[dbull12]

Discount appropriately because I'm a Violectric fanboy--but you could go a long way with your $$ by getting the SE V202 or the balanced V222, both often described as hewing to the slightly warm & spacious solid state wing (descended from the Violectric V281).

I have the V281 and its preamp-less sibling, the V280, and I'm here to tell you, both light up my silkwood Verite Open. I never feel the urge to switch amps when I plug into either one. They're also SOTA with any planar.

And FWIW, I completely agree with this: "I actually don't agree with many of the impressions I've read about the Verite being a genre specialist and being incredibly unforgiving of poor recordings." Yes the driver is fast and resolving, but the voicing of this headphone is pure "ZMF house sound," which to me means it sounds musical on pretty much any amp and any recording. I have both systems voiced in that direction to begin with (NOS DACs, a couple of which have tube outputs), so maybe I'm lost in the wilderness and just don't know it. But I've really never heard a harsh note out of my VO.

I think V222 would be more of a sidegrade from my Homage so I'd probably spring for the V281 LE since it's still even a tiny bit cheaper than the 3FN. The thing that's maybe me hesitate over Vio amps is the super low output impedance (although 3FN is like 5 ohms so that's still not very high) and Zach has also advised me that he'd recommend trying before buying with Violectric paired with dynamics. Maybe this is just because of its warmer signature. I know a ton of people on Head-Fi swear by the Violectric synergy with ZMF so maybe there's no need to feel hesitant. I wish there were comparisons between the V281 and 3F(N) somewhere! Although I suspect it would mostly be that V281 is warmer and thicker with perhaps slightly more depth, while 3F is cleaner and faster with more precise imaging and blacker background.

 

[G8torbyte]

I think V222 would be more of a sidegrade from my Homage so I'd probably spring for the V281 LE since it's still even a tiny bit cheaper than the 3FN. The thing that's maybe me hesitate over Vio amps is the super low output impedance (although 3FN is like 5 ohms so that's still not very high) and Zach has also advised me that he'd recommend trying before buying with Violectric paired with dynamics. Maybe this is just because of its warmer signature. I know a ton of people on Head-Fi swear by the Violectric synergy with ZMF so maybe there's no need to feel hesitant. I wish there were comparisons between the V281 and 3F(N) somewhere! Although I suspect it would mostly be that V281 is warmer and thicker with perhaps slightly more depth, while 3F is cleaner and faster with more precise imaging and blacker background.

I own both the V222 and Homage and yes, I'd say they are very close in performance for solid states. I do like the V222's sound quality a bit more with ZMFs and it has better build/engineering IMO. I did a quick comparison of each in the Homage thread. Interestingly there was a comment that the Homage can drive the Tungstens without issue. The V222 would need the pre-gains maxed out but the V281 would have no problem at default from what I've heard from other Tungsten owners. The Vio's do increase voltage output as the headphone impedance increases. I took the tech data sheets from a few different Vio models and charted out milli-Watts per gain vs the impedance load to get an idea of the power delivery per gain achieved. I have not heard the 3FN yet. I do like the Nitsch mods on the Piety which I own and listening to the Pietus Maximus at CanJam.

 

[idairyou]

Keep telling myself to resist the urge to buy them on day one and wait for a stabilized pair.

 

[dejusk]

Absolutely love that grille design. Looking forward to more info about them!

 

[Daryl42]

Any updates on when these will be available for purchase?

 

[Cornelius1988]

Those bokeh open look sick!!!

 

[s2kphile]

Bokeh Open grills

 

[Cornelius1988]

I would definitely go for the purple grills

 

[g4ndr1k]

“I’m just waiting for the limited edition.”

 

[s2kphile]

“I’m just waiting for the limited edition.”

Zach said either spring or summer the Bokeh Opens will have resin & stabilized versions. Thats when I'll grab one unless the introductory price is hard to pass up.

 

[g4ndr1k]

Zach said either spring or summer the Bokeh Opens will have resin & stabilized versions. Thats when I'll grab one unless the introductory price is hard to pass up.

Nice… thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

 

[vsg28]

So it begins...

 

[erics75]

So it begins...

Very cool! I got the initial order email for a demo pair, but no shipping yet. So excited to hear them! I really enjoyed them at CanJam this year. I cannot wait to put them through their paces once I get them home.

 

[KlaraKlang]

So it begins...

waiting for the beginning…

 

[Xinlisupreme]

Waiting for more impressions and comparisons