šŸ”¶ ZMF Verite

Will do. Thanks. The fact that you suggested a GS-X is promising.

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Itā€™s a good amp, skews a bit on the dry side for my tastes, but if thatā€™s what youā€™re looking for then it might be ideal.

No much to say except these are the best headphones I now own, and theyā€™ve rendered everything else Iā€™ve got obsolete. Beautiful to look at (Iā€™ve got the silkwood and theyā€™re significantly darker-looking than in pictures).

Just wonderful. Wonderful.

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God damn these are a fucking great set (s) of cans.

I went nutty on here a while back and bought out a guys 8 sets of different pads causeā€¦way cheaper than piecemealing (which I seem to do and spend too much money doing)

My VeritƩs are Oxidized Silkwood which is deep and dark in color and came with:
Uni Lamb Perforated
Verite pads

Included in the lot were:
Universe Lambskin Non Perf
Uni Lamb Perforated
Uni Hybrid Non Perf
2x Uni Suede Perf

The purchase was a great decision. I had a set of Aeolus that I loved but had to get rid of when these came inā€¦the Uni Suede Perf take me back to that warm buttery sound

The bass head in me is appeased by Universe Lambskin Non Perf - reminds me a bit of the Argons Mk IIIā€™s with some muddiness in transition twix the bass and mids. Maybe Meze 99/ Argon hybrid.

Thus far my favorites are the Universe Perforated Lambskin. The Verite pads while interesting just werenā€™t hitting it for me. I may go back and try them again as its been two months since that listen.

Iā€™d be interested in trying BE2 pads - they sound like they might hit a sweet spot.

Then thereā€™s this ZMF sale thatā€™s killing my bank account slowlyā€¦well threatening toā€¦super tempted buy the Purple Stabilized Aeolusā€¦with silver rods and grillā€¦\ Zach is crushing it.

image

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I am not ready yet to venture into ZMF yet, but that purple is spectacular.

Oh man. Iā€™m preemptively selling 3x other sets before I get these shipped. The wife is gonna kill meā€¦

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The newly released LTD African Blackwood looks fab!

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Iā€™ve Universe Lamb, Verite Lamb, BE2 Lamb, Universe Hybrid and BE2 Hybridā€¦ and my preferred ones are the BE2 Lamb.

You should give them a try!!!

What would be the closest planar to VO, as I continue to plan ordering an Arya and something else to compete with it? Ether 2? LCD-3? HE6? Iā€™m having slight worries about dynamic bass, but not really sure until I hear them. I think VO will have stronger bass than Arya, at least.

Maybe aā€¦Nectar Hive?

The Verite definitely has stronger bass than the Arya.

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It seems VO is significantly better than Arya as an all-arounder, as well. Do you feel Arya is the clear weak one, between it and VO & HE6se, letā€™s say?

Well, I can always try Arya first, and return it if I donā€™t fall in love. Re-strategize from there.

The Verite is just a phenomenal headphone for those that want detail without harshness in the upper mids and/or treble. To my ears, itā€™s just magical because it has this uncanny ability to be, simultaneously, detailed and smooth. That seems to be a difficult balance for manufacturers. Amongst those 3, I feel that the Verite is the much better headphone, and for sure, a better all-a rounder. It also has a wide and holographic soundstage and makes vocals sound fantastic.

Between the Arya and He6, itā€™s a toss up based on personal preference. If you want more soundstage and a brighter tuning, then the Arya is your choice. If you want a smoother treble but a more visceral and impactful sound, then the HE6 is your choice.

If you are sensitive to upper mids and/or treble, the Arya could be painful for you.

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How do you feel about VO bass? No real complaints? Itā€™s giving you everything youā€™d want?

Itā€™s fantastic! Itā€™s not flat. Itā€™s clearly north of neutral but not basshead level. It doesnā€™t have the impact of the LCD 4, but itā€™s not soft or weak. It definitely has more quantity than the Arya.

The Verite may not be the best at any one thing, but as a whole, it does everything right. Of course this is just one manā€™s opinion, but I donā€™t think it has any weaknesses. That doesnā€™t mean there arenā€™t those that prefer basshead level bass or those that prefer Beyerdynamic bright treble (yuck), but it does so much right and so little wrong. Itā€™s beautiful, comfortable, built well, scales well, well-balanced, tastefully tuned, has a wide soundstage, great clarity, smooth, detailed, and warrantied for life. And Zach and Bevin are great people to boot!

It doesnā€™t wow you with quirky frequency response tricks. Those types of tunings are like ice cream. It tastes great in small quantitties but becomes too rich and makes you nauseous after a while. The Verite is a filet mignon. It will satisfy your hunger because it not only tastes good, itā€™s good for you. The longer you own it, the more you will appreciate it. Thereā€™s a reason they donā€™t last long on the used market.

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+1 lol. One of my worst enemies, for sureā€¦

The rare treble smoothness you mentioned earlier has me sold(as well as the bass, it seems). I havenā€™t heard LCD-4, but LCD-3 and HE-6 are my #1ā€™s Iā€™ve heard so far. Maybe I will just get VO and a bunch of pads for now.

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Iā€™d describe the VOā€™s bass as neutral, but punchy. It never feels like itā€™s lacking, unless itā€™s lacking in the source. Favorite pads were the verite lambskin perforated. Those just felt the most balanced to me.

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You sold yours? What for? HE1000se? Sundara? =p

I ended up giving my Verite to my SO. The Verite is a non-offensive all-rounder that does nothing wrong, but also doesnā€™t excel in anything. So although I didnā€™t have the intention of parting with it, when I got the ADX5000 I found that it actually stepped on the Veriteā€™s role for me as a neutral/natural headphone, but particularly excelled in vocals and strings, also was higher performing and scaled better with higher end equipment. The Verite is far less picky on source equipment, so Iā€™d still rec the Verite for people who want to spend far less $ on the dac/amp side of things.

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Ooo, interestingā€¦ I had not even considered ADX5000. I own AD700X & 900X, and I know how uniquely wide open of a presentation those little guys have. What DAC & amp do you feel they need to sound good? I will have BF2+G111 in a few weeks.

SS-wise, I did use a bifrost 2 with an rnhp, and that sounds really sweet with the adx5k, so Iā€™d consider that a good combination. I havenā€™t heard the g111, so I canā€™t really say for that, but the bf2 is indeed a really nice dac. Both headphones benefit from a tube amp, but I still prefer the adx5k even off a pendant. Scaling doesnā€™t become an issue until you get into like $$$$ source gear and thatā€™s when I could tell that my other headphones were capable of way more than the verite.