the meantime thinking about swapping out the pads from my Classic, but I'm nervous about the tuning foams and such falling out and not being able to reconstruct how they went back in, so I'll probably just wait for the new pair. I'm not working over the weekend so it'll just be today and Monday morning that I'll have to deal with the old pads.

Bonus close-up shot of the wood and slider. I really like the combo of the reddish wood and marbled green slider.

 

[Wes S]

Yeah, I went with the cowhide. I also ordered a new lambskin pilot pad. Should arrive on Monday. In the meantime thinking about swapping out the pads from my Classic, but I'm nervous about the tuning foams and such falling out and not being able to reconstruct how they went back in, so I'll probably just wait for the new pair. I'm not working over the weekend so it'll just be today and Monday morning that I'll have to deal with the old pads.

Bonus close-up shot of the wood and slider. I really like the combo of the reddish wood and marbled green slider.

Those are awesome looking! I love the look of the wood, and I would love to hear how it sounds, compared to my Blackwood. One other thing of note, is that these headphones scale up with better gear, like crazy. Everytime I upgraded a part of my chain, these kept getting better. I remember, when I first got them, they did not wow me at all. Then I put fresh pads on, and got used to the sound and fit, and now they freakin blow my mind, every time I use them. They are a really fun neutral, and have a huge soundstage, and they make acoustic music, especially guitar, sound so lifelike it is stunning. Point is, if you like them now, I can't wait to hear your thoughts, after the new pads, and more head time. I think a lot of people gave up on them to quick, and the fit can be tricky, but once you find that sweet spot, sky is the limit.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

Yeah, I bet they scale really well, but this is just my office rig for my 9-5 so I'm not going to go crazy on the source chain. Like I said, all I really want now is an Airist RDAC with a LPS and I'll be satisfied with this setup. I'm actually a big fan of the CTH, it had awesome synergy with the Classic and Atticus, and so far that's also true of the Blackwoods. I'd actually heard the Blackwood back in 2015 at a meetup that Zach attended in Austin and they were my favorite of his planars at the time, I think he was running them out of a Decware tube amp. They definitely had the most natural and realistic approach to tuning of all his T50RP 'mods' and that realism is something that my ears/brain appreciate in a big way.

As far as positioning, yeah, I'm familiar with this. I have some trouble getting the Atticus with their bigger cups and front/back rotation on my head just right and can spend a while finnicking with the fit and positioning to get it just right...then of course I usually need to get up for something and go through it all over again. But once you get them positioned just right, man they are just incredible. They do not sound closed at all and I love their rich, lush tuning.

 

[dnalekaw]

Yes sir! I put fresh cowhide oval pads on mine, first thing. I hope you ordered the cowhide, as those are the best and became the stock pads. I have a little trick, while storing them, to keep the pads from compressing. I do this with all my T50 mods. Here is a pic. I basically get a pencil, and wrap it with black tape, and put some grey foam on the tips, where they will touch the headband. The pencil wrapped in black tape is just long enough to keep the pads from touching, so as to not stretch out the headband as well.

All this Blackwood talk is making me excited to get my hands on my pair!

That pencil trick is very clever! I have to say, I'm a bit of a pad freak in that I dont like my pads compressing as well. Previously I just placed one of the pads in the opening of the other when storing but I'll have to give this a go.

Wes, have the cowhide pads gotten much softer since you replaced them?

 

[Wes S]

All this Blackwood talk is making me excited to get my hands on my pair!

That pencil trick is very clever! I have to say, I'm a bit of a pad freak in that I dont like my pads compressing as well. Previously I just placed one of the pads in the opening of the other when storing but I'll have to give this a go.

Wes, have the cowhide pads gotten much softer since you replaced them?

Thanks! I absolutely can't stand my pads compressing either. The practice of putting one pad inside the other, is the next best thing, but it tends to make the headband lopsided or uneven. As far as the cowhide, they have softened up just a little bit, but they pretty much look like they are still brand new, and I have put 100's of hours on mine. I feel like these cowhides will last forever. I know if you want them softer, Zach has suggested leather conditioner. I like mine stiff, as they hold their shape perfectly and don't compress even on my head. I feel that taking care of the earpads, and not letting them compress, is so important to preserving the sound signature. I will say that with the cowhides being a bit stiff, it takes a little adjusting to get the seal just right, but is totally doable.

Nice headphone collection you got there! Looks very familiar.

 

[dnalekaw]

Nice headphone collection you got there! Looks very familiar.

^ Well I would be lying if if I said you hadn't influenced the purchase of at least a few of my cans, and I love every one of 'em. So - I guess I can say that I'm lucky that we must share similar hearing!

Plan on getting the Aeolus too once I save up after my Blackwood's come in (I only want them so that we can have identical flairs, obviously).

PS: tell me how those Aeon 2's compare to Zach's planar stuff when you are able to get them! I'm very intrigued in the new magnet tech he's using.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

New pads were scheduled to arrive today, although they didn't, so I got impatient and took the pads off of my Classics.

WOW. I was not at all prepared for how big of a difference they made, or how gorgeous they sound. I didn't get much listening time in today, but I'm definitely getting a lot of time in tomorrow.

 

[Wes S]

New pads were scheduled to arrive today, although they didn't, so I got impatient and took the pads off of my Classics.

WOW. I was not at all prepared for how big of a difference they made, or how gorgeous they sound. I didn't get much listening time in today, but I'm definitely getting a lot of time in tomorrow.

Yes sir, when these are set up right, with the correct pads, and damping material placement over the driver, they are incredible. I have used the lambskin and cowhide oval pads, on my Blackwood, and prefer the cowhide, for the added warmth, but the lambskin had some great detail and could be good with a warmer source.

 

[dnalekaw]

@ohcrapgorillas I have to admit, I nearly snagged that padauk pair of Blackwoods but decided to go with a pair from Zach (nice looking cans btw).

Onto the headphone, they really are fantastic. I was a bit surprised to see that the cups do not articulate but they fit my head very well.

Cowhide pads are also my most favourite pad type I've tried on them too. They seem to tone down the treble to my preference very well. In fact, they are the most well-behaved t50rp mod I've ever owned in terms of the treble. From my own dabble into t50rp modding, the modification of the front magnet holders which Zach appears to do creates a very smooth sound which removes a large chunk of that upper mid harshness inherent in most t50's.

This song sounds especially excellent on the Blackwoods (as does it on the Ori):