ZMF Blackwood

That's true. They were probably leaking out the bottom-rear on the Blackwoods, whereas the thinner lambskin of the ZMFs and Alphas conformed better to my head.

 

@JoshMorr I'm sure what you're hearing is much more reliable than my hair-brained extrapolation attempt. The Blackwood's sub-bass is the deepest and most solid I've heard without being overpowering (I've put 1 plug in). Quality of seal is always going to be a huge variable for bass response.

When you've had more time with them, I'd be really interested to hear your thorough comparison of these 3 phones.

 

I have a pair of older Blackwoods (one of the first pairs Zach made, I believe) with Alpha Pads. Bought them second hand about a year ago. When I first got them, I felt the sub-bass was awesome, but the mid/upper bass felt a bit recessed, causing kick drums to sound a bit flat. I listen to a lot of different genres, but this was most evident with electronic music / disco / funk. I sent them back to Zach to re-tune for more upper-bass punch. He worked his magic and sent them back to me sounding much better to my ears! I would say that the low-end is now my favorite out of all the headphones I own or have demoed.

The tuning of the Blackwood is unique. While I find some similarities to other headphones, I haven't heard anything yet that's quite like it. There's a bit of shoutiness in the upper-mids/lower-treble (around 6-7k I believe) that can cause some nasally characteristics on electronic snares and sibilance on female vocals. To be fair though, this tuning really brings real drums and string instruments to life, adding just a bit of "bite" to give them more excitement. This combined with the strong bass often gives me the impression of a slight V-shaped sound signature. I still feel the mids are healthy and linear, but they do sound less emphasized in comparison.

There are some recordings that sound better from the BW than from my HE-500 or even HD650. One of my favorite albums for both as a whole and for the purpose of gear evaluation is These New Puritans - Field Of Reeds. Sounds pretty much perfect with the BW.

 

@Hands The Cherry Omni tour unit I heard was bloomy in the mid-bass to my ears but Zach puts it down to the liveliness of the wood. I initially found my Purplehearts to be a bit mid-bass light but have grown to like their low end balance, which might be the source of my mid-bass bump sensitivity.

I'm using my micro-iDSD for all my listening. I haven't tried other amps when demoing phones as the iDSD is what I'll be using at home. I stack it with my phone so I can listen on the sofa or in bed as desired. A Vali or Valhalla are a possibility, but desktop mode doesn't really fit my listening habits.

The iDSD's bass boost is subtle and would probably help with the hd650s roll off. I could always EQ the mid bass down a bit if I find it bothersome - Viper4Android works for me.

 

I don't hear this at all on my Purplehearts, also with Alpha Pads. Mids are very smooth, no sibilance and highs a touch subdued. Zach has mentioned elsewhere that frontal damping can be used to tailor the upper-mids/highs. You could ask him to send you some with suggestions for specific frequencies.

 

Hands, I took the plunge and am picking up my HD650s tomorrow. Now I'm considering the amp upgrade as I've been brainwashed by the "Love" thread. The price of the Valhalla 2 is probably as high as I'm willing to go for now. Did you hear the Blackwood on it? How did it sound to you?

 

Ah, so YOU'RE the past owner of the B-stock PurpleHearts I ordered last night. Haha, Zach mentioned the slider part and said he just had to fix them real quick (as the owner upgraded to an Omni.)

 

I have a Cocobolo Blackwood coming in this Friday. I had the original Blackwood and while I loved the sound (among the top I've heard in closed headphones), I agree, the fit was an issue due to the sliders and the low range of motion in the cup attachments. Zach admitted that this was a major flaw in the original ones, so he significantly reworked the cup attachment. The new assembly is supposed to be much improved, I will be able to try them out this weekend.

 

Has anyone compared these with Fostex Th900?

 

Interested in more Blackwood impressions. Keep 'em coming!

 

ZMF Cocobolo Blackwood in the house, these are BEAUTIFUL! The reworked cup attachments have a lot more rotational motion, the flex/extension motion is essentially the same as the old ones. The rotational motion does help you find a better fit easier without having to spin the actual pads to find a good position (something that I did quite often on the old Blackwoods).

Not going to wax poetic on the sound: briefly, a smooth, non-fatiguing sound, great tonal balance. The mids are sublime and a bit forward, visceral sounding bass that can be thunderous with 3 ports open, more neutral with 1 port open. Treble is smooth and extended, while still maintaining enough speed, detail, and sparkle to keep it engaging and satisfy this HD800 lover.

Cowhide pads more neutral, Lambskin pads more intimate and romantic. I think I prefer the Lambskins. Running with 2 ports open at the moment.

 

Huh, I don't hear that 4k dip/null at all, even when testing that frequency range out. I only say this because I haven't seen that one on any other measurements of the blackwood. That high-end is pretty dead on though.

I just got a Purple Heart Blackwood Saturday (the last one Zach had due to someone upgrading,) and it reminded me why I loved this headphone. The high end is incredibly smooth, the mids are great, and it can be tuned for bass. I actually consider this headphone better than the Omni in tone, speed, detail, and all that fun stuff. The Omni just has air and soundstage over it (which is understandable.)

I don't have the swivel cups like you do though. It fits on my head fine though, but they may be because I have a huge head.

 

The blackwood is my favorite closed headphone I've owned. I had both this and the th-x00 for a couple of months, so had the chance to do a bunch of back and forth comparisons, and while I liked the fit and feel of the fostex more, I much preferred the sound of the ZMF (and sold the TH-X00). The fostex were just a bit dry for my taste. I also felt like the ZMF's worked better with a variety of amps where I only liked the fostex with certain pairings. Most other closed cans I've tried sound too closed - muddy, inarticulate, boomy. I am curious as to how this would compare to the Ether - C, I won't buy - will have to wait until someone brings it to a meet.

I've settled on closing 1 port as it provides plenty of bass and remains tight. Closing more reduces bass too much for my liking.

My only complaint is still only that this headphone is heavy, but I am comparing it to HD650 and HD800 which are both pretty light.

 

I noticed the cherry wood helps quite a bit with the weight. PH/Blackwood/Cocobolo are all hefty woods, and there is a lot of it on the BW. Zach is changing around his headphone strap though, so it may get a lot better. May not, all depends.

I'm going to the STL meet Saturday at JDS Labs, and there's going to be an EtherC though. I'll be able to hear how it is there and I'll let you know what I think of it. I usually don't like MrSpeakers products, but I'm hearing decent things about the Ether/C from people that don't usually like Dan's stuff.

 

I love my Th900, but they are really the only headphones I've owned. I've listened to only one other set in my adult ears, my girls, which are $40 headphones from a music store. Definitely want to check these out.