Today, Marcus reviews the ZMF Headphones BOKEH, a new set of easy-to-drive closed-back headphones with a proprietary 50mm LCP dynamic driver. It is priced at $1099.99.
Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or status. I thank ZMF Headphones for this opportunity.
You can click here to learn more about the ZMF Headphones products I have previously covered on Headfonics.
Note that this article follows our latest scoring guidelines which you can read in more detail here.
The ZMF Headphones BOKEH is a bit of a departure from what we are used to seeing from Zach and the team.
Launched at the end of last year, the BOKEH is a closed-back wood cup dynamic driver set of headphones. A feature that most would say, “ok, that’s nothing unusual from ZMF”.
However, there is plenty of new here. The dynamic driver is new, the weight is lighter, the impedance is one of the lowest they have making it easy to drive, and priced at $1099 it’s also their most affordable model in the current line-up.
With ingredients like that, the BOKEH could well be their most accessible set of headphones to date for portable and desktop fans alike.
More so with its boisterous ‘fun-sounding’ tuning and the always popular interchangeable pad and mesh system providing the owner with a wealth of tuning tweaks beyond the core sound signature.
This is a flexible set of headphones, a beautifully designed set at that, but it’s not alone at this price point. Established closed-back names such as the DCA AEON 2 Noire and Audeze’s LCD-XC have already been well received.
I find out how well the BOKEH performs and fares against these competing models in my full review below.
Features
The ZMF Headphones BOKEH is a set of closed-back circumaural 50mm dynamic driver headphones using the company’s patented internal Atrium damping system for airflow resistance optimization.
The driver is not the same Bio-cellulose variant found inside their higher-end Atrium and Atrium Closed models. This is a new LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) driver with a lighter (fewer windings) voice coil rated at 80Ω rather than the usual Bio-cellulose 300Ω driver benchmark.
Along with a sensitivity level of 103 dB/mW, the BOKEH driver is more amenable for portable source pairings such as dongles and DAPs though it can still scale with a wide range of amplifiers.
Combining that lower impedance with a new lightweight 180-degree swivel-capable BOKEH chassis and lower-profile 1/8 connector jacks, as opposed to mini-XLR, makes it the company’s most portable and flexible set of headphones to date.
As always with ZMF Headphones, the BOKEH has many tuning options including optional swappable pads and mesh filters, some of which we have here and will go through in the review.
Design
As always with ZMF headphones, it’s the gorgeous wood finish on the cups that grabs your attention first.
The BOKEH comes with an exotic African Black Limba hardwood finish, with this being an early run Claret Edition. The current iteration is a lighter natural finish which is more golden in color with distinctive black grain streaks.
If you study the picture above carefully you will see a slight change in the overall cup form factor. It is not as round as Atrium Closed or Caldera Closed with more of a soft angled oval shape and instead of the Caldera Delta carving we have a gentler flattened circular apex in the middle.
Since it is a closed back there is no fancy grillwork or additional metal accents on the cups but with such striking wood grains, it’s never really needed. They look great just as they are.
There have been some further changes to the BOKEH frame design and articulation compared to the older models.
Both the pivot block’s new anodized black aluminum katana sheath design is a little flatter and thicker compared to the more upright standard version used on the other ZMF headphones. The gimbal ring’s thicker finish also looks sturdier than the previous iteration.
These aspects are not wholly manufactured in-house to reduce some costs but I think they look a little sleeker and more modern than the older versions.
Comfort & Isolation
What has been retained from the high-end models is the adjuster rod and spring steel and stitched leather headband system with the underlying cowhide leather ‘crescent’ pressure strap that I find fairly comfortable on the head.
The adjuster rods seem a lot less notchy than previous iterations meaning you can move them up and down on the head single-headed which is a welcome bonus.
At 480g (±30g) there is no noticeable weight difference between the BOKEH and the higher-end Atrium Closed despite the redesigned chassis and change of driver and wood. That means the comfort levels are relatively unchanged with the only noticeable factor being the pads you choose to use.
The BOKEH is fitted with a ‘BOKEH tuned’ version of the Caldera (thin) hybrid pad with a fluted finish and off-center wedge shape.
The material mix is leather and suede though you can opt for vegan suede which was a recent edition. The pad materials are all solid finish around the sides both inside and out with some light perforation on the contact surface.
These are wedge-designed pads but they are not massively thick. What is clever is the angle of the wedge which, like the cup curvature, is angled to the base of the inner cavity.
This shaping runs with the average ear shape to help avoid ear contact and tighten the seal below your ear, a common area where pads often fail to isolate properly.
There is some limited rear cup venting similar to the Atrium Closed but otherwise, the passive isolation is quite good. Not quite as effective as the Atrium Closed pads which are all leather but on par with the Caldera Closed.
Pads Swapping
I have a few alternative pad options that came with my sample and will fit the BOKEH.
These include a set of Caldera Suede and a set of Caldera Thin Protein pads which come so close to genuine leather in their feel that you would not think they are man-made.
Both pads are distinctive from the rest of the lineup with their fluted angular inner cavity, slightly shallower depth, and being top-perforated only.
The suede pads will isolate the least but boy do they feel comfortable and sweat the least after long listening sessions. As you will find out on page 2 of this review they also alter the sound signature with a drop in bass presence relative to the other pads’ performance creating a slightly lighter, airier tone.
The Caldera Thin Protein pads are the best options for passive isolation performance, more so than the hybrid pads. They will also sound the most V-shaped and full-blooded sounding of the three pad choices I have available for the BOKEH.
Stock Cable
Same wire, a new jacket, different plugs, and connectors; the 4.4mm terminated BOKEH stock cable that I received with this review sample kind of drives home the point that these headphones are at least transportable if not portable by design.
Inside is an insulated copper wire with a twisted nylon two-tone jacket finish and a black-finished aluminum funnel-type splitter. It’s 5.5ft long and fairly lightweight now courtesy of the 3.5mm connector plugs and 4.4mm Pentaconn plug on the other end.
The jacket does have a tiny bit of memory retention but it’s more of a slight wavy effect than outright curls. Microphonics are slightly accentuated due to the closed-cup acoustics of the BOKEH combined with the higher levels of friction on the fabric jacket.
I kind of dig the new jacket finishing by the way. The twist of gold in black braiding brings out a bit of dash and pop in an otherwise muted black nylon jacket.
If this is a continually evolving cable design I would like to see a bit less heat shrink on the connectors and something a bit more durable like a proper metal barrel with ZMF branding sometime in the future.
Of course, you do not have to buy that particular cable. If you are using the BOKEH as your daily desktop pairing then by all means go with the standard 6.35mm or balanced 3-pin XLR terminated variants. They have a similar jacket material and a length of 5.5ft.
Accessories & Packaging
The BOKEH is the first ZMF Headphone offering that I know of that does not come with a weather-sealed carry case. I am guessing this is one of the areas that allows them to get the BOKEH costs down to meet that target price point.
You get a lightweight but well-designed brown box similar to laptop packaging in a way, one that allows you to lift its lid to see the BOKEH headphones and accessories on display immediately.
Everything is encased in quality foam so there is a low chance of anything getting damaged. My set traveled halfway around the world and came out just fine if that is of any comfort.
If it’s not or you want something more compact for your daily carry you can buy a stylish low-profile but wide leatherette case specifically designed to fit the BOKEH.
The insides of the case are faux fur lined with enough space in a mesh upper to carry your cables or additional pads without any space issues.
The outer is a hardshell zipper finish with a small handle at the top so I would be confident enough to carry them around without any concerns about accidental damage.
Click on page 2 below for my sound impressions and recommended pairings.
Click on page 3 below for my selected comparisons.
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