[Vex731]

ZMF had a tremendous event. The turnout was absolutely amazing. Great to meet a lot of you guys from the local community. There were many notable systems I tried. Among the best were Ray Samuel's Sony R10, the vocal presence of the R10s were amazing considering the age, it still holds up to modern selections. When the event was just starting Jude had brought the Chord Stack and listened with the HE1000se. I played my favorite song Gooey by Glass Animals, it was the best rendition of Gooey I have heard, it was almost holographic the way they sounded. The SR009 was among the best I've heard in the meet, well balanced and fast. The Auris Audio Nirvana sounded amazing with the Dave. The added warmth with the detailed sound of the Dave complimented each other delivering a smooth but incredibly detailed sound. Thanks again to ZMF for the event! See you guys same time next year!

 

[RCBinTN]

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.

Thanks for your detailed impressions, especially of the ZMF Aeolus.
I own the LCD-4 (previously the LCD-X) and can answer questions about them ... PM me if interested.
I am not interested in the HiFiMan products, but I hope you enjoy your upcoming purchase.

But ... the ZMF headphones may be interesting to me, at this stage of my rabbit hole journey.
Which did you prefer - the Aeolus or the Verite?

Thanks in advance,
Cheers!
RCBinTN

 

[chimney189]

Thanks for your detailed impressions, especially of the ZMF Aeolus.
I own the LCD-4 (previously the LCD-X) and can answer questions about them ... PM me if interested.
I am not interested in the HiFiMan products, but I hope you enjoy your upcoming purchase.

But ... the ZMF headphones may be interesting to me, at this stage of my rabbit hole journey.
Which did you prefer - the Aeolus or the Verite?

Thanks in advance,
Cheers!
RCBinTN

I prefer the Aeolus.

 

[koven]

I have seen a few people mention they prefer Aeolus (or Auteur) over Verite. Kind of calls into question the pricing of Verite?

 

[bobboxbody]

This was my first meet. I brought my pair of Atticus with my main goal being to audition amps. Highlights for me were the Zana Deux, ZMF Pendant, Glenn OTL and Glenn EL3N. Zana Deux was the leanest, most linear, uncolored and detailed sounding of the bunch. Pendant had good detail, less so than the ZD, but with more slam and body. Glen EL3N seemed to have the most slam and body, and was all around fun to listen to. Glenn OTL was my favorite of the bunch, definitely colored, lush, beautiful decay, but without being overly gooey, and with a natural sounding timbre.
It was great to meet Zach and the ZMF crew, and it was amazing to win the Auteur in the raffle! I've never won a contest, raffle, bingo, etc. my luck finally turned at the right moment.
I will certainly be in attendance next year and will get my act together in time to bring a few gallons of hot coffee, 1 cup of decaf, and some coffee beans and gift cards from my shop in Logan Square for the raffle.
Big thanks to ZMF for the beautiful pair of Auteurs and to everyone who brought gear and shared their knowledge.

 

[Roscoeiii]

I have seen a few people mention they prefer Aeolus (or Auteur) over Verite. Kind of calls into question the pricing of Verite?

ZMF is very forthright about their pricing and that they strive for a variety of sounds to suit varying preferences of buyers. That excellent new driver on the Verite isn't cheap.

From my discussions at the meet, seemed like the majority preferred the Verite. The Aeolous is a special headphone in it's own way. Especially with the new suede pads. Nothing wrong with preferring a less expensive headphone (see also Senn 650 vs 800).

Also wow is the Verite & Monoprice Cavalli Platinum synergy special!

 

[buonassi]

@silverbot01 - I had never heard stax before either. The 009 from that monster rig Ray Samuels had there was the best to date I've heard. Despite soft jazz playing vs my usual prog rock weapon of choice, I knew it was on another level of transparency and finesse.

@CreditingKarma had some focal clears with utopia pads. driving them from his SP1000 cu was the real treat. I believe my elears are going up for sale once I score some clears.

Suprisingly enough, I'd never heard mojo with my IEMs - and @buke9 brought his. I ended up spending too much time with it trying to pick out differences between it and my hiby R6 (with IEmatch). Long story, I thought the mojo was just a bit more natural and relaxed sounding - very real.

Both the Verite and Auteur were spectacular, with my preference leaning toward the Verite. The lower treble was more my speed on it.

Anyway, I got a few names and handles for folks near (or willing to travel to) Chicago. Waiting a whole year for a good time doesn't seem prudent, so we'll be working out some sort of get together between bigger shows. We will be sure and post for interest here, then on the chicago area announcement thread when it's official.

 

[KingCharizard]

Figured I'd add some brief impressions to contribute as well. Full disclosure - I heard most of these headphones for the first time (and in a relatively noisy environment), so you can weight my thoughts as you wish. At the very least, I'm going to get out to some more meets in the future because this was such a great opportunity to test and hear some awesome gear!

As far as gear goes, I liked the entire ZMF lineup but was very taken with the Aeolus in particular! Just the right amount of bass impact, decay length and midrange "thickness" (I prefer calling it "richness") for me. It had good extension and detail too, and ended up making some magic in my ears - I'm a fan (listened to it out of the pendant). I really liked the timbre of all the ZMF dynamics and would love to give them another listen in a quieter setting. Build-wise, the ZMFs are beautiful in person, they really do look and feel like the products of some seriously quality craftsmanship (the pheasantwood Verite with silver grills was freaking gorgeous). I thought they were pretty comfortable too, weight was distributed well and not a problem (though I obviously didn't have them on for hours). Worth the visit just to check their stuff out, not to mention that the staff were awesome too!

Some other quick highlights:

• Abyss AB-1266: Pretty funky looking and took some fiddling to get the fit right (they aren't supposed to seal tightly). The bass on these is fantastic - well extended with visceral impact, very nicely textured, great heft to it. Treble could get a little hot but I did not want to take these off, they were an experience. Run off of a liquid carbon.
• Focal Clear: Balanced sound signature, I thought these were tonally spot on. Punchy sound, though they seemed to lack a bit in extension (quite possibly due to meet conditions). Nicely built. I liked them.
• Campfire Solaris: Driven out of an iFi Micro BL (which is on my wishlist now). I tried them with my spiral dots - they sealed well and were pretty comfortable! I A/B'd them against my Andromeda S; the Solaris brought more weight and texture to the bass and lower midrange, while the Andromeda had more air and a wider stage. Both very nice IEMs, I'd definitely love to listen to the Solaris more.
• Audeze LCD-4: Driven out of a Liquid Gold. Had the Dekoni hybrid pads on them. Having owned the LCD2F (no suspension band) for 2 years, I couldn't believe Audeze headphones could be so comfortable - definitely going to get the hybrid pads, considering a headband swap too. With respect to sound, I think the LCD-4 had the best bass extension off any of the headphones I tried, they dig very deep. Lush, detailed midrange. Beautiful to look at to boot, a very nice setup!

There was a ton of more stuff I listened to but didn't get a ton of time with. The Susvara and Empyrean driven out of the Dave + Auris Nirvana chain sounded fantastic to me, though I found the Utopia a little bright for my taste - wish I could've spent a little more time with them all. Missed out on listening to a bunch of gear too, there was so much! Always next time though - thanks to everyone who let me try out their stuff

Bonus pic of the sexy Verite (wish I could've done it justice):

Edit: messed up the image link, hope it worked now.

Edit 2: rescaled the image so it wasn't ginormous. Sorry everyone, it's been a long day.

 

[Roscoeiii]

For those of you interested in other meet-ups between ZMFestivuses, as an FYI there is usually a get together of some sort at AXPONA each year. Think it has been a pizza lunch recently.

 

[mswobo]

Good times....great knowledge absorbed by this amateur. Really cool to see the variety of systems. Look forward to bringing my modest gear to the next event.

 

[Monsterzero]

I have seen a few people mention they prefer Aeolus (or Auteur) over Verite. Kind of calls into question the pricing of Verite?

Both are excellent headphones. I too was wowed by the Aeolus upon first listen. The Verite took some time,some tube rolling and some burn-in,but when all that was out of the way the Verite floored me.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I have seen a few people mention they prefer Aeolus (or Auteur) over Verite. Kind of calls into question the pricing of Verite?

Cost vs. Value pricing. Whether you prefer Verite or Aeolus, it's clear that the bill of material for the Verite is probably much higher. Just like Blackwood vs Teak Auteur. Blackwood is more expensive (IIRC), and it is definitely harder to work, so there were both increased material and labor costs involved.

 

[JTori]

Please post your ZMFestivus 2018 Chicago Impressions here.

Was there an Airing of Grievances?

 

[pippen99]

What a great day and great meet! Absolutely the best meet I have attended. I know the intention is to make this an annual event of which I heartily approve. I will be more than happy to pencil in this event in what passes for me as a social calendar.

The best part of any meet is meeting new people who share the same passion for this hobby and reconnecting with friends met at other meets(Nashville and St Louis). Thanks to the vendors Jude of JDS and Ray Samuels. Special thanks to Zach and Bevin of ZMF Headphones who put this together and pulled it off in an absolute first class manner. My biggest thrill was meeting our godfather Jude the owner and guiding light of HeadFi. We talked for nearly an hour not only about audio but shared passions outside of HeadFi.

There was just too much to see and listen but a few highlights. Verite: I have preordered a Verite Pheasantwood and was eager to hear one. I am very pleased with what I heard. Very fast with great speed, dynamics and clarity with great slam too. I listened out of several amps including my Cavalli Lau. I particularly enjoyed it out of the Manley amp. The Manley is striking in appearance and performance. It has many variables and I probably could have played with it much more than I did.

Monolith Liquid Platinum: I was a little disappointed in the LP. Maybe because I listened to the Verite back to back on it with the Manley but it just seem a little lacking across the board. It has been a long time since my Liquid Carbon but I remember a more dynamic SQ from it than I got from the LP.

LCDi4: Again a slight disappointment. Perhaps I just reaffirmed that IEMs are not for me. I may have not gotten the best seal as under meet conditions the top end seemed MIA.

HE500: An old friend from my very first meet. For me still the most impressive HiFiMan product. It was good to get to listen again

A few miscellaneous photos:

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[Tango Sierra]

This event far exceeded my expectations for enjoyment. I really need to spend more on Power Ball tickets. I can't wait for the next event. I want to thank ZMF for organizing the event and also all the attendees who generously shared their gear. I was so lucky to not only win a cord pouch with ZMF Atmos Silver cables inside, but the balanced cables had connectors that fit my LCD-X headphones. I'm really liking the sound of the Atmos silver.