ZMF Verite Closed-New Closed Back ZMF Flagship.
Sep 30, 2021 at 6:59 PM Post #7,967 of 12,391
I'm having a tough time deciding between the VO and the VC as a replacement to my HiFiMan Arya and a compliment to my Focal Clear MG.

I'm getting rid of the Arya due to QC issues and on principal (after their support was unwilling to help me). That said, I absolutely love the sound, especially the fantastic low end depth/ texture/ omnipresence and obviously the soundstage. Mostly I love how inviting and relaxed the sound signature is compared to my Clear MG which wants to shove music in your face.

I've heard the VO can stage very well, however I'm concerned about giving up some of (better extended?) low end of the VC.

On the flip side - I'm concerned the VC gets a bit too close to my use-case of the Clear MG, which I use when I want to sit at the front of the stage or when I want my EDM to have a bite. When I'm not wanting that, I like listening to a lot of ambient/ chill/ orchestra. How much wider does the VO stage than the VC?

For example, this is my reference song for the Arya:

Kazukii - Dawn


The way the Arya captures the etheric omnipresence and texture of the bass, while maintaining authority without drawing too much attention to itsself is fantastic. I'm curious if the VO can reproduce that (and then some), or if I need to go for the VC for the level of bass I'm looking for.

Appreciate the help
 
Sep 30, 2021 at 7:41 PM Post #7,968 of 12,391
I'm having a tough time deciding between the VO and the VC as a replacement to my HiFiMan Arya and a compliment to my Focal Clear MG.

I'm getting rid of the Arya due to QC issues and on principal (after their support was unwilling to help me). That said, I absolutely love the sound, especially the fantastic low end depth/ texture/ omnipresence and obviously the soundstage. Mostly I love how inviting and relaxed the sound signature is compared to my Clear MG which wants to shove music in your face.

I've heard the VO can stage very well, however I'm concerned about giving up some of (better extended?) low end of the VC.

On the flip side - I'm concerned the VC gets a bit too close to my use-case of the Clear MG, which I use when I want to sit at the front of the stage or when I want my EDM to have a bite. When I'm not wanting that, I like listening to a lot of ambient/ chill/ orchestra. How much wider does the VO stage than the VC?

For example, this is my reference song for the Arya:

Kazukii - Dawn


The way the Arya captures the etheric omnipresence and texture of the bass, while maintaining authority without drawing too much attention to itsself is fantastic. I'm curious if the VO can reproduce that (and then some), or if I need to go for the VC for the level of bass I'm looking for.

Appreciate the help

If you like Arya, its hard to say if you like VC. I come from Arya and recently got VC. For me, I find VC to have dense tonal quality compared to Arya which lot of people like it. I wasn’t a fan of it at beginning then I started swapping pads in VC, swapping from stock copper cable to Silver (awaiting order) and silver plated copper to make the tonal density lean. Coming from Arya, you wouldn’t get that level of airyness in VC of course its closed back and hence no comparison to open backs. Cant say for VO as i don’t have it. Bass to my ears is not as textured in VC compared to Arya to my ears. Punch is definitely more in VC but not just textured. Soundstage wise, the presentation is different on different pads. Yes ! Different pads make noticeable difference in Verities. My favourite pad for listening acoustic, orchestra, classical music, film soundtracks is Auteur hybrid non perforated so far. Waiting to receive Universe hybrid non perforated. For EDM, Pop, I use BE2 solid pads as I think they provide more slam than Auteur hybrid. For bit dense sound, 3D holographic staging and great bass thump feel,Universe solid non perforated is way to go. I like neutral sound signature. If you are of that type, think twice about Verites. They have ZMF house sound which leans bit on warmer side. But in saying that, you can always play around with different pads and cables to tweak sound to your liking. One thing I love about Verite that is keeping me away from other is its Timbre. It is so natural sounding.

So far, I have used Verite closed with silver plated copper cable and Auteur hybrid non perforated pads and liking it. Currently waiting for Pure silver cable in the hopes of toning down its tonal density a bit. Silver plated copper cable helped in toning down its tonal density. So pure silver ( definitely try the synergy of it with Verite first) sure will do it even further.

In short, for me who like neutral tuning, by using auteur hybrid pad, silver cable on VC has brought to close perfection in my desired sound.
 
Sep 30, 2021 at 8:24 PM Post #7,969 of 12,391
I'm having a tough time deciding between the VO and the VC as a replacement to my HiFiMan Arya and a compliment to my Focal Clear MG.

I'm getting rid of the Arya due to QC issues and on principal (after their support was unwilling to help me). That said, I absolutely love the sound, especially the fantastic low end depth/ texture/ omnipresence and obviously the soundstage. Mostly I love how inviting and relaxed the sound signature is compared to my Clear MG which wants to shove music in your face.

I've heard the VO can stage very well, however I'm concerned about giving up some of (better extended?) low end of the VC.

On the flip side - I'm concerned the VC gets a bit too close to my use-case of the Clear MG, which I use when I want to sit at the front of the stage or when I want my EDM to have a bite. When I'm not wanting that, I like listening to a lot of ambient/ chill/ orchestra. How much wider does the VO stage than the VC?

The way the Arya captures the etheric omnipresence and texture of the bass, while maintaining authority without drawing too much attention to itsself is fantastic. I'm curious if the VO can reproduce that (and then some), or if I need to go for the VC for the level of bass I'm looking for.

Appreciate the help
Verite and Arya are really VERY different headphones. In my experience, I always immediately prefer one or the other - never both - for any given song or genre. Their tonality and presentation is SO different I struggle to see how you could see one as a replacement for the other rather than a contrasting complement.

I do think VO does soundstage just as well as Arya. Bass has body and visceral slam on Verite, but it lacks that squeaky-clean "subwoofer in the background" thing that Arya does. Again, here one is not a replacement for the other, they are complements: Verite's bass sounds more physical & organic for acoustic instruments (jazz, rock, etc), while Arya's bass is nearly ideal to my ears for synthesized sound.
 
Sep 30, 2021 at 8:35 PM Post #7,970 of 12,391
I also like the BE2 pads a lot. They add a much needed slam to the low end that the Auteur hybrid or solids cant quite produce. The Be2 pads are also very dynamic with a narrow but 3d soundstage.

My only issue with the Be2 pads are the depth. These are too thin for my above average size ears. As a result, with the be2 pads, my ears touch the drivers and to me its a little uncomfortable. Thats why i dont like my Be2 pads and am thinking about selling them. PM me if you are interested.

Auteur hybrid pads still take the cake, IMO
 
Oct 1, 2021 at 12:37 AM Post #7,971 of 12,391
I just got my VC Stabilized today, the Alluvium's. They're absolutely gorgeous in person. I think people are having trouble doing justice to VC stabilized's because phone cameras will not focus on the wood grain unless you find exactly the right spot. Even without burn-in, they sound magical and so far beyond my previous cans, the Hifiman HE-560. There's just so much texture and depth to the music.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20210930_203049239_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20210930_203049239_HDR.jpg
    452 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20210930_203034147_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20210930_203034147_HDR.jpg
    467.5 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20210930_202741890.jpg
    IMG_20210930_202741890.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 0
  • IMG_20210930_202333129.jpg
    IMG_20210930_202333129.jpg
    606.2 KB · Views: 0
Oct 1, 2021 at 2:07 AM Post #7,973 of 12,391
I just got my VC Stabilized today, the Alluvium's. They're absolutely gorgeous in person. I think people are having trouble doing justice to VC stabilized's because phone cameras will not focus on the wood grain unless you find exactly the right spot. Even without burn-in, they sound magical and so far beyond my previous cans, the Hifiman HE-560. There's just so much texture and depth to the music.
Congrats. A truly beautiful set you got there :L3000:. I loved mine from the fist minute as well.
 
Last edited:
Oct 1, 2021 at 9:25 AM Post #7,976 of 12,391
For real fans of Verite, here is the playlist to test the potential of Verite Closed/open:

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/9b0fa089-a2b8-4ec7-be6c-f2860442556a

Especially track named Battle drums. God, those drums feel so real with vibration.
Oh nice, definitely a fan of Battle drums!
Here's my current list for VC's with no EQ. I find that any song where there's already reverb, or notes are left to ring nicely just get expanded on massively by the VC's.

I do find myself having to EQ back to Harmanish for busy tracks though, playing with the bass amount for EDM.
Love the massive slam these cans deliver
 
Oct 1, 2021 at 9:39 AM Post #7,977 of 12,391
Hello All,

New to the forum and I thought I would post pictures of my Verite Closed set which were from ZMF November last year- "Eye of the Tempest" is the set's name. These are my favorite headphones I own with the Verite Open (African Blackwood) coming in a close second place:

image0 (4).jpeg
image0 (5).jpeg
Ahh so youuuuu are the owner of THAT pair. I see it around pretty often as one of their best examples of stabilized VC.
 
Oct 1, 2021 at 10:35 AM Post #7,978 of 12,391
I just got my VC Stabilized today, the Alluvium's. They're absolutely gorgeous in person. I think people are having trouble doing justice to VC stabilized's because phone cameras will not focus on the wood grain unless you find exactly the right spot. Even without burn-in, they sound magical and so far beyond my previous cans, the Hifiman HE-560. There's just so much texture and depth to the music.
As much as I enjoy the colorful stabilized variants, the not stained, wood toned ones might be my favorite ones. That is, until I see an orange stabilized.
 
Oct 1, 2021 at 12:21 PM Post #7,979 of 12,391
I just got my VC Stabilized today, the Alluvium's. They're absolutely gorgeous in person. I think people are having trouble doing justice to VC stabilized's because phone cameras will not focus on the wood grain unless you find exactly the right spot. Even without burn-in, they sound magical and so far beyond my previous cans, the Hifiman HE-560. There's just so much texture and depth to the music.
That is a remarkable, classy set. Very nice! One of the best I have seen as I prefer the natural colors.
 
Last edited:
Oct 1, 2021 at 10:20 PM Post #7,980 of 12,391
I just got my VC Stabilized today, the Alluvium's. They're absolutely gorgeous in person. I think people are having trouble doing justice to VC stabilized's because phone cameras will not focus on the wood grain unless you find exactly the right spot. Even without burn-in, they sound magical and so far beyond my previous cans, the Hifiman HE-560. There's just so much texture and depth to the music.
Those look fantastic! You're right the phone cameras don't do them justice. I'm terrible at taking pictures anyways lol
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top