You can’t unsee this:
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I got this LP, when my mom passed away a few years ago she was a huge Herb Albert fan. So I took over a lot of her old LP’s.
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THAT conversation is one I have with my wife on a regular basis. (read: whenever a package is delivered with some audio equipment).
So as a penitent man, it cost me a lot of shoes to her 
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I’m really enjoying the contrast between the Eikon Lambskin and Auteur Hybrid pads. The added space and reflections of the AH are no longer bothersome. Perhaps it’s partly ear acclimation compared to the intimacy and narrow stage I previously knew with my HD650s. I may have felt differently if I were coming from HD800s. I think there’s something to be said for setup and conditioning similar to baseball pitching - Greg Maddux setting up his relatively low heat yet highly effective/sustaining fastball.
My Loki EQ has been helpful in dialing in and determining my preferred tonality. What I determined with my Bifrost 2 > Loki > DNA Starlett stock tubes | Asgard 3 chain: AH required the least EQ tweaks, slightly increased treble. I chose the Eikon partly because of its sub bass; with EL pads I need to slightly turn down the sub bass.
I’m beyond happy with my Eikon can selection, and find myself getting lost in the music for hours long sessions at a time. The above may also serve to provide others with a frame of reference when interpreting my impressions.
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Phenomenal write up. Very practical and accessible. Much appreciated. Thank you!
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I went through a similar process a few months ago between the Aeolus and the VO.
I’d never been much of a headphone listener and in fact hated headphones compared to my 2-channel system.
However, I haven’t had a place to set that up for several years and ordered a pair of Meze 99c about 20 months ago. With a little equalization they convinced me I could enjoy headphones too.
Zach provided very helpful feedback when I described what I was looking for.
Initially, he recommended the Aeolus, but with further discussion, I ended up ordering the VO, Pendant and BF2, as I was looking for a more detailed, resolving, yet still euphonic experience.
I’m still in the queue for my VO, but also still enjoying my 99c - which work great as a portable solution with an ES100 and my phone - though I must say I’m tempted to get the Aeolus too! Yes, it is a sickness 
I can’t compliment Zach highly enough for the time and patience and feedback he provided - especially with how busy he is and how I’m sure he’s answered the same questions so many times before!
I’m a fanboy for life, and haven’t even heard any zmf cans yet!
Besides, they are just friggin’ beautiful too
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LOL, it’s fun being in the “waiting for my ZMF” club. I’m guessing you’re just a few places ahead of me in line so I’m immensely jealous. But like you, without having heard a single ZMF headphone, I’m already planning my next purchase. Currently debating Aeolus vs Eikon. And then I can get a discount on a Pendant if I buy the bundle. 
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Yeah, the bundle pricing is pretty awesome. I wasn’t quite finished researching amps and was still considering DNA starlet, custom Glenn, feliks, or building a Crack - but decided to go ‘all-in’ with zmf and ordered the Pendant, NOS tubes and 2K cable - plus custom wood to match the VO!
Zach and Bevan know their marketing too! 
And darn, @torq had to go put the BF2 and Pendant on his top 10 lists and they had the best price to enjoyability ratios - what’s a guy to do?
(sorry, honey, these really are ‘value-based’ purchases!)
Of course, it would also be ‘wrong’ to stream from some ‘dirty, noisy’ pc, so I ordered the Allo USBridge and power supply also!
Once upon a time, I ordered one component at a time and tested and tweaked - which was fun - but getting too old and wise (or too impatient 
) to do that this time… Well, at least that is what I am telling myself to rationalize the purchase - but hey, it sounds logical, right?
And I always kept ‘upgrading’ anyway, so I’ll save a lot of time this way and enjoy the music better… err… or something like that!
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I have decided: VERITE CLOSED in stock monkeypod. First I want to thank my family. Without them, I would not be where I am today. And I want to thank @TylersEclectic, @ProfFalkin, @Resolve, @SleepyRhythms and all others who addressed my questions directly, who helped guide me towards this ever important decision. Thank you to @torq for his always insightful reviews. And to anyone I forgot to mention, please know it’s an error of my mind not of my heart. Thank you all!
end of speech, exit stage right music
I felt like this decision was like winning an award so yeah. Update you guys in a few weeks/months once I get my hands on the beauties!
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This comes to mind in these crazy times:
Life is uncertain, eat desert first.
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Or just go straight to after dinner drinks?
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And I had a DNA blue T shirt all ready to go for you, at a nominal cost, to fund me a Stellaris… but @ProfFalkin wanted me to include 2A3s in the deal so it wasnt as financially appealing. The idea faded and probably saved me from a trademark infringement lawsuit.
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I received the Eikon Hybrid pads. The leather on the EH is more shiny/glossy like patent leather compared to the more matted leather on the AH – helpful as an identifier in addition to the round vs oval shape and size.
Treble and sub bass are reduced with the EH compared to the Lambskin, which I generally prefer for most music and moods. AH is my favorite pad for its tonality and space/stage, even setting aside the superior comfort and reduced ear pressure. With the increased ear space of the AH, I seem to experience less pressure buildup where such pressure can be mildly uncomfortable over long periods. For a closed back can, the size of the ear space/cavity may be a more important consideration compared to with an open back.
I believe it’s necessary to have gotten the Eikon Lambskin pad to experience the stock configuration as Zach intended. I would have opted for the Auteur Lambskin instead of the Eikon Hybrid in retrospect as a third pad.
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A few days ago I was reading about ZMF the Ori since the semi-open design could be interesting for someone looking for a less leaking headphones that don’t need to be fully close back ( I don’t like close back) and realize there is a big difference in the popularity of the ZMF planars vs the dynamics at least on this forum, where I look for information most of the time.
I know, dynamic choices are a lot more than planars on ZMF and visually dynamics also win over the few planars, but I was wondering why we all hear about Hifiman or Audeze when looking for that price range and never about The Ori which, by the way has excellent reviews.
Does anybody here has experience with it??
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Paging @Pharmaboy…
I had the Ori a long time ago. They were quite good, but brighter than the dynamics by a fair bit IIRC. Nothing like HD800 or Beyer treble, mind you.
I think they are looked down on as they are just Fostex T50RP mods with fancy wood cups. In truth they are heavily modified by Zach, including the driver, so it’s not just a transducer transplant.
Will you like them? I have no clue. If you don’t like closed backs, I recall them feeling more closed than open. Like… 79.8% closed / 20.2% open sounding. Kind of a vented-closedback feel. That still doesn’t accurately convey what they sound like, but hopefully other Ori owners can chip in and tell you if I’m insane and completely wrong.
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Thanks!! I think I got the idea.
Is just that feeling when you open ZMF’s menu and realize they also have planars, you look at them, go back to the dynamics and two months later you open the website again and realize they also have planars
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Holy crap, we’re into tenths of a percent now. I gotta scramble to find my slide rule to keep up. 
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(@ProfFalkin paged me…and I’m responding!)
Seriously, I will confess upfront to being a HUGE fan of the Ori. It was only my 2nd or 3rd serious headphone–and at the time, the most expensive I’d bought. I’ve had it over 4 years and love it to pieces. Just listened to it the other night (a shootout w/the Aeolus, one of the most fun things to do). It’s a headphone I can’t imagine parting with.
I will also confess that I’ve moved away from all closed backs except the Ori due to frequent migraines + constant tinnitus, issues that are aggravated by most closed backs. The Ori, for whatever reason, is the exception. Perhaps because of the known low distortion of the planar driver, and/or the very different ways that planars propogate sound vs dynamics, I still listen to and love that sound.
I have owned 2 Audeze HPs: a pre-fazor, early LCD-2.1; and a pre-fazor LCD-3. I ended up selling them both (very different reasons). These were open designs and different from the Ori in numerous ways; yet it’s the Ori I kept.
I still own and periodically listen to the Hifiman Edition X v2. It’s a very fine, pleasing headphone, my 2nd best planar experience, just behind the Ori. Still, I prefer the Ori.
Finally, I owned one of the true TOTL planar designs around, the Empyean…a gorgeous, beautifully made HP w/a very euphonic, musical sound. I ended up selling that because the Hifiman simply sounded better (@<50% the price).
I’ve also heard the big Abyss (great sound; torture-device fit); the Final H8000; and a couple more expensive Hifiman models (those HFMs were bright/edgy/headache-causing).
Net/net: The Ori is one of 2 planars I keep, and my favorite of the 2. It pleases me at least as much as any other big-time planars I’ve yet heard.
4 other points about the Ori:
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It has the best planar bass I’ve yet encountered. Really crushing, impactful, tuneful bass. I’m a borderline basshead, and the Ori’s bass totally satisfies me.
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My Ori was slightly edgy in the upper mids/lower treble (emphasis on slight). Still, I felt like addressing it, so I got some of the materials from Zach that he uses to tune each earcup of each Ori individually. The least-effect material, a thin square of dacron fabric, is intended to exactly fit over the driver. I added 1 dacron square to each earcup, and voila, problem solved. I never looked back.
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The Ori’s soundstaging is really exceptional for a closed design. The only closed back I’ve heard that can equal or better it is ZMF’s Verite Closed, a far more expensive design.
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And the Ori is a beautiful headphone. It came in a variety of woods (bocote is my favorite, just personal preference). All ZMF headphones are stunners, wood-wise, and this is no exception.
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Thanks!! Really appreciate your opinion , I’m glad you respond to @ProfFalkin call.
All the reading the other day made me look for some reviews and they ( most of them) are right there with your.
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My go to pads for the Eikon on the Starlett had been the Auteur hybrid - the feel of suede and I liked the added space/stage and slightly reduced bass compared to the stock Eikon lambskin pads.
Given the more neutral and transparent presentation of the LTA MZ2, I tried going back the EL pads. And holy hell I’m glad I did. More slam, immediacy, meat on the bone. Whereas the additional dampening of the AH tamed the Starlett in a favorable way and the larger ear cavity added stage, using the EL pads with the MZ2 seems to fully unleash the presentation. If the AH pads with the MZ2 are Pierce Brosnan in Goldeneye, the EL pads are Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.
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