ZMF New Headphones: Vérité and Aeolus

I recently picked up some Verite headphones after going for many years with HD-600/650. I had no idea what I was missing. I don't think I had ever heard real sub-bass on headphones until these, and I'm finding the resolution and speed to be significant improvements.

The sound is excellent out of my Bottlehead Crack w/Speedball, although I'm sure the Verite will scale up well. I was surprised to see how much of a difference swapping out pads can make. So far I tend to prefer the added weight of the Universe pads, but the Verite pads are really an excellent complement.

The ZMF sound is pretty addictive. I feel like it's easy to recommend them, especially considering how simple it is to tune the sound with different pad/tube combinations.

 

The flat leather Vérité Pads and the Universal Leathers are my favorites, I enjoy the added weight as well. On the ZMF sound, I now have the Vérité, Aeolus, and Atticus, and they all have found a home, they aren’t going anywhere (famous last words).

 

Hi Friends,

I may be in the minority here, but do any Verite owners feel like Verite's imaging capabilities not really on par for a TOTL headphone? I'm not sure if this a burn-in, headphone positioning issue, or another factor that I might have missed. I recently had the opportunity to try Elegia at a headphone store and when I went back on the Verite, I noticed that it was harder to pin-point the instruments, even though they were well separated and defined. I've tried it with various pads (Universe Lambskin, Verite, Universe Suede, BE2). Verite pads seem to have the most precise imaging but still not as exact as a Focal or HD800 (from memory) Elegia was running off of an iphone, but used the same sets of songs for comparison.

My listening chain right know:
Gungnir Multibit A2 Gen 5 > ZDT Jr. > Verite

I would love to hear what the others think of this

 

Are you using stock cable or any third party cable for Verite

 

@tommytakis I'm not surprised.

Its the one upside of a small stage like focals have - because the stage is so compact the image positioning can be laser-like and extremely defined.

It's not realistic, but what's realism? The hd800's artificially expanded (the stage is enormous but the images tiny) stage isn't either. Up to you to figure out what you value more.

Personally the focal stage always feels like I'm listening to to tiny instruments in a dollhouse, but then again I don't really care much about stage so long as it's not 3-blob and doesn't have weird proportions, so I could live with it.

Re: burn in ... It is pretty long on the v, maybe 300hrs. These days I just give everything a week and a half of solid pink noise and such on a fulla 2, it keeps the nervosa away.

Don't know if it affects imaging though, I don't even bother listening at all till it's done. It's not like I could tell the difference with that much time in between.

 

I'm using the ZMF Michanikos cable

@Taverius thank you for the response. I thought I was going crazy thinking I was the only one who heard it differently. But don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the Verite very much! Just trying to cover all grounds before posting my impressions here.

 

Before the Verite, I owned the Focal Clear (along with HD650) and was a fan of the Focal house sound so I was originally saving up for the Utopia. When I saw pictures of the new ZMF headphone named “Verite”, I was fascinated by its beauty. I ended up driving up all the way to Upscale Audio because the employee on the phone told me he preferred the Verite over the Utopia. I had the Verite and Utopia side by side and after hearing the Verite, the Utopia barely got any listening time and ended up ordering the Verite shortly after. I've had them for a few months and I think I'm ready to share my impressions.

My Preference for the ZMF line up:
Verite > Atticus > Aeolus > Auteur > Eikon

I’m a fan of ZMF headphones (Love both Zach and Bevin), but I think it’s important to be critical if needed to help them improve their products and company as a whole. Here are some nitpicks I have found:

• Durability/ QC: Since this is a handcrafted product and not a big manufacturing companies like Sennheiser or Focal, there’s more room for human error. When I had the silkwood pair, the black paint in the gimbals started chipping away within the first week of usage. My Ziricote pair did not have the paint chipping issue, but the cups squeak when you rotate them. I’m sure this is not an issue with every pair and I know Zach will make sure all owners including me will be taken care of, but I think they can definitely improve on this, especially with an asking price of $2500+.
• Imaging: It’s not 3 blob images like the HD6xx series, but compared to focal headphones or HD800, Verite falls behind on precision and accuracy. I first noticed this when I had the opportunity to try Elegia running off of my iphone. Also used to own the Clear and HD800+ SDR which had superior imaging. However, it makes up for it with overall stage width and depth.
• Sense of Openness: Compared to HD650, the Verite sounds “semi-open” despite its large stage with a bit of cup reverb effect. I guess this is the trade off for the tactile bass. I imagine this may not work in everyone’s favor.

Majority of my listening was done in this setup:
Gungnir Multibit A2 Gen 5 > ZDT Jr. > ZMF Verite/ HD650

Impressions:

• Verite is just so damn fun to listen to with great macro- and microdynamics. Any genre I threw at from classical and jazz, to pop and weeb music, Verite never fails to bring the enjoyment factor to my listening experience. Verite definitely colors the music, but tastefully done purely for music enjoyment. I’ve had the HD650 as a reference since I started this hobby, but I never thought I craved for that deep bass until I heard the Verite. However, I noticed that with certain amp pairings, the bass can get in the way of its clarity.
• Verite scales from a higher starting point than the HD650, with better inherent technicalities that can shine from mid tier amps to upstream gear. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Verite with affordable tube amps like the CTH and ZDT Jr., but also impressed by amps like ZDS and DNA prototype amp I had the chance to listen thanks to Donald.
• I also appreciate the variety of pad choices to choose from to fine tune the sound. Real Chameleon-like…
  • The Verite (flat) pads have a linear tonality with slight treble peak, but never sibilant or harsh. The stage gets less “3D” compared to Universe but awesome, tactile, punchy, fast bass.
  • Universe (angled) pads adds more warmth and body to the overall sound, but the funny thing is, it still sounds very detailed and resolving. Everything gets pushed back with larger stage and the sound is less “in your face.”
  • Universe Suede pads sits somewhere in between the Verite and Universe Lambskin pads in terms of tonality and stage, closer to the Universe Lambskin. Brings up the treble compared to Universe Lambskin, but never harsh and actually quite smooth sounding. Highly recommended if you want something a bit "different" than the two stock pads.
  • BE2 pads also sits between the Verite and Universe Lambskin pads, but closer to the Verite pads, slightly lessening the treble peak, but bass seemed less controlled with this pad. Stage width barely increased compared to Verite pads. I felt this pad was a bit redundant and unnecessary.
  • Auteur Suede pads is kind of a double-edged sword, putting more emphasis on the treble and the bass gets dialed down. People who think the Verite is too bassy should try it with this combo, with plenty of sparkle and big stage (possibly bigger than Universe Lambskin). But the downside is that, it can get a bit peaky at times. I noticed that there’s a sweet spot in terms of tonality based on how you position it on your head.
  • It’s hard to say which pads I prefer since the synergy varies depending on the gear I pair it with.
• ***I’m hoping some of the drawbacks that I’ve mentioned can be improved after pairing with the DSHA3F. I might do another write up after obtaining the DSHA3F which should arrive at the end of this month.

Pairing Notes:

• Cavalli Tube Hybrid (CTH) + LPS: surprisingly good combo with the Verite. Great synergy with the Universe Lambskin pads. Lacks a bit of depth and resolution, but good width and tonality
• Schiit Fulla 2: did not like it at all. Sounded too dark and rolled off
• Schiit Lyr 3: not bad, but felt like it was holding back the Verite a bit.
• Schiit Jotunheim: Great slam and speed, but flat/pancake/2D stage
• Cavalli LP: meh... good width and depth, but too laid back for my taste.
• Soekris 1541 headphone out: not bad for an AIO solution!
• THX 789: fast and tactile, but can sound peaky at times. I liked it with the Universe Lambskin pads.
• EC ZDT Jr: Another good combo, but I felt that it had more synergy with the HD650 than the Verite when I compared side by side.
• EC ZDS: Holy shit… ZDS + Verite pads sounded amazing. Verite pads help improve the softness in the bass from the ZDS, while the ZDS takes advantage of Verite’s stage width and depth. Damn I miss my ZDS
• DNA prototype amp: slightly less width than ZDS from memory, but excellent layering and great synergy with Universe pads. A touch bloomy and I wished for a little more tightness in the bass. (Donald preferred Universe over Verite pads as well from our conversation).
• ECP DSHA-3F :TBD, but hoping this will be THE ONE

TLDR:

• The most beautiful looking headphone. Period.
• Excellent dynamics and bass extension.
• technically-capable and resolving headphone full of fun and enjoyment that can sound great from modest to TOTL gear.
• Standard tuning might not be for everyone, but can be fine-tuned with pad swapping.
• May fall a bit short in imaging precision and sense of openness compared to “fully open” headphones

 

Spoiler: pics or didn't happen

I've been rotating amps while I wait for the DSHA3f and I'm quite satisfied with this combination:
Gungnir Multibit A2 > Valhalla 2 (stock tubes) > Verite

- Verite's bassy/warmth balances very well with the slight lean tonal characteristic of the Valhalla 2.
- The pairing plays to each other's strengths with immersive head stage with adequate depth. I had a blast watching Jon Wick 3 with the Verite. (The movie sucked, but was hearing explosions and fight scenes with it was very pleasing)
- Overall very engaging listening experience with good clarity. The Universe pads can sometimes make the Verite sound too dark in certain system, but I did not feel that way at all with the Valhalla 2.
- At least with the Verite, I thought the Valhalla 2 paired better than the ZDT Jr. While I greatly preferred the ZDT Jr. with the HD650.
- One nitpick would be that at times, treble sounds a bit rough and unrefined. That's why I prefer the Universe pads with this pairing.
- Yeah, I know it's not TOTL, but it was good enough to evoke an emotional experience with my music. At the end of the day, what more can you ask right? Especially with the slight delay of the 3F, Valhalla 2 has been a good companion piece with the Verite to help me kill some wait time.

 

Not sure when your 3F arrives (congrats btw), but you may wanna put in some 6CG7 driver tubes to fix the rough treble. Can be had fairly cheap. Also adds a bit of slam and more clarity... gets rid of the hazy veil the amp is notorious for.

 

Hanging out!

Hi All,

Today we are talking about an absolutely phenomenal pair of headphones. The ZMF Headphones Verite. These are the easiest types of reviews to write, where you really don’t have much in the way of negative news to report. They are comfortable (perhaps a bit heavy, but not overly so) look great, and sound even better.

ZMF Headphones is a small headphone company based out of Chicago Illinois. The owner of ZMF headphones, Zach Mehrbach, is…a really nice guy. Really. Although I have only had correspondence with him via email, he comes across as incredibly helpful, supportive, and proud of his work. I can’t thank him enough for the opportunity to hear two (Verite, and Eikon) of his headphones for a couple months, and review them. To quote Bert Reviews on youtube (if you haven’t seen Bert Reviews, go search it up now, it is worth it, trust me) “Zach is AWESOME!”


A bit closer up

The Verite is ZMF’s latest flagship model. There have been a few different wood choices available so far, but Zach was kind enough to send me a pair of the limited “Ziricote” wood Verite. I have not personally heard a pair of Verite in another wood choice, so I can’t say if they sound any different. Supposedly there are subtle differences between the wood type, but I would guess you would see more difference changing the pads, than purchasing a different wood.

Speaking of pads, this is actually one of the neatest, and for me, most unexpected parts of reviewing ZMF headphones. Zach has manydifferent earpads for you to choose from, in both leather and suede materials. I did not expect to hear such marked differences between the different pad choices, but the differences were huge. It is like owning one pair of headphones, with three or more different sound signatures, immediately available via a simple ear pad change. More on this later.

Right, so lets talk about how the Verite sound. I’ll talk about their overall sound signature, then the differences the pads make afterwards.


The Eikon and Verite together. Both Rock!

Bass: The bass on the Verite is full and robust sounding. I tend to enjoy a bass response level that is a bit north of strictly neutral so this suits me just fine. I didn’t really find myself needing to EQ up the bass level a few decibels, as I do with some other headphones that have a bit less bass than the Verite in their stock tuning. The bass on the Verite doesn’t slam as hard, with as much impact, as the Abyss AB-1266, but it is a very punchy headphone. If you do EQ up the bass a bit, you will feel it, no doubt about it. The Verite’s bass response was pretty much perfect, for my ears, in terms of level. I really, really enjoyed it. Great texture, great punch, great sub bass. The Verites bass is quite a visceral experience. Whats not to like really.

Mids: The Mids on the Verite are a bit different than I am used to with my usual headphones. A bit more present, and warm. Not overly so, they are less warm than the LCD-3 I used to own, but certainly more present than a pair of Abyss Headphones. This lends itself very well to certain kinds of music. Jazz on the Verite was absolutely lovely, I found. I wouldn’t say the Verite is a “romantic” sounding headphone, but its certainly heading in that direction. The mids are smooth, and relaxing sounding to my ears. I think the mid range of the Verite might be what make it such an enjoyable headphone for longer listening sessions, it is just “right” sounding.

Treble: When I first tried on the Verite I was surprised by the treble, and thought it sounded a bit recessed and hidden. This is definitely not the case however, and I think it was just a case of my ears needing time to adjust after listening to headphones with more treble energy for the last 6 months (or however long it has been!) The Verite’s treble has a bit sheen and sparkle to it in the upper treble regions, but not too much. I never found myself wincing, or noticing extreme sibilance problems, which is a very good thing. The treble isn’t crunchy in the lower treble, like the Eikon can be, and doesn’t “Show off” like the Focal Utopia. The treble tuning of the Verite just seems to compliment the rest of the sonic signature well, isn’t offensive and grating on the ears, but is still present enough to bring a very healthy amount of detail to the table. Really good stuff.

Technicalities: Now, I don’t want this next section to come off as a negative, as the Verite is a $2500ish headphone, not $6000, and is also a completely different driver type than my regular headphones. However, for my ears, and this is just me, it lags behind in terms of raw technical performance vs my Susvara and Abyss headphones. The soundstage isn’t as wide, spacious, and airy sounding as the Susvara and Abyss. It isn’t as detailed, and as competent in terms of dynamic capability as my regular headphones. It just isn’t…

HOWEVER…

The Verite

A) Makes up for lagging behind in terms of technical performance by being supremely listenable and pleasant sounding. The tuning is very well done.

B) Is, again, a much more affordable headphone!!!

Now this isn’t to say that the soundstage sucks, its way wider than some other headphones, and it isn’t to say the detail levels are horrible. That just isn’t true.


Current

Comparisons:

Focal Utopia: The Verite garnered a lot of comparisons with the Focal Utopia when it was released, probably due to the mention of Beryllium with regards to its drivers coating vs. The Utopias pure Beryllium driver. Now, the Verite, for my personal preferences, is the better headphone. Again, it is slightly behind in terms of detail and most of its technical performance, but it does have a wider soundstage. The Verite simply has a much more enjoyable tuning! This is for my personal preferences of course, and its always good to hear a headphone prior to purchasing it, but the Verite is just the better, more enjoyable headphone to listen to.

Hifiman Susvara: The Susvara has a more “airy” and ethereal presentation. The Verite has a bit more bass presence, and a slightly smaller soundstage. The Susvara drags more detail out of the recordings, but the Verite is more of a standout performer with certain genres of music, Jazz in particular.

Abyss: The Verite is less bright, and has a better treble response than the Abyss AB-1266 Phi or Diana Phi in my opinion. Much more present mids, with a similar level of bass response. Again, the Verite is outdone in terms of raw technicalities by the Abyss, but the Verite also has a tuning that offsets what the Abyss is good at nicely. The Abyss is still my favourite headphone, but the Verite would make for an awesome accompaniment in any collection.


The Verite make a great pairing with the iFi iDSD BL

Pads: Lets talk about Pads! The pads that Zach sent with my review pair of Verite were the Universal Leather (perforated), the Universal Suede (perforated) and the Verite pads (again, perforated.) The Universal Leather were a bit more “fun” to listen to. A bit more bass, and a bit more treble, whilst having the best impact of the bunch. The Universal suede had a bit wider soundstage I found, snare drums sounded a bit more crisp, but from the mids on down things seemed a bit warmer and “rounder.” The Verite pads were the most linear sounding out of all the pads and actually ended up being my go to choice. Each pair of pads brought something interesting and special to the table, and I would recommend picking these three sets up if you purchase the Verite. At $50ishUSD, the pads and whole concept of multiple pads is an affordable way to get different, but complimentary sounds out of your headphones. The only thing I would like to see Zach explore in the future is a magnetic attachment system, similar to the Abyss or Meze Empyrean. This might raise costs to prohibitive levels however? I’m not sure.

Build quality: The build quality of the Verite is great, but I would like to get one nit pick out of the way. The sliders! Argh! I slowly got better at using these over time, but they are still fiddly, and could be better. Apart from that, the build quality seemed rock solid. I didn’t have any problems with squeaking, creaking, and nothing fell apart. I know that Zach offers a lifetime warranty on his headphones drivers, to the original owner, which is comforting. This is something to consider should you be looking at purchasing a pair of ZMFs on the used market, the warranty is non-transferable, which is a shame. However, I remember reading a figure for repair costs on Head-Fi (which I can’t find now of course) and it was reasonable. Again, Zach really seems to care about his customers and his product, and I would guess that he will take care of you very well should something go wrong with any of his headphones you purchase.


They Also Pair Well With The Pro iDSD from iFi

Conclusion

All in all, the ZMF Verite is a very special headphone. It may not be the very last word in technical capability, but its tuning, and overall extremely pleasing listening experience is what make it one of the best headphones I have used. The bass is just at the right levels for my preferences, and hits hard. The mids are warm, but not too warm and “gooey” sounding. The treble is a bit sparkly but never wanders in to being harsh and sibilant. The soundstaging is very realistic sounding, and I would challenge any audiophile to find fault with the levels of details it brings to the table. I mean, yes, the Susvara is a technically better headphone, but it also costs over double what the Verite does!


Pretty!
The Verite is a very special piece of audio equipment and I absolutely loved the time I got to spend with it. Thank you Zach!

 

Thanks for the write-up (even if the photos are a bit too saturated and processed for my tastes.... by a lot )!

Wouldn't have replied only for the above (even if I do enjoy poking fun), but wanted to pick your brain over a few things since I can't really get ears on Verite pending a lottery win, random demo, or kidnapping of an owner. I've had the pleasure of listening to the Susvara at a meet some time ago (out of an iFi Pro stack, coincidentally enough) and vaguely remember enjoying them a lot despite the slight sharpness given how ridiculous they are at overall resolution, but if it's not too much trouble I'd appreciate maybe a bit more detail on how the Susvaras out-resolve the Verites— can't quite tell from your write-up whether the differences are minute or massive. Also would appreciate learning what specific things you listen for to gauge resolution, tracks or whatever.

Er, also not quite sure what you mean by "crunchy" treble, that's kinda new to me. Confused/poor delineation? Is it like "hard" treble where the fundamentals of cymbals are strong but there isn't much up top to balance it out? Sorry for the trouble, no need if it's a bother, but would appreciate maybe naming some tracks that exhibit this more than others. Ideally something on Spotify or YouTube, grazie )

Lastly... how's bass compared to the TH900? Sorry if the question comes out of nowhere, that's my personal bass reference, haha. Not volume or slam etc, just textures, pitch differentiation, all that stuff.

 

Man, I suck a photography and stuff so....sorry mate.

You hear more tiny details with the Susvara, more micro detail type stuff, on all tracks (in my opinion.) The differences aren't like a really shitty pair of headphones compared to a really good pair of headphones, but certainly easily noticeable.

By crunchy treble on the Eikon I mean like a crunchy guitar sound.

Pulled from google

"Yeah, you would get more "crunch", so to speak on the bass strings but mydefinition of crunch is basically the amount of gain/distortion you have on your sound. And yes palm muting tends to give a more "crunchy" or "chunky" sound."

So like....snare drums sometimes sound too hot and..well...crunchy. Its not actually distorted, but just a bit too much at times. Less clean sounding than some headphones. I'm not sure why.

I haven't heard the TH900 for years and never owned them, so I'm not sure, I'm sorry

 

Nah man, I just like being a bastard every once in a while to prove I'm not nice

Okay I get what you mean, thanks! And eh, my own lack of baselines (in the not-mid-fi range) is at fault for my being unable to approximate impressions— no worries!

 

The photography looked great to me @ufospls2

Great review too.

 

Verite + Auteur Suede Perf. Pads revisited... with a lil' TP

So in my initial review of the Verite, I mentioned how the Auteur Suede perf. pads were like a double edged sword where it gives the Verite more air, stage, but can sound a bit sharp and borderline sibilant at times. This was particularly troublesome when I listened to female vocals. So I did a simple mod of putting a single layer of TP in the back of the pads, now they sound soooo balanced without the sharpness while retaining the wonderful stage similar/if not bigger than the Universe Leather perf pads.

- Definitely sounds livelier than the Universe Suede while the bass quantity is about the same if not slightly less. Universe Suede IMO sounds a bit too safe and polite, losing the dynamic nature for a more safe tuning.
- It still doesn't hit as hard as the Verite pads, but still sounds tactile and authoritative; Bass just takes a step back and the overall tonality sounds more cohesive. It doesn't sound as compressed as the Verite pads and instruments are better separated.
- I feel that at times, Verite's bass could be a bit overpowering and makes some of the micro-detail harder to catch, but this is no longer an issue with the pads. I find the overall sound more nuanced and cohesive. I can hear more ambient cues easily without straining.
- With less bass quantity, mids are slightly more present than the Universe leather pads, moving closer to my preference.
- Drastically increased treble presence and air compared to the Universe Leather pads. I've been shuffling through tracks to try to find any sharpness/brightness in vocals... nada! Occasionally, in pop music, I can hear tiny bit of the sharpness surfacing, but never intrusive to my listening experience. I also don't find myself pad swapping between 5 different pads since the Auteur Suede perf+ TP mod.
- This might be my favorite pad option with the Verite now and I can see myself satisfied with just this set of pads.
- Now I'm REALLY curious how this compares with the Auteur, because now I can see this becoming a more agreeable tonality for a wider range of ears.

Basically with the TP mod, Auteur Suede Perf. is exactly what I wished as an alternative pad option: a pad that retains the Verite's 3D stage while sounding smooth and balanced sound. It's as if the two stock pads had a genetically-modified baby only retaining the qualities I loved about each of them. It removed some of the nitpicks I had about the Verite and now I'm one happy camper. I highly recommend other Verite owners to give this a try!

 

My Verite arrived late yesterday evening. They are sounding great, just like I remember the review pair.

 

Beautiful! What kind of metal is the screen?

 

Always wanted to try zmf. They were always too heavy. Chiro had helped me straighten out my spine and I can now wear headphones up to 350 grams comfortably. Are there any zmf offerings that I could wear comfortably?

 

@Ice-man I would say in terms of pure weight, Slikwood/lighter wood Verite Open with all black aluminum parts is probably your best bet, since it comes with magnesium chassis, which also reduces weight quite a bit.