[teds headfood]

 

[fortunate son]

Updated
The SMSL SP200 was used with my Verum 1 headphones for a while. It has lots of power but it was too warm in tonal balance for my taste with some headphones and it seems very sensitive to noise/interference from mains, PCs, etc and may require an isolation transformer device to remove irritating background noise.

Prefer the solid pads. The new, perforated Verum pads on first hearing seem nice but over time they just don't make me want to keep listening like the solid pads do.

 

[pokpokgei]

alright folks, the cables are in. impression after 1 day:

1. sound: they sound like they are preference tuned for balance and realism across the whole spectrum of bass, vocals and treble which is coming close to how my sennheiser gsp 300 sounds with my perfectly balanced eq settings i've figured out very tediously.

2. comfort: slightly on the heavier side of headphone weight, i guess. top cushion can use more padding andor headphones can be lighter in weight if possible and i guess we might see improvement in this aspect in the rumoured upcoming verum 2. they accommodate a head as big as the gsp 300 and i am on max head size adjustment on the verum 1 as well as the gsp 300, so if your head is exceptionally big or long i guess you should ask him how big a head they will fit first before purchasing. i received on-ear ear pads with mine and he said these are the latest pad design, they sort of clamp down on your ear rather than sit over and around the ear so its not very comfortable if you don't like on-ear ear pads but if its a design as part of sound frequency shaping then it comes down to whether you are fine with what feels more like on-ear headphone than over-ear pads. headphone is slightly heavy and coupled with sort of a lack in thicker top cushion can feel like moving the head around leads to headphones sliding down over time and if they do slide down you will feel the kind of "skullcrushing" weight on your head or deal with the on-ear pads if they dont sit well comfortably with your ear for you in particular. these "on-ear" pads and clamping feeling aren't befriending my right ear in particular. which is why i always prefer over-ear headphones against on-ear but if its required for sound tuning then it comes down to whether u are fine with it.


my particular unit plays vocals above the left eye instead of it being typically centered in most headphones, I am not sure if its just my particular unit or it's the same for everyone. but it seems nobody have such a issue with theirs, didn't see any of them indicating such an observation on their purchase. it's very annoying and i definitely prefer it to be center like most folks do as well.

my first pair of open-back headphone. noticed that while open backs are typically clearer than closed back due to lack of sound reflection from a closed back design but if your environment is noisy your music will be messed up by surrounding external sound as well. so it depends on how quiet of an environment you intend to use open back headphones in and i can definitely see some folks prefering closed back even if its slightly muddier sounding by design given the environment they intend to listen music in.

i am running it through an amp that is ultra low output impedence so do take that into consideration that they have all the power they need to run optimally.

also note that i have self proclaimed what i think i've achieve in eq setting for my sennheiser gsp 300 and i called it what that seems to me like close to perfectly balanced eq for the whole range of any music with realism in highest priority specifically and i am feeling the verum 1 is also tuning towards realism sounding.

i've not heard headphones in thousand dollar range so I don't know how they compare to those. different headphones are like different flavours and individuals will have different personal preferences and some may even prefer other types of sound signature over overall balanced tuning. flavours, preferences, not everyone likes the same thing.

and as I come close to ending this opinionated mini review, the verum 1 had slided down again and is kind of heavily "skullcrushing" my head again, a thing i dont experience even with the gsp 300, but maybe that's because they are lighter in weight.


greatest flaw: 1. vocals not centered, but is above the left eye for all music. but maybe it's just my particular unit since I don't see anyone else being dealt such a problem. 2. weight andor top cushion for head can be thicker, if thicker/broader head cushion helps to make it feel less heavy and skullcrushing.

closing remark: excluding the slightly more clarity of vocals the verum 1 open back design offer compared with my gsp 300 closed/semi-back open design which is probably what all open backs offer, my eq for the gsp 300 might still be more reaslitic sounding and balanced and might have slightly more treble and less bass volume than the verum 1.

*if you have the verum one and still want to try out sound equalization but have no clue where to begin, you can consider trying out some of the parametric eq presets helpful folks have made for the community. it's as easy as copying and pasting a bunch of values for different profiles and comparing which eq profile you prefer more, then tweak for personal preference on top of it if necessary.

*final edit after 1 day of on and off listening and toying around with parametric eq profiles

 

[Garuspik]

@pokpokgei About "left centered vocals" - your unit is perfectly balanced but many amps (especially Schiit) has HUGE channel imbalance at the beginning of volume scale.

Proof: https://www.schiit.com/guides/amp-problems

Sound is Louder in One Channel

1. Channel imbalance is completely normal on all amps with very small potentiometers, (volume controls) at low listening levels. This includes Magni and Fulla. The channel imbalance should not persist above 8:00 on the volume pot.

So please try another amp and tell us whether problem is still there.

 

[pwjazz]

i received on-ear ear pads with mine and he said these are the latest pad design

@Garuspik I ordered these headphones thinking that they're over-ear as they used to be. I don't wear on-ear headphones, I never found them comfortable. I don't know if my order has shipped yet, but if it hasn't ...

1. Can I request the old-style pads?
2. I understand that you made some changes to the traces and damping of your driver as well. Do your re-tuned drivers still work well with the old pads (including the perforated) or do they need the on-ear pads to sound right?

 

[abm0]

they sound close to, if not perfectly balanced in tuning for balance and realism across the whole spectrum of bass, vocals and treble which is very similar to how my sennheiser gsp 300 sounds with my perfectly balanced eq settings i've figured out tediously.
[...]
my eq for the gsp 300 might still be more reaslitic sounding and balanced and might have slightly more treble and bass volume than the verum 1.

They definitely need more bass and treble to get perfect. I created a preset for them in Neutron based on one of Oratory's tunings and it brought a definite improvement in clarity and stage-closeness (stock was feeling too recessed to me). They're just spectacular once EQ'd.

 

[fpantalone]

I urge you guys to try True-Fi by Sonarworks. Free trial ... no cc required, just download it and try it out. No setting for Verum (yet but just use the LCD 2 EQ/ setting which works well, and play with it til you get it just right for 'you'. It also really adds spaciousness too. Great stuff !! Best upgrade, and cheapest, I've made in a long time. Enjoy ... nothing to lose.

 

[J-Fly]

I finally received my Verums and I have two questions.
1. Has anyone found a decent size case that these fit in?
2. Any recommendations for aftermarket pads that enhance the bass? Low end is muffled on some songs but I think I need earpads with a little more space.

Nice listening so far and the instrument separation is very pleasing to the ears.

 

[Garuspik]

I finally received my Verums and I have two questions.
1. Has anyone found a decent size case that these fit in?

Pelican case

 

[muths66]

I finally received my Verums and I have two questions.
1. Has anyone found a decent size case that these fit in?
2. Any recommendations for aftermarket pads that enhance the bass? Low end is muffled on some songs but I think I need earpads with a little more space.

Nice listening so far and the instrument separation is very pleasing to the ears.

Case bought from taobao.

 

[J-Fly]

Pelican case

Yes, I've been thinking about those but they're so large.

Case bought from taobao.

That looks like a good option. Is there a model number?

 

[baloo87]

I have a SMSL m3, is this a good fit for the Verum?

 

[muths66]

Yes, I've been thinking about those but they're so large.


That looks like a good option. Is there a model number?

Yes, I've been thinking about those but they're so large.


That looks like a good option. Is there a model number?

2030H

 

[Cho Worsh]

Try using no pads. Amazing sound, but uncomfortable against the ear after a while. This can be taken care of by using small glue dots to attach some ultra thin foam disks over the Verum 1 drivers.

 

[conquerator2]

Mine were shipped to me on Friday. I originally wanted Zebranos, but was told Carbons were ready to ship, and given I quite liked both, I switched from fancy tovarish to refined :]

Hopefully they'll get here sometime this month. Took about a month to ship so fingers crossed these do indeed impress :}