[zach915m]

Hey music lovers!

I have been using the Verite Open (Silkwood) with the Questyle CMA 400i for the past 6 months. Everything was fine until two months.. everything sounded plain and I had a feeling that this is not how the VO should sound. I took the jump 2 weeks ago by upgrading to the CMA Twelve Master, and I never knew that an amp could make such a huge difference. It was like listening to a completely different headphone... the mids, the bass, soundstage, imaging.. it's surreal!

I have been thinking of getting my very first tube amp for some time now... and I kept on reading how Feliks tube amps pairs really well with ZMF headphones. I have narrowed it down to 3 amps (Auris HA2 SE, Feliks Elise, Feliks Euforia). Even though I can't demo these units.. I feel that the Elise will suit the sound I'm going for at this moment in time.. which is smooth, warm, tubey sound (really curious about what this sound like).

Which one do guys think will pair well with the Verite Open?
The only other headphones I see myself getting in the near future are the Aeolus, Verite Closed, and Auteur.

Cheers

If you go for the Elise or Euforia the "Chatham 6AS7G" tubes are great IMHO. They are very clean sounding and fast and pair perfectly with the slight warmth of the Feliks amps.

 

[StarlightDawn]

If you go for the Elise or Euforia the "Chatham 6AS7G" tubes are great IMHO. They are very clean sounding and fast and pair perfectly with the slight warmth of the Feliks amps.

Hi Zach,

I will keep that in mind, thank you for taking the time to reply to my post!

 

[Little Bear]

Currently we only sell each of the stock woods in the stock woods listed. So you wouldn't be able to get an ambrosia maple verite or a silk auteur etc etc. We have a few machine shops with different capabilities as the verite cups are a lot tougher to make than the auteur cups from a machining aspect, so we have a stockpile of silk wood at that shop and our maple at the shop that does the auteur.

I also just like working with different woods, although at some point we might have to consolidate the woods we use for different stock models into fewer species.

You cna get custom color rod and grille on all stock and Ltd editions models except for the aeolus stock Sapele, which only comes with black grille and Rods. We do this just to keep headphones going out the door as fast as we can.

That's too bad. Custom choice is a casualty in the inevitable move from make-to-order to mass production when a product takes off. Hopefully you'll still be offering Ltd wood alternatives in the future. As for me, I guess I'll be looking forward to Silkwood.

 

[RMarks271]

Hi everyone,

A while since I've popped in here - a mixture of lockdown throwing most things out of whack, but also due to me quite honestly using the Verites almost every chance I get.

However, just had a slightly terrifying experience with my Pendant and wondering if other owners (or @zach915m ) could weigh in.

I switched on and plugged in the Verites, and a couple of seconds later a huge distorted crack exploded twice through each of the cups. It wasn't immediately as I plugged them in - it was a couple of seconds later.

This was caused almost certainly by what looked like an electric-blue lightning bolt that flashed through one of the tubes. It happened so fast I couldn't say for definite which it is, but was definitely either the one that is middle or on the left in the pic (the 6BQ5). It looked like a tiny lightning storm in the tubes - would actually have looked awesome if I wasn't so totally freaked out by it.

We had a massive thunder and lightning storm a couple of days ago, but I've used the amp since then and this is definitely a first. Thankfully the headphones and amp appear to be completely unscathed - but I'll wait a couple of days before feeling sure.

Would love anyone to chime in and let me know whether I need to worry, call an exorcist or simply get over it.

As an added extra, something I've wondered for a while. Of the four tubes in the amp (I am supremely un-teccy, so I name them 1 to 4 in everyday life) - the two tubes at the front labelled '6BQ5' and the tube at the rear labelled '6CA4' are lit up for a very equal degree when switched on; a bright rich, orange glow. However, the third one at the front - '12AU7/12AX7' - is very very faint - I sometimes have to look closely to be certain it's live.

I know that all tubes are created individually and there's no necessary uniformity, but for there to be such a huge difference from the start always had me wondering - is there anything wrong with it?

Thanks all - my long-awaited and promised review of the Verites is half-written and being finished as we speak.
(The paintbrush is for sweeping out bits of dust in very small, fragile spots!)

 

[DitheringFool]

If you go for the Elise or Euforia the "Chatham 6AS7G" tubes are great IMHO. They are very clean sounding and fast and pair perfectly with the slight warmth of the Feliks amps.

Would you recommend the same tubes for the Echo? I've been using the stock tubes, and they sound great, but I'm interested in any possible improvements.

 

[davesa]

Having recently bought a tube amp, and not having much experience in my electronics learning to explore valves ( tubes ) I went looking to know more about how things worked. I came across a two part series on the basics of tube amplifiers... the author has other videos that go into more complex tube / electronics topics as well. He does a great job explaining this, even for beginners...



Next up I want to learn more about output transformers... in addition to waiting for pictures of the Camphor Burl VC's

 

[Speednut]

I'm thinking about getting the Camphor Burl LTD.

Did anyone receive theirs yet?

I'm thinking about maybe getting it with stainless steel grills, however I can't find any pictures of that combo.

 

[zach915m]

That's too bad. Custom choice is a casualty in the inevitable move from make-to-order to mass production when a product takes off. Hopefully you'll still be offering Ltd wood alternatives in the future. As for me, I guess I'll be looking forward to Silkwood.

Oh we actually never offered those kinds of options for any wood you'd want as it's always been too much to manage regardless of our output.

The way we build our headphones is extremely important to me, so you won't ever see us changing the quality or build to make them more of a mass market product.

We will be posting new LTD editions on the website in the next month for aeolus, v closed and auteur!

Hi everyone,

A while since I've popped in here - a mixture of lockdown throwing most things out of whack, but also due to me quite honestly using the Verites almost every chance I get.

However, just had a slightly terrifying experience with my Pendant and wondering if other owners (or @zach915m ) could weigh in.

I switched on and plugged in the Verites, and a couple of seconds later a huge distorted crack exploded twice through each of the cups. It wasn't immediately as I plugged them in - it was a couple of seconds later.

This was caused almost certainly by what looked like an electric-blue lightning bolt that flashed through one of the tubes. It happened so fast I couldn't say for definite which it is, but was definitely either the one that is middle or on the left in the pic (the 6BQ5). It looked like a tiny lightning storm in the tubes - would actually have looked awesome if I wasn't so totally freaked out by it.

We had a massive thunder and lightning storm a couple of days ago, but I've used the amp since then and this is definitely a first. Thankfully the headphones and amp appear to be completely unscathed - but I'll wait a couple of days before feeling sure.

Would love anyone to chime in and let me know whether I need to worry, call an exorcist or simply get over it.

As an added extra, something I've wondered for a while. Of the four tubes in the amp (I am supremely un-teccy, so I name them 1 to 4 in everyday life) - the two tubes at the front labelled '6BQ5' and the tube at the rear labelled '6CA4' are lit up for a very equal degree when switched on; a bright rich, orange glow. However, the third one at the front - '12AU7/12AX7' - is very very faint - I sometimes have to look closely to be certain it's live.

I know that all tubes are created individually and there's no necessary uniformity, but for there to be such a huge difference from the start always had me wondering - is there anything wrong with it?

Thanks all - my long-awaited and promised review of the Verites is half-written and being finished as we speak.
(The paintbrush is for sweeping out bits of dust in very small, fragile spots!)

If the tube does that more than once you'll likely want to replace it, but pops when tubes are warming up are fairly normal, it'd always safe to let the amp warm for about 10 minutes to make sure the tubes are warm and fully "popped."

Would you recommend the same tubes for the Echo? I've been using the stock tubes, and they sound great, but I'm interested in any possible improvements.

I don't know exactly what tube type the echo uses? I actually have an echo on the way and I'm excited to figure out what tubes will be best!

 

[Little Bear]

Oh we actually never offered those kinds of options for any wood you'd want as it's always been too much to manage regardless of our output.

Well maybe not any wood, but there are examples earlier in this thread of Verites made in padauk, cocobolo and purple heart. I don't recall any of those offered as standard "LTD" options. Did I misunderstand? @kdphan , for instance, says he ordered a Verite in purple heart just in April.

 

[nwavesailor]

Well maybe not any wood, but there are examples earlier in this thread of Verites made in padauk, cocobolo and purple heart. I don't recall any of those offered as standard "LTD" options. Did I misunderstand? @kdphan , for instance, says he ordered a Verite in purple heart just in April.
[/QUOTE


I think the cocobolo and, more recently, the purple heart were the LTD options available.

 

[NickT23]

Oh we actually never offered those kinds of options for any wood you'd want as it's always been too much to manage regardless of our output.

The way we build our headphones is extremely important to me, so you won't ever see us changing the quality or build to make them more of a mass market product.

We will be posting new LTD editions on the website in the next month for aeokus, v closed and auteur!

"aeokus" ? Do you mean your Aeolus ?

 

[zach915m]

Well maybe not any wood, but there are examples earlier in this thread of Verites made in padauk, cocobolo and purple heart. I don't recall any of those offered as standard "LTD" options. Did I misunderstand? @kdphan , for instance, says he ordered a Verite in purple heart just in April.

Yep - the verite has used pheasant wood, cocobolo, ziricote and purple heart and now camphor burl as Ltd models.

We did have one board of curly padauk that we made 3 sets from and offered them at shows and then immediately after shows.

If you ever want a one off ZMF catching us at or right after a show is a good bet, ofcourse I don't know when we will be back at headphone shows given the times.

 

[cdanguyen08]

After seeing Zeos Aeolus, I want a Koa wood Verite! But that Purple Heart Verite is still on my mind...

 

[Focux]

Oh we actually never offered those kinds of options for any wood you'd want as it's always been too much to manage regardless of our output.

The way we build our headphones is extremely important to me, so you won't ever see us changing the quality or build to make them more of a mass market product.

We will be posting new LTD editions on the website in the next month for aeolus, v closed and auteur!



If the tube does that more than once you'll likely want to replace it, but pops when tubes are warming up are fairly normal, it'd always safe to let the amp warm for about 10 minutes to make sure the tubes are warm and fully "popped."






I don't know exactly what tube type the echo uses? I actually have an echo on the way and I'm excited to figure out what tubes will be best!

this is great news, i was wondering if there were tubes which would make the echo less tubey/warm/lush with aeolus. on stock echo tubes atm

 

[RobertSM]

After seeing Zeos Aeolus, I want a Koa wood Verite! But that Purple Heart Verite is still on my mind...

I'm absolutely also interested in a Hawaiian Koa wood Verite. I know this wood is prized for it's tone, being used in ukelele production, for example. I have this vision of this wood really being something special in a Verite.

Maybe we can commission a small Koa wood Verite production run when Zach gets into his new studio.

In regards to purple heart, I was lucky enough to catch the very end of the Verite LTD production run of this wood. Zach was kind enough to allow me to place an order. That's what I'm currently waiting on. Will be worth it! I'm super excited.