[Spie1904]

would you want to walk around with such an expensive headphone in public? plus as durable and well built as ZMFs are, they are wood, and will show signs of wear quicker than plastic if you're bumping them around a bit. imo a portable set would make more sense, though i'm very conservative and anxious with my stuff. when i want to move around the house with my headphones, i run them through a Grace m9xx dac/amp combo, which has a fair amount of power, more than most portable setups, and it struggles to bring out the full dynamics and capabilities of them. i note a noticeable uptick in performance (not volume, more dynamics and driver control) when running them through a proper desktop amp.

i'm sure i'll be run out of this thread for saying this, but a basic sennheiser momentum 2.0, or whatever they're calling it now, is a good portable alternative to ZMF. they're warm, slightly rolled off up top, and non-fatiguing. if you want a cheap portable solution that can easily be powered by any dap out there, that's a really decent option. i'm not saying the momentum is anywhere near ZMF performance, just that it has a similar tuning and tonality. and they can be beat down hard! i've had my 2.0 for ages now and it's seen quite a few drops and rough handling, and it's still working fine. the stock cable is crap though, i think i could sneeze and snap it. i swapped it out for a generic amazon cable the week i got them.

He he, yeah I wouldn't be running around with it though .
It would be for sitting at my desk while working but as you said I may look into a more portable set for that first (Aeon Closed 2 maybe).
However ZMF are still my dream cans with those beautiful woods. Zach really did an excellent job with ZMF. It's an amazing product in my opinion (heard an Eikon before and they were great).

 

[Bonddam]

Just got the VC in and it is wonderful.

 

[Bonddam]

 

[bmichels]

I just received my SP1000 amp module. I will report soon how it improve the VC sound.

Indeed IMO the A&K SP1000 alone do not drive the VC correctly. I really hope the Amp Module will help to drive it to it’s full potential

 

[Wes S]

There is the pairing I am after! Nice setup, and I look forward to reading more about that amp and headphone pairing, for sure.

 

[Bonddam]

I can’t figure out if I like the VO or VC more. I guess I like them equally. All listening done from Pendant with NOS tubes. Don’t know what tubes they are as the printing is mostly gone. They might be Baldwin. I can say that the VC sound like an open back. Isolation is good. Great low end. It’s like little subwoofers in the headphone.

 

[Monsterzero]

I can’t figure out if I like the VO or VC more. I guess I like them equally. All listening done from Pendant with NOS tubes. Don’t know what tubes they are as the printing is mostly gone. They might be Baldwin. I can say that the VC sound like an open back. Isolation is good. Great low end. It’s like little subwoofers in the headphone.

I havent heard the Pendant before,but on my amp,tubes play a large part on the sound im getting out of ZMF headphones. In fact I prefer totally different tubes with the VC than what I use for the VO,as I mentioned in my VC review.

 

[MrCypruz]

So I’ve been listening to the VO over the weekend and today I’m listening to the VC…Now I understand the hype, it’s real and they’re truly remarkable headphones. Not perfect but just right, they sound correct and the ZMF house sound is what makes them special. Well…All I know is that the Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Closed will be posted for sale tonight along with the VO.
The Vérités are “too identical” to keep both, the only reason for me to keep both would be the looks!!!

 

[Bonddam]

I havent heard the Pendant before,but on my amp,tubes play a large part on the sound im getting out of ZMF headphones. In fact I prefer totally different tubes with the VC than what I use for the VO,as I mentioned in my VC review.

They sound great on the Pendant. From what I gathered the Pendant doesn’t have the typical warm signature with the stock tubes and the Baldwin(NOS) tubes sound almost identical. In the end I won’t be selling either. It’s great no one to tell me to turn down the volume

 

[Spie1904]

So I’ve been listening to the VO over the weekend and today I’m listening to the VC…Now I understand the hype, it’s real and they’re truly remarkable headphones. Not perfect but just right, they sound correct and the ZMF house sound is what makes them special. Well…All I know is that the Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Closed will be posted for sale tonight along with the VO.
The Vérités are “too identical” to keep both, the only reason for me to keep both would be the looks!!!

The ZMF Verite closed wouldn't be portable like the aeon closed can be but that's maybe not your use case

 

[MrCypruz]

The ZMF Verite closed wouldn't be portable like the aeon closed can be but that's maybe not your use case

Not my case at all, I use IEMs when out and about. Full-sized cans are strictly for office and home use, and because I don't need to have two closed back HPs atm, the A2c will have to go! The VO will go mostly because of how similar they sound to the VC.

 

[erics75]

Not my case at all, I use IEMs when out and about. Full-sized cans are strictly for office and home use, and because I don't need to have two closed back HPs atm, the A2c will have to go! The VO will go mostly because of how similar they sound to the VC.

before you send the A2C off i'd love to hear your impressions of how it stacks up to the VC and/or any other ZMFs. all my current headphones are dynamics, i kind of miss having a planar in the mix, but found the last gen Aeon/Ether a bit too flat sounding, lacking dynamics and engagement.

 

[MrCypruz]

before you send the A2C off i'd love to hear your impressions of how it stacks up to the VC and/or any other ZMFs. all my current headphones are dynamics, i kind of miss having a planar in the mix, but found the last gen Aeon/Ether a bit too flat sounding, lacking dynamics and engagement.

Unfortunately I don't have the time to entertain in-depth comparisons atm but I'll share my impressions also posted on the A2C Thread: The most impressive traits of the this HPs are the soundstage, improved bass response and overall dynamics over the previous Aeon (both O and C) and even the Ether Flow C 1.1. The soundstage is huge for closed back, detail retrieval is good (Verites still takes the crown here), the mids feel a bit recessed (most noticeable on female vocals). Bass goes deeper than the Verites, it's kind of expected from planar magnetic drivers. The A2C sound more balanced than the OG Aeons. Imaging is okay, not as precise and accurate as the Verites. The drivers on the A2C are smaller than the ones on the Verites which makes them sound a bit "smaller" when A/B testing them but they sound massive when solely listening to them...I assume that you're already familiar with how the ZMF VC and VO sound so I won't go over that.

I must add that the A2C is a completely new set of headphones that kept the same Aeon name mostly because of the overall design appearance/aesthetics, the drivers configuration, design and motors are completely new and based on Ether 2 design so the OG Aeons are not a good reference for your decision to acquire them. In other words, not liking the OG Aeons or Ether Flow C doesn't necessarily mean that you won't like the A2C.

 

[erics75]

Unfortunately I don't have the time to entertain in-depth comparisons atm but I'll share my impressions also posted on the A2C Thread: The most impressive traits of the this HPs are the soundstage, improved bass response and overall dynamics over the previous Aeon (both O and C) and even the Ether Flow C 1.1. The soundstage is huge for closed back, detail retrieval is good (Verites still takes the crown here), the mids feel a bit recessed (most noticeable on female vocals). Bass goes deeper than the Verites, it's kind of expected from planar magnetic drivers. The A2C sound more balanced than the OG Aeons. Imaging is okay, not as precise and accurate as the Verites. The drivers on the A2C are smaller than the ones on the Verites which makes them sound a bit "smaller" when A/B testing them but they sound massive when solely listening to them...I assume that you're already familiar with how the ZMF VC and VO sound so I won't go over that.

I must add that the A2C is a completely new set of headphones that kept the same Aeon name mostly because of the overall design appearance/aesthetics, the drivers configuration, design and motors are completely new and based on Ether 2 design so the OG Aeons are not a good reference for your decision to acquire them. In other words, not liking the OG Aeons or Ether Flow C doesn't necessarily mean that you won't like the A2C.

i appreciate you taking the time to share that. it's more than enough to get an idea of it's sound and if it might be worthwhile to take a shot on.

 

[MrCypruz]

i appreciate you taking the time to share that. it's more than enough to get an idea of it's sound and if it might be worthwhile to take a shot on.

You're welcome. I'm also on the hunt for a solid pair of planar magnetic cans (Open or Closed) and the only things on my shortlist are the Abyss Phi-1266 TC, Final Audio D8000 Pro, Diana V2 (maybe) but comfort seems to be an issue with the first two and I don't dig the design of the 1266 TC. Susvara would be a contender if HiFiMan took build quality more seriously but for now I stay away from them because of the overall poor build quality on most of their products.