My shipment had Verite perforated, Universe perforated and BE hybrid.... Verite stays, Universe now on Auteur and BE is somewhere aside...
ZMF Verite Open
- Thread starter heliosphann
- Start date
Fwiw, I refused to listen to mine until they had burned in for 150 hours. I didn't want my first impression of them to be when they weren't at their best, so I get where you're coming from.
nwavesailor
Headphoneus Supremus
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It's been some time but my VO sounded pretty good from the start. If you have the discipline to wait 150 hours, go for it!
Kiont
100+ Head-Fier
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If anything I want to find out if there is something wrong with the drivers as soon as possible.
Pharmaboy
Headphoneus Supremus
Obsessive/compulsive thinking? Or the regular kind?
Sean_MR
100+ Head-Fier
Sorry to clarify, I don't think I have literal OCD, apologies if that's offensive to anyone. I more just meant that for whatever reason, my brain has an extremely strong desire to only want to use chains "all at once" when they're completely finished. It's not just audio too. I remember back a while ago when I was "upgrading" from my PS4 to the PS4 Pro, I also purchased a new 4k TV to go along with it. The weirdest part? I owned the 4k TV for a month before I actually got the PS4 Pro, and I could have easily used it with my current PS4 and still seen major improvements. But for whatever reason I wanted to wait until I got everything in the chain all ready to use at once, instead of increment by increment. I have no idea why my brain works this way.
PrTv
100+ Head-Fier
Hi guys...
I'm very interested in Verite Open and have many questions about the headphones and their sonic characteristic. I tried to go through the forum but with 400+ pages, it's difficult to find what I'm looking for.
- Is there any sonic difference between Verite Open and the LTD Vérité Desert Ironwood version? If it's purely the look, I will go with the normal version.
- From the website, it seems the headphones can be tuned to sound more warm/bright based on the pads. So if my sonic preference is warmest sound (female vocal), I should go with Universe Lambskin?
- Tuning aside, based on the sonic character of the headphones alone, would you say the headphones are in warmer (Audeze's house sound) or brighter/colder (HD800' ish) side?
- Now my main headphones are Utopia + Lazuli Ref XLR / Empyrean + Silver Dragon XLR, do you think Verite Open would bring about any improvement/upgrade?
- If I want it to sound best, what is the best upgrade cable available? Is ZMF's own cable upgrade option worthy of consideration? If so, which cable upgrade option should I choose (I love details/deep base/bold + full mid but can't stand sibilant or harsh sounding)
- Lastly, my current modest setup consisting [ Aurender N100H / QB9 Twenty / V281 ] would these (especially V281) play well with the Verite Open?
Last question... is there anything I should be aware of buying these headphones? When I bought the Utopia, I wasn't aware of the dread driver failure, and I don't wanna repeat that mistake! So any tips would be appreciated.
I'm sorry if these have been discussed many times in this thread but I did my search but couldn't quite find the answer.
Thanks for your feedback!
I'm very interested in Verite Open and have many questions about the headphones and their sonic characteristic. I tried to go through the forum but with 400+ pages, it's difficult to find what I'm looking for.
- Is there any sonic difference between Verite Open and the LTD Vérité Desert Ironwood version? If it's purely the look, I will go with the normal version.
- From the website, it seems the headphones can be tuned to sound more warm/bright based on the pads. So if my sonic preference is warmest sound (female vocal), I should go with Universe Lambskin?
- Tuning aside, based on the sonic character of the headphones alone, would you say the headphones are in warmer (Audeze's house sound) or brighter/colder (HD800' ish) side?
- Now my main headphones are Utopia + Lazuli Ref XLR / Empyrean + Silver Dragon XLR, do you think Verite Open would bring about any improvement/upgrade?
- If I want it to sound best, what is the best upgrade cable available? Is ZMF's own cable upgrade option worthy of consideration? If so, which cable upgrade option should I choose (I love details/deep base/bold + full mid but can't stand sibilant or harsh sounding)
- Lastly, my current modest setup consisting [ Aurender N100H / QB9 Twenty / V281 ] would these (especially V281) play well with the Verite Open?
Last question... is there anything I should be aware of buying these headphones? When I bought the Utopia, I wasn't aware of the dread driver failure, and I don't wanna repeat that mistake! So any tips would be appreciated.
I'm sorry if these have been discussed many times in this thread but I did my search but couldn't quite find the answer.
Thanks for your feedback!
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99% only sonic difference, just buy the version you think looks cool. This is the ZMF recommendation as well.
The ZMF pad guide is useful but ultimately you want to try different pads and see for yourself.
Neutral with a warm tint and a natural timber. They're nothing like the HD 800s but they are not as dark as Audezes mostly are.
IMHO the Empyrean is actually a bit similar to the ZMF house sound, but the Verite is a dynamic driver and is more detailed. My recommendation would be to buy a used Verite, trial it, and sell it if you don't like it. You'd only take a hit on shipping so it's the easiest way to trial ZMFs. Last I checked there was a Verite on sale right here on head-fi.
At the risk of starting a flame war, and seriously - you do you - but I'll just drop this here...
(note: am not an objectivist and I generally don't like the way Amir communicates with people, but, I think he's right in that video).
Can't speak to this. ZMFs are not especially power hungry and run great off even entry level solid state amps and DACs, and though I never heard them on high end tube amps myself, that is a go-to recommendation in this community. But, they sound great on a Magni / Modi and even dongles like the THX Onyx. In fact I run my VC off my THX Onyx quite frequently when I want to listen to music on our balcony. I also A/B'd the THX Onyx dongle vs. an RME ADI-2 FS desktop DAC/Amp (that costs $1,350 and is highly regarded) and I could hear only a super minor difference against the Onyx, I wrote about it on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones...got_a_thx_onyx_200_dongle_and_compared_it_to/
Buy used, trial them - if you don't like them - sell 'em. If you do like them - buy one you really like directly from ZMF (like a special wood, or a special stain, or a stabilized run), and sell your used ones. Welcome to the ZMF family!
PrTv
100+ Head-Fier
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to all my questions!
Will see if I can find any on sale. Too bad I live on the other side of the world (Thailand), which can be a bit challenging to find a seller who's willing to ship here, but I will see what I can do.
About the amplifier, I searched "V281" in this thread and the result sounded promising (mostly positive). I'm not worried about power at all as V281 has plenty, but it's synergy that's I'm concern.
Will check out your impression on Reddit soon.
helljudgement
500+ Head-Fier
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The universe pads are amongst the warmest sounding out of pads for the verite so it should work for you. Do consider the be2 perf lambskin if you find the universe pads too warm sounding.
They are warmer than hd800 but not as warm as the audeze lcd2/3s.
The main difference between the utopia and verite is in it's presentation. The verite sounds richer in the lower mids is wider more 3d sounding sounding. The utopia hits harder, has a sharper transient response, has better detail retrieval and imaging. They kinda complement each other in a way.
They are given lifetime warranty for drivers so Zach will get you sorted in the event they do fail.
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PsilocybinCube
100+ Head-Fier
I'm coming from the Utopia and the HD800, so I may be able to speak to some of your questions:
- Not going to be much more than a difference in appearances and perhaps cup durability relative to the wood chosen. I like the ironwood because it is extremely durable.
- Yes, the Universe Lambskin is probably the most appropriate/warm pad for you based on what you are saying. It's also the stock pad.
- They are much warmer than the HD800 and somewhat warmer than the Utopia. They don't have the diffuse nature of the HD800, but they don't quite have the dynamic impact of the Utopia. They sound more natural than both headphones and the soundstage size is between the HD800 and Utopia. They certainly don't have the instrument separation of the Utopia, but the sense of scale is much larger. How about this for a comparison - They are better and worse than the Utopia. They are lightyears ahead of the HD800 in every sense but soundstage. And in regards to soundstage, the HD800 could be accused of being too airy and spread out.
- I bought the highest end ZMF cable when I bought my headphones. I can't tell a sonic difference between it and the OFC cable. However, has zero microphonics, it moves around great. The durability and quality of the connections is 2nd to none. Those are the reasons I am OK buying nicer cables, the day-to-day use of them and their ability to not be a distraction. In short, I think a good cable does an excellent job of getting out of the way...the braided silver cable has that in spades. Less expensive cables probably do, too.
- Your gear is not modest. It's very high-quality gear and will certainly play well with the VO.
The drivers have a lifetime warranty for the original owner...that's pretty great.
I do think you should be aware of the burn-in. It has changed things substantially (for the better) on my pair of VO.
I had driver breakup on the Utopia. That was a scary day. Somehow or another it seems to have resolved itself and I haven't noticed it in quite sometime. People seem to report it more watching movies with deep bass. I was playing Sekiro on my PC when it happened to me. I don't think that sort of a thing is an issue with the Verite.
Finally, I bought a used set of ZMF Eikon headphones that didn't come in great shape and needed a few fixes. Zach and Bevin took great care of me. I didn't expect to be dealing directly with the owner of ZMF on basic issues...but that's the level of care they provide to their customers. Zach and Bevin handled everything personally.
ZMF is a gem of a company.
PrTv
100+ Head-Fier
Thanks so much for your detailed comments!
The comparison with Utopia from both of you is very helpful and help paint a picture much more clearly of how the VO would sound. Too bad there is no official distributor where I live so I have to order without hearing it first. However, from your description and from various reviews I found, it seems to be quite a safe bet for me.
I can see myself letting go of either the Utopia or the Empy after getting the VO.
BTW, I don't like the sound of HD800/800s/820 at all (not to say they sound bad, but i just prefer different sound signature). I particularly like Audeze/Empyrean house sound. Utopia is a bit bright for me, but with Lazuli Reference and Curious Evolved USB cable, its aggressive treble is tamed to the degree I can live with. From the above description, it seems like the VO is "just" what I want (Utopia sans all aspects I hate).
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Cable won't change the sound ( watch Amir's video). I use Black Widow copper cable from Toxic Cables.
It doesn't sound any different than more expensive ( silver ) cables.
I won't get into the cable debate, but trust your ears. For those who do hear a difference in cables, I would recommend a good copper cable. It probably meets your preferences. Norne audio is another option, they make excellent cables and copper options are reasonable as well.
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