[Bluu]

Just got my Model One's today. It ships from Washington State so if you're east coast, prepare to wait. For a week or more. So far...I don't know what to think. Still getting used to them but here are some thoughts so far.

Initial music impressions are that highs might be a little muted or at least not as sharp, bass seems good. Music came from Amazon Unlimited and was tested with mostly their ultra high def songs from various genres. Audio and mic run through a Schiit Hel dac/amp combo. To get the same volume level in the Model One as the Senns I had to dial up the volume a bit more than I was used to. Haven't tried with phone (Pixel 6 Pro) yet and I don't play console.

PC Game sounds are taking some getting used to as well. I upgraded from the Senn. Gaming One. Soundstage is definitely bigger but it made the game sound very strange initially almost too distant or hollow when doing some things. I'm hoping this changes for the better as I continue playing. My game of choice (remember this is marketed as a gaming headset) is Rainbow 6 Siege so impressions are based on that game.

The VZR is also MUCH heavier and considerably hotter. Its not nearly as friendly with glasses either - clamping force is tighter than the Senns. I haven't tried the mic yet to get feedback on how that sounds. Passive noise cancelling is quite good. Build quality also seems good. Return policy through Amazon is 30 days from receipt so I'm going to give it a week to get more time with it and see how it goes. The alternative course of action will possibly be better Senns (HD600?) and a separate mic which will be a bit more than the $350 for the Model Ones.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Just got my Model One's today. It ships from Washington State so if you're east coast, prepare to wait. For a week or more. So far...I don't know what to think. Still getting used to them but here are some thoughts so far.

Initial music impressions are that highs might be a little muted or at least not as sharp, bass seems good. Music came from Amazon Unlimited and was tested with mostly their ultra high def songs from various genres. Audio and mic run through a Schiit Hel dac/amp combo. To get the same volume level in the Model One as the Senns I had to dial up the volume a bit more than I was used to. Haven't tried with phone (Pixel 6 Pro) yet and I don't play console.

PC Game sounds are taking some getting used to as well. I upgraded from the Senn. Gaming One. Soundstage is definitely bigger but it made the game sound very strange initially almost too distant or hollow when doing some things. I'm hoping this changes for the better as I continue playing. My game of choice (remember this is marketed as a gaming headset) is Rainbow 6 Siege so impressions are based on that game.

The VZR is also MUCH heavier and considerably hotter. Its not nearly as friendly with glasses either - clamping force is tighter than the Senns. I haven't tried the mic yet to get feedback on how that sounds. Passive noise cancelling is quite good. Build quality also seems good. Return policy through Amazon is 30 days from receipt so I'm going to give it a week to get more time with it and see how it goes. The alternative course of action will possibly be better Senns (HD600?) and a separate mic which will be a bit more than the $350 for the Model Ones.

Yeah send them back if it’s not a “love it” after a few weeks. They’ll take 40 hours or so to break in.

 

[b0lt 0ns]

Today was a good day finished up my crack build and my hart audio cable came in so I can add the VZRs to my modular cable system. Just wish I could use the VZR on the crack. If anyone is interested in trying out a balanced cable I no longer need the other one I have I can throw it in a padded envelope and send it to someone.

 

[MaN227]

we all find ways to justify our purchases, period.

I may be missing something; I understand what forum I am on, and I also understand this headset is well... a headset. It has a mic and the reason for that is simple to use it for gaming. I have many headphones that have caught my attention over the years, some work rather well for gaming, some not.

this VXR had gotten my attention from other sources as a gaming headset. I have a pair ordered and on the way atm.

I may share some observations in a laymen sort of way. I'll leave all the fancy technical mobo jumbo for others. or I may say nothing about it.

since I made the purchase and searched for user feedback and info online it has brought me back to headhi, I'd not been around here since the release of the Mobius.

As far as judging headphones/headset as they are, that is fine but anyone that has been around this hobby for any length of time knows your delivery system of the sounds being reproduced can have a profound impact on what your ears perceive. Other changes can have impact as well, such as pad changes, cable changes, eq changes and the list goes on.

point being I have always found myself willing to experiment to get the most out of headphones for my enjoyment, I encourage one and all to not discount a product at its stock value as it can with time be a very satisfying listen, where initially it may not have been.

willing to wager that anyone who has more than 3 headphones and 3 amps can say they may have been let down, at least a bit with a purchase, till they find what others share that can improve their satisfaction of the product. we all hear sound in our own unique way to a degree. If there were a one size fits all there would be only 1 amp and 1 headphone. no one is wrong for liking what products they do and on the flip side, you having spent your money on it does not then qualify it is being the most right or best choice, for someone else or ... yourself for that matter.

I am very glad I had found this sort of hobby of getting the best listening experience I can. my wife and wallet are not so happy about it, but that's another story.

back on point , I have headphones I use for gaming with a separate mic, the headphones were not made nor marketed for gaming and I have headsets with built on mic marketed with gaming in mind. The VSR from all the info I have viewed and read online before making this purchase grabbed my attention for one MAIN reason, the quality of the delivery of gaming audio, I truly hope it will be what I am expecting it to be. But, I have learned to temper my expectations, as we all should. The "not so greats" hurt less that way

be considerate of others differing opinions from yours and share your knowledge and know-how with the notion in mind of helping others, trust me it feels good helping others. We don't always have to be right.

We can all learn something new or interesting if we open our ears and minds to it.

Peace

 

[AlwaysForward]

So I previously shared that I got in touch with the Founder to share a product/market idea. We've been corresponding and chatting about audio/science/tech. Super cool guy.

Anyway, he sent over a private video where he demoed the VZR tech at a well-regarded/known mixing mastering studio with the engineers checking them out and comparing to other headphones in the $2k tier (Senn820+whatever else I couldn't see).

Obviously, for privacy reasons, it wouldn't be right to share who is in the video but you've probably heard recordings they've engineered. I thought would be fun would be transcribing a few choice quotes from the reactions:

"If I had to mix a record right now in headphones, I'd grab them(VZR).. no doubt about it. I feel like I know what I'm hearing. It's a trust thing. "
"These really do just sound like... like much more closer to just sitting in a room listening to music"

Anecdotally, it's similar to what my recording artist friends shared in their impressions and Sir Mix a Lot's video about how he changed his studio workflow around these.

 

[Bluu]

So, update - I'm returning my VZR's today. They were just too heavy for me to wear as a gaming headphone. They weren't uncomfortable but they weren't comfortable either. I've replaced them with Audio-Technica ATH-R70X. If there's interest I'll do a compare/contrast between them. I hope whoever else does get the VZRs likes them. If there are any other questions I can answer, let me know!

 

[evernessince]

So about two weeks back I picked up the VZR Model One. Large new developments in the audio space are exciting to me and the claims of the large sound stage and precise placement of objects in that space were enticing. This is by no means a full review, just my thoughts on them.

I have to say that I mostly agree with what many reviewers have stated thus far, specifically in regards to the sound stage. More so than any other headphones I've tried I was able to pick out the direction of a sound and it's distance from me. There were even a few pieces that I played where it took what sounded like a closer more intimate recording and pushed them a bit further back, allowing more instruments to be heard from their specific originating space in the sound stage instead of being more clustered up.

Overall detail retrieval was good, on par with other headphones in the same price range. As reviews have noted Bass does leak into the mids a tad. Bass has good punch, a bit more than I personally like but not holding it against them. Mids are a touch recessed. Highs are not harsh but they lack sparkle.

Build quality is top notch. Thick plush pads, metal headband and joints, even stress relief molding around the jacks under each earcup, which is a huge plus given the connector sticks out and is (I believe) a 3.5mm jack which would not stand up well without that molding if you hit it into something.

The cable itself is excellent with on caveat. It's good at resisting tangles and has very little microphonics. The only negative I found was that the small inline plastic mute box tends to catch on things. It will catch everytime on my desk unless I pay specific attention.

The only major con to these is the weight. I measured these at about 464 grams. After wearing these for the 2 weeks for about 5 hours a day I could pretty clearly feel the discomfort on the top of the head and a tad on the side due to the clamp force. I didn't start experiencing this until the start of the second week. I noticed that some reviews noted that comfort was excellent which was my initial impression as well. Unfortunately that soured as explained above.

Overall these are well worth the money so long as the weight is not an issue. As for me I'll be trying to see if I can't get over the discomfort, I really like these headphones.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

The description of the sound is much the same as I'd briefly explain how these M-Audio Q40 I have that I've been trying to find a replacement for ages now especially for EDM listening but for my tastes there's no such a thing as too much of a punch, the Q40 have some of the punchiest bass I've heard so far and that's so far been the thing I haven't been able to be satisfied fully with other headphones I've tried, it does bleed slightly bit into the mids but not too bad and I'd also describe the mids as very slightly bit recessed in these with highs that are never fatiguing or overly sparkly, realisticly so to my ears (many headphones for me tend to have a metallic shrilliness that just annoys me too much but I don't like losing detail and punchiness either which a certain amount of highs helps with and the Q40 in particular as I hear it anyway sits right on the edge, never harsh, but doesn't sound lacking either. The soundstage I'd expect to be more large on these VZR Model One though, the Q40 are somewhat more in-your-face and not overly wide stage but suprisingly capable depth which I often have found lacking in other closed headphones I've tried, most of the closed headphones had a bit more oval shape soundstage, the Q40 is more circular, not so much width but quite good depth.

 

[Salted Peanut]

I have pulled the trigger on these. They arrived 20 days ago.
Since they arrived my initial focus has mostly been to break in the earpads, have music run through them for burn-in purposes and making all sorts of sound and music tests and comparisons. For the last couple of weeks I have just been enjoying them, and I would like to give you all my impressions and mini review on these headphones (and I will also write about the Model One in synergy with the Chord Mojo 2).

My first post in this thread was about if any could make a VZR Model One versus Meze Liric. Well, around a week later that post I auditioned the Liric’s myself, for about two hours. Worth to note, in regard to the Model One, I will also get a bit into the Denon AH-D9200, the Audeze LCD-XC 2021, Ultrasone’s S-Logic technology and the Austrian Audio Hi-X55, regarding things to compare.

Normally I audition a headphone before buying it. These I just bought, and I am so happy I did, because what my intuition and gutfeel told me about these headphones has met my expectations wholly and completely and surpassed them. Surpassed cause they have given me something I didn’t know I needed in my music listening experience – and this is to be found in their overall tuning that, to me, immerses me with the perfect weight and encloses me in my music listening with an immaculate control to not get overwhelming. The body and oomph make up a whole lot of the overall tuning in the Model One; and the sub bass and bass is quite the star here – to my ears these are better in the Model One than in the Denon AH-D9200; it is more controlled and tighter and can easily endure sonic textures and dynamics that the Denon can’t.

But what really is the cherry on the top is the Model One’s Crosswave/acoustic lens: To my ears the Model One is like a very organic, natural and musical sounding headphone (their tuning) mixed with a studio monitor headphone (their Crosswave/acoustic lens). For the whole sound spectrum, the cohesion is outstanding.
To accommodate some of you in this thread, I have listened to a couple of Ultrasone headphones and besides that I own the Ultrasone HFI-780. Their S-Logic technology is good, it is on par with what you can experience in the Audeze LCD-XC 2021 – the Meze Liric is better than the two, and the Austrian Audio Hi-X55 is even better and takes the cake in this comparison. But when the S-logic technology and these headphones are compared to the Model One, the Model One is the best: To be more specific, the Model One has the best spatial/holographic/3D sound, the better overall imaging.
When it comes to the Model One’s soundstage and separation I am presented to an enormous room – very good acoustically treated – tall, wide and deep, and the air around each sound/instrument (the separation) is so incredibly good. It is like being perfectly seated in a room with speakers. The Model One actually reminds me of a pair of KEF LS50 Wireless II with two KEF KC62 subwoofers. Let me try to explain what’s going on: In the room the music and sounds also go low, like below the floor as well, like there is no floor, and music and sounds are presented in a sphere where I am placed just a little further back than in the center of this sphere, so music and sounds are also behind me. How I’m placed in this sphere is better in the Model One than in the headphones mentioned in the beginning of this paragraph, its better managed and music and sounds are somehow more perceptible.

There are only two things I want slightly different in the Model One, and that is a bit more mid-forwardness, also a bit more treble brightness and sparkle – there are some finer details I really like to be heard in the upper registers. And I can tell you, that the drivers in the Model One is indeed capable of delivering: They are very EQ-responsive. Here the Chord Mojo 2 comes to perfect assistance with its lossless DSP-EQ… and the synergy is utterly astonishing!

Hope this will help some of you considering buying the VZR Model One.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Excellent! Congrats on your purchase, @Salted Peanut & happy to hear your optimistic report. In addition to celebrating your joy with these: I'm glad to have reinforced how I've been kind shilling these without any financial interest (just a pure "What, the community needs to know" motivation).

I appreciated the detailed comparison with a few headsets I've been curious to hear myself—specifically, the Dennon, which has long been touted as a king of bass. Hearing the Model One come out on top of the comparison is, to me, not surprising. While there is one who has detracted from my claims RE: giant killers, it's great to see my position reinforced shortly after the recent public disagreement in this thread.

Personally, I'm beyond happy with the tuning. My top hope now is a DJ set.

PS: We have similar speaker rigs with the Kefs and 2 monster subs! Play it loud!

 

[561915]

Seeing all the new Model One owners is pretty neat, hope you all enjoy them.

Having now listened to them for a good few weeks as well as trying out some actually good IEMs for the first time (best I’ve tried until now was AirPods Pro). The VZR Model One is damn good I will say, but technicalities/transient response is not necessarily their forte. I recently acquired some Shuoer S12 as well as FiiO FH3 (will probably be returning or selling these though) and had my eyes open (or ears I should say) to some fast drivers. I know IEMs and headphones are not always comparable, but the speed of a small planar is incredible to behold. I hear what @Youcan1 is saying about the VZR losing out in some technicalities now. Where the VZR slightly bogs down in complicated music (certain EDM and most metal) the S12s continue to chug along, not losing any information or “smoothing things over”. I’m still not sure if this is an byproduct of the mid-recessed tuning or the VZR’s dynamic driver hitting it’s limits (I’ve been running them stock EQ for about 95% of the time I’ve had them, which is rare for me because I EQ almost everything I listen to). They are not slow headphones, just not insanely fast. I recently got back to my PC and the rest of my headphone collection so I will be doing more testing against the rest of the collection.

Now, none of this is a knock against the VZRs. I absolutely love them for gaming and movies, they have such precise imaging for gaming and are immersive for movies because of the bass depth and soundstage. This is huge for me since I have so far only attained good imaging with open back headphones. Now I can have headphones that almost feel like an unfair advantage, but also block out PC fan and AC noise. I like how they present high frequency information in a way that doesn’t make my tinnitus act up (an issue I’ve had with most “detailed” headphones and IEMs). But I am still hearing things in some of my well-worn music I haven’t heard before. An example being Blue Öyster Cult’s Then Came The Last Days of May, the VZR’s make it incredible easy to hear the interesting vocal and drum delay going into your right ear in the far distance. I have no issue with their weight because I have a strong neck and the clamping force is fine on my head, though some of my family members with smaller heads did note increased clamping force. Mostly everyone who I showed the VZRs to thought they were incredible, both audiophiles and non-audiophiles. The most talented musical person I know (plays a lot of instruments, composes music for small orchestras, engineers songs for others) first gave them a listen and had a smile cross their face, but told me afterwards they were only “pretty good”.

 

[AlwaysForward]

I primarily listen to EDM. I will stay away from tempting conversational challenges presented in the above post but I will say that I absolutely disagree with the notion of a bog down.

 

[561915]

I primarily listen to EDM. I will stay away from tempting conversational challenges presented in the above post but I will say that I absolutely disagree with the notion of a bog down.

They are plenty fast enough for almost everything. I hear every sound that’s there, but it’s like it loses its attack edge in the mids region when a lot is going on (slightly noticeable on electric guitars). I think this is a product of the mids being slightly recessed. I wish there were some good measurements of this headphone but they’re not found anywhere to my knowledge. My choice of words was actually not exactly what I was trying to say. There are some headphones that definitely bog down and jumble the instruments together. The Model One is most definitely not one of them. Instrument separation is something I listen for in every headphone I’ve tried. Honestly it depends on the song you listen to. Sometimes the VZR’s just sound like an all-encompassing wall of sound, and other times every instrument has its own pocket in space. A lot of the sound quality depends greatly on placement of the driver on your ear, it took me a bit to find the optimal position on my ears. They’re just neat headphones honestly and I do like them quite a bit. They have totally shelved my DT990 Pro which I enjoyed thoroughly for years.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Yeah, that makes a bit more sense now; thanks for clarifying that. So, to my ears, the tuning sounds warm in the upper mids but very clean and present. Lushhh. I'd probably say the absolute transient response reminds me of somewhere between the HD600 and the LCD2 or Elear/Clear Focals. That's pure memory at this point but I keep my general calibration with the iSine20, which plays in that league, IMHO. I do hear the VZR as closer to the iSine(Orratory1990 tuned) than say an AKG 371 or Sennheiser HD25 that I have lying around.

However, my argument towards the imaging killer is not that these dominate on transients, it's that they're playing a different game all together than killobucks pursuing transients to differentiate their imaging prowess. And as I've said before, some people will prefer that. It's what your preferences are.

The new ballgame from Crosswave is spatial information, on top of, hifi-tier performance with a warm but studio reference tuning that IMHO, produces an output image closer to "you're there" that no speed alone will ever achieve. Think about HRTF perception, your unique ear-geometry's effect, as addressed by tuning vs as addressed by physics/acoustics. You are designed to see and hear with depth perception.

Think about it like this:
The premise of chasing transients is to increase total information as imaging resolution a to increase the perception of Being There.

Audeze's own words:

"Have you ever noticed that when listening to truly great music, the audio has a tactile quality? A sense of realness and being. Like if you reach out and try to feel it, your brain thinks it’s going to be there.... The qualities of sound reproduction that mimic really being there are called resolution, transparency, and transient response." ( though, I've never seen a transparency measurement, lol)

So the imaging thesis is:

VZR Model One starts with hifi-caliber 2d transients, but by introducing 3d information, it presents higher total information that delivers on: "A sense of realness and being. Like if you reach out and try to feel it, your brain thinks it’s going to be there.... " better than transient optimizations because the new information reaching your perception of the image is designed to interact with our ear's perceptual geometry. It's a spatializing acoustic lens with a hifi caliber driver behind it that make up this new acoustic transducer design.

The analog to this is hi-res VR headsets vs super-res Gaming-Monitors. Sure, some people prefer it old school, and that resolution just does it for them.

But when the goal is to feel you're "there," the spacial information produces better images and a more immersive experience. Harman attempt to address HRTF/Geometry through tuning. This is like 3d rendered images in a 2d screen, like the Facebook 3d feed images. Crosswave is a full VR immersion experience, by contrast.

That said, sure, I'd love to see VRZ go from a 1080p transient perf to 4k. I made a suggestion about how I thought it would be cool to explore doing Graphene-Q in a DJ headphone to Vic because it's a fundamentally more performant material to start with, licensable and probably can be produced at the scale right for VZR fairly soon if not already. A pure-audio-focused headset, aligned with Live-Musicians, Studio, and Audiophile. Huge market.

 

[561915]

That said, sure, I'd love to see VRZ go from a 1080p transient perf to 4k. I made a suggestion about how I thought it would be cool to explore doing Graphene-Q in a DJ headphone to Vic because it's a fundamentally more performant material to start with, licensable and probably can be produced at the scale right for VZR fairly soon if not already.

This is exactly what in my eyes would be a truly end-game headphone. Graphene-Q or beryllium would be a good material due to their stiffness. I wonder how you were able to get in contact with VZR, I wanted to ask them a few questions but wasn't able to find anything easily.