[Pharmaboy]

Has anyone compared the atrium to the VO?

I did (briefly) in my review of the Atrium, which you'll find here (2nd one down). Several others also mention the VO in their reviews here:

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/zmfheadphones-atrium.25763/reviews

After the review I sent my Atrium back to ZMF to have a jack replaced, so have been w/o it for a couple weeks. During that time I've done heavy listening with the VO.

The Atrium really gives the VO a run for its money (as it does every other headphone I have) ... but I keep coming back to the VO for special qualities it has that nothing else can quite match.

The VO is still my favorite headphone overall. It has an uncanny combination of considerable speed & resolution with the best rendition of tone/timbre I've heard anywhere. Listened to the VO the other night on one of my favorite soprano's recital recordings (Elly Ameling) and was bowled over by the beauty of her voice. I can hear every tiny volume and tonal shift in her voice as she interprets the music. This is the experience I keep having with the VO on all kinds of music, not just classical.

Having said that, the Atrium is far and away the best and most interesting soundstaging headphone I've ever encountered. It's really is a class of just one when it comes to rendering sonic space. And the bass can be borderline spectacular...

 

[Mike C]

The VO is still my favorite headphone overall. It has an uncanny combination of considerable speed & resolution with the best rendition of tone/timbre I've heard anywhere. Listened to the VO the other night on one of my favorite soprano's recital recordings (Elly Ameling) and was bowled over by the beauty of her voice.

Nice to read something that really matters, what it's all about; instead of so much correct, but analytical, stuff one gets from some reviews.
It's the beauty that matters!

Yes, Elly Ameling's voice is sublime, I have several records; was that her Exsultate Jubilate that you listened to?
(My favourite recording of that is Neville Marriner with Erna Spoorenberg; also sublime).

I was about to post myself about beauty. I've just listened to a song 'The Book of Love' by Cheryl Bentyne, on the CD of the same name. A very classy singer, ex Manhattan Transfer. That song is just beautiful. At first I was slightly put off by the amount of backing vocals that I didn't like ... on further listening it all seemed to blend together and I love it.
Via the VO, with valve amp and dac, tonality is superb on everything; deep male voice backing, the other backing singers, classy music, and of course Cheryl's voice. Spine tingly. Shame the rest of the CD is merely good, not quite as outstanding (IMHO).
I have not had quite the same reaction to this song in the past with other headphones, which is why I'm writing this.

 

[swissheadphonelover]

Via the VO, with valve amp and dac, tonality is superb on everything; deep male voice backing, the other backing singers, classy music, and of course Cheryl's voice. Spine tingly. Shame the rest of the CD is merely good, not quite as outstanding (IMHO).
I have not had quite the same reaction to this song in the past with other headphones, which is why I'm writing this.

With this kind of songs I even prefer the VO over my STAX X9000

 

[helljudgement]

The Atrium really gives the VO a run for its money (as it does every other headphone I have) ... but I keep coming back to the VO for special qualities it has that nothing else can quite match.

The VO is still my favorite headphone overall. It has an uncanny combination of considerable speed & resolution with the best rendition of tone/timbre I've heard anywhere.

The VO's tone definitely stands out and is probably one of a kind but also very subjective. It is a blend of fast and highly resolving driver with plenty of cup interaction which gives off unique timbre that is way different from the other beryllium driver headphone, Utopia, which sounds quite a bit dryer. The Atrium comes so close in many aspect and is in many ways a legit alternative to the Verite with little to no tradeoffs in overall performance. Difference in tonality and timbre makes it unique headphone all on it's own. Still inconclusive as to which I prefer so thankfully I'm not forced to sell either. Yet.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Nice to read something that really matters, what it's all about; instead of so much correct, but analytical, stuff one gets from some reviews.
It's the beauty that matters!

Yes, Elly Ameling's voice is sublime, I have several records; was that her Exsultate Jubilate that you listened to?
(My favourite recording of that is Neville Marriner with Erna Spoorenberg; also sublime).

I was about to post myself about beauty. I've just listened to a song 'The Book of Love' by Cheryl Bentyne, on the CD of the same name. A very classy singer, ex Manhattan Transfer. That song is just beautiful. At first I was slightly put off by the amount of backing vocals that I didn't like ... on further listening it all seemed to blend together and I love it.
Via the VO, with valve amp and dac, tonality is superb on everything; deep male voice backing, the other backing singers, classy music, and of course Cheryl's voice. Spine tingly. Shame the rest of the CD is merely good, not quite as outstanding (IMHO).
I have not had quite the same reaction to this song in the past with other headphones, which is why I'm writing this.

Yes, I have Elly Ameling's Exultate Jubilate (somewhere, probably LP). Must have 8 or 9 versions of that by different sopranos. Are you referring to the version conducted by Raymond Leppard?

(relistening to the Leppard/AE version on youtube right now ... her voice just bowls me over, so precise but also so emotive)

Mozart was 16 years old when he write this motet!!!

 

[Speednut]

I send my VO back to ZMF because I need the upright and gymbal replaced, but as far as I can see, the last update on the shipment was it's stuck in customs in USA (shipped from europe). But that was on the 10th of April, so it's been 12 days now. Does it usually take that long?

I haven't heard anything beyond that yet and i'm wondering if I should be worried...

 

[Docharsha89]

I got my Verite Open finally, and it honestly beats all expectations. The sound is so smooth and at the same time very detailed. I’m running it with my Chord Hugo 2 and it sounds exemplary. Though the weight is close to 500 g, it feels light and importantly very comfortable on the head, with perfect weight distribution and clamp force.

Build quality, finishing of the wood, QC of the screws, lugs, everything reeks of quality and cannot be revealed in pictures ; it needs to be seen and experienced.

From the first hour, the sound is top class, I’m not burning it in, because I want to experience the sound as it changes, but I’m loving it as is, even without any burning in done.

Sound wise, the most expensive I’ve gone are the Hifiman Arya, and to be honest I never got to like the treble happy-bass shy approach of the Hifiman Range of headphones and the Verite is atleast 2 classes above the headphone.

I’ve listened to the Meze Empyrean for around 2 hours recently, and that headphone was burned in for upwards of 300 hours, So for my ears, the Verite (brand new out of the box), is clearly better than that empyrean. The Verite do everything better for me, including overall build quality.

Will post further update as my ownership progresses.

 

[Renexx]

I got my Verite Open finally, and it honestly beats all expectations. The sound is so smooth and at the same time very detailed. I’m running it with my Chord Hugo 2 and it sounds exemplary. Though the weight is close to 500 g, it feels light and importantly very comfortable on the head, with perfect weight distribution and clamp force.

Build quality, finishing of the wood, QC of the screws, lugs, everything reeks of quality and cannot be revealed in pictures ; it needs to be seen and experienced.

From the first hour, the sound is top class, I’m not burning it in, because I want to experience the sound as it changes, but I’m loving it as is, even without any burning in done.

Sound wise, the most expensive I’ve gone are the Hifiman Arya, and to be honest I never got to like the treble happy-bass shy approach of the Hifiman Range of headphones and the Verite is atleast 2 classes above the headphone.

I’ve listened to the Meze Empyrean for around 2 hours recently, and that headphone was burned in for upwards of 300 hours, So for my ears, the Verite (brand new out of the box), is clearly better than that empyrean. The Verite do everything better for me, including overall build quality.

Will post further update as my ownership progresses.

Wow that's a really nice set you got there. Looks actually much better than displayed on the website. The aged effect on the grills is very fitting.

They will get even better after some burn in. Enjoy !

 

[Docharsha89]

Wow that's a really nice set you got there. Looks actually much better than displayed on the website. The aged effect on the grills is very fitting.

They will even get better after some burn in. Enjoy !

Thank you for your appreciation. I’ve read reports of great changes post burn in, So I’m eagerly putting in hours

 

[bpiotrow13]

I’ve listened to the Meze Empyrean for around 2 hours recently, and that headphone was burned in for upwards of 300 hours, So for my ears, the Verite (brand new out of the box), is clearly better than that empyrean. The Verite do everything better for me, including overall build quality.

Congratulations. I also moved from Meze to Verite. Frankly I was a bit disappointed at the beginning, Verite needs time, but once they are burnt in they are amazing. And works perfectly with tube amps

 

[Klmahnn]

I send my VO back to ZMF because I need the upright and gymbal replaced, but as far as I can see, the last update on the shipment was it's stuck in customs in USA (shipped from europe). But that was on the 10th of April, so it's been 12 days now. Does it usually take that long?

I haven't heard anything beyond that yet and i'm wondering if I should be worried...

You really shouldn’t have had to send in your whole headphone in for that anyway.

What happened to user serviceable?

 

[zach915m]

You really shouldn’t have had to send in your whole headphone in for that anyway.

What happened to user serviceable?

We stopped doing entire chassis replacements that involve the gimbal because of so many issues with self replacement that we were losing tons of parts. It's a tough part to get right and best done by our technicians that do it every day. Rods, uprights, pads and leather can all be done by the owner, but gimbals were are only doing in house.

And some users prefer we do the work regardless.

 

[Klmahnn]

We stopped doing entire chassis replacements that involve the gimbal because of so many issues with self replacement that we were losing tons of parts. It's a tough part to get right and best done by our technicians that do it every day. Rods, uprights, pads and leather can all be done by the owner, but gimbals were are only doing in house.

And some users prefer we do the work regardless.

Ah. Is it not just the hex screws in the cups that need to be taken out/put back with the provided hex keys?

 

[SHIMACM]

I am a happy new owner of a Veritè Open.

Can anyone tell me if anything other than Bottlehead Crack with Speedball is needed to match Veritè to its fullest potential?

I know that Veritè can be considered an end game for me.

But I wonder if the rest of my chain is limiting Veritè.

My current system is Bifrost 2 - Crack with Speedball and Veritè.

 

[Requia]

After the review I sent my Atrium back to ZMF to have a jack replaced, so have been w/o it for a couple weeks. During that time I've done heavy listening with the VO.

Out of curiosity, what was the issue with the jack?