Quick transaction, great communications. Very happy.

Does anyone have any opinions about how long ZMF earpads last with heavy usage before it makes sense to replace them? 6 months? A year?

I listen to a lot of fast aggressive metal and hard rock, and by far the CO is the best for these. Second place would be my Ironwood VO (the Ironwood is extremely dense so the sound is faster and more concise than on most VOs). The VO is similar to the CO but more analog in comparison, kind of...

AC on metal? Yikes. I listen to a lot of metal (power metal, sludge metal, symphonic metal, gothic metal, etc) as well as hard rock, and I would never listen to any of that on an AC or AO. The CO is the best headphone for metal by far. Metal needs speed, which the CO has. I also have a Hifiman...

I haven't heard the CC, but I have a lot of experience with the VC vs VO and AC vs AO. In my experience the closed versions of the ZMF's don't sound like they have less sound stage. The open versions just sound like the sound goes out without originating anywhere in particular in the depth...

I had a similar experience with my Ironwood VC. My Ironwood VO, in contrast, is probably my favorite headphone period. Wave Theory reviewed two different VC's and came to the same conclusion I did and that it sounds like you have. The VC is the only flagship ZMF I don't like. Yet it sounds like...

Interesting you say that. I have a CO, and the only cable I can use it with is a Lektrik S. If it weren't for that cable, I would have sold my CO long ago. With the Lektrik S, it is awesome. I have a Verite Silver cable, and that thins out the bass too much, making the CO sharp and thin. The...

I owned two VC's, including one Ironwood, which is similar to the Blackwood. I must have good hearing in the upper mid frequency, because on both VC's I had to keep the volume set so the upper-mid spike wasn't too loud. This caused all the rest of the frequencies to be too quiet, and it took...

I am wondering how its frequency response compares to the CO, VC and AC. People seem to be saying it is very close to the CO but with a bit more bass and a bit less brightness. So my question is whether it makes sense to have both the CO and CC, or if they are so similar that it doesn't make...

I hope there are some reviews out on the Caldera Closed before long. It would be hard to spend this much money on something you can't even demo when you don't know what it sounds like relative to other ZMFs. I know Zach isn't a huge fan of professional reviewers, but I have always found their...

Is the GoldenSound Wandla "better" than the standard Wandla, or is it just tweaked different to appeal to different preferences? Am I right that the hardware on the GoldenSound Wandla is identical to the hardware on the standard Wandla, and the only difference is the firmware, which brings some...

I just got a Holo Red streamer, and set it up. I am streaming off Tidal on a Macbook Pro (M3 Pro with 18 GB of Ram), or iPhone, to the Holo Red, to a Holo Spring 3 DAC and Holo Bliss amp. It is awesome. I use HQPlayer through Roon/Tidal on the Macbook. I got that working really well also. One...

Thank you for that explanation. I love your product. Do you think you will add the option of Tidal login to HQPlayer Client?

I bought these headphones new from ZMF last year. Their sound is very close to my Atrium Open, so I am selling them. They are in excellent condition. Price includes shipping and fees. Includes: 1x ZMF Atrium Closed Headphones (LTD Olivewood, A-Stock, with owner's card) 1x Case 1x ZMF Cable...

Does it matter what you set the "DSD" sources settings to on the right side of the PCM tab and SDM tab?

If you are using Roon, does changing the settings on HQPlayer Client do anything? I thought if you were using Roon, HQPlayer Client wasn't involved in the process at all.

Thank you. When I check 48k on a 44.1k source, it seems to make the sound very slightly harsher than if 48k is not checked. Maybe if I play around a bit more with the adaptive rate box I can fix the issue.

If the 48k DSD box is checked, will that have any effect on a 44.1k song? Or will it have no impact at all? I feel like it sounds slightly different, but I'm not sure if that is a placebo effect. Also, the "adaptive rate" box has the option for check, uncheck, and gray. What does it do if you...

So you always keep both boxes checked, and never uncheck them?

That seems to have fixed it, thank you. Should the "48k DSD" and "adaptive rate" always be checked, or should they only be checked when the song requires it to play?

It is. See my screenshot. Anything else I should set? Maybe change the DSD sources on the SDM tab?

Somewhat randomly when I try to run HQPlayer DSD on my Macbook Pro, nothing happens. I check the system, and it does not look like it is choking on what HQPlayer is trying to do, HQPlayer just isn't doing anything. HQPlayer and Roon are using little of the processor and little RAM when this...

I listen to a lot of rock, and it seems to me that Sinc-Mx is better on quicker, more aggressive music. Sinc-L seems to be better with music that isn't as aggressive. I will try that modulator. I tried it before but my older computer couldn't handle it.

That makes sense. Do you still prefer sinc-L and sinc-Mx for both DSD and PCM? Or do you prefer a different filter? Also, what modulator do you prefer for DSD?

Ah that makes perfect sense, thank you. One is high bit, low sample rate, while the other is the reverse. DSD seems to me to have less slam behind it than PCM but more soundstage depth, making it more relaxed and potentially better with slower music.