Well guys, here's the moment I've been waiting for: My Auteur review. (Also, as a note, I do get a “reviewer” discount. And I am good friends with Zach, so keep this in mind.)

As you guys already know, the Auteur is Zach’s new open-back flagship that uses the same 300 ohm biocellulose drivers. It is built, more or less, with the same structure as the Atticus and Eikon, but with some changes to the pads and the wood cups. The pads come in two sits: One is the Auteur pads with a larger “earhole” and the Eikon perforated pads (don’t use these with the Eikon though) that impart a darker-tilt to the sound. The cups have been reformed to allow for an open grill behind the driver that also cuts down the weight of the can by a noticeable amount (compared to the Camphor Eikon and the Cherry Eikon I reviewed a year ago.)

Gear Used

All my listening was done on various amounts of gear: The Mimby/Magni 3, Amethyst/Kenzie, and Amethyst/Magni 3. Zach actually loaned me the Amethyst and the Kenzie to review as well (and…honestly, I like the Amethyst and don’t like the Kenzie. Take that as will.)

I also spent some time at @Mystic ‘s place listening to the Kenzie and Black Widow through his Gumby. (As a side note, I left his house really wanting a Black Widow…it’s a very surprising amp. I like it quite a bit over the Kenzie, especially with the Auteur.)


Overall Sound (Mostly with the Auteur Pads)

The big thing that stands out with the Auteur is that it is a suddenly departure from what I’m use to from ZMF cans. Usually, ZMF Cans are warm/bassy, mid-heavy, thick cans. In fact, my favorite closed-back can of Zach’s is the Atticus, which is the epitome of his house sound. The Auteur, however, is not that at all. The Auteur is a surprisingly neutral (if not only slightly tilted towards warm) can that has a smooth presentation. A better label might be “inoffensive.”

The bass of the Auteur is well controlled/tight. It goes down very low (with a small bit of rolloff) and has enough punch that it keeps from sounding like an Orthodynamic. It has enough detail to keep drums entertaining without becoming the “focus” like other biocellulose drivers. The worst thing I can say about the bass is that bass heads and Atticus-lovers will definitely feel like this can doesn’t have enough bass.

Two good examples of tight the bass is that come to mind are the intro of Dire Strait’s “Money for Nothing” and Mastodon’s “The Motherload.” With “Money for Nothing,” the drum beat hits with a good amount of authority, but doesn’t sound boomy, sloppy or overpowering (like it can get with the Atticus.) It sounds distinct, defined, and well textured. “The Motherload” is a good example of the speed and decay of the bass: The drum notes hit hard very fast, and eventually slow down to make way for the bombastic start of the rest of the song. The bass sounds distinct enough that the drums keep a strong presence in the song, but they don’t hit with enough authority to make it supremely exciting.

The treble, like the bass, is very well extended and gives a great sense of air and clarity. The lower treble gets a bit energetic (if not a bit sharp,) but I’ve found that tends to vary on an amp-to-amp basis. I will cover this later in the review, but a tube change on the Kenzie made the lower treble a bit too much. The biggest thing, by far, is that the transition from the mids into the treble is smooth, especially compared to the HD800 (with SDR) and the Eikon. Cymbals crash with a nice sense of detail in just about every rock song I listened to over the weekend, and didn’t leave me wanting anymore. But, there are some instances where, depending on the recording, the highs would be a bit fatiguing (like the Nier Automata song, “Amusement Park.”

The mids were pretty natural, if not somewhat unexciting. The upper-mids were not forward (nor recessed really) and uneven (which helps with the transition into the lower treble,) nor were there any noticeable dips in the lower-mids (something that prevelant in Zach’s T50RP mod line.) This smoother presentation keeps it from sounding super thick (like the Atticus) or thin like the HD800. This keeps music heavy in string instruments (electric guitars and acoustic guitars) sounding very lifelike and correctly toned (like in “Money or Nothing” by Dire Straits or “Epic” by Faith No More.) Piano have a similarly nice, even tone with the Auteurs. That said, they don’t stick out, nor do they ever become the “focus” of the headphone.

The vocals are a bit hard to describe without comparing it to the other headphones, which I will end up doing in the next big section.

Its soundstage goes surprisingly deep and has a good width. It isn’t HD800 or speaker size by any imagination, but the soundstage is above average in size. I found the speed faster than the Eikon and HD800 (though the HD800 isn’t a particularly fast can in the first place,) and the clarity to be pretty damn awesome. The thing that stood out the most was the separation. Instruments weren’t tripping over each other, and everything had its own place. Coupling that with the neutral, but smooth presentation, the Auteur keeps a very nice sense of cohesion that I don’t normally get from other headphones (including the Eikon….which I’ll get into later.)

Now, I should note that I’m writing this review with a focus on the Auteur pads. The Perforated Eikon pads smooth a bit of the Auteur’s sound out and add some more mid-bass punch to it. It makes the headphone seem a touch darker when, really, the bass is getting enough of a boost to become a bit more of the focus. Honestly, I preferred the Auteur pads, but I could see quite a few people going for the Eikon pads as it adds some special character to the sound. Everything else is mostly the same, except for the soundstage. As GBeast already said earlier, the Eikon pads do make the stage sound a bit more “semi-open” than “open.” It gets closed in a bit. I got this feeling the most from “The Doomed” by A Perfect Circle.

The Auteur also scaled with equipment ridiculously well. It’s one of the few headphones that makes DAC differences more apparent, and just gets better with gear (similar to how the HD580 scales.) The difference between the Auteur on the Magni 3 (which seemed to not go as deep and take on a slightly steely sound) and the Kenzie (thicker, with a large mid-range emphasis) was actually larger than the HD580 out of the same amps. Funnily enough, I thought the Gumby->Black Widow 2 was actually by far the better combo with the Auteur than the Amethyst/Gumby->Kenzie. I wish I could have experimented a bit more with the different amps, but it has been a fun thing to realize (as long as you don’t stick the Auteur or the HD580 into the Kenzie’s 600 ohm tap.)

Headphone Comparisons

The HD580

The HD580/650/600 are a team of special headphone to me. Despite the many pairs I’ve heard over the years, nothing quite nails the mid-range for rock (guitars and vocals) quite like HD580. Also, considering the price bracket of this headphone, it does microdynamics and microdetail right up there with the best of them. It scales with amps so well that it was become something of a meme-legend for that.

Now, the Auteur doesn’t exactly nail that mid-range crunch and feeling I get from the HD580. Honestly, the only thing that gets close is the Atticus…but the thickness of that can makes more for flavor than anything else. As far as microdetail, the Auteur outdoes it a bit, and inches its way towards the HD800 (though the HD800 still has a healthy lead.) Honestly though, it took me listening on the Amethyst to catch this, as the Mimby just straight up misses details if they’re subtle at times. The more noticeable difference was in microdynamics and macrodynamics, however. Compared to the Auteur, the HD580 had a tendency to shrink the difference between subtle sounds and louder ones. It wasn’t as bad compared to the next headphone on the comparison block, but the Auteur outpaced it handedly. This was very noticeable with one track: “The Doomed” by A Perfect Circle. The song moves through louder, angrier parts to Maynard singing softly into the mic, then back to angry and aggressive. The HD580, compared to the Auteur, lacks the impact to properly articulate the changes, thus everything sounds more like there’s a dull edge when it should be louder and more aggressive like it is on the Auteur. I’m assuming this is mostly because the Auteur digs deeper into the subbass and has more texture in that area overall. The treble being more detailed helps with that as well. The Auteur also transitions through “Money for Nothing”’s slow pickup a lot smoother than the HD580. Besides that, the speed of the Auteur is quite a bit more noticeable, and the soundstage is a lot larger. It wins out in separation and clarity as well, though that doesn’t take away from the HD580 doing unusually regardless.

The Eikon

In my ****-up review from before, I mentioned that the Eikon was ruined for me by the Auteur. Honestly, that’s still true. The first thing I heard when I put on the Eikon after nine months of not hearing it was the compression it suffered from compared to the Auteur. The Auteur had a lighter, cleaner sound and kept every instrument well-separated so they didn’t impede on each other. The Eikon, however, felt compressed, even in the microdynamics (in comparison.) If any tracks got busy, the Eikon seemed to stumble over itself and sound squashed together. It sounded like a closed headphone…albeit it was the best one if you wanted a more neutral sound. Honestly, the Auteur just outdoes the Eikon handedly in just about every area…except one.

The Eikon excels at Macrodynamics compared to the Auteur. If a song was aggressive and heavy, the Eikon let you know it...whether you wanted it or not. The subbass emphasis put real weight into ever bombastic tune. This was especially noticeable in gaming tracks, like “BIRTH OF A WISH” in Nier Automata and “Last Surprise” in Persona 5. Though, that comes at a cost: The Eikon has a rough transition from the uppermids to the lower treble. There’s a slight emphasis on the upper mids that leads to a spike that causes the lower treble to be rough. So, while the Eikon does well with aggressive tracks, it can get fatiguing in these areas. The Auteur doesn’t suffer from this problem, as the transition is a lot smoother. It’s more unexciting as a result, but you can listen to it a hell of a lot longer.

Honestly, I couldn’t really articulate last year WHY I thought the Atticus was a more special, enjoyable can over the Eikon. The Auteur taught me why: The Eikon sounded stuffed by the closed cups. They sounded closed, they acted closed, and suffered for it. That’s not say to they aren’t one of the best closed-back period, but they always seem to suffer from that dreaded “for a closed can.” The Atticus, on the other hand, doesn’t pretend it isn’t a closed can, and seems to excel because of it (as opposed to the Eikon trying to excel in spite of it.) If it wasn’t a flavor can that I couldn’t keep as only headphone long term, I was actually say the Atticus is just an outright better headphone than the Eikon.

The HD800

So I owned the HD800 for a couple of months, but had to part with it. I still hold the headphone in high esteem, and it is one of my favorite cans. Listening to the Auteur, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the HD800 when I was listening to it. When I was finally able to compare them side by side, I learned why. To help explain how these two cans compare with one another, I put this in a nice list with “Similarities,” “Stuff the HD800 does better,” and “Stuff the Auteur does better.”


Similarities:

1) Sense of Clarity and Separation: Both the HD800 and the Auteur take very, very good advantage of the DAC they’re given. If the DAC has an inky black background, these headphones make sure you know it. If there’s a grey one, then the Auteur and HD800 don’t make it any worse than it is. This was consistent between the Mimby, Gumby and Amethyst. HD580, and the Eikon to a lesser extent, didn’t seem to do this near as well. Every instrument seems to take its place incredibly well and they don’t have to worry about feeling cramped with anyone else in the song. It’s quite the surprise for the Auteur.

2) Microdynamics: The HD800 and Auteur have similar ways of handling this. Subtle sounds stay subtle (but noticeable,) and little details that ramp up into louder ones (“Money for Nothing”) transition very smoothly. Honestly, I was fighting putting this as a similarity, because the HD800 edges the Auteur out in this one area. But, it’s close enough that you’d have to strain yourself to notice it.

Things the HD800 does better:

1) Microdetail: The HD800 is still the King. The Auteur gets incredibly close, closer than you’d think, but the HD800 is still the king of this hill. This is due to just the unusually large amount of air the HD800 has over the Auteur.

2) Soundstage: Now, I don’t delve into speakers due to my situation, but even I know the HD800 is the closest anyone is going to get to a speaker soundstage (and it still isn’t even close.) As far as headphones go, the Auteur stands in the middle of the HD580 and the HD800. The soundstage isn’t closed enough to be considered intimate, but it is quite large (and airy.) There’s a lot of room to breathe, but it is more focused than the HD800.

Things the Auteur does better:

1) Speed: I hesitate to give the Auteur this one, as the HD800 isn’t really a fast headphone. AT the very least, the Auteur doesn’t waste time and hang onto notes…but it has enough decay that you wouldn’t confuse it with an orthodynamic. This isn’t honestly a big deal to me personally, as I find overly fast headphones (orthos, electrostats) to lose some character because of the speed. That’s just me though.

2) Macrodynamics: The Auteur may have lost in soundstage, but this is where it balances that lose out. The HD800 can sound like a thin headphone without much impact. The Auteur, on the other hand, sounds more aggressive and has more impact. There’s just more high quality bass with the Auteur, as well as the smoother upper-mids to lower treble transition. Where the HD800 has recessed upper-mids, the Auteur keeps it neutral, so it sounds like it has more energy and presence than the HD800. The HD800 is like you’re trying to study the music with a microscope, and each note has about that same effect as a germ hitting you. You know each part has importance, but none of them really make an effort to stick out…even if they’re supposed to.

3) Cohesion: Mystic and I actually talked about this when I went to drop off the Auteur with him and get the demo/refresh course of the HD800. The HD800, while having better microdynamics[slightly,] microdetail, and soundstage, lacks a certain amount of cohesion. The Auteur, with a similar level of clarity, separation, and microdynamics, has a surreal sense of cohesion with every song it plays. I suspect this is because the Auteur has enough bass and mid-range linearity to excel quite readily over the HD800 as far macrodynamics is concerned. It’s a more complete package in the timbre and handles rhythmic and aggression changes in the music that make the music sound more natural and enjoyable as a result.

Honestly, I have a hard time preferring one over the other, but I lean towards the Auteur a bit more. It’s just more engaging and pleasing, whereas the HD800, while fantastic, is more detail oriented and commands an analytical approach to music. If this was a fight of MSRPs, I would lean more towards telling you to go out and order the Auteur…but the HD800 does exist on the used market at $600. That isn’t exactly fair to the Auteur, as the HD800 at that price is unusual for the headphone market, but it is a reality. Those that hate the HD800 due to its unique, somewhat dry, nature will actually find the Auteur isn’t a bad place to be. At least, if you don’t want to play for the Utopia.

Conclusion

I’ll end the review with this: The Auteur is a very neutral, yet musical and cohesive package that surprises me with some of its traits. At $1,599 MSRP, I find a good value compared to the other headphones in this price bracket, with the exception of the HD800. I can’t recommend the LTD woods though, as I think $300 more for an ascetic change isn’t super-fantastic, but that comes down to personal preference at the end of the day (and my preference is to save that difference.)

But, if you’re the kind of guy that likes the HD800 (or already owns it) and wants more than one headphone, I don’t think I can recommend the Auteur as a companion can. The things the Auteur excels in over the HD800 [Macrodynamics and Cohesion] are also areas the Atticus excels in over the Auteur. While the Auteur is more of a complete package and not a flavor-can, the Atticus brings more variety to a headphone collection if paired with a HD800 than the Auteur does with the HD800. That also comes well under the “Open Utopia Box price-range” that the HD800 used + Auteur Teak new pushes itself into.

Introduction

Well guys...it is time. Time for the review a lot of you have been waiting for: The ZMF Eikon. This beauty is made with a biocellulose dynamic driver covered by Cherry wood housing. The best part? It doesn't have weird tuning choices! For this review, I used a NFB-11 and a Decware OTL. Also, as a fun note, I'm keeping all Atticus vs. Eikon stuff for the end.

Build Quality and Comfort

[Word of warning: You can skip this if you've read my Atticus review. It is the same paragraph, as they use the same kind of frame to build off of.]

Much like the Omni, Vibro and Blackwood before it, the Eikon uses wood cups that provide a gorgeous aesthetic while keeping the handmade feel one comes to expect form the ZMF brand. However, the Eikon is a step up above all three of those in build quality. Since this headphone is entirely designed by ZMF, it no longer uses the stock Fostex head-band. Instead, Zach uses heavy-duty sliders connected to a headband that keeps the entire headphone sturdy and feeling solid. Zach uses a combination of a pad wrapped around the headband and a strip of leather for comfort, which keeps the weight distributed nicely on your head. The pads also nice and thick with foam that keeps the headphone from feeling like it has a large clamp around your ears.

Sound

Honestly, this is the first biocellulose tuning I've ever heard that leaned neutral and not completely weird in some way (like the TH900's...everything but bass, or the Nighthawks weird "we don't want to fatigue you...but you don't get to hear anything else either.) Let's just jump straight into the nitty gritty.

Bass

Ah, the bass. The bass of the Eikon is best described (and I'm stealing this from a friend) as "integrated." It is deep, powerful, and detailed. However, it doesn't try to stand out. It just is. Much like the HE-6, in fact.

There is a bit of subbass over midbass emphasis. This leads to a powerful sound that doesn't really make itself known until it absolutely needs to. And when it does make itself known, it has a distortion free and well-texture quality to it. Unlike other dynamics, it also has a speed to it that is normally not matched by other headphones.

Because there is only a touch of warmth, the Eikon doesn't become over-bloated from a warm OTL amp either. In fact, it matches quite well with a neutral solid-state or a fun tube amp.

If I can be honest, this is the hardest part of the review. Unlike most headphones, the bass of the Eikon doesn't stand out aside from the subbass emphasis. Because of that, the Eikon is hard to describe in detail other than "what is there is excellent."

Mids

The lower mids of the Eikon are a pretty special thing. The seemless transition from the mid-bass into the lower mids adds quite a bit clarity to the bass notes, which helps establish the non-intrusive (but powerful) bass of the Eikon.

Unlike most of Zach's other headphones, the rest of the mid-range is not thick at all. They are, however, incredibly fast and shine with complex pieces of music. Vocals also stand out as particularly natural sounding. Due to this clarity, the imaging is quite spectacular.

The upper mid-range, much like the rest of the headphone, is an incredibly smooth transition. Combine that with the speed of the driver, the Eikon gains an incredibly sense of attack to the end of each note.

Despite that neutrality, the mids of the Eikon have a very unique situation applied to them: The timbre is very similar to headphones like the HD6x0. I actually had to borrow someone's HD600 to confirm that it was in fact similar to the HD6x0 series (and indeed it is.)

Treble

The best things I can say about the treble is that it is well extended, incredibly clear, smooth, and has a bit of energy. In fact, the air of this headphone shattered my expectations of a closed headphone. I would throw in more of description, but, like the bass, it is just well-integrated. The low distortion and extension lead to something that is quite...neutral and unexpected from both Zach and a biocellulose driver.

Overall Sound and Technicalities

The soundstage, overall, is bigger than the majority of closed-back headphones (including the TH900.) It is now, however, anywhere near a headphone like the T1 or even the HE560. That said, the detail and imagery alone make up for this difference. To top it off, the transients of this headphone are among the fastest I've ever heard out of any headphone out there.

Overall, this headphone is a smooth, powerful, detailed, quick, revealing black-backgrounded son of a bitch. There's nothing really much to this headphone: It is just fantastic.

Final notes on Atticus vs. the Eikon

You know, at first...this was an obvious choice preference and technicalities wise. My preference leaned heavily towards the Atticus, while I knew that the Eikon was just better technically. However, as time went on, the differences between the two became less obvious over time.

• The Speed: While doing critical listening, the Eikon is always faster, if just barely. Surprisingly, the Atticus could keep up in most things, with the exception of the midbass area at times. However, during casual listening, the difference was drastically harder to notice. This TPE driver is big surprise, and the Atticus may be quite underrated in this area.
  
• The resolve is a weird one. In all honestly, one is not really outdoing the other. However, the more neutral and linear sound of the Eikon, especially in the treble, allows it to exceed in making the microdetail more apparent. The Atticus, however, is too thick at times and you can miss the smaller details if you aren't paying attention for them.
  
• The treble extension of both well exceeds what is usually in a closed headphone. However, the Eikon is slightly better extended in this area, while the Atticus recesses it a bit to keep the overall sound leaning towards an overall dark sound (but not overly so.)
  
• The Atticus aims for a huge presence. It is big and bombastic in everything it does. The Eikon, on the other hand, is smoother and leans more towards the neutral side, giving you the music as it should be while adding only a drop of color into it.
  
• Surprisingly, their tonality actually follow the same lines: a bass emphasis, into linear but amazing mids, followed by smooth treble. The difference lies in how far they go with it. The Atticus goes all the way and boosts the bass and lowers the treble, making more a downward slope. The Eikon, however, tries to keep it as even as it can.
  

Honestly, they're both just as good as the other. The main difference comes down to this: what is your perference? Because, as everything else in this hobby, everything comes down to what you want to hear, not what others want you to. Personally, I'm getting a Paduak Atticus, as I'd rather have a colored sound with almost all the technicalities of the Eikon. I know a lot of people who are thinking the opposite, however.

Introduction

Here we have it folks: The first up of Zach's two all-ZMF dynamic headphones: The Atticus. The Atticus uses a TPE driver housed in some awesome wood cups to deliver the very epitome of ZMF House Sound.

Build Quality and Comfort

Much like the Omni, Vibro and Blackwood before it, the Atticus uses wood cups that provide a gorgeous aesthetic while keeping the handmade feel one comes to expect form the ZMF brand. However, the Atticus is a step up above all three of those in build quality. Since this headphone is entirely designed by ZMF, it no longer uses the stock Fostex head-band. Instead, Zach uses heavy-duty sliders connected to a headband that keeps the entire headphone sturdy and feeling solid. Zach uses a combination of a pad wrapped around the headband and a strip of leather for comfort, which keeps the weight distributed nicely on your head. The pads also nice and thick with foam that keeps the headphone from feeling like it has a large clamp around your ears.

Sound

Enough about the industrial stuff...let's get into the nitty-gritty here: the sound. It is the epitome of the ZMF House sound and a very logical step-up from the Omni. Zach, being no longer held back by the small and restricting T50 driver, truly went all out with his evolution of his house sound.

 

Bass

The very first thing one will notice upon listening to this headphone is the large (and proud) amount of bass the Atticus puts out. It manages to toe a very, very fine line between "entirely too much and boomy" and "satisfyingly warm and rhythmic." Any more midbass, and it would entirely throw the headphone in the muddy category. Any less...and well, it take away from the amazing sense of warmth and rhythm you get on the low end.

Another good word to describe this bass region is...well, powerful. What does this mean, one might ask? Well...it has a surprisingly amount of subbass for what is a very-midbass emphasized headphone. It is a bold and proud its low-end, something I wish I could say for the Nighthawk, for instance.

Here's the strange thing: I already thought the Omni was toeing the line of "too much," but the Atticus has a lot more power and warmth than the Omni did. Yet, it pulls it off. This is due to the lack of distortion on the low end that, quite honestly, puts the THX00 (maybe even the TH900) to shame. There is absolutely no lose of definition in the low-end with this amount of bass, which is a huge achievement in itself.

 

Mids

Another part of the headphone that makes the amount of bass work is the very awesome low mid-range. It is well-flourished enough to add clarity to that amount of midbass, something that is usually lacking in headphones in headphones with this kind of emphasis. However, just like the mid-bass, it is toeing the fine line between "too much and muddy" and "just right enough it works."

The rest of the mid-range is done quite well. Instruments have a great amount of presence this region that prevents it from other-wise being overshadowed and becoming overly thick.

The upper mid-range of the headphone features no fatigue at all. The attack is fantastic, vocals sound clear and crisp (if not slightly in the background at times,) and the overall timbre has a very unique quality to it. The only issue that seems to pop up is the slight dip in the upper-mids that makes the edge of this region taper off a bit and become distant. However, this (and the lower-treble region) have this quality reduces the amount of deflection off the cups (since this is a closed-headphone.) The result is a very non-fatiguing headphone that never sounds "off."

That said, the amazing part of this midrange is that, despite the thickness caused by the bass and lower-mids, it remains incredibly clear, detailed, and resolving even during the most chaotic of songs.

 

Treble

Despite the thick mid-range, there is still an clarity in the lower-treble/presence regions. This causes the Atticus to sound surprisingly lively, but never fatiguing.

The rest of the treble (brilliance) region is quite nice. The entire headphone is a slow descent into a dark high-end, but not overly so. It's actually surprisingly close in air to the HD600, which is damn good for a closed-back headphone in general.

 

Overall Sound and Technicalities

Overall, this headphone takes on a very thick, romantic, and slightly dark sound signature. To accompany this kind of sound, the Atticus takes on a very organic amount of decay (while still being faster than most headphones.) The resolve is fantastic (reminds me a lot of the HD6x0 in that aspect,) especially for this kind of sound signature and closed-back.

The soundstage, however, is very much indicative a closed-back. While being incredibly wide and accurate, there is a certain lack of depth that creates a bit of intimacy.

As far as how well this headphone scales...it scales very well. The issue is...well, the low end can get a bit too much with a warm amplifier. It already toes a fine line of being too warm, so adding anymore just kind of...kills the momentum, so to speak.

Conclusion

That all said, I really enjoy this headphone. It is a clear evolution of Zach's house sound and a damn fine accomplishment in balancing this kind of signature. This is a bold, powerful headphone that just wants one to hear its thick, meaty midrange.

The Introduction
 
Well, lovely citizens of head-fi, I am finally ready to bring you the review of the new T50RP mod by ZMF Headphones, known as the ZMF Omni. It is a semi-open headphone that uses wooden cups and driver modifications to make a headphone that does not resemble the original all that much. If you want to see pictures, here is my impressions thread from reddit.
 
I have, in my mind, owned the headphones long enough that the initial hype has worn off and I can bring you a mostly level headed opinion of this headphone. Also, so that I can give you the most detailed review I could, I have listened to, at home for a couple days at a time, each wood you can choose for the Omni.
 
The Build
 
Since this is a T50RP mod, the headphone uses the T50RP's frame/body as the base to build off of. That aside, everything on this headphone has been upgraded/customized with the exception of the flexible/sturdy headband. The cups are wood (which, from what I've seen, do not crack and are really durable,) the sliders are given different paint jobs, there's three ear pad materials to choose from, and you can get a comfort strap (or pilot bad...or both.)
 
The overall feel is damn sturdy, and the look is pretty awesome (as well as customizable to a degree.)
 
As far as comfort goes...well, it depends on the wood. Cherry is the lightest and Blackwood is the heaviest. However, the pilot pad or buffalo strap included helps distribute the weight of the headphone that allows you to wear it a long time. The ear pads are even more comfortable. Zach spent a very long time going through manufacturers until he found one that made the pads to his standards, and it does show. The foam inside is sturdy and forms to your ears, and the three kinds of material [cowhide, lamb leather, and eggshell protein pleather] to choose from helps find that perfect material you want. I, for example, like the cowhide pads the best, but some people enjoy lambskin the most.
 
The Sound
 
Now here's the most important part: How does the Omni sound? Well, it sounds unique and wonderful. It is a mid-heavy, organic headphone that seems oddly balanced/neutral. It has a bit of energy to it, handles bass like a pro, and has a thick (but open) midrange. The closest headphone that I could compare to it accurately is the LCD 3, but I can't honestly do that to this headphone. My favorite headphone, before this one, was the LCD 2 due to the emphasis on enjoyment of the headphone over the technicalities. (As a side-note, I dislike the LCD 3 compared to the LCD 2, as I found it didn't hit that sweet spot the LCD 2 did.) After this listening to the Omni for about a month, this headphone has taken its place.
 
The headphone comes in three woods: walnut, cherry, and blackwood. Each comes with their own flavor of the sound signature. Here's a nice chart to compare the differences:
 

1. The Cherry - Has the longest decay in the bass, the most mid-bass, the largest soundstage, but takes a small hit in the detail of higher ranges. It is the most relaxing/enjoyable headphone of the trio.
2. The Blackwood - Is the most technically proficient headphone of this trio. It has the fastest decay, most emphasis on subbass, and the best detail in the higher ranges. However, it has the smallest soundstage, and the least fun out of the trio.
3. The Walnut - This one is odd to describe. It is the most ordered of the three woods, and for good reason. It seems like a compromise between the two woods, and it kinda is. It has a soundstage and speed that is in between the Blackwood and Cherry. However, the headphone has something that other two don't: an amazing amount of bass impact. The Cherry focuses on delivering that slow, cinematic boom, while the Blackwood puts out a clean subbass. The Walnut, however, gives an impact that is clean, but methodical. It hits pretty well and surprises at times. Yet, it keeps the detail the Blackwood has.

 
That said, the Walnut is actually becoming my least favorite of the three. While I would say it's the most popular for a reason, I find myself oddly torn between the Cherry (for its relaxing nature) or the staying power of a more technically proficient headphone (the Blackwood.)
 
To make this all the more confusing, the pads also make a pretty good impact on the sound. The cowhide is the cleanest sound to the pads. It gives a bit more impact to the bass and provides the most extension. The lamb leather, on the other hand, provides the same benefits as the Cherry wood: a more cinematic sounding bass with a touch more darkness to the sound. The pleather (and least favorite pad) provides the "most" bass quantity, the most darkness, and works best with the Blackwood...oddly enough.
 
The headphone does well with basically any genre thrown at. Music sounds lively and fun, games are exciting and immersive, and movies are just superb. It also scales well to the sound signature of an amplifier or DAC. I've used it with both the Geek Pulse and the NFB 15.32, and both the amp/dacs brought something different out of the headphone (even if it is just subtle.)
 
Conclusion
 
How does this headphone compare to other T50RP mods and sub-1000$ planars? Well...amazingly well. You have a headphone that can be compared to the likes of the LCD 3 in the sub-1000$ quantity. It outdoes the LCD 2 at its own game, outdoes the Alpha Prime, and pretty much outdoes any T50RP mod or sub-1000$ planar out there. This even includes the HE560.
It is now my favorite headphone. It's not the most detailed headphone with the largest soundstage, but it was never aiming for that. It absolutely nails that relaxing, enjoyable sound that does well with any medium. It is quite the gem.

Introduction
 
Hello everyone, it sure has been awhile. I've had these headphones for a little over a week and a half now after a five week wait (which was not Zach's fault...I'll elaborate on that later,) so I now feel I have a non-hyped, unbiased view of these headphones I can share with you safely without falling into the unfortunate spiral of hype train nonsense that the Alpha Prime subjected me to.
I'm not going to spoil the fun here, so no intro-TL;DR. Also, I'm going to include the Blackwood impressions and the reason I'm not going to do the Blackwood review until late April-Early May in the comments.
 
Build, Appearances, and Comfort
 
I'll start out with the pictures of the Vibro, Blackwood, and my Maine Coon kitten.
 
The first thing you'll notice is the thing that sets the ZMF headphones apart from the rest of the Fostex mods: he uses wooden cups to improve what he can do with the driver. The Vibro uses a cherry wood cup that can be customized with just about any stain you want. As with most things like this, my iPhone can't do justice to how well these cups were made and stained. The sliders can likewise be customized to a variety of colors so that you can match your cup with the sliders. At the end of the cups, Zach installed two 3-pin mini-XLR connectors that can be used with just about any aftermarket cable for Audeze cans, which is quite convenient if you ever need to find a replacement.
 
As far as the cups' integrity goes, I don't think you'll ever have to worry about them cracking. They're pretty thick and sturdy, which will help out the soft cherry take abuse. Not that you should ever put these in that kind of situation. Despite this, however, the Vibro stays noticeably lighter than its Blackwood cousin.
The headband is the original Fostex one, so I'll just say that it is incredibly sturdy and flexible.
 
The ear pads may seem familiar to you, as they should. They're the MrSpeaker's Alpha Pads, which are incredibly comfy and very soft. My only issues with them have been the foam flattening as time goes on and the lamb leather being thinner than it should be. For the time being, however, this is the best and only choice available.
As far as the headband comfort is considered, you have two choices: the thick strap of leather known as the buffalo strap (a classic for planars) and a foam-filled (pleather?) pad known as the pilot pad. Which one is better? Honestly, it's all preference. However, if you have a head large enough to make the Audeze LCD 2 seem like a normal headphone, than you should probably go with the pilot pad, as it offers more room for your noggin.
 
Now, to be completely blunt, these are planars so expect them to be heavy. The Vibro isn't near as bad as, let's say, the LCD 2.2, but it's very similar to the HE400 in weight. The strap/pilot pad does distribute the weight and make it unnoticeable unless you have the bad habit of wearing headphones for more than eight hours a day like I do.
My only real issue with the build is the how the Alpha Pads are over the cup, which is a huge nitpicky-kind of thing. I would personally prefer to have the cups completely uncovered in all their glory, but I understand limitations make the near impossible.
 
As a side note that will be rendered obsolete in a couple months, the pilot pad seems a bit more fragile than I would have liked. The leather holding the foam is pleathery and seems like it would tear easily. But, like I said, that opinion will be obsolete soon.
 
The Sound
 
Now for the real reason you came here. If I could describe this headphone in two words, it would be "controlled chaos." Usually this would raise a red flag, as no headphone should have "chaos" in the description its sound unless it happens to describe what the hell the HE1000 is going to do to your wallet, but it is quite a good thing. With the exception of the normal Fostex 10khz spike, this headphone is very dark. Not the bad undetailed kind of dark, but the smooth, relaxing kind of high-end. It can be slower in its sound at times, and fast at others...it's truly bizarre, but that's the nature of a mid-forward headphone sometimes. Hell, if you want to skip right to the end, I can say "this does everything well, but does some things VERY exceptional" and call it day.
 
With one port open (which is my music-oriented preference,) the headphone is very warm and HE500-like with a more lush forwardness in the mids (much like the HE400i.) The bass and the mids are linear in an upward sense, with the subbass rolling off softly. It is a very enjoyable headphone for music, and does pretty well with just about anything that doesn't demand obscene amounts of detail or a glorious soundstage (as it is about the same size as the HE400i's...if not a touch smaller due to being a touch more forward.)
 
If you're feeling risky, go ahead and open another port. You'll be welcomed with a much more impactful sound that seems almost cinematic in quality (not the bad kind of cinematic) with just how "big" it is in a way. The Vibro becomes more bass leaning, with just a slight more emphasis in that area that keeps it more in line with how lush the mids are. In fact, the added bass helps in this area. While the one port open makes the headphone more musical and forward, two ports make it more organic. I could also just say you'll notice the bass is bigger, the rolloff is slightly worse, and the mids are a bit lusher. To make it even more simpler, the headphone has more body to it.
 
Now, if you open up ALL the ports like Zach intended...well, that's where the "organized chaos" comes into play. Simply put, the headphone can't decide what the hell it wants to do with itself in the best possible way. The bass is clearly the focal point, but the mids are having none of it and want to still be part of the action. You have a mid-forward headphone with a whole lot of bass all of a sudden, and it oddly works very very well with most popular genres (more modern rock, dubstep, hiphop, EDM, ect.) Maybe not so much for quieter, more subtle kinds of genres, but for everything else? This headphone simply rocks with all the ports open.
 
Now, you may be wondering why my preference for music is only one port open. Simply put, I'd rather have glorious mids as the focus and have it sound like the HE400i (and I was going to do a comparison here...but there's no point. It sounds incredibly similar to the HE400i until you start opening the bass ports.) But all the ports open does very well for things outside of music. Specifically, anything cinematic or gaming-related. Now, I'm not going to take credit for describing this as the best bass for gaming, as that honor goes to Mad Lust Envy, but this headphone has the dynamic-driver quality of having slow decaying, lingering, large-bodied bass. It hits you hard and keeps its fist going until it runs out of face and flies off. Most planars go deep very easily, but decay very quickly. So, while they will punch you very hard in the face in a way that almost explodes your face (like the LCD 2.2,) the Vibro keeps following it up in hopes that it can turn your head inside-out for ****s and giggles. In that way, this headphone does games like Skyrim, Battlefield, ect very well without losing much detail due to how forward the mids still are. Sure, you're not going to outdo that guy with a AD700 and treble boost, but at least you'll actually enjoying yourself as you feel the impact of the grenade launcher you fired in his face with only five-feet of clearance.
 
That said, the subbass is more noticeable in its rolloff. It goes deeper than most headphones dream of, but it isn't as much as other planars like the...well the Blackwood, LCD 2.2, HE560...you get the point. It oddly rolls off at the same point the HE500 does (but the mid-bass being emphasized on the Vibro makes it more apparent.)
 
To simplify how the plugs change the sound, here's a nice chart:
 
0 Ports Open: Sounds like a Grado without the super-treble and less air. Meaning, it's more like a hill signature.
 
1 Port Open: Sounds like a slightly more forward HE400i but darker. Bringing some Roman history in here, but it's very much like a subtle Aqueduct kind of a curve that drops off around the highs.
 
2 Ports Open: Sounds more bass emphasized, and the frequency seems to have a subtle downhill slope kind of signature. Best example I can think of is the TH600 but vastly better mids and less bright. Honestly, it makes the entire headphone much more lush.
 
3 Ports Open: You could try listening for some treble, but you won't hear anything over the sounds of your head being beaten viciously by the bass. The bass goes from controlled to slightly loose and looming, hitting very hard (but not deep) and decaying slowly.
 
If you don't like dark headphones, this won't do much for you. The highs are pretty smooth, but can sound a bit recessed sometimes. This headphone is obviously colored and fun, and I love it for that. It can be fatiguing at times, however, as it can become very aggressive at times. Very, very aggressive.
 
Light Comparisons with Headphones Around This Price Range
 
HE400i
 
With one port open, the Vibro sounds very much like the HE400i, but darker. Like I said, it would be a waste to elaborate more sound-wise, but here's some other things to consider:
The HE400i is lighter. The Vibro looks better and can be customized in appearance. However, it does take a couple weeks, where-as the HE400i may take a couple days depending on where you live and shipping. The HE400i is more open and the soundstage is slightly larger, but not by a significant margin. The Vibro uses mini-XLR, which is a lot more versitile and less annoying than screw-in adapters. Zach is much easier to deal with than a customer service center. The Vibro's sound can be customized...and for ~$70 more, can be tuned with Blackwood tuning, creating a headphone that has better technicalities but still has the warm sound of the Vibro.
 
The Alpha Dog
 
Both have bass ports, but the ZMF handles it much better. Where as the Alpha Dog can actually be harmed by using the bass port too much, the ZMF is as simple as putting in the little rubber things. However, those rubber plugs have a horrible tendency of falling out if they're even brushed on something, as they can't go all the way in like the Blackwood allows the plugs to go. They're both just as dark, but the Alpha Dog more goes for a reference sound and soundstage, while the Vibro is more aimed to be enjoyable and relaxing (even though it is a very aggressive headphone at times.) The Alpha Dog does have the added benefit of being able to be tuned in both dots AND bass, albeit one of them is more permanent than the other if used too much. Both are built well and sound good, but I prefer the wood over the plastic cups.
 
Conclusion
 
The xVibro is a very excellent, unique headphone. It is the sort of sound I would personally attribute to the "fun" kind of signature (bassy with good mids but dark,) but I'm also in the minority on that one. It sounds like a closed alternative of an open headphone, but then differentiates itself the more you open its bass ports. However, the bass does roll off slightly, and the rolloff does become more and more noticeable as the rest of the bass becomes larger and larger. It's not the end of the world, however, since it still goes deeper than a large majority of other headphones. Zach takes his time making sure these turn out perfectly, and it honestly shows.

Introduction
 
Hey there guys! After three months of listening and waiting, I finally got the new lamb leather pads and can do the review. The ZMF Blackwood is a T50RP mod that changes a lot about the headphone: It uses African Blackwood, has driver modifications, and completely changes the original headphones' sound signature to something completely new. It easily stands with the three closed headphone giants (the Fostex TH900, Ultrasone Pro 8, and the LCD XC) at the fraction of the cost.
 
The Pre-TL;DR: This is a very organic, laid back headphone that is just a joy to listen to. It is very much worth the $799 asking price, plus more.
 
The Build
 
I'll start with the most obvious part of the build: The cups. The cups are made with real African Blackwood, meaning it is tough, durable, and looks amazing. Being real wood, you can even see the grains in the cup, which is a very cool thing to see.
 
The earpads (the lambleather ones anyway) use a very durable, thick foam that has more "memory" than the Alpha Pads it use to use. You can also get the cow leather pads, which use thicker leather and the same kind of foam for a longer-lasting, more comfortable earpad.
 
You can also choose between a leather buffalo comfort strap or a padded pilot pad that wraps on the top of the headband. Personally, I went with both and wrapped the pilot pad around the buffalo comfort strap. The new pilot pad being used with it (after I had brought up in an email with Zach that the old one seemed kind of flimsy on the inside of the pad) is very sleek, more durable, and uses better foam.
The sliders are also customizable. There are several "stains" you can choose from.
 
My only issue is the fact that the headphone structure itself wasn't changed all that much, which means the tacky headband on the top is still retained. While that isn't the focus of the headphone, it is still kind of ugly (though I'm nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking.)
 
Either way, these headphones look great, feel great, and are sturdy as hell.
 
The Customer Service
 
I don't usually mention this during a review, but Zach really takes care of his customers. After I bought the Blackwood and Vibro, we talk back and forth constantly. He really does care about his customers, and takes their suggestions seriously. He'll even customize the minor parts of the headphone's sound to be more enjoyable for you! And, if you live outside the US, he gives a small discount for the trouble of getting them imported.
 
The Sound
 
It is a very smooth, organic headphone. Not too dark, not too bright. The mids are very linear with the midbass, but the subbass is surprisingly emphasized and very deep. This means, out of nowhere, you'll hear the bass suddenly build to a deep rumble. However, this does not make it exciting...it is rather laid-back by design.
 
The easiest way I can describe it is this: Take the TH900's subbass, the LCD X's mid-bass and mids, and mash it with a smooth, but detailed, high end. Congratulations, you have made something that sounds similar to the Blackwood. There's not much else to say about it's sign signature. It really is the best parts for two headphones mixed with a smooth high-end.
 
The soundstage is amazing for a closed headphone. You won't confuse it for a HD800 or even a HE560, but you could easily mistake it for an open headphone at times. It hits the perfect combination of width and depth for a closed headphone, something not many other headphones can do. However, the clarity and size of it is not as good as the TH900 (which sucks the upper and lower mids in order to gain a huge, clear soundstage.) However, it beats out the other closed headphones out there by a long mile.
 
If I was to be completely honest, this headphone is probably the best sounding closed headphone on the market. It is easily tied with the TH900 (which some people may like more due to its fun coloration) and beats out the LCD XC (which, to be completely honest, isn't Audeze's best can.)
 
You'll notice I haven't mentioned the Vibro. Honestly, the Vibro is it's own thing. Sure, they share similar house sound signatures, but they're both radically different. The Vibro is a more mid-forward, exciting headphone that can be a basshead can, while the Blackwood is a technically superior, smooth, organic, and laid-back headphone. They're like two different Taco Bell entrees: sure, they're made with the same ingredients, but they both are radically different experiences.
 
Conclusion
 
Honestly, Zach at ZMF Headphones did an amazing job with these headphones. I absolutely love them, and I'm sure many would to. However, this headphone is very laid back and people looking for supreme clarity (like the HD800) would not gravitate much to these. They're easily one of the best closed backs on the market, and I'm happy I've experience them.
Here are some pictures:
 
Picture 1
Picture 2
 
Keep in mind, the wood actually lightens up slightly as time goes on, so they'll look even better after a couple weeks.