ZMF Vérité - Open-Back Dynamic Headphone - Official Thread

Congratulations, those are a pretty pair! Zircote? Would love to grab that wood one day, until then my soon to arrive silk wood will suffice :sunglasses:

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I havent done much tube rolling with my amp yet. Just a couple of different 6CG7s. Waiting on my BF2 to be shipped. Im hoping that DAC will make me happy enough to be a long term solution and then I may do a bit more tweaking.

The 6CG7 are pretty inexpensive for the most part so rolling them isnt an overly costly experiment. Have you tried any RCA black plates? Expanded the stage and increased the image separation, but, at least for me, thinned out the sound a bit. I got a VO on order so Im interested to see what the black plate does with the verite rocking the universe pads re soundstage.

Isnt it odd that us ZMF folks become experts in wood species? It looks like ziricote to me as well. I wouldn’t have known that a year ago.

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Reading and re-reading forum posts, reviews, etc has been part of my waiting therapy. Maybe I’m not the only one…

It also has given me a greater appreciation to folks on here as the dialogue around all ZMF products has been super helpful without the trolling found elsewhere.

So thank you to all on this thread!

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No, I haven’t try RCA black plates yet. ZMF Verite already has a superb image separation and sound stage. I don’t think I’ll like more of those :sweat_smile: Yeah, NOS 6CG7 RCA cost about $15-$20 each so definitely far more affordable compared to those well sought 6SN7. I think you’ll enjoy BF2, I found it has slightly elevated low end when I pair it with THX 789 but It’s an easy fix if you think it’s too much.

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Im looking forward to the BF2. After looking at the reviews it was either that or something >2k, and I’ve spent enough on audio for now. The Sonnet Morpheus is still something I stare at though.

When I ordered the BF2 I realized I should stop thinking about tube rolling until l hear what it sounds like. What I like now may not be what I like with the BF2.

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Always good to have a baseline. :+1:t4:

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After a year drooling over ZMF headphones I acquired the ability to indentify wood types. I think many others will get it too xD

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Thank you and yes it’s Ziricote. ZMF headphones are so beautiful no matter what kind of wood they use, tho I would love to have a pair in Camphor Burl one day B)

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I’m liking these headphones, especially the fancy woodwork!

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Try them with tubes. Zach recommended me to check out the Feliks Audio Echo since my budget was $500 or under. I’ll probably eventually get one in the future after snagging an Aeolus. Going to have to get a Schiit Sys to share the Bifrost 2 DAC. At least I think that’s what I need for one DAC going to two amps. :thinking:

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You can feed two amps from a single DAC with just a splitter with no noticeable loss of quality.
For more than that, I use a passive switch a Niles AXP-1 (I think they are discontinued).

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The Sys will work or you can use a splitter. The Sys has a volume control but is otherwise passive. You could also just run RCA to one amp and XLR to another as the BF2 has both outputs and I believe they are always active.

Depends upon what inputs your amps will take. If I decide to eventually get a solid state my idea was to run the XLR to it from the BF2 as my tube amp is RCA only.

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Any suggestions re a decent splitter?

If it’s a balanced splitter, I really like Palmer (1x3).

Quality, well made German ‘pro’ gear. I use a couple of their dc line Purifiers that I think work really well.

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It actually was a balanced splitter I was aiming at, I just forgot to state that.
It looks nice and ready for the job.

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Hi all, newbie here. I’d like to aim a question at @Resolve , but would welcome replies from anyone. I’m almost ready to buy a Verite, but one thing makes me hesitate. My musical taste is very close to yours - mostly classical, acoustic jazz and solo instruments like guitar and piano. I’ve seen your Youtube reviews of both the Auteur and the Verite, and read most of what you’ve had to say about them here and elsewhere. What makes me hesitate on the Verite is their reputation for warmth (you even called them dark recently in a video). I love the description of their other qualities (speed, detail, soundstage) but I’m concerned that the warmth may obscure some of these qualities. I’m coming from an un-EQ’d LCD-X, which I am not satisfied with at all. You’ve described the Auteur as having a much more neutral tonality than the Verite, and that’s what I think I would prefer, but I really am drawn to the soundstaging and technical superiority of the Verite. For my (and your) musical preference, I really think the treble and midrange are much more important than bass slam/punch, so I wonder if I would be happier with the Auteur. What do you think about this? Does the added warmth of the Verite diminish or obscure any of the wonderful midrange/treble qualities you’ve described in the Verite? Again, my dissatisfaction with the LCD-X has made me leery of headphones that are described as warm. I guess I’m just looking for some reassurance before I take the plunge. @Torq , I’d appreciate your opinion as well. Thanks!

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Hey, welcome to the forum. Yeah you’re concerns are well-placed in my opinion. The simplest (and least expensive) answer is to just EQ your LCD-X - or indeed the Verite, should you take the plunge. But I know that’s not something everyone is comfortable doing. While the Verite is one of my absolute favorite headphones, I do think its default tonality with the 3-4khz cut is maybe not the best for Jazz. It’s kind of like doubling down on warmth, which is fine as long as you know what you’re getting into. Still, it is considerably more ‘normal’ than the LCD-X’s default tonality.

By contrast, the Auteur is one of the best choices for that style, and especially if you love a good soundstage. The Auteur is quite spacious, and it places the listener a few rows farther back. What you lose is the technical prowess of the Verite, meaning the Auteur is not quite on the same level when it comes to detail, speed, and slam. If you go the ZMF route, I’d email Zach about the Verite (open or closed) and ask if he’s got a recommendation on wood and pads that would make the upper midrange a bit brighter.

Additionally, I think if you’re not comfortable doing EQ, you may be better served by a HiFiMAN Arya or HEDD Audio HEDDphone (if you can handle the weight) for Jazz in particular. They don’t have the same natural timbre of the ZMFs, nor the punch and slam of the Verite, but their tonality has really good presence in the upper midrange that may be a bit more well-suited to that style of music.

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Thanks for the reply. I guess what we really need is a Veriteur - a Verite with the neutrality of the Auteur.

EQ would certainly solve a lot of problems but, unfortunately, isn’t a viable option for me. I don’t use a PC for my music source. All of my music is on physical disc (SACD, DVD-A and Blu-ray Audio) so I’d need a desktop equalizer, which no one seems to make anymore. There’s the Schiit Loki, but it’s too crude and might just make things worse.

I’m aware of the Arya but lately I’ve been drawn to dynamic drivers for some reason. What would you think of the A-T ADX5000 paired with a nice tubey tube amp?

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The ADX5K is quite detailed. It’s a bit too bright for me really, but it’s decently balanced, and definitely well-suited for jazz. I think its only downside is the timbre isn’t as nice as that of ZMF headphones. I think it’s also worth considering the Sennheiser HD800s for this as well.

But yeah, a Veriteur is what I want too haha. I think that’s the end-game headphone for me.

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