Believe me man, I honestly want to purchase ZMF. As I am sure it is readily apparent here! For me, it’s about following the advice of the people that have experience (you guys) and doing what I need to, to make sure that I am spending my money wisely.
That being said, I kind of need to keep the budget to just those three and not add another pair to the list at this point.
When you say trade up, what do you mean? Haha. I’ve been through some bespoke/custom experiences in the past for other hobbies and it is seriously one of the best experiences you can ask for, so that is definitely a draw!
Sell gear you don’t have a use for as you know what you want that is more expensive. The truth is most audiophiles mostly use used stuff as they retain the experience pretty well overall. Buying new and throwing away is… very expensive. The elegia’s are recently out of production so the values are quite good now and availability will drop. They will introduce you to the focal sound signature which honestly, for gaming might be up your alley. ZMF’s require a bit more research because you might find yourself really wanting the verite. Plus if you competitions, personally the ZMF’s are a work of art and I wouldn’t let them leave the house. Focal… I would.
I agree with the comments here regarding the RNHP. I use mine with Focal Clear Pros, Audeze LCD-X (Sold), and Fully Lawton modded Fostex TH610’s and they all performed very well off of the RNHP ( the Lawton’s being my favorite).
I haven’t tried ZMF headphones off of it, so I couldn’t speak to the performance of those on the RNHP.
As much as I like Zach and what he does, I just can’t understand the aeolus and why he would feel it would preform better for your music and gaming to me. The eikon imo can hit harder, has more precise imaging and soundstage, has tighter control and separation, and doesn’t really get flabby sounding overall, the aeolus in comparison can sound pushed back and recessed and smooth over everything to make it generally agreeable, but I can’t say that’s a worthwhile trade-off when it sacrifices the actual capabilities of the headphones imo.
But if you are going to go for an aeolus, amp wise my recommendation would still be the hagerman tuba, that was easily my preference in the price range for what amp I enjoyed with them
As an Aeolus owner i can only agree. I cant compare it with the Eikon.
But i bought it because DMS and Zeos claimed it was the best Headphones Around 1000$ in 2018 or 19 dont remember.
My LCD2C, Elex and HD800s show me how much it is actually lacking. So many people talked about how good it is.
I dont know i experienced something different.
Honestly your experience does mirror others that I know and have seen. I can see the appeal for some people that never want any harshness and want the smoothest most relaxed thing they can get at the expense of technicalities, but generally I can’t say that’s what people are typically going for
Yes i was starting with unbalanced treble and sharp highs and thought… i must be one of those prople that want a dark and laid back Headphone. And i took advices from youtubers until i got the Aeolus.
But thats over everday with the Arya gets better. Still a bit much treble im waiting for the Liquid P. should arrive next week.
@Sschaffer24 i think going for the ZMF is only a good Idea If:
1: You can test it beforehand
2: you are obsessed with the Style
3: You know exactly what Kind of Sound you’re looking for.
If you’re looking just for the best bang(sound) for the buck i dont think ZMF is the one. It’s about Handmade HP, Support and Something Special.
But it’s just a feeling i only used Aeolus the old ones are probably something else since they would’nt have cost me 1350 Euros.
Personally I do like the thought of buying 3 cheaper headphones with different sound signatures to decide on what u like and eventually just buy a more expensive version of the one u pick. But at the same time since I assume you haven’t listened to much and you say that once u buy something you tend not to go back at all I don’t think it would be the worst if you pick something safe. Just something that super well rounded etc. So what I’m saying is both routes sound great. One just takes a quote bit longer but it also makes this more of a journey or hobby which is actually super duper fun. And the other one is just about getting the job done which is fair enough!
I’ll say this much, I wouldn’t be able to appreciate headphones like the hawks or the focals if I hadn’t heard all the headphones I did go through! Which does add to the value ultimately
Isn’t this the truth? Talk about a swirling mind… And I consider myself pretty capable at managing variables, this is a lot though!
Just want to give a general update to the thread. I’ve officially ordered Sundara, DT 1990 Pro and Drop 6XX’s. Should have DT 1990 pro’s tomorrow, going to test those for a few days, then move to Sundara and finish with 6XX. Hopefully this time next week I can have everything returned and revisit this thread with a much more detailed breakdown on what I want and you guys can help guide me to the perfect high end headphone.
I still need to solve this amp/DAC situation for my listening. My PC motherboard does have an onboard amp (Asus Prime x-570 Pro) so I may be able to run these direct from the PC for the time being, and I am in discussions with a few members on the RNHP/Element 2 (help? ) so one of these may be coming over as the long term solution for whatever I end up with.
I also see that Schiit has launched the Magnius today to match the Modius and man… Color me intrigued.
Perfect, very curious to see what your thoughts are
So I would personally suggest to pick up a nicer amp and dac somewhat soon imo, generally you will notice a big difference with these headphones.
So, I think the rnhp is a higher tier amp than the element ii, but that also doesn’t come with a dac. Generally I would say the 6xx and 1990 pro are great matches with a rnhp, but the sundara actually might preform better on the elements amp than the rnhp (the rnhp just isn’t the best for planars that can take advantage of more power), so I guess it would depend on what you wanted to prioritize. I think the element ii is more versatile and might be worthwhile going first since it also includes a good dac. Then later on go for the higher tier headphones, and after that then decide what amp you go with
Ordered my magnius, will give some impressions when it comes in if you want
since you went ahead and bought a few headphones with the intent to test them out and return whatever you don’t need, why not just do the same for a dac and amp? Just check possible restocking fees…
So personally for this one, I think if you get a more solid budget option that would give you a good idea of what the headphones can do imo, I don’t know if I would suggest buying some of the higher end dac amps and returning them because of pure cost and also that some of them are not something you can easily return, and I would also say that generally most of the solid budget options are somewhat similar sounding in a sense so having multiple of those amps on hand might not make as much sense as the headphones
This is exactly what I was leaning towards doing just for testing purposes… Ideally I would like something from Amazon that would be fast shipping/return for me so I can complete this all in an expedited but thorough manner. Any advice on what to go with here that would be budget oriented and be a decent starting point for me to just test these three?
) so one of these may be coming over as the long term solution for whatever I end up with.