[KcMsterpce]

Objective measurements don't define what you'll get from any headphone. In the end, it depends on so many factors, such as 1) what you're listening with, 2) the way the album/song was produced and those EQ settings, 3) how you perceive sound personally/subjectively, 4) and the quality of the audio file/source itself. Any of these combinations will "color" the sound. Even if you have 100% "neutral" headphones, it doesn't mean that all your equipment will present every single album with complete neutrality. Some albums might work best with the most neutral headphone, while another song or album will not be as engaging or exciting. A remaster of an album will have something else about the way it is mixed that isn't the same as the previous release.
Having several headphones, and more than one DAC, DAP and/or amplifier allows the opportunity to discover what works and what doesn't work, not just from album to album, but from song to song. If you only listen to one type of music, that could make it easier to streamline your gear. If all headphones were completely neutral and had the exact same measurements, then why does one "neutral" headphone STILL sound different from another?
Part of the fun with this hobby, for me, is discovering music from a different avenue of approach. Sometimes, I just want to lay back, relax, and let music entertain me. Other times, I like it when I can discover little details in music I never noticed before, influenced by any of the countless combinations of the audio chain going up to my ears (including volume level). In my opinion, there is no "One Headphone To Rule Them All".

 

[humzebra]

This!

 

[Fatdoi]

I seriously don't understand what "natural" is... All recordings are engineered so all the sounds won't be natural. Even when you goto a live concert, each concert hall is tuned differently so a violin will sound different in those halls. So I don't really know what you all say natural is about.

 

[heliosphann]

I'm not sure how much of ZMF's fanbase would be into a completely neutral sounding headphone.

Zach no doubt has more "likes" than "posts" because he communicates often & effectively w/his customer base, absent any ego or judgement of others.

I know of just 3 designer/mfrs who take the time to explain themselves/answer questions:

• Zach (here and in other threads/websites)
• Antonio Meze (Empyrean thread)
• Alex Cavalli (Platinum thread).

Don't know how others feel about this, but I really appreciate this kind of communication.

Easy to define "natural" -- it's the opposite of unnatural. Only partly joking...think of live music, particularly unamplified or lightly miked instruments & voices in a real acoustic space: then imagine that same music being reproduced by a headphone. "Natural" simply means closest to the original performance/space...and by inference, it also means least colored, exaggerated, or spotlighted.

Don't forget Dan of @mrspeakers

 

[jinxy245]

To be fair, all companies w/ a presence on HF does this well.. Ken @ Campfire, Joe @ Abyss, Justin @ HeadAmp, Trevor @ Norne, etc..

I wouldn't say all companies , but that's definitely a good list (Yes include Dan IMO)

 

[felix3650]

The Verite has been an interesting experience for me as a headphone creator, as the opinions both subjective and objective have varied largely based on each individuals gear, preferences and experiance. Not to say what listeners have heard is different than what I expected, but just that each user has expectations for what the headphone should be to meet xxx criteria.

My goal as someone who loves all music, and especially music made with acoustic instruments is always to create headphones that capture accurate qualities of performance and each of our headphones does that in different ways and the path to me finalizing those tunings is done through both a lot of objective measurements and subjective listening tests.

If I've learned one thing it's that one person's neutral and balanced is another's cold or warm. This holds true through all of our headphones and our owners' specific tastes.

For me the Verite is tuned to my tastes of what I'd call musical, balanced, and with slight downward linearity that lends itself to detail in a lifelike manner. For others and their gear it may differ from my experience with the Verite and I try to have alternate earpads for our models to allow for that subjective variance.

I hope you guys like it!

Keep it up man. You're doing great!

That’s definitely a ‘your ears, my ears’ thing. I’ve seen several impressions describe Auteur as ‘neutral, lifeless, boring’ where my ears hear them as precise, detailed lively, thrilling.

BTW, anybody notice that @zach915m has more likes than posts?

Hehe that's to be expected. He recieves 5-14 likes per post usually. Our friend's created quite a fan base here and for good reasons

Zach no doubt has more "likes" than "posts" because he communicates often & effectively w/his customer base, absent any ego or judgement of others.

I know of just 3 designer/mfrs who take the time to explain themselves/answer questions:

• Zach (here and in other threads/websites)
• Antonio Meze (Empyrean thread)
• Alex Cavalli (Platinum thread).

Don't know how others feel about this, but I really appreciate this kind of communication.

Easy to define "natural" -- it's the opposite of unnatural. Only partly joking...think of live music, particularly unamplified or lightly miked instruments & voices in a real acoustic space: then imagine that same music being reproduced by a headphone. "Natural" simply means closest to the original performance/space...and by inference, it also means least colored, exaggerated, or spotlighted.

I agree P. When a company representative be it CEO, technical designer/engineer and/or R&D participates actively (by this I mean not only taking notes for future products but also suggestions/critique for existing ones) with the comunity it only brings benefits for both parties.

I seriously don't understand what "natural" is... All recordings are engineered so all the sounds won't be natural. Even when you goto a live concert, each concert hall is tuned differently so a violin will sound different in those halls. So I don't really know what you all say natural is about.

Technically speaking you are correct. Sound processed isn't the original sound anymore.
I think that by "natural" most people express a feeling the sound reproduced by a headphone leaves them with (and so that feeling gets attributed to the headphone). You could say that the particular headphone lets you listen at your own pace without "forcing" sound "cues" your way, like "expanding" everything it can do in front of you and letting you coose. Not everyone gets the same feeling though and in this case the brain interprets this as "boring" "life-less" or "flat".

I wouldn't say all companies , but that's definitely a good list (Yes include Dan IMO)

Yeah not all of them get the same treatment (some for obvious reasons).
Also don't forget @2359glenn

 

[franz12]

I seriously don't understand what "natural" is... All recordings are engineered so all the sounds won't be natural. Even when you goto a live concert, each concert hall is tuned differently so a violin will sound different in those halls. So I don't really know what you all say natural is about.

It is not that difficult. For me, natural means sound balanced across frequency spectrum.
Even though each headphone has a different presentation, you can easily notice coloration (exaggeration or too muted FR responses somewhere), if any, if you are an experienced listener.
I also enjoy a colored headphone from time to time. But most time, it is short-lived. For some people, coloration is a source of fun.
For me, it is something like driving over bumpy roads. A balanced sounding headphone wins in the long run on my stable.

 

[ProfFalkin]

It is not that difficult. For me, natural means

So, natural is subjective. Contrary to your first sentence, that does makes it difficult. Your natural is not my natural.

I assume you haven't heard the Verite, yet you're fully convinced it's not for you. Great. Move along. Better that than to suffer another condescending post like this:

Then go and pay 2.5k for it. I don't care. But I will be waiting.

Bye.

 

[Monsterzero]

TBH,the Verite is quite the chameleon. By changing tubes,or even on solid state Ive gotten it to sound like a thunderous god of war,and then with a pad and tube swap it becomes quite neutral sounding.

 

[franz12]

So, natural is subjective. Contrary to your first sentence, that does makes it difficult. Your natural is not my natural.

I assume you haven't heard the Verite, yet you're fully convinced it's not for you. Great. Move along. Better that than to suffer another condescending post like this:

Bye.

Isn't any criticism allowed here? I just replied to the previous post, and that was not my intention. You are acting strange man. Chill out.

 

[franz12]

duplicate.

 

[pure5152]

TBH,the Verite is quite the chameleon. By changing tubes,or even on solid state Ive gotten it to sound like a thunderous god of war,and then with a pad and tube swap it becomes quite neutral sounding.

Would you say that the Verite is very amp-dependent (i.e. will need a good synergy to sound good), or just sounds good with all amps, changing the flavor more than anything?

 

[gLer]

TBH,the Verite is quite the chameleon. By changing tubes,or even on solid state Ive gotten it to sound like a thunderous god of war,and then with a pad and tube swap it becomes quite neutral sounding.

The Auteur is like that too, but with a different, more laid back character. Zach’s headphones all inject a touch of colour here and there (the wood resonance does that inherently, hence choosing the right wood to taste is important), but you can dial the Auteur right down to neutral with the right wood, pads and system. And for many that ‘colour’ comes across as a natural additive (weight, resonance).

As with any headphone you need to hear it to appreciate what it can do and if it suits your preferences. There’s no such thing as a headphone with a flat neutral FR that you can just buy unsighted and know it will deliver the goods.

If you read Zach’s explanations of his tuning choices for each headphone not only does it make more sense and help you decide if it’ll suit your own tastes, but it adds a layer of richness to the experience and pedigree of the headphone itself that sets it apart from other more ‘generic’ headphones.

 

[Monsterzero]

Would you say that the Verite is very amp-dependent (i.e. will need a good synergy to sound good), or just sounds good with all amps, changing the flavor more than anything?

I only have 3 amp choices, GOTL,GLM2,Sansui 881. Each drives the Verite easily. No nuclear power plant required. The GOTL and 881 sound similar with excellent macro dynamics. The GOTL has better micro dynamics,and those can be adjusted with various tubes. The Gilmore Lite Mk ll brings it into the neutral sounding area. For me,the Verite loses too much bass in that pairing,but thats just me.

There are some headphones that sound pretty much the same regardless of what amp you're using. The Verite isnt one of those headphones. I havent heard it sound "bad",so,no,I wouldnt say its particularly amp picky per se,but it seems to sound its best when you pump a lot of power into it,like 881 and GOTL.

I will also say that for my preferences,a neutral or slightly above amp/tubes sound the best,however I use an R2R DAC,granted a detailed and airy R2R DAC,but still.... If you have a warm amp and warm DAC I think you will not be hearing the Verite to its potential. I feel that stands for the Atticus and Aeolus as well.

 

[ProfFalkin]

I've heard the Verite out of several amps, and the one I liked the most surprised me.

Glenn OTL, Gilmore lite mk2, EC Black Widow 2, Lyr 3, stock Bottlehead Crack, A&S Mogwai, Ragnarok.

Best to my ears was the GLMK2 (w/ universe pads), followed by the BW2, Rag, Lyr 3, and the GOTL.

For me, the really tubey sounding amps gave it way too much tubeness. The really clean sounding tube amps faired better (GOTL), and hybrid tube amps better yet. This might be Zach's first headphone where I prefer SS over tube amps.

The Verite I have on loan from Zach is currently with a friend for review, and he's said much the same with his EC Aficionado and SS amps.

I think Verite is really going to be very amp dependant for most people.

Edit, it occurs to me that despite my ranking the GOTL behind those other amps, I should mention why: Lack of time/experience with it. I tried the Auteur and Eikon (both of which I own and am very familiar with) with the GOTL using Zach's setup, and from that I know that it is an amazing amp.