I spent about an hour at ZMF in Canjam at RMAF. The owner and his wife were working the booth. His wife is super nice. The husband is nice, very humble, but preoccupied with a guy asking many questions.
From ZMF website: (where are these made?) In the USA, near Chicago Illinois. I have a small workshop and each set is made to order, specifically for each customer.
My favorite was the Autuer. They have a new flagship out. I will say these were both the best sounding headphones or the worst sounding headphones depending on the amp. They are radically dependant on the amp, I heard from a competitor it's because they aren't coloration prone and that it's a good thing. Their tube amp (I don't remember the brand but it looked expensive) was irritatingly bright, and their solid state amp (HeadAmp Gilmore Lite mk2) was perfect. (I was expecting backwards since I love ARC's sound)
I really think these sound as good or better than Focal Utopia and Audeze LCD-4 (at this event, not in my home), but I'm not looking for tonal accuracy perfection. There is a ton of noise floor at Canjam, and I'm hearing little or no bass from utopia and LCD-4.
Am I crazy?
I think the semi closed back of the open back autuers gives it a big advantage in a very crowded environment. LCD-X sounded amazing in my home even from my iphone (excepting the amp distortion from playing louder than the iphone amp likes) at canjam they didn't sound nearly as good despite the dedicated amps.
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