[nishan99]

With the caveat that I have Auteur, not Verite, I have had the experience with ZMF cans, never others. I think it is that they emphasize musicality over technicality althought they perform very well on the latter. At times I am certain it is my mood / state that has as much to do with the experience as my kit.. Indeed, sometimes when I am stressed, listening while multitasking and I think my system sounds subpar, I lean back, close my eyes and remember that great music in general and ZMF cans in particular reward close listening.

Yeah especially with the Universe lambskin pads (laid back listening specialist).

Some headphones try hard to get your attention (e.g. Focals), the Verite is never like that.

The verite lambskin pads strike the balance between laid back and aggressive listening and that's why they're my favorite.

 

[jmac1516]

First minutes of listening.
On my Wa22 with original 6080 power tubes, VTT 99 6sn7 drivers, and a GZ34 Sittard rectifier, on high gain.
Universe Pads.

These are special.
They hit hard, while drawing sharp images, and simultaneously being smooth as silk...
Soundstage is enourmous, front and to the sides as well as behind me, ha!

These are the most beautiful and well crafted headphones i have seen so far in this hobby, by a country mile.
Plus they are much lighter and more comfortable then i expected.

(asked it allready but still no answer - 300B or 2A3 tubes for my EC Studio Jr ?)

Great to hear your thoughts related to WA22 and Verite! How do you compare this combo to your Violectric and Verite?

I have a GOTL but have yet to unbox it. It's been sitting for three months as we finish a major house remodel but will be unpacking it this weekend

 

[Empyah]

Great to hear your thoughts related to WA22 and Verite! How do you compare this combo to your Violectric and Verite?

I have a GOTL but have yet to unbox it. It's been sitting for three months as we finish a major house remodel but will be unpacking it this weekend

On the V281 it sounds pristine, powerful and smooth,
on the Wa22 (especially with the tubes i got) it is a tad brighter, the space is bigger
and the music sounds more natural, around and in-the-room with me.

 

[mixman]

Ok,
my preliminary, honeymoon-impressions are as follows, these are:
out of all my kilocans (LCD 2.2 pre-f., Ether 2, Aeon 2, HE1000se, HD800SD, LCD 2 Classic)
the best headphones i have ever owned or heard, by far.

Keep doing whatever it is you are doing Zach.
This is the whole package, simply fantastic, thank you.

Does the V281 actually sound warmer than you Wa22?

 

[Empyah]

Does the V281 actually sound warmer than you Wa22?

Yes, not much tho.

 

[Pharmaboy]

General comment about the WA22, which I owned for ~4 months last year: this amp's sound is primarily derived from the NOS tubes the owner rolls (few if any owners use the stock tubes). This means that one owner's WA22 + NOS tube-set won't sound the same as the next owner's.

I didn't have a Verite on hand when I had my WA22 w/a solid NOS tube-set, so I can't comment on that sound. But I compared other headphones on the WA22 to the V281 at length (ie, Aeolus, Empryean, Eikon, Ori, HEX v2, JAR650/modded HD650). The differences were fascinating:

• The WA22 was slightly/somewhat warmer than the V281, overall
• But the WA22 sounded very different from the V281 in all the usual tube ways:
  • huge/spacious soundstaging -- the V281 has above average soundstaging, but the WA22 took it much farther
  • 3D dimensionality to notes & spaces between notes (space was dark & almost palpable)
  • BIG/huge midrange (V281 has fine mids, but this is a different level)
  • less depth & impact in bass (less sub-bass) than V281
  • WA22's treble a little bit less open than V281, but with gorgeous tonality to those high notes
  • WA22 had less exuberant dynamics overall (V281 has borderline spectacular dynamics)
  • whatever deficits there were vs V281 are offset by the beautiful tonality/rich timbre of instruments--it's quite a different sound profile ("wetter," more palpable & spacious), overall

If I'd had a different/alternate set of NOS tubes for the WA22, all these differences would have changed in ways small & large. That's the nature of the WA22...

I use the V281 as my daily amp/preamp, and "warm" is not the word that springs to mind when discussing its sound (though it is slightly warm compared to some more "clinical" sounding SS). The Liquid Carbon v2, for example, is warmer than the V281, but as I always find w/this warm vs cold paradigm, that doesn't really fully describe the other, more subtle sonic differences between these amps.

 

[Empyah]

General comment about the WA22, which I owned for ~4 months last year: this amp's sound is primarily derived from the NOS tubes the owner rolls (few if any owners use the stock tubes). This means that one owner's WA22 + NOS tube-set won't sound the same as the next owner's.

I didn't have a Verite on hand when I had my WA22 w/a solid NOS tube-set, so I can't comment on that sound. But I compared other headphones on the WA22 to the V281 at length (ie, Aeolus, Empryean, Eikon, Ori, HEX v2, JAR650/modded HD650). The differences were fascinating:

• The WA22 was slightly/somewhat warmer than the V281, overall
• But the WA22 sounded very different from the V281 in all the usual tube ways:
  • huge/spacious soundstaging -- the V281 has above average soundstaging, but the WA22 took it much farther
  • 3D dimensionality to notes & spaces between notes (space was dark & almost palpable)
  • BIG/huge midrange (V281 has fine mids, but this is a different level)
  • less depth & impact in bass (less sub-bass) than V281
  • WA22's treble a little bit less open than V281, but with gorgeous tonality to those high notes
  • WA22 had less exuberant dynamics overall (V281 has borderline spectacular dynamics)
  • whatever deficits there were vs V281 are offset by the beautiful tonality/rich timbre of instruments--it's quite a different sound profile ("wetter," more palpable & spacious), overall

If I'd had a different/alternate set of NOS tubes for the WA22, all these differences would have changed in ways small & large. That's the nature of the WA22...

I use the V281 as my daily amp/preamp, and "warm" is not the word that springs to mind when discussing its sound (though it is slightly warm compared to some more "clinical" sounding SS). The Liquid Carbon v2, for example, is warmer than the V281, but as I always find w/this warm vs cold paradigm, that doesn't really fully describe the other, more subtle sonic differences between these amps.

This.
The V281 sounds great out of the box, the Wa22 sounds good with the stock tubes but needs work, time and money to get really good.
I was lucky that Zach suggested me the tubes he would like with the Verite and it turned out great, yet it still cost me an extra 400 Bucks.
And yes the rectifier that got more bass extension, clarity, speed and extended and brighter, yet sweet highs
cost 250€.

 

[mixman]

How do the Verite sound

General comment about the WA22, which I owned for ~4 months last year: this amp's sound is primarily derived from the NOS tubes the owner rolls (few if any owners use the stock tubes). This means that one owner's WA22 + NOS tube-set won't sound the same as the next owner's.

I didn't have a Verite on hand when I had my WA22 w/a solid NOS tube-set, so I can't comment on that sound. But I compared other headphones on the WA22 to the V281 at length (ie, Aeolus, Empryean, Eikon, Ori, HEX v2, JAR650/modded HD650). The differences were fascinating:

• The WA22 was slightly/somewhat warmer than the V281, overall
• But the WA22 sounded very different from the V281 in all the usual tube ways:
  • huge/spacious soundstaging -- the V281 has above average soundstaging, but the WA22 took it much farther
  • 3D dimensionality to notes & spaces between notes (space was dark & almost palpable)
  • BIG/huge midrange (V281 has fine mids, but this is a different level)
  • less depth & impact in bass (less sub-bass) than V281
  • WA22's treble a little bit less open than V281, but with gorgeous tonality to those high notes
  • WA22 had less exuberant dynamics overall (V281 has borderline spectacular dynamics)
  • whatever deficits there were vs V281 are offset by the beautiful tonality/rich timbre of instruments--it's quite a different sound profile ("wetter," more palpable & spacious), overall

If I'd had a different/alternate set of NOS tubes for the WA22, all these differences would have changed in ways small & large. That's the nature of the WA22...

I use the V281 as my daily amp/preamp, and "warm" is not the word that springs to mind when discussing its sound (though it is slightly warm compared to some more "clinical" sounding SS). The Liquid Carbon v2, for example, is warmer than the V281, but as I always find w/this warm vs cold paradigm, that doesn't really fully describe the other, more subtle sonic differences between these amps.

My buddy who is also a former WA22 owner liked it but warned me off the amp, noting the stock tubes sucked and the WA22 is very particular with the tubes you put in it and plan on spending a lot of money getting the right tubes for it.

So I guess you ultimately preferred the V281?

 

[Pharmaboy]

My buddy who is also a former WA22 owner liked it but warned me off the amp, noting the stock tubes sucked and the WA22 is very particular with the tubes you put in it and plan on spending a lot of money getting the right tubes for it.

So I guess you ultimately preferred the V281?

Yes & no. I loved the sound of the WA22, but it was too large & heavy for the only place I had to put it. I tried living with it there, but it was borderline dangerous. The other thing that drove me nuts was exactly what you said: to get anywhere w/the WA22, you have to spend a lot of money (and time) on this tube or that tube, doing combinations, trying things. The NOS tubes it came with were excellent, but OCD me had to fly higher. I purchased 3 NOS tubes to swap in (not cheap), and all 3 worsened the sound in various ways. I realized tube rolling is a rabbit hole I just didn't want to go down--so I sold it.

There's little doubt that the excellent sonics & extreme flexibility/useability of the V281 made that decision relatively painless. Another mitigating factor: I have 4 other amps, all much smaller than the WA22 & easy to use here or there as 2nd amp.

Final thought: I had a loaner Aeolus during my time w/the WA22 and got a spectacular sound with that combination. So there are a few regrets...

 

[robo24]

Can you elaborate on the sound differences between the universe perforated suede and the universe perforated leather?

As of right now, I still prefer my Verite perforated leather to my new BE perforated suede.

I want to know if anyone has tried any of the Auteur pads on the Verite open. I’m thinking about trying the Auteur perforated leather.

Well I did some pad rolling just for you! I'm glad I did, as I found the Auteur suede per pads quite wonderful on the Verite. I'm terrible at comparing sound, especially after the minute or so it takes me to swap the pads. The Auteur (I only have suede) seem to have more bass. As for the Universe perf lambskin vs. suede, I preferred the suede, as the lambskin were surprisingly bright and the suede seemed to tame the treble a bit. As for BE-2 perf suede vs. Verite lambskin, the lambskin are the most revealing and show off the technical abilities of the Verite. The BE-2 suede are similar but not quite as detailed, perhaps a bit more bass. Eikon suede perf (my favorite on the Auteur) also enjoyable, with more bass than others.

Sorry I can't really describe more than that. Ultimately I enjoyed them with all 6 and will probably keep the suede Auteur for a while.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Well I did some pad rolling just for you! I'm glad I did, as I found the Auteur suede per pads quite wonderful on the Verite. I'm terrible at comparing sound, especially after the minute or so it takes me to swap the pads. The Auteur (I only have suede) seem to have more bass. As for the Universe perf lambskin vs. suede, I preferred the suede, as the lambskin were surprisingly bright and the suede seemed to tame the treble a bit. As for BE-2 perf suede vs. Verite lambskin, the lambskin are the most revealing and show off the technical abilities of the Verite. The BE-2 suede are similar but not quite as detailed, perhaps a bit more bass. Eikon suede perf (my favorite on the Auteur) also enjoyable, with more bass than others.

Sorry I can't really describe more than that. Ultimately I enjoyed them with all 6 and will probably keep the suede Auteur for a while.

I appreciate that information! You said that the Auteur perforated suede had more bass, but compared to which stock Verite pad? More bass than the Verite perforated leather or the Universe perforated leather?

 

[mixman]

Well I did some pad rolling just for you! I'm glad I did, as I found the Auteur suede per pads quite wonderful on the Verite. I'm terrible at comparing sound, especially after the minute or so it takes me to swap the pads. The Auteur (I only have suede) seem to have more bass. As for the Universe perf lambskin vs. suede, I preferred the suede, as the lambskin were surprisingly bright and the suede seemed to tame the treble a bit. As for BE-2 perf suede vs. Verite lambskin, the lambskin are the most revealing and show off the technical abilities of the Verite. The BE-2 suede are similar but not quite as detailed, perhaps a bit more bass. Eikon suede perf (my favorite on the Auteur) also enjoyable, with more bass than others.

Sorry I can't really describe more than that. Ultimately I enjoyed them with all 6 and will probably keep the suede Auteur for a while.

Oh damn, the Auteur suede pads weren't even on my list. Might have to try those too!

 

[robo24]

I appreciate that information! You said that the Auteur perforated suede had more bass, but compared to which stock Verite pad? More bass than the Verite perforated leather or the Universe perforated leather?

Oh gosh, now I'm not sure what order. It may have been after the BE-2 suede so would apply to the comparison with the lambskin verite. I basically don't use the stock Verite pads at all mostly because I don't like the feeling of them on my skin--living in Hawaii where it's pretty much always warm, they cause more obvious sweat. I don't know that the Auteur suede perf are a must try with the Verite. If I could only have 1 pair other than the stock 2, it would be the Universe suede.

EDIT:I see now I was using the Auteur suede perf right after the BE-2, so they definitely have more bass than those, and presumably the Verite leather.

 

[AudioProm]

As for the Universe perf lambskin vs. suede, I preferred the suede, as the lambskin were surprisingly bright and the suede seemed to tame the treble a bit.

The result is in line with the pad description on ZMF website. In my equipment chain, the change is more prominent on the lower end since my tube amp is on the warmer side. It tames the low end resulting in less bleeding to the mid range.

 

[cradon]

First minutes of listening.
On my Wa22 with original 6080 power tubes, VTT 99 6sn7 drivers, and a GZ34 Sittard rectifier, on high gain.
Universe Pads.

These are special.
They hit hard, while drawing sharp images, and simultaneously being smooth as silk...
Soundstage is enourmous, front and to the sides as well as behind me, ha!

These are the most beautiful and well crafted headphones i have seen so far in this hobby, by a country mile.
Plus they are much lighter and more comfortable then i expected.

(asked it allready but still no answer - 300B or 2A3 tubes for my EC Studio Jr ?)

For the EC Studio Jr I would get the 2A3 Tubes as they are more neutral, resolving and have more extended and airy highs. The 300B version would be warmer and euphoric sounding.