[YtseJamer]

Now that’s not fair. No one’s suggested starting a new thread for pad discussions.

It's because changing the pads can and will change the sound for real

 

[Beagle]

That is called expectation bias. You told her she would hear a difference, then she did. Not surprising. I have really nice Kimber speaker cable, and a nice Kimber interconnect and I have never been able to notice a difference in sound versus inexpensive stock cable types. Have your wife do 10 to 15 trials, blind and with no hints from you. Instruct her that you may not even switch the cables during some trials. Make darn sure she has no way of knowing when you switch cables, no clues at all. After 15 blind listening trials if with at least a 90% discrimination result you will have some evidence. Sighted listening tests are absolutely useless.

At that point, she would probably have strangled him with one of the cables..

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

For those of you who have the ZMF Verite Closed and have other ZMF headphones as well, which ones do you have any why do you keep them all? Which ones get the majority of your listening time? I am trying to learn the different sound signatures and how people listen with these headphones.

 

[zach915m]

@ProfFalkin - just checked your last FM link in your bio - you've been listening to some good stuff!

Here's a track that reminds me of Tab Benoit "Medicine," by the Steel Woods, I LOVE Tab Benoit BTW.



People often ask me what I listen to when tuning a headphone - and there's tons of music/genre's that I test headphones with that I also enjoy - but when I'm kicking back and trying not to perseverate over headphone tuning (it's hard) I listen to stuff like this. I know @whirlwind approves!

And just BC I can't help myself and your Last.FM profile made me thick of this one:



I'll stop now...!

 

[jurumal]

Actually, a dedicated "ZMF Accessories: Review impressions and discussion" thread would be perfect. That way we can keep this thread on topic. You know, talk about the actual headphones, not talk directly about cables and how they might (or might not) coincidentally affect the sound of a headphone.

Besides, the cable discussion rarely stays civil. The ultrasubjectivist vs snake-oil crowds will make sure of it.

Personally, I would rather discuss the sonic merits of wet farts than see another cable debate explode like so much diarrhea in another one of these threads. Just my $0.02.

I can see the reasoning of maintaining civility between the cable believers and non-believers, but with regards to a separate thread, I disagree (civilly of course).

Whether or not there are sonic differences between woods for example, the mentioning of those opinions here aren’t unwelcome.

Whether we choose to believe that there are or are not sonic differences between cables, pads, or woods, at the end of the day it’s all about one’s own individual subjective experience. It’s okay to politely disagree with someone who doesn’t share the same experience as us.

The key with these discussions is in what you mentioned, staying civil.

And talking about the VC cause it’s awesome amirite!

Edit: fixed spelling “welcom”

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I am shocked that there is a hatfields and mccoy's feud going on between the various cable factions. We don't seem to have those types of feuds going on with ear tips or ear pads. But cables bring out the inner most passions of so many people for some strange reason. I guess the bottom line for me is that we like what we like because we like it. I might buy a cable because I like how it feels in my hand. Why does anyone else care?

 

[ProfFalkin]

@ProfFalkin - just checked your last FM link in your bio - you've been listening to some good stuff!

Here's a track that reminds me of Tab Benoit "Medicine," by the Steel Woods, I LOVE Tab Benoit BTW.



People often ask me what I listen to when tuning a headphone - and there's tons of music/genre's that I test headphones with that I also enjoy - but when I'm kicking back and trying not to perseverate over headphone tuning (it's hard) I listen to stuff like this. I know @whirlwind approves!

And just BC I can't help myself and your Last.FM profile made me thick of this one:



I'll stop now...!

Thanks for the links! Exploring more of Steel Woods now. Much appreciated

And yeah, Tab is awesome! I don't have nearly enough of him in my library though. Need to fix that pronto.

Oh, hey... @zach915m ... I lent my VC to a friend yesterday. You know who he is. He's been bombarding my text messages all day about it. You're probably going to get an email from him soon. LOL

 

[Monsterzero]

@ProfFalkin - just checked your last FM link in your bio - you've been listening to some good stuff!

Here's a track that reminds me of Tab Benoit "Medicine," by the Steel Woods, I LOVE Tab Benoit BTW.



People often ask me what I listen to when tuning a headphone - and there's tons of music/genre's that I test headphones with that I also enjoy - but when I'm kicking back and trying not to perseverate over headphone tuning (it's hard) I listen to stuff like this. I know @whirlwind approves!

And just BC I can't help myself and your Last.FM profile made me thick of this one:



I'll stop now...!

I love The Steel Woods. They tour often with Blackberry Smoke, one of my fav bands.

@zach915m we really need to discuss bluegrass at some point. I'd like to delve deeper

 

[Monsterzero]

My fav Tab Benoit song

 

[YtseJamer]

You should also try Joe Bonamassa, this song sounds really good with the VC.

 

[jjflemin]

I am shocked that there is a hatfields and mccoy's feud going on between the various cable factions. We don't seem to have those types of feuds going on with ear tips or ear pads. But cables bring out the inner most passions of so many people for some strange reason. I guess the bottom line for me is that we like what we like because we like it. I might buy a cable because I like how it feels in my hand. Why does anyone else care?

I think the difference is the ability to measure changes with tips (fit) and pads in a concrete way. I recently got into cable making and personally can't here differences between connector types, cable types, etc., but I definitely like seeing a beautiful cable on my desk!

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I think the difference is the ability to measure changes with tips (fit) and pads in a concrete way. I recently got into cable making and personally can't here differences between connector types, cable types, etc., but I definitely like seeing a beautiful cable on my desk!

People are just as susceptible to confirmation/expectation bias on everything in audio. I just heard a critical reviewer admit that he and other very experienced audio engineers get tricked by their own biases and expectations. One example was he eq'ed a track and said the change made it perfect, then he noticed that the EQ was off, so he tricked himself into believing the changes he made changed the sound for the better. This is not just limited to cables. But, cables brings out the worst in people.

 

[jjflemin]

That's exactly the point! With pads you can see a change on a graph, cables not so much. So when people claim a percentage difference with something immeasurable it brings out the worst in people who are against it. I know that we can't measure absolutely everything and don't care what people spend their money on as long as they are happy with their purchase or learned something from it, lol.

People are just as susceptible to confirmation/expectation bias on everything in audio. I just heard a critical reviewer admit that he and other very experienced audio engineers get tricked by their own biases and expectations. One example was he eq'ed a track and said the change made it perfect, then he noticed that the EQ was off, so he tricked himself into believing the changes he made changed the sound for the better. This is not just limited to cables. But, cables brings out the worst in people.

To keep it slightly more on topic, I use both a VC and Auteur pretty much equally. My biggest differentiating factor is whether I need isolation or want to have some more awareness of my surroundings, followed closely by the type of listening I am doing. I love all genres on both, but tend use the VC for more critical listening or if I really want to get lost in the music.

 

[robo24]

For those of you who have the ZMF Verite Closed and have other ZMF headphones as well, which ones do you have and why do you keep them all? Which ones get the majority of your listening time? I am trying to learn the different sound signatures and how people listen with these headphones.

I've had them all and still have 5. Initially only bought used, knowing I could re-sell easily if I didn't want to keep them. I found not only did I want to keep them, but in a couple cases get more limited ones & Magnesium chassis for those that didn't come stock. My frequency of use has kind of balanced out though overall match the order in which I first got a pair with newest being used most.

From the VC, the most different is probably the Auteur with Eikon Suedes, being open and more neutral and probably the least colored. I tend to use it less for tracks that are harsh in the treble, but use it as a good all arounder. I use non-Verites on crappy recordings, since all the others are more forgiving, or when I just want more easy listens where my brain isn't trying to keep up with all the details. I also just love vocals on the Auteur, as they're more central and prominent.

Since getting the VC I find myself using the VO more. VC or other closed ones at night since our coqui frogs here tend to greatly interfere at night.

I probably put more emphasis on variety in general (as with trying out different coffees, specialty chocolate, and such from a same company) than many people. I did this with Sennheisers too when first starting out, and kept my favorites. With all the pad options, it makes for many, many optional sounds from the same 5.

As for cables, I've bought special ZMF ones given the discount when also ordering a headphone, but more to match aesthetically than anything else.

 

[YtseJamer]

Another song from Joe B