I recently purchased my original set back and I’m pretty happy with these cans… again. I think they’re a bit of a sweet spot for me in the vast headphone landscape. Pretty much have enough of everything to keep me engaged and generally gives me what I look for in a set of headphones. I like the holographic somewhat exaggerated fun staging the VC has with the Auteur lambskin pads and the more tradition staging of the Universe lambskin pads. I like the neutral sound signature that can be fine tuned by the tube gear it’s paired with.
Currently they’re plugged into an Ampsandsound one off amp (closest relation might be a Leeloo but idk) and a Bifrost 2 dac. This chain provides a warm and punchy listening experience. The amp leans slightly technical and the Bifrost 2 is weighty and warm so everything has a good amount of synergy that falls inline with my preferences.
Anyways, those are just some quick impressions I have after getting reacquainted.
I see this as a general discussion thread for the VC and VO.
The VC is probably the only headphone I’ve sold I’d consider owning again.
My overall impression was always positive, but it just couldn’t carve out a niche in my collection.
It’s all around good, but doesn’t really excel anywhere.
I ended up keeping my Eikon over the VC, the VC is the better headphone, but with the electronics chain I was using on my secondary chain at the time, I’d often find the Eikon the more compelling listen. That and just the weight of the Ironwood tipped me towards keeping the Eikon.
I enjoy my stabilized VC! Was very lucky getting the one I wanted since they’re so popular and orders were waaay to hectic. I’ve mostly used Auteur lambskin as well since they have the more expansive stage (all my other phones have an intimate stage). I do dislike that the Mg chassis chips way too easily (and I’m pretty careful with it).
Would def agree with this, it’s surprisingly well rounded and is impressive for being closed, if only it was a bit more portable lol. That jack of all but master of none does hold true, it’s an overall enjoyable headphone but doesn’t really compete with some other headphones around it’s price point sound wise, but it can still be worthwhile depending on what one is after. Just wish the vc took a bit more risks almost, as it somewhat feels limited for the sake of forgivingness/non offensiveness (like I might rather take a audio technica awkt instead most of the time, but that’s not as forgiving with source gear and it also doesn’t play well with a super wide range of music)
The VO was more meh to me though, it was nice but even less stand out than the VC, just didn’t really pull me in, and imo the VC had more life. Also being open (more semi open but still open) it kinda lost some of the appeal from the VC, as the market for closed high performing headphones is much smaller than the market for open, so the vo is less appealing when you consider that imo
I see where you and @Polygonhell are coming from and I can understand the master of none sentiment but only to a certain extent. I think it’s somewhat unfairly compared to open back’s quite a bit which in a way speaks to how good the VC is in certain aspects. I don’t have a ton of experience with high end closed back’s but compared to the Stellia for example it excels in overall tuning and soundstage and timbre to name a few. I also see it as a more capable headphone compared to the Eikon in no small way. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy the Stellia and I think the Eikon is a bang for buck king (used) and one of the best headphones that can be found under $1k (again, used) but I do think there is a place where the VC is the top dog, at least in my experience so far.
Some things you have to be willing to accept is the higher price tag due to the build and boutique thing. It is forgiving but if you’re looking to own one or two headphones this can be pretty beneficial and IMO balances the forgiveness well with an amount of resolution where it doesn’t leave me wanting for much more.
So I completely understand the criticisms but I also feel for some this headphone can be a nice sweet spot.
@hifiDJ Those are really nice and congrats on snagging a set. Any chance you’ve heard the regular version and can compare the two?
I guess that’s fair, restricted to closed backs the VC is a very compelling option, the stellia might have a bit better technical performance but the tuning is weird to me and it feels strange spatially, VC is more refined. I still think the awkt is overall a more impressive closed back, but it comes with the caveats mentioned previously. Other closed options just wouldn’t be at the same tier or have too many issues imo. Only other potential competitor might be the r10p, but that looks like a solid step above, can’t really say since I haven’t heard it yet though
This being said. I think it’s fair to compare it to open backs regardless. Mainly because the vc isn’t really designed for portable imo, and if you are at home with it, you can probably make an open back work as well. Even if an open wasn’t ideal, there’s still many other headphones at the price point I’d rather have, I’d be willing to trade hearing some of my environment for an overall higher tier sound experience, but it depends on priorities
The eikon and auteur imo have the best value of the zmf line, they compete well with what they are put up against, something I personally can’t say is the case for the rest of the zmf (VC isn’t terrible in this regard or anything, but man the aeolus and atticus is for sure)
Yeah, personally I couldn’t care less about that, but I’m in the minority there, and there is definitely some respect/justification for the higher price tag given what else you are getting outside of sound. But of course depends on the person
I don’t disagree, but when I had both sitting on the same table, and could easily use either one, it was about 50/50, some of that was source gear, some weight, and some just wanting the Eikon’s boosted bass.
This was not the case for me, I need a closed back that doesn’t leak to prevent my wife from killing me.
I know we’ve discussed this before, I think the VC is cost appropriate if your comparing MSRP’s, but the lack of dealer discounts, and it’s stupidly high resale value really hurt it as a value proposition.
As I said in the original post I’d consider owning one again, so I agree.
Makes sense, didn’t think of this being a factor lol, was more thinking keeping things out, not keeping things in aspect
I think it’s appropriate enough, but there’s still other headphones I’d say technically outperform it in enough aspects around 2k new prices to make me feel pretty ehhhhhh about it’s msrp, but it’s not that bad and isn’t unreasonable new when you factor in aspects other than sound
Regular version as in a non-stabilized set? In that case, I have only heard this one.
Yeah, not to mention you get pretty darn satisfying customer service, easily replaceable parts due to its modularity, different tunings via pad swap (and reasonable pad prices…looking at you Focal), and lifetime warranty to original owner is a pretty good package imo. I’m sure there are other manufacturers that have similar offerings but only a few meet this standard from what I’ve seen and experienced.
It would be cool to see where that sub-$1000 closed-back they have coming would line up. I wonder what kind of sonic path it’ll take…
Btw I’m curious, what were your guys’ pad preferences on the VC @M0N and @Polygonhell?
Tonally I liked the universe pads for something a bit more organic and also a bit more fun, but the auteur pads offered better technical ability and more exciting spatial recreation, liked both, depended on the source chain and what I ended up using them for, ended up having the universe pads on there more
Niceeeeeee. The verite does look pretty nice, what you said about it being your sweet spot in terms of performance, enjoyment and or money is pretty dope and basically how I felt about the LCD2pf. Something I too would consider re-re-rebuying :theface: but honestly I feel like I would probably have fun too just moving up to something like the Eikon .
Nice to know ur enjoying it, how would you compare it to the senheiser 600 btw out of curiosity? In terms mostly of stuff like punch and vocals in particular. Also do you think it warrants using one headphone over the other?
I forgot about that sub 1k headphone they were working on hmmmm. But man considering the experience I had with the Eikon I wonder if going any lower on their price chain is even a good idea lol. I know @M0N said that he felt that the crack could potentially fix some of the problems I had with it but I wonder how good a sub 1k headphone would be in comparison to Eikon
All i’m hoping for is that this “budget” closed back is actually portable friendly (light and compact with good isolation) and sounds half decent, if they can meet those standards i’ll probably buy one. Also it would be sweet to have a beater portable headphone that also looks great and have the peace of mind with the excellent customer sevice and liftime warranty.
Been meaning to take some proper photos of these beauties for a while now… which is sorta hard to do because they don’t ever look as good photographed as in person. You can kinda see how the color can change depending on the light and angle in the first two photos compared to the rest. This pair is a Camphor Burl LTD and is breathtaking in person, can you believe that this is what Zach considers as B-stock cups?
I love my VC even despite owning and hearing way better sets technicality wise, it still has some magic that just lets me enjoy the music and not worry about the details. I mostly use auteur lambs these days for the more euphonic sound and exagerated stage but I also have spent a good amount of time with the universe lambs which brings that stage back in a bit and makes it sounds overall more neutral and bit more lifelike / organic. They are basically my for fun cans when I just want to listen and not be distracted too much, great all rounders imo.
Much like my senn hd 6xx these arent going anywhere ever. (unless zach and team release a direct sucessor or something, but thats pretty unlikely I think) With the lifetime warranty these babies are in it for the longhaul lol
Camphor burl is gorgeous and in its most radical form it will look like a intricate cave/web structure. I would love a set with their desert ironwood which has such a rich grain.
A cheaper portable pair would be nice, maybe it can be mostly plastic with a wood cap? I also dont know where that would sit for me. It would have to be better than the Radiance and travel worthy to get a look.
It is pretty crazy how much the wood can effect the weight and comfort. My VC is the stock monkeypod and I’ve owned a zebrawood Eikon, both pretty dang light. I’ve also owned a cocobolo Aeolus (many fans here, I know) and it weighed a ton. I think it’s worthwhile pointing this out. Something I wish I’d known before purchasing. Denser wood adds significant weight.
Yup that’s what I meant.
I think the VC is speedier and punchier in comparison to the HD600. It has pretty good dynamics as long as you’re not comparing it to a Focal or something similar. Like personally I’m not left wanting in that department. Vocals can be more intimate depending on the track but it’s a more balanced headphone rather than a mid forward one. Open vs closed factors into my use case between the two but also just my mood can have me grabbing for one or the other. I will say the VC is a more capable all rounder though whereas the HD600 is more specialized.
I feel people get surprised by this but think of the weight difference of a small strip of balsa vs most other woods. The same guitar with the same wood can change a few lbs depending on the quality of their mahogany bodies. I would love to see, and smell, some cedar cups but i also think those may not held up as well in the long run.
On the headphones I would like to hear how it changes the sound as the wood is not resonating to produce the sound and there is some finish applied.
Very different headphones, VC costs over 2x as much and is a much better technical headphone, overall Neutral FR.
Gjallarhorn has heavilly tilted towards the Bass, has a somewhat unique sound, that’s extremely dynamic, it’s not trying to be neutral.
The Verite Closed is by far the best headphone I’ve ever owned, let alone listened to. I know there are “better” headphones out there in the world, but the VC is hard to top when considering the entire package: the beautiful look and feel, the modular design, the incredible customer service from Zach and Bevin, the lifetime warranty on the drivers, the superb resale value on the used market if you ever decide to sell, not to mention the sound!
I have found the addition of a quality tube amp to sweeten the experience even more. I dragged my feet for a while but finally spent the money to upgrade my source gear. I am very pleased with the Bifrost 2 and Quicksilver Headphone Amp combo. The sound is so natural and non-fatiguing with this setup, and yet the detail and speed of the VC are always on display if you pay attention. I still marvel at how I never get a closed-in feeling when listening to the VC. Many have remarked on this ability of the VC to sound so open, and I have to agree. The tubes really accentuate this inherent ability and make things even more realistic sounding, adding to the width and depth of the soundstage.
As someone who needs a closed-back for various reasons, I don’t feel compelled to look any further than the Verite Closed. Once my kids grow up and make a little less noise, I may be tempted by a TOTL open-back, but that’s years away. For now, I feel lucky to have such a great setup to help me get lost in the music so easily.
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