Impressions ZMF Vérité Open (Limited Edition, Erskine):
** Using Stock cable, so incomplete, 1 month of listening **
The Vérité Open (Erskine) arrived to me at the same time as the Aeolus (Vaskas). In my impressions, you will notice me cross-referencing headphones because I've been listening to them almost exclusively while comparing with other headphones.
As I come to spend more time with my ZMF headphones, the Verite Open, Eikon, and Aeolus, I'm noticing that I can enjoy them without much thought. Moreover, I'm coming to appreciate the headphones as time goes by. ZMF headphones have a house sound that comes in different shapes and forms.
The sound profile for each headphone provides an enjoyable way to listen to music. Because I feel like the beauty and aesthetics speak for themselves, I will speak more to my impressions of the sound.
Similar to the Sennheiser HD800s and HiFiMan HE6SE, the Vérité Open's accuracy, resolution, and imaging gives a nuanced, complex, and detailed version of music. It also has very good instrument separation and layering. The difference between the Vérité Open and HD800s and HE6SE is that the Vérité Open comes with forcefulness and more impact.
I've noticed that with all of my ZMF headphones, there is an element of engagement that provides a unique Hi-Fi enjoyment experience. They all have unique sound profiles that give a large, intimate sound that may give a new unique experience of a song.
It's a very cozy feel; not your typical incisive presentation, as within the HiFiMan HE6SE, or Sennheiser HD800s, but rather has a character of its own in its expressiveness.
The soundstage of the Vérité Open is very wide and big, so the feeling is more like a live setting. The notes presented are very wide, extended, and beautiful.
The sense of engagement is different, in that music is enjoyed via a more complex representation and clarity. This dynamism in combination with the expressive character of notes gives life to the music.
For me, the Verite's signature is for when I want to hear all the details for a complex track. I can also do this with the HE6SE and HD800s, but it doesn't feel as engaging as with the Vérité Open.
The Vérité Open has a great extension, and in combination with the fullness of the notes, the music can sometimes seem to take on a character of its own in the vast soundstage.
My impressions are loosely held. With the Vérité Open, I draw experience from a birds-eye view of the music, rather than the close-up, more intimate feel of the Eikon or the Aeolus.
The house signature of ZMF Headphones helps to give more bounce to the Vérité Open. You can get "into it" with ZMF Headphones; it's a very revealing, engaging experience that goes deep into the notes and gives character to the music.
Something I noticed with ZMF Headphones was that the sound may not be as incisive or orthodox, but that is because notes are given more freedom in form and are more bold, expressive, with imaging that sounds highly immersive, yet detailed speakers. This isn't a bad thing; it adds a dimension of fun that is more prominent than with other headphones.
Where strength of LCD-4 is a more detailed, accurate rendering, the Vérité Open juxtaposes and enhances the notes for an out-of-the-headphone experience -- there is a 3D-like rendering.
A final thought I can give about ZMF Headphones is that, in general, while the detailed resolution is apparent, they are there to be enjoyed in a fun way, not to be exacting. Detail analysis becomes an afterthought when I put on a pair of ZMF Headphones.
Source: Audio-GD HE-7 MK I, Yulong D18
Cables: Blue Jeans Coaxial Cables
USB: Singxer SU-6
Amplifier: Yulong A18, Feliks Audio Euforia, ampsandsound Kenzie OG Rev 2, ampsandsound Agartha
! It has only been a month, so I'd also like to add that my impressions usually change, sometimes within hours because I switch between headphones often to write impressions, and when I put the Erskine on just now, it's just a different feel altogether and I notice the qualities more. The timbre on ZMF Headphones really impresses me.
