The Story
After years of unwavering friendship and mutual support, Zach Mehrbach and John Seaber (https://jdslabs.com/) have finally birthed a collaborative masterpiece. Zach's persistent banter, teasing John about the absence of boutique headphone amplifiers in the JDS line-up, sparked the inception of an idea three years ago. Today, that idea has materialized into the awe-inspiring Homage. This amplifier transcends the ordinary—a do-it-all, one-and-done marvel. Unveiling a sonic experience that is neither overly solid state nor burdened with murkiness, the Homage stands as a paragon of euphony, musicianship, clarity, expansiveness, and liquid dynamism. A Class AB amplifier that seamlessly caters to any headphone, IEM; dynamic, or planar thrown its way. 'Homage' becomes an ode to vintage audio legends and contemporary troubadours, transforming our favorite headphones into the auditory masterpieces we've always yearned for. Brace yourself for an exceptional tribute to the headphone that have earned our admiration.
A M P P E R F O R M A N C E
Frequency Response 10Hz-20kHz +/- 0.01 dB
SINAD @ 1kHz, 4VRMS (XLR) 119 dB
SINAD @ 1kHz, 50mV (XLR) 88 dB
IMD SMPTE -95 dB
Noise (20-20kHz) 2 μV
Crosstalk @ 10kHz -82 dB
SNR (20-20kHz) 126 dB
Dynamic Range (AES17) 120 dB
Channel Balance +/- 0.5 dB
Max Continuous Power, 600 Ω 119 mW (8.45VRMS RCA / 7VRMS XLR)
Max Continuous Power, 150 Ω 475 mW
Max Continuous Power, 32 Ω 2.2W
The basic meaning of “Homage”; is a demonstration or show of respect, honor, or reverence to someone or something, often in the form of a tribute or acknowledgment. It’s a way of paying respect or recognizing influence or significance in a person, work of art, event, or concept. People pay homage to express admiration or gratitude. For example, one might pay homage to a great artist by imitating their style or pay homage to a historical figure by commemorating their achievements.
ZMF HOMAGE was created with the idea of paying ‘homage” to your favorite headphones. HOMAGE was designed to drive anything from a quiet IEM, to a low or high impedance dynamic headphone, to even a hard to drive current hungry planar.
C O N F I G U R A T I O N
Gain (3-Way) 1.0, 1.75x, 4.3x
Output Impedance (2-Way Switch) 0.7 Ω Low / 47 Ω High
Inputs RCA, XLR
Outputs XLR, 4.4mm Pentaconn
Power Supply 25W, Universal Input
Potentiometer Alps 27mm
Quad Balanced Input Stage: 12x OPA1656s (6x per channel)
Gain stage: 2x OPA1656
Output Buffer: 4x LME49600 (2x per channel)