Verum Audio - Exciting high performance DIY planar

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by cskippy, May 24, 2018.

  1. GermanOverlord

    GermanOverlord New

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    Holy Shit Verum sound like my jbl lsr 305 I couldn't believe it.
    The timbre is so nice unlike my Hifiman 400i which sound like plastic compressed garbage.
    The wait was Worth
     
  2. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    Here we go! Finally people that ordered through website started to post their impressions.
    p.s. I'm sorry for delays once more.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Hahahaha. The HE400S is better than the "i, but yeah, the Verum sets a new standard for the price point and more.
     
  4. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    Hmm, if my only CC is a mastercard and I don't have GPay, how do I pay for the new pads?
     
  5. OldDude04

    OldDude04 Friend

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    I didn't know until recently, but you can add Mastercard and AmEx to Visa Checkout accounts, which is a pay option on those ear pads. I just used Visa Checkout to pay for a pair.

    https://usa.visa.com/pay-with-visa/visa-checkout.html is where you go to set up an account.
     
  6. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    Thanks guys for your purchases. Unfortunately almost all payment via Google Pay and Apple pay were declined by my processing company so I've removed those payment options. Visa, Mastercard and Visa Checkout are the only options now.
    Maybe in future I'll add paypal.
     
  7. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    Small announcement:
    1. I'm shipping today middle of March orders and hope to produce and ship all existing orders within 1 month. As you see gap between promised and delivered become shorter :D
    2. About new earpads - I have 30 in stock but demand is higher so some delays are inevitable but it won't take so long as waiting for orders of the whole headphones.
     
  8. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    Another small announcement:

    1. I've shipped all March orders today and moving to April orders.
    2. I'll be shipping earpadas and headphones without notification. Concentrating on making and delivering what was promised. Thanks for understanding!
     
  9. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    For those waiting... I purchased my Zebrano from the website in mid-February and rec'd them last Thursday.

    Initial impressions (listening at office - mix of classical, jazz, acoustic and some rock when I'm working late). Chain is EITR -> Amethyst -> SYS -> Mogwai SE or MCTH. Comparison cans are ZMF Auteur and HD600 (I have an Eikon here, but haven't listened to them lately). I find that I tend to listen at lower volume levels than most.
    • Much more comfortable than they look, but I must be part of the Dumbo ear club because the round openings don't fit my ears. I'm definitely on the lookout for oval pads (ie., like my ZMF pads).
    • No channel imbalance, but I get a distinctive "crinkle" sound in the left earcup when I put the cans on, or adjust them on my head.
    • Timbre is excellent, instruments sound like they are supposed to.
    • I read everyone talk about bass extension and slam... for whatever reason I'm not hearing that. I'm hoping my dumbo ears are effecting the seal and different pads will improve things, but right now these definitely lack in bass heft vs the Auteurs. I'm hearing the V1 as somewhat comparable to the HD600.
    • I find the V1 a little bright for my tastes, but not sibilant. Hopefully I can address that with pads. I should pull out my non-perf Eikon lambskin pads and see if those work...
    FWIW, when listening on the Mogwai SE I'm using the 8ohm for the V1 and the 300ohm for the Auteur/HD600.
     
  10. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    @dasman66 -crinkle sound when you adjust headphones on head is an effect when air compressed by your head hit membrane. Preforated pads solves this "issue". But I don't think it's an issue cause it's audilble only when you move headphones on your head.
     
  11. pelagius

    pelagius New

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    I've been listening to my new Verums over the past week. I'm really enjoying them and wanted to share some somewhat-organized impressions.

    Packaging was pretty minimal, just the headphones and cable in a box with bubble wrap. I like the slick 3.5-6.4mm adapter that screws onto the end of the cable. The cable has a woven exterior up to the y-split, which is encased in plastic. It definitely feels nicer than my HD600 cable.

    I only got flat, unfenestrated leather pads with round holes. Having to unscrew the attachments on the sides of the headband to adjust the leather strap was a bit of extra work at first, but I like that I don't now have to readjust regularly. The headband system is definitely well executed; the weight is well-distributed and feels comfortable for extended periods of time. My one minor gripe is that with the pivot at the top of the headband, the cups have occasionally slid backwards on my head slightly over time, but it's worth it for the extra flexibility. I get a bit of a crinkle when removing them and putting them on.

    They do look a bit over the top, but I honestly like their overall appearance. They're big, like Audeze.

    [​IMG]

    I've been running them through Eitr -> Modi Multibit -> Loki at 2, 1, 1, 11 o'clock -> Lyr 3 with Tung-Sol tube on high gain. I like a generally downward-sloping sound, but with mids a bit forward and not too much in the upper treble. My main frame of reference is an HD600 modded with damplifier pro and the rear foam removed, which admittedly may not be the best headphone for my tastes.

    The bass on these headphones is great. It has way better extension, texture, control, and impact than the HD600. What I found most notable about it is how it handled bass-heavy recordings, giving a solid foundation without feeling muted or damped in the higher notes. The bass feels effortless and frequently sounds like it has a place in space rather than being fully omnipresent. I noticed double bass in places I had never heard it before, and it responded well the boost I gave it with Loki.

    The mids don't have the same effortlessly rich and refined quality of the HD600, but I still found them quite nice. The timbre is great. Bass, cello, synth, and piano stood out to me in particular. The pedal steel guitar on Heart of Gold by Neil Young sounded fantastic. It did feel like there was a bit of a dip/peak somewhere, however. I'm not a trained enough listener to say for certain, but I think it may be bit of a dip in the upper mids then a peak in the lower treble. This was one of the few things that bothered me about the headphone. Male voices had a sort of wooden box feel, and snares and tenor sax felt like they were lacking some bite, while at the same time things could occasionally get a little grating. I wouldn't call this a major flaw, though, just a part of the tuning that is not to my taste. Maybe it's my HD600-ear. I may have to do some pad rolling.

    Treble generally sounded clean to me, but I did occasionally notice a bit of a haze that others have mentioned, with cymbals in particular. This started to feel a bit hashy on bad recordings. I didn't feel like there was a huge 10k-ish peak like a lot of planars, though, which was nice.

    I found the microdynamics to be one of the best parts of this headphone. They really sucked me in and made things engaging. The macrodynamics are quite nice as well.

    I did get a center image, and things didn't usually feel blobby in the stage, but it did feel mostly linear without all that much depth. Things actually frequently felt like they were a bit behind me. I didn't find imaging to be super precise, but it's there.

    One thing that surprised me was how much more I heard the room of recording than my HD600. Stadiums felt like stadiums and small rooms felt like small rooms. I think this was in part due to the better bass impact, but I also felt like I picked up on more reverb. On Punch You In The Eye by Phish from New Year's Eve 95, the stadium-type bass jumped out at me immediately. The drums at the beginning of Time by Pink Floyd were a good example of the smaller-room reverb.

    Compared to the HD600, there was definitely less detail. It was considerably less airy as well, and attenuated more outside sound. These sounded almost semi-open to me. For some more in-your-face detailed and airy recordings, I could see people actually liking how it tones things down a bit.

    These actually increased my ZMF itch a bit, as I want a dynamic with bass better than the HD600 and closer to the Verum, but with more detail and better staging. For my my taste, these also absolutely stomped the LCD2C I briefly owned, at about half the price. I won't be selling my HD600 anytime soon, but I'll probably be reaching for these at least as much.
     
  12. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    @pelagius so I hope it was worth waiting ;) When you've made an order?
     
  13. pelagius

    pelagius New

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    Yes, I’m glad I bought them. I ordered on February 10th from the website.
     
  14. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    Thanks for support! At least that prooves that I've shipped mid-february orders. In fact I'm now at the beginning of May.
    Earpads that are in stock are also scheduled to shipping this week.
    For obvious reasons I ship them without notification. I hope I've prooved that despite delays I haven't run away with your money ;)
     
  15. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    Today I've shipped all April orders. Please note that it takes ~4 weeks to reach you. I ship without notification and sending track codes but they'll reach you, don't worry.
    Moving to May and trying to shorten the gap.
     
  16. f1eng

    f1eng New

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    I received mine today, ordered in March. They are beautifully finished and sound as splendid as the first pair I heard just before I ordered mine.
    So far so good.
     
  17. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    Great! (f1eng is not me :D) I don't write feedbacks for myself.
     
  18. f1eng

    f1eng New

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    So I have had them about 24 hours now and listened a lot but still first impressions.
    They arrived packed in bubble wrap in a shipping box. The finish is immaculate. The comfort is first rate. The cable connection is genius.
    A bit about me. I mainly listen to loudspeakers but have also used headphones since 1970 when I bought Koss ESP 7 electrostatics.
    I have owned plenty of headphones over the years and at present have some old Stax Lambda Signatures, AKG K812, AKG Q701, AKG N90Q, Kingsound electrostatics and ZMF Eikon currently in circulation.
    I first heard these at the Hifi Wigwam show in March. The engineer in the NVA room had a kickstarter pair.
    I listened to several 'phones on his stand without knowing the price of any (I find knowing the price skews the opinion...). I was surprised to find the Verum 1 was a fraction of the price of the other 'phones I liked and ordered a pair on my return.
    I am almost an exclusive classical music listener so instrumental timbre is the most important aspect of performance for me, here the Verum 1 overall are the best I have experienced. All the other 'phones have a particular colour or frequency balance anomaly noticeable in instrumental timbre. These are absolutely convincing to me.
    My only disappointment was how long I had to wait for them but it looks like the production issues have been solved now since April orders got shipped soon after my (March) order.
    I couldn't be happier with the comfort and sound.
     
  19. Garuspik

    Garuspik Tovarisch Ukrainian Terminator MOT - Verum

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    Thanks. I'm still learning, will do my best to optimize production process, reduce waiting time and improve QC.
    Sorry that some of early backers became beta-testers.
    Anyway, I'm pretty sure that I'll deliver to everyone good and reliable product.
     
  20. JustAnotherRando

    JustAnotherRando My other bike is a Ferrari

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    Being a beta tester and encountering a fault was about as painless as it possibly could have been for a physical product.

    This is my favourite and most used pair of headphones. More comfortable than the 6XX, far more tonally pleasing than the 800S.

    My decision to buy the Verums on a whim has been a very useful exercise in sorting out my priorities (this is only the third pair of 'nice' headphones I've owned). They're certainly not as resolving as the 800S, but screw it, I've listened to the 800S twice in the past 3 months since getting the Verums, just to remind myself what the differences are... and I don't miss those differences at all- the 6XX has enough resolution for me, and if I want sound stage then speakers. Hmm... that reminds me I really have to pull the retail box out of storage and throw an ad up somewhere.
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2019

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