My Norne Audio Drausk has a transparent covering on each of the wires, but no overall outer sleeve. It’s drop dead beautiful.
I have an unsleeved 6ft 2K Copper cable attached to the Auteurs I’m listening to right now. It also has that transparent coating over the copper wire. I think it looks great. Here’s a subpar close-up using my phone camera.
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I have a confession to make, and know this will get some blowback on here and that is fine as we are all entitled to free thought.
I have been losing interest in my Verite Open, it has taken me a long time to admit this out loud. When I first received them they were the best I had ever heard, no regrets buying them then nor any regrets now. I am sharing this as have not heard many share this sentiment openly, including myself up until now.
There is nothing wrong with my VO, they are a great sounding headphone which are an enjoyable listen and of course no one can deny the look of the beautifully crafted wood. I feel that they have hit a plateau as my chain evolved over the last year, most recently with the addition of a turntable this plateau has hit the final nail.
Comparing to other headphones I have had the opportunity to listen to for extensive periods on my chain such as Utopia, RAD-0, D8000, Empy, and Susvara (yes they are all priced drastically different, but let’s take cost out of this as many can be had used or at a discount for the same price as a VO) the VO was the last headphone I would grab for my nightly head clearing session. Hell there was many a night I would grab the trusty HD650 or LCD-2.2 (Pre-fazor) instead of the VO.
The VO were as enjoyable off my lowly WA3 OTL in comparison to my solid state and SET amps. Whereas each of the headphone models mentioned previously had a distinct improvement when I went up a level in amp (obviously some of those headphones were not driven off an OTL but a hybrid or solid state amp), changing levels of DAC had more of an affect than scaling amps, in some cases they went the opposite direction. Maybe it was synergy, maybe it shows the VO are capable of playing on a variety of gear. In the past I have posted how I perceived the VO improved as my other gear improved, and this is still the case. Unfortunately not enough of a jump to bring it the level of say the Utopia. or RAD-0, or D8K.
I know I should get into more details on this plateau I have experienced, and I will at a later time. I felt the first step was to admit it out loud first, which that in itself is a challenge in this hobby as we feel a strong emotional attachment to the gear we acquire throughout our journey. Throw in the love everyone has for ZMF including myself (much deserved as Zach and Bevin are a class act), this makes my confusion a bit more tough.
So it is time to break up with a headphone that helped me dive deeper into my music, and guided me to a better place…
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Hey, I made my confession earlier this year and parted ways with the beloved ZMF too. Life moves on…
That said, ZMF November is right around the corner here, and maybe I’ll get back into it again.
coincidentally, i am wearing a ZMF t-shirt right now
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Oh damn, I missed that one. Sorry…
I thought ZMF November already started last weekend?
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Yea it did with the blackwood VC, but the b-stock and stablized woods sale starts next week. 
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When do the sweatshirts hit?
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I may pick up a hoodie this year. But I feel like a poseur since I don’t own any ZMF Headphones anymore.
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I always feel like a poseur, might as well have a comfortable shirt and buy the zmf crew a beer.
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The best part of this hobby is you can break up with your headphones to later come back hat in hand and repurchase it. I’ve done this many a time with the HD650.
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I will still own them, just going to be on the back shelf or displayed as an art piece.
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You’ve articulated many of my impressions of ZMF here. In having extensively tested the Utopia and in now owning the 800 S, there’s not always a meaningful technical or preference gap between the two. The 800 S has a wide stage and lacks the dynamic nuances of the Utopia, but it’s in the technical ballpark and doesn’t lead to the Utopia’s fatigue (for my ears).
I will bring this back to cost, not because I can’t afford high end stuff (I put my art/collectable budget toward non audio stuff) but because headphones live or die on sound quality and they receive abuse in the process. The 800 S has a street price of $1,400 or about $1,250 on sale, and is made from purely functional plastic resin and aluminum. A used carbon fiber and leather Utopia runs $2,500 to $2,800. Neither is a display piece for non-headphone people, and each would look to be at home in a working recording studio. The street price for a beautiful wood and leather Verite is $2,500 to $2,800, or maybe a few hundred less used.
You ARE paying for its build as an art piece. It costs a lot to mass produce wood objects, let alone the exotic woods favored by ZMF. Wood requires long drying times, and it always has defects, cracks, and bugs. Each piece requires hand selection and inspection. Imperfect pieces must either be discarded or converted into hybrid wood and plastic resin models. So, a large percentage of the cost goes into the art aspects whatever the retail price happens to be. It’s not easy, nor as predictable as injecting stuff into an ear cup mold.
If I wasn’t so hard on headphones I’d be more interested in ZMF, but they live an ‘intimate’ body experience. Sweat, constant movement, and wear and tear from general use. I’m willing to let my pocket knives exist as untouched art pieces, but not headphones. Every time I see ZMF I think of the Case pocket knives business model. They’ve specialized in adding numerous limited edition wood, bone, and other handles (scales) to a small number of models and feed a collector market.
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I’m in the same boat with my VC, which I recently parted with. As amazing as it could be, I just found it lacking some intangible quality my other headphones had. I find myself just saying it lacked personality, for lack of a better word. I felt bad letting them go, I had one of the first desert ironwoods made, and did enjoy them a lot at times. But I just found myself grabbing my Atticus, Auteur, and Clear more. I was worried i’d miss them and regret the sale, but I have to admit i’m ok letting them go.
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Is it that you’re craving something with a little more clear/brighter presentation? Not that it’s veiled but the Clear, Utopia, HD800S, etc have a brighter signature than the Verite/VC.
Could also be your taste buds are changing. 
I have my moods. When I want clear and something a little more aggressive I reach for the hd800S (or clear when I had it). When I want a middle ground I go for the HD580 or HD650(leaning a little warmer) and when I want more bass, warmer, but still a enjoyable timbre I go VC.
I haven’t tried the Auteur, but I’m sure it would be enjoyable to me since I lilke most sennheiser’s signature.
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In a larger sense, choosing one headphone does not mean that every other headphone is bad. That’s only true in the world of a certain type of content creators and 16 year old boys trying to be tough. The rest of us are all perfectly fine living in a world where choices have to be made between different items that are all of high quality. We are spoiled with riches in the head-phile hobby, (and in most of the world in general). And when you are surrounded by riches, choices must be made.
I don’t collect anything* but if I did, there would be a ZMF. Maybe because of the aesthetics, or the sound, or a rare wood, but mostly because I want to support what a small company is doing.
The false dichotomies the Internet can force us into are just that. False. We can be fans while listening to a different headphone.
*other than scars and regrets
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Not so much changing tastes as finding a few sets that really resonate, illiciting an emotional reaction that for some reason was lacking with the VC. I’m still more a dark lover, with the Atticus and HD650 being two of my all time favorite headphones. I normally shy away from neutral or bright headphones as my tinnitus gets aggravated by them badly. But for whatever reason the Auteur and Clear don’t bother me.
I’m finding despite having a leaning towards dark headphones, there’s an intangible aspect that you really can’t anticipate, but it has a powerful effect when in play. I often wonder why I love the Atticus so much, when the VC is a technically better headphone in every way, and is also on the warmer/darker side, especially with universe pads. But when I listen to the Atticus, I creates a powerful response in me, engaging me and drawing me into the heart and soul of the music. The VC at times could do it, but not consistently. I found myself listening, but not participating emotionally in the music.
I’m a mystery unto myself haha. But I know when things resonate, and I cling to them desperately when they do. I’d be heartbroken if my Atticus was taken from me.
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Nothing you have to explain. You like what you like. Could be chain, could be just a preference thing.
But there’s times when I’m not feeling a certain headphone and I switch it up. Then there’s times when I don’t really want to listen at all.
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I’ve spent a LOT of time swapping gear to diagnose treble fatigue. I’ve concluded that people complain about “bright” headphones mostly when they are either (1) peaky and exaggerate certain high frequencies, or (2) when they are prone to producing random high frequency resonances in response to upstream noise.
The HD600 and PortaPro are terrible offenders in high frequency resonances per background noise. The Utopia grabs onto and amplifies even the faintest residual high notes too. After years of hardware swaps I concluded the HD600’s issues can be mitigated either by severely rolling off the treble (e.g., an old-school tube amp) or by running them through an ultra clean chain and balanced amp.
The Clear leans bright but doesn’t bother me on most hardware, and I hear it as randomizing high frequencies into harmless air, haze, and atmosphere. It generates plenty of treble noise and grain, but it’s rarely peaky (except on the THX 789). I’ve not tried the Auteur.
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What you describe strikes me as pretty familiar. I lose interest in certain headphones–and then regain it–all the time. Right now it’s the blackwood Aeolus in the penalty box (because I’m fixated on the Final D8000 now). My silkwood VO has slipped to #2 position.
I never really lose interest in the Ori or Fidelio X2. Then again, neither is ever my #1.
The word for all this is “fickle”. My affection for headphones, as well as wood installations I’ve made, wristwatches and other physical objects, some and goes.
The governing principle of my audio jones (which began decades ago) is an endless cycle of “love this/change that”.
Why does this happen? I have no idea…
PS: When I really stop liking a headphone, usually because I never fully liked it in the first place–I sell it. What I describe above is what happens with the headphones I keep.
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I have a lovely collection (VC; Aeolus; Utopias; Celestee; HD800S) - and other than using the Celestees as my dedicated commute cans, it’s hard to justify all of these coexisting.
Weirdly (because I love them), the hardest to justify overall are my ZMFs. If I’m looking for power and slam and clarity, I’m going with Utopias. If I want that wide soundstage, the Sennies come into play. The VCs have a deeper sound (smokier?) than the Utopias, but do I really need them if I have the Utopias? And the Aeolus is beautiful sounding, but do I really need them if I have the VCs?
The value I see in having them all is that having them all stops me from buying even more headphones - how could I justify the Audeze flagships, for example? It’s not like I spend 24 hours a day listening to headphones!
Each individual purchase was justifiable at the time - I wouldn’t even consider the VC had I not used the Aeolus, so even if I sold my Aeolus, it served its purpose.
All told, I feel like I’ve hit a saturation point, with too many headphones competing for my time. Yes, nice problem to have, but I do wonder if I should thin the herd.
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