[shafat777]

Thanks for the sharing. This can be helpful.

I got Auteur Solid / Auteur Hybrid / Verite BE2 Lamb Solid / Universe Solid, and now have Auteur Solid on the headphones. After reading your impression, will try out the Hybrid!

How about Eikon Suede (non-perf)? Haven't seen any recommendation on this pad, but based on ZReview's video, he strongly recommended it. He even said the VC doesn't sound so good with the stock pads.

To be honest, i dont really listen to Z. His reviews are all over the place.

From my personal extensive experience with zmf pads, Eikon pads are bass heavy. I have tried it with my VC, and Auteur. They up the mid bass a lot, making it punchy and slammy. The VC, being a closed back HP will be bass heavy to begin with. What i wanted to do with my VC is to control the bass a little. Make it punchy and not too boomy. One way to do that is to have the biggest opening in the pads. The Auteur does that. However, lambkin pads tend to up the bass a little because of their reflective nature. Thats why the Stock Auteur lambskin pads didnt cut it for me. When I tried the Auteur hybrids, I immediately felt the bass tightened up a little. Also, due to the suede, the mids and treble became smoother and less sharp, which resulted in an overall natural sounding tone.

I personally have not tried the suede eikons but i can see how that can sound relaxing. In the future, i might buy a pair just to check it out but for now, I am perfectly happy with the Auteurs (hybrid and lambskin) based on the type of tubes i roll with my Elise OTL.

 

[PrTv]

Zeppelin & Co's service is top notch and we are really fortunate to have such distributor in SG, in fact I almost put down my money to pre-order one set of VC stabilized too, but in the end can't really justify to own two pairs of VC.

Your pair is one of the most stand out one in terms of colour vibrant. Congrats! And wow I can see you have so many pairs of pad to rotate with. My favourite is the universe hybrid and auteur hybrid. Changing them and recognizing them can be a bit taunting at first but I'm sure you will be getting good at it. Enjoy!

Thanks!

And yes, Zeppelin's service is top notch. I live in Thailand and SG is the closest location I can order the ZMF. My first pair of VO Silkwood was from them, followed by multiple pairs of VC Olive/VC Stabilized/Aeolus/VO Sapele, for my friends here. Got them all from them, and their staff did all they can to facilitate us. My friend's Aeolus had an issue and Zeppelin sent FedEx to collect the Aeolus at their expense (and it's not cheap). I have nothing but praise for their excellent service.

To be honest, i dont really listen to Z. His reviews are all over the place.

From my personal extensive experience with zmf pads, Eikon pads are bass heavy. I have tried it with my VC, and Auteur. They up the mid bass a lot, making it punchy and slammy. The VC, being a closed back HP will be bass heavy to begin with. What i wanted to do with my VC is to control the bass a little. Make it punchy and not too boomy. One way to do that is to have the biggest opening in the pads. The Auteur does that. However, lambkin pads tend to up the bass a little because of their reflective nature. Thats why the Stock Auteur lambskin pads didnt cut it for me. When I tried the Auteur hybrids, I immediately felt the bass tightened up a little. Also, due to the suede, the mids and treble became smoother and less sharp, which resulted in an overall natural sounding tone.

I personally have not tried the suede eikons but i can see how that can sound relaxing. In the future, i might buy a pair just to check it out but for now, I am perfectly happy with the Auteurs (hybrid and lambskin) based on the type of tubes i roll with my Elise OTL.

Thanks for your observation! I tend to agree with your view re: ZReview. I think he and I generally have different tastes when it comes to music and how the music should sound. That said, his high praise made me skeptical and made me want to try this pad out.

 

[Aenemo]

For the the last Few days, i have been trying out different pads for the VC. My current and favorite pad is the Auteur hybrid solid. These give me the widest soundstage, best balance between air and sparkle on the top end. The bass is dep, punchy and controlled with minimal boomyness.

After reading many rave reviews on the Universe pads (solid and hybrid). The universe pad is my least favorite. It has elevated mids and a super punchy bass but the sounstage is narrow. It also loses the Sparkle and some of the air. As a result, vocals sound kinda mellow, with male voices loses the depth.

The universe hybrid sounds better than the regular universe, IMO. Some of the top end sweetness is present (like the auteur) and the mids are fuller. The bass is a little tamed compared to the auteur pads. Theres still plenty of sub bass, but the mid bass loses a little bit of the punch, which results in the mids being more pronounced. The soundstage is similar to regular universe pads.

With my setup (Elise OTL and Denafrips Pintus 2 dac) i think the Auteur hybrid pads suit me the best and I think I m gonna keep it as such. This pad also sounds fantastic with my Other setup (BF2 and GSX-mini). The best attribute of the auteur hybrid pads is that it has plenty of everything. The bass is there, strong and controlled but it doesnt take anything away from the mids. The mids are full, lush with depth in the male voice and smoothness in the female vocals. The mids dont interfere with the top end. Any auteur pads is known for their airiness and this pad has all of it. But the air and sparkle never sounds harsh, its controlled. The soundstage is grand, it makes the closed back verite wide and 3d.

These are just my opinion, YMMV. If you have a strong preference towards dynamics, which the universe pads are best at, then please invest in the universe hybrid pads. I think i m gonna put my universe regular and hyrbids on sale. Let me know if you are interested.

Also, a special and sincere congrats to all the peeps who got or are starting to get their Stabilized VC, keep the pics coming. We are all lucky to have such great headphones in our possession.

My experience is similar. Love the auteur hybrids, and every time I use other had i switch back. I didn't love the Eikon suedes or the lamb skin universe.

 

[JelStIy]

For the the last Few days, i have been trying out different pads for the VC. My current and favorite pad is the Auteur hybrid solid. These give me the widest soundstage, best balance between air and sparkle on the top end. The bass is dep, punchy and controlled with minimal boomyness.

After reading many rave reviews on the Universe pads (solid and hybrid). The universe pad is my least favorite. It has elevated mids and a super punchy bass but the sounstage is narrow. It also loses the Sparkle and some of the air. As a result, vocals sound kinda mellow, with male voices loses the depth.

The universe hybrid sounds better than the regular universe, IMO. Some of the top end sweetness is present (like the auteur) and the mids are fuller. The bass is a little tamed compared to the auteur pads. Theres still plenty of sub bass, but the mid bass loses a little bit of the punch, which results in the mids being more pronounced. The soundstage is similar to regular universe pads.

With my setup (Elise OTL and Denafrips Pintus 2 dac) i think the Auteur hybrid pads suit me the best and I think I m gonna keep it as such. This pad also sounds fantastic with my Other setup (BF2 and GSX-mini). The best attribute of the auteur hybrid pads is that it has plenty of everything. The bass is there, strong and controlled but it doesnt take anything away from the mids. The mids are full, lush with depth in the male voice and smoothness in the female vocals. The mids dont interfere with the top end. Any auteur pads is known for their airiness and this pad has all of it. But the air and sparkle never sounds harsh, its controlled. The soundstage is grand, it makes the closed back verite wide and 3d.

These are just my opinion, YMMV. If you have a strong preference towards dynamics, which the universe pads are best at, then please invest in the universe hybrid pads. I think i m gonna put my universe regular and hyrbids on sale. Let me know if you are interested.

Also, a special and sincere congrats to all the peeps who got or are starting to get their Stabilized VC, keep the pics coming. We are all lucky to have such great headphones in our possession.

In my (so far) limited pad rolling, I concluded that which pads I prefer depends on the kind of music I am listening to. That I think is the beauty of the VC, almost having several pairs of headphones in one. As expensive as they are, it makes them a bargain.

 

[busseysound]

In my (so far) limited pad rolling, I concluded that which pads I prefer depends on the kind of music I am listening to. That I think is the beauty of the VC, almost having several pairs of headphones in one. As expensive as they are, it makes them a bargain.

Mine came in today (Atoll) and to me this is what has impressed me the most - the versatility. I'm settling on the Universe pads but going to try them in suede and hybrid for a bit more of a neutral sound. Here are some pics (forgive the horrible lighting). I got to use Matt's cable for the first time today too - truly impressive! I knew the VC's would be great, but they've exceeded my expectations by a mile.

Rolled in different tubes with my Gumby and MJ2 with different pad sets as well. Brimar CV455, Tungsram ECC82, RFT ECC81, and of course the solid state LISST tubes just for some reference. Tungsram ECC82 wins once again.

 

[nicholas1213]

Mine came in today (Atoll) and to me this is what has impressed me the most - the versatility. I'm settling on the Universe pads but going to try them in suede and hybrid for a bit more of a neutral sound. Here are some pics (forgive the horrible lighting). I got to use Matt's cable for the first time today too - truly impressive! I knew the VC's would be great, but they've exceeded my expectations by a mile.

Rolled in different tubes with my Gumby and MJ2 with different pad sets as well. Brimar CV455, Tungsram ECC82, RFT ECC81, and of course the solid state LISST tubes just for some reference. Tungsram ECC82 wins once again.

Thanks for the lovely pictures and they are gorgeous!

 

[nicholas1213]

After one full month on universe hybrid I swap back to the auteur hybrid this morning and it gives me a 'wow', just like the moment when I swap to universe hybrid. The auteur hybrid may not be as aggressive and hard-kicking as the universe hybrid but in my impression it has a better imaging and maybe a better staging, and it seems to have a bit more air.

I bet I will still get the 'wow' factor one month down the road when I swap back to universe hybrid. This is fun

 

[busseysound]

After one full month on universe hybrid I swap back to the auteur hybrid this morning and it gives me a 'wow', just like the moment when I swap to universe hybrid. The auteur hybrid may not be as aggressive and hard-kicking as the universe hybrid but in my impression it has a better imaging and maybe a better staging, and it seems to have a bit more air.

I bet I will still get the 'wow' factor one month down the road when I swap back to universe hybrid. This is fun

That is really, really cool!

 

[Hiker816]

Mine came in today (Atoll) and to me this is what has impressed me the most - the versatility. I'm settling on the Universe pads but going to try them in suede and hybrid for a bit more of a neutral sound. Here are some pics (forgive the horrible lighting). I got to use Matt's cable for the first time today too - truly impressive! I knew the VC's would be great, but they've exceeded my expectations by a mile.

Rolled in different tubes with my Gumby and MJ2 with different pad sets as well. Brimar CV455, Tungsram ECC82, RFT ECC81, and of course the solid state LISST tubes just for some reference. Tungsram ECC82 wins once again.

Wow, those are epically beautiful. Congrats!

 

[PrTv]

Mine came in today (Atoll) and to me this is what has impressed me the most - the versatility. I'm settling on the Universe pads but going to try them in suede and hybrid for a bit more of a neutral sound. Here are some pics (forgive the horrible lighting). I got to use Matt's cable for the first time today too - truly impressive! I knew the VC's would be great, but they've exceeded my expectations by a mile.

Rolled in different tubes with my Gumby and MJ2 with different pad sets as well. Brimar CV455, Tungsram ECC82, RFT ECC81, and of course the solid state LISST tubes just for some reference. Tungsram ECC82 wins once again.

Wow this looks stunning! Love the pattern/texture/color.

 

[Dolfiend]

Mine came in today (Atoll) and to me this is what has impressed me the most - the versatility. I'm settling on the Universe pads but going to try them in suede and hybrid for a bit more of a neutral sound. Here are some pics (forgive the horrible lighting). I got to use Matt's cable for the first time today too - truly impressive! I knew the VC's would be great, but they've exceeded my expectations by a mile.

Rolled in different tubes with my Gumby and MJ2 with different pad sets as well. Brimar CV455, Tungsram ECC82, RFT ECC81, and of course the solid state LISST tubes just for some reference. Tungsram ECC82 wins once again.

Congrats. Atoll was my second choice. The astronomical ones always look special; I hope to have one some day. Since Florida is surrounded by water and known for the Everglades, rain, and hurricanes, I wanted a water themed design, so I settled on Mantis. It's supposed to arrive 9/19, but FedEx says it might be delayed. Either way, I'm still impressed ZMF shipped so quickly. I expected four months with everything going on.

 

[duranxv]

With all the pad rolling I've done - I actually have settled on the BE2 hybrid solids. I like them the best over the Auteur and Universe pads. The bass is still punchy and I like the fact they bring my ears a bit closer to the drivers, so you feel a bit more. The soundstage is a little more intimate, but they still sound impressively open.

@zach915m Any update on combining your Aries and LTA MZ3 in a pre-amp combo to see how they interact with the VC?

 

[duranxv]

Congrats. Atoll was my second choice. The astronomical ones always look special; I hope to have one some day. Since Florida is surrounded by water and known for the Everglades, rain, and hurricanes, I wanted a water themed design, so I settled on Mantis. It's supposed to arrive 9/19, but FedEx says it might be delayed. Either way, I'm still impressed ZMF shipped so quickly. I expected four months with everything going on.

Unlike the regular VC's, the stabilized sets are already completed before they're posted on the website. That's how you get all the pretty pictures

I really hope the next stabilized batch has more vibrant red, green and blue sets. Maybe more sets like the Atoll and Mare Nostrum

 

[whirlwind]

Mine came in today (Atoll) and to me this is what has impressed me the most - the versatility. I'm settling on the Universe pads but going to try them in suede and hybrid for a bit more of a neutral sound. Here are some pics (forgive the horrible lighting). I got to use Matt's cable for the first time today too - truly impressive! I knew the VC's would be great, but they've exceeded my expectations by a mile.

Rolled in different tubes with my Gumby and MJ2 with different pad sets as well. Brimar CV455, Tungsram ECC82, RFT ECC81, and of course the solid state LISST tubes just for some reference. Tungsram ECC82 wins once again.

That is one killer looking set of cans, congrats.
Oh, and they sound pretty good as well

 

[PrTv]

Anyone has a chance to compare the VC and DCA Stealth? Given that the Stealth is retailed at a higher price, I'm curious to know how much better it is, comparing with the VC.