ZMF’s Zack Mehrbach isn’t just another film major turned t50rp modder, he’s breaking into fresh territory with his headphone company and has a new pair of original creations built from the ground up. The new duo is called Atticus and Eikon which will set you back $999 and $1,299 respectively.
Each headphone utilizes a closed, vented design constructed from solid wood. In the case of Atticus, the driver is a TPE (thermo-plastic-elastomer) material, while the Eikon is bio-cellulose. From the company website:
“When searching for the “right driver,” I tried every material I could find. Beryllium, Titanium, and various types of plastic film. After a long search I settled on TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) and Bio-cellulose. I chose TPE for its great resolving quality even when tuning the treble smoothly and linearly. I found bio-cellulose to have incredibly low distortion and allowed me to tune more linearly while keeping the sound free of sibilance and hash. ZMF’s custom made drivers are made with extreme high quality. Heavy ABS housing, huge magnets, rubber surrounding the membrane for perfect dynamic movement, and 50mm size for low distortion, fast transients but with enough size to move the air needed for “oomph.”
ZMF is based out of the Chicago area and sells direct from their site. While Chicago may not hold the same commercial luster as the US coasts for hifi, several very influential audio companies do call the Windy City their home. Among others, Shure, Ray Samuels, CEtrance and more all got their start on the west coast of Lake Michigan. Zack has recently partnered with another Illinois-based amp manufacturer for a collaboration of audiophile proportions.
Based on the tube amplifiers of Steve Deckert, Zack is working to create a special edition Decware Zen Triode OTL CSP3 and Zen Taboo mk. 4 to pair with each headphone. The new SE’s will have complimentary matching wood finishes along with updated glass specifically selected by Zack to bring out the best in the new drivers.
Zack won our award for “Best Hair Accessory” at CanJam this year. You can catch his daring ensemble and all the new products in the embed below.
More info: http://www.zmfheadphones.com
