Sorry, this is a bit later than I wanted it to be, but I have been quite busy keeping up with my business. Here are my initial thoughts on the Verite.
I’d like to start by giving a huge thank you to Zach for lending me the Verite and Aeolus before launch.
This is not going to be a massive in-depth review with lots of comparisons and such, instead, this is my thoughts on what makes the Verite special, what you should expect if you are lucky enough to be able to buy a pair and why I have come to love them.
From the first moment I put the Verite on, the thing I noticed more than anything else was just how light it is. Coming from headphones like the Eikon, Auteur and my HE6, it is immediately impressive just how light these are. It is very impressive that an all wood, metal, and leather headphone of this size can even be this light. Combined with the ZMF headband, it makes for what is in my opinion, the most comfortable headphone you can buy today off the shelf. The clamp is just right, there is plenty of size adjustment for the smallest head to the largest, the pads are not too thick or too thin, the ear openings are plenty large, its weight doesn’t hurt my neck, and they don't move excessively as I turn my head. It’s like the “ahhhhhhh just right” of headphone comfort.
Then I turned them on, and my first auditory impression was one of being disappointed, the mids were recessed and hollow, and it was completely off-putting. However, within about 8 hours of listening, that was completely gone. Never have I heard a headphone change so much with use. It was totally amazing to hear, and it made me glad I chose to use them instead of just putting them on one of my other amps and letting them burn in for a while first. I had expected some change, just because of what I knew of their driver construction, but the scale of the change took me totally by surprise. Some people may prefer a headphone that sounds its best the second you take it out of the box, but I personally found it to be a very enjoyable experience to be able to actually hear the change in the drivers happening. Now, I can’t say if this will be the way production units will ship, I know in the past Zach has normally burned in pairs some before shipment, and I know this pair didn’t because of the time constraints Zach is under trying to get two new headphones out in so short a time, but if you put yours on, and are not blown away, give it a while, you will be.
Now that that’s out of the way, on to actual impressions of the sound, I do apologize being nearly 500 words in before getting to it, but I felt it was important to take you with me on the journey of using the Verite so far. The most immediately impressive thing about the Verite is the speed of the driver, its fast, really fast, which trickles down to affect all other aspects of the sound in surprising ways. Most notable, is what it does for the soundstage and instrument placement and separation. The way it throws a stage is wonderful, its wide, detailed, accurate, and clean I think a lot of people would refer to it as “holographic.” It has tight powerful bass, with more of that excellent speed, mids are strong and clear, and treble is sharp and really benefits from just how fast these are. Cymbals and metallic instruments, in particular, lack any of the muffle or bleed that will often keep them from sounding their best. Resolution and detail retrieval is beyond excellent, again aided by that signature speed.
As to what I would personally use them for, I found the Verite to be absolute monsters for EDM and Electronica, and to be my personal choice for movie watching and games, but where I personally think they shine their brightest, is for live classical music, I have never felt more drawn into Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach Cello Suites than I did with the Verite. The detail combined with the speed, stage, and tone just makes them amazing in my opinion for classical. It is beyond enjoyable to be able to hear the micro vibrations and variations that a bow makes as it is pulled across an instrument, I've never been one to say things like ”it sounds just like being there!” I don’t like when people say things like that, because as someone who has grown up among world-class musicians often being forced to listen to them practice for hours upon hours, I can tell you, it doesn’t, not really. However, the Verite came closer and made me feel more like I was in the room with the instruments than I have ever experienced from a pair of headphones before and I found it to be a real treat to hear.
For my final section, I want to address the question I have seen of “what do I get, the Verite or the Auteur?” For me personally, the answer is both. They each do their own things which makes them more complementary than comparable. They have similar tones, in that they were both clearly tuned by Zach, you can distinctly tell they are ZMF headphones by their sound balance, but beyond that, they sound different. The Verite is not an “upgraded” Auteur, nor the Auteur a baby Verite.
I hope this has been in some way helpful to some of you making the choice to buy, I am sorry it’s not really a complete review, I’ve only had them about a week and a half so far, and I would like more time to listen to them before I am finished, so I will probably revisit this at some point in the coming weeks. Zach is also sending me his Pendant at some point soon, so I plan on trying them with it in addition to my personal collection of amps, so when I do that, I will probably post some updated thoughts. If any of you have questions for me, I’ll help as I can.
