Wow! Those are beautiful! I can’t wait to get a Stabilized one day with Zach, knowing he will go above and beyond like always!
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Ok, I think these are ZMF pads. But I am not sure and would like some help with identifying them.
They seem to be protein leather.
Does anyone recognize what pads these are?
Thanks.
I learned in a recent review for another system the ZMF Atrium has a wonderful sink-into-your-late-night-chair and space out midrange.
I’m not familiar with any of the ZMF headphones. Is this a fair characterization?
It sounds intriguing for some of the music I listen to at night or just to chill out. Space, ambient, psybient, some acoustic.
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Those look just like the pads that came on my Ori, and are the ZMF Oval pads
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Thanks. They came with a pair of Eikons I bought second hand a few years ago. I don’t use them, but I have always wondered what pads they were.
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It’s true. ZMF does not hype the treble or upper mids which can be very fatiguing to listen to. ZMF is all about sounding more natural and relaxed.
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That’s true of the Atrium (which I owned when it first came out). But it tends to undersell the other things that are remarkable about the Atrium:
- Soundstage (it’s crazy good, really exceptional)
- Clarity (a high resolution headphone, for sure)
- Musical, not forensic, sound/resolution
- Neutral bass w/real sub-bass
In the same price range you can try another really exception headphone–the verite open. That’s my favorite headphone: very fast driver & high resolution, yet the most musical, ear-friendly tuning ever.
And for less money you can get one of the most relaxing & fun headphones ever: the Aeolus. It has above average resolution, but it leads with the gently elevated mid-bass (very much pad dependent) and big, rich midrange. An addictive headphone.
They’re all tuned for music enjoyment first, a rarity in high end headphones.
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Thank you both. Very helpful.
Agreed, very well summarized. I have all 3 as well, and will vouch for them as having the qualities you mention.
FWIW, the Aeolus is the least resolving of the 3, which probably not a surprise given the price, driver choice, and age of the design. But it does scale with better gear quite well.
The first upgrade in my audio chain involved going from a Schiit Jotunheim 2 (an excellent amp) to the Burson Soloist 3X GT, using a Bifrost 2 DAC (OG). I was floored with the difference in detail and resolution on the Aeolus. For a minute I thought I was listening to a Focal Clear! 
There was also a further improvement when I got the Yggy OG as my DAC.
I saw @TylersEclectic Youtube comparison on the Aeolus and Atrium, and at one point he described the Aeolus as a “warm blanket” that was great for relaxing and just chilling while listening to music, enjoying the tune and experience. It made me think the Aeolus is like the perfect headphone for stoners! 
I think it’s fair to say the listening enjoyment with any of them is very high, it just gets down to what you’re wanting out of a headphone, and your budget.
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Under its guise as a fun, party headphone, the Aeolus actually has quite a bit of resolution. You’ll hear it more clearly when you swap out the stock earpads for the perforated suede universe pads (my favorite), which bring down the mid-bass bump a bit and open up the sound; and even more with the Verite pads, which flatten the mid-bass bump even more and make the Aeolus considerably more neutral and balanced than the stock pads.
Not even the Verite pads can turn the Aeolus into an endgame, high-rez HP. It always retains at least some of the fun warmth. But start swapping pads and you might be surprised by the resolution upside.
And yes, the Aeolus does readily scale up sonically with better gear…something I associate with above average resolution.
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Is it easy to change the pads?
Yes, see here: ZMF Headphone Pad Changing
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Changing pads is always a PITA (in my humble opinion), but it’s manageable as long as you do it slowly & systematically.
The video linked below is quite helpful. I’ve used the pad-turned-inside-out trick ever since seeing it.
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Great, thanks!
One last question – there are several options when configuring ZMF headphones – do they have visuals of the options on their website? I could not find any such photos of the options. I’d love to see what some of the specific materials look like.
It’s been awhile since I bought anything off the website. If I recall, you get a clearer view of different headphones (particularly the stock vs LTD wood options for each headphone) by starting at the “shop” page:
Each headphone view will show the wood & grill/hardware colors offered for stock vs LTD in the design.
You’ll find pictures of various earpads (most of them, anyway) at the shop/pads page:
The “Product Info” pulldown menu from the home page gives you other things to see, such as the earpad comparison chart:
It’s harder to get good close up pix of aluminum vs magnesium frame options. For that you’ll need to drill into the various Head-Fi threads for ZMF headphones, where many pictures are posted.
(not sure if I’m helping)
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Helpful! That’s what I figured, just browse the site looking for examples in the product images. Thanks!
And carefully, especially the first time you do it. It IS kind of a PITA, especially compared to something that’s easy like with Focals.
Yeah, I struggled with them the first time I did them to the point of where I thought I was reading the instructions wrong.
Then, I went to Zach’s video on pad swapping and realized I was in fact doing them right, just wasn’t there yet!
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I honestly ended up doing my own way and kind of speeding through it. I found doing it this way I could get them on and then do the final “twist” to make sure they are sealed all the way around. The method on his video is tedious and I just couldn’t do it that carefully/slowly if that makes sense. However, turning them inside out like a sock as he said is a great way to get started.
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