Test System

Zalman ZM-RS6F USB:
Alienware M5550
Windows Vista
PowerDVD Ultra
Windows Media Player 11
Zalman ZM-DS4F:
Creative Zen Vision: M 60 GB

To test the ZM-RS6F we have listened to various sources of 5.1 and 2.0 sound with the headset configured accordingly in the audio control panel. To test the ZM-DS4F we connected the headset directly to our Creative Zen and used the standard audio profile.

Listening Experience

ZM-RS6F USB 5.1 sound

Live concert:
Our live music test involved listening to various songs from the DVD “Bruce Springsteen and the E-street band - Live in New York”. The sound mix on this disc is near flawless and allows us to truly experience the sound quality of the speakers. Unfortunately the out of the box experience with this disc is muddy as far as instruments are concerned. There is a noticeable difference in quality of the vocals which are both precise and clear but some configuration of the equaliser levels is required to improve the overall sound.

Album:
Leaving the headset in 5.1 mode and listening to Billy Joel’s Piano Man we find that the sound quality is very good. There is spaciousness to the sound and vocals are again very clear. We needed to boost the bass levels a little to achieve optimum sound quality but the overall experience was good. A rockier track was tested next; Meatloaf’s Alive from Bat out of Hell 3 and like our live concert test the sound was muddy. At default equaliser levels the speakers are really struggling to cope with seperating multiple instruments.

Movie:
For our Movie test we initially tried the Biocyte scene from Mission: Impossible 2. This scene features a number of surround sound effects ranging from ambient noise in the main shaft to the helicopter engine. The scene ends in a large gunfight with various explosions and smashing glass.

Throughout this scene the ZM-RS6F USB excels in creating an impressive sound stage with precision and clarity in abundance. Next we tried the Who Killed the Buffalo chapter from Dances with Wolves. In this segment of the film we go from rumbling, almost thunderous hoofs to Native American chants into an orchestral segment with voiceover. Like M: I-2 the RS6F headphones perform very with all aspects of the soundtrack. I personally would have liked bass with more impact during the stampede but other than this the listening experience was great.

ZM-RS6F USB 2.0 Sound

Music:
After configuring the audio control panel for two channel sound we again tried listening to our live DVD and rock CD. The sound at default levels was a significant improvement, being more natural than before. The headset was forward biased with the main instruments and vocals causing the backing to get lost in the mix, but overall they projected a clear and acceptable sound. Moving to the mellower Piano Man we found the sound to be very pleasing and natural, but the vocal was placed too far forward in the mix and required some tweaking of the equaliser to fix.

Zalman ZM-DS4F

Rock Music:
First up is Led Zeppelin’s When the Levee Breaks which is a track pushing both the woofer and tweeter hard with a strong bass drum/guitar at the same time as a harmonica, vocal and guitar part.

The overall sound produced by the headset is very sharp and focused, with each instrument as clear as it should be with the vocals being particularly vibrant. The next test was Audioslave’s Cochise. Whilst the main riff of the track is powerful via the ZM-DS4F is the intro which most impressed us. The crescendo of bass, drums and guitar at the beginning, are very distinctly soundstaged via these headphones, with an inferior product this is not the case.

Pop Music:
We are going with classic pop first and listening to A-Ha’s  Take on Me which features a strong bass with various electro drum and instrument sounds. There is also a particularly varied vocal track. The ZM-DS4F handles all aspects of the track well and we find it hard to fault. Our next test was Mika’s Grace Kelly which has a more modern sound with a less electronic emphasis. On this track we experienced very clear vocals with some well focused bass.

Classical Music:
Music of choice is the Elgar Cello Concerto (Natalie Clein) and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestras recording of Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyries. In both cases we have playback which is rich and powerful, there is no sign of distortion and the clarity achieved by these headphones is well beyond our expectations.