The ZMF Blackwood VC ordering page goes live any minute now.
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Order confirmed @ 11:02 am, 6-12 weeks of agony commences!
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That’s 10:02 Central time. I’m on East Coast time.
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Congratulations! How’d you spec it out? The Blackwood Aeolus with rose gold rods/grills is, for my money, the most attractive non-stabilized ZMF headphone. (Though the Manchurian Ash Auteur that @ckhirnigs113 recently snagged is certainly beautiful too). I was tempted by the VC Blackwood, but not sure what configuration would look best. Was glad to see the rose gold rod option, but not sure they’d work as well with the closed back design of the VC.
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I added the magnesium chassis and went with black rods because of weight concerns. I figured the black aluminum rods would be the lightest. I have a set of magnesium risers with rose gold rods though. It’s easy to switch them. I went with all leather also. No suede here.
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I went all of 2 weeks without a VC in the house before I bought another one! I had every intention to wait until the 21st to see what rarities Zach is selling, but these LTD Olive beauties got the best of me, and now they’re heading my way.
They should look particularly nice on my Olive Burl headphone stand!
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I don’t blame you! I saw those last night. If I hadn’t already ordered a set of the Blackwood, I probably would have jumped on those too! Probably the best looking Olive wood I’ve seen.
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They are simply gorgeous!
The VC page is up for Resin, we will have the VO page up soon: https://shop.zmfheadphones.com/collections/stock-headphones/products/verite-resin-closed-stabilized-release1
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Can someone compare these the DCA Stealths?
So I was able to snag my first ZMF’s VC in the epoxy resin color I wanted! Next step…what amp should I get to drive these things?
I’ve recently purchased a Schiit amp and DAC(Jotunehim 2 & Modius) for Christmas for someone else so all I know is that company.
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The general consensus is ZMF’s love tube amps. What is your price range?
First, congrats getting the model you wanted. You literally won the lottery.
Are the Schiit amp and DAC going to be in a different location or are you going to be able to use it too?
If you’re adding to the Jot 2, and you have the budget, then I’d recommend a ZMF Pendant tube amp. It has great synergy with the Verite and if you email ZMF, they’ll offer you a discount for buying the headphones and amp as a package.
If you’re going to be setting up your own separate system, then as @ckhirnigs113 said, it would help to know your budget, so we can give you some more ideas.
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Nice, congrats!
It will help a lot if we knew budget (like what the 2 above have mentioned) and what type of sound you are after. If you’re not sure what type of sound you’re after yet, I would suggest:
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assuming you have existing dac/amp - stick with it until you spend time with the VC on that system. then ask yourself what you would change.
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assuming you don’t have existing dac/amp - I would look at something from schiit, burson, rupert neve, lake people, etc. to get a feel for what you want out of the VCs. I don’t have direct experience with some of these brands’ product line but what I do know is that the VC isn’t too picky with source, so they’ll sound good with a lot of stuff. btw, also consider the black friday sales going around (I know burson has some deals).
In regards to tubes, I personally wouldn’t go for them unless I’m willing to stretch my budget.
I know it seems like a lot of work, but once you’ve honed in on what kind of sound you want to go after and build a system around that, you’ll be better off than having to spend a lot of money on source gear that might sound good.
Thanks! A few people said it would be a difficult snag but I guess I got lucky it was pretty easy.
The Schiit DAC and amp are for someone else so I would like my own dedicated system.
I will say I don’t think I want to invest in a tube amp yet mostly because I don’t think I’m interested or invested in searching for tubes or what am I even aware of what sound I’m looking for.
As far as budget I’m not familiar with enough DAC/AMPs to understand the range. Though I guess maybe my maximum is 1800.
But again I’m knowledgeable enough to say whether that is too low of a budget since I’m sure there is a whole range of options.
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Don’t have a DAC/AMP this is actually my first purchase of headphones that require this sort of power. I have only heard of Schiit from my partner who used the brand before.
I appreciate the starting brands you mentioned, will look into them.
Personally not aware enough to decide on what sound I want. Something exciting? Something that compliments my music choices? I have a lot of synths, female vocal, and EDM music so I was hoping to just be able to drive the headphones with ease and have a fun experience.
As for tubes, staying away from that for now at least until I explore a less involved setup. Personally, I wasn’t aware a setup could affect the sound so much, I thought since they were VC I’ve sort of given up on that intense open back type of work.
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I’ll give you a couple of solid state options that I’ve personally used with my Verite Open, with the caveat that what I like may not be what you like.
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Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC and Schiit Jot 2 amp. Approx $1100.
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Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC and Burson 3XP. Approx $1700 (with Burson Black Friday sale price)
You’ll see that I anchored both with a Bifrost 2 DAC, which I think is tremendous value for money for a very musical DAC. I eventually upgraded to a Schiit Yggdrasil, but I have used the BF2 since that upgrade, out of curiosity, and I still enjoyed it a lot.
The Jot 2 is also great value for money. You don’t have to spend a huge amount to get a good sounding system.
Having said that, I have both the Burson and the Jot 2, and I find that I use the Burson as my default solid state amp because it’s a little more neutral than the Jot 2, which is a bit warmer. The additional warmth is actually fine with my Verite, but it’s a bit too much for me when I switch to the even warmer ZMF Aeolus. And this is where personal preferences kick in because my “slightly too warm” might be perfect for you.
Irrespective, the Jot 2 sounds great with electronic/synth music, giving synths a nice “thick” texture (I’m enjoying M83’s “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” on the Jot 2 as I type). In addition to saving you some money, the BF2 and Jot 2 look nice together, either next to each other or stacked, in case you care about that kind of thing.
I haven’t heard the Rebel Amp but a lot of our forum members have recommended it, and at $499, it would fit in as a substitute for the Jot 2.
If you want to go over your $1800 budget, and don’t want tubes (which would be my preference, as already stated), I haven’t heard this amp, but friends who have heard both the Burson Soloist 3XP and the Headamp GS-X Mini have told me that they preferred the latter. Their preferences may be different from mine, so I might prefer the Burson. And anyway, I already have 2 tube amps that are better IMO than the Burson, so I’m happy with what I have.
The GS-X Mini is $1800 by itself, but honestly, I wouldn’t recommend throwing a huge amount of money at this until you’ve figured out what you like and what you don’t, especially when differences between the equipment at this level of quality can be so small that you might only notice them when switching between the 2, actively looking for differences.
If you’re really happy with a BF2-Jot 2 system, why pay more money? If, like some of us, you get addicted to upgrading your equipment to chase that extra couple of percent in better SQ, then the BF2-Jot 2 (or BF2 and equivalent amp from another manufacturer) is a solid foundation for that upgrade rabbit hole.
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I can second the Burson Soloist 3XP / Bifrost 2 DAC combo. I’ve had several SS amps and I landed on the Burson and don’t plan on leaving for some time. Let’s the true house sound of the VC shine through.
As for tube amps, I have a Feliks Aidio Echo. Reasonably priced OTL tube amp. Adds that something extra that makes the VC sound just a little even better (if that’s possible).
I haven’t gone down the tube rolling rabbit hole yet but I suspect that may happen at some point.
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One entry-level tube amp I hear good things about is the darkvoice 336se.
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If you can find one, the best bang-for-the-buck tube amp is the SW51+. It is very hard to find one though. I’ve heard good things about the Hagerman Tube and Feliks Audio Echo as well. Those are easier to come by. I own and highly recommend the Quicksilver too.
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