[AngryTank]

I don't quite get the marketing strategy of this headphone. While other products want to be sold as much as possible there's basically no chance of getting the Verité Closed here in Germany. There is one dealer that is always out of stock and thats it. Absolutely no chance to demo it all and none on the used market. Am i missing something? Since released i wanted to give it a try and maybe buy it but i don't know how.

There are also many people in Germany selling their VC too.

 

[Renexx]

I don't quite get the marketing strategy of this headphone. While other products want to be sold as much as possible there's basically no chance of getting the Verité Closed here in Germany. There is one dealer that is always out of stock and thats it. Absolutely no chance to demo it all and none on the used market. Am i missing something? Since released i wanted to give it a try and maybe buy it but i don't know how.

Just write to them and ask for a demo at home or in their shop. I did listen to VO, VC and Aeolus in their shop and at home.

If they don't have a stock there will be some waiting time.

 

[erics75]

I don't quite get the marketing strategy of this headphone. While other products want to be sold as much as possible there's basically no chance of getting the Verité Closed here in Germany. There is one dealer that is always out of stock and thats it. Absolutely no chance to demo it all and none on the used market. Am i missing something? Since released i wanted to give it a try and maybe buy it but i don't know how.

ZMF is a small, low volume boutique manufacturer based in the US, so global distribution is going to be difficult. Even here in the US they're not always easy to come by, especially the more exotic wood choices. Such is the downside to the small custom outfits. If you think ZMF is bad, try getting a DNA amp! Hope you do find one though, they're a great headphone.

 

[Deolum]

ZMF is a small, low volume boutique manufacturer based in the US, so global distribution is going to be difficult. Even here in the US they're not always easy to come by, especially the more exotic wood choices. Such is the downside to the small custom outfits. If you think ZMF is bad, try getting a DNA amp! Hope you do find one though, they're a great headphone.

But why are they so small when the demand is so high? Or does it only seem like the demand is high because they are so small?

 

[jaboki]

But why are they so small when the demand is so high? Or does it only seem like the demand is high because they are so small?

Probably latter + their production line requires wood+audio craftsman versus "printing" metal/plastic parts.

 

[erics75]

But why are they so small when the demand is so high? Or does it only seem like the demand is high because they are so small?

The nature of their product, custom handmade wood headphones, doesn't lend itself to high volume well. I believe Zach still personally inspects every unit that leaves the shop. He's said a few times he's looking into a lower cost, basic model to offer that can be sold in higher volumes, but it hasn't materialized yet. For him to increase supply he will have to find wood craftsmen as talented as he is, train them on his approach and methods, ensure they can reproduce units satisfactory to his standards, and retain them. It's a daunting task, for sure.

 

[YtseJamer]

New podcast interview with Zach

 

[ThibSan]

I don't quite get the marketing strategy of this headphone. While other products want to be sold as much as possible there's basically no chance of getting the Verité Closed here in Germany. There is one dealer that is always out of stock and thats it. Absolutely no chance to demo it all and none on the used market. Am i missing something? Since released i wanted to give it a try and maybe buy it but i don't know how.

Yes the supply is pretty low. I ended up so frustrated from missing the last 3 Ltd drops that I ended up getting a pair from a ZMF dealer in… Singapore

I think there is could be one pair of VC Ltd at the ZMF dealer in Zurich.

The good thing is, if you happen not to like them it should not be too difficult to sell them.

 

[Galapac]

Yes the supply is low but that is why we are endeared to Zach, Bevin, and ZMF.
This is what makes this company special.
They are small enough that they do everything right and still take time to answer any customers questions personally.
They are not a big corporation cranking out endless widgets that all look the same, they are artisans, experts in their craft.
It is a superior, heirloom product that is the pinnacle of form as it is functional.
When those two factors are in in harmony, in sync, it speaks to the human condition and creates a lasting bond.

I hope they never change.

 

[busseysound]

Yes the supply is low but that is why we are endeared to Zach, Bevin, and ZMF.
This is what makes this company special.
They are small enough that they do everything right and still take time to answer any customers questions personally.
They are not a big corporation cranking out endless widgets that all look the same, they are artisans, experts in their craft.
It is a superior, heirloom product that is the pinnacle of form as it is functional.
When those two factors are in in harmony, in sync, it speaks to the human condition and creates a lasting bond.

I hope they never change.

This x1000

 

[saidentary]

I don't quite get the marketing strategy of this headphone. While other products want to be sold as much as possible there's basically no chance of getting the Verité Closed here in Germany. There is one dealer that is always out of stock and thats it. Absolutely no chance to demo it all and none on the used market. Am i missing something? Since released i wanted to give it a try and maybe buy it but i don't know how.

My take is this: It's simple. ZMF is one of the very VERY few manufacturers (of anything, anywhere on earth) still in existence whose principles outweigh their profit motive. Making headphones of this singular quality takes TIME, and is a labor intensive process. I suspect that Zach of ZMF is one of the few remaining people on the planet who just WON'T sacrifice quality for expedience and "efficiency" of production. That means that even if the demand is very high (because smart people have figured out that these are absolutely spectacular) that ZMF just won't rush their production, testing and QC process even if doing so would get them more sales in the short term. The result is that these headphones become hard to get. They're SO good, that ZMF can't keep up with demand, but they aren't willing to cut corners. They've taken steps to maximize their efficiency (without sacrificing quality) but they have limited resources and can take this efficiency effort only so far. So people have to wait. But the great thing is, it's worth the wait. In my case, I just didn't expect the VC to outshine the HiFiMAN HE1000 version one (which I own and still think is awesome and which I still love). But, to my ears, the Verite Closed do indeed outshine the HE1000.
ZMF could have raised its asking price based on what the market would bear. Doing that isn't an entirely cynical exercise, because many people (sometimes myself included) are stupid enough to think that if something is more expensive that it must be better. The fact that ZMF hasn't opted to double the price "because they can" also speaks volumes about the company's ethics, in my opinion.
I understand, and respect, your reluctance to buy and try instead of try and buy. However, I broke one of my own audiophile cardinal rules and did just that myself with the VC. It turned out to be a great decision for me. Obviously I can't guarantee that you'd have the same result.

 

[bvega18]

I too ordered mine without hearing it and couldn't be happier. It was actually my third ZMF purchased. Honestly if for some reason you aren't satisfied with your purchase, you can be rest assured that someone will buy them from you with very little to no loss. Hope this helps with any hesitation.

 

[chrisnyc75]

I too ordered mine without hearing it and couldn't be happier. It was actually my third ZMF purchased. Honestly if for some reason you aren't satisfied with your purchase, you can be rest assured that someone will buy them from you with very little to no loss. Hope this helps with any hesitation.

Same. Often in hifi audio you have to read and watch as many reviews and impressions as you can find, aggregate and average all of the opinions to try to suss out something close to objective truth and then take a leap of faith from there. That's what I did with my Verite, figuring if I didn't love the sound they would at least still look pretty in my living room. lol (good news - I do love the sound!) And yes, if all else fails and it's not for you, you won't lose much if anything reselling them.

 

[jgwtriode]

FWIW::::

The Verite Closed Scales like crazy! I just can't help myself with how it keeps improving. The JCAT USB XE took it significantly beyond, opened it up, aired it out, tightened and slightly extended the bass. Blew up the soundstage and improved the harmonic structure and group delay. That in and of itself would probably be enough. But enough is never enuff! That is the nature of this beast we call audiophilia. I became obsessed with wondering what improvements could be had on the SATA side of things. I love my SATA 3 SLC microns.

But conversation and speculation and lusting after JCAT cables and Even the Audience Treasue SATA cables had me wondering!

One individual convinced me to consider very short cables. So I went to 5 inch from 18 inch cables. These were from cable creations on Amazon. And they have minimal insulation. A few microns of thin covering over the foil shield that wraps Two double wire runs with some thin wire grounding wire outside of the conductors contacting the foil sheild. They also have a very thin poly coating. Sadly it appears to be aluminum wire. Ah but they were cheap.

Holy hell, what a difference they made! Everyone who has read my stuff knows I'm nuts about MAD SCIentist nano carbon ceramic pucks and doughnuts. They particularly work wonders in reducing digital noise and interference. So I slapped a few stacked sample size pucks on each end of the connectors. A bit of pain tacking them all down. But got it done. Weird repositioning of my SSD's to get them connected. But when it was over. Double Holy Hell, what in the world. Massive noise floor drop, okay I exaggerate in hyperbole. But seriously a significant difference, so everything I mention became even better!

Okay so now I'm playing with tweaking Process Lasso process optimaization for JPLay exe. and JPLay femto processes. Wow, noticeable difference. And those of you play with this stuff.

Try Minority Clean. It will surprise you. Check all this out on JPLay forum. Crazy stuff their. Was info in a guide for even tweaking minority clean's optimization in
Process Lasso. Yup more improvement. So now it will be spending the next few weeks playing with more Windows optimization. One of these days I may even spring for Windows Server, but that is a bit intimidating. If I could find a really good tutorial for setting it up with Jplay I would consider it.

In the meantime, Oh how I love the sound of my VC leopardwoods!


Happy listening,

Jgwtriode

 

[PrTv]

I've just put back my tube amp (that has been neglected for more than 4 years) in my rig, and I can immediately say that VC seemed to pair better with this tube amp (at high impedance / high gain setting) than with my V281.



Mid-high that used to annoy me seemed to be tamed down (but not completely gone), and vocal seems to be smoother and more pleasing. I don't feel any lack of details (despite the fact that the V281 is fed by XLR signal through Audience AU24SE, whilst my tube amp is single ended with good RCA cables that's nowhere as expensive as the Audience).

The VC now has around >360 hours on it, so I can say it's fully broken in. Waiting for WyWires Platinum and hope it can tame that mid-high down a tad more. Would be perfect if it does that! I think I won't have to part with this beautiful headphones given that they're very enjoyable with this setup.

Also hope that the Denafrips Terminator Plus would elevate the sound to the next level when it arrives in next 2 weeks. Hopefully it's better than my current dac (Ayre QB9 Twenty) -would be so sad if it isn't.