ZMF Verite Open

[wenbinbin2010]

Softwood all the way. Heard the Silkwood but bought the Ziricote then demoed a Silkwood again. The slightly longer decay just make the VO that bit more special to my ears. Perfectly happy with what I have but if given a chance to choose again I will definitely get one in softer wood variant.

This is where my preferences have ended up as well over the years of owning various ZMFs, including several of the same type but with different woods at the same time for comparison. In the end, I chose to hang on to a Pheasantwood VO even though it looks very beat up and pedestrian compared to the other limited edition and stabilized woods. The soft, more porous Pheasantwood seems to complement the faster sounding beryllium driver. Whereas the Blackwood VO and Desert Ironwood VO I owned briefly were a little bit too much of a good thing; great detail and speed, but fatiguing for myself personally. Plus heavy. This is in contrast to the biocellulose driver of the Auteur. For my Auteur, I still love my Blackwood Auteur!

As always YMMV and this is all personal preference. To be honest, I think the beauty of the wood cups adds a bit of "placebo" enjoyment to the sound. You just enjoy the headphones that much more when they're so good looking. So even if there are differences between wood type, in the end, as has been brought up many times, choosing wood type based on appearance is a very reasonable first step, rather than wavering over soft vs hard wood.

 

[Pharmaboy]

My preference on the VO is softer wood. I find the longer decay of silkwood works perfectly with the speed of the driver. The blackwood is very impressive and I’d be happy to have one again but the silkwood consistently came out on top for me in direct comparison.

(smiling as I read this)

The silkwood VO is my favorite headphone (and 3 of the others are ZMFs I lke a lot).

 

[Pharmaboy]

Mine are Blackwood and I feel the same way re: desert island. If there could only be one for eternity, It would be the VO. My other ZMFs are collectively my 2nd favorites in differing ways, but the VO remains head and shoulders above. The first few weeks with Caldera had me thinking it was close and maybe even better, but the first time I put the VO back on with a good set of 6L6GC in my amp, it was immediately like coming home from being lost somewhere. I was shocked considering how my opinion of the Caldera had improved with each day that I spent with them. I haven't heard any other VO besides mine so I can't really say how they compare to other woods specifically, but It would be super cool to check it out at some point.

I'm going through what you describe with the Caldera right now, doing some serious listening to my new coffee-stained oak Caldera on various SS and tube amps. The Caldera is an amazing headphone with great "jump-factor" and the best resolution I've yet heard from any headphone. But IMO it's playing in a different ballpark than the VO, where the TOTL planars compete.

Not even sure if I could explain why, but no other headphone has displaced the VO for me. It does things I never heard another headphone do, in terms of tone, timbre, decay, and resonance.

 

[JerseyD]

I agree that the VO is great with acoustic instrumental music, and those ECM jazz groups sound amazing. The groups George mentions, like the Lumineers and Mumford and Sons (acoustic guitars, yes, but with VOCALS) I prefer on my Auteur Classic. I am finding that vocals are quite recessed on the VO in comparison - at least in my set-up. I am going to have to try some different tubes to try and remedy the situation.

 

[AudioPowerHead]

I agree that the VO is great with acoustic instrumental music, and those ECM jazz groups sound amazing. The groups George mentions, like the Lumineers and Mumford and Sons (acoustic guitars, yes, but with VOCALS) I prefer on my Auteur Classic. I am finding that vocals are quite recessed on the VO in comparison - at least in my set-up. I am going to have to try some different tubes to try and remedy the situation.

Like to offer 2 suggestions to address mids recessions with VO you mentioned; although I do not have such issues with my system set-up.
1) Try BE2 pads, it will accentuate the mids albeit slight loss in the VO’s “3D-ness” using the stock uni lambskin pads. Another option is to try Uni perf suede, it tilts the sound slightly towards neutral (so less V-shaped) but keeps the dimensionality attribute of the VO. This works perfectly for me; as it resembles the Aeolus sound signature in terms of timbre which I prefer (also with uni perf suede pads).
2) Try using NOS Mullard pre-amp tubes; well known for its mids-centricity properties. This again works very well for me using them on the Cayin HA-6A.

 

[baldybstrd]

Like to offer 2 suggestions to address mids recessions with VO you mentioned; although I do not have such issues with my system set-up.
1) Try BE2 pads, it will accentuate the mids albeit slight loss in the VO’s “3D-ness” using the stock uni lambskin pads. Another option is to try Uni perf suede, it tilts the sound slightly towards neutral (so less V-shaped) but keeps the dimensionality attribute of the VO. This works perfectly for me; as it resembles the Aeolus sound signature in terms of timbre which I prefer (also with uni perf suede pads).
2) Try using NOS Mullard pre-amp tubes; well known for its mids-centricity properties. This again works very well for me using them on the Cayin HA-6A.

I second this ! I have the BE2 pads on my VO’s and run a pair of Mullard 6080 and Sylvania VT-231’s and it really helps bringing out the mids on the Verite. It is still a bit recessed compared to more mid forward HP’s like ZMF’s own Aeolus or the Shenneiser’s HD 6 family but way less so than before these two tweaks.

 

[SteveM324]

I attended the Axpona show last weekend in Schaumburg, IL. One of my goals at the show was to hear the Caldera and Atrium open. I’ve enjoyed the ZMF house sound and I currently own a VO Ziricote. In the past I’ve owned an Aoelus and VC but I ended up selling them because neither could compete with my VO for my preferences. I really expected to love the Caldera but I wanted to hear it before placing my order. After listening to the Caldera and Atrium, I walked away from the ZMF booth with a new appreciation for my VO. For my preferences, I still like my VO more than any other ZMF headphone. For my preferences, the VO is still the Goldilocks headphone in the ZMF lineup.

 

[Leto Dal]

I attended the Axpona show last weekend in Schaumburg, IL. One of my goals at the show was to hear the Caldera and Atrium open. I’ve enjoyed the ZMF house sound and I currently own a VO Ziricote. In the past I’ve owned an Aoelus and VC but I ended up selling them because neither could compete with my VO for my preferences. I really expected to love the Caldera but I wanted to hear it before placing my order. After listening to the Caldera and Atrium, I walked away from the ZMF booth with a new appreciation for my VO. For my preferences, I still like my VO more than any other ZMF headphone. For my preferences, the VO is still the Goldilocks headphone in the ZMF lineup.

Interesting, after spending a month with Caldera I can’t appreciate my VO as I did before, it barely sees any use right now. Caldera keeps the ZMF tuning, but does almost everything better to my ear, with deeper reaching bass, more body to instruments, more texture and detail, the music feels veiled with Verite to me now, each time I switch from Caldera. VO still got very slightly more lively vocals on tubes and bit more 3d Stage.

 

[JerseyD]

Like to offer 2 suggestions to address mids recessions with VO you mentioned; although I do not have such issues with my system set-up.
1) Try BE2 pads, it will accentuate the mids albeit slight loss in the VO’s “3D-ness” using the stock uni lambskin pads. Another option is to try Uni perf suede, it tilts the sound slightly towards neutral (so less V-shaped) but keeps the dimensionality attribute of the VO. This works perfectly for me; as it resembles the Aeolus sound signature in terms of timbre which I prefer (also with uni perf suede pads).
2) Try using NOS Mullard pre-amp tubes; well known for its mids-centricity properties. This again works very well for me using them on the Cayin HA-6A.

I have tried (all perf) Uni lamb, Uni suede, Be2 lamb and Be2 suede. The Be2’s did move thing’s slightly in the right direction, but I will have to try new tubes before giving up on the VO. As Leto Dal says just above, they sound veiled to me in my system (where other headphones do not).

 

[baldybstrd]

I have tried (all perf) Uni lamb, Uni suede, Be2 lamb and Be2 suede. The Be2’s did move thing’s slightly in the right direction, but I will have to try new tubes before giving up on the VO. As Leto Dal says just above, they sound veiled to me in my system (where other headphones do not).

Do try changing the tubes if its not too much trouble/expensive. On my system the VO’s sound as clear as a nice sunny day.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I attended the Axpona show last weekend in Schaumburg, IL. One of my goals at the show was to hear the Caldera and Atrium open. I’ve enjoyed the ZMF house sound and I currently own a VO Ziricote. In the past I’ve owned an Aoelus and VC but I ended up selling them because neither could compete with my VO for my preferences. I really expected to love the Caldera but I wanted to hear it before placing my order. After listening to the Caldera and Atrium, I walked away from the ZMF booth with a new appreciation for my VO. For my preferences, I still like my VO more than any other ZMF headphone. For my preferences, the VO is still the Goldilocks headphone in the ZMF lineup.

I own a silkwood VO (my favorite hp) and a coffee-stain Caldera that I've only begun listening to in recent days. Much as I agree about the VO being the Goldilocks ZMF (it is that for me), I must say the Caldera is not a headphone every listener will "get" during brief auditions.

The Caldera has a lot of moves and does a number of things well. Its resolution, dynamics and soundstaging are spectacular. I find that I appreciate this headphone more when I rotate it from amp to amp & DAC to DAC, also trying out different music genres. There's a learning curve with the Caldera.

By contrast, the VO is an easy date--it sounds good on nearly every amp I connect it to, though it does scale with OTLs and bigger/stronger SS. The qualities I like so much about it--driver speed, purity of tone/timbre, and 3D resonance--are present to large degree regardless of sources used.

Net/net: The VO is Mars and the Caldera is Venus (drop in the metaphor of your choice). These designs are very different; one is planar & the other is dynamic and to my ears they complement, rather than contradict each other.

 

[Rollnrock]

Hello all, I‘ve spent some weeks with my new Verite and I just wanted to share some thoughts and impressions.

After two years in this exciting “rabbit hole” and owning some headphones like Grado SR80, SR225, Focal Clears (sold), Elegia, Hifiman HE400SE (sold), Ananda and Aria (sold), I wanted to add a TOTL to my collection. Something really good around which to build a good audio chain.

The very first time I asked ZMF for the VO they told me that it had a “really musical fast and euphonic sound”. To be honest I didn’t know the meaning of euphonic and had to look for it (“pleasing or sweet sound”). And yes, this is a perfect definition of what I listen. Fast and highly detailed, but sweet and very musical sound, with a wonderful natural timbre (and weight) for the instruments.

The pads swapping is something nice, I’ve never swapped pads in any of my hp’s. It’s like having several hp’s. I’ve got the Univ and BE2 both perf lambskin. Both are great to me depending on what you want. The Univ gives a more relaxed and “euphonic” sound, with a bigger soundstage (now listening with them some jazz and loving it), while the BE2 is much faster and detailed sound, without losing too much the “3Dness”, and may be a more neutral FR (as other persons commented). Listening to something like “Mediterranean Sundance/Rio Ancho” (Paco de Lucia/Di Meola/McLaughlin), with that fast guitar notes, with the BE2 is spectacular (well, it’s spectacular with any of them , just different)

My Verite’s cups are made of Burmese Padauk, that is a beautiful wood with a grain that changes depending on how the light impacts on it, it’s a kind of “shimmering”. The finish is very natural and allows to feel the wood and its imperfections (in a perfect handcraftsmanship). In terms of hardness, although it is hard wood (2,150 lbf - 9,550 N), it has large pores, so maybe it behaves like a medium-hard wood in terms of decay? In any case I love it!

Just a few words about ZMF and their fully customer-oriented philosophy. They have been very patient with me and my OCD for getting everything controlled. Every doubt, question and whatever has been always answered fast and kindly, giving a good solution. A big thanks to Zach and the ZMF team, they are great!

I add some pics. Excuse me for the “artistic” vein, I have got a new lens and have been practicing with it…

 

[baldybstrd]

Hello all, I‘ve spent some weeks with my new Verite and I just wanted to share some thoughts and impressions.

After two years in this exciting “rabbit hole” and owning some headphones like Grado SR80, SR225, Focal Clears (sold), Elegia, Hifiman HE400SE (sold), Ananda and Aria (sold), I wanted to add a TOTL to my collection. Something really good around which to build a good audio chain.

The very first time I asked ZMF for the VO they told me that it had a “really musical fast and euphonic sound”. To be honest I didn’t know the meaning of euphonic and had to look for it (“pleasing or sweet sound”). And yes, this is a perfect definition of what I listen. Fast and highly detailed, but sweet and very musical sound, with a wonderful natural timbre (and weight) for the instruments.

The pads swapping is something nice, I’ve never swapped pads in any of my hp’s. It’s like having several hp’s. I’ve got the Univ and BE2 both perf lambskin. Both are great to me depending on what you want. The Univ gives a more relaxed and “euphonic” sound, with a bigger soundstage (now listening with them some jazz and loving it), while the BE2 is much faster and detailed sound, without losing too much the “3Dness”, and may be a more neutral FR (as other persons commented). Listening to something like “Mediterranean Sundance/Rio Ancho” (Paco de Lucia/Di Meola/McLaughlin), with that fast guitar notes, with the BE2 is spectacular (well, it’s spectacular with any of them , just different)

My Verite’s cups are made of Burmese Padauk, that is a beautiful wood with a grain that changes depending on how the light impacts on it, it’s a kind of “shimmering”. The finish is very natural and allows to feel the wood and its imperfections (in a perfect handcraftsmanship). In terms of hardness, although it is hard wood (2,150 lbf - 9,550 N), it has large pores, so maybe it behaves like a medium-hard wood in terms of decay? In any case I love it!

Just a few words about ZMF and their fully customer-oriented philosophy. They have been very patient with me and my OCD for getting everything controlled. Every doubt, question and whatever has been always answered fast and kindly, giving a good solution. A big thanks to Zach and the ZMF team, they are great!

I add some pics. Excuse me for the “artistic” vein, I have got a new lens and have been practicing with it…

Just stunning !!

Welcome to the ZMF family

 

[WillieB]

I second this ! I have the BE2 pads on my VO’s and run a pair of Mullard 6080 and Sylvania VT-231’s and it really helps bringing out the mids on the Verite. It is still a bit recessed compared to more mid forward HP’s like ZMF’s own Aeolus or the Shenneiser’s HD 6 family but way less so than before these two tweaks.

What amp are you using, if you don't mind my asking? I'm exploring options for a new OTL. I'm probably going to build it, but looking at what's out there to get ideas. 6080 is arguably a good tube to base it on for obvious reasons, but would also like to be able to roll in several others.

 

[Rollnrock]

Just stunning !!

Welcome to the ZMF family

Thanks!

It's a pleasure to be part of this family. I think these headphones are really special