ZMF Bokeh Review: Just Can't Get Enough

Many thanks to SBAF and ZMF for the chance to hear these!

Chain: May KTE to icOn 4 Zen to DNA Supernaut

Huge caviat here: I'm a tube guy and low impedance headphones are generally best from solid state which has a much lower OI. I'm using an 8ohm tap for these notes, which is the lowest I have easily available at the moment.

One set of pads works for me. The other two just sound totally off and far removed from the music. Notes are with the pads that work for me.

Pure fun tuning, impactful bass and music behind a glass wall. Horns are fun and/but not accurate with these. Like all ZMF that I have heard, these have their own sound and it either jives with you or it doesn't. It's always there regardless of other gear used in the chain.

If you can forgive the omissions and commissions in different areas, these do get the head bobbing with musicality. For me, it's easy to not think about it while I enjoy the music.

Live percussion in particular is a highlight here, stringed instruments too.

When we get into albums that are small group (3-5 acoustic) instruments playing in a real space and the recording is good enough to hear the space, these headphones start to shine.

I definitely like these more than the Borealis closed backs.

Is it great? No. But it's a whole lot of very good if you're looking for what it has to offer. I'd still get an Aeolus in a heartbeat but that doesn't work for those who need closed backs.

Day two:
Find the right music and decide that you're just here to relax and enjoy, and you'll be happy with these. They're great "I'm just here for the vibes" headphones.

They're not something I'd use as my only headphone, but as my only closed back? I could do that. I don't need closed backs often, but when I do it would be cool to spend time with a not-accurate-but-a-lot-of-fun closed back headphone. If I wanted that but didn't want to spend Verite Closed money, these would be an easy grab at $1k-ish.

Normally I really enjoy the Elex but after some time with the Bokeh the Elex just sounds so artificial until I get my brain wrapped around it and play the right (well recorded) music. It's a big shift going from one to the other. One is all vibes and the other is all flex. Like the difference between marijuana and cocaine. Elex begins to sound normal after a bit but there's a curve for sure.

Switching back to Bokeh it's definitely a little bit blunted comparatively, but again it's a vibe. It's more echoey, woody and spacey and that's why we sign up for this type of thing.

Listening to Regina Spektor it reminds me that there's congestion in the mids while everything else sounds pretty great.

Hopefully will have time to try and post impressions on the Stellaris and a couple random SS amps that aren't amazing but are very good before the loaner is up. We'll see!

 

A few quick Bokeh notes from my experiences:

1. Of all the zmf headphones i've owned, I found these to have the greatest improvement over the first two weeks for me. I'm not saying burn in, or brain burn in, or whatever, but I found my enjoyment of them much greater at the end of the second week.

2. Solid mesh and hybrid pads are my favorite combo.

3. Fantastic work headphones. There is enough isolation to block out ambient light noise, but not enough that i'd miss a phone call or not hear a coworker that needed me. They're also comfortable for longer listening sessions during paperwork times, and have minimal leakage. No problem for a neighbor.

4. Listening to a wide variety of music, I found that while I wasn't overwhelmed with any particular genre (classical, jazz, alternative, rock...) I couldn't find a music style that didn't work well. A counter example would be my impression of the hd800, which I love for classical music, but find less enjoyable for rock styles.

5. Dual 3.5 headphone connectors was nice. I had some spare cables that I could use.

I hope these light impressions are helpful.

 

This makes me feel like you’re speaking directly to me. For someone looking for a compliment to the LCD-X, the Bokeh seems like a serious contender for a pure music enjoyment factor, without taking things so seriously all the time).

Really looking forward to hearing these!

 

Sorry if I missed it - which set of pads did you end up with? Trying to figure out which pad seems to be the consensus favorite, I've been using hybrid's the most lately.

 

Solid leather, not hybrid or suede.

 

Must be the protein pads? The ones that come with Bokeh are solid protein, hybrid (suede on inside lip) and full suede.

Although I did make a solid "deep" caldera pad for the Caldera Closed which I will test on the Bokeh at some point.

 

Yes, then it would be the protein pads.

Is there a particular pad people seem to be gravitating towards?

 

Yeah that's always the funny thing, just when I think I have an idea of something that might be a trend, I always hear about different tastes etc. It's just a case of why these options are needed.

My favorite are the protein and hybrid depending on my mood.

 

First, big thanks to ZMF and SBAF for a chance to listen to the Bokeh via loaner. I don't feel like I have much insight to add to what's already here, but here are some brief impressions.

I'll start by saying that when I was listening to the Bokeh, I'd occasionally forget that I was listening to a closed headphone. I know that this is one of its distinctives, but I'm so impressed with whatever damping voodoo that's been brought over from the Atrium and applied here. It did often create the auditory illusion of being in a quiet, spacious room for me. Bokeh also seemed to have pretty good isolation - my family claimed they only got a little hint of what I was listening to, even when I was listeing around 75-80db.

Comfort is there too - these aren't light headphones, but the ZMF headband system really seems to distribute the weight very well. But yeah, like some others, I also really struggled to swap pads. Even after watching Zach's videos on how to change them on other models, I gave up after about 10 minutes of trying, and just went back to the stock. I'm sure I could eventually get the hang of it, but not this time around.

Tonality-wise, Bokeh came across as slightly darkish to me, and slightly rolled-off, but also very fatigue-free. Seemed to have solid micro and macro dynamics, with more than enough satisfying mid and sub bass for my hip-hop/electronic tracks. It also passed my new go-to test album for treble fatigue - Low's "Hey What" (which I simply cannot listen to all the way through on most of my other headphones). Also got the sense that the Bokeh had pretty good resolution, on par with my HD600, but nothing spectacular.

The biggest surprise was how good this thing sounded off my Apple headphone adapter on iPhone 15. Got plenty loud, and I'd say maintained a great sense of dynamics, separation. Seems to have achieved its goal of being easily driven for portable, on the go use. I'll just end that althrough I don't own a ZMF headphone yet, I'm always tempted to get one after I get to hear one.

 

Things I noticed:
-) Interesting choice to tuck the headband on this one. Maybe I've had so many "untucked" ones that I don't fully appreciate this aesthetic. suum cuique.
-) Plastic rods seemed to have held up well for a traveling loaner, so I imagine they would be okay in the wild.
-) Different connectors from other ZMFs doesn't particularly bother me, but if you have a stable of ZMFs, it's one more cable type to manage.
-) Low-Z tube amps were fine, but these combos will likely be too tubey for some. Solid state felt more natural here overall for me.
-) Seemed to be to be a less gear-focused piece of kit. Other than obvious tube colouring, the signature didn't vary all that much in gear tiers (that I have available).
-) I didn't pick up wood reverb while playing; but after longer play sessions I could definitely hear/feel it when I unplugged for the night. Odd sensation. I attribute it to brain burn-in and assume it would likely go away over time.
-) Oh, yea, I need to turn the IM switch on for Folkvangr here...

Things I liked:
-) Forget "house sound", I want to coin "ZMF House Fit". Three clicks down; eighth of a turn on the pad; go play music -- I didn't even have to look.
-) Runs lovely from self-powered portable devices (iPhone, iPad, Galaxy Tab); although I'm not sure how portable I would personally be with a $1K wood headphone.
-) Continues my unbroken and strange streak of low impedance likes with MJ1. At this point I swear I only keep the amp for sub-100 ohm cans.

Things I didn't like:
-) Oh, yea, that's why I never run the IM switch on Folkvangr...
-) I ride the struggle bus with ZMF pad swapping in general, but these were slightly more maddening than usual.
-) Overall a bit too mellow in that 2KHz-4KHz range for me.

This is definitely a mellow, slightly dark, laid-back, but still enjoyable headphone. However, in the end I found myself wanting more energy in the lower treble and a bit more resolution overall. Throwing some power and volume at it helped, but then the bass would start to overwhelm - I think this is where I started picking up the reverb after-effects. Team ZMF has put out another lovely piece of gear with the fit and finish worthy of the ZMF name, but this one just isn't for me.

Thank you to ZMF for allowing this to go on tour, and thank you ChaCha for managing logistics. I continue to enjoy being part of these loaners.

 

Oh sorry for not making this clear on the product page - the rods are metal!

Did you get to try the full suede pads with the perf or no mesh? Sounds like if you found them too laid back that might fit your tastes more. I know on a week long loaner it might be tough to try all nine sonic iterations of the Bokeh between the mesh and pads.

If anyone finds the pads or mesh too worn, let me know, I'm happy to replace them during the tour.

 

I stand corrected. And here I thought you had found a really good paint for them to make them all shiny.

Fair enough. The suede pads were one of the ones I struggled to get on, so I ended up not being able to try them. I didn't see anything physically wrong with them though, so maybe I was just having a bad hand coordination day.

 

Thanks to SBAF and Zach for providing the Bokeh for the loaner program.

Gear: PC ==> BiFrost 2 ==> L0rdGwyn Aegis | Cavalli Liquid Crimson | Schiit Fulla 2

Headphones: ZMF Auteurs | Verite Open | Atrium

I listened to the Bokeh at the ZMF booth at the Dallas Can Jam and walked away wanting to hear more in a quieter environment. Now that I've had a listen to it I came away more impressed than anything else. A few things to note is that I'm not a big fan of closed back headphones. I did own the Atticus, but found myself reaching for other headphones, tried the Eikon and it's tonality didn't capture me. There was some resonance or something that grated at me when I tried the Verite Close loaner. So color me surprised when I received Bokeh and didn't pull them off my head with a stink face.

First thing that I noticed is that coming from the Auteurs/Atrium the Bokeh sounded so strange to me. It felt like listening to the VOs for the first time with the Universe pad. That barrel in a sound feeling. After some time my brain adjusted and I really started to dig its sound. Second, was how it sounds more like an open back than a closed back headphone. Width wise it has a bigger sound stage than my Auteurs with the Eikon perforated pads, bigger than the HD650s, similar to the Verite Open, and smaller than the Atriums. Depth wise it doesn't sound as deep as the VO or Atrium but similar to the Auteurs. There are no strange resonances that made me want to pull them off or anything jarring with its tonality.

Tonality:
Make no mistake this is a colored sounding headphone but in a very tasteful/fun way. It's warm and slightly rolled off the top which makes it more forgiving than say the Atrium. The tonality makes it a great all rounder with different genres. It's not as forward as the Auteurs, not as pushed back as the Atrium, but in between the Verite Open and Atrium.

Bass: Daft Punk - Doin' it Right is a track I use to check sub bass. The Bokeh reaches as low as the Atrium/Auteurs and extends lower than the VOs. You get more sub bass quantity similar to planar headphones but not as textured as what you'd hear on the Atrium. I forget how much I miss planar like sub bass. Mid bass is very punchy and works so well with EDM. This is probably one of my favorite headphones to play Electronica/EDM. It's been a while since I heard something do the double kick drums from Rush's YYZ as well as the Atticus. Out of all my headphones the Bokeh is the most dynamic sounding. I do want to point out that the Bokeh isn't warm sounding as something like the DCA Aeon 2. I thought that headphone was so warm that it's sub bass/lower mid bass over powered the mids and overshadowed the rest of the frequency. This is much more neutral.

Mids: I don't have much to say here. The mids founded perfectly fine and has nice timbre which most ZMF headphones exhibit. I do prefer the OG Auteurs mids more but that's unfair since the Auteurs mids to me are magic. Something I did notice was how vivid notes sound from mids to the upper treble.

Treble: The highs are not extended as the Auteurs or Atrium. Which to me is perfectly fine. I want this headphone at its price range not to sound piercing or glaring. It has nice extension when needed but it does roll off more than the other ZMFs. I'm sure with the other pads you can adjust this to your liking but I think the tonality of this headphone sits just right.

Speed/Microdynamic: The driver of these headphones do a good job of sounding light on it's feet while delivering a solid punch. The Auteurs can sound a bit lifeless when it comes to dynamics, the Atrium does great with dynamics but you can tell it's the slowest of the three (which isn't slow by any means), and the Verite Open is the fastest. I use Trampled by Turtles - Wait so Long to see how headphones handle many fast instruments playing at the same time. Can you can follow each instrument individually without it turning to mush.This is one of the few knocks on the Bokeh. When you have many fast changing instruments playing at the same time if falls apart like the Auteurs. You get that wall of sound effect. The Verite Open just eats this song and asks for seconds. The Atrium, even though sounding slightly slower than the rest, still keeps itself composed (instrument separation) while coming out of it slightly disheveled.

In terms of plankton/microdynamics the Bokeh isn't going to win awards. It's very similar to the Auteurs but the Auteurs slightly pulls ahead. The Atrium and Verite Open will give you much better instrumental texture and small gradations of notes.

Pads: I gave up on trying to install the different pads. I took off one and tried to roll it back and felt like a neanderthal with paws not meant for fine motor functions. I tried again and gave up after the third time. There has to be a better way.

Amp pairing: The Bokeh is more amp agnostic than the rest of the line up. The Auteurs do a good job working with many amps while still sounding great. On the Crimson the bass hits damn hard hard but I wasn't prepared at how hard it also hit from the Fulla 2. The sound stage was oh so slightly bigger on the Crimson but, really, they both gave a wide stage presentation with some depth. Funny enough, I didn't like them out of the Aegis amp. It reduced the bass which reduced how dynamic sounding it was. Even though the Aegis can throw a large sound stage, it didn't really make much of a difference on the Bokeh in my opinion.

Conclusion: I really do love this headphone at its price range. It put a huge smile on my face. It does so well with many genres and for my favorite which is EDM/Electronica it's phenomenal. It's a headphone you put on while studying, or listening to lo-fi hip hop in the background. You'll find yourself bobbing your head or even dancing in your seat with the Bokeh. Certain songs I stopped listening to because of how poor they're mastered were put back in my rotation. The Bokeh won't win in giving you the best details, it won't slay giants, but its one of those jack of all trades and master of none headphones. Great value for the price.

 

I made an interface gasket (3d printed) that goes below the foam pad and above the screen backing, it helps keep the shape of the pad especially the suede so you can get it on easier. @ChaChaRealSmooth let me know who has it now and I can send the gaskets out?

I do wonder which mesh is on the headphone too, it would help with impressions for those reading to know which mesh is on the headphones as the treble amount is greatly affected by that. Maybe it's still stock/perforated? The other options are no mesh, or solid mesh.

 

@zach915m, I just got the loaner pair today. They came with the hybrid pads and the perforated mesh installed. Leather and suede pads included in the case and 3 solid mesh in a bag. Pad install was a bit more difficult than other ZMFs but nothing I would complain about, IMO.

I put on the full leather pads and left the perforated mesh. Sound freaking excellent. These are what I wanted the Atrium Closed to sound like. For treble sensitive dudes like me these are perfect closed backs. Satisfying treble with no irritating etch or glare. Sub bass is a treat as expected. Mid bass is more pronounced than Atrium Closed, which I prefer. I felt Atrium Closed was a more neutral take, where Bokeh is more fun. I prefer the Bokeh tuning with its thicker sound. Atrium Closed for sure has more resolution, but the tuning difference is enough where I'd pick Bokeh.

They oddly don't sound closed, but don't sound open at the same time. No irritating closed headphone sensation I get with every other closed can. Also, the 80 ohm impedance is evident here. They sound a bit off on the high imp setting on my Stratus (I vastly prefer high impedance setting for any other ZMF and Senn cans). On the low impedance setting the Bokeh sound absolutely DIALED in and perfect to my taste.

I'll report with longer listening impressions later this week but I'm very close to buying a pair for myself. They are exactly what I've been looking for. A more portable closed back that can run on portable or big boy gear.

My only dislike so far is comfort. Both my ears touch the mesh in front of the drivers, which will suck after a while based on other ZMFs I've owned. I may experiment with putting a length of paracord under the pad to get more space. These do feel noticeably lighter in hand and on head than my cherry Atrium Opens.

Audio chain: Holo Audio Red -> Yiggy A2 -> DNA Stratus V3 (low impedance single ended) -> ZMF Bokeh

 

PM me and remind me of your address and I'll get that pads interface part out that'll help with pad swapping and provide more space for the ears.

 

Will this new pad interface work with any ZMF headphones? If it gives the ears a little more room, I’d like to try these with my Atrium Closed and Bokeh Suede pads. I tried the paracord trick, but it didn’t work that well for me.

 

ZMF Bokeh Loaner Impressions

Thank you SBAF, @ChaChaRealSmooth, and of course @zach915m for kindly letting us participate in this loaner tour, it’s such a treat to audition great gear at home. I really appreciate it.


Chain
I listened to the Bokeh from two setups:

• MacBook Air --> iFi Gryphon 4.4 bal --> Bokeh
• Yggdrasil A2 --> Stratus --> Bokeh

Most of my listening was from the Gryphon as that’d be the source I’d most likely use. The Stratus setup did lead to a general improvement across the board, with more refinement and better resolution as well as a smoother sound, as you’d expect. The Bokeh scales somewhat, but not like an HD 6x0.


Impressions
These are pretty easy impressions to write. There are two main qualities I loved about the Bokeh and one minor one that I was less fond of -- the Bokeh’s resolution. It’s not a big issue, given the price of the headphones, and I may be more sensitive to this as I’ve been listening highly resolving headphones exclusively recently, which has warped my frame of reference. But I’d be curious as to how the Focal closed backs, for instance, compare with the Bokeh in this regard. In any case, the slightly low resolution, and a bit of muddiness that follows from it, is a minor issue, and it’s almost beside the point given how nice the tuning and staging of these headphones are.

The staging is really very good for a closed back. It’s spacious and open and airy enough to compete with a good many open back headphones, and I’m not sure my old Focal Clear was any more spacious or open. There’s a small vent in each cup. While I couldn’t hear my wife’s tv show, playing on her laptop as she sat 3 feet from me on the couch, she could tell me which songs I was listening to. So, isolation’s decent for the listener, less so for roommates.

The tuning’s lovely. It might be a bit u-shaped as there’s a bit of mid-bass emphasis and well extended treble. The mid-bass forwardness is mild and makes for a nice, punchy sound. It’s not flabby or loose at all. It’s also not overdone; the mid-bass isn’t overly humpy, as I found with the stock HD 650. Sub-bass is decent. It’s neither the deepest nor the most robust, but I’m being fussy here. You get plenty of slam. Kick drums have a satisfying wallop to them.

The clarity and cohesiveness of the midrange is worth noting, as are the nicely balanced male and female vocal presentations. Both are quite forward, but not overly so. They’re just right. Upper mids aren’t too forward, either, and I’m sensitive to this.

The treble is an outstanding quality of the Bokeh, and perhaps something I appreciate the most about it. I’m coming from recently owning an Atrium, and while I no longer have it to hand, I suspect the Atrium is more rolled off than the Bokeh (the Atrium, with the stock mesh, also has more forward upper-mids). The Bokeh, by contrast, has lovely sparkle. Acoustic guitars’ overtones sound superb. I think the excellent treble also helps with the sense of air and openness to the headstage.

Transient attacks are very good, snappy and tight, without being too sharp or hard. This means that cymbal brushstrokes on Cannonball Adderley’s Autumn Leaves sound really quite good when, with many headphones (and many high-end ones), the brushstrokes get smeared together.

Macrodynamics are good, but with the Gryphon, the Bokeh isn’t the most impactful of headphones. It was better with the Stratus.

The Bokeh is great for timbre and reproducing rich textures. Electric guitars are fun to listen to, not just for bite but also for their lucid richness, as with Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah, which is a joy to listen to with the Bokeh. String instruments sound excellent, in particular.


Note on pad rolling
Pad rolling is an absolute disaster, I’m afraid. I couldn’t get the pads back on with the extension rings inserted in them, so I had to leave them off (the rings, not the pads, that is). I’ve not had problems with pad rolling on ZMFs before.

Two things made pad rolling harder than usual. Since the cups don’t swivel fully, I couldn’t rest them flat on a cushioned surface. This means that pad swapping must be done with the cups facing each other and, with the clamp force of the headband, there being risk of them colliding with one another. This makes it harder to swap pads as you’ve got to pay close attention to protecting the cups rather than concentrating on the pad manipulation. Or else I’m just gormless. Probably the latter. (Also, since these aren’t my headphones, I was much gentler with the pads than I would have been with my own, so the caveat here is that pad rolling might be easier with your own set, once they’ve been stretched out a bit).

Because of all this, I only used what I assume are the stock protein pads (they had no suede on them, IIRC).


Conclusion
I can’t say how the Bokeh compares with other similarly priced closed backs. It may not be as resolving as others. My old ESX900 was more resolving, I should think, but then those headphones had fancy, pricey Fostex drivers in them (from the TH 900). And I could well be wrong about this in any case.

The Bokeh's tuning’s lovely. The mid-bass emphasis is tastefully done, vocals sound great, and the treble sparkle is beautiful. Nothing was a nuisance or annoying. The staging’s also outstanding, open, spacious, airy.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that, as always, the headphones are beautifully made. Photos don’t do justice to the quality or aesthetic appeal of the wood cups, which are also light and comfy.

Thanks again for the opportunity to check out these headphones!