Verum 2 Review and Measurements

Is there a list of amps people have tried here for a good sub 1000 dollar setup including the verum mk2

 

Thank you all for having this loaner. It’s always fun to be a part developing a product. I was in on the Verum 1 loaner and ended up giving my Verum 1 and a Whammy amp to my friend getting into audio. I really enjoyed the first edition and had high hopes for the 2nd.

Pi2aes-> Yggdrasil GS-> MJ3/Piety

I had the MJ3 warming up for a few hours before plugging in the Verum 2 balanced. All MJ3 settings on the bottom, hmmm not bad at all. Hi-gain, hmmmm, push pull… now we’re talking!! Feedback… nahhhh, too sharp. I finally settled on lo-gain (I really like to fine tune the listening level), push pull, and no feedback.

I started out with the vented pads and used my fingers to block the ports for a quick comparison. I preferred the vented pads. It might be cool to add a few more vents and vent plugs to really tune the low end, in lieu of a set of sealed pads (cheaper modular pads for the win instead of a second set).

After a solid hour of listening I took a break to eat… as soon as I fired up the 2’s after, the left channel went poof!!! Uuuughhh, I tried the single ended cable and insert sad trombone, the sound had flattened out and lost its dynamic liveliness, and the same situation with Piety. In my set up the balanced headphone cable is a must.

I ordered an Amazon compatible cable with 4.4mm balanced jack to try with my Sony ZX300, it was regular and unexciting. Chopped off the 4.4mm jack and reused the XLR from the loaner package. What a pain in the ass it was trying to get a nice solder connection with the XLR, the openings in some of the pins are facing the inside instead of the usual all facing out. This and my aging eyes posed quite the challenge. Plugged everything back in again checking things out with a multimeter, and we had the fun back… Then when I moved my head the right channel cut out occasionally, everything was fine until I moved my head. It’s either my poor soldering or the connectors from the Chi-Fi Amazon cable don’t sit tight in the headphones themselves. Anyway I included them in the package and sent them on their way to the next stop.

I really enjoyed these cans, the FR is right in my wheelhouse for preference and they’re a great value. Do everything at a very competent level and allow you to get into the music. Will wait and see how the production version turns out, but will definitely be worth a look once there out into the wild.

 

@JK47 Thanks for impressions and help during a tour!
When we're talking about "the left channel went poof!!!" - i hope we're still talking about cable?

 

yup

 

Apologies for taking some time to get this together and posted. Life.

Chains used in testing V2 -
MacStudio (M1 Max) >> HQPlayer >> Roon -> USB >> Spring 3 KTE >> MJ3 >> V2
MacStudio (M1 Max) >> HQPlayer >> Roon -> USB >> Spring 3 KTE >> TU-8900 (max upgrades / WE-300b’s / speaker taps) >> V2

I used my Forza Hybrid cables instead of the ones provided.

All of my listening was with the ported ear pads, as I wanted maximum bass / sub bass impact.

As Susvara is my primary daily driver, comments are unavoidably in comparison to those.

Most of my listening was with MJ3, but I switched over to TU-8900 to assess performance with additional wattage.

Comfort
Though a heavier than planned prototype, V2 never felt heavy as weight was well distributed. Extended listening didn’t manifest any hot spots, and clamping force was ideal for my mid / large noggin. With reasonable head motion (left, right, top, down), V2 stayed put. While a reduction in weight will be welcome in the V1 production, the weight of the prototype(s) was in no way prohibitive or uncomfortable. It’s important to note that apart from the Meze 109 Pro, I am a planar user which tend to be heavier vs. dynamics. TL; DR - I’m used to some weight.

Build
Build and finish were a touch rough, but still impressive considering these are prototypes. V1 was built like a tank, as are these, and I expect the production versions will be likewise.

Sonics

• Speed: Medium fast. V2 did a good job with fast transients. Busy passages and decays were delineated and well dampened, indicating a good diaphragm (ample tracing, thin membrane, good tension) and magnet design.
• Extension: Sub-bass extension was there, and fairly tight / articulate. Treble extension was a bit more limited, though not rolled off. Minimal to moderate air.
• Tonality. Sub-bass, bass, and mids all presented fairly natural. Highs were ok, though in comparison to Susvara they presented a bit ‘plasticy’.
  • Note: My chain and my HQPlayer settings are tuned for Susvara. This very well may have contributed to my overall sonic impressions (for better or worse)
• Genre: As with most good headphones, V2 worked well with all genre’s I tested it with.

Scale
With TU-8900, V2’s overall speed increased slightly, but otherwise there wasn’t a huge improvement. This speaks to how well MJ3 performs, and the efficiency of V2.


Summary
When considered in the context of Susvara (with a chain tuned to bring out its best), V2 falls short (though amazingly, not be a huge margin). When considered in the context of price, the sonics, build, overall performance and value of V2 is frankly, quite amazing.

 

@Garuspik do you have a better video, with natural light, of all the colors? Very hard for me with that video. Anything with natural light?

 

Unfortunately I have only one unit left (for tweaking, modifying, studying etc) purposes.
On youtube some of reviews as far as I understand are made under a daylight.

 

I will just chance with green or pearl. I want green, girlfriend wants pearl, so I can imagine how that will end.

Thanks

 

Hello. Thanks to cummunity I'm finally able to purchase decent measurement equipment (of course Bruel Kjaer preamp is used and silicone ears are molded in China) but this rig is already comparable to others and results while measuring other well known headphones in my collection are very close.
Special thanks to Ivan (E1DA) for help in purchasing this set.


I've used REW, played a little with pads shape and that's what I've got after applying Harman OE 2013 as a target (as I understand data I got after 10 khz is irrelevant on such rig).

 

That looks great!
Was the measurement done with vented pads?

 

Thanks. Yes, this is vented pads. You can see that from moderate bass shelf and drop below 25 hz. Imo very good trade for such boost.

 

Excited for another progress update re: the crowdsource campaign @Garuspik

 

@MisterRogers Sure. Just posted.
Closer to release I'll post meausrements as an update also. Just need to make measurement rig more fancy looking. But that's not a priority now. When I have electricity i use this time for actual production.

 

Any news on final production version and delivery dates?

 

I do hope that first units as promised will be produced next month. But I have more then 1200 pcs in queue so I can't say exactly when Verum 2 will be avaialbe for sale.
Preorders must be fulfilled first.

 

Hey @Garuspik - it's be great to have a sense of how you're tracking with shipping out preorders.

 

Hello! Happy to announce that first final several units are assembled yesterday.
As any manufacturer I experienced different problems at various stages. Not of them related to manufacturing process, some of them lets say "external" but I'm happy with the result.
I hope to ship first units before the end of the year and will post progress on Kickstarter.

 

Since the loaner tour, did you make any changes to the final tuning regarding damping/bass levels? I'm exciting to receive mine, but still curious about your thoughts on the final sound signature.

 

Yes, I've made some. But they are subtle.
Now Verum 2 imho sounding more balanced. Tad less bright, fuller and impactfull bass.

 

First shipment of about 30-50 units will be made next week.
Typical distortion at about 100db is here: