ZMF Headphones, Ampsandsound – CanJam SoCal 2019

ZMF Audio was showing strong as usual at CanJam 2019. For example, the Aeolus and Veritae were shown in a combination of existing and new exotic woods. Some for the first time ever.

Also on display were the new Monoblock amplifiers from Ampsandsound which are more or less an extension of the ZMF Pendant stereo headphone amplifier, which was built on the Ampsandsound LeeLook platform. The ZMF Pendant by the way is sold direct through the ZMF website, so I am hopeful that the new Monoblocks may be as well. If you know the ZMF Pendant well enough, you’ll recall how it has both 8-Ohm and 300-Ohm headphone outputs. Where the Monoblocks build on that design is that they now include 8-Ohm (Low) 32-Ohm (Low Z) and 300-Ohm (High Z) outputs, along with loud loudspeaker outputs binding posts.

From planars, to modern high-impedance dynamic headphones, all are welcome to be driven and driven well. Where the new Monoblock differs from the single-ended Pendant in sound, is more bass control. Whereas you may have 1.5. to 2.5-Watts per channel depending on impedances, the Monoblocks would start at 2.5-Watts per channel. The ZMF Pendant functions as a preamp, whereas the new Monoblocks can do high-efficiency loudspeakers. Overall one should expect a lot more power, quieter background operation. And if we are nitpicking, the internals of the ZMF Pendant differ from the Monoblocks in that the Pendant is a circuit board based design, and the Monoblocks are all point-to-point.

by Eric Franklin Shook