ZMF Verite Open
Nov 27, 2018 at 4:12 PM Post #798 of 9,618
I've used the ZMF Mechanikos silver, 2K copper, stock and Danacable Lazuli so far on Verite. Of the ZMF cables Michanikos will make it seem a hair closer to neutral, but 2K has a touch more detail and microdetail and overall refinement. I really like both cables a lot. The Danacable is my favorite, of course, but it is the warmest and most costly option. @heliosphann has probably spent more time comparing...

Thanks so much. So in your opinion, you prefer Verite with the Lazulli over both ZMF cables, even though Lazulli is the warmest?
 
Nov 27, 2018 at 4:28 PM Post #799 of 9,618
Thanks so much. So in your opinion, you prefer Verite with the Lazulli over both ZMF cables, even though Lazulli is the warmest?

Yeah, I liked the Verite best with Lazuli, but it is good with all of them. The Danacable maximizes the Verite's ridiculous dynamics and impact. That combo is rowdy!
 
Nov 27, 2018 at 4:46 PM Post #801 of 9,618
What are your thoughts on norne and double helix

I have a Draug 2 and a Double Helix Neucleotide cable. The Draug 2 looks great but just sounds decent, IMHO. Its 8 feet, which I think is too long. Haven't heard Trevor's top tier stuff. The DHC Neucleotide cable sounds super sweet, has great dimensionality and emotion. The Danacable beats both easily, IMHO. More weight, easier mids, more treble control, better impact and better on a lot of little technical fronts. I do love that Neucleotide cable though, and the ZMF 2K cable is like a little better version of it, so I like that cable a lot too. I use the 2K with the Atticus and Aeolus a lot because OCC seems to have this little sweetness to it. That's getting pretty down in the weeds though.
 
Nov 27, 2018 at 5:12 PM Post #802 of 9,618
Norne(Trevor) makes very fine cables. I used Norne for my Ether Flow and LCD-X. Zach loaned me a Prion4 at a Headfi meet to try with my X. The improvement in SQ was dramatic, so dramatic I carved out a large hole in my wallet the next week.
 
Nov 27, 2018 at 6:07 PM Post #805 of 9,618
I have a Draug 2 and a Double Helix Neucleotide cable. The Draug 2 looks great but just sounds decent, IMHO. Its 8 feet, which I think is too long. Haven't heard Trevor's top tier stuff. The DHC Neucleotide cable sounds super sweet, has great dimensionality and emotion. The Danacable beats both easily, IMHO. More weight, easier mids, more treble control, better impact and better on a lot of little technical fronts. I do love that Neucleotide cable though, and the ZMF 2K cable is like a little better version of it, so I like that cable a lot too. I use the 2K with the Atticus and Aeolus a lot because OCC seems to have this little sweetness to it. That's getting pretty down in the weeds though.
Im just looking for a cable that increases or doesn't decrease the soundstage, keep detail and increase impact and dynamics without being bright. At a reasonable price. Dana cable is a little out of my price range
 
Nov 27, 2018 at 6:23 PM Post #806 of 9,618
Hard for me to explain. They are similar and entirely different at the same time.

Very pithy comment. It signifies 2 things to me:
  1. I really have to hear the Verite so I can check this stuff for myself
  2. And it can be insanely hard to explain the subjective experience of hearing a headphone (hearing anything, for that matter).
We're used to discussing frequencies, dynamics, bass/sub-bass/"slam," midrange quantity & quality; treble "air," soundstage, headstage, etc. But if none of these factors fully describes the sound of hard-to-pin down headphone, then what? Discuss the gestalt of experiencing one HP vs others? Mention audio experiences on other gear (speakers, amps, whatever) this HP reminds you of?

You run out of room pretty quickly trying to describe a sound signature that is truly novel & which others are familiar with.

This reminds me of conversations I have w/non-wonk/obsessed pals who ask why I prefer plasma to LCD (& now OLED). I end up answering in ways that weirdly parallel headphone talk ("LCDs tend to spotlight lighter/brighter tone values while plasmas seem tend to glow their best in darker tone values")--mentioning various seemingly discrete factors, but in the end, I'm really trying to explain the visual experience of one technology vs the other.
 
Nov 27, 2018 at 6:54 PM Post #807 of 9,618
I have w/non-wonk/obsessed pals who ask why I prefer plasma to LCD (& now OLED)

I wanted a Pioneer Kuro for the longest time but by the time I could afford one they were discontinued. Have an OLED now and its stunning,except for that damn screen burn-in from playing too much Destiny. :frowning2:

The Verite is a hard headphone for me to describe accurately. I do not have the writing skills needed to do so,as others here have.

I guess the best compliment I could pay to the Verite is my one-of-a-kind Bocote Atticus was posted for sale today. That should tell you a lot about how much I like the Verite.
 
Nov 27, 2018 at 8:52 PM Post #808 of 9,618
I like them a lot for metal. More different vs. straight-up better than Blackwood Auteur. It is definitely all those things: warmer/darker tilt, more micro/macro dymanics and detail/bigger stage. Blackwood Auteur is more accurate to the actual tone as recorded because Verite has some coloration to it. Better recordings sound more dynamic. Bad recordings don't sound less dynamic, per se, but if you're coming off a good recording, you're gonna be like, "Damn, this is a little compressed." With Auteur the difference on those recordings is less noticeable. So I'd say Auteur favors black, poorly-produced death and grind, and older thrash tracks that aren't tip-top production. Verite will favor progressive, power, symphonic, metalcore, djent, etc...which tends to have shinier production qualities. Blackwood Auteur's strength is it's a 9/10 across every genre of metal. Verite is like 11/10 in its best genres and 7.5/10 with poo-poo production stuff. Make sense?

Thats great, very helpful! Not so great for my wallet though because now it seems I have to have both :) I love a good mid centric/tonally accurate sound but am a sucker for a larger/more precise soundstage as well
 
Nov 27, 2018 at 8:53 PM Post #809 of 9,618
Nov 27, 2018 at 9:10 PM Post #810 of 9,618
So from what I have read, would it be fair to say that the Verite is the type of can that is overly accurate but not as forgiving to poorly mastered recordings?

Depends on what you mean by "accurate". The Verite isn't as forgiving as the Auteur, but it's nowhere near as bad as say the Utopia's.

from what I gather it is not accurate, Auteurs take that impression but it seems the Verite has an organic, lush, large albeit detailed

Not so much. Auteur's are definitely more lush and organic sounding than the Verite. Especially the pair of Blackwoods I have.
 

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