[tusing]

Pic of my new VC. Stunning handiwork by ZMF as always!

 

[Bobobobobiy]

Just curious - has anyone experimented with an EQ preset to boost the sub-bass?

The perceived bass impact is so high compared to what the DB measurement of it suggests, that you honestly need to boost the subbass pretty far to hear a difference. The sensitivity to EQ is good, and you can tell when you listen to isolated frequencies, but honestly the VC doesn't need a huge subbass boost.

A consequence is that you really don't get anything close to planar bass. The bass feels very sharp, but not "fast" at times because you get so much physical feedback.

 

[tusing]

Loving the VCs so far.

Does anyone else get some upper-mid glare/harshness with the solid Auteur pads? I'm noticing this on tracks with a lot of electric guitar and it can get fatiguing. The solid Universe pads help mostly fix this but remove some stage and add a bit more energy to the treble than I'd prefer.

Are the suede Auteur pads the ones to go for here?

 

[chrisdrop]

Loving the VCs so far.

Does anyone else get some upper-mid glare/harshness with the solid Auteur pads? I'm noticing this on tracks with a lot of electric guitar and it can get fatiguing. The solid Universe pads help mostly fix this but remove some stage and add a bit more energy to the treble than I'd prefer.

Are the suede Auteur pads the ones to go for here?

No. Unexpected IMO. How many hours do you have on it so far? Amp/ DAC?

 

[erics75]

Loving the VCs so far.

Does anyone else get some upper-mid glare/harshness with the solid Auteur pads? I'm noticing this on tracks with a lot of electric guitar and it can get fatiguing. The solid Universe pads help mostly fix this but remove some stage and add a bit more energy to the treble than I'd prefer.

Are the suede Auteur pads the ones to go for here?

Yes i noticed the glare as well, especially with the Auteur solid pads and when my unit had low hours. Here are a few things that helped me tame the glare.

Give the unit a ton of time before judging. i'm in the hundreds of hours now and can finally say it's not changing anymore. but up to this point, man did this thing change.

The auteur hybrid pads i found to be less fatiguing than the auteur solid pads. but i do find the universe pads to be even less fatiguing overall. just my opinion though. they're not expensive so can't hurt to get a set and try them.

The VC is ruthlessly honest and revealing, and it could be exposing an issue in your chain. It took a major dac and amp upgrade for me to get the VC where i want it. I went from a grace m9xx dac and bottlehead crack or rs08 amp to an ayre codex and zmf pendant amp. Major improvement! the VC exposed issues in my first system that the Atticus and Auteur covered up. in hindsight, the issues where there, but the other headphones were forgiving enough that it wasn't a big deal, i could live with it.

Now i don't think of the VC as harsh at all, but it took a lot of time and work to get it there.

 

[heliosphann]

Loving the VCs so far.

Does anyone else get some upper-mid glare/harshness with the solid Auteur pads? I'm noticing this on tracks with a lot of electric guitar and it can get fatiguing. The solid Universe pads help mostly fix this but remove some stage and add a bit more energy to the treble than I'd prefer.

Are the suede Auteur pads the ones to go for here?

I did get some harshness from the VC loaner I had using Auteur pads. What wood do you have?

Hybrid pads are the way to go IMO. I'd avoid the suede pads, they sounded really bad to me. Check out my pad comparison earlier in the thread for more details.

 

[Monsterzero]

The VC is ruthlessly honest and revealing, and it could be exposing an issue in your chain.

+1

I actually noticed extra energy in that region early on with the Autuer non perf pads,and in my system I liked it. I didnt find it harsh at all. As time wore on that energy lessened to an extent,but I can add it back in with some brighter tubes like Sylvanias.

 

[tusing]

No. Unexpected IMO. How many hours do you have on it so far? Amp/ DAC?

RME ADI-2 DAC fs as my amp/DAC. I also use a Bottlehead Crack.

I just got it, so maybe 5 hours? When people mention 100-300 hours on the VC, are they talking about physical burn in (leave the headphone playing while away), or brain burn-in (actually listening to it for 100-300 hours)?

Yes i noticed the glare as well, especially with the Auteur solid pads and when my unit had low hours. [...] Give the unit a ton of time before judging [...] The auteur hybrid pads i found to be less fatiguing than the auteur solid pads. but i do find the universe pads to be even less fatiguing overall. just my opinion though. they're not expensive so can't hurt to get a set and try them.

Good to know. I am definitely liking the Universe pads more. I feel like there's a bit more bass impact too.

I did get some harshness from the VC loaner I had using Auteur pads. What wood do you have?

Hybrid pads are the way to go IMO. I'd avoid the suede pads, they sounded really bad to me. Check out my pad comparison earlier in the thread for more details.

Monkeypod! Thanks for the pad comparison, I will check it out.

 

[JM1979]

RME ADI-2 DAC fs as my amp/DAC. I also use a Bottlehead Crack.

I just got it, so maybe 5 hours? When people mention 100-300 hours on the VC, are they talking about physical burn in (leave the headphone playing while away), or brain burn-in (actually listening to it for 100-300 hours)?



Good to know. I am definitely liking the Universe pads more. I feel like there's a bit more bass impact too.



Monkeypod! Thanks for the pad comparison, I will check it out.

I had a similar experience with my VCs when they were under 10 hours. I ended up letting them run pink noise for 48 hours straight, and after that the sound is much more natural and smooth.

 

[chrisdrop]

RME ADI-2 DAC fs as my amp/DAC. I also use a Bottlehead Crack.
I just got it, so maybe 5 hours? When people mention 100-300 hours on the VC, are they talking about physical burn in (leave the headphone playing while away), or brain burn-in (actually listening to it for 100-300 hours)?

For burning-in my VCs, I let this play overnight for a few days. I would also, of course, listen as I was able during normal hours. I wouldn't leave a valve amp on unattended all night, so I plugged my VCs into an RME ADI II and let them play/ burn-in that way. It is a physical burn-in. While I am sure there is "brain-in" also I would guess, there is physical burn-in that will change the sound.

I think most users were on auteur pads that ship w/ the VCs and they should smooth with some hours IMO. I am currently using hybrid auteurs, but really enjoy all 3 pads {hybrid auteur, auteur, universe}. You will too

 

[jonstatt]

 

[Rowethren]

Congratulations! Seriously nice looking headphones.

 

[jonstatt]

Congratulations! Seriously nice looking headphones.

Thank you. My jaw hit the ground when I opened the box to see this stunning pair. I was speechless.

 

[LoryWiv]

@eric75, @chrisdrop, @heliosphann thank you for the recommendation that auteur / hybrid pads are a great option.

I am considering Auteur hybrid pads for all of things, my Auteur. Can either of you describe how they differ from full lambskin or suede? Also are they perforated as I think generally produces better soundstage? Thanks for any impressions.

 

[heliosphann]

@eric75, @chrisdrop, @heliosphann thank you for the recommendation that auteur / hybrid pads are a great option.

I am considering Auteur hybrid pads for all of things, my Auteur. Can either of you describe how they differ from full lambskin or suede? Also are they perforated as I think generally produces better soundstage? Thanks for any impressions.

Never tried them on an Auteur, only a VC. I still have the hybrid pads though. I'll throw them on my Auteur and see how they sound. Not sure if Zach has or is getting perforated hybrid Auteur pads. The hybrid part does open them up similar to what perf pads do. Just make sure you don't use perf pads on the VC's, no bueno...