[Sonic Defender]

All fair points for both of you...

I'm just gonna say one last thing regarding the price:
In the Focal Utopia headphone, there's a pair of beryllium drivers (2*tweeters) and the headphone costs €4,000
In car audio, the Utopia n°7 used to have an MSRP of €1,800. That's for a pair of beryllium tweeters, a pair of midrange, a pair of midbasses and a pair of passive selectabled crossover.

See my point? Focal sells the headphone for €4,000/$4,000 because people buy them at that price. Remember I like Focal as a brand

Kelvin

Absolutely, I would be a fool to suggest otherwise. What the market will bare is what the price will often be set at. A concern/question I have is while these really small scale producers market their offerings at very reasonable prices, I wonder how their business acumen really is? Is this price sustainable? Are they really working for $9 an hour and after a year of efforts realize that they need to make more money and start looking at changing how they do business. Look at the Mr. Speakers model and ZMF for instance. I am not saying this is the case here, but it is plausible that the price for the quality of this headphone really is too good because the principle is putting in plenty of unpaid time into the venture which is likely not sustainable over the mid or long-run. Just speculation of course, I have no inside knowledge.

 

[Garuspik]

Guys, I think you all forget where I'm from - I'm from Ukraine. It is a country where 350$ is an average sallary in a big city and I think that my products are very expensive.
You know I have very different coordinate system in terms of what is expensive and what is not with USA or EU citizens. Sure, production cost differs much in USA for example and in Ukraine. Anyway, when manufacturers compete - consumer always wins.

About details, plankton etc - sometimes (and in fact quite often) people call headphones with treble peaks to very detailed. Sure, if region about 7 khz is elevated you hear treble more louder (especially in combination with bass roll-off) and then you can say - oh! I hear new details in this music track. Add +3 db to 7 khz region and you'll instantly receive more detailed and same time less pleasant and more fatiguing headphones.

 

[tuby sound]

Absolutely, I would be a fool to suggest otherwise. What the market will bare is what the price will often be set at. A concern/question I have is while these really small scale producers market their offerings at very reasonable prices, I wonder how their business acumen really is? Is this price sustainable? Are they really working for $9 an hour and after a year of efforts realize that they need to make more money and start looking at changing how they do business. Look at the Mr. Speakers model and ZMF for instance. I am not saying this is the case here, but it is plausible that the price for the quality of this headphone really is too good because the principle is putting in plenty of unpaid time into the venture which is likely not sustainable over the mid or long-run. Just speculation of course, I have no inside knowledge.

You have a really good point. Not knowing their business strategies, we can only speculate at best. Keep on being a small company or expend their offerings... Only time will tell. As much as I love to discuss about this topic, I believe we should keep it about the Verum 1

Kelvin

 

[Sonic Defender]

You have a really good point. Not knowing their business strategies, we can only speculate at best. Keep on being a small company or expend their offerings... Only time will tell. As much as I love to discuss about this topic, I believe we should keep it about the Verum 1

Kelvin

For sure, although a little deviation is inevitable, fun and even desirable, I agree, time to move on. Really looking forward to hearing more impressions as this headphone moves out into the wild. A friend of mine here at head-fi has ordered his Venum 1 so his impressions will be coming soon. They will help as he has recently tried the Edition X V2, liked it very much, but found he wanted more dynamics so I will be keen to know how the Venum delivers in his view.

 

[kelvinwsy]

Oh that is not what I meant. I said the He560 and HD800 scales better.. More high Quality High power to make them sing.
To be more specific.. I find the Verum 1 musical and lovely mid centric SQ with deep bass.. Treble is missing at higher range. Sound stage, depth etc somewhat lacking. U mod the HD800 on a 300 tube monos and the SQ is very nice .. Bass punch well wont get that but extension is good tho still weak.
The HE560 has a raspy 7-10k response. Bass is good and I use it for my Turntable HP system where the low sensitivity reduces hearing of surface noise from the vinyl. Makes up for vinyl's bass roll off below 40-50hz!
My main HP is the Abyss AB-1266 phi/cc for my Hqplayer PC server HP system. It is not the TC but it was a good 2nd hand used set at a damn good price
The Sonorous VI and Verum are my portable HP for my DAP and Iphone

The Right HP for the right system is what I hv

 

[conquerator2]

I've ordered the Verum about a week ago and also wanted to chime in.

Strictly speaking, if money was no object, I'd probably purchase the HE1 this instant and make that my main headphone, given how impressive I thought it was. I'd have probably added in the Utopia and the HEK SE to have complementary headphones that still sound great in many ways and possibly others like the Empyrean or Abyss which I haven't heard yet.

Given that money is an object to me, I'd ideally own one headphone that does everything reasonably well, which I think puts things in a tougher spot, given even the headphones that cost a lot and perform well still usually have a shortcoming or two, be it an aspect of sound or comfort.

There're lots of cheap headphones, like the HE4XX, K7XX, X2, MA900 and more that do a lot of things really well, some better even than more expensive headphones and some worse, though the bottom line is that they represent great value for money, unlike the most expensive headphones out there..

As such I think there are both cheap and expensive headphones that perform admirably and trade blows with each other, so I usually don't let price guide my decisions, and try to look at each new headphone with a blank slate.

Lately, I've come to realize how important it is to appreciate the cheaper offerings that perform well and I am hopeful the Verum might join such ranks.

I'll report back when I've received it

 

[asher770]

This looks like a real winner .... https://www.smsl-topping.com/smsl-s...8-technology-pre-amplifier-2-20-p2372229.html

USPS tracking tells me that my long awaited Verum has finally arrived in NYC. I am currently using a Gustard H10 to drive my current stable of Headphones consisting of Hifiman EditionX v2 and HE500. Would the SMSL SP200 do a better job at driving the Verum then my current setup?

 

[omniweltall]

If Hifiman was selling the Verum 1, it would probably cost more than $1,500
Because it sounds good

I disagree!

Hifiman would replace all the parts with cheaper lower quality ones...rebrand it....then charge $1,800.

Because it sound goood

 

[tuby sound]

I disagree!

Hifiman would replace all the parts with cheaper lower quality ones...rebrand it....then charge $1,800.

Because it sound goood

Amen... lol

Kelvin

 

[Beagle]

All fair points for both of you...

I'm just gonna say one last thing regarding the price:
In the Focal Utopia headphone, there's a pair of beryllium drivers (2*tweeters) and the headphone costs €4,000
In car audio, the Utopia n°7 used to have an MSRP of €1,800. That's for a pair of beryllium tweeters, a pair of midrange, a pair of midbasses and a pair of passive selectabled crossover.

See my point? Focal sells the headphone for €4,000/$4,000 because people buy them at that price. Remember I like Focal as a brand

Kelvin

Yes. The KLH Ultimate One has beryllium drivers and it sells for as low as $225.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I disagree!

Hifiman would replace all the parts with cheaper lower quality ones...rebrand it....then charge $1,800.

Because it sound goood

Well, I had to pay quite a bit for my Edition X V2 and I can say that for me it was well worth every penny because it sounds that good. We are ultimately paying for sound quality as the primary concern, with a close second if not equally important consideration for longevity. I hope my Edition X lasts a long time. Maybe I'll end up regretting it down the road if it fails early, but for now anyway it is killer good.

 

[ponyhead]

Yes. The KLH Ultimate One has beryllium drivers and it sells for as low as $225.

I demo'd that in a store and wasn't impressed. Plus it's basically a Sivga-07 I think, which means you can get it for $100.

If Hifiman was selling the Verum 1, it would probably cost more than $1,500
Because it sounds good

There is probably truth to this. Garage-fi headphone makers can't charge as much as the big-name players, so it's likely there's a comparatively high value-to-price ratio. I think that's true about the Sash Tres (another Ukrainian garage-fi planar). I'll probably buy the Verum next year.

 

[Beagle]

I demo'd that in a store and wasn't impressed. Plus it's basically a Sivga-07 I think, which means you can get it for $100.

Wasn't my point..

 

[J-Fly]

USPS tracking tells me that my long awaited Verum has finally arrived in NYC. I am currently using a Gustard H10 to drive my current stable of Headphones consisting of Hifiman EditionX v2 and HE500. Would the SMSL SP200 do a better job at driving the Verum then my current setup?

I still don’t understand how people are getting tracking numbers except me. It would be great to have one due to package theft.

 

[omniweltall]

I never got tracking number with Verum. After about 3 months' wait, it is just there in front of your door.