[Bonddam]

One of my headphones came it looks like marble in hand but it’s kinda Zebra. Now VC not shipped yet is same color.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Pheasantwood may look "the least" handsome in photo, but when we hold it with bare hand, the feeling of our fingers touch the deep texture on there... better than any gloss feel.

Here's another factor overlooked in this "gloss vs satin" dustup: not all species of wood want to be finished in high gloss. I'm thinking especially of wood with exposed pores that would have to be filled in order for gloss to even work (ie, padauk) That's doable but at least for me, it goes against the grain (no pun intended). Wood wants to be what it is.

• I recall Zach filling then gloss-finishing some pairs of padauk Eikons/Atticus'. My pick any day would be the unfilled/satin finished wood with pores showing in all their glory (ie, the gorgeous Eikon I had).

I can also say from experience that certain types of wood stubbornly refuse to lay perfectly flat & featureless even after being machined with the sharpest planars/routers, then sanded. An example is white oak (either plain sawn or quarter sawn, the latter being my favorite wood), where the wood's figure will eventually emerge in places as very slight ridges & recessions (slight, but easily felt with the hand), which would defeat the glassy-perfection ideal of a glossy finish.

Don't get me wrong--done properly on a wood with very fine grain & pores, a high gloss finish can look magical. But it isn't feasible with every type of wood used in these headphones.

PS: I've seen Pheasantwood up close a few times. It might not photograph well, but that wood is beautiful viewed up close...

 

[My Cats Account]

Really enjoying these so far. Super comfy and sound incredible out of the box. I'm guessing the more extreme colors aren't as popular but this one spoke to me lol. I love the black and blue resin patterns. As far as finishes go, I think the glossy looks incredible on these and the matte looks awesome on my Wenge Auteurs. I do like how I can feel the wood texture more on the wenge.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Since everyone is expressing an opinion today. Let me share.

If you have the ability to run a mid-fi to upper level rig that can push solid power with headroom to spare, and you will ONLY be running your system indoors. Order a pair of ZMF Verite African Blackwoods. In my opinion they are easily the most musical headphones on the market. A real luxury of life to sit with the Blackwoods.

I already let go my Pheasantwood (bought by my close friend though), and now wondering should I just pull the trigger for African, or waiting for Stabilize VO. I've tried African and agree it sounds sublime. The weight is slightly too much for me I guess, for 2 hrs of use, I feel more pressure on my head compared to Pheasant.

 

[zach915m]

Really enjoying these so far. Super comfy and sound incredible out of the box. I'm guessing the more extreme colors aren't as popular but this one spoke to me lol. I love the black and blue resin patterns. As far as finishes go, I think the glossy looks incredible on these and the matte looks awesome on my Wenge Auteurs. I do like how I can feel the wood texture more on the wenge.

I remember that set! One of the more unique ones for sure. I'm glad you got it in!

 

[DeweyCH]

Really enjoying these so far. Super comfy and sound incredible out of the box. I'm guessing the more extreme colors aren't as popular but this one spoke to me lol. I love the black and blue resin patterns. As far as finishes go, I think the glossy looks incredible on these and the matte looks awesome on my Wenge Auteurs. I do like how I can feel the wood texture more on the wenge.

Those look awesome.

 

[RobertSM]

I already let go my Pheasantwood (bought by my close friend though), and now wondering should I just pull the trigger for African, or waiting for Stabilize VO. I've tried African and agree it sounds sublime. The weight is slightly too much for me I guess, for 2 hrs of use, I feel more pressure on my head compared to Pheasant.

You might want to enquire about the new ZMF cushion headphone headband. I don't know if it's in full production at the moment. But this new headband should help with owners that require more padding for longer use listening sessions.

 

[Bonddam]

Took a headphone stand shot.

 

[DeweyCH]

Took a headphone stand shot.

I asked Zach once if he might make a stabilized Salire and he said just the materials would be like eight hundred bucks. Shame because can you imagine it with these?

 

[commtrd]

Just finished my review of the Verite:



Hope that's helpful to some folks on the fence.

Also, I get that not everyone wants to be redirected to a youtube link, so I'll post some comments. To me it gets close to the Utopia in detail retrieval, has a bigger stage with bigger images, has better timbre, and overall hits harder.

Speed is harder for me to characterize, since it doesn't have the planar timbre, but if anything the Verite sounds more like a planar than a dynamic. It is extremely fast. I'm just not sure which is faster between it and the Utopia.

The one area that could be improved upon with some EQ in my opinion is the treble. The default tuning has a bit of a dip at 3-4khz and 7khz that I bump up a bit, as well as around 10khz. It's not necessary but it gets the Verite closer to my preferences, and more in line with what I'm used to.

Could you please compare the LCD5 to the ZMF Verite? I have been enamored of the Audeze products for many years, but this Verite has my interest definitely piqued.

 

[commtrd]

Took a headphone stand shot.

This just looks absolutely beautiful. Almost thinking it has become a no-brainer to get a Verite OMG this thing looks sick, and reviews have it sounding superlative.

 

[Smallpie]

I asked Zach once if he might make a stabilized Salire and he said just the materials would be like eight hundred bucks. Shame because can you imagine it with these?

I wonder why it would cost that much? And what goes into it? Maybe I need to look into how they stabilize the wood for an idea.

 

[jinxy245]

I wonder why it would cost that much? And what goes into it? Maybe I need to look into how they stabilize the wood for an idea.

It is quite an entailed process. I found this walk trough for knife handles, it might be helpful...

https://www.redlabelabrasives.com/blogs/news/how-to-stabilize-wood-for-knife-scales

 

[RobertSM]

ZMF Verite- African Blackwoods × Orange Tabby

 

[Pharmaboy]

ZMF Verite- African Blackwoods × Orange Tabby

1. Love the headphones
2. Love the rug
3. Love the cat!