[Phantaminum]

A poorly shot picture, but it’s ZMF Heaven, I absolutely love this combo!

Beautiful pair.

I'm heading down the same road you are. I've made up my mind on selling the Ether 2 and Ananda for the Aeolus.

 

[Spandy87]

Beautiful pair.

I'm heading down the same road you are. I've made up my mind on selling the Ether 2 and Ananda for the Aeolus.

Out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the Ether 2 and Ananda?

 

[Monsterzero]

A poorly shot picture, but it’s ZMF Heaven, I absolutely love this combo!

The grain on the Aeolus looks spectacular!

 

[Phantaminum]

Out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the Ether 2 and Ananda?

They're both great headphones but on my gear the Verite is a much more enjoyable experience. There's an overlap in several areas which I feel the Verite wins out in.

Speed is one.The Verite is faster on Glenn's amp than the E2s with the Liquid Platinum. I've gone through the Ether 2 thread and other Head-Fiers mention the speed of these headphones but that hasn't been my experience. Obviously speed isn't everything; if it was I wouldn't be still enjoying my HD650s. The rest I feel the Verite wins out in is detail retrieval, dynamics, resolution, bass impact, holography, and air between instruments. Mids, resolution, and imaging fall into the overlap category.

Where the Ether 2 wins out is in sub bass extension and clarity. I've never heard a headphone with such a clear and clean presentation of music. Notes just pop out of a black background. I've rolled several holy grail tubes but haven't found one that I really like.

I may end up keeping the Ananda even though it is in no way technically better than either headphone. I can say there's only two place where the Ananda surpasses both. Sub bass rumble and air. Because of the open nature there's more air between instruments and doesn't feel as claustrophobic as the E2. On the other hand it does sound compressed compared to the other two. If the Ananda had the same voicing and the clarity of the Ether 2 that would be instant buy for me.

I am giving the E2s one more try with a pair of ECC82 tube adapters and ECC82 tubes. If it does the trick I may end up keeping them but I've been mulling this over for the past month and I keep coming back to the decision to sell.

 

[heliosphann]

They're both great headphones but on my gear the Verite is a much more enjoyable experience. There's an overlap in several areas which I feel the Verite wins out in.

Speed is one.The Verite is faster on Glenn's amp than the E2s with the Liquid Platinum. I've gone through the Ether 2 thread and other Head-Fiers mention the speed of these headphones but that hasn't been my experience. Obviously speed isn't everything; if it was I wouldn't be still enjoying my HD650s. The rest I feel the Verite wins out in is detail retrieval, dynamics, resolution, bass impact, holography, and air between instruments. Mids, resolution, and imaging fall into the overlap category.

Where the Ether 2 wins out is in sub bass extension and clarity. I've never heard a headphone with such a clear and clean presentation of music. Notes just pop out of a black background. I've rolled several holy grail tubes but haven't found one that I really like.

I may end up keeping the Ananda even though it is in no way technically better than either headphone. I can say there's only two place where the Ananda surpasses both. Sub bass rumble and air. Because of the open nature there's more air between instruments and doesn't feel as claustrophobic as the E2. On the other hand it does sound compressed compared to the other two. If the Ananda had the same voicing and the clarity of the Ether 2 that would be instant buy for me.

I am giving the E2s one more try with a pair of ECC82 tube adapters and ECC82 tubes. If it does the trick I may end up keeping them but I've been mulling this over for the past month and I keep coming back to the decision to sell.

I liked the E2 best on a powerful SS amp. It was also great on the Liquid Platinum as well.

 

[Phantaminum]

I liked the E2 best on a powerful SS amp. It was also great on the Liquid Platinum as well.

I've been on the fence on buying a TOTL SS amp for the Ether 2. Something along the lines of the Headamp GSX Mini but I'm not sure if I want to spend that much to make it work for me. I'll shoot you a PM so that I keep this thread on topic.

 

[Miracle1980]

Talking about amplifier...what kind of balanced amp would you recommend for the Verite? I was thinking of the Violectric V280 but I am opened for other suggestions. The V280 sells in Europe (where I live) for 1500 euro. Considering the price of the Verite I would prefer going lower with the budget...

Thanks

 

[franz12]

I've been on the fence on buying a TOTL SS amp for the Ether 2. Something along the lines of the Headamp GSX Mini but I'm not sure if I want to spend that much to make it work for me. I'll shoot you a PM so that I keep this thread on topic.

Sell them and consolidate into the HEKse. Air, imaging, staging, speed, resolution, and dynamics are superb.
My only issue is treble which may need to be tamed with tube/eq.

Also, obviously, there may be a unit-to-unit variation. I am on my third pair, and this pair sound better than my previous one.
Hifiman quickly replaced my previous pair with a brand new one so there is nothing to complain about their customer service. But I wouldn't buy it in a used market unless you can trust a seller.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I liked the E2 best on a powerful SS amp. It was also great on the Liquid Platinum as well.

I've been on the fence on buying a TOTL SS amp for the Ether 2. Something along the lines of the Headamp GSX Mini but I'm not sure if I want to spend that much to make it work for me. I'll shoot you a PM so that I keep this thread on topic.

There’s that whole your ears/my ears thing. I def prefer E2/LP/Siemens E88CC vs E2/BHA-1.

 

[Tekunda]

But I wouldn't buy it in a used market unless you can trust a seller.

Aside from being ripped off by a seller, what risks are there to buying a used pair of the HE1000 se?

 

[franz12]

Aside from being ripped off by a seller, what risks are there to buying a used pair of the HE1000 se?

Well, actually it applies to everything, like buying a car in a used market.
While good one is being kept, bad one is being circulated in a used market.

 

[kumar402]

Lsst 2 questions before choosing...
Again Verite vs Empyrean:

- For bad recordings (I mean loud modern music) which one is more enjoyable (more forgiving)?

- Which one gave you the impression to be more physically "solid" (more resistant, longer lasting)?

Thanks

Do also consider the amp you have. If you own TOTL OTL with high output impedence then planars are not the way to go. However if you own mid fi gears like Schiit Lyr 3 or some mid fi SS amp then Empyrean will match better.

ZMF headphones have higher impedance so higher impedance Amp will match better with them.

 

[Phantaminum]

Sell them and consolidate into the HEKse. Air, imaging, staging, speed, resolution, and dynamics are superb.
My only issue is treble which may need to be tamed with tube/eq.

Also, obviously, there may be a unit-to-unit variation. I am on my third pair, and this pair sound better than my previous one.
Hifiman quickly replaced my previous pair with a brand new one so there is nothing complain about their customer service. But I wouldn't buy it in a used market unless you can trust a seller.

I tried the HEK V2 but the treble was too much for me even with warmer tube. I was planning on trading up to the HEKSes but as much as I enjoyed the rest of the headphones technicalities I wanted something warmer hence the E2s.

There’s that whole your ears/my ears thing. I def prefer E2/LP/Siemens E88CC vs E2/BHA-1.

I enjoy the Ananda on the LP more than the E2. My head tells me it should be the other way around but my ears tell me different, lol. I don't want to have to buy a SS just for the Ether 2. Maybe I have one of the outlier Ether 2s? I may end up sending them to Mr.Speakers before making a decision or it could really be personal preference. If I reach more for the HD650s then the Ether 2s are just not hitting the right keys.

Now to find me a pair of Ziricote Aeolus.

 

[kumar402]

I haven't heard Verite except for few mins in Canjam but I have Empyrean.
Empyrean has good Bass, resolves well, you can hear tons of details, Soundstage and Imaging is great and is well built. Many report it as relaxed sounding since it has controlled treble in 5-8Khz. There is some energy at around 10 Khz but its not an issue. It does make them sound airy. So far no issue has been reported by any owner. It is efficient but still it needs power from good amp to perform well. People have reported that it pairs well with V281, Feliks Euforia. I personally enjoy them out of Lyr 3.

 

[kumar402]

A poorly shot picture, but it’s ZMF Heaven, I absolutely love this combo!

Man something about these Wooden cups. I guess I will end up owning one. Will look good next to Empyrean. But have to recover first from the financial dent I made with Empyrean and Qutest this year along with Lyr 3