[Magol79]

I agree on the VC/Auteur sounding similar.
I went VO/VC. Done.

I think you already talked about this in your review a bit, but when do go for the VC and when do you reach for the VO?

 

[kumar402]

I've been thinking about doing this exact thing actually... I sold my Verité after picking up the VC, mostly because the sound signatures were so similar. I think I'd like to eventually settle on one open-backed headphone as an alternative to the VC. The HD800s or Utopia seem like great options for a completely different sound presentation, but I'm a little torn because I enjoy the ZMF sound so much.

I never enjoyed HD800s and even put it on sale as I was listening to Verite Open all the time however after I got ECP DSHA amp I just plugged it in and was surprised how different it and good it sounded as my mind was tuned with Verite sound signature. I guess that’s the whole point of having 2 good headphones i.e to complement each other.

 

[Monsterzero]

I think you already talked about this in your review a bit, but when do go for the VC and when do you reach for the VO?

This isnt a knock on the VO,rather a statement about just how good the VC is,but I have yet to listen to any other headphone,including the VO since the VC dropped.
The VC is just more direct than the VO,and still retains all of the qualities that its open back older brother has.

When the VO was King of the Hill for me there were genres(mostly metal)that I simply did not listen to with it,and would opt for the Auteur or AKG K240 or AD2000s instead for heavier,faster stuff. The VC has ended all of that. The Auteur has been sold. The AD2000s are for sale,and the Sextetts are worth more to me for sentimental reasons than what I would get for selling them. Theyre doing an excellent job of collecting dust though.

Perhaps one day I will return to the VO and fall in love with it all over again,but for now the VC and I are on an extended,lovely honeymoon.

 

[Bobobobobiy]

If you're like me, you may miss the detail of the verites when you go to the Aeolus. I actually just sold my Aeolus (shipped today in fact) as I often wondered how a particular song would sound on the Verite when I was using the Aeolus. Totally subjective, of course, but the slight lack of detail (esp treble detail) and less dramatic staging from the Aeolus left me a bit cold after hearing the verites. Basically, I couldn't unhear the Verites when listening to the Aeolus, despite the fact that the Aeolus was the first ZMF dynamic I owned and loved (and it wound up being a gateway drug, dammit!!!)

I just got my Aeolus back after around half a year of non-use (faulty headband, and kept putting off sending it in for repairs). Maybe it's because I haven't used it for so long, but I much prefer the VC sound to the Aeolus.

The Aeolus bass is a bit boomy by comparison, with around the same level of impact. The treble is also somehow more recessed, but feels like the same level of harshness as the VC. The VC also sounds more open than the Aeolus does, as weird as that sounds.

I'll give it a few more days though to get used to the Aeolus again. Maybe I'll remember why I loved the headphone so much.

 

[Spie1904]

After 200 hours of break-in, the combo SP1000Amp + ZMF Verite Closed get better abd better. Adicted !

Tomorow I wil be able to compare to AK2000 + ZMF, but I doubt the AK2000 alone will drive the ZMF better than the AK1000 + SP1000 AMP.

Please share your findings
I personally own a SP1000M and I'm looking into the ZMF Verité Closed or the ZMF Eikon but based on what I've read so far the SP1000M won't necessarily be enough to fully drive these?

 

[bmichels]

I can confirm that with the ZMF Closed, the AK1000 + SP1000AMP is equal or better than the SP2000 alone. But with IEMs then the SP2000 is fantastiq. Tons of details...

SP1000 Amp is really more powerful than the SP2000. For same lstening level, SP2000 was at 130 while SP1000 AMP was at 110 on low gain (recomended) and 100 on High Gain.

 

[erics75]

2 solid days in with the VC so far, and i'm finding it definitely likes my bottlehead crack more than my RS-08 amp. I'm hoping with burn in that will lessen, as it did with the Auteur. But so far I must say, the VC has been an incredible listen. I won't go into much detail as i'm still learning it, but what stood out was it's speed and resolution. the Atticus and Auteur are reasonably fast headphones, but nothing like something like an HD800. But man the VC is easily as fast as the 800 while being smoother and just as resolving. i'm very impressed, to say the least. i'll give it a proper review in a few weeks, but just wanted to chime in on the amps. what i'm not liking on the RS-08/VC is an upper mid harshness that is very fatiguing. the RS-08 is ruthlessly neutral and revealing, and the VC straight out of the box is a bit stiff/hard sounding. i thought the exact same thing with the Auteur too, but after 50ish hours, it mellowed out and sounded great out of the RS. Time will tell.

ok we're at two weeks now, and i have to admit, my VC has changed quite a bit in that time. i had noted a slight hardness or harshness, especially in the upper mids, and that's gone. burn in on my set was quite noticeable, and thankfully all in a good way. i no longer find it fatiguing on my RS-08 amp, and actually prefer that amp now to any other i own for the VC. here's what i've noticed change:

again, the harshness i was hearing out of the box is gone. it's noticeably smoother and yet no loss in detail. reminds me of my Auteur, which had similar, though lesser, changes during the first few weeks. this thing is silky smooth sounding, but nuanced and detailed. "wet" comes to mind, but not in a rounded and rolled off way like the Atticus is.

bass is not as boomy or bloomy. out of the box it was a touch soft or woolly down low (compared to now, not in general), but that tightened up quite a bit. what i love is how i can easily imagine the drum covering material, be it leather, synthetic, metal, etc. there's tremendous textural detail here, more so than the Auteur/Atticus. i can also easily make out the composition of the drum stick used, be it wood, metal, synthetic.

everything in general sounds tighter and more composed. harshness and bass are the two most glaring differences to me.

the one thing i still struggle with is what is the VC house sound? i can describe the Atticus and Auteur easily, and i recognize them immediately when listening to them. they have a basic tonality that is omnipresent and pervasive. everything that runs through them is colored by it. but i'm not able to really determine what exactly the VC's coloration is. it is incredibly honest, in that it is able to be both thin/bright/lean, and thick/warm/bassy, depending on the the recording itself. i'm sure it has it's own coloration that comes across, but it's harder for me to identify. i've heard the VC sound like the HD800 at times, and the Atticus at times. it was all music track dependent, but quite shocking honestly. honest is the only word i can think of. honest in that it allows the music to be itself, without excessive coloration. i'd have thought the Auteur, a more neutral set, would be that, but it more or less sounds like itself no matter what. the VC is a chameleon in that it can be whatever you ask it to be.

i'd love to hear people's thoughts on that last paragraph. what do you think is the VC's base sound signature? i've seen people describe it as warm, but i'm not sure i'd go there. others have said neutral, but honestly i find the Auteur more neutral overall. yet i've heard the VC approach Atticus levels of warmth, and HD800 levels of thinness. quite remarkable, imo.

anyhow, i'm still learning this headphone, and find it the hardest yet to really understand. but i'm loving every minute of it, and have no doubts the VC is going to be a permanent part of my rotation. other than an hour or so with the Atticus over the weekend for fun, i've been listening exclusively to the VC. after another week or so, i'm going to start a fight.... my RS-08 has dual headphone outs, i'm going to see side by side which ZMF reigns supreme for me.

 

[Klmahnn]

I agree with this. It is hard to pin point. It does everything it needs to when it needs to.

The Aeolus is like having caps lock ON! It is LIVELY and it’s something I love about it. Percussion is amazing, I may even prefer it on the Aeolus to the VC but I haven’t done much A/Bing so it’s only a loose impression.

 

[erics75]

I agree with this. It is hard to pin point. It does everything it needs to when it needs to.

The Aeolus is like having caps lock ON! It is LIVELY and it’s something I love about it. Percussion is amazing, I may even prefer it on the Aeolus to the VC but I haven’t done much A/Bing so it’s only a loose impression.

the caps lock analogy is good! i might steal that one....

i do prefer the visceral percussion of the Atticus over the VC. the VC can slam pretty hard, but is more polite than the Atticus.

 

[LoryWiv]

it is incredibly honest, in that it is able to be both thin/bright/lean, and thick/warm/bassy, depending on the the recording itself. i'm sure it has it's own coloration that comes across, but it's harder for me to identify. i've heard the VC sound like the HD800 at times, and the Atticus at times. it was all music track dependent, but quite shocking honestly. honest is the only word i can think of. honest in that it allows the music to be itself, without excessive coloration. i'd have thought the Auteur, a more neutral set, would be that, but it more or less sounds like itself no matter what. the VC is a chameleon in that it can be whatever you ask it to be.

i'd love to hear people's thoughts on that last paragraph. what do you think is the VC's base sound signature? i've seen people describe it as warm, but i'm not sure i'd go there. others have said neutral, but honestly i find the Auteur more neutral overall. yet i've heard the VC approach Atticus levels of warmth, and HD800 levels of thinness. quite remarkable, imo.

Don't own VC but your description does apply really well to Auteur. It sounds full and lush on some recordings, lean and almost clinical on others, but I always get the sense it is representing the recording honestly. It does this better than any HF I've owned, and will be interested if others feel that is applicable to VC. Thanks for this apt description @erics75! I always appreciate new language to add to my HD description lexicon, and "honesty" is one I hadn't really considered until reading your post.

 

[erics75]

Don't own VC but your description does apply really well to Auteur. It sounds full and lush on some recordings, lean and almost clinical on others, but I always get the sense it is representing the recording honestly. It does this better than any HF I've owned, and will be interested if others feel that is applicable to VC. Thanks for this apt description @erics75! I always appreciate new language to add to my HD description lexicon, and "honesty" is one I hadn't really considered until reading your post.

until the VC, i would definitely have said the Auteur is the most honest sounding headphone i've heard, but the VC just seems to have more range, can get warmer and colder than the Auteur. it's quite amazing listening to the VC, and hear it change character so dramatically as i run my random playlist through it. whether that's a good thing or not though remains to be seen (for me). sometimes i don't want surprises with my music, and the VC surprises me with it's range. and sometimes it surprises me in a bad way, by going leaner/brighter than i'd like. but that's not a fault of the VC, more just my personal preferences at play. one thing i do notice with the VC is i tend to adjust the volume more often. i'll go louder when things are sounding great, as its incredibly engaging. but at times it will zing me a bit and i have to pull back the volume. with the Atticus and Auteur i rarely change volume.

 

[jinxy245]

IIRC @Monsterzero is a fan of Celtic inspired music...this instrumental guitarist just finished an album I'm looking forward to, Anyone who likes instrumental rock should enjoy this-

Dave Brons: Not All Those Who Wander are Lost
Available for pre-order on Bandcamp now

 

[Monsterzero]

IIRC @Monsterzero is a fan of Celtic inspired music...this instrumental guitarist just finished an album I'm looking forward to, Anyone who likes instrumental rock should enjoy this-

Dave Brons: Not All Those Who Wander are Lost
Available for pre-order on Bandcamp now

Oh thats nice! Big difference between track 1 and track 3. Thanks for the share!

 

[ksorota]

IIRC @Monsterzero is a fan of Celtic inspired music...this instrumental guitarist just finished an album I'm looking forward to, Anyone who likes instrumental rock should enjoy this-

Dave Brons: Not All Those Who Wander are Lost
Available for pre-order on Bandcamp now

Fantastic!

Actually just found and have been listening to these guys today...
https://tidal.com/browse/album/73544544

 

[Monsterzero]

The thread for my cable shootout is up.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/monsterzeros-rca-usb-power-cable-shootout.921568/#post-15371552