[bugstone]

Please post your ZMFestivus 2018 Chicago Impressions here.

 

[koven]

I'm curious to know if anyone tried Verite direct from DAVE and if it's powerful enough to drive it.

 

[B1ll]

Awesome event, even better people. Really impressed by the Verite and Aeolus, but I prefer my Auteur for my musical tastes. Thanks Brent for lending me your laptop!!

My favorite sounding equipment was the Thunderbolt A-10 and Stax headphone combo, but not sure if it would be appropriate for my uses. Anyone with a huge CD collection would benefit.

 

[CreditingKarma]

This was a great meet. Everyone was really nice and there was some great gear there for sure. The verite was great sounding. I really liked the meze Empyrean and was amazed by the abyss. I now know why everyone is amazed by it. It would be great to have another meet in a few months.

Can we get a can jam in chicago???? Maybe at axpona. Anyone who was local to the chicago feel free to PM me I am always up for grabbing some food and beers.

 

[MadSounds]

I'm curious to know if anyone tried Verity direct from DAVE and if it's powerful enough to drive it.

It defiantly did. one of my favorite listens of the day, but there were so many. Cpzzy's dave stack was just a tremendous addition to the event, please remind me the name of amp. That beast drove my modded he-6 extremely well, hardly any tube effect added compared to the other very nice tube amps in the room. Fast clean and present, much like the Audio-gd gear i'm accustom to except better and more enjoyable. I also listened to Verity, he-1000se, utopia, and briefly empyrean directly from Dave. Of these 4 I think I like utopia the most, but with a few minutes listening it's defiantly within the margin of flavor. Verite had an airy (dare i say ethereal) quality to it that reminded me of the E-stat rigs, probably more so then he-1000. This presentation my benefit more of a quite listening environment then say utopia, which slaps you in the face with what it has to offer.

The Zana Deux is another bit a gear that probably does better in a silent setting, maybe soft sounding compared to some of the other amps. I also only tried with Auteur which i didn't listen to anywhere else, so i have no real basis to compare.

My favorite sounding equipment was the Thunderbolt A-10 and Stax headphone combo, but not sure if it would be appropriate for my uses. Anyone with a huge CD collection would benefit.

Ray Samuels his was another of the many highlights. The Thunderbolt>>Stax was absolutely incredible I totally understand why they hold the reputation they do, they're presentation is distinctly different then all the conventional headphones in the room. My real surprise of the night was the B52. This sounded just mouth hanging open, sorry for staring, gorgeous. I've never been a fan of gear that adds something to the sound, and the B52 defiantly did. I came back and listened to the B52 utopia pair again after I had heard many of the other top notch amps present, this time without the Stax beforehand. Initial impressions affirmed. B52 had a bit more base and a bunch more fullness, and didn't seam to give up anything in return. If i brought a hi-fi skeptic this would be the system i would want them to try first. The visceral enjoy-ability was really undeniable.

My one tragic regret of the night is not listening to the Verite with B52.

I'll also add both Benchmark HPA4 and Chord tt stacks Jude brought passed the He-6 test with flying colors. Glad to meet the man himself.

 

[buonassi]

Heres a link to some pics from the event. Time went by so quickly! In attendance besides Zach and Bevin were:

Jude of head-fi.org
The other Jude... of JDS labs
Ray Samuels himself!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/113eovpbvb8SWEmcA

If anyone wants me to remove a pic for some reason, just PM me . Thx.

 

[cprime]

Heres a link to some pics from the event. Time went by so quickly! In attendance besides Zach and Bevin were:

Jude of head-fi.org
The other Jude... of JDS labs
Ray Samuels himself!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/113eovpbvb8SWEmcA

If anyone wants me to remove a pic for some reason, just PM me . Thx.

Thanks for the pics and video. Looks like a great time was had by everyone with all the gear and people that were present. I hope at some point to make it to one of these.

 

[KcMsterpce]

Glad I went. There are many kind and knowledgeable people (and many love to cook! Oh my!!! ), and a lot of amazing gear was an added bonus to the friendly atmosphere.

 

[Keithpgdrb]

Unfortunately I was only able to attend for a couple hours. But I will echo other remarks made here. The people who come to the Chicago area meets are truly some of the friendliest around. It was great seeing some old friends again and it was wonderful to see such a great turnout. Big time props to Bevin and Zach for putting together such a nice event. Festivus!!!!!!!

Ifi Utopia

 

[Keithpgdrb]

Quick PSA - if anyone would like to stay informed about Headphone meets in the Chicagoland area, please subscribe to the announcement thread. It is linked in my signature below, or you can click HERE.

 

[silverbot01]

Hearing 007 and 009 for first time was a big deal for me, and enjoyed both plenty. The Meze Empyrian was an experience. Final D8000 may have needed a better setting but I loved what I heard. And of course, ZMF's collection of open dynamics were a real treat. They were all so natural sounding but had trouble nailing down the differences between each of them in that environment.

If we do this next year I will for sure come and hear whatever else I can, and maybe have new gear to put on my table.

Austin/Silver

 

[chimney189]

This was a great meet! A few of my observations:
*** note: these are fairly brief impressions ***

- The Audeze LCD-4 put out the deepest bass I've ever heard. It was truly remarkable. I would nickname it The Dark Knight. I'd be interested in purchasing this headphone if it wasn't so expensive.
- The Audeze LCD-X put out great amounts of detail. I'm sad to say that I didn't spend enough time with it, but I would be interested in listening to it again in the future.
- The Focal Elear, Clear and Utopia were all a bit too bright for my tastes, although the amount of detail and dynamics they put out was impressive.
- I finally had a chance to listen to the AudioQuest NightHawk and I can see why people would like it's unique signature. I think that at it's current price point it's just as good of a deal as the HD 6XX. I would be interested in listening to this one more in the future.
- The Final Audio D8000 was damn impressive. It's bass had great punch and heft, it's highs were great and controlled and it had a fairly wide soundstage. I would purchase this headphone if it wasn't so expensive, however it is a bit heavy and the pads were a tad too small for even my small ears.
- The Meze Empyrian didn't wow me at all. The only things that stood out to me is that it's a warm headphone and fairly heavy.
- The HE-1000 V2 was by far my favorite headphone of the meet. I knew this fairly quickly because I just wanted to hear as many random songs as I could on it. The comfort is wonderful for me as well. In comparison I did listen to the HE-1000 V1 and the highs were just too bright, and I felt the same way with the HE-1000 SE. I'm looking to purchase this headphone and call it quits. NO joke.
- Lastly, the ZMF headphones: I found that the Aeolus was an extremely fun headphone to listen to. It had great bass and non-fatiguing yet detailed highs. This headphone is engaging and laid-back all at the same time. I find this to be a rarity in the headphone world. The Verite had probably some of the most impressive highs I've ever heard on a headphone. I actually asked myself, "Is this better than the HD 800S?" It also had a eerily holographic sound-stage to it that made it seem like I was floating in space with the music. All in all though, what really impressed me was the weight factor -- MUCH lighter than the Atticus and Eikon.

Great job in setting up this meet! I'm committing to putting a ZMF sticker on my laptop.

 

[BooUrns]

Waking up with so many joyous reflections on yesterday. Thank you SO much for coming out, sharing your gear, knowledge and enthusiasm. What an awesome bunch of people.

Speaking of people being awesome @bugstone got an impressions thread started for us already too! Thanks!

Let’s do it again next year!

 

[KingCharizard]

This was such a great time! Awesome gear, even better people - everyone was super friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Big thanks to @BooUrns, @zach915m and the ZMF team for organizing

 

[CreditingKarma]

Huge thank you to the team at ZMF for putting this together. My only regret is not having enough time to try all the great gear and meet all of the fine people that came. The entire ZMF line sounded great but I am drawn to the verite and auteur. Verite had a great tonal balance and sounded well balanced I only spent a few mins with both headphones but enjoyed the thuroughly.
I listened with the headamp gsx and the ifi pro ican. I need one of these in my life.

My wallet is crying so many new toys that I want now.