I pretty much agree with @Pharmaboy’s impressions here re how the perf suedes change the sound!
It’s the fine line between being more Verite Open ish and more musical/fun than the VO.
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RE “It’s a right of passage to neurotically refresh that spreadsheet every 10 seconds daily in the hopes our status will change.”
So Zach hands you the proverbial whip and you flagellate yourself with it…? (believe me–I understand)
Years ago following an expensive multi-year, amazingly painful series of dental procedures, I told my dentist, “I could’ve spent all this money having a giant dominatrix wearing black leather beat me senseless. But instead, I’m doing this.”
He replied, “That’s not funny!”
I replied, “Oh, yes it is! Now–shall we continue?”
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What was your dentist wearing?
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(I actually laughed out loud at this)
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Yep, i’m a hardcore masochist! Hold on, refreshing email…no ZMF update… what was I saying?
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Got my first Aeolus email update yesterday (wood picked; ready for machining) and it’s all I can do not to sit on my stoop and wait for the FedEx truck.
Any collective sense of how long each step takes from here on in? As a ZMF first-timer I know the expected wait time but once something goes on the conveyor belt I have no idea how long that belt is.
In any event, way too excited this early in the process!
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What’s the thickest ZMF pad? (Most space from the ear to the cloth cover/driver)
The Ori are the thickest
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So the Ori lambskin on Atticus has the warmest sound. I might have to pick one of those up as i also like the most space in the ear cup.
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Anyone heard both the Pendant SE and non-SE version that can comment on the sound differences? Thanks in advance!
I didn’t have the OG on hand when I got my SE, so i’m going off memory. Right off I noticed more detail from the SE. Zach and Justin both said the Jupiter caps alone would be a significant upgrade to the OG, and I agree. The SE matches resolution with my Phonitor E now, something my OG could not do.
Both seem reasonably responsive to tube rolling. Tubes can take both from nearly neutral and solid state sounding to reasonably warm and euphonic. I have not been able to get them to super warm, but I haven’t tried too too hard. I don’t hear a huge difference in staging, other than the increased separation from the SE. Both give a moderately large soundstage with good holographic presentation. Spatial cues extend out from the ears pretty far, depending on the headphones used. I can imagine the HD800 excelling with them.
Imo the 100ohm output on the SE is pretty close in tonality to the 300ohm out on the OG. The OG might have had a touch more of a euphonic balance, but it’s close enough that I did not feel the desire to have a 300ohm tap. That was a big worry for me, but thankfully the 100ohm tap is quite euphonic, and gives up nothing to the 300ohm OG. Tube rolling has a much larger effect on tonality than the 100ohm SE vs 300ohm OG. The one thing that stood out to me with the 100ohm tap though was noise floor. There is still a noticeable noise floor on the SE, but it is SIGNIFICANTELY quieter than my OG. My OG was a very early production run unit. Justin had been doing silent updates to the OG over time so newer models are quieter. Mine unfortunately was annoyingly loud with the VC. With the VC and SE, there’s a low level hum with no music playing, and it’s LOW. I don’t notice it much, and definitely can’t hear anything with music playing.
The SE volume knob is a huge upgrade, imo. The OG knob and 300ohm tap kept me below 9oclock on the knob. The 100ohm SE with stepped knob has me around noon, with lots of room on either side. And adjustments don’t ramp up the volume as aggressively on the SE. With the OG, a small rotation of the knob gave a seemingly disproportionately increase in volume. I zinged myself a few times with the OG. The SE’s attenuation is much more linear and predictable.
Overall the SE is a very worthwhile upgrade. That being said, the OG is still a tremendous amp, and not everyone had the noise issues I did. If you can get a quiet OG for cheap, it’s a very very attractive alternative. I would say the SE is worthwhile if you put a very high value on resolution and quiet operation. If those aspects are not critically important to you, an OG used is a no brainer.
Hope my rambling helps!
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Great info, has me chomping at the bit, for my Pendant SE. 
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And I think that’s what makes it difficult to buy a used OG Pendant. You’d have to ask the seller when it was originally bought, and try to get one as close as possible to late 2020. I think I have the latest OG, which replaced the 300ohm output with 100ohm, and therefore has all the advantages that brings, along with some other changes to reduce the noise floor.
Zach listed some of the OG updates in this post.
The Pendant SE will still be better of course, but a used later-model OG will be great value for money.
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What’s odd about the early batches of Pendants is the inconsistency of the noise floor. A few people who had early units like mine had minimal noise issues, but others like myself had a lot. Later units seem to be consistently quiet. I wonder if there was something in the earlier units making it more suseptable to rfi besides the tubes?
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Well for what it is worth, then the second ZMF order is not as painfull to wait for as the first. The first is actually awfull to wait for, but the second is easier and it doesn’t hurt as much to update the excel sheet (or now wait for the e-mail).
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15 posts were merged into an existing topic: General purchase advice: Ask your questions/for advice here!
you guys got me curious so I connected my VC to my BTR5 and at 45 volume, it was certainly loud enough but yeah… my porta pros sound much better connected like this 
gotta say the sound isolation on the VC is excellent, I use it at night when everyone is sleeping and no issues.
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Always interested in all things like that!
Interesting. That means my qudelix could drive them in a pinch. I have found the qudelix capable of driving things the btr5 is not great. (Lcd-xc seemed to be one of those).
But, I would still have a better amp for a VC.
My biggest concern with VC is the tonal descriptions. But as I listen more I appreciate a smooth engaging sound with few extremes. So it’s starting to sound like a good fit.
Have you heard the eikon?
What’s the best stand for the ZMF (other than the ZMF stand as I don’t care much for the looks)? The Audioquest Perch which I love, leaves two dents on the sides since it doesn’t totally cradle them. That might be solved though if I get a co-pilot pad!