It will have to be pretty crazy to hold up to headphones of the year lol. So from all the experience from other people I know who have zmf headphones, they really love the build and really like the sound. But I feel that most of the people like to recommend zmf because of the great build and because (apparently) Zach is a very nice guy who runs a great business. It’s just easier to encourage others to buy from someone like him rather than a company. I don’t really know if the sound is great as people say. But I can’t really judge as I have not had enough experience.
I was going to buy a Verite and see if it held up, but in the end decided against it
We’re all biased, aren’t we? I agree with Zeos a lot of the time, and other times I flat out disagree. That’s why there is no one headphone to rule them all. Keep in mind that Zeos promotes a cost vs. performance review structure and you will see that he is more forgiving of low-cost products that outperform their price tag, and more critical of expensive flagship-type headphones. Someone like John Darko seems to regularly recommend gear that’s out of most peoples’ price range, and I also agree with him at times, and disagree at other times. Metal571 prefers headphones that approach the Harman target frequency response, and I don’t at all, but I agree that some of his recommendations are spot on. You have to learn to trust your own ears to know what you will like. Most headphones do at least one thing well and have shortcomings in other areas.
Yes, and with this headphone, there are alot of compromises you have to make, so it really doesn’t make sense for a fair amount of people. And that’s just fine.
Just got my HE6SE’s in, I can see how these can be called shrill etc… when underpowered. I am currently using a thx788 at the moment as its what I have on hand and that “only” outputs 2.9W into 50 Ohms. I can still hear detail I havent heard before, but most definitely will be grabbing a HE adapter and an speaker amp of some sort.
Some thing you have to take into consideration, when you get a cheap powerful amp, they get the power they need, but also won’t be as detailed and refined. You should aim for powerful and good
It’s not the easiest place to find deals, as most older units are priced for and by people in the know, but you may want to check https://www.usaudiomart.com/ or https://reverb.com/ to get an idea of what some classic amps are worth. Then keep checking estate sales, thrift shops, and craigslist and you can get really lucky if you know what to look for. A lot of people think the age of something renders it less capable, but that’s not the case with amps.
I tried a similar style older amplifier and moved on. The performance of your source, Dac and amplifier will play a role in how these sound. I was not sure what i was missing until i heard them with a powerful amplifier (200 watts/8ohm/per channel/monolith/THX) and then was able to step back and re-evaluate what was going on. I am fortunate though that i have a variety of stereo amplifiers at home to play with. If you are thinking of keeping it cheap maybe check out a pawn shop or 2 to see what’s available.
Zeos just reviewed an 80s Onkyo receiver that may work:
They were in circulation for a long time and may be powerful enough. Ebay has a few under $500 but these old receivers weigh a shit ton and you’ll pay a lot to ship them
Just to add another wrinkle, I do have some size restraints. If the restraints require for an amp to be a similar size to for example, a THX 789 am I essentially not a fit for these headphones?
The Sprout100 does an ok job with them. They sound better through my 50 lb monster Marantz, but so do my speakers, and I am happy with them off of the Sprout for the most part. The Sprout makes them sound like an $800 headphone (with speaker amp adapter), but the Marantz makes them sound like a flagship headphone if that makes sense
Ok, so for logistical reasons i decided to stick with the Emotiva PA-1 monoblocks. Now, the rest of what i am running to them is contrary to what anyone would recommend but i prefer to let my ears be the final judge. The Emotiva’s push 300 watts to 4 ohm loads and are very capable of handling load fluctuations. I am coloring the Emotiva’s with 3 separate sources though so my sound signature is not true in any fashion BUT, i like what I am hearing so for now this combination stays.
I ran a “fatter” class A/B amplifier and liked the sound even more but 110 lbs is a problem for me to get up a flight of stairs alone so for now the slim light Emotiva’s stay. I also tried a few other older amplifiers, they were OK but because i had cleaner power at hand i was able to hear and appreciate the sound difference “better” makes in this case, so i moved on from them. Hell, even my $225 Emotiva BasX will power these but at best the sound was just OK. Nothing worthy of a $1.5k+/- headphone.
I have an older ONKYO 875 (165 wattsx2) receiver that I’m curious to try out, but again at 75lbs, i don’t have a desire to drag it up to my desk yet.
These headphones will vary the sound they output depending on the amplification you feed them, it’s just the way they work, they will give you plenty of joy-frustration figuring out what works best for you. That’s the fun part in my eyes🤪