ZMF Atrium Closed Headphone Review

[FrantzM]

Hi

Most of us could tell this was a train wreck once we saw the, beheaded panther, then the FR and THD graphs of this ... thing.
If you want to be reminded of the value of ASR, something, once in a while we, seasoned ASR-ists could take for granted, please go and read these:
review on HEAD-FI
and this one, from Audiophile Style, that is really curious they seem to have taken the time to measure these expensive turds, yet came out with what could be termed a "glorious review" s that you can read there

Live Long ASR, you are most needed in this hobby.
A bit off-topic and thinking out loud; We need some ASR-style in many other hobbies, photography and video making comes to mind... I hope there are some, so far, unbeknownst to me ...

Peace.

 

[Robbo99999]

They're a nightmare to deal with unless you get lucky with the fibers or damp it just right. Even the success cases like Fiio's FT1 and E-MU Teaks are marred by great unit variation due to differences from the material (literally, it's an organic material, each cut is different).

The fact that they're closed also doesn't help, as closed cans have inherent problems with treble reproduction.

If the production of wooden cups for headphones is that problematic that the chamber size & shape offers differences from unit to unit then it's the wrong material to be using in a headphone. You'd think that if it was automated then you could keep product variance low, but I don't know exactly the problems that manufacturers face with such materials & designs.

 

[Robbo99999]

I think a link to the Truthear Gate review should be placed in every headphone review as a reminder of what is possible.

I disagree, but I know what you mean and I agree with what you mean!

 

[Matt_Holland]

I disagree, but I know what you mean and I agree with what you mean!

I think I know what you mean, and if I’m right I agree!

 

[Curupira]

You'd think that if it was automated then you could keep product variance low,

It is rather low, just not up to our standards. But that won't matter to a broader public: beyerdynamic closedbacks are the de facto standard inside the professional music world, and most of them have huge quirks that go unnoticed.

(and I rhink I exaggerated a bit , it's not that wooden enclosures are impossible to deal with. People do have experience dealing with wood cups, as Fostex and ZMF have done)

 

[DSJR]

What we need is a less V- or U-shaped tuning than Harman 2019, not the opposite of that. And if it was just about the tuning, it wouldn't be such a big deal. The problem is that they charge multiple thousands of dollars for technical performance of a $20 headphone, and with such distortion levels no EQ will ever be able to fix that 1.8 kHz dip. And there is also significant channel imbalance and, I strongly suspect, unit variance.

Subjectively, I'd suggest that the Harman tuning is actually, more like neutral speakers as perceived. Headphones lacking the 'Harman' bass to mid curve over the years (and when I thought my hearing was good in past decades) always sounded too lean and bright to me, the excess that some very early Stax 'phones coupled with the lack of deep bass, may well have made for a screamingly 'deeeeetailed crisssssp' kind of presentation, but that wasn't right either - just my thoughts of a long time ago.

The other thing is bass distortion. I had a set of HD600s for a while and yes, they were very neutral and not 'contrived' at all, but low bass 'plopped' I felt on th emusic I play mostly and initially, I thought I should have got a dedicated headphone amp, but proper tests showed it may well have been in the design itself. They're long gone now and I'm happy with the cheap in-ears I have to use when herself's about

I also have a very early set of HD414s (light grey/cream frame), the 'Linn Kan/severe NS10' balance suiting speech/talk-radio brilliantly for me, although they're not neutral enough for music these days.

 

[unpluggged]

By the way, have you actually heard them for any length of time?

OK, so I went for a walk today and paid a visit to the store on the way.

I started with some blues, jazz, rock and pop music, and the phones did not sound too bad to me right away, I admit. But they did not sound any better than the HD 6XX, either, though I was unsure what specifically was not quite right about them. They did not sound veiled or too dark or whatever the measured response might imply, but there was some kind of weirdness in the highs, they sounded artificial and plain, so to speak (I had a similar experience with some older balanced armature IEMs).

Then I went on and listened to some well-recorded classical music, including the Smetana's "Má Vlast" by the Israeli Philharmonic, the Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (the one with real cannons), and finally, to Karina Gauvin's rendering of the "Sweet Bird" air from her Handel album. The impression was consistent with my earlier findings, reinforced by the smeared sound of the cannons on the "1812". Karina Gauvin's vocals became the final nail in the ZMF's coffin: the phones exhibited a very noticeable resonance on her higher notes, something that I did not notice as clearly before. That concluded the listening session for me. When I was back home, I gave it another listen on the HD 6XX, and this time, with careful listening, I could tell there indeed was some saturation present in the recording, but nowhere near the piercing levels that I experienced with the ZMF, which exaggerated it greatly.

So these are my two cents. tl;dr: if you have such an amount to spare, better spend it on something else. If you like woodwork, buy some nice piece of hand-made wooden furniture instead, I don't know. Better headphones can be had for much less.

 

[Nango]

This brand name is one of the most counterfeited ever in AliEx, ppl who purchased for 1/5th the original price -surprise, surprise- are delighted.......

 

[Ilkless]

I've said this before, but I've listened to a bunch of ZMF headphones (including this one, I'm quite sure, but I can't possibly remember since the various models don't have very distinct appearances) over the years and always get the impression of unrefined acoustics, always with some bothersome peaks/dips, strange tuning choices etc. Clearly this works for some people as they they have a large and zealous fanbase, but I don't really get it.

Because boutique audio is less about the actual sound waves than the story a brand tells. Millions spent on FEA and BEM doesn't sell headphones in the megabuck range unless the jump is as big as the HD800 was in a world of DT880/HD650 20 years ago

 

[milosz]

My comment has nothing to do with headphones.

When I was a teen-ager in the 1960's I lived in Milwaukee, and during the late '60s counterculture years an FM station rose to prominence, WZMF, which was one of the first progressive rock FM stations in the area, later outdone by WTOS. Those were the days - at least what I can remember of them. There was a show called "Dear Doctor" where a local hipster physician gave advice on drugs, STDs and what have you. 56 freakin' years ago.

 

[Overseas]

For the wood touch, choose Denon.

 

[A Surfer]

Personally I don't think wood is the best choice beyond aesthetics, and I have no doubt that many people probably don't think wood looks better anyway.

I get that people don't keep headphones for many years, typically, but eventually, most climates will cause the wood to either swell, dry out and or split. So from a longevity perspective, I would think that wood is less than ideal anyway.

And I know that cracking and splitting are not common, but certainly possible. Regardless, for me sinking significant money into pretty wooden ear cups is a very questionable choice, but each to their own.

 

[TurtlePaul]

I suspect that some of these kilobuck headphone brands use this crazy tuning to make sure that people can 'hear a difference' when they try the headphones. Sounding different is good for them even if different means worse. If you try to beat HD650 at the Harman tuning, people aren't really going to head a difference because HD 650 distortion is already low enough and frequency response is good enough, except the low bass.

I asked Audio 46 to demo whatever they thought was good. They showed some IEMs with a similar no treble sound signature. They thought I would be blown away by the bass but I thought they were terrible.

 

[Kevinfc]

I must say, though I’m not a headphone guy in any way, these look good at least.

 

[A Surfer]

I must say, though I’m not a headphone guy in any way, these look good at least.

Quite the premium though for good looks and adequate sound. They become invisible to you once you put them on but the money is still spent.

 

[TurtlePaul]

I must say, though I’m not a headphone guy in any way, these look good at least.

The design is derived from the Sony MDR-R10 headphones from the 1980s.

http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-MDR-R10.html

 

[daniboun]

That's expensive for a mediocre headset... I hope Amir will be able to test the T Bone HD815 from Thomann one day... I'm almost sure it will make many headsets pale )

 

[RogerSmith]

Live Long ASR, you are most needed in this hobby.

Absolutely.

A bit off-topic and thinking out loud; We need some ASR-style in many other hobbies, photography and video making comes to mind... I hope there are some, so far, unbeknownst to me ...

Peace.

Maybe I did not understand it fully, but as far as I know it, there are no mysteries what photography is concerned, measurements of pixels and aberations and all of that are plenty available, be it for cameras or lenses. What do you think is still missing?

 

[Jimster480]

I just don't understand making headphones which cost so much and perform so poorly.... with everything that is on the market... I feel like companies are just doing whatever they want today with no regard for the consumer at all.

 

[amirm]

I think customers are not very well aware of how these headphones measure. So little independent reporting. And even those (reviewers) that measure, are motivated to say everything expensive is good. So purchases are made and companies think they are doing the right thing.