ZMF Verite Closed African Blackwood Headphone Review
Vložit
- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- Thanks to Head-Fi user sa11297 for the loan of Verite Closed!
Support me on...
Patreon: / wavetheory1
Donate on Paypal: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted...
Buy Verite Closed Direct from ZMF: shop.zmfheadphones.com/produc...
My Other ZMF Headphone Reviews:
Eikon: www.head-fi.org/showcase/zmfh...
Auteur: • ZMF Auteur Headphone R...
Atrium: • ZMF Atrium Headphone R...
Verite Closed (Epoxy Stabilized): • ZMF Verite Closed Epox...
Verite Open: • ZMF Verite Open Headph...
My reviews of some mentioned source gear...
Schiit Bifrost 2: • Schiit Bifrost 2/64 DA...
Cayin HA-1Amk2: • Cayin HA-1AMK2 Vacuum ...
Chord Hugo 2: • Chord Hugo 2 Transport...
Focal Radiance: • Focal (Bentley) Radian...
Audeze LCD-XC (2021): • Audeze LCD-XC 2021 Clo...
Focal Stellia: • Focal Stellia Headphon...
DCA Stealth: • Dan Clark Audio Stealt...
PREORDER of Focal Radiance: headphones.com/products/focal...
My Hearing Quirks: • WaveTheory Reviews Wav...
Timestamps...
00:00 Intro, Pricing, Disclaimers
01:23 Shameless Self Promotion
01:50 Why A Second Review of VC?
04:58 Is My Sound Memory Trustworthy?
06:12 Options, Specs, Cable
07:20 Blackwood Cups
07:43 ZMF Pads I Tried
09:24 Weight
10:30 Test Gear (Musician Draco...NOT Pegasus)
12:45 Sound
23:03 How Sound Changes With Pads
27:55 What Accounts for the Differences?
29:04 Tube Amps?
30:17 Comparisons
35:00 Concluding Thoughts
Brian reached out to me asking if I knew why he heard differences in the two verite closed units he reviewed. We have a video on our channel that shows our complete QC process and how we match and measure both the drivers and headphones at various points to our target curve. Unfortunately with two after market headphones not coming from us it is impossible for me to comment on the different headphones, pads, source chain, listener volume matching, current preferences and all the things that change aside from the headphone when listening months apart. If any owner ever hears something they feel doesn't represent what they think our headphone should sound like, regardless if bought from us please send us an email and we can test the headphone as needed. I would ask @wavetheory and anyone else to do this in the future as our processes are exact and we have industry standard equipment that will tell a full story without conjecture and subjectively finite statements.
I always love your reviews. You never sugarcoat anything, you mention all the little issues (with every headphone). I know I get bothered by those tiny issues myself. It makes deciding a lot clearer! I'm definitely considering the VC and VO, I want to own a ZMF set. You're helping clear the air. Thanks!
VC changed everything for me, it fits, it looks, it sounds like they were made for my pleasure. First pair of headphones that really made me sell all the rest without regret
I appreciate your honest opinions. I also preferred the VO over the VC and had an overall experience similar to yours. Thanks for your review!
Yeah tbh I put more attention to the hollowness of the sound after he pointed it out and it was actually more prominent now that I knew It was actually there and I wasn’t the only one who heard it because nobody talks about that in any other review.
Most reviewers overstate the good points and skim over the negatives, some are so consistently positive they are almost like sales adverts. So it's much appreciated how you set a very high bar where you give negative as well as positive criticism without bias.
We are going to need a round up video of your favourite products for sure!
Very valuable review.
Bravo for the honesty in the review! And you get a hot spot, really!? You need to buy additional padding to handle it - not surprised!
WaveTheory, I have a question - is there any chance that you get your hands on a third VC unit and compare its FR and replay vs these two? I am trying to understand how much is the variance b/n units and are there two units that are identical in FR and replay at all?
If I recall, Zeos wasn't a fan of these until he put the Eikon Suede pads on. So YMMV depending on your tastes and what pads you try.
Nice review . What's good for rock n metal
You didn't mention what pad are you using when test these hp , we know different pads change sound so you should explain how the other pads sounds maybe one u used isn't the better one.. so it would help alot for us to know which pad you listened when testing...
Thanks for the detailed review. I my main setup I have the ZMF Verite Closed Monkey Pod wood and the ZMF Caldera. Regarding the VC the soundstage opens up a fair bit with deeper pads. I use the Eikon Suede pads on the VC. They are deep and the suede evens the frequency response out a bit. I run the VC off the Cayin HA-6A and just for fun EQ in a bit of low bass although it’s not totally necessary. None of the pads you have on hand sound good to me with the universe being the worst for me. Like you I prefer the VC off tubes no question about it. Compared to the Caldera the VC is warmer and the isolation is most welcome. I had the ZMF Atrium but sold them for being too heavy and not as fast sounding for lack of a better word than the other two. FWIW I prefer the Caldera off solid state an use the Cayin iH-6A.
does the eikon suede pad leak sound or provide same isolation as the auteur lambskin pad? are vocals crisp like the auteur lambskin or recessed like the universe hybrid? is bass texture rich or sharp, or bloomed on the eikon suede? how is the treble?
regarding soundstage, what's the soundstage height/width/depth? I was going to pick the eikon suede but ZMF heavily recommended against it.
@@Viewer13128 That is a lot of questions, I'll try to be brief. I don't think the Eikon suede leak all that much sound if any. I get a really good comfortable fit with those pads so about as isolating as is possible I reckon. Any lambskin/smooth leather pad on the VC will have a more crisp presentation than a pad with suede. The Eikon Suede pads make the overall presentation warmer (richer?). I get a better sense of bass presence and weight but everything softened a bit especially higher frequencies. The VC is a very fast sounding headphone with a lot of energy. With the stock pads and especially the Universe pad it is too much for me. Suede pads tame that down. Regarding soundstage the deeper pads have a wider, more spacious soundstage and I believe the Eikon Suede offer a bit more layering than other pads I've tried. Zach at ZMF seems to prefer an energetic, exciting, powerful sound. I can dig that but not to his extent. For example, I prefer the Eikon Suede on the VC and use the Cayin HA-6A amp with stock tubes in triode mode (Zach likes KT88 tubes in ultralinear mode). A lot of comments have been made about the Eikon Suede on the VC. Some CZcams personalities prefer that combination and also several people who post on forums. Others do not like those pads. If you have big ears like me and/or if you prefer a somewhat more mellow presentation that is warmer and more spacious then get the Eikon Suede and see what you think. Pads do make an astonishing different and they are easy to swap. Suede is more comfortable against the skin regardless.
@@jonandresen1483 tyvm
Great review! Can we expect an Ifi pro ican review anytime soon?
Shouldn't be too much longer 🤞
The first pad pair you discussed are perforated. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't the perforated pads not meant for the VC? When I owned both the VC and VO at the same time, I tried experimenting with perforated pads on the VC and it sounded pretty bad.
Full perforated pads should absolutely not be used on closed backs that we design. One of the specific reasons we like sending headphones directly to reviewers is because we want reviewers to have as close to the same experience a customer would have when getting a headphone from us. When they receive it from a subscriber or patreon member etc that's part of their channel - the "acquisition" information will be different and you'll end up with reviews that make finite statements of authority that are confusing to the audience vs our recommended use, and the extended time use of someone who bought the headphone, vs borrowed it to promote the prerogative of a CZcams/review channel or website.
kennerton Rognir planar closed back or zmf verite closed back?
I was saving for the VC but now I'm convinced that the Caldera is the correct move. Will save a bit longer
can u explain why Caldera is better for you?
@@Viewer13128 I’ve read the headfi threads and watched sajid’s (amplify audio) and Tyler eclectic who both did reviews. Seems to be a good blend of ZMF house sound with the technical capabilities of susvara at a meze elite price.
@@aceofspades6667 what headphones have you listened to?
yea twice longer :D but oh well its for sure worth it ! ZMF are the best
@@aceofspades6667 you shouldn't really be comparing the technicalities of Susvara, Elite, Caldera, etc. with any closed-back. Closed-backs, while good for isolation and sub-bass pressure, have too many drawbacks.
I love my Blackwood VC's, but I wouldn't be cross-shopping the VC with TOTL open-backs.
I'd also caution checking recency bias with the most recent releases or latest flavor of the month.
Newer =/= better
Great review, I prefer VO to closed but still they are too intense for me. I think Atrium was better than both of verite.
I think there is unit to unit variations also.
Caldera should be better, at least that is what everyone that heard it says.
Caldera is their most expensive set so yea it must be better, it has top players to beat in that price range
I don't know if you have anyone sending you a ZMF Caldera yet, but I would be interested to see what you think of it.
Yes Caldera is the most wanted for review.
i have demoed it in the american oak version, it has very good bass, perhaps a mid bass boost? and recessed upper mids (electric guitar softer) more technical than the focal utopia i tried back to back, though i can't remember if it was the new version or the old
I am on Zach's list to get a review unit in near future 🙂
Tbh I hated the VC on tubes. I’ve listened to it on the feliks audio espressivo mk2, the ampsandsound kenzie og rev2 and the ZMF pendant. They just sounded awful to me and the Kenzie is the one I prefer with every other headphone since to me it’s the most musical of the tube amps I’ve had.
The only solid state I use is the ifi ican pro (and idsd DAC/amp) and it sounded better there. But yeah the hollow sound never was a big issue for me because I thought it was just me or the song I was listening to but then you pointed it out on the first review and I put more attention to it and started actually A/B-ing with other headphones and it became a real problem. Ended up selling it.
I prefer the ZMF Auteur which I upgraded the drivers to the classic and that headphone is still going to be my favorite after so many years and after listening to the complete ZMF lineup save the caldera, the second favorite are the Atticus but I don’t like their cup design so I sold it and after that I just have an Aeolus which I don’t really love their sound but I got myself a Ziricote wood set and the cups look beautiful and it’s just a light and easy headphone to have so I’m keeping that one as well.
I’d love to try the caldera and I’ve seen them going for cheap on Reddit AVexchange but how the market is now it’s really hard to sell these expensive headphones online because nobody has money and the amount of low ballers have tripled in size 😂
No idea what tubes you are using but mine inserted in Feliks Elise drive VC (olive wood) perfectly. I agree about market thou, its really hard to sell expensive headphones, even those midfi cant sell 😆
@@soulfulfool for the tubes its in the beginning of my comment lol ''feliks audio espressivo mk2, the ampsandsound kenzie og rev2 and the ZMF pendant.''
yea but I mean tubes not amps, you know those glass things you insert into amp xD
@@soulfulfool Well, that falls into psychoacoustics, changing tubes doesn't make a difference; the amp itself does.
@@olimphus26 oh boi so you must convince in your theory so many audiophiles that every tube is the same haha thats amazing bullshit and bold statement
Honestly having 2/3 pad pairs you used be ones that ZMF sayz directly to NOT use on their closed backs pretty much completely invalidates this review, Im sorry
I know the intentions were noble here, but the pads on this headphone definitely do make a pretty significant difference in tonality, so the insinuation that it wouldn't and the headphone just isn't for you doesn't really make sense. Especially since your complaints are to do with parts of the upper mids being forward. Like dude the Universal pads that you didnt use, and that are listed as the default pads on the ZMF site, are designed to less emphasize that region lol
Also did you speak to Zach directly? Because it almost seems like ZMF were trying to prevent misinfo from this review spreading, and frankly I don't blame them. Buying perforated pads isn't even an option when checking out with these headphones...
auteur hybrid 👍 I love my VC with my tube amp, I didnt say my last word in open back department but closed back category Im done with my VC its my end game for the rest of my life it will be mine xD
preferring Radiance to verite? Is it a joke? Timber is not natural on the most naturally sounding headphone out there? Hmmm
what is that comment even supposed to mean?
Read again
Its almost like it isn't the most natural sounding headphone out there...
I went on a closed back spree after finalising my open back settling on Susvara .
I had Verite c ... Hifiman r10 planar ... Stellia...z1r...
Now I have a radiance and I am completely satisfied... Highly underrated headphone.. I feel like they do what a closed back should do. And after the initial burn in (those who don't think burn in is real are just silly). The moving parts are now moving as they should and this headphone is actually incredible.
@@mikylenaidoo1779 i heard complaints that the Radiance's midrange/vocals are just okay, not great. can u describe the midrange a bit?
Man, he hated these lol
Those home depot Philips screws on $2500 headphones is very impressive.
3 thumbs up