[busseysound]

Curious what people think about the various metal colors available. I think the lineup is now:

- Black
- Silver
- Brass
- Rose Gold
- Ruby
- Copper
- Aged Copper

What's your favorite, and what's your least?

Still love the silver rods in my Atoll. The black are pretty cool as well.

 

[chrisnyc75]

It really depends on the wood. I like brass rods with my Olive VC and Blackwood Auteur. Black rods and grills look great on my Manchurian Ash Auteur. I have to say, I'm not a fan of Rose Gold in any application personally. I like the look of Aged Copper and Silver/Stainless on the Blackwood Verites and Auteurs too.

Rose gold is a tricky one, but it looks incredible with african blackwood IMO. Black + rose gold is a tried and true classic.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Rose gold is a tricky one, but it looks incredible with african blackwood IMO. Black + rose gold is a tried and true classic.

I don’t despise rose gold or anything. It’s just my least preferred color for grills and rods on ZMF’s. I think Zach knows people have wildly different opinions on stuff like this, so he gives a wide range of options to suit every taste.

 

[Bassic Needs]

Black wears off, so that is a no go for me personally. I like new copper, but I find the patina can hit and miss for my tastes. Had the Rose Gold been available when I ordered that would have been my choice.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Black wears off, so that is a no go for me personally. I like new copper, but I find the patina can hit and miss for my tastes. Had the Rose Gold been available when I ordered that would have been my choice.

Just to clarify, if you go with the aluminum chassis, there won’t be any wear issues that some have experienced on the painted magnesium chassis. Zach has said some changes have been made recently that have helped alleviate the chipping paint on the magnesium though.

 

[fuhransahis]

Anyone have any experience with the Auris Euterpe and how it pairs with the VC? Or if any ZMF pairing comments in general that'd be helpful, have tried searching but not many impressions available.

I'd be using a separate DAC and only the amp section for it, main appeal to me being the compact form factor and sub-2k price range

 

[MatW]

Anyone have any experience with the Auris Euterpe and how it pairs with the VC? Or if any ZMF pairing comments in general that'd be helpful, have tried searching but not many impressions available.

I'd be using a separate DAC and only the amp section for it, main appeal to me being the compact form factor and sub-2k price range

I suppose you already saw this, but just in case..



I watched this when it was posted. I think I remember him mentioning sub bass roll off, which dampened my interest considerably. 😊 I really like the form factor though.

 

[fuhransahis]

I suppose you already saw this, but just in case..



I watched this when it was posted. I think I remember him mentioning sub bass roll off, which dampened my interest considerably. 😊 I really like the form factor though.

Lol I literally just finished watching before I asked and that was my main takeaway too - not too keen on the idea of a potential treble and bass cut off! Similarly there's an Auris HA2-SE listed in the classifieds which is super appealing but just so massive and doesn't fit on my desk.

Ah well here's to hoping something from Feliks gets listed in the classifieds - the Elise and Euforia seem to be some of the more compact tube amps out there.

 

[Barnstormer13]

Anyone have any experience with the Auris Euterpe and how it pairs with the VC? Or if any ZMF pairing comments in general that'd be helpful, have tried searching but not many impressions available.

I'd be using a separate DAC and only the amp section for it, main appeal to me being the compact form factor and sub-2k price range

VC pairing comments in general (IMHO):

They don’t take much power so monster amps aren’t necessary. That said, they do need an amp that can generate decent voltage so some portable solutions don’t do the job unless you listen primarily at low volume. They scale well too so quality gear is worth it.

They’re detail monsters capable of impressive separation and resolution, which is probably why a lot of people use them to great success with SS amps. I usually listen to mine with a tube amp but I’m always impressed when I try them with a high quality SS amp.

The degree of wetness (reverb) and bass bloom varies quite a bit with the output impedance of the amp. For me, I like them best at relatively low impedance (under 30 ohms), but plenty of others like the warmer, bloomier sound they get with OTL amps.

My personal preference is a SET tube amp with a transformer to drop the output impedance. I feel it provides the control over the driver you get with a SS amp and the musicality and microdynamics of a tube amp. That said, if you go this route you need to spend a fair bit to get good transformers and avoid roll off at the extremes.

 

[Wes S]

VC pairing comments in general (IMHO):

They don’t take much power so monster amps aren’t necessary. That said, they do need an amp that can generate decent voltage so some portable solutions don’t do the job unless you listen primarily at low volume. They scale well too so quality gear is worth it.

They’re detail monsters capable of impressive separation and resolution, which is probably why a lot of people use them to great success with SS amps. I usually listen to mine with a tube amp but I’m always impressed when I try them with a high quality SS amp.

The degree of wetness (reverb) and bass bloom varies quite a bit with the output impedance of the amp. For me, I like them best at relatively low impedance (under 30 ohms), but plenty of others like the warmer, bloomier sound they get with OTL amps.

My personal preference is a SET tube amp with a transformer to drop the output impedance. I feel it provides the control over the driver you get with a SS amp and the musicality and microdynamics of a tube amp. That said, if you go this route you need to spend a fair bit to get good transformers and avoid roll off at the extremes.

Good stuff! Another thing to add to this, is the VC sound incredible off a hybrid tube amp (SS & Tube Flavor combined) as well. I own a Rogue RH-5 (Hybrid) and Pendant SE (SET) and I use my VC exclusively with the RH-5. I love the control, speed, impact and detail I get with a quality SS and the massive holographic staging and musicality tubes bring, and the RH-5 combines and excels at both paired with my VC.

 

[Busyman201]

I found the inner black grill of VC is touching my ears by a bit, not a big deal but can I fix this with thicker pads? or any other methods

 

[DeweyCH]

I found the inner black grill of VC is touching my ears by a bit, not a big deal but can I fix this with thicker pads? or any other methods

What pads do you have on them?

 

[busseysound]

Good stuff! Another thing to add to this, is the VC sound incredible off a hybrid tube amp (SS & Tube Flavor combined) as well. I own a Rogue RH-5 (Hybrid) and Pendant SE (SET) and I use my VC exclusively with the RH-5. I love the control, speed, impact and detail I get with a quality SS and the massive holographic staging and musicality tubes bring, and the RH-5 combines and excels at both paired with my VC.

I'll second this. I just use a humble MJ2 with Gungnir but the hybrid really gives the best of both worlds with the VC. You get the details from SS and depending on which tubes you roll you can increase the soundstage, smooth out mids and highs, whatever you're looking for. When I started tube rolling (with the great help of Wes and the other guys on the MJ2 impressions thread) I was shocked at how much better details actually came out with certain tubes. With the VC you'll hear all of the subtleties from the different tubes as well.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I received a Pilot Pad today and managed to fit it around the leather strap on my rather hefty Olive VC. It was a tight fit, but the Velcro seems strong enough to keep it in place. It really does make it feel like there’s a pillow on top of your head.

I also got a Co-Pilot Pad and installed it on my Blackwood Auteur. It’s very nice as well, and I can’t say which I prefer at this point. I will say this, the Velcro is much weaker on the Co-Pilot for some reason. Since it’s a bit wider than the Pilot Pad, I think it will stay put without much issue, but only time will tell. Worst case scenario, I’ll take the leather strap off and put it around the headband instead.

The last exciting thing in the package was my long-awaited 2K Copper XLR to 1/4” adapter. Now I can finally use my balanced 2K Copper cable with all my ZMF headphones!

 

[Barnstormer13]

Good stuff! Another thing to add to this, is the VC sound incredible off a hybrid tube amp (SS & Tube Flavor combined) as well. I own a Rogue RH-5 (Hybrid) and Pendant SE (SET) and I use my VC exclusively with the RH-5. I love the control, speed, impact and detail I get with a quality SS and the massive holographic staging and musicality tubes bring, and the RH-5 combines and excels at both paired with my VC.

Forgot about the hybrid option so thanks for mentioning it. It’s a great way to go and generally significantly less expensive than a quality pure tube amp. My Lyr 3 isn’t quite as magical for me as my Woo, but it beats the woo on detail and resolution at a fraction of the price. I haven’t tried rolling different tubes since the one in it now works so well with my Focal Clear, which I don’t like with the Woo