I wonder which pads are Pussy Galore in Goldfinger? Those are the ones I’m after 
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Please let me know when you figure it out as I’m curious too 
!!
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Hi @Pharmaboy,
You caught my attention with migraines + constant tinnitus as I have the same issue. I’m on the hunt for a good planar headphone for daily use (1-2 hours) that has minimal sound leakage - my family doesn’t want to hear the music - so I’m leaning towards the Aeon 2 or the ZMF Ori.
If picking between these two, would you still lean towards the Ori? Is there a different planar closed or semi-open that I should be considering for under $1k?
Thanks - Eric
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Eric: It’s really unfortunate that you can’t do open-back headphones. At least for me, I found that the best way to squeeze more listening time out of this hobby w/o blowing my head/ears off.
But if you’re down to closed backs, my strong recommendation would be for a planar closed back. That can be the ZMFs Classic, Blackwood, or Ori (all below $1K). But it could also be Argon, Dekoni Blue (which I heard are somewhat bright), etc.
I find the Ori to be the only closed back I can tolerate for an hour or so. There’s just something about the way notes propagate from a planar driver–notes come out suddenly & smoothly. No overshoot, no sense of a vibrating driver.
I value these same qualities in open backs, but the planar vs dynamic differences are way more subtle there because (my opinion, no more) the open back design reduces pressure on the ears and gives sound a place to go.
BTW, I’ve heard more expensive and nominally “better” closed back HPs than the Ori–in particular I’m thinking about the Verite Closed. But the VC, though easy to hear how extremely good it is, hurt my head & ears more than I could live with.
So the Ori remains the only closed back I can handle for very long…
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@Pharmaboy - I agree, I would like to use open backs more. I do have my HD600 that I use when possible, but I’ve been told - in no uncertain terms - to “turn down your music” when listening with open backs by my family. 
So I’ve had to get rid of my Sundaras and I’m working on doing the same with my Focal Elex.
I do have my Focal Elegias, which I like very much, and a pair of CIEMs from Jerry Harvey (JH11Pro) that I use frequently as well.
I really do like the sound of planars, which is why I’m gravitating towards the ZMF Ori as they appear to tick all the boxes - semi-open (so maybe best of both worlds?) and in my price range. The only thing I’m also considering is the Aeon 2 Closed as I’ve heard nothing but great things about them.
Cheers
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I emailed Zach at ZMF about future runs of the Ori and he said the following…
“We unfortunately are no longer making the Ori headphones and they will be off the website soon. The atticus has a similar sound signature and in November we will have some b stock for sale! Sign up for our email list to be notified of that.”.
I’ve signed up for the email list.
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Damn, that’s bad news. The Ori is significantly different from the Atticus (I owned a cocobolo Atticus at one time–it wouldn’t play nice w/any of my amps, so I sold it) or the Aeolus. It’s the old planar vs dynamic driver thing. They just sound different.
I love my Ori to pieces and regularly compare it to other headphones (it never really loses, just sounds different).
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Does that mean b-stock Atticus or Ori?
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I ended up buying a pair of Aeon 2 for now. Will be watching that ZMF b stock for a Ori as the Atticus doesn’t really meet my needs.
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On the zmf order sheet it shows that the preorder waiting list of the verite closed is twice the length as the open. Is the Closed a more popular headphone or is it just coincidental?
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They just blasted through over 30 VO orders over the last week and updated yesterday the spread sheet… I expect a similar update in the coming days for the VC.
But, I also have a feeling VC is slightly more popular.
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Production requires a bunch of dedicated processes – all the materials must be on hand and then it can begin. Many products are released in batches, and one batch may be different/better/worse than another batch.
With a small vendor like ZMF, they’d either need to configure the lathe or CNC device to cut the wood, grills, etc. Also, many products are circular because production of circles is generally simple.
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I’m hoping that’s true! I’m in the 30s on the VC list and hoping for a wave of VC builds haha
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The wait shouldn’t be too much longer for you. Production stopped while they were moving to the new workshop, which created an even bigger backlog but they’ve been churning them out since the move and I moved up the spreadsheet at a rapid pace over the last few weeks. As others have said, Zach & Bevin confirmed that they work in batches, so it will look like nothing is happening for a while, and then suddenly a whole section of the spreadsheet disappears and everyone moves up.
Also, they don’t update the spreadsheet in real time (as opposed to the rest of us obsessively looking at the spreadsheet in real time), so you might be higher on the list than you think. When I checked late last week I was excited to see that I’d moved into the top 10 in the VO list, and I think the status still said Sanding & Finishing. I was thinking that I might still be a couple of weeks away, but I got my headphones on Monday, and when I checked the spreadsheet later that day, I was still on there. BTW, this is not a complaint, I think they’ve gone above and beyond with the level of transparency to their customers.
They do need some burning in to loosen them up. Straight out of the box, they didn’t sound quite right (panic moment!), but even after an hour of pink noise, they opened up nicely, and they sound better and better the more pink noise and music I’ve been feeding them with overnight. I haven’t done any critical listening yet, or comparisons with my Stellia, but I haven’t noticed any obvious/annoying peaks or dips and I’m enjoying the music whenever I have them on, which is all I could ask for.
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From the ZMF website:
“So for all ZMF’s you can generally assume you should burn them in with pink noise and/or hardcore metal/rap/dubstep for 100-200 hours. Placing the pads together helps reduce noise leakage during this process!”
https://www.zmfheadphones.com/headphone-faq
I found this to be true with my VCs.
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@TylersEclectic VO are getting picked up today! Can’t wait to listen to them! Thank you brother
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You weren’t kidding! I’ve dropped to the 20s since we last spoke. I figured I had another few weeks but now you have me excited.
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It dropped really quickly over the past few weeks. And the overall list seems to have been cut almost in half. The new shop really seems to allow the throughput. My VO could have been here Friday but get held up in customs. Should be here Monday. Not sure why I even pay for expedited shipping anymore as it doesnt seem to matter and you cant claim against delivery times currently - they just blame customs anyway.
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Set your calendars! Going live with Zach and Bevin to talk about the new HQ and other fun stuff… maybe the upcoming ZMF November… maybe some other surprises as well.
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