[Exekuhtor]

Exactly. Allthough the Susvara also released some time ago.
The VO has a magical tuning that i haven't heard on any other headphone. The Atrium Closed that i also got for a week was "nice", but it did not have that special tuning.
But if someone would ask for a TOTL allrounder, chances are low that the Verite Open comes up in the first few trains of thought. The Caldera? Sure, it's new and more typical for a TOTL. The VO is more musical though.

The one blackwood VO on kleinanzeigen is a lot more pricy, yeah. I did not lowball the guy i got it from, i just took a good deal, It was also listed for two weeks before i decided to get it.
I am very happy with the purchase and will enjoy it a lot.

 

[robo24]

Exactly. Allthough the Susvara also released some time ago.
The VO has a magical tuning that i haven't heard on any other headphone. The Atrium Closed that i also got for a week was "nice", but it did not have that special tuning.
But if someone would ask for a TOTL allrounder, chances are low that the Verite Open comes up in the first few trains of thought. The Caldera? Sure, it's new and more typical for a TOTL. The VO is more musical though.

The one blackwood VO on kleinanzeigen is a lot more pricy, yeah. I did not lowball the guy i got it from, i just took a good deal, It was also listed for two weeks before i decided to get it.
I am very happy with the purchase and will enjoy it a lot.

You're going to love it even more when you get your Envy. Hearing the VO on it at CanJam was what prompted me to lose my mind and spend that much on an amp.

 

[Exekuhtor]

I am very curious about that. Will i prefer the VO on the Echo (and keep it), or does the Envy do everything better, not only hard to drive planars but also high impedance headphones like the VO...

 

[Leto Dal]

Tbh Atrium might be the better 2.5k-3k allrounder (imho VO doesnt handle rock and metal so well) and is a more oganic sounding, more laid back, more analog sounding headphone due to much better decay. I can listed to Atrium for 10h without any fatigue. Additionally AC adds very unique fun bass that barely any high end headphone has.

Caldera on the other hand has similar tuning (imho) but comes with better imaging, better stage, much more clarity, seperation and basically much better technicalities in almost every regard. Each time I switch to Caldera from Verite, it feels like the sound gets unveiled. Additional it handles basically every gerne you throw at it brilliantly, imho its one of the best allrounders on the current high end market.

VO still has very unique euphonic tuning one can easily fall in love with and has some of the best female vocals I ever experienced, in addition to that VO has a very interesting 3d holographic stage "bubble" that I havent heard anywhere else. Still compared to the other 2 flagships its bit more limited to certain scenarios.

 

[aloki]

Tbh Atrium might be the better 2.5k-3k allrounder (imho VO doesnt handle rock and metal so well) and is a more oganic sounding, more laid back, more analog sounding headphone due to much better decay. I can listed to Atrium for 10h without any fatigue. Additionally AC adds very unique fun bass that barely any high end headphone has.

Caldera on the other hand has similar tuning (imho) but comes with better imaging, better stage, much more clarity, seperation and basically much better technicalities in almost every regard. Each time I switch to Caldera from Verite, it feels like the sound gets unveiled. Additional it handles basically every gerne you throw at it brilliantly, imho its one of the best allrounders on the current high end market.

VO still has very unique euphonic tuning one can easily fall in love with and has some of the best female vocals I ever experienced, in addition to that VO has a very interesting 3d holographic stage "bubble" that I havent heard anywhere else. Still compared to the other 2 flagships its bit more limited to certain scenarios.

I’d actually say that the VO is the best all rounder. It is a good middle ground between the Atrium and the Caldera: better technicalities than the Atrium and a more natural sound than the Caldera. I mainly listen to rock, metal, and indie music and the VO can handle fast paced music and atmospheric music really well. The Atrium hits harder but the Verite is no slouch. It doesn't have planar speed, but it’s pretty dang fast.

 

[robo24]

I am very curious about that. Will i prefer the VO on the Echo (and keep it), or does the Envy do everything better, not only hard to drive planars but also high impedance headphones like the VO...

Hmmm, to me it does, but having the Envy AND an OTL is what I do. I've only heard the newest Echo briefly at CanJam but liked what I heard.

 

[Pharmaboy]

The VO is a different story.
EVERYTHING sounds so good and never fatiguing, no matter the genre or the volume. It's my #1 "lean back and enjoy a whisky" headphone. Still, it's very fast and highly technical but also extremely musical and lush.

You get engulfed in the music and just lean back and are happy. Plug it into a tube amp and you get this awesome decay of the notes and an even bigger soundstage.

I've lost count of the times I tried to describe what my silkwood VO does, but you really nailed it.

For a headphone this fast and resolving to also be such a relaxed, engaging listen is a rare thing. I have some terrific headphones here (incl. several other great ZMFs), but the VO is still king.

When I match it with a fine TC-tube amp (Icon Audio HP8), it sounds even better.

 

[Daiyama]

Exactly. Allthough the Susvara also released some time ago.
The VO has a magical tuning that i haven't heard on any other headphone. The Atrium Closed that i also got for a week was "nice", but it did not have that special tuning.
But if someone would ask for a TOTL allrounder, chances are low that the Verite Open comes up in the first few trains of thought. The Caldera? Sure, it's new and more typical for a TOTL. The VO is more musical though.

The one blackwood VO on kleinanzeigen is a lot more pricy, yeah. I did not lowball the guy i got it from, i just took a good deal, It was also listed for two weeks before i decided to get it.
I am very happy with the purchase and will enjoy it a lot.

So it was a different one as in kleinanzeigen (still online). Great offer, great deal you got there, grats!

 

[LegatoB]

I've lost count of the times I tried to describe what my silkwood VO does, but you really nailed it.

For a headphone this fast and resolving to also be such a relaxed, engaging listen is a rare thing. I have some terrific headphones here (incl. several other great ZMFs), but the VO is still king.

When I match it with a fine TC-tube amp (Icon Audio HP8), it sounds even better.

The rumbling timbre on the VO is pretty enjoyable to me right now too. One thing over the HE1000se it does is tame the highs, and for those who don't like the highs to take too much of the show (like myself), the VO is great because it still has that realism but it's silkier.

I feel like the VO takes what makes the HE1000se unique , and I’m using these TOTL because I have them, and kind of turns those highs into a smoother signature with more timbre. I like the rumbling, and I don’t think HE1000se has the physical frame to support that kind of affect.

 

[helljudgement]

VO still has very unique euphonic tuning one can easily fall in love with and has some of the best female vocals I ever experienced, in addition to that VO has a very interesting 3d holographic stage "bubble" that I havent heard anywhere else. Still compared to the other 2 flagships its bit more limited to certain scenarios.

I often said the Verite is my personal top 3 headphone but never the one I'd recommend to anyone buying blind. Definitely a polarizing tuning but if it clicks it's certainly a versatile headphone that do well with any and all genre imo. Though I do lean towards the Atrium open for rock due moar slam and oomph and these are probably the most realistic sounding kick drums I've heard on any driver.

The Caldera to many does seem to make Verite obsolete and I can certainly hear why on first listen. But the Caldera does lack that seductive quality I find on the Verite. For better or worse, the Caldera does feel like a planar that is trying to sound like a dynamic driver. It has the best timbre to my ears out of all planars I've heard up to this point granted my limited experience with totl planar besides the Susvara and D8k. But it still doesn't sound as organic or meaty as the Verite and Atriums and I don't think that was the intent at all. The Verite does have a rather seductive quality that isn't replicated even by other ZMFs. Probably the way it driver interacts with the ear cups that results in the way sound. The criticisms surrounding Verite are well noted and definitely not without truth but regardless it still remains as one of my favorites for reasons stated.

Coming close to ordering the Caldera after hearing it in my system as it is so darn good. Definitely my favorite planar so far but not quite the instant pull like my Atrium the year prior.

 

[Leto Dal]

I often said the Verite is my personal top 3 headphone but never the one I'd recommend to anyone buying blind. Definitely a polarizing tuning but if it clicks it's certainly a versatile headphone that do well with any and all genre imo. Though I do lean towards the Atrium open for rock due moar slam and oomph and these are probably the most realistic sounding kick drums I've heard on any driver.

The Caldera to many does seem to make Verite obsolete and I can certainly hear why on first listen. But the Caldera does lack that seductive quality I find on the Verite. For better or worse, the Caldera does feel like a planar that is trying to sound like a dynamic driver. It has the best timbre to my ears out of all planars I've heard up to this point granted my limited experience with totl planar besides the Susvara and D8k. But it still doesn't sound as organic or meaty as the Verite and Atriums and I don't think that was the intent at all. The Verite does have a rather seductive quality that isn't replicated even by other ZMFs. Probably the way it driver interacts with the ear cups that results in the way sound. The criticisms surrounding Verite are well noted and definitely not without truth but regardless it still remains as one of my favorites for reasons stated.

Coming close to ordering the Caldera after hearing it in my system as it is so darn good. Definitely my favorite planar so far but not quite the instant pull like my Atrium the year prior.

Great write up! While I not find Verite being a good allrounder for my use case (its unforgiving and metal and rock often feels smeared due to the 3d holographic stage thing that Verite provides and lacking some punch) I still fully agree with the most points. After getting Caldera I was considering selling my VO, but most likely I will keep it, its just too unique and does some things that neither Caldera nor Atrium Closed can do (which I would consider much closer in their tuning)

Psychodelic stuff sounds absolutely incredible with VO maybe because of that "magic" 3d stage, this recording for example never sounded as good with Caldera and AC as it does with Verite Open:

 

[goldwerger]

I often said the Verite is my personal top 3 headphone but never the one I'd recommend to anyone buying blind. Definitely a polarizing tuning but if it clicks it's certainly a versatile headphone that do well with any and all genre imo. Though I do lean towards the Atrium open for rock due moar slam and oomph and these are probably the most realistic sounding kick drums I've heard on any driver.

The Caldera to many does seem to make Verite obsolete and I can certainly hear why on first listen. But the Caldera does lack that seductive quality I find on the Verite. For better or worse, the Caldera does feel like a planar that is trying to sound like a dynamic driver. It has the best timbre to my ears out of all planars I've heard up to this point granted my limited experience with totl planar besides the Susvara and D8k. But it still doesn't sound as organic or meaty as the Verite and Atriums and I don't think that was the intent at all. The Verite does have a rather seductive quality that isn't replicated even by other ZMFs. Probably the way it driver interacts with the ear cups that results in the way sound. The criticisms surrounding Verite are well noted and definitely not without truth but regardless it still remains as one of my favorites for reasons stated.

Coming close to ordering the Caldera after hearing it in my system as it is so darn good. Definitely my favorite planar so far but not quite the instant pull like my Atrium the year prior.

I agree with you - the VO is really inqiue

A couple of months after I got the Caldera I reverted to the VO for a spell and found them so enjoyable. On paper they are close enough to choose one, to preference, but they really offer something different

The Caldera offer (to me) more physicality, it’s visceral, with great frequency extensions, and keeps a great timbre with that ZMF warm sound through high technicalities

The VO offer a more relaxed listen coupled with a fantastically natural timbre. It disappears and the only thing that remains is the music.

I think the VO is waning a bit in popularity due to the attention that the newer releases of the Atrium and Caldera has (justifiably) grabbed. But I do hope they’ll stick around for a while..

 

[Rollnrock]

I haven’t yet listened to the Caldera and Atrium, and I’m specially interested in the AC just because I agree the VO is a kind of unforgiving with poor mastered music, like some 70s/80s rock.

But past weekend I’ve had some long listening sessions with the VO and I’m love with it. All I have thrown to it (well mastered music) sounds fantastic. IMO it really shines with Jazz, blues, acoustic, voices and of course classical music.

Listening to something like Mike Oldfield (Amarok, Ommadawn, Tubulars…), with this fast driver playing so natural all those instruments, coming from everywhere and forming a sonic pleasure bubble around you, it’s like a….yeah, I closed my eyes and could fly, don’t need anything more….

Well, may be a glass of wine helped a bit

 

[Pharmaboy]

silkier

terrific word for the VO

 

[goldwerger]

The atmosphere captured in your photo is just incredible... it's like you captured a moment in time. I want to be at that table soaking those rays of sun, sipping that wine, and listening to that set up. Seductive as hell... nice!!!