[whirlwind]

How many people here have stabilized woods? I'd actually be very curious to see them in everyday ordinary settings without attempts at fancy photography hanging on a tree branch over the ocean

 

[raindownthunda]

How many people here have stabilized woods? I'd actually be very curious to see them in everyday ordinary settings without attempts at fancy photography hanging on a tree branch over the ocean

 

[YtseJamer]

I have received the Jotunheim 2 yesterday, so it's probably too early to comments on the sound, but I can say that I like what I hear so far.

 

[DeweyCH]

Wow. I can’t wait for mine to ship. My new Auteurs are so fantastic, really looking forward to having just one set of open backs and one of closed, with both being ZMFs.

Hope the second run of stabilized ships soon. Purple power coming my way!

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Those pictures are such beautiful eye candy. I wonder how much those pictures improve the sound quality of the headphones? Haha.

I picked up a Schiit Bifrost 2 this past week and it arrived today. I replaced the modi multibit and my Hugo 2 from the chain and I think I've finally got the sound I have been seeking. Before this DAC upgrade, I was still looking for a bit more warmth in the bass. Even with the bottlehead crack, I needed just a touch more. The Bimby is adding that last missing component of sound. I am using the Universe Pads and this works for most genres of music. I need to pad roll to the Auteur leathers for big band jazz and orchestral music. But, it works great for small combo jazz and piano and violin concertos. The only thing that doesn't sound great is 70s/80s music that is poorly recorded. It doesn't sound bad, it just sounds lifeless.

For me, the perfect system for driving the Verite Closed: Tidal Hifi > Bluesound Node 2i streamer > Schiit Bifrost 2 via optical > Bottlehead crack via RCA > ZMF Verite Closed with Universe leather pads. => Home Run.

 

[Colozeus]

Ugh, so you were the one that bought these out from under me! How dare you! JK, a little, congrats on that pair, they are freaking amazing.

 

[klyrish]

I just posted this over in the Equipment forums and thought I'd share here too since the experience (so far) has been entirely with the Verite C.

==========

I wanted to give my impressions of and experience with a new 10' LQi Esprit Series UP-OCC Silver Plated Copper Headphone Cable that I ordered last week and which arrived yesterday. I am not a shill, I just wanted to share my experience on these barely-mentioned cables to hopefully provide information that could be helpful for someone else in a situation similar to mine.

My setup:
Roon Core (2014 MacBook Pro) -> AudioQuest Carbon USB cable -> X-SPDIF 2 (w/LPS) -> Better Cables Silver Serpent II XLR used for AES -> Sonnet Morpheus XLR (BC Silver Serpent II) -> EAR HP4 Low-Z -> ZMF Verite C (& Atticus but I haven't tried this cable with the Atticus yet because the Verite C sound too good)

Note: both sets of headphones sound terrible through the HP4's high-Z jacks.

I have a ZMF OFC cable from the Verite C and bought a ZMF Lektrik S as well and had been reasonably happy with the change in sound from going OFC to Lektrik S but did not like that it was only a 5' cable. I definitely noticed that highs have better definition while being smoother and the stage is a hair more expansive vs. the OFC cable but the differences were minor, as expected with cables. I started looking around at a number of premium cable companies and getting a 10' one put the price around $1000 minimum for pretty much every cable I found except for the Silver Dragon and LQi. After reading some things about the Silver Dragon around here, I wasn't all that excited about the thought of getting one.

I took a chance on LQi and am so glad I did.

The differences and improvements were immediately apparent upon swapping out the Lektrik S for the Espirit. I'd been reading a lot about the holographic strengths of the Morpheus but to date hadn't heard anything that was much more impressive than the Bifrost 2 it replaced. Suddenly, there was height, depth, and positioning was fully 3D. It wasn't a subtle change at all. I listened to some NIN and Enter Shikari to hear how heavily-layered and processed tracks sounded and was absolutely blown away by how much better separation of layers and placement of instruments was through this cable. The Espirit showed just how flat and unimpressive the stage had been with the OFC and Lektrik S cables.

I left everything on overnight with music playing to burn the cable in as it's recommended on the product page to give 50 hours for the cable to reach its final sonic form. This morning, bass had become much more impactful and tight; dynamics have increased dramatically, and microdetail abounds. Again, these aren't subtle changes. I lost count of how many times I've said, "Oh wow..." this morning while listening to tracks I'm already intimately familiar with.

I'm legitimately shocked by how much of an impact this cable has had. Switching back to the OFC or Lektrik S is just as jarring: everything is flatter and more congested, dynamics are weaker, and bass becomes much flabbier and less detailed.

I fully believe in the effect that cables can have on the chain and generally agree that the impact is minimal but there is something about this LQi cable in this chain that makes the entire thing far more than the sum of all its parts. The synergy is incredible and my headphones have never felt or sounded more alive--and I didn't really think anything was lacking before. LQi is definitely worth consideration for an aftermarket cable. Even if you don't get the dramatic positive change like I've experienced so far, the price is very hard to argue.

 

[Barnstormer13]

I just posted this over in the Equipment forums and thought I'd share here too since the experience (so far) has been entirely with the Verite C.

==========

I wanted to give my impressions of and experience with a new 10' LQi Esprit Series UP-OCC Silver Plated Copper Headphone Cable that I ordered last week and which arrived yesterday. I am not a shill, I just wanted to share my experience on these barely-mentioned cables to hopefully provide information that could be helpful for someone else in a situation similar to mine.

My setup:
Roon Core (2014 MacBook Pro) -> AudioQuest Carbon USB cable -> X-SPDIF 2 (w/LPS) -> Better Cables Silver Serpent II XLR used for AES -> Sonnet Morpheus XLR (BC Silver Serpent II) -> EAR HP4 Low-Z -> ZMF Verite C (& Atticus but I haven't tried this cable with the Atticus yet because the Verite C sound too good)

Note: both sets of headphones sound terrible through the HP4's high-Z jacks.

I have a ZMF OFC cable from the Verite C and bought a ZMF Lektrik S as well and had been reasonably happy with the change in sound from going OFC to Lektrik S but did not like that it was only a 5' cable. I definitely noticed that highs have better definition while being smoother and the stage is a hair more expansive vs. the OFC cable but the differences were minor, as expected with cables. I started looking around at a number of premium cable companies and getting a 10' one put the price around $1000 minimum for pretty much every cable I found except for the Silver Dragon and LQi. After reading some things about the Silver Dragon around here, I wasn't all that excited about the thought of getting one.

I took a chance on LQi and am so glad I did.

The differences and improvements were immediately apparent upon swapping out the Lektrik S for the Espirit. I'd been reading a lot about the holographic strengths of the Morpheus but to date hadn't heard anything that was much more impressive than the Bifrost 2 it replaced. Suddenly, there was height, depth, and positioning was fully 3D. It wasn't a subtle change at all. I listened to some NIN and Enter Shikari to hear how heavily-layered and processed tracks sounded and was absolutely blown away by how much better separation of layers and placement of instruments was through this cable. The Espirit showed just how flat and unimpressive the stage had been with the OFC and Lektrik S cables.

I left everything on overnight with music playing to burn the cable in as it's recommended on the product page to give 50 hours for the cable to reach its final sonic form. This morning, bass had become much more impactful and tight; dynamics have increased dramatically, and microdetail abounds. Again, these aren't subtle changes. I lost count of how many times I've said, "Oh wow..." this morning while listening to tracks I'm already intimately familiar with.

I'm legitimately shocked by how much of an impact this cable has had. Switching back to the OFC or Lektrik S is just as jarring: everything is flatter and more congested, dynamics are weaker, and bass becomes much flabbier and less detailed.

I fully believe in the effect that cables can have on the chain and generally agree that the impact is minimal but there is something about this LQi cable in this chain that makes the entire thing far more than the sum of all its parts. The synergy is incredible and my headphones have never felt or sounded more alive--and I didn't really think anything was lacking before. LQi is definitely worth consideration for an aftermarket cable. Even if you don't get the dramatic positive change like I've experienced so far, the price is very hard to argue.

I’ve been buying LQI cables for years. Can’t honestly say I hear any difference between one cable and the next, but LQIs are extremely well made, very flexible,not microphonic, and come in a wide variety of colors.

I mention them whenever people ask for a recommendation. Bonus, they usually ship fairly quickly. I ordered one on Monday for my Verite C and they shipped Tuesday. That’s a little faster than they usually do, but they’ve never taken more than a few days to make and ship.

 

[Audioraider]

I just posted this over in the Equipment forums and thought I'd share here too since the experience (so far) has been entirely with the Verite C.

==========

I wanted to give my impressions of and experience with a new 10' LQi Esprit Series UP-OCC Silver Plated Copper Headphone Cable that I ordered last week and which arrived yesterday. I am not a shill, I just wanted to share my experience on these barely-mentioned cables to hopefully provide information that could be helpful for someone else in a situation similar to mine.

My setup:
Roon Core (2014 MacBook Pro) -> AudioQuest Carbon USB cable -> X-SPDIF 2 (w/LPS) -> Better Cables Silver Serpent II XLR used for AES -> Sonnet Morpheus XLR (BC Silver Serpent II) -> EAR HP4 Low-Z -> ZMF Verite C (& Atticus but I haven't tried this cable with the Atticus yet because the Verite C sound too good)

Note: both sets of headphones sound terrible through the HP4's high-Z jacks.

I have a ZMF OFC cable from the Verite C and bought a ZMF Lektrik S as well and had been reasonably happy with the change in sound from going OFC to Lektrik S but did not like that it was only a 5' cable. I definitely noticed that highs have better definition while being smoother and the stage is a hair more expansive vs. the OFC cable but the differences were minor, as expected with cables. I started looking around at a number of premium cable companies and getting a 10' one put the price around $1000 minimum for pretty much every cable I found except for the Silver Dragon and LQi. After reading some things about the Silver Dragon around here, I wasn't all that excited about the thought of getting one.

I took a chance on LQi and am so glad I did.

The differences and improvements were immediately apparent upon swapping out the Lektrik S for the Espirit. I'd been reading a lot about the holographic strengths of the Morpheus but to date hadn't heard anything that was much more impressive than the Bifrost 2 it replaced. Suddenly, there was height, depth, and positioning was fully 3D. It wasn't a subtle change at all. I listened to some NIN and Enter Shikari to hear how heavily-layered and processed tracks sounded and was absolutely blown away by how much better separation of layers and placement of instruments was through this cable. The Espirit showed just how flat and unimpressive the stage had been with the OFC and Lektrik S cables.

I left everything on overnight with music playing to burn the cable in as it's recommended on the product page to give 50 hours for the cable to reach its final sonic form. This morning, bass had become much more impactful and tight; dynamics have increased dramatically, and microdetail abounds. Again, these aren't subtle changes. I lost count of how many times I've said, "Oh wow..." this morning while listening to tracks I'm already intimately familiar with.

I'm legitimately shocked by how much of an impact this cable has had. Switching back to the OFC or Lektrik S is just as jarring: everything is flatter and more congested, dynamics are weaker, and bass becomes much flabbier and less detailed.

I fully believe in the effect that cables can have on the chain and generally agree that the impact is minimal but there is something about this LQi cable in this chain that makes the entire thing far more than the sum of all its parts. The synergy is incredible and my headphones have never felt or sounded more alive--and I didn't really think anything was lacking before. LQi is definitely worth consideration for an aftermarket cable. Even if you don't get the dramatic positive change like I've experienced so far, the price is very hard to argue.

Thank you for the write up. You have poked the hornets nest so you might want to duck and cover... A lot of people here can’t hear the difference between cables so they will declare very loudly that you can’t either. Kind of like me, at 53, telling a 25 year old that 18kHZ doesn’t exist because I cant hear it so they must have a preconceived bias, be delusional, wishful thinking etc if they say they do. Don‘t let them shout you down, just pity them. If they can’t hear the difference in cables imagine how much of the music they are missing.

 

[MatW]

Thank you for the write up. You might want to duck and cover... A lot of people here can’t tell the difference between cables so they will declare very loudly that you can’t either. Kind of like me, at 53, telling a 25 year old that 18kHZ doesn’t exist because I cant hear it so they must have a preconceived bias, be delusional, wishful thinking etc. Don‘t let them shout you down, just pity them. If they can’t hear the difference in cables imagine how much of the music they are missing.

Yes, hearing deterioration with age is an unescapable fact. Which is also why I do not take audio reviewers over a certain age seriously. Nothing they can do about that ... just a fact of life.

EDIT: to be clear, I was only responding to the relationship between age and hearing. I have no desire to take part in any debate on cables...

 

[Audioraider]

Yes, hearing deterioration with age is an unescapable fact. Which is also why I do not take audio reviewers over a certain age seriously. Nothing they can do about that ... just a fact of life.

LOL, yup every year those HD800‘s get warmer and warmer! fortunately I can still hear substantial differences between cables but I know someday I will probably be declaring that they aLL sound the same and yelling at those damn kids to get off my lawn!

 

[Colozeus]

I just posted this over in the Equipment forums and thought I'd share here too since the experience (so far) has been entirely with the Verite C.

==========

I wanted to give my impressions of and experience with a new 10' LQi Esprit Series UP-OCC Silver Plated Copper Headphone Cable that I ordered last week and which arrived yesterday. I am not a shill, I just wanted to share my experience on these barely-mentioned cables to hopefully provide information that could be helpful for someone else in a situation similar to mine.

My setup:
Roon Core (2014 MacBook Pro) -> AudioQuest Carbon USB cable -> X-SPDIF 2 (w/LPS) -> Better Cables Silver Serpent II XLR used for AES -> Sonnet Morpheus XLR (BC Silver Serpent II) -> EAR HP4 Low-Z -> ZMF Verite C (& Atticus but I haven't tried this cable with the Atticus yet because the Verite C sound too good)

Note: both sets of headphones sound terrible through the HP4's high-Z jacks.

I have a ZMF OFC cable from the Verite C and bought a ZMF Lektrik S as well and had been reasonably happy with the change in sound from going OFC to Lektrik S but did not like that it was only a 5' cable. I definitely noticed that highs have better definition while being smoother and the stage is a hair more expansive vs. the OFC cable but the differences were minor, as expected with cables. I started looking around at a number of premium cable companies and getting a 10' one put the price around $1000 minimum for pretty much every cable I found except for the Silver Dragon and LQi. After reading some things about the Silver Dragon around here, I wasn't all that excited about the thought of getting one.

I took a chance on LQi and am so glad I did.

The differences and improvements were immediately apparent upon swapping out the Lektrik S for the Espirit. I'd been reading a lot about the holographic strengths of the Morpheus but to date hadn't heard anything that was much more impressive than the Bifrost 2 it replaced. Suddenly, there was height, depth, and positioning was fully 3D. It wasn't a subtle change at all. I listened to some NIN and Enter Shikari to hear how heavily-layered and processed tracks sounded and was absolutely blown away by how much better separation of layers and placement of instruments was through this cable. The Espirit showed just how flat and unimpressive the stage had been with the OFC and Lektrik S cables.

I left everything on overnight with music playing to burn the cable in as it's recommended on the product page to give 50 hours for the cable to reach its final sonic form. This morning, bass had become much more impactful and tight; dynamics have increased dramatically, and microdetail abounds. Again, these aren't subtle changes. I lost count of how many times I've said, "Oh wow..." this morning while listening to tracks I'm already intimately familiar with.

I'm legitimately shocked by how much of an impact this cable has had. Switching back to the OFC or Lektrik S is just as jarring: everything is flatter and more congested, dynamics are weaker, and bass becomes much flabbier and less detailed.

I fully believe in the effect that cables can have on the chain and generally agree that the impact is minimal but there is something about this LQi cable in this chain that makes the entire thing far more than the sum of all its parts. The synergy is incredible and my headphones have never felt or sounded more alive--and I didn't really think anything was lacking before. LQi is definitely worth consideration for an aftermarket cable. Even if you don't get the dramatic positive change like I've experienced so far, the price is very hard to argue.

Happy that they work well for you! Now go put on some body armor. :-D

 

[YtseJamer]

No disrespect to anyone here, but peoples that believe in magic fairies and voodoo will always continue to believe in it, and I respect that. But I don't understand why these discussions are not part of another thread outside of this one? I know that there's a good thread about high-end cables here.

 

[Galapac]

Same could be said for multiple posts about music tastes and choices which should be posted here if we are splitting hairs, no disrespect.

 

[erpguru]

Hey all, wanted someone's opinion. I have an Audeze LCD-4 and am looking for a warm/musical closed back. I was considering the Verite closed back or just getting another Audeze like the LCD-2c or LCD-Xc. As I really love the bass and speed of a planar driver, would the Verite be something that I would enjoy? Anyone had both sets of cans and can compare them?