ZMF Verite Closed-New Closed Back ZMF Flagship.
Jan 13, 2020 at 9:30 PM Post #2,012 of 12,391
If one more person writes a review for these without sharing pics of their gorgeous pair, I think I'm going to scream.
Pshaw I say.

I refuse to sully up this thread and degrade the striking beauty of Zach's hand crafted masterpieces with my amateurish low rez snapshots. If you want some good pics, go to his website, or use Google.

Plus I'm awfully lazy
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Jan 14, 2020 at 1:58 AM Post #2,013 of 12,391
I've been thinking about a cable upgrade for my VC, but I need a minimum of 10' for my setup and they start to get expensive at that length. Which cable do you prefer with yours? I know some manufacturers offer returns, so that can help.

My cables are all diy, made by a guy in Philippines. I used a 8 core silver for VC (not silver occ - the price too rich for my blood), 8 core occ copper for Eikon, 8 core silver/copper hybrid for Atticus. Luckily I ordered 3 instead of 1 as I originally wanted the copper for VC, hybrid for Eikon and silver for Atticus. It was a blind purchase that turned out well in the end. Total price of 3 cables all terminated in 4.4 balanced was USD 560, cables are all sleeved
 
Jan 14, 2020 at 9:13 AM Post #2,014 of 12,391
My cables are all diy, made by a guy in Philippines. I used a 8 core silver for VC (not silver occ - the price too rich for my blood), 8 core occ copper for Eikon, 8 core silver/copper hybrid for Atticus. Luckily I ordered 3 instead of 1 as I originally wanted the copper for VC, hybrid for Eikon and silver for Atticus. It was a blind purchase that turned out well in the end. Total price of 3 cables all terminated in 4.4 balanced was USD 560, cables are all sleeved

Could you share some pics and/or how to contact the guy? Thanks :D
 
Jan 14, 2020 at 10:33 AM Post #2,015 of 12,391
The Verite is reminding me how important a strong chain is at this level of performance. This week I had quite a head slap moment....

Backstory - When deciding on buying a VC, I took my best dac home to box up and sell, to help fund the VC. That dac is the Ayre Codex. I have a Metrum Amethyst coming in for an extended loan in a month or so, so figured I can just swap in one of my cheaper dacs from the house while I wait for the Metrum, which was my Grace m9xx. I always found the Grace dac to be a nice dac, smooth, a touch warm, and very inoffensive. That was mainly with midfi headphones though. It was never used in a high performance system. When the VC arrived there were things that were bothering me a bit. Glare in the treble, harshness at times, and just an overall frustrating treble response, not to mention slightly stiff bass. Always liking the Grace in the past, I never thought it was the culprit, I just assumed it was me learning the VC.

Fast forward a few months, and the Codex is not selling. It's not well known, somewhat expensive, and kind of an odd design. It has gotten zero attention, other than a few people trying to steal it from me for $500 or less. So I gave up selling it and brought it back to work to replace the Grace.

Slap my head! All the sonic issues i was having with the VC were due to the Grace dac. I was shocked by how much better everything sounded with the Codex back in the mix. Glare and harshness? Nope! Stiff bass? Not at all, finely textured and responsive. Not only was it far smoother and more organic sounding, but it was also more detailed. Lesson learned - I AM AN IDIOT.... (you'd think i'd remember that by now....)

I'm rediscovering the VC as we speak. This headphone really demands a quality chain behind it. I was quite taken aback by just how significant the dac change was. The Auteur and Atticus were much more forgiving of the Grace dac in the system, but the VC ruthlessly exposed it's flaws. I sold my beloved Auteur yesterday to fund a higher end amp to go with the Codex/VC, excited to hear what changes that will bring!

EDIT - I really disliked the Auteur pads on the VC when I got it, and switched to the Universe pads pretty quickly. Well i'm listening to the Auteur pads again as the Codex has cleaned up much of what I didn't like, and I'm liking it! I still like the closer stage and stronger bass slam of the Universe pads, but I don't dislike the Auteur pads anymore.
 
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Jan 14, 2020 at 12:59 PM Post #2,016 of 12,391
The Verite is reminding me how important a strong chain is at this level of performance. This week I had quite a head slap moment....

Backstory - When deciding on buying a VC, I took my best dac home to box up and sell, to help fund the VC. That dac is the Ayre Codex. I have a Metrum Amethyst coming in for an extended loan in a month or so, so figured I can just swap in one of my cheaper dacs from the house while I wait for the Metrum, which was my Grace m9xx. I always found the Grace dac to be a nice dac, smooth, a touch warm, and very inoffensive. That was mainly with midfi headphones though. It was never used in a high performance system. When the VC arrived there were things that were bothering me a bit. Glare in the treble, harshness at times, and just an overall frustrating treble response, not to mention slightly stiff bass. Always liking the Grace in the past, I never thought it was the culprit, I just assumed it was me learning the VC.

Fast forward a few months, and the Codex is not selling. It's not well known, somewhat expensive, and kind of an odd design. It has gotten zero attention, other than a few people trying to steal it from me for $500 or less. So I gave up selling it and brought it back to work to replace the Grace.

Slap my head! All the sonic issues i was having with the VC were due to the Grace dac. I was shocked by how much better everything sounded with the Codex back in the mix. Glare and harshness? Nope! Stiff bass? Not at all, finely textured and responsive. Not only was it far smoother and more organic sounding, but it was also more detailed. Lesson learned - I AM AN IDIOT.... (you'd think i'd remember that by now....)

I'm rediscovering the VC as we speak. This headphone really demands a quality chain behind it. I was quite taken aback by just how significant the dac change was. The Auteur and Atticus were much more forgiving of the Grace dac in the system, but the VC ruthlessly exposed it's flaws. I sold my beloved Auteur yesterday to fund a higher end amp to go with the Codex/VC, excited to hear what changes that will bring!

EDIT - I really disliked the Auteur pads on the VC when I got it, and switched to the Universe pads pretty quickly. Well i'm listening to the Auteur pads again as the Codex has cleaned up much of what I didn't like, and I'm liking it! I still like the closer stage and stronger bass slam of the Universe pads, but I don't dislike the Auteur pads anymore.
I have found the same to be true,but I will take it one step further.
My upstream hardware is very good,but I had found the 2K cable to add grain to the equation vs.the stock cable. During the interconnect video I did about a month ago I had some very nice(and expensive)RCAs,USB and power cables at my disposal to roll in and hear. Once the USB,RCAs and power cables that I own were replaced the 2K cable suddenly went from a grainy mess to a three dimensional star.

All that being said,the VC is still not kind to poorly recorded or mastered songs. It is the proverbial double edged sword that comes with such a revealing and technical marvel that is the VC.
 
Jan 14, 2020 at 1:57 PM Post #2,017 of 12,391
I have also done some pad swapping on VC lately. I am finding the Hybrid Auteur pads a happy medium between Auteur and Universal pads. The right amount of detail from the Auteur pads with a little but of the fun from the Universal pads. The Hybrid pads sound best on my Schiit Lyr 2 amp. On my Schiit MJ2 all pads sound great. Most likely due to the increase in power of the MJ2. Just guessing though. I am using the same tubes on both amps (TungSol 2C51). Also Lyr2 is softer/warmer which I prefer less than what I am hearing out of MJ2. Just no room next to my bed for the MJ2. And next to me in bed would be a little hot :)
 
Jan 14, 2020 at 3:38 PM Post #2,018 of 12,391
The Verite is reminding me how important a strong chain is at this level of performance. This week I had quite a head slap moment....

Backstory - When deciding on buying a VC, I took my best dac home to box up and sell, to help fund the VC. That dac is the Ayre Codex. I have a Metrum Amethyst coming in for an extended loan in a month or so, so figured I can just swap in one of my cheaper dacs from the house while I wait for the Metrum, which was my Grace m9xx. I always found the Grace dac to be a nice dac, smooth, a touch warm, and very inoffensive. That was mainly with midfi headphones though. It was never used in a high performance system. When the VC arrived there were things that were bothering me a bit. Glare in the treble, harshness at times, and just an overall frustrating treble response, not to mention slightly stiff bass. Always liking the Grace in the past, I never thought it was the culprit, I just assumed it was me learning the VC.

Fast forward a few months, and the Codex is not selling. It's not well known, somewhat expensive, and kind of an odd design. It has gotten zero attention, other than a few people trying to steal it from me for $500 or less. So I gave up selling it and brought it back to work to replace the Grace.

Slap my head! All the sonic issues i was having with the VC were due to the Grace dac. I was shocked by how much better everything sounded with the Codex back in the mix. Glare and harshness? Nope! Stiff bass? Not at all, finely textured and responsive. Not only was it far smoother and more organic sounding, but it was also more detailed. Lesson learned - I AM AN IDIOT.... (you'd think i'd remember that by now....)

I'm rediscovering the VC as we speak. This headphone really demands a quality chain behind it. I was quite taken aback by just how significant the dac change was. The Auteur and Atticus were much more forgiving of the Grace dac in the system, but the VC ruthlessly exposed it's flaws. I sold my beloved Auteur yesterday to fund a higher end amp to go with the Codex/VC, excited to hear what changes that will bring!

EDIT - I really disliked the Auteur pads on the VC when I got it, and switched to the Universe pads pretty quickly. Well i'm listening to the Auteur pads again as the Codex has cleaned up much of what I didn't like, and I'm liking it! I still like the closer stage and stronger bass slam of the Universe pads, but I don't dislike the Auteur pads anymore.
Thanks @erics75, we can all learn from your experience. For interest, what high end amp did you go with?
 
Jan 14, 2020 at 3:52 PM Post #2,019 of 12,391
Thanks @erics75, we can all learn from your experience. For interest, what high end amp did you go with?
The amp is still up in the air, I haven't decided yet. I'm really interested in a good OTL like a Decware, Ampandsound, Eddie Current, Dragon, or Glenn (and possibly more, still researching). BUT... I do love solid state amps and am really really interested in the Headamp GSX Mini. I like the idea of not having to deal with obsessing over tubes (which i will...). But so many have said high end tube amps bring the most from their ZMF, so i'm hesitating. i'm also hoping i can hit up a meet or two locally if there are any coming up so i can sample some different models.

I'm also all ears on any suggestions if anyone has any. if i had to give a harder answer i'd say i'm 50/50 right now on the GSX Mini and a Decware CSP3, though that's going to change, i'm sure.
 
Jan 14, 2020 at 5:25 PM Post #2,021 of 12,391
I like the idea of not having to deal with obsessing over tubes (which i will...).
Yes, you will :)

really really interested in the Headamp GSX Mini
A great solid state amp! Would have already bought one, if I had room (or budget) for yet another amp :wink:
 
Jan 15, 2020 at 12:08 AM Post #2,022 of 12,391
Sorry for the red...but this was in reference to how I feel the aesthetic of the Fidelice stuff looks like H.A.L. From 2001: A Space Odyssey

the VC is my go to for majority of my listening to demo gear...usually will swap between it, my VO and Aeolus...ZMF headphones just hit the right spot for me. Love these headphones, wish more people could hear them lol....but then ZMF will be swamped even more so than they are...catch 22 :wink: lol seriously though I hope they continue this upward rise, they deserve it!

4A4514AD-B83B-407C-833E-1A9CA4B9CCDF.jpeg
 
Jan 15, 2020 at 5:29 AM Post #2,023 of 12,391
Sorry for the red...but this was in reference to how I feel the aesthetic of the Fidelice stuff looks like H.A.L. From 2001: A Space Odyssey

the VC is my go to for majority of my listening to demo gear...usually will swap between it, my VO and Aeolus...ZMF headphones just hit the right spot for me. Love these headphones, wish more people could hear them lol....but then ZMF will be swamped even more so than they are...catch 22 :wink: lol seriously though I hope they continue this upward rise, they deserve it!

Nice! Did you swap out the SPL/RME combo for the Fidelice?
 
Jan 15, 2020 at 7:41 AM Post #2,024 of 12,391
Nice! Did you swap out the SPL/RME combo for the Fidelice?
No, that is still my “reference setup” I was just demoing the Fidelice gear... it is really good, but doesn’t replace my Phonitor RME combo. Maybe if the price was more in line... also that Fidelice DAC is massive! It competed well with my reference system, but aesthetically and cost performance wise it wasn’t for me.

But, it did grow on me aesthetically, and I actually kind of miss the beast on my audio shelf lol. I still have the smaller amp and really starting to dig on the aesthetics. I see people buying the Fidelice stuff for as much the name, and performance as the look/art of its form/look

Also, the volume knobs are an awesome color and look, especially in person... I have a couple more pictures of it on my Instagram if anyone is interested you can check them out here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Fk7P6ppc2/?igshid=1cwq3obh8yp4a
 
Jan 15, 2020 at 11:22 AM Post #2,025 of 12,391
Anyone tried the new Universal Hybrid pads compared to the Auteur Hybrid?
 

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