ZMF Verite Open
Dec 3, 2018 at 1:42 PM Post #887 of 9,494
You know how I know when a headphone is really special? When I no longer have it and miss it terribly.
#goingthruveritewithdrawls
 
Dec 4, 2018 at 5:45 AM Post #891 of 9,494
Any more reviews coming through? Need sometihng to keep me going until delivery....

I believe GrizzlyBeast recieved a pair and he’s in the process of putting it through it’s paces. I’ve been waiting for his review as my tastes line up with his. *Soon*
 
Dec 5, 2018 at 10:32 PM Post #895 of 9,494
Verite vs Utopia comparison:

Myself and many others have been curious to compare these two flagship headphones that integrate Beryllium into their drivers. While the Utopia’s driver is made entirely from Be, the Verite’s driver is a Be coated PEN driver. Zach choose to used a coated Be driver vs a full Be driver because it retained much of the speed, while not having the harshness that's attributed to most metal drivers. After doing some A/B comparing of both, I feel that these two headphones don’t share much in common besides the Be in their drivers. Even more so, these two headphones should mostly likely appeal to completely different listeners. While I feel the Utopia still wins out in several technical aspects, the Verite retains most of the trademark Be speed and comes across as far more musical and listenable. Here are a few more specific differences between them:

Verite: More weighty sound, with the low end having more quantity and slam. Tonally smoother, especially in the upper frequencies. Wider soundstage. More forgiving on poorly recorded source material. Overall more musical sounding and not as fatiguing. Gorgeous wood cups. Made in the USA by Zach and his cronies.

Utopia: Slightly faster and overall more technical sounding. Not as colored throughout the FR. Marginally better macro/micro details. Much more upper extension and overall more airy sounding. Better instrument separation. No pretty wood cups. Lighter, but not necessarily more comfortable. Made by some guy in a beret with baguette crumbs on his shirt (I got jokes).


Verite pad rolling: The Verite pads are definitely my preference when listening to the Verite. Compared to the Universe pads, they have a little more sparkle and energy that lines up with my taste and gear. They also slightly change the staging due to their depth, which I also slightly prefer. The Universe pads provide an overall more laid back, smoother sound. It’s not surprising that people are split between the two, as I could easily see using either or depending on your chain, preferences, etc…

I also took a little time and rolled a few other ZMF pads I had on the Verite. The perforated Eikon pads amp up the low end and take the bass slam to new levels, but they also introduce a plethora of issues into the FR. The depth of the pads also radically change up the staging. The perforated Auteur pads actually sound pretty good, adding a little more air and balancing out the signature somewhat. I wasn’t able to spent much time with this combo, but I will try to revisit if possible.
 
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Dec 5, 2018 at 10:41 PM Post #896 of 9,494
Verite vs Utopia comparison:

Myself and many others have been curious to compare these two flagship headphones that integrate Beryllium into their drivers. While the Utopia’s driver is made entirely from Be, the Verite’s driver is a Be coated PEN driver. Zach choose to used a coated Be driver vs a full Be driver because it retained much of the speed, while not having the harshness that's attributed to most metal drivers. After doing some A/B comparing of both, I feel that these two headphones don’t share much in common besides the Be in their drivers. Even more so, these two headphones should mostly likely appeal to completely different listeners. While I feel the Utopia still wins out in several technical aspects, the Verite retains most of the trademark Be speed and comes across as far more musical and listenable. Here are a few more specific differences between them:

Verite: More weighty sound, with the low end having more quantity and slam. Tonally smoother, especially in the upper frequencies. Wider soundstage. More forgiving on poorly recorded source material. Overall more musical sounding and not as fatiguing. Gorgeous wood cups. Made in the USA by Zach and his cronies.

Utopia: Slightly faster and overall more technical sounding. Not as colored throughout the FR. Marginally better macro/micro details. Much more upper extension and overall more airy sounding. Better instrument separation. No pretty wood cups. Lighter, but not necessarily more comfortable. Made by some guy in a beret with baguette crumbs on his shirt.


Verite pad rolling:
The Verite pads are definitely my preference when listening to the Verite. Compared to the Universe pads, they have a little more sparkle and energy that lines up with my taste and gear. They also slightly change the staging due to their depth, which I also slightly prefer. The Universe pads provide an overall more laid back, smoother sound. It’s not surprising that people are split between the two, as I could easily see using either or depending on your chain, preferences, etc…

I also took a little time and rolled a few other ZMF pads I had on the Verite. The perforated Eikon pads amp up the low end and take the bass slam to new levels, but they also introduce a plethora of issues into the FR. The depth of the pads also radically change up the staging. The perforated Auteur pads actually sound pretty good, adding a little more air and balancing out the signature somewhat. I wasn’t able to spent much time with this combo, but I will try to revisit if possible.

Would you compare Vertie with Ether 2? I am curious how much they are different. Probably, they are quite different as one is a planar and the other is a dynamic headphone.
 
Dec 5, 2018 at 10:53 PM Post #897 of 9,494
Would you compare Vertie with Ether 2? I am curious how much they are different. Probably, they are quite different as one is a planar and the other is a dynamic headphone.

Yea, I probably wouldn't compare the two as I usually don't like going the planar vs dynamic route. Both are exceptional headphones in my opinion though. I'll have a full review of the E2' in the near future.
 
Dec 5, 2018 at 10:54 PM Post #898 of 9,494
Verite vs Utopia comparison:

Myself and many others have been curious to compare these two flagship headphones that integrate Beryllium into their drivers. While the Utopia’s driver is made entirely from Be, the Verite’s driver is a Be coated PEN driver. Zach choose to used a coated Be driver vs a full Be driver because it retained much of the speed, while not having the harshness that's attributed to most metal drivers. After doing some A/B comparing of both, I feel that these two headphones don’t share much in common besides the Be in their drivers. Even more so, these two headphones should mostly likely appeal to completely different listeners. While I feel the Utopia still wins out in several technical aspects, the Verite retains most of the trademark Be speed and comes across as far more musical and listenable. Here are a few more specific differences between them:

Verite: More weighty sound, with the low end having more quantity and slam. Tonally smoother, especially in the upper frequencies. Wider soundstage. More forgiving on poorly recorded source material. Overall more musical sounding and not as fatiguing. Gorgeous wood cups. Made in the USA by Zach and his cronies.

Utopia: Slightly faster and overall more technical sounding. Not as colored throughout the FR. Marginally better macro/micro details. Much more upper extension and overall more airy sounding. Better instrument separation. No pretty wood cups. Lighter, but not necessarily more comfortable. Made by some guy in a beret with baguette crumbs on his shirt.


Verite pad rolling:
The Verite pads are definitely my preference when listening to the Verite. Compared to the Universe pads, they have a little more sparkle and energy that lines up with my taste and gear. They also slightly change the staging due to their depth, which I also slightly prefer. The Universe pads provide an overall more laid back, smoother sound. It’s not surprising that people are split between the two, as I could easily see using either or depending on your chain, preferences, etc…

I also took a little time and rolled a few other ZMF pads I had on the Verite. The perforated Eikon pads amp up the low end and take the bass slam to new levels, but they also introduce a plethora of issues into the FR. The depth of the pads also radically change up the staging. The perforated Auteur pads actually sound pretty good, adding a little more air and balancing out the signature somewhat. I wasn’t able to spent much time with this combo, but I will try to revisit if possible.

Thanks for the impressions. I'm pretty sure the verite is lighter than the Utopia though. Correct me if I'm wrong but the Utopia is 490-500g and the verite is 430g.

I'm still concerned about the tonality and whether or not I'll enjoy it, or have to eq. To me the Utopia is a bit harsh up top, but not by much. My preference is right along the lines of the 660s, so I'm hopeful it won't take much to eq the verite to that sig.
 
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Dec 5, 2018 at 11:07 PM Post #899 of 9,494
I'd be interested in LCD4 vs Verite, the difference described there is more or less how I view the 4 vs Utopia. One being more mid/tone oriented and fuller while the other more air and technically proficient. I speculate Verite may be darker than Utopia but not as dark as the Audeze house sound. It seems like it'd be a good middleground between these two polar opposite signatures, hopefully in a best of both worlds way.
 
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Dec 5, 2018 at 11:24 PM Post #900 of 9,494
I'd be interested in LCD4 vs Verite, the difference described there is more or less how I view the 4 vs Utopia. One being more mid/tone oriented and fuller while the other more air and technically proficient. I speculate Verite may be darker than Utopia but not as dark as the Audeze house sound. It seems like it'd be a good middleground between these two polar opposite signatures, hopefully in a best of both worlds way.

Again, it depends on how you define 'darkness.' In the other site where Vertie measurements available, 1k (mid) is about 5 db lower than 0.4k (bass), and 2k (mid) is about 10 db lower than 0.4k. The SQ seems tilted toward lower FR. LCD2c measurements (by the same person) show 1~1.5k (mid) is slightly elevated than 0.4k (bass) and downward sloping from there to 4k.
I am pretty sure that some people will feel Vertie is darker than lcd2c, which would depend on genre/songs/recordings.
 

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