No, I can’t say I choose Pheasantwood based on any relation to it being used in musical instruments. But a wood choice that did not add to the decay already captured by the recording was definitely preferable. That’d be an undesirable coloration for me, in a potential primary-headphone (though not necessarily unwelcome in a can biased towards specific moods/music).
As for how these drivers would work with a harder wood, it’s difficult to say.
I still want to try the Silkwood version as an alternate though, as well as for the very pretty tone and finish of the wood itself.
I might…maybe… have a pair of Verite and Eikon incoming from Zach on loan for the purpose of review. I will definitely be reporting back in this thread.
I have wanted to hear Zachs headphones well…for years! To say I am excited is an understatement.
Pro Tip: When you get them, immediately get a little bit of masking tape and label which pads are which. The Universe Pads come on the Verite, and they are very difficult to tell apart from the Verite pads.
I’m not sure! I’ll ask Zach once he replies to my most recent email. I don’t want to bug him too much haha To be honest, I’m just so happy to be able to try them, I’m not too worried which wood they will be.
He is the only headphone (Wells Audio is being kind enough to send me a “Milo” for review as well) manufacturer that has trusted me to take care of his product, and offer a fair unbiased review so far. For Zach to offer me not just one, but two headphones to review is amazing as I am just some random dude. To say I am thankful to him is an understatement.
Well, if it works out, and the Vérité come in Silkwood, let me know and I’ll see about bugging him and/or Bevin to let me get my ears/camera on them after you’re done with them.
For one, I’d love to compare them so I know if I’m just buying into cosmetics for a second pair and for another for a back-to-back review vs. the Pheasantwood.
Since there’s been a brief break in construction noise this weekend, I was able to get around to doing the ZMF Vérité measurements. I’ll probably break these out further in the formal review, but for now here are the basics.
The first set are the Vérité with Vérité pads installed (they ship with two sets, “Vérité” and “Universe”, with the namesake pads being the more neutral and the “Universe” being a little warmer):
The RAW and HEQ compensations are those that are supplied for my copy of the miniDSP EARS unit. The CUST compensation is my own set of adjustments, using the HEQ profile as a starting point, that better reflects what I hear (and relate to neutral) when I’m actually listening.
Interesting to see the 3khz dip. I guess this is the ‘concha resonance’ avoidance tuning a lot of headphones seem to be aiming for these days. This also looks like a similar tuning to the D8000 (possibly a bit less coloured?).
Thanks for posting these measurements. How do the Verite sound compared to how they measure, especially in terms of the hump at 700Hz and the dip at around 3KHz with the Universal pads?
They sound more neutral than those elements of the plot might outwardly suggest.
There’s a definite element of added warmth with the “Universe” pads compared to the “Vérité”, and there’s a hint more vocal presence with the “Universe” pads as well. But these are really nudges in favor of either neutral or slightly warm signatures, and otherwise the raw technicalities of these cans are preserved with either set of pads.
If I was using Vérité as my transducer while doing critical, review-style, listening, to a DAC or amp I would go with the “Vérité” pads. But when just sitting down to enjoy some music with these cans, it is the “Universe” pads that are getting the bulk of my listening time.
These are the first, non-specialty, headphones I’ve heard, since getting the Utopia, that have really presented a genuine challenge to the flagship Focal’s for my system and preferences as a “reference headphone”. And, while I find the Abyss AB-1266 Phi CC, LCD-4 and HD800S unbeatable in various, if different, areas - over time they’ve become a something I use more for specific moods or music than as “reference” cans (not that they aren’t all excellent, they just have different strengths and quirks).
I just got mine in and so far I much prefer the Verite pads. They’re definitely a more traditional sound, and I find the universe pads do something weird to the staging/imaging. I can’t quite figure it out yet, so I’ll have to keep listening and report back on why that sounds so different. To me, the Verite pads also cause the dynamics to come through a bit more strongly. While the performance is there on both pads, it’s as if the slam is tighter and more pronounced with the Verite pads - and boy do these ever slam. So far the Verite sounds more planar than dynamic to me, and I’m really into it. It’s got craaazy speed, exactly the quality I was missing from the Auteur, and the resolution comes pretty close to that of the Utopia. Images are also bigger than on the Utopia, but perhaps not quite as surgical? It’ll take more time to properly evaluate.
Damn…I’m still waiting on my Aeolus Zericotes to come in…I think I’m entering month 3…it is almost worse than waiting on Massdrop ships lol…wait a minute…I still haven’t received my R2R DAC…!%!@#%!@#%$%! @Resolve…I’ll be wrapping up my Ether2 review here soon (ish) then off to you good sir.
Looking forward to your review! (and hearing the Ether 2).
Yeah the wait time on the Verite was a bit tough. I ordered sometime mid November, and they just showed up today. But in every sense, it was totally worth the wait, and I now feel bad for pestering Zach about it haha.
Yeah I’ve been pestering his wife Bevin lol… I try to let them know that it is only because I’m so excited and I’m more just checking in and not demanding them asap or anything lol…but man it is like being a kid counting down to x-mas lol… I’m pretty sure one or both of them are members here.
I can relate to all that you’re saying. I am a very impatient person in that regard. Like a little boy onfact. I know it’s sad. But it’s how I am wired. The range of ZMF headphones look stunning though sadly I haven’t had the chance to listen to any. And Zach seems like a great bloke too.
I’ll bet you dollars to donuts he’s used to being pestered about orders. =)
I remember when I preordered the Eikon and Atticus, it seemed at the time like I waited a month between sending emails, but it was probably just a week or two.
Yeah, plus I know they are busy filling orders. patience has never been strong in me lol. I also don’t like being the annoying customer pestering:crazy_face:
To be honest, I’m just so happy to be able to try them, I’m not too worried which wood they will be.
patience has never been strong in me lol. I also don’t like being the annoying customer pestering:crazy_face: