Love my VC but during the day and when I’m working, I find they are TOO isolating; have to keep checking my surroundings. That’s where the Aeolus that’s on order comes in 
Having said that, I doubt I’d hear anything around me anyways with it turned up but it did give me a good excuse to buy another headphone. 
I am right there with ya! VC first and foremost for me, and then my Atticus, followed by my Aeolus. I love them all, but my Aeolus is kind of like the “Red Headed Step Child” at the moment. With the right pairing, the Atticus is very special, and the Aeolus is really good too, but I think I just might prefer closed backs.
Wes, you’re saying you beat the Aeolus like a red-headed stepchild?
(that’s so wrong)
I like that phrase: I picture red-headed step-parents beating a red-headed stepchild who’s thinking, “WTF?”
Oh, don’t get me wrong, the Aeolus is incredible and one of my favorite headphones I will never sell. I chose to keep the Aeolus over my Ori. That is just how it has been going with my trio (VC, Atticus, and Aeolus) at the moment. I never really got the phrase, but use it from time to time, after reading it over several times . . .I don’t think I will ever use it again.
I think what drives me toward VC is I really like planar speed. The few dynamics I have heard (outside of the dunu Zen) feel slow and as a consequence, not very articulate particularly in the bass.
Funny you’d mention planar speed. At least for me, that tied into the “ZMF experience” in an interesting way…
3+ years ago I was in the process of acquiring a bunch of headphones, most of which didn’t work. My first big $$ headphone–one that worked for me better than any before it–was the ZMF Ori. I love that headphone to this day: it has planar speed, also that particular low distortion thing where notes come up from nowhere, fast; and some of the best bass I’ve ever heard from a headphone.
The Ori was a paradigm shift in my perception of headphones. I was already leaning towards open-back HPs, so I turned away from dynamic HPs and began searching for quality open-back planars. It made sense at the time…I thought it would be easy.
After that I had, then sold, a pre-fazor LCD-2.1; a pf LCD-3; HEX v2; and Meze Empyrean. Each had sonic assets, also weaknesses. Heard the big Abyss planar at shows & was wowed by the bass (best I’ve heard)–but the cost, size & discomfort of that HP mean I’ll never own one. Also heard the orig, Final D8000 & was very impressed. But even used, these tend to be extremely expensive.
In the meantime, ZMF launched a series of new dynamic designs (Atticus, Eikon, Auteur, Aeolus, VO, VC). I had an Atticus & Eikon (both sold); now have an Aeolus & VO (will never sell those). The ZMF dynamics completely turned me around. Now I regard dynamic designs as TOTL.
I still hear planar bass (done well) as better than dynamic bass. Then again, dynamic bass done well (ie, VO) yields tone & timbre better than any planars I’ve heard.
Did you take any detours into focal land? I am running out of closed back options that seem worthwhile.
I can’t help you with Focal. Both my experiences w/that brand were pretty bad:
– Elear: borrowed my friend’s Elear at length 1-2 yrs ago. Even after pad-swapping, I found it to be weirdly insistent–dynamic in an edgy, unsettling way that obscured anything good it was doing in other ways.
– Clear: heard one briefly at the Focal booth at CanJam. That was the single brightest, edgiest headphone I’ve ever heard. Couldn’t take more than a couple minutes of it. Many people love this HP, but for me, it’s radioactive (sonically, anyway).
(not a Focal fan, obviously).
If I were into closed back designs–and bass–I’d be looking very hard at the ESX900 (heavily modded Fostex TX900) that I mentioned on another thread here. My friend recently had one on loan and was greatly impressed. Here’s his post on SABF about it:
I would also urge you to look for a used Ori. They only come up F.S. rarely, but are worth the wait.
So far, brightness hasn’t bothered me. Lack of bass has. Though, there has been a harshness in the 1.5-2k range in vocals that I notice on some headphones (lcd-xc). And lcd-x levels of recession there also makes me a bit crazy.
I have two more closed backs on order to learn some more about what I want.
ZMF Ori and ESX900 are even harder to get than a VC. I would also assume that if I end up liking “ZMF Sound” a VC would still be king. Just need to keep trying things.
Woe be unto @Pharmaboy if ever in the same room as an active Utopia! It’s 2x more piercing than the Elear/Elex and 10x more than the Clear.
Focal’s product line is highly communicative of the high frequency potential of amps and DACs. To my ears they maintain coherence farther up the scale (extension) rather than have excessive treble content (traditional brightness).
When used with some solid state amps, let alone THX…no… ESS DACs…hmmm… I take this as Focal being too resolving versus the hardware development benchmarks. Or, some hardware doesn’t filter ultra high frequency noise. Focal’s products can catch small flaws.
10x more piercing than the Clear is a major exaggeration IMO. I know this is prob an exaggeration on purpose to get the point across, but it was statements like this that made me avoid the Utopia for the longest time. When I finally did listen to the Utopia though, I actually quite liked it at least off a warmer tube amp. More accentuated treble and exquisite detail? Sure. Nails-on-chalkboard piercing? Definitely not.
I didn’t have any issues with the Clear either, and my preferred tuning is pretty war (ie. Aeolus with lambskin Universe pads). I agree for sure though that the wrong DAC/amp pairing can make the Focal line-up sound brighter.
Nope. Not an exaggeration at all. Please see my detailed review and comparison of the Utopia, Clear, Elex, and HD-600. The Utopia literally converted mild female vocals into painful and piercing peaks. The Utopia can be stunningly (over) reactive to treble with some chains.
Well, to each his/her own. Don’t want to add debate about the Utopia in the ZMF thread, but just wanted to chime in to say everyone should at least give the Utopia a fair listen instead of immediately writing it off. And in particular, a fair listen with a warmer setup, whether that be a warmer DAC or a tube amp. Great write-up and comparison though!
Thanks. No offense meant. Individual differences in hearing have been thoroughly discussed in the Focal threads. In my review I said the Utopia would be great for people who aren’t bothered by the treble. Other people on the loaner tour didn’t last nearly as long as me in testing it.
I just posted my thoughts on the VC vs. VO on the VC thread - and I think the VC may be a great option if you want the ZMF VO sound but with more bass!
Nothing is going to change the fact that the Verite is just a superb, all-around great headphone that does a lot right and so little wrong. It’s easy to forget how good something is when you’ve had it for a while. It wasn’t until I got upgradeitis again and started demoing newer headphones to see if anything could replace them. And then they all just keep falling down and the Verite’s remain.
My silkwood VO w/the stock pads, once fully burned in, was immediately relaxing, musically satisfying, and intriguing to my ears. I can’t hear the midrange recession others talk about; don’t find it overly warm, as some do; and can hear that the bass isn’t SOTA, not quite on the level of the Ori, for just one example. But that doesn’t matter. The sum is far more than the value of each part.
This headphone casts a spell on me. It has an uncanny way to find the beauty in each note, each performance, and does this on every music genre I throw at it. The tonal purity and accurate timbre of each voice & instrument are part of this spell. The VO really sounds like music to me. And getting back to the bass, the quality of bass reproduction, beyond the absolute level & impact, is impeccable.
At the same time, it’s easy to hear that this is the speediest, most detailed headphone I’ve ever experienced. The resolution is very high, yet there’s zero fatigue. That’s a real magic trick, one I haven’t encountered before.
From the start the VO was able to knock the Aeolus off my head for weeks–quite a feat, considering that the Aeolus had already colonized my musical mind as few headphones ever could, knocking others aside for good.
I currently own the Eikon, and I love it. I really want to try another can but I’m afraid I may not enjoy it as much. The rest of line up seems to get more attention, but maybe because the Eikon/Atticus are the oldest releases.
I enjoy the treble with the suede Eikon pads, but more wouldn’t hurt. Being smooth in the treble is more important that the amount of treble energy.
Mids are good, but I can’t help but assume that I would enjoy the mids on a Aeolus more. I’ve never had a mid forward headphone, so I’m happy with what I have and I guess I don’t know what I’m missing.
I really like the Eikon bass, main reason I went for it. I’m not really sure how much I would be willing to give up. Not a lot of bass energy as I do listen to slot of hip hop/r&b. I did switch to suede pads however for better treble responses at the cost of bass.
I dont NEED isolation, but I think it helps with my 11month old baby. My fiance said an open back wasn’t too noisy, and I had the Ananada, which is VERY open.
This makes me want to try either
A.) The Autuer, as it seems to be very well regarded, even compared to the Eikon.
B.) The Aeolus, with It’s unmatched warmth. A flavor that seems to to be one of a kind.
pause:… a couple glasses of whiskey later
C.) Keep EIkon, get a tube amp? Maybe Crack with speed ball? Or save for Pendent?
D.) Sell Eikon, save for Verite Closed?
Currenty, I like my amp (Marantz HD-DAC1). It’s a little on the lean side, but that may be only compared to the Liquid Carbon X. It’s technically good with wide sound state and good imaging. I don’t want to sacrifice much in those departments, but would like to gain warmth and maybe even a little bass energy.
@Dynamic, I’m not going to dissuade from getting a VC (I am a ZFM fanboy after all - wearing my ZMF sweatshirt as I type this) but I really think you should audition a Focal Stellia if possible because it does seem to be a good fit for you. It is not bright, has really good bass, lots of speed, and is easy to drive. I find it a good closed compliment to my VO.
@MRHifiReviews is testing a Stellia right now.
Yeah. I don’t know what it is about focal and sennheiser. It’s like my brain can’t come to grasp with the idea of buying them.
I haven’t looked into the stellia, but the other focals seem to be very narrow headphones. On open backs, I don’t think that would matter much to me. But on closed, I think it contributes to the claustrophobic feeling I get. This is one reason the mobius doesn’t get more head time by choice. It feels compressed in a way the lcd-xc didn’t. I choose it primarily when my ears can’t handle being stuffed with iems. Also, the mobius is an unmatched pair of functional work day headphones.
The more I read about focal closed backs, the more I think that will be an issue.
The ath-wp900 stayed just wide enough to feel intimate instead of claustrophobic. The XC felt cavernous. VC has been on the list because I expect it to be cavernous and have the dynamic version of planar speed (like my Zen).
How does the stellia feel to you?