Break-in works with music and pink noise just fine, but it should be faster with 20-20k frequency sweeps at high loudness (below painful loudness though, just to make sure you're not ripping the membrane out).
I got my pair a week ago, so here's my thoughts on them. It looks better in person than in photos! I won't go into the build - enough reviews got that covered: I'll mostly stick to sound, a bit about amping and some comparisons.
First though - initially, there was a channel imbalance and it may have been bad contact with the connector - but it completely went away. I pm-ed Garuspik and he immediately got back to me which I appreciate a lot - but as said, it went away.
The short of it that these are GREAT headphones. I don't need to add 'for the money'. Yes, they're not absolute top-end-of-the-market in detail retrieval, finer nuances and emotional connection, but they sound unbelievably natural and real. Having said that, compared to the LCD2C (my previous favourite within my budget), it was still like a veil was lifted with much more detail, less grain in treble and more fine nuance, no more what now sounds like a tricked-up bass slam. With the Verum 1, everything gets presented in a black background.. the layering in the low and mids is good. It has very nice separation, all sounds are just very easy to hear, not so much spatially but you can just hear them individually effortlessly. There may be a limit when it get's complex but it's one of the things that struck me early on.
My listening preference is to have true-to-life dynamics, emotion, cohesion rather than looking for details - and especially the dynamics is what really appeals in the Verum1: a piano sounds like one with proper attack and decay, as do plucked guitars, voices are tangible in front of you. There's even some detail within the attack. There's enough speed and impact. There's no Audeze-type slam in bass, but the bass is solid, and goes deep. It's not a 4 cylinder with resonator, it's an 8 cylinder - it has the goods, and it doesn't need to fluff it up. Sometimes I'm just so surprised how understated but deep and solid a bass is. I think even reasonably textured and no bloom. The 'understated' experience goes a bit for the entire frequency spectrum. It's all quite evenly presented without harsness or issues. Someone said it probably does about everything 90% right.. and it does feel that way. Personally, I've added a bit of lift in the highs to add a bit more sparkle, but that's it.
Amping. Well these headphones are good enough to show you what's what up-stream well beyond it's price. They never seem to sound bad (I tried my phone), but they will enjoy a good source and amp.. my solid state Violectric 220 makes the Verum1 slam and quick but also ever so slightly metalic bright at times. Generally I prefer listening to my McChanson single ended, no caps in signal, Tube Amp.. it reveals finer nuances and much better spatial presentation. I had not been able to do this before, but the premium tubes I got from it's maker, Japanese 'El Manco' branded 6EM7'sm sounded best and to my shock by quite a margin. The differences between tubes were so clear: the RCA 6EM7 and Philco 6FD7's just didn't get close. These Verum1's ruined my perfect ignorance thinking they were good!!
Up to comparisons.. well my 'local' shop had Mr Speakers Ether 2 'demo'-units on a 40% off last weekend.. and I couldn't help myself. This is a headphone costing multiples of these Verum1's.. and my top-end remarks at the start are derived from that. So yes the Verum1 does lack some qualities from an Ether 2, but holds its own in and even exceeds in some: instruments and voices to me still sound more lively, dynamic and are more physically there than the Ether 2. But with the Ether 2 harmonising voices really seem in sync with each other, fine details comes through without any effort - I suddenly heard harmonising strings in a piano that weren't just struck .. extra character comes through with the result that voices carry more emotion .. the Verum doesn't reach that kind of refinement.. but it beats anything $1K eastily - so don't think it's bad. In the end, it's simply not a slam dunk for the Ether 2 - which should indicate somewhat how good this Verum headphone is. And then there's the price to consider!
Now if you are a Sennheiser HD600 fan or a fan of lots of detail, I don't know - I probably can't relate too well. I for example really didn't like my Focal Clears, I can hear they have a certain quality - but I'd have the Verum1's all the time. My Hifiman Hex V2 does very little wrong, but again, I haven't had a situation where I'd choose it now. Nor a Aeon Flow, closed or open which I have owned - too polite, too few redeeming qualities even though I quite liked the closed. Massdrop's HE4XX.. not even close and that seemed like a bargain a year ago. I can still happily listen to the LCD2C even though the Verum beats it in about everything.
In closing, I just love the articulation of the Verum1 and how it's impressive it sounds without any fatique setting in: EDM, Jazz, Metal, Rock, Alternative.. instruments, voices, guitars, drums, it's very articulated - sorry it's not a term 'audio' people tend to use, but I feel it does cover quite what the Verum does. I hope a 'Verum2' will have more 'plankton' and the nuances of the Ether 2, perhaps a little less physical weight .. but I know from other forums that Garuspik wants to serve the order queue first before moving on to a next project. That's a good sign that a solid business is being build.
So should you send off 350usd to an unknown Ukranian with a website? Up to you and we don't all have the same listening preference! I myself did - and some months later a box with cyrillic lettering and Ukranian stamps showed up with a terribly enjoyable headphone - well beyond expectation. I just don't know of anything 1K or under that sounds that good (out of the box).
I got my pair a week ago, so here's my thoughts on them. It looks better in person than in photos! I won't go into the build - enough reviews got that covered: I'll mostly stick to sound, a bit about amping and some comparisons.
First though - initially, there was a channel imbalance and it may have been bad contact with the connector - but it completely went away. I pm-ed Garuspik and he immediately got back to me which I appreciate a lot - but as said, it went away.
The short of it that these are GREAT headphones. I don't need to add 'for the money'. Yes, they're not absolute top-end-of-the-market in detail retrieval, finer nuances and emotional connection, but they sound unbelievably natural and real. Having said that, compared to the LCD2C (my previous favourite within my budget), it was still like a veil was lifted with much more detail, less grain in treble and more fine nuance, no more what now sounds like a tricked-up bass slam. With the Verum 1, everything gets presented in a black background.. the layering in the low and mids is good. It has very nice separation, all sounds are just very easy to hear, not so much spatially but you can just hear them individually effortlessly. There may be a limit when it get's complex but it's one of the things that struck me early on.
My listening preference is to have true-to-life dynamics, emotion, cohesion rather than looking for details - and especially the dynamics is what really appeals in the Verum1: a piano sounds like one with proper attack and decay, as do plucked guitars, voices are tangible in front of you. There's even some detail within the attack. There's enough speed and impact. There's no Audeze-type slam in bass, but the bass is solid, and goes deep. It's not a 4 cylinder with resonator, it's an 8 cylinder - it has the goods, and it doesn't need to fluff it up. Sometimes I'm just so surprised how understated but deep and solid a bass is. I think even reasonably textured and no bloom. The 'understated' experience goes a bit for the entire frequency spectrum. It's all quite evenly presented without harsness or issues. Someone said it probably does about everything 90% right.. and it does feel that way. Personally, I've added a bit of lift in the highs to add a bit more sparkle, but that's it.
Amping. Well these headphones are good enough to show you what's what up-stream well beyond it's price. They never seem to sound bad (I tried my phone), but they will enjoy a good source and amp.. my solid state Violectric 220 makes the Verum1 slam and quick but also ever so slightly metalic bright at times. Generally I prefer listening to my McChanson single ended, no caps in signal, Tube Amp.. it reveals finer nuances and much better spatial presentation. I had not been able to do this before, but the premium tubes I got from it's maker, Japanese 'El Manco' branded 6EM7'sm sounded best and to my shock by quite a margin. The differences between tubes were so clear: the RCA 6EM7 and Philco 6FD7's just didn't get close. These Verum1's ruined my perfect ignorance thinking they were good!!
Up to comparisons.. well my 'local' shop had Mr Speakers Ether 2 'demo'-units on a 40% off last weekend.. and I couldn't help myself. This is a headphone costing multiples of these Verum1's.. and my top-end remarks at the start are derived from that. So yes the Verum1 does lack some qualities from an Ether 2, but holds its own in and even exceeds in some: instruments and voices to me still sound more lively, dynamic and are more physically there than the Ether 2. But with the Ether 2 harmonising voices really seem in sync with each other, fine details comes through without any effort - I suddenly heard harmonising strings in a piano that weren't just struck .. extra character comes through with the result that voices carry more emotion .. the Verum doesn't reach that kind of refinement.. but it beats anything $1K eastily - so don't think it's bad. In the end, it's simply not a slam dunk for the Ether 2 - which should indicate somewhat how good this Verum headphone is. And then there's the price to consider!
Now if you are a Sennheiser HD600 fan or a fan of lots of detail, I don't know - I probably can't relate too well. I for example really didn't like my Focal Clears, I can hear they have a certain quality - but I'd have the Verum1's all the time. My Hifiman Hex V2 does very little wrong, but again, I haven't had a situation where I'd choose it now. Nor a Aeon Flow, closed or open which I have owned - too polite, too few redeeming qualities even though I quite liked the closed. Massdrop's HE4XX.. not even close and that seemed like a bargain a year ago. I can still happily listen to the LCD2C even though the Verum beats it in about everything.
In closing, I just love the articulation of the Verum1 and how it's impressive it sounds without any fatique setting in: EDM, Jazz, Metal, Rock, Alternative.. instruments, voices, guitars, drums, it's very articulated - sorry it's not a term 'audio' people tend to use, but I feel it does cover quite what the Verum does. I hope a 'Verum2' will have more 'plankton' and the nuances of the Ether 2, perhaps a little less physical weight .. but I know from other forums that Garuspik wants to serve the order queue first before moving on to a next project. That's a good sign that a solid business is being build.
So should you send off 350usd to an unknown Ukranian with a website? Up to you and we don't all have the same listening preference! I myself did - and some months later a box with cyrillic lettering and Ukranian stamps showed up with a terribly enjoyable headphone - well beyond expectation. I just don't know of anything 1K or under that sounds that good (out of the box).
Yeah, same here, surprisingly stiff pads. Long-term I will absolutely have to find thinner/softer options - mine are visibly thicker than the cups/housings, unlike some recent photos I've seen on here where the pads are about the same thickness as the housing. Hopefully the thinner pads will also help with some missing air, which I'm willing to bet is what makes these seem less detailed, even though the attacks I'm hearing clearly show these have what it takes for high resolution, they just need some FR fixes to qualify as "detailed" as well.
Hi - I had update the review with the link, but here's the link as well: Silver plated Hifiman cable
Got mine yesterday.
