Replacement Ear Pads and Meshes

As with any modern ZMF headphones release, the BOKEH supports a tuning system consisting of replacement ear pads and tuning meshes which allow you to fine-tune the tonality more to your preference. As of the date I write this review, ZMF recommends a total of three ear pads and a second tuning mesh to go with the one pre-installed. You can get the other two pads and the second mesh as part of the tuning kit for $150 when purchased with the BOKEH, which is a good deal given the pads themselves sell for $80 each.


The first set of pads are the same Caldera Thin Protein pads that I used with the Caldera Closed before. These also come with perforation on the top only, and use protein leather throughout. The material in general is firmer than the stock lambskin pads, and these were the hardest to stretch and install over the ear cups. These pads are, once again, for adrenaline junkies. The lower frequencies get further pronounced to the point where bass impact and slam are ridiculous. It brought a funny smile to my face the same way the FatFreq Scarlet Mini did. But the overall tonality now feels more U-shaped to my ears, and the mids in particular felt boxed off and isolated. Soundstage also took a hit for me, but I can certainly see its use for electronic music.


The second set of recommended BOKEH pads are all-suede and will be handy for those among us who live a vegan lifestyle, and this will go in hand with the upcoming suede headband option too. These are thicker than the other two pads, also top perforated, and obviously softer and more breathable too. The measurements might indicate these to be very similar sounding as the stock hybrid pads, but in practice, it's not very similar at all. Sub-bass does get a touch more emphasized, although the sound signature gets looser—especially in the bass but also the upper mids and highs. It does make for a more open sound though, so if you prefer that ethereal presentation at the expense of slightly blunted notes then these might be a good alternative. This does seem to adhere to the Harman target more, for those only interested in this. Personally I found the thin hybrid pads to offer the best balance of the lot, at least with the pre-installed vented mesh.

[Update, Aug 15, 2024: The vegan headband option is now available.]


Now we get to the tuning meshes, of which there are two to choose from. The BOKEH Vented Mesh comes pre-installed using four Phillips-head screws on a plastic cover, removing which also gives a better look at the LCP drivers used in the BOKEH. The alternative option is the BOKEH Solid Mesh, which you can clearly see is more restrictive. You will get a set of three such meshes if purchased, with the third being an extra in case of accidents perhaps, or simply to mod if you are so inclined. The darker side faces inward and installing the mesh is easy enough, but make sure to align the screws properly lest you end up with some not going all the way in as I did the first time round. The picture above shows two screws which are not all the way in, for example. I quickly corrected that and re-installed the stock hybrid pads before more testing was done—now you can see why the BOKEH had has over 200 hours of listening prior to this review being written! After this, I took out the mesh and just tried the BOKEH with no mesh installed, so that is the third option seen in the graphs above. Once again I have to say the Vented Mesh is the way to go for me. I mentioned before how the treble was already on the relaxed side, arguably a touch too much for some of my tracks, and the Solid Mesh accentuates this further to where the treble firmly goes into the dark territory for me. This hurts harmonic overtones for a lot of instruments in particular, and I don't see any of the other pads providing good synergy with this mesh either. If anything, removing the mesh altogether was more enjoyable for me—at least for a while. I got that more ethereal sound without compromising on the bass impact much, but then I found the treble was not as smooth and balanced as with the Vented Mesh. Some vocals were slightly sibilant, and kick drums + C-string on 5-string violins felt unnatural for me. So back I went to the stock configuration, and once again ZMF does a great job with the choices made for the default pads and tuning mesh. I am curious about the Caldera Lambskin Thick, Top Perf. pads on the BOKEH though, so I'll give it a go eventually and see how it works on the BOKEH for me.

Comparisons

I can't say I have a lot of closed-back headphones here in general, let alone those in the price range the BOKEH operates in. I also have not reviewed any other ZMF dynamic driver set, but at least that has gotten rolling with the BOKEH. So excuse this section for its general sparsity and reach with some of the contenders. The most obvious one that came to mind was the $1299 Audeze LCD-XC (2021). These are Audeze's current closed-back flagships and I still maintain are underrated for what they can do with minor EQ. The planar magnetic drivers used here are also quite efficient to where the BOKEH and LCD-XC won't really need anything different source-wise. Both also have excellent build quality and customer support, being made in the USA with small teams. But that's really where the similarities end. The LCD-XC weighs ~680 grams and the clamp force is higher than average, making it less comfortable to use than the BOKEH. It's also a lot bulkier and thus is not as transportable, although you do get a hard case with it. More importantly, the LCD-XC might come off bass-light and mid-forward for many with the stock tuning, going for a more neutral take for music professionals rather than audiophiles. It does take EQ like a champ and can easily compete with the best headphones at that point, but Audeze does not even make pad swapping easy with adhesive-taped pads out of the box. If you don't use EQ, there is Audeze's Reveal+ software with a few neat tweaks too, and you can also load some EQ profiles and convolution filters in Roon etc. But out of the box, and certainly even thereafter with the tuning system, the BOKEH is more comfortable and user-friendly, as well as more engaging too.

The HIFIMAN Audivina has an MSRP of $2000, although you can find it for a lot lower than that now. There are also "open-box" sets which are basically brand new for ~$1200 at times too, and honestly even that feels too much for it. The Audivina goes the opposite route as Audeze with its ear pads being too loose and having a poor seal on the front volume, resulting in lost bass and weak extension for a closed-back set. This in turn tilts the tuning towards a brighter profile, and the weaker isolation gives a false impression of spaciousness too. I honestly can't recommend the Audivina to anyone, unless they find it for, say, ~$400 or less and want to try modding the drivers/ear cups etc. The Meze LIRIC, or at least the 1st Generation version has been discontinued in favor of the newer 2nd Gen version earlier this year. The latter still sells for $2000 or near about, although dealers who still have stock of the original Liric have discounted them heavily to where it is again not far from the ZMF BOKEH price wise. This is an interesting comparison because, while the LIRIC is also a planar magnetic set as with the Audivina, Meze at least has a competent tuning going for a warm sound similar to the BOKEH. But it does this by maintaining a bass shelf, which makes the sub-bass more pronounced, and then the higher frequencies are elevated to try and balance the lows. The end result is a divisive tuning which Meze itself acknowledges needed improvement—I am not sure the newer LIRIC does that outright though. Too bad, since the LIRIC looks great, feels premium, and can be very comfortable—those with larger ears need not apply though. I will no doubt compare the BOKEH to more relevant sets as and when they come in for review, but for now it does feel like the best option I've tested in this price range, and even slightly higher too.