[Mattyjm]

For aesthetics on hp, nice to order, but who cares? Except those that do. Zmf sigs mean nothing to me, if they offered a superior driver, maybe. It’s kinda like fostex th900 lacquering 6 color cups, nice but confuses the markets. Oh the wht ones highs are sr\tringent, the purple bass is better than red…etc…

well some of us are willing to pay for the different woods and nicer aesthetics; definitely understand if that's not your style.

we are pitching this as a additional service/customization offering; you could still buy the headphone in it's stock form and be as happy.

 

[Whazzzup]

well some of us are willing to pay for the different woods and nicer aesthetics; definitely understand if that's not your style.

we are pitching this as a additional service/customization offering; you could still buy the headphone in it's stock form and be as happy.

Go 4 it, as I stated irrelevant in audio except for those that want individuating. Ie senn hd800S offered in colors from third party

 

[Kerouac]

Iems and daps are going crazy in proliferation at every price point. I see hp markets picked up some, but not like dap/iem markets.

and that's why I stayed with headphones; the IEM market moves at lightspeed

Yeah, this unfortunatelly seems to be the case in general nowadays. But also in the iem landscape there are still sometimes exceptions (good sound at an affordable price) to that rule I guess

I'm having trouble keeping up its moving so fast

To quote a wonderful band, Arcade Fire- “Infinite Content”…

A wonderful band indeed! And guess who was also impressed with that same band in their early years? Bowie!

Now connecting some of the bold parts above to describe the pace of the Watercooler threads, maybe: ''Infinite Content, at the Speed of Life''?

 

[fidgeraldo]

Who cares about the car designs (I do), the engine matters, who cares how your home/house looks like (I do),
it matters that it has walls and roof,
who cares if the food on your plate looks like crap (I care), it matters that you find it tasty...
who cares if...hmm, I will stop here; it could turn really nasty what comes to my mind, but who cares...

Please like and subscribe, who cares!

Cheers!

 

[Whazzzup]

customization is fun and cool. i did a full mod to th900 so i get it. but my mod did effect the sound

 

[JerseyD]

Would it really be that bad tho? Zmf already has wonderful custom sets that are expensive for some, and not for others. It would just be a different tier for returning customers. You don't hear hd650 owners whining because current zmf prices are too high. Or Toyota owners complaining about not having a Porsche.

There are also so many headphone models out that cost more than the most expensive ZMF headphone.

I'm not saying I'm right, I just think it's all subjective.

The “named” ZMF one-offs are close to your concept already, but the matching headphone and stand one-off concept would be a big hit, commanding a premium price. Adding some super-premium one-offs seems like a possible extension of the concept. It wouldn’t be that off-putting to offer them to their existing customers first as a loyalty thank-you via email. And then if they didn’t sell in a week or so, put them on the website for all. The custom shop Zach has talked about, if he can find a way to make it profitable, would be awesome. So often, I’ll see a zmf one-off and think, “Oh that one would be perfect if it only had a different color grill or rods or BBB strap…”

 

[OnlySoMany]

The “named” ZMF one-offs are close to your concept already, but the matching headphone and stand one-off concept would be a big hit, commanding a premium price. Adding some super-premium one-offs seems like a possible extension of the concept. It wouldn’t be that off-putting to offer them to their existing customers first as a loyalty thank-you via email. And then if they didn’t sell in a week or so, put them on the website for all. The custom shop Zach has talked about, if he can find a way to make it profitable, would be awesome. So often, I’ll see a zmf one-off and think, “Oh that one would be perfect if it only had a different color grill or rods or BBB strap…”

That is exactly what I am talking about. A slightly more personal approach vs having to battle it out for Ltd sales that can lose you a set in literally seconds. Email or some other version of communication. And like you said, if they don't sell, then they would put them on the site.

 

[Toonartist]

The “named” ZMF one-offs are close to your concept already, but the matching headphone and stand one-off concept would be a big hit, commanding a premium price. Adding some super-premium one-offs seems like a possible extension of the concept. It wouldn’t be that off-putting to offer them to their existing customers first as a loyalty thank-you via email. And then if they didn’t sell in a week or so, put them on the website for all. The custom shop Zach has talked about, if he can find a way to make it profitable, would be awesome. So often, I’ll see a zmf one-off and think, “Oh that one would be perfect if it only had a different color grill or rods or BBB strap…”

It all sounds good apart from "Offered to certain existing customers as a thank you via an email".

While you have to be quick on the website to get the ones you want, at least you have a chance... which you may not if you don't find yourself on that email list. And if you're not on the list, how will that make customers feel especially if they have bought ZMF in the past... Not valued enough?!?! If it's going to every previous customer, then it might as well go via the normal website route. Optics is all important and I have a feeling you don't want to create separate league tables of customers based on how the company values you... or not

 

[Doug2507]

Decided to get a Fiio K19 with matching speakers to upgrade the boys PS5 / PC experience rather than using the TV speakers. Its got HDMI ARC so we'll suited for the task. Will also be gifting him the HD620S to use so we don't have Fortnite / Roblox etc blasting through the speakers at 7am on a Sunday morning!

Ended up watching reviews after I'd bought them (yeah, I did this one backwards ) , specifically the K19. It somewhat unexpectedly appears to get quite high praise so now quite looking forward to having a shot myself. I've never gel'd with ESS chips but having spoke to Xudoo 05 Pro owners this 3039 is meant to be a lot more appealing than the older 3038. Looks like it's got quite a decent PEQ as well so should be able to fine tune the 620S to preference (mid bass fix by early listening impressions?), and user selectable saved EQ's. 8w of class D, heavy hitter!

Arriving Monday, needs a few days to get up to speed, will report back in a week and share thoughts. No idea when 620S will ship so it'll be a test session with Storm.

Edit: side note, my M21 is out on loan at the moment. It'll be getting an A/B with a Wavedream XLR this weekend, will let you know what the concensus is when it comes.

 

[jjss]

I would say the following setup falls in both "watercoolers"!

As the Resolute has no battery and is A/C powered, and the upstream can be a DAP or a desktop DAC. I use it with the SIN power cable and the Resolute's background is just dead silent.

​

 

[jinxy245]

To quote a wonderful band, Arcade Fire- “Infinite Content”…

I'm going to have to check out Arcadia Fire some time sooner or later. One of the members apparently is responsible for writing the songs for the new Broadway musical "Stereophonic". My wife and I saw it and absolutely loved it...very Fleetwood Mac without actually ripping them off. Very well recorded too, worth a listen IMO:

https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/s...ast-of-stereophonic-will-butler/jicpu41qkjdvb

 

[G8torbyte]

I've enjoyed their Everything Now release:

 

[Pharmaboy]

I think the ZMF custom build model where you can select woods, headbands etc. yourself is an superior approach here.

Especially the gate keeping part feels just wrong.
Knowing that there will be frequent limited runs makes some of us "wait for the perfect sample"
Imagine then finally finding your favourite and being excluded from the chance to even buy it.
Having to be fast enough is hard as it is

My first ZMF headphone was the Ori (purchased ~7.5 yrs ago). At that time, the business model included multiple wood options for each headphone purchased (Ori, Blackwood, X Vibro). That model was already starting to fade when I bought the Ori. Never discussed this w/Zach, but I imagine ZMF had to lose this customization model in order to grow and become a more profitable, organized business, because:

• Literally every headphone orders (if it had wooden earcups) was a "special order"
• That precluded making any kind of advance inventory w/economy of scale in production
• I imagine that meant many if not most orders could only be made after the fact of the order
• ZMF had to keep a half dozen or more species of wood on hand for this or that buyer to pick from--we're talking kiln dried pieces of sufficient width, length & thickness to be used for an earcup. That's pretty specialized wood stock, more expensive than plain board lengths. And some of the woods were "exotic," meaning they had to be imported (blackwood & the wood of my Ori, ormosia henryi, being good examples)
• Lots & lots of communications back & forth for each each buyer

So what people think of as custom build options might not only be expensive, but a true diversion from the company's current business model, where fewer custom choices mean more models (now not just multiple headphone models, but also amps), more frequent launches, and real product innovation constantly happening behind the scenes.

So I don't imagine the custom thing would be very wise (or doable) for the latter day ZMF.

Now, if ZMF decided to do the things casinos do for heavy gamblers ("whales"), I'd be all for that:

• Serve drinks which I would foolishly drink (one after the other) while losing my retirement at the blackjack table
• Comping rooms
• Armed escorts helping me stagger back to my car with my solid gold Bokeh or whatever the not new thing was

(just thinking out loud here...)

 

[goldwerger]

Heading to the airport for an overnight business trip to L.A. An opportunity to switch to some portable audio (WM1Z + Traillii/Sultan/Fathom this trip). It’s fun to switch things up. But, when I’m back, I always find it so relaxing to get back to my home setup and put on my overhead headphones

• Armed escorts helping me stagger back to my car with my solid gold Bokeh or whatever the not new thing was

This…

 

[Frankie D]

Hi all. Thought I would ask here.

On the 1266 thread I saw what looked like Abyss getting ready to produce a successor to the 1266. Does anyone have any info or know if true?