Nice! I might go that route if the same Omega Micro cable I’m using with the Omegas works well. Something is telling me that I’ll probably wind up going for something different though. The Omega Micro made the Omegas better, I think they may be too much for the Voxativs. Cheap test though but thanks for linking me to the audiophile grade adapters.
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Those pesky early years keep coming back to bite you! Do you still have them? I remember you were thinking of putting them on the chopping block to recoup some cash to get your Veritiys?
No, I sold them for that, I do wish I still had them since it would have been a perfect easy test to see if my wavac is just bad or my pairings are bad without dragging it to the living room lol
@dB_Cooper how about a quick upgrade
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If only it weren’t for that pesky extra zero in the asking price.
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Two solid nights of listening to my Zeth speakers. I haven’t written anything here yet because because I really want more time and a want to find the right cable for them.
The way I’d describe where I am right now is I know they are the right speakers, butI don’t have the right cables.
Given what I’ve been seeking and the components I’ve chosen for my chain. Voxatives were always my destination. Initial impressions are off the charts beyond expectation but here’s the dilly.
My Omega Mikro cables, too much on the high end, perfect everywhere else. Holographic experience and so much texture and pinpoint spacial placement.
I tried Anticables 3.1, and they certainly lay off of the high end but they also take away body in the mids, especially in the female vocals range. Won’t do.
I tried Kimber 8 ATS and they are the closest right now, where they sound correct but they reduce and flatten the stage noticeably over the other two and I lose some detail.
Not sure where to go next direction wise and I think I’m going to want to try a lot of different cable architectures before committing to a vendor and cable level.
I may… go visit a dealer and ask to see if I can borrow a few different offerings to try at home. Let’s see.
Right now, I’m going to go back to the Omega Mikro cables and see what happens if I just let myself get accustomed to the sound of the Voxatives. It’s just so much MORE and I’m frankly thinking now of that potentially a choice may wind up being a compromise and I’d rather take it slow than compromise at this point.
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I see Audience cables in your future. Looking forward to following this speakers journey of yours.
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Those are beautiful, serendipitous story too! Very cool!
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In a couple of weeks or so I’ll put some thoughts around their sound. So far it’s been a study in cable synergy. lol
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Voxative makes a damned nice speaker and it blows my mind just how much detail and resolution a single driver unit can put out. @dB_Cooper congratulations on your Voxative model Zeth speakers I hope they give you many many years of joy.
You better call me first if ever you decide to upgrade beyond these…hehehe, I’m sure I could make room for them somewhere in my stable 
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Always good to have a second pair of ears on a system. Thank you @NickMimi I hope I fed you well.
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I can say I am ready to speak about the Voxativ Zeth I’ve owned now for a few months. I have made some changes to the speakers as I’ve implemented some vibration and damping solutions via a 15" by 12.5" by 1.25" quartz base that weighs 22 lbs. I’ve also replaced the stock feet with a stainless steel and 3-point silicon nitride ceramic bearings.
The hurdle I had to overcome however comes from the fact that the original Zeth platform needs to sit exactly 22 mm from the bottom of the speaker and a to of solutions out there for speaker footers measure more than that. Any more than 22 mm and the bass starts to suffer. So the final product is still a work in progress but where it is now, is an improvement over the stock Voxativ solution.
A friend told me a while back while I was still in the midst of my journey in the hobby that no one speaker is going to do it all. More recently another friend told me to describe what you like in a speaker when you’re going to describe its sound as it’s easier for the though process to flow that way.
Given those two points of advice, I’m ready to talk about the Zeth. Besides the modifications I’ve already described, my pair was ordered with an upgraded AC-PiFe driver adding a adding a couple grand more to its already bewildering $11,900.00 base level price tag. This driver is their entry level wood laminate cone driver. It’s basically the stock 1.9 driver that comes in other Voxativ speakers and is often sold to other vendors in that stock form; Vendors such as Charney, Pure Audio Project and others. They take that driver, change the cone form a Japanese calligraphy paper-based cone to a laminated wood cone and add a wood phase plug.
These changes are not subtle from a number’s standpoint. Taking the stock 1.9 driver from 91 dB (60Hz) / 94dB (3 kHz) 1W / 1m to a considerably more efficient 94 dB (60Hz) / 100dB (3 kHz) 1W / 1m. In essence this is what Voxativ is about, full range, high efficiency single driver owning as much of the sonic spectrum as possible. Of note, Voxativ states their efficiency both at 3kHz and 60 Hz. Raising the volume of a loudspeaker by 3 dB means doubling the amplifier power, so you can see what a massive improvement this translates to.
I mention the price because I just couldn’t/wouldn’t spend that kind of cash on a speaker at this time and place currently in my life. Every other speaker I’ve owned I’ve purchased new, owned for a year or more and then sold them on, typically for $0.75 on the dollar of their purchase price. Speakers are big, heavy and as such expensive to ship. As such dealing with shipping costs buying used can go a long way towards negating the savings of buying in the used market. They’re also IMO the most “personal” pieces of gear you can buy as you’ll be looking at them always, they’ll be the first thing anyone notices about your system and they’ll be part of your decor, your expression of your choice in aesthetics. So buying used, you’re stuck with the choice someone else made and if those choices weren’t to my taste it’s a hurdle to overcome as it will be a reminder every time you sit to listen. I know not everyone would see it this way but it’s how it works for me.
On to the sound.
I had to struggle, it’s no lie and I say this because the higher you choose to go the more expensive the choices, the more expensive the mistakes, the bigger the disappointment, the more the frustration. It’s a hobby, it shouldn’t be frustrating but let’s face it, if you’re on this forum reading this post, you’ve probably got the same affliction as me. Call it what you will, audiophilia, sonic OCD, an inability of leaving well enough alone, FOMO, restless leg syndrome, the jitters. Lol okay, I’ve taken that line of though past its prime.
As I said, the struggle. I plugged in the speakers to what was previously an extremely dialed in system. ZERO complaints about it, well enough, end game for many, and I was overwhelmed. I simply wasn’t ready for the amount of information I was being presented with. The detail, the stage width the holographic effect of sounds coming from behind me! It was just too much, too much good things, and not enough of a balance on the low end. There were many reasons for this, primarily the aforementioned speaker height to the substrate it’s sitting on needs to be EXACTLY 22 mm. More than that and the base drops off exponentially. Less than that and you get an increase in the mid bass, very tight and punchy but a dead and nearly nonexistent bass below 100 Hz or so.
The other issue what the speaker cables. I’d settled on a pair of Omega Mikro speaker cables, flat, wide copper ribbons insulated by a very fine copper litz netting that’s about 2 inches wide when flat. These cables were fantastic with the Omegas but just too much with the Voxativ.
Fast forward a couple of months of trial and error, different speaker cables, experimenting with cables I already had on hand a buying a few different topology cables to see which direction I should go. I finally settled on a pair of Kimber Kable Monacle which I got for a relative steal but more importantly ticked all the boxes I was looking for. (More on that later)
The Voxative Zeth are a neutral pair of speakers, but with a slight warm sweet lean. Exactly the way @M0N described the Weiss 502 DAC. “Neutral but sweet-ish with great liquidity and technical ability, and very balanced”. I’d add to this they are VERY organic, and they extend into the upper reaches well beyond anything my previous pair or Omega Alnico drivers speakers did. They however do not have that “magical midrage” that Omegas have. I’m referencing the Omega speakers not only because they’re what the Voxativ replace but because they’re of a similar design philosophy. Single full range driver, high efficiency drivers and both sporting a whizzer cone as the means to extend into the high frequencies.
These speakers however are on an entirely different level, and they should be given the greater than $11k cost difference. Now that I’ve spent a few months, evaluating them, I can say that for the first time I know what texture means. I know what vivid and not merely tangible but corporal center image is. These speakers, well with everything else I’ve ever heard. I had to close my eye to “see” the center image as if I was there. Here I can have my eye open, be taking a sip of my drink and moving around to scratch a sudden itch and it’s all still there, all part of the space I exist in. Their ability to bring you into the recording is something I’ve never heard before and it’s been intoxicating. I’ll also say that previously I’d thrown better hardware at the Omegas and they scaled well. The Zeth turn that around, I can say throwing them at the Mojo EVO Pro and the LTA UL+… have scaled made those components scale, making them more than they were previously.
Another thing they do very well is exert control of the content. In other words, grip. That is clearly evident in extremely chaotic passages with a lot of energy and yet you can still hear micro details and the center image remains laser focused, with precise instrument placing. Continuing on the what they do well that I like; They present the stage in a very non exaggerated fashion. Not huge tall, not expansive wide. They can if that’s what the source asks them to do, but it’s not an artificial presentation. Singer always sound life sized, never larger than life ten feet tall heads or wall of sound presentation. There is a correct depth, correct stage or room information and is changes with the source. They really don’t try to change the signal in any way. The do however add a hint of sweetness that’s very much needed IMO, and the right amount of body or meat on the bones feel if you will. I can very much see an attempt at fidelity like this go clinical very quickly but even on the extreme high end, the sound remains liquid, smooth, while keeping a much-welcomed amount detail that the Omegas simply could not deliver, since that’s not what they were.
I’ve learned quite a bit in the process while both listening to this new chain and trying to get the most out of it.
One of the big lessons, that subwoofers have synergy with loudspeakers. I could never get the Omega sub to mesh well with the Zeth. As much as if was just a perfect fit with the Omegas, it’s just felt slow and daft when trying to get them dialed into with the Zeth. I wound up going with a pair of Rel T5X even though I believe I’m leaving something on the table with them, they integrated much better, tighter and had an equal amount of speed. If I had a larger room or was looking for more grip I probably would have gotten something else. Perhaps even moved into the Rel S series or gone with a pair of Rhythmiks. I don’t do bass bloat, as a matter of fact, I like my base in a barely perceptible amount and I’ve got this configured as in an “only noticing the subs when they’re off” type of configuration. Letting the speakers do most of the heavy lifting as they do that well. They don’t go deep but where they do go it’s quality. Being a 7.5” driver, they do push more air and your typical 6 or 6.5” drivers so I am taking full advantage of that fact.
I’ve already run way long with these first real meaningful thoughts on the Zeth, so I’ll end with this. I didn’t in any way need to buy these speaker as I was entirely happy where I was before. Yet the hobby dictates that there is always more, and I won’t lie, I was curious. So roughly $5k deeper into the chain (as I was able to recoup a fair bit of funds) to extend to the level where I am now, I will say that it’s been worth every penny. Wow.
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Interesting time spending time with the Pi 2, not sure if I’ll end up keeping them. I’ve been messing around a lot with the room and treatment, source gear, placement, etc and I can’t really say it’s been satisfying on what they’ve done for me. On one hand, they’re awesome, on the other they aren’t really suiting the system I want them too, and their task to replace the verity without too much pain is seeming to be insurmountable.
Some quick pairing notes since I don’t really want to describe how this speaker sounds right now as I feel as though it wouldn’t be a fair description:
Dac wise, easily I like it a lot more with the Horizon than the Totaldac regardless of the speaker amps I use, they really almost need that extra level of spatial aggressiveness that the Totaldac doesn’t really provide, likely because I’ve taken what the Verity did for space for granted over time lol. Generally the Horizon just better represented what the Vox are good at without going overboard. Really let the space out that was seemingly not coming through as much with the Totaldac and that alone was enough to justify it’s use over the TD. Dynamically more alive in the macro sense as well which while the speakers didn’t need as they were already very capable in that regard with the TD just felt more convincing with the Horizon. I didn’t feel as though the TD masked things or overly dulled or removed the directness and energy of the Vox but I did feel as though the Horizon capitalized on those aspects in a more pleasing way across a wider variety of music. I did feel as though the TD was giving a more overall honest presentation and felt more balanced, but I just enjoyed them more with the Horizon to where I was thinking about potential qualms less vs the TD. The Berk is a no go and makes these unpleasant to listen to for some of my lib the most part, they don’t need any extra clarity, forwardness, or rawness lol (not that it’s bad, but it’s not really as engaging), and it really sort of exaggerated a common coloration issue I’d been noticing, more on that later. But spatially it was def on the flatter side of things which while had great imaging didn’t make up for the rest vs the first 2, dynamically felt extremely well balanced so no qualms there, but I think from a general tonality and forwardness perspective it took the system in a direction that it just didn’t feel correct in.
Amp wise, I really don’t know how I feel. When I first set them up, I actually just used Parasound JC1+ (with a mystery pre and mojo mystique) and wasn’t all that impressed, it was whatever, but not a good match for the money, meh. Swapping to AC Concero 25 with the Koda was a much much much more pleasing result. This was an overall great balance and gave more of what I expect out of the speakers, painfully good dynamics, detail, overall accuracy, with a bit of extra special sauce. Great overall. The Riviera AFM50s were also surprisingly good for being mostly solid state, and while they didn’t have the amount of immediate liveliness and energy (and also space and dynamics) as the AC, I did prefer the added richness and heft in the lower end, and it’s taming of the upper midrange as well, without causing the speaker to lose what makes it special, I actually did prefer the way the AFM handled presenting information in a more let’s say palatable way without feeling as though it was lacking or inaccurate in that regard either. I feel as though depending on how I was feeling and music choice I could go either way, although I think from an enjoyment perspective I ultimately liked the AC a bit more. That being said, I’ve got the Lamm, and that’s what they’re supposed to live with, so how did that fair? Well, I think the Lamm are too honest, aren’t able to show of their strengths, and while not a bad match, not something I could justify keeping if I stuck with these speakers. It did scale above the capability of the previous setup, but at the same time I can’t say I got a lot more enjoyment out of that jump with this speaker. Without rambling on, I didn’t feel satisfied with the pairing for whatever reason.
Yes I dicked around with cables, I ended up just using the Voxativ Black speaker cables that came with the system, I really felt the Purist did a good job but overall the speakers felt more evenly balanced with the Vox cables even though the technical performance wasn’t there vs the Purist but it was a hit I felt willing to make.
I do like these, I respect their performance, and in some cases I’m super impressed with them for the price, but I don’t think they’ll do what I want them to do. The things that are really putting me off from the speaker right now:
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It sounds more like a horn speaker than other Vox have, and I’m really not a fan of that. This genuinely bothers me where it’s distracting and unpleasant with some types of music especially of the more modern variety. It could just be because of the what I would potentially guess lackluster room for it (even though on paper it should be fine, if not better than what I had previously aside from size), or a source chain mismatch that I can’t really address, I’m not sure, and I don’t think dicking around with the room and placement will fix it any further, because it’s not a problem of getting them exactly in, I can’t really seem to get anywhere to remove that characteristic
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It’s not as much of an all rounder as I hoped it would be. I sort of knew this going in, but it’s really showing that it’s not a speaker that I’ll be happy with mostly anything that I can put on, have to be more selective, and the other speaker I have in house isn’t that way.
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Speaking of knowing something going in, I’m really just missing the verity way too much. They’re just so much better of a speaker in all aspects especially for my preferences and chain, but I won’t really be able to get them back because they won’t fit in the space I have now, so I’ll have to really find an alternative. While the speakers did scale, they never really got close to the level of what the Verity could do in my previous space, and that’s just a frustrating thought I’ll always be thinking of when I listen to them, so I’d rather just not listen to speakers at that point.
Will spend a few more weeks trying and seeing how they react to a different room in the house as a last ditch effort, but I just don’t think they’re going to work out. Shouldn’t have been so rash in deciding before I knew the space lol, but oh well, I’ll just have to wait a bit longer to offload them and live with the Borresen 01 instead for the time being, which I’d honestly rather do anyways right now. Thinking it’s likely best to just cut my losses and move on with these rather than waste more time
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Disappointing you couldn’t make them work. I’m happy, very happy with my Zeth but they’re a somewhat different speaker. I do agree with you that they are very picky with the pairings and I just know that the Weiss 502 would not have been a good match for them whereas the Mojo EVO Pro fits them like a glove.
It really is remarkable what Voxativ has done with a full range driver, to the point that you’re comparing them to a horn, (in a bad way in your outcome, but still)
Also very interesting that you liked them best with the Voxativ cable. They’re very sensitive to cables and I found myself making a compromise when it came to deciding on which cable to keep.
What room dimensions are you dealing with? Are you going to stick to a high efficiency speakers? Do you think anything else in the Voxativ line would work better in the space?
I don’t know if you’re able to have access to a Kimber Carbon XL, but if you do, I’d love to hear your thoughts on that paring before you get rid of them.
Would agree the mojo fits them well, although these speakers really demand much more imo
Well, they’re also mostly all horn loaded which contributes as well lol, but yes the drivers are really good
They’re sensitive to everything and I’d agree it’s a game of compromises more than other speakers, had same problem with my hagens
This time it’s 26 feet long 21 ft wide with a 7ft drop ceiling, carpeted concrete floors, I’ve already worked to address some of the room’s weak points, and my 01s sound absolutely fantastic in there but have a feeling the Pi aren’t appreciating it as much
The other room I tested in is 16 ft long 13 ft wide, 12 ft vaulted ceiling, although the floor is hardwood there. I guess I could also try in my living room or something but that already seemed like an acoustic nightmare
Yes since I feel as though that’s just the way to go, but also because the Lamm don’t really appreciate heavy loads
Not that experienced enough to say, but I’m not really interested in trying again for this space
I could probably arrange a demo, will have to see
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Try one of this guys albums on your system and see how LOW you can keep the volume and still get any enjoyment out of it. This is one of those that requires volume but will test how quiet you get your room and the dynamics of your speakers under low power low volume listening…hehehe
I’m betting you can get pretty low on the volume during the quiet hours. 
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@dB_Cooper time for a fresh photo please. I know you are happy so give us an image or 4 for the thread, your photo skills are exceptional and the equipment worthy of memorializing. Please 
We’re beach bound tomorrow with the doggies, I’ll get some shots posted for sure within the week. 
BTW since you resurrected this thread, saw some updates on the Shit list. (actually quite a few) and the Pi 2 AC4X M0N was struggling with, he’s now got labeled as being in a class of its own. So I guess he figured out the puzzle.
I’ve been very happy with the Zeth AC-PiFe and really think that it would have been easy to just call it a loss, admit that I couldn’t get them to work but sticking with them and ultimately pairing the F8 really was the moment I knew I’d found the right combination.
Frankly since the F8 I plunked so much more $$$ into the chain but at that point it was easy since I know I was on the home stretch. Every upgrade afterwards felt like a compounded effect and changes were much more meaningful with obvious impact.
In synergy we trust.
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Very interesting write up by an older very well experienced HiFi re-seller / Amplifier builder.
@dB_Cooper he verifies many of your musings and experiences …
@Camus , make some time to read through his page and musings.
@Souldriver for future reference when building your 2 channel, quality near and mid field as proposed by another perfectionist.
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Thats one hell of a future away
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