[ThePianoMan]

Thanks so again to Schiit for sponsoring and helping us put on this awesome meet, as well as ifi, ZMF and ESS for gear, support and of course the wonderful participants!

Post impressions and pics!

 

[ThePianoMan]

Reserved for impressions

I wanna again thank everyone who came, helped out, etc. The meet had overall really great vibes, and I enjoyed the headphone and two channel rooms immensely. I'll be posting my specific gear impressions a later. Also please let me know if you forgot anything or have questions/need help.

 

[silvrr]

Let try the picture thing again....

Finally two from the 2ch listening room...

 

[mysticstryk]

New ZMF headphone?

 

[Hansotek]

New ZMF headphone?

Sharp eye.

 

[zach915m]

New ZMF headphone?

It's the ZMF Auteur - haven't you heard?

Sorry jkjk - more info to follow both on HF and our website soon. Will have plenty of sets at RMAF for all to hear and ordering starting in November.

 

[DronEvil]

Wish I had been able to come earlier. Had a good time! Thanks for letting me hog freya/vidar for a bit.

This is that dac I brought that we listened to btw.

https://kitsunehifi.com/product/springdacgreen/

 

[givemetacos]

@Zephuros - Were you able to find your Audeze pelican case? I know we checked my case before I left (it was the one in the suitcase) and I double checked it again tonight to make sure that indeed my certificate has a different serial number than yours and matches my own set. Really hope you found it, that is a valuable part of the set and it would be a shame for anyone to leave with less than they came with.

I just got back home to Ann Arbor, thanks to @ThePianoMan for organizing everything, I had a blast. Sorry to those that didn't get a chance to hear my gear as I had to rush off quickly to catch my bus. It was 10 hours on a bus today and only 3 hours in Chicago for the meet, but it was worth it.

 

[chimney189]

New ZMF headphone?

Wow, I look weird in those. I guess I was in some sort of a trance, at least by the looks of it!
I can honestly say that the headphone has one of the cleanest sound signatures from the headphones I tried (I did not try the Utopia), and this includes the HD800. Sounds come together in a very cohesive fashion and there is just enough bass and musicality to give the sound some meat on its healthy bones. I'm constantly surprised at how comfortable Zach's new line of headphones are, given their weight.

I hope those who tried my Pre-fazor LCD-2 enjoyed its warmth.

Some other impressions:
- The Wells Audio Milo absolutely kicks ass. I paired it with Dave's HD800 that had some type of cable that literally looked and felt like snake skin. For the first time I heard how good an HD800 can sound with certain amps.
- The HD650 paired with the Bottlehead held delivers solid enjoyment. If It had a bit more soundstage then I would be checking my bank account balance.
- The DT1990 is crispy clean and probably one of the best built headphones that I have been able to handle
- The Ether Flow is nice, but I believe its price-to-performance ratio is way too lopsided.
- The ZMF Blackwoods > Mr. Speaker's Alpha Prime

Great meet!

 

[Zapp_Fan]

Just wanted to say I had a great time and definitely expanded my horizons of what good headphones can sound like. Thanks to everyone who let me try their gear (both attendees and Schiit!) and thanks for being such a welcoming crowd for such a headphone noob. It was a great way to start learning things, ears-on.

 

[ToroFiestaSol]

Living in Europe sucks
How the new ZMF Auteur sounds compared to Eikon and Atticus?

 

[Hansotek]

Living in Europe sucks
How the new ZMF Auteur sounds compared to Eikon and Atticus?

I honestly like all of them, and will definitely be adding an Auteur to compliment my Atticus.

That said, from my time with it, I can tell you:
- Auteur is the most neutral/balanced ZMF headphone - still warm of neutral overall (I'd say it runs a just a bit warmer than the Utopia and has a meatier bass presence for sure).

- Very resolving. It's super detailed and micro-detailed - lots of data in the music - all delivered in a very natural and musical way. Still very "music first" with excellent timbre, like all the ZMFs.

- The stage is very open sounding - Zach says it's about 80% open - but I heard several folks at the meet comment that they were impressed with the size of the stage. I listened to it with some good recordings and found it very impressive.

- It's absolutely gorgeous to look at, in person. The blackwood and brass version looked classy as hell.

 

[Zephuros]

@givemetacos - I was not able to find my pelican case yesterday after everyone left, and I have not seen it since then. I'm hoping that it will pop up or that someone might've seen it, but I wouldn't doubt it that I won't be seeing it for a while...

It was fun meeting you all and seeing familiar faces, as well as trying new things. I hope to see you at the next meet.

 

[ToroFiestaSol]

I honestly like all of them, and will definitely be adding an Auteur to compliment my Atticus.

That said, from my time with it, I can tell you:
- Auteur is the most neutral/balanced ZMF headphone - still warm of neutral overall (I'd say it runs a just a bit warmer than the Utopia and has a meatier bass presence for sure).

- Very resolving. It's super detailed and micro-detailed - lots of data in the music - all delivered in a very natural and musical way. Still very "music first" with excellent timbre, like all the ZMFs.

- The stage is very open sounding - Zach says it's about 80% open - but I heard several folks at the meet comment that they were impressed with the size of the stage. I listened to it with some good recordings and found it very impressive.

- It's absolutely gorgeous to look at, in person. The blackwood and brass version looked classy as hell.

Thanks!
Sounds like a winner then

 

[givemetacos]

@givemetacos - I was not able to find my pelican case yesterday after everyone left, and I have not seen it since then. I'm hoping that it will pop up or that someone might've seen it, but I wouldn't doubt it that I won't be seeing it for a while...

It was fun meeting you all and seeing familiar faces, as well as trying new things. I hope to see you at the next meet.

Ahhh that is really upsetting to hear. I hope everyone that attended will double check their stuff to make sure it didn't accidentally get picked up, especially as I know there were quite a few LCD-2s at the meet and plenty of pelican cases. At the very least I hope you can talk to Audeze about authenticating your pair and getting a replacement card.

I honestly like all of them, and will definitely be adding an Auteur to compliment my Atticus.

That said, from my time with it, I can tell you:
- Auteur is the most neutral/balanced ZMF headphone - still warm of neutral overall (I'd say it runs a just a bit warmer than the Utopia and has a meatier bass presence for sure).

- Very resolving. It's super detailed and micro-detailed - lots of data in the music - all delivered in a very natural and musical way. Still very "music first" with excellent timbre, like all the ZMFs.

- The stage is very open sounding - Zach says it's about 80% open - but I heard several folks at the meet comment that they were impressed with the size of the stage. I listened to it with some good recordings and found it very impressive.

- It's absolutely gorgeous to look at, in person. The blackwood and brass version looked classy as hell.

I didn't have a ton of time to listen to each of the ZMF headphones, but I definitely agree with these impressions. The Auteur does sound more like Eikon than Atticus as it uses the Eikon's biocellulose drivers. I really liked all of Zach's headphones and they are all a joy to listen to and are gorgeous cans. I think anyone that is a fan of the Eikon and wants a more open sounding version of it, the Auteur is what you are looking for.