ZMF Bokeh Closed

Back Story: I pen this review in somewhat of a reverse order. Having built two full blown hi-fi systems, over the last 5 years, firstly Cambridge Audio and then Parasound. I wanted to expand my experience and knowledge with headphones and In Ear monitors (IEMs). My first set of headphones are the Dan Clark Audio Noire XO (which will be the… Read more

subject of one of my next reviews) I purchased in mid-2025 from Minidisc in Sydney (a big shout out to Wing Li, the owner, who has helped me immensely on this journey with advice, amazing products and excellent prices).

For my second pair of headphones, I wanted a good, closed back set so Wing advised me on a set that would be good across a wide frequency and all genres of music: the ZMF Bokeh.

He had a set in stock in the black natural Limba wood finish, a bit like tiger stripes.

A Bit of Tech Stuff: Specifications • Impedance: 80 Ohms • Driver: Liquid Crystal Polymer • Weight: 490g (plus/minus 20g) • Sensitivity: 103dB/mW

Comparisons: Over 2025 I have accumulated 4 sets of headphones: Sennheiser 650 HD, Moon Drop Cosmo, Dan Clarke Audio Noire XO and the ZMF Bokeh’s. These are what I am going to compare the Bokeh’s to.

Weight and Wearability: The Bokeh’s are not as light as Sennheiser HD 650 HD but with their thick ear pads, the ZMFs are extremely comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

They don’t move when you are upright but do fall backwards somewhat when you are reclined and lift your head up, as the earpads don’t fully grip around your ears, giving you some space.

This is not an issue, as they don’t fall off your head, which would be a deal breaker.

Comfort and adjustability: The Bokeh’s are one of the most comfortable headphones I have worn. They have a soft, thin leather band, which is backed up by an upper thicker leather band. This soft band across your head is extremely comfortable.

The sides are easily adjustable with metal pins that go through the ends of the band and into the earcup swivel mechanism.

The ratchet type system on the pins is easy to use and doesn’t slip up or down, maintaining your fit.

Accessories / Inclusions: The Bokeh’s come with a good set of accessories: cable of choice (which you choose when your order), Caldera Hybrid Thin Top Perforated earpads (all leather), solid clamshell case, owner’s card and driver warranty.

Optional Extras: As I am in my quest for knowledge and like experimenting, I opted for the ZMF Bokeh Tuning Kit. This comes with a pair of suede perforated pads, a pair of hybrid perforated pads and a pair of solid mesh filters. I am yet to use these.

Sound Quality: Out of the box the Bokeh’s sounded clear, clean, spacious and full.

Because the pads and shape of the cups don’t grip too tightly to your ears, they give a bit of space between the driver and your ears. This allows for a natural quality of sound, as if you are listening to a high end set of full range speakers.

The Bokeh’s give you a full range of frequency, from sub-bass to higher treble range. The overall balance of tone is warm and smooth. This is something Wing mentioned that they would be very pleasing as an all-rounder type of headphone.

I like a wide range of music and the Bokeh’s can do it all. It is simply a pleasure to put them on, lay back and listen. You can really get lost in the music with these, as it often doesn’t feel like you're wearing headphones but instead listening to speakers. When I watch YouTube videos on my iPad Pro, it's as if the sound of the video is in front of you, coming from the iPad.

When I have played music via Spotify and Tidal, it sounds like speakers with a completely encompassing sound, but being outside of the earcups.

Equipment Setup and Drivability of the ZMF Bokeh’s: For equipment, I originally had the Bokeh’s connected to my Auralic Altair G2.1 DAC, which can power them when you switch it over to preamplifier mode. They sounded really good.

However, as I acquired each of the 4 headphones I wanted to build a dedicated headphone setup, using the same M1 iPad Pro as the digital source.

After much research and again, some great advice from Wing at Minidisc I went for the SMSL H400 Headphone amplifier and preamplifier, from Amazon, as this baby can power the most power-hungry headphones.

For a DAC, Wing recommended the Chord Qutest and Audioquest Forest USB A to B, 3 metre and the Audioquest Evergreen RCA to RCA 0.6 metre for interconnects, to match in with the SMSL H400.

Let me just say: Wing knows his stuff. This setup sounds amazing across all the headphones. The harder to drive sets just need the volume turned up a little bit more.

As far as driving the Bokeh’s; last night I was listening for about 2 hours, and I had SMSL volume only up to 40. The headroom of this system allows me to play at all volumes without distortion. The music reproduction is cleaner and dynamic. When I want to play at lower volumes the sound is clean, clear and crisp.

Upgrading the Cable: As I said, I originally used the Auralic Altair G2.1 as the amplifier, with the 6.35mm jack and cable I ordered with the Bokeh’s but when I setup the SMSL-Chord system, I had the option of using the 4-pin XLR port.

I canvassed this with Wing, and he told me the upgrade would likely have minimal benefits. There would be some change, but it would not be night and day.

I was still curious, and my research indicated that there could be significant benefits in sound quality.

This required me to upgrade the cable for the Bokeh’s, which I did via Amazon, going for the Youkamoo brand, used for Hifiman HE4XX andHE-400i headphones.

Talk about transformation: everything just opened right up. The soundstage widened, further outside the earcups. It was like taking off a pair of dirty sunglasses, then to see how clear the landscape really is.

I got so much more of everything, including power via the XLR cable. I had to turn the volume down on the SMSL H400.

As it Compares: So, how does the Bokeh’s compare with the Sennheiser HD650, Dan Clark Audio Noire XO and the Moon Drop Cosmo?

It does what they all do, but better – that’s it.

It sounds like an open back headphone, like the Moon Drop, Sennheiser and Dan Clarke.

It handles bass, mids and treble with clarity, a bit of warmth and with beautiful timbre and accuracy.

It is the headphone that I cannot think of one thing I don’t like musically and I just want more of.

Final Thoughts: The only set of proper headphones I had prior to these 4, were a set of Sennheiser 195 wireless ones, for listening to movies, when I didn’t want to use the surround sound speakers.

The other set are Bose QC25’s, which I only use on a plane when travelling.

I started with the Moon Drops, then the Dan Clark’s, then the ZMF Bokeh’s and then finally the Sennheiser HD650’s (as I wanted to know what all the fuss was about, with the iconic 650's).

I keep coming back to the Bokeh’s because they do everything the other 3 do but better and in one headphone.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like using the other 3 and enjoy their separate sound signatures but if you told me I could only choose one, it would be the Bokeh’s.

If I were to score the ZMF Bokeh’s out of 100, I would give it 100 for sound quality and for build, I would give it 98, as they can slip back on your head when you are reclined.

This has been another Ant review. I hope you have enjoyed reading it, as much as I have had in compiling it.

(Anecdotally, as I was typing this review, I was listening to Tidal on my Samsung S25 Ultra phone via a new Linsoul IEM headphone setup, from Amazon: Linsoul KZ ZS10 Pro IEM’s Linsoul Kiwi Ears Allegro mini portable IEM DAC and the Linsoul Tripowin Zonie IEM cable (a truly sensational setup).

This I think will be the subject of my next review.

Until then.