[Leonarfd]

what is the difference between “too bright” and “too hot sounding”?
I have tried the Universe lamb perf and Be2 lamb perf and agree the Be2 sounds brighter (which I like with my system). Will have to try the Uni suede perf and Caldera ultra-perf.

Bright can refer more to treble forwardness and lack of bass to compensate, while hot sounding can more often refer to an overall forward sound in bass and mids and treble that is more neutral and not dark.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Interesting, definitely I need to try Caldera Ultra Perforated with Verite.

I prefer standard Caldera pad for ZMF Caldera, the Ultra Perf is a bit too bright.

 

[tysonultima]

I had a question about the warranty.

I bought these used and I know that the warranty is good for the lifetime of the device for the original owner. However, I still have the original owner's card. Would there be anything else I would have to provide if I ever needed to send these back in to ZMF?

 

[haasaaroni]

I had a question about the warranty.

I bought these used and I know that the warranty is good for the lifetime of the device for the original owner. However, I still have the original owner's card. Would there be anything else I would have to provide if I ever needed to send these back in to ZMF?

I believe even if you have the original owners card, the warranty doesn’t apply to second hand purchases. They have all their fees listed on the website for replacement drivers and parts though. It’s not too bad!

 

[bpiotrow13]

I believe even if you have the original owners card, the warranty doesn’t apply to second hand purchases. They have all their fees listed on the website for replacement drivers and parts though. It’s not too bad!

This is also my understanding, but i would not worry too much about that. Not much news about failures of ZMF s drivers

 

[zach915m]

I had a question about the warranty.

I bought these used and I know that the warranty is good for the lifetime of the device for the original owner. However, I still have the original owner's card. Would there be anything else I would have to provide if I ever needed to send these back in to ZMF?

If anything ever comes up send us an email, we'd be happy to help and I never want any headphone we made to be less than optimal.

 

[zach915m]

HCSOB (Summer of Burl) Verite Models are live on the site now: https://shop.zmfheadphones.com/collections/hot-cup-summer

 

[JerseyD]

I think of the Verite and Atrium as co-TOL ZMF dynamics, but the Verite has been consistently discounted since February vs the full-price Atriums. What's up with that?

 

[nieveulv]

I think of the Verite and Atrium as co-TOL ZMF dynamics, but the Verite has been consistently discounted since February vs the full-price Atriums. What's up with that?

Hopefully a verite 2 is on the way

 

[zach915m]

I think of the Verite and Atrium as co-TOL ZMF dynamics, but the Verite has been consistently discounted since February vs the full-price Atriums. What's up with that?

Hopefully a verite 2 is on the way

There is no Verite 2 on the way (at least for the next couple years - I had no R/D on the way for that) - I still love and use the Verite almost every day as my general go-to ZMF - but there's a couple factors at play here:

1. It's 5 years old now and demand on Verite is way down, we have inventory that either needs to get sold or will sit around and not be enjoyed.

2. A huge part of the lack of demand started when a couple prominent reviewers who started their ranking systems and working for companies instead of being independent called the tuning of the Verite "wonky" and hid their original independent positive review of the Verite Open and replaced it with more muted covered under the window of the conglomerate. People started parroting this coverage and it made it a harder headphone to blind buy.

The crazy part about tall this to me is that these same reviewers hold the VC in higher regard, even though they are tuned extremely close to each other and the VO having some strengths VS the VC and vice-versa which are subjective in nature

3. The lack of headphone shows during the pandemic have people less chance to hear the VO - which hasn't helped since the VO often gets the "I'm surprised this is my favorite one based on what I've read on the internet about it" statement.

This isn't to say the Verite isn't a slightly quirky headphone, it's not classically tuned like any other headphone on the market and really doesn't follow the Harman curve or anything else that has become popular since it's release in 2018. But it's definitely a casualty of internet reviewer culture and all that stuff. Which please don't take this as me whining about, we/ZMF has certainly benefitted from that in an equal amount. So there's no gripes here! But hopefully the above helps explain the pricing of the VO, which is part inventory issues, and part that I just really want more people to hear them because I still regard it as one of our very best headphones.

 

[LXMc]

I was already having a hell of a time resisting the VO in the barn-aged padauk but that redwood with black grills...goodness.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

I was going to comment that the redwood burl VO looks so good that I would like to trade in my VO (if such a thing were possible). Then I pulled out my sapele VO and... nope, nope. Such a gorgeous headphone in so many of its incarnations.

But yes, looks are secondary to sound and that's the main reason the VO is not going anywhere. Perfect complement to the Atrium.

 

[Louisiana]

This beauty arrived today:

Perfect match with my Euforia:

 

[haasaaroni]

I just really want more people to hear them because I still regard it as one of our very best headphones.

I love this sentiment! If I didn't already have two ZMF's I loved dearly and couldn't let go of (and a more plentiful bank account), a pair of VO's would be in my cart right now, over the AO. They get right some things no other headphone has ever gotten right, like instrumental music and timbre, and portrayals of music in live spaces. My guitar has never sounded as "my guitar" as it has on a pair of Verite's.

I remember being very confused by the reviews too. It might just be a result of differences in individual hearing and a small community of reviewers who hear things very similarly. The VO and Aeolus have the perfect amount of midrange presence to me. Anything more easily sounds unnaturally forward.

 

[zach915m]

I love this sentiment! If I didn't already have two ZMF's I loved dearly and couldn't let go of (and a more plentiful bank account), a pair of VO's would be in my cart right now, over the AO. They get right some things no other headphone has ever gotten right, like instrumental music and timbre, and portrayals of music in live spaces. My guitar has never sounded as "my guitar" as it has on a pair of Verite's.

I remember being very confused by the reviews too. It might just be a result of differences in individual hearing and a small community of reviewers who hear things very similarly. The VO and Aeolus have the perfect amount of midrange presence to me. Anything more easily sounds unnaturally forward.

Hey I agree and thankyouthankyou - the Verite was definitely a headphone I tuned more to my own musical sensibilities before I also was affected by the "measurement culture" as much. Not that I didn't measure them, but I think back then I was less prone to reading what reviewers and the like were saying and less worried about it.

I think the reviewer community, just like the headphone manufacturing community and vice versa really pays attention to what each other is saying. On a lot of the live streams done these days they all gather and parrot what each other come up with a lot, instead of reaching out to manufacturers and embracing the differences in audio that make things enjoyable for different people. The pandemic definitely heightened this, as we were all looking at home looking for the best thing without in person abilities as much, so the echo chambers were intensified for all of us. I really am going to make a concerted effort to get to more meets in the next year or two!

My dream would be to have a sight that runs a user through a series of questions to find out what kind of listener they are that can somewhat narrow down headphones that suit their tastes, instead of relying on reviewers who try to be "right" about why their tastes are right or wrong. Who knows maybe I will have the time to do it at some point!

I also want to state clearly this is not about everyone needing to like any particular ZMF. It can also be clearly seen with headphones like the LCD5 and Meze Elite. Two very different headphones both with high merit. It's not about which one is better, but it's about what fits the user better. There's a reason not everyone plays a strat or tele or Les Paul, and that's the beauty of it!