And ZMF does offer several models that are priced lower.
Given the reputation they’ve achieved so far … I have to go on reputation, since I’ve never heard a ZMF personally yet … my hope is that Zack and Bevin can price their products so that they have a sustainable & enjoyable business for many, many years, for their benefit and ours.
The Aeolus stabs are not far off from sub 1,500 at $1799. Plus once they put out the model that is supposedly under 1k they could make a stabilized LTD. of that for about 1,500ish or under and still meet their price point so @BuffaloWing idea isn’t that far from a possible reality
I’m sure that the people at ZMF would like their company to grow bigger, maybe not( and would like to keep it a smaller production for personal reasons and/or envisioned business model) But I agree with the notion that if they could keep the same quality and make the same money while making a cheaper stabilized HP, that they would become even more bigger and popular than they already are. Do they want to do that is the real question? I dunno but I for one would love buying a stab set for under 1,500 while at the same time allow Zmf to make enough money on it to grow in popularity and succeed as a business financially.
I think I recall from one of the live streams that Zach wants to avoid becoming overly corporate with the business, preferring the more artisan nature of what he is doing now.
Who knows if that will change over the coming years but I appreciate it for the moment. My VOs are absolutely gorgeous and I wouldnt get that from an assembly line. What I got takes personal attention.
Hopefully they don’t break out of the boutique business model but I’m sure they can grow while keeping the same guidelines they have right now just with more workers.
They talked about hiring a few more people and they just moved to a better location. All points to them wanting to expand but like we all hope for, it would be nice for them to stay doing the outline they have been doing up to this point and it’s nice that they keep quality and originality a primary goal as well as a personal touch.
The one thing that would be nice in the future would be to have a phone number and a way to contact someone when ordering and all the complexities and options that goes with it. I like a lot that they themselves respond to the emails but sooner or later it might be realistic to switch to an employee the handles that so they can free up time so they can focus on more headphone making and R&D.
@perogie I totally agree that them being handmade is a very crucial part to the magic. I don’t think I would be as big a fan of them if they were not made the way they are now. A full on mechanical assembly line would be a bummer and I’m sure we don’t have to worry about that with ZMF.
Great looking headphones!! At first glance I thought they were the Audeze Lcd xc. 
Oooh, headphone stand, from where? I like it.
Gorgeous! Can’t wait for mine!
How’s the new stock cable?
Looks like maybe Mogami Quad core sleeved?
Its actually really nice, much better than the older flat cables… Mine came with both a 1/4" and 1/8" cable.
What speakers you got over there?
Philharmonic Audio BMRs with a Salk cabinet. I love em, and honestly I probably use these more than headphones…
Nice. What tubes out of the Mogwai SE do you use to power these lower sensitivity speakers? Is there a big difference between 5U4/6L6 and 5AR4/KT88/6550?
The stock cable is transparent and gets out of the way in terms of sonic signature. It sounds the same as my Hart cables, which are Mogami, so I wonder if you’re right. Or maybe all well constructed copper cables sound the same - not going to start that debate. 
Moving onto more objective features, it is very flexible and not microphonic at all, so I’m happy to use it. Focal could learn a thing or two.
Judging by the way it sits on the table in your photo, and the construction. I’d hazard a bet of Mogami/Canare star quad and the basic paracord sleeving. Still good Japanese OFC !
Oh I don’t use the Mog for my speakers, they’re fed from an SS chain.
Well I finally got my shipping notification tonight from ZMF. My VC is officially on the way to me! I’ll report back with some first impressions after I get them on my head for a bit later this week. I sold my Aeolus in anticipation of this VC purchase, so the only decent headphones I’ll have for comparison are my beloved Mod House Argons.
The “ZMF wait” gave me lots of time to contemplate upgrading my amp and dac. I managed to control myself somewhat. In the end, I couldn’t resist getting my first tube amp. Now I have the mysterious SW51+ on order. That probably won’t arrive until some time in March, so I need to summon some patience again. My poor wallet is in trouble if some B-Stock Bifrost 2’s pop up on the Schiit website any time soon!
That is supposed to be a legit, crazy value amp. A lot of people hold it in high regard. Apparently the Russian mail service is pretty variable, hopefully no issues for you.
The SW51+ is one of my favorite amps under 1K.
Mines in use on my secondary setup in preference to the Haggerman Tuba or BHC+speedball. Both of which I think are very good.
Mine usually has BF2 -> SW51+ -> ZMF Eikon, but it’s currently got the Verite C connected since it’s out of the current rotation in my primary setup.
It’s also a great amp to tube roll, not a lot of options, but good variation and they are all very cheap.
