Here’s the Pheasantwood and Ziricote with the Universe pads using the same compensation (HPN), smoothing and vertical scale as yours (to make reference easier):
That’s a pretty big cave at 3-4k. Is that audible or is that an effect of EARS?
I was suggested from some other users to use some rubber bands to help get better seal to avoid that 3-5K cliffs using EARS.
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I’ve tried physically holding the cups against the EARS and haven’t seen that solve the cliff. Some headphones I’ve measured like the HE560 don’t show a drop there, so I suspect it’s some sort of weird cup resonance.
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It’s definitely something with the EARS.
I’ve tried bands, no bands, one band, two bands, ears on, ears off, screws in, screws out, prayer and virgin sacrifice … it’s just got some issues that aren’t completely consistent nor straightforward to compensate out.
I can’t complain for $200, but if I was not going to be off around the world in a year I’d be thinking about buying something more sophisticated.
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Yea with 560 and Elex, I bet a huge spike there and with others, i get a massive cliff. It’s all or nothing with EARS there.
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Indeed I bet it has something to do with interactions between Verite (universe lamb most evidently) and EARS. I measured headphones that don’t have a dip there and those having a dip at similar frequency. These two groups of headphones sound audibly different. However, Verite didn’t sound like any of those. After hours of thoughts two months ago, I temporarily concluded Verite sounded unique.
Other pads (on Verite) have less dip there. Interestingly, within Verite, the difference of 4k scoop was associated with perceived depth to my ears. The more scoop, the more holographic staging.
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Yup, recession in the “presence” region of the FR gives the impression of added depth, ergo its name. There are some old AES papers on it if memory serves. Not neutral at all, strictly speaking, but can be quite pleasant if done well.
I was given an EARS rig recently (people are too damn nice sometimes) and there’s definitely weirdness in the mid-treble region that’s hard to compensate for. Still, useful data points— thanks!
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A couple of points that I want to emphasize
- Presence region is pretty well known as equalizing technique. But the way how it is recognized and used is generally the opposite in my understanding. The more present, the better (depending on context though). I’ve not heard lacking presence was better (or “done well” if put that way)
- Such also mirrors my general experience. For example, Aeolus is also recessed for that region with its stock pads (universe lamb). That is associated a slight dissatisfaction with piano and vocal tracks. I clearly prefer pads that can lift up 4k response: verite lamb, universe suede, etc.
- What puzzled me was the positive subjective experience of Verite (and universe lamb) with the same tracks where I wasn’t happy with Aeolus+Universe Lamb. Recessed 4k was audible, but I couldn’t find loss of details like other headphones with 4k dips or scoops. Verite, at least in my measurements, has uneven responses on treble. My rough guess is those unevenness did something (c.f., Aeolus has pretty even response past 4k dip region). But I digress.
- I generally distinguish depth and distance in subjective statements. The former intends to describe relative closeness between instruments on the front and back. The latter is about the distance between myself and reproduced images, which isn’t necessarily the same between speakers and headphones. Both are associated but not quite identical in my book.
Well, not a couple of… four indeed haha.
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So a couple couple then? That’s basic mathematics coming in handy after all 
Silliness aside, I’ve been spending some of my spare time (i.e. procrastinating doing stuff I should do) reading up on how headphones work and the subtleties involved in designing baffles, dampening, etc. since it’s pretty interesting and could help with modding. I’m still far from confident enough to be able to speak definitively on just about anything, so begging pardon if it turns out I’ve misunderstood, haha.
As far as I’m aware there isn’t necessarily any discrepancy between your points. Messing around with the presence region is a popular EQ technique, yup (that’s how I was introduced to the concept of a specific frequency range affecting subjective perception of space to begin with), but it could be that in your experience you could just be encountering too much of a “good” thing, with mixes that have good depth to begin with finding things pushed further back, ergo the need for more “presence”. My main headphones at the moment are the Klipsch HP-3 and they do this weird thing where they push things back into the mix, occasionally to its detriment (e.g. Beatles tracks). Flat coupler measurements from purr1n over at SBAF show that there’s a pronounced dip in the 6-7kHz range (https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?attachments/klipsch-heritage-hp-3-frequency-response-png.9989/), though interestingly Tyll’s measurements over at InnerFidelity show a trough between 4-6kHz instead (https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/KlipschHeritageHP3.pdf). Probably pinna stuff, but both generally fall within the relevant area.
Not necessarily a fan of how this affects upper harmonics of voices and instruments either, though that’s on a case-by-case basis.
Re: your fourth point, thanks! I use a “tapestry” analogy when I describe soundstage, basically how far away from me the “images” are. That’s not the same as separation and depth, though, since I’ve heard loads of headphones with large soundscapes but images squished together and flat as pancakes. HD650/600/6XX would be the opposite of this, with a tight-ish soundscape but decent layering between images. Either way, pardon the confusion, and appreciate the explanation— describing sound can be confusing in many ways.
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This thread to date shows me why I should spend spare change on Scotch and not EARS.
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Despite the immense distraction that the SR1a have proven to be, I have been putting some time in comparing my pheasantwood and ziricote Vérité. As well as playing with different pad options. And trying out ZMFs new Vérité Silver cable.
There will be more expansive write-ups about pads (though others have covered them rather well already, above) and on the cable, but a couple of comments in advance of that …
First, the cable lends a more open sense to the delivery of the Vérité, as well as being, as far as I can tell, just a hair more resolving. I would not say it shifts the tone of the headphones at all. I know there’s a popular mode of thinking that says “silver is brighter than copper” but I’ve never found that to be the case (even in the very rare cases where I’ve had two cables, one silver and one copper or SPC, that only differed in the metal used in their wiring).
Second, I definitely like leather/lambskin over suede. Both for feel and for sound. Not that the suede aren’t sumptuous and soft and luxurious (and my wife has threatened to steal them to make ear-warmers for the winter), but I just like the feel of the leather better - and find they’re a bit more immediate.
The bigger issue is … Pheasantwood vs. Ziricote …
Both are gorgeous … though I have to say I think the Ziricote are the prettiest headphones I’ve ever seen. And while it’s possible that the aesthetic influence is also titling my listening preferences as well, I do have a leaning toward the delivery of the Ziricote model.
Which leaves me with a short-term dilemma.
Keep both, and enjoy the slightly different presentations, or sell the Pheasantwood and pickup another pair of Ziricote (either in a trade, buying used, or one of the two remaining available from ZMF … depending on timing).
What’s not up for discussion is how many pairs of Vérité I need. That’s two. One for home. One for elsewhere.
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I can confirm this. Hearing verite silver (cable) and atmos-c side by side. I’d describe verite-silver as open-ish and resolving-ish (‘ish’ because I couldn’t hear any meaningful information added over atmos-c)
Also both cables did not differ much in tone and perceived brightness. I can happily use verite-silver with brighter headphones such as auteur with universe suede pads.
When I felt this way, I thought it a placebo or ownership bias. Happy to see someone else to perceive the difference similarly!
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At least for me, if there’s a bias at work it’s a subconscious aesthetic one, since I own both 
Which increases my confidence it’s actually a perceivable sonic difference (though the “preference” part is obviously down to personal taste).
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Please let me know if you decide to go that route. Verité is on my radar… not to replace any of my current cans but to be added to the collection.
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Having enjoyed my own unit for three weeks, I am still amazed by how high verite stacks against with proper supports. When maxed out, this old-school audio piece isn’t any (technical) slouch even compared to SR1a. Honestly, Verite makes me really really hard to justify dollars I paid for Raal.
I don’t think Verite alone can compete against SR1a’s speed and resolution. However, synergized with Ravenswood(3F), its technicalities are lifted up in every criterion in my audiophile book. Let’s forget Verite-silver cable for now (I do think it also helps though)…
For those who are not familiar with this amp’s noble approach, let me shortly explain. This amp is designed for fast dynamic headphones (originally voiced for Focal Utopia), having some VERY unusual and experimental approaches:
- No active parts (op amp, tube, bjt, fet, etc.) in core stages except output buffer. NO external power introduced except as current sources in the diamond (variant) buffer.
- No global feedback. Even in out stage, feedback use is rather minimal.
- Extremely simple amplification structure.
- And upon my request, it has pretty low gain setting.
All these generate very unique experience. It’s hard to describe – somewhat similar with top SETs but still different. But effortless, transparent and fast are three adjectives I’d always like to emphasize (aside: this amp is really so because of the structure). It’s one extreme implementation of ideal amplifiers. It sounds very different for sure (due to this totally different approach) but truly pull out of nearly everything that Verite is capable of.
I was shocked when I hooked up this with Auteur … Originally thought Auteur wasn’t as competent as totl headphones. But that pairing changed my perception fundamentally. Then later Verite arrived.
I think Verite has inherent technical advantages over many other dynamic headphones – one of the strongest magnets (N50; equivalently 1.5 Tesla as residual flux density) equipped on headphone, large moving surface radius (50 mm), and acoustically good material (Beryllium-coated polyethylene naphthalate). Ravenswood just utilizes all such potentials.
And when everything maxed out, to my ears, it is REALLY difficult to find vertical difference (better-worse as opposed to different) between Verite and SR1a(+Vidar), even when recordings are favorable toward SR1a. There are some. For example, Verite’s staging feels artificially produced by cup resonance and lower treble dips (although Verite conveys more holographic and deeper stages). Bass (above 50hz) is a little more articulated with SR1a. Top end extension is also tad special with ribbons. But hearing both side by side, mostly different presentation – SR1a’s superiority isn’t quite there as typically believed. By the way, all these statements hold no matter whether equalized or not. Unequliazed SR1a failed more frequently in lesser recordings though.
Comparison above was based on the following testing tracks – with tracks requiring forgiveness, excluded in this test, Verite creams SR1a so easily. And evaluation repeated again today just before posting this.
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Great picture.
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For those non-regular participants here that are whining about me giving something a positive review and then selling it shortly thereafter, you’re missing the details.
First, I still have my 3-week old pair of ziricote Vérité - which I have no intention of letting go. I prefer the aesthetics and the sound of the ziricote version, though the look is a bigger factor here.
Second, I am only sold my original Pheasantwood version because I couldn’t find someone that wanted to trade their ziricote for it, so I have to find one to buy.
Third, I may consider a different wood if new LTD woods become available before I secure a second ziricote pair.
But one thing you can be sure of is that I am going to have two Vérité around again as soon as I can find another pair I like the looks of!
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People that don’t read entire posts apparently…yeesh…! I am glad I have been lucky so far, in not being harassed for any of my posts as of yet…
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