ZMF and Abyss Get Frisky With Two New Headphones – RMAF 2017

The original Abyss headphone by JPS Labs ($4.5k) has been a bookend of the high-end headphone consortium for a few years now. Priced at the top of the planar magnetic game, the single headphone from the New York-based company was a bit unwieldy if not still an interesting prospect for those in the $4k+ market. At RMAF the company unveiled a new, more compact offering for a slight discount in cost. The Diana will debut for $3k and cuts the weight down to 33o grams but still retains some high end specs with a sensitivity of 91dB, so don’t expect a fully-endorsed portable product from JPS just yet. The company is sticking to its single product angle with a target audience aimed squarely at those who can afford the luxury-facing costs.  The Diana will start shipping late November through JPS Labs’ dealer network.

Zack of ZMF headphones has taken a new direction with his biocellulose drivers in the form of a new open-back option he is calling Auteur ($1.4k). While the 300 ohm voice coil and driver material may strike a similar chord to his other creations, the open back nature of the new headphone is a bit of technical divergence from his previous ground-up closed efforts the Atticus ($1k) and the Eikon ($1.3k).

According to Zack, an Auteur is “an artist who controls so many aspects of a specific work that their influence makes them the “author” of that endeavor.” From our exposure at RMAF, Auteur first glances do take in a quite aesthetically pleasing and comfortable look from the new can – the back of the new headphone features an interesting metal punch-out fitting and solid suspension similar to Audeze’s high end offerings.

Zack is doling out the new headphone in an unusually organized fashion for a personal audio product launch. The pre order period starts exactly on November 10 and lasts through the 31st of the same month. There will be an limited edition option of African Blackwood (limited to 100 units) as well as the standard edition that comes furnished in Teak. You can check out all the gooey details on his site right here.

 

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