There truly are very diminishing returns with reference to DAC’s . This is what stops me from going any further with Dac purchases unless there is an iron clad return policy with no hurt feelings.
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Ive made a couple of DAC jumps. Upgrades werent always in your face obvious, depended upon the rest of the chain to show it and well mastered music as well.
Often times its more noticeable when you jump back to the “worse” DAC, you start to realize you are missing something.
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Does anyone know how often ZMF changes their wood on the cups? I see different wood on the Verite so I assume he switches it periodically?
From what I know, it depends on what kind of wood Zach can get his hands on as well as how much of the wood he has now will last him. You can also ask if there’s a new wood coming out, just shoot him an email or follow the ZMF headfi thread where updates are more regular.
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I looked into this in the past couple of months because I was considering a purchase of the Vérité and I was interested in the kinds of wood that had been used in the past. What I found were the following types of wood, in no particular order, that Zach has used in the past three years (i.e. since these headphones were first released):
Silkwood
Sapele
Camphor?
Camphor Burl
Ziricote
Pheasantwood
Purpleheart
Cocobolo
Desert Ironwood
African Blackwood
I’ve divided these lists into two because I think - but could well be wrong - the first were the “stock” woods and the second were the limited runs. Please correct me, folks, if I’m wrong.
My sense is that ZMF releases a couple of limited woods a year, on average, although it’s more complicated than that. There were two runs of the African Blackwood, for example, with a very small number being released a while ago and now the current batch of them, for which Zach had been gathering boards for quite some time.
You can also sign up to ZMF’s newsletter to find out about new releases. And don’t forget that ZMF November is fast approaching…
Edits: to incorporate info from @Polygonhell’s subsequent post - thank you!
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Camphor Burl was a limited run, Camphor might have been a stock wood.
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Also worth noting here that “ZMF November” is an annual thing that often brings surprises, including new woods
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There are also a number of very limited 1 to 3 unit runs that have been made of various woods, and sold at various points, some of those show up in the November sales.
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Hi Guys,
I just ordered my 1st pair of VO. Currently I have Cayin HA-1A MK2 amp for my HD800S. Since it’s not OTL. I heard a lot good stuffs about OTL to high imp HPs. Do you suggest me to buy another OTL amp? if so which one do you suggest (and perhaps share me your thoughts and tube rolling suggestions). My budget is around USD<=1500. BHC may be the last consideration as I lack of skill to build and time… lol.
Cheers
If you’re interested in otl you can consider the BHC otherwise your amp should suffice. I use my verite primarily with transformer coupled amps.
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There are several Eastern European OTL amp sellers on Etsy and Ebay, as well as people who will build a Crack for you. The entry-level amps run from $350 to $500. I have no experience with any of them, and you’d have to find a local service shop if anything goes wrong.
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I’m sorry for the poor quality iPhone pics but in my excitement, I wanted to share some photos of my new African Blackwood Ltd Vérité headphones.
I’m utterly delighted with them
Zach, Bevin, and their colleagues did a wonderful job in making these headphones. They’re beautiful. I can’t decide whether I should sit and gaze lovingly at them or listen to them! I particularly love the distinctive characteristics of the wood and looking at the cups in different light.
I’ll post impressions soon.
They’re currently burning in (just over the 40-hour mark, I’ll start listening once I get to ca. 70 hours, if I can last that long…)
I love dark woods. My first proper musical instrument was a Boosey & Hawkes clarinet, and I wonder if it was made with African Blackwood. Also, since my parents lived in various parts of Africa, including Tanzania, before I was born, I grew up in a home with lovely Makonde sculptures, which were made with dark woods.
I especially love the play of light with the wood and its grain and colors.
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Anyone want to buy a brand-new, not even fully burned in set of African Blackwood Vérité?
I’m kidding - you won’t find me selling my new headphones any time soon (if ever), but these new open ltds sure are pretty
Edit: this one, in a screenshot from the ZMF website, is lovely:
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You are just a little bit evil 
VO and Auteur blackwood are my favorite ZMF headphones so far (and I have several). I first got the Auteur blackwood used for my “other” location, it blew me away for its speed and impact, so I could not resist ordering VO blackwood for my “home” location.
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Congratulations - I’m sorry for having been a bad influence!
I ordered the Blackwood version primarily because of the wood’s aesthetic qualities, as ZMF recommends. But the reports of the faster speed and greater impact of harder woods also appealed to me. Having said that, I auditioned the Vérité in softer woods and very much liked their decay. I could imagine a scenario in which someone becomes so besotted with one kind of Vérité that it makes sense for them to buy a second to enjoy a different flavor.
It’s really quite remarkable what ZMF has done, when you think about it: more than any headphone manufacturer, ZMF provides its own pads to get different tunings. Few others do this. Dan Clark Audio sometimes sells foam inserts for its headphones to allow for easy mods of the sound. But only ZMF - to my knowledge, and I don’t know much about Kennerton headphones - has offered headphones with different sound qualities thanks to the woods being offered. It’s a brilliant way to get us to buy multiple sets of the same headphones! You won’t find me thinking about buying a second pair of my Focal Clear or HD 800…
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For anyone who has a VO with a magnesium chassis, is it “worth” it, in the sense of making a noticeable difference in weight or comfort?
Also, does it scratch up easily since it’s painted?
I have an Aeolus in the std aluminum, and I think it is quite comfortable without seeming excessively heavy. I know YMMV… TIA! 
I think they changed the process to make the finish more durable. I think.
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Your post came through as I was typing up some first impressions of my new VO. I can give you a partial answer as I’ve only had my VO for a few days.
I’d had the same questions myself, especially as I ordered the heavier African Blackwood edition. I was aware of problems people had encountered with paint chipping on the older magnesium chassis but I’d seen the following post on August 21 by Zach on Head-Fi (here):
We switched our magnesium finish and the shape of all gimbals a while back (maybe 6 months?) so they all look the same and have more radius to the edges. Since the change to the new magnesium substrate and shape we haven’t had a single complaint about paint chipping (knock on wood!) on the new shape/material.
The aluminum is less of an absolute black because of the anodization process and is more of a super dark Grey whereas the magnesium finish is more of an absolute black. They are both a satin feel.
I reached out to Zach to ask his advice and he very kindly took the time to respond at length. I decided to go with the new magnesium chassis as the slight risk now of chipping is worth it for me in order to reduce the weight a bit. If you’re going for a lighter wood, it might not be such a consideration, and I have to say that I’m not finding the Blackwood to be all that heavy (for perspective, my previous, heaviest headphones are the LCD2-Classic, which weigh in at 544 grams - I’ve not weighed my Vérité).
I hope this helps!
OK, now to some excited, early impressions of my new Vérité. I was well behaved and waited patiently until I put 70+ hours of burn-in on the headphones. I’ve been listening through a Bifrost 2 and SW51+ amp, and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying myself.
I’ve had a hard time finding the right balance between flitting from one piece of music to the next - each time checking to see if my hunch that what sounds good on one track would do so on another - or listening to entire pieces of music and getting sucked into the glorious sound.
It’s wonderful when you have new headphones and you can’t hear all of your music soon enough (or for long enough).
Until my pair arrived, I’d not heard the Vérité in some 20 months (and I’d not heard them on my setup). I’d been curious, then, about how I’d find them - and a bit concerned that they might not live up to expectations. I’m delighted to report that I’m loving them. I found them a bit dark for some music but perfect for others, and I look forward to pad rolling once I’ve become properly acquainted with the headphones (I got the Be2 in addition to the Universe and Vérité pads, all in lambskin). I’m also looking forward to some test-drives with other amps (for instance, the ZDT Jr. and Mjolnir 1).
My first impressions, for what they’re worth, are that the Vérité’s soundstage and technicalities - especially the speed and resolution - are everything I’d hoped for, and this is coming through an amp that’s not famed for its soundstage (it’s still excellent, for the price).
Two other outstanding qualities, though, have far surpassed my expectations. The first is the bass. I’d not realized (or I’d forgotten) how well the Vérité presents the bass. It’s tight and fast but yet rich and beautifully textured. This might be the best I’ve heard the double bass. The timbre sounds spot on, and I can get a sense of the resonance from the body of the bass through the headphones. It’s as though there’s an equivalent to the sense of space in a venue in the way the double bass has a physicality to it.
The second quality, extending from the first, is the wonderful timbre of some acoustic instruments, especially woodwind instruments (I got sucked into some small ensemble jazz and alto saxes, in particular). I’m looking forward to listening to more brass and stringed instruments.
Thanks for putting up with my enthusiasm. I’ll offer more useful posts in the days to come. Let the honeymoon begin!
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Did hyou take the switch from daylight savings time to standard time into account?
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