[Youcan1]

One of the things the guy mentioned in the reviews I linked is that VZR is working on other models. I would like to see a higher end model (maybe $500ish?) with a more advanced driver and slightly different bass tuning. The driver itself doesn't seem to be anything special (even though they say it's custom), kind of the typical $100 to $300 level dynamic driver that is very likely being elevated due to the tricks they're using. I'd like to see what some higher end features combined with the acoustic lens is like. As of now these just can't keep up with the dynamics/clarity/speed of my other headsets that aren't even that much more expensive. It wouldn't shock me if they came out with a cheaper model too since most people out there won't spend this kind of money on a gaming headset.

 

[AlwaysForward]

One of the things the guy mentioned in the reviews I linked is that VZR is working on other models. I would like to see a higher end model (maybe $500ish?) with a more advanced driver and slightly different bass tuning. The driver itself doesn't seem to be anything special (even though they say it's custom), kind of the typical $100 to $300 level dynamic driver that is very likely being elevated due to the tricks they're using. I'd like to see what some higher end features combined with the acoustic lens is like. As of now these just can't keep up with the dynamics/clarity/speed of my other headsets that aren't even that much more expensive. It wouldn't shock me if they came out with a cheaper model too since most people out there won't spend this kind of money on a gaming headset.

Agreed. I’d love to see them do a proper implementation of the Ora GrapheneQ but make it all about the music for DJ/Studio/Audiophile.

Though we tend to describe our experiences with the VZR a bit differently

 

[Devodonaldson]

Hands down, best gaming/video watching headset I've owned or listened to. For overall sound presentation, combined with creative simulated surround sound, best surround sound like feel I've been able to get, better than any open back I've tried as well. The positional cues for gMes and movies is top notch. I've begun to come around to actually enjoying them with music using my Shanling m8 as well. After dozens of hours of gaming with them I tried again with music and found it enjoyable

 

[AlwaysForward]

Hands down, best gaming/video watching headset I've owned or listened to. For overall sound presentation, combined with creative simulated surround sound, best surround sound like feel I've been able to get, better than any open back I've tried as well. The positional cues for gMes and movies is top notch. I've begun to come around to actually enjoying them with music using my Shanling m8 as well. After dozens of hours of gaming with them I tried again with music and found it enjoyable

Nice! Yeah 40 hours of break in is helpful. Low gain mode is your best bet.

Imho, sound reproduction ideally is excellent at movies and music alike. Speakers do this, we should expect headphones to. Timbre matters.

 

[Devodonaldson]

Nice! Yeah 40 hours of break in is helpful. Low gain mode is your best bet.

Imho, sound reproduction ideally is excellent at movies and music alike. Speakers do this, we should expect headphones to. Timbre matters.

Yeah about 6mo ago, last time I tried music it seemed too "holographic" perhaps....seemed a little weird to me, and I like different presentations as the Audioquest Nighthawk is one of my favorite headphones. The Model One tone was nice, it just seemed off or artificial in presentation. Listening last night was a different story. Hours upon hours of gaming and movies later either I've fully adjusted, or there has been a slight change. Gonna give it another listen when I get off of work this morning

 

[561915]

It wouldn't shock me if they used off the shelf parts for the head mechanism, not unlike Monoprice and Emotiva since they are a small company. The drivers and cups are definitely not the same though. The build seems excellent to me. The Focal and Beyerdynamic sets I've used felt cheaper than these build wise. Having said that I haven't had them for long so I have no idea how they hold up long term.

The drivers 100% must be different. The AliExpress page lists the drivers as 50mm with a FR of 20Hz-20kHz, the VZR headphones have 40mm drivers with a frequency response of 10Hz-30kHz. Further, the sensitivity between the two headphones varies. The AliExpress cans are 106dB/mW if I’m reading it correctly and the VZR cans are 100dB/mW.

 

[b0lt 0ns]

Yeah about 6mo ago, last time I tried music it seemed too "holographic" perhaps....seemed a little weird to me, and I like different presentations as the Audioquest Nighthawk is one of my favorite headphones. The Model One tone was nice, it just seemed off or artificial in presentation. Listening last night was a different story. Hours upon hours of gaming and movies later either I've fully adjusted, or there has been a slight change. Gonna give it another listen when I get off of work this morning

I can say from experience this is normal for these. It might be a combination of many things including pad break in, driver burn in and just getting used to the sound. Theres also a pretty big difference in the output hardware you use. these sound much better on my SMSL M200/THX AAA 887 combo than they did on my FiiO A10K. I found that they don't like high gain settings. I wasnt super happy with them when i first got them as I prefer open headphones specifically sennheiser house sound but when I do use these I enjoy them now that they've been broken in and are on good hardware.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Great conversation topics. I’ve long said that it takes a while to realize what they’re doing because it’s just not like other headphones. A helpful prompt may be to try listening for a spherical image in contrast to the typical 2d plane. Once you open your ears and just listen, you’ll hear it.

On the drivers: the CTO is on record describing a lot of work around designing a custom driver. Definitely not OTS. Just stop that debate entirely.

 

[561915]

Great conversation topics. I’ve long said that it takes a while to realize what they’re doing because it’s just not like other headphones. A helpful prompt may be to try listening for a spherical image in contrast to the typical 2d plane. Once you open your ears and just listen, you’ll hear it.

On the drivers: the CTO is on record describing a lot of work around designing a custom driver. Definitely not OTS. Just stop that debate entirely.

I’m actually currently waiting on the VZR to arrive from Amazon. The headphones I’ve listened to so far are Beyer DT990 80ohm (I own these), Fostex T20RP & T60RP, Sennheiser HD560S and Momentum 1 (the M1 was a present from my mom lol), HyperX Cloud II (I own these), and Grado SR325X. I’m predicting these will unseat the HyperX for gaming and I’m hoping they’ll unseat the Fostex that I had for bass (they made a lot of it when EQ’d but also rattled like hell and had artificial sounding mids and highs to me with the stock tuning, imo these were both completely unlistenable to me without EQ).

 

[AlwaysForward]

I’m actually currently waiting on the VZR to arrive from Amazon. The headphones I’ve listened to so far are Beyer DT990 80ohm (I own these), Fostex T20RP & T60RP, Sennheiser HD560S and Momentum 2 (the M2 was a present from my mom lol), HyperX Cloud II (I own these), and Grado SR325X. I’m predicting these will unseat the HyperX for gaming and I’m hoping they’ll unseat the Fostex that I had for bass (they made a lot of it when EQ’d but also rattled like hell and had artificial sounding mids and highs to me with the stock tuning, imo these were both completely unlistenable to me without EQ).

Oh heck yeah I am looking forward to your impressions. Remember: 40 hours break in, low gain settings on your amps.

 

[Youcan1]

On the drivers: the CTO is on record describing a lot of work around designing a custom driver. Definitely not OTS. Just stop that debate entirely.

The majority of headphones out there have a "custom" driver. How custom it is varies greatly, from made from scratch to a slight tweak on an existing design. There is nothing wrong with using a well made off the shelf driver and tweaking it to your needs anyway if that is the route they took. I haven't seen the specific interview where they talk about designing it.

I’m actually currently waiting on the VZR to arrive from Amazon. The headphones I’ve listened to so far are Beyer DT990 80ohm (I own these), Fostex T20RP & T60RP, Sennheiser HD560S and Momentum 2 (the M2 was a present from my mom lol), HyperX Cloud II (I own these), and Grado SR325X. I’m predicting these will unseat the HyperX for gaming and I’m hoping they’ll unseat the Fostex that I had for bass (they made a lot of it when EQ’d but also rattled like hell and had artificial sounding mids and highs to me with the stock tuning, imo these were both completely unlistenable to me without EQ).

I'm sure it'll blow the Hyper X and Fostex away. The Grado will likely be a different story. The spatial qualities are very good for a closed back at this price. I broke mine in with my old MP3 player running over the course of a week on and off.

 

[AlwaysForward]

The majority of headphones out there have a "custom" driver. How custom it is varies greatly, from made from scratch to a slight tweak on an existing design. There is nothing wrong with using a well made off the shelf driver and tweaking it to your needs anyway if that is the route they took. I haven't seen the specific interview where they talk about designing it.

I believe this is incorrect. By volume, most headphones produced use OTS. You’re looking through a biased lens as a headphones enthusiast because custom hifi gear makes up the majority of your headphones mindshare.

I’m not going down a google research hole to find the reference, so do it yourself.

 

[561915]

Oh heck yeah I am looking forward to your impressions. Remember: 40 hours break in, low gain settings on your amps.

The JDS Atom I have has a low gain setting so that’s perfect. Do the drivers require much burn or is it mainly the pads?

I'm sure it'll blow the Hyper X and Fostex away. The Grado will likely be a different story. The spatial qualities are very good for a closed back at this price. I broke mine in with my old MP3 player running over the course of a week on and off.

The Grados I listened to had realllllly smooth mids and clear highs, I couldn’t get over the on-ear factor tho and plus they feel cheap as crap, like a toy. They worked well for instrumental music which is what I got to listen them to with (jazz and classical FLACs at a headphone store), but I’m not sure how well they would have worked for EDM and other genres.

 

[AlwaysForward]

I’ve seen reference to just pads but IIRC I saw a cofounder mention drivers break in, too. I think it was the ASR thread.

 

[theangelboy]

I did some looking around and I was unable to tell what material the pads are made from. I'm assuming they are fake leather (pleather), but can any owners confirm? If so, that's a shame. Pleather, even the "high quality" stuff doesn't last (especially with my skin chemistry) and it doesn't look like they sell replacements. Are they at least easily replaceable or do they use adhesive or a proprietary mounting mechanism?