Verum 2 Review and Measurements

Hello. Listened to community and as I see significant part wanted less bright design.
What do you think?

 

Much better to my sensibilities @Garuspik

 

If people tell me they want calm design I just listen to them

 

The 'calm' design works well for me. Any idea when a kickstarter will happen? After the loaner tour gives some impressions maybe?

Marv - the transients look very nice - is the attack to soft?

Do you have a reference headphone to compare these to?

How is the timbre & presentation. Are we talking HE-6 performance or HE1000, Arya, etc. etc.

 

I have listened to the Verum 2 now for about 8 hours total and have to express my satisfaction with the experience so far. These are a very enjoyable headphone that is dynamically punchy and neutral in sonic presentation.

At first I was driving them with the MJ1 and was not overly impressed, but also not dissatistfied. The treble was a bit forward and bass extension blunted. Perhaps it was brain burn in that changed my impressions, but more likely it was changing the amp. I started listening on the DIY Sangaku and any thoughts of peaky highs or impending fatigue dissapeared. The treble is still a bit forward, and they are not as warm as my LCD-X, so still a neutral set. But they are balanced across the range.

I am using a Valhalla 2 right now that has had its coupling caps replaced with some Duelunds for improved performance and this presentation is thicker and more tonally warm. Its a great fun listen. Of all the amps I have, my favorite combination is with the DIY Sangaku.

The LCD-X presents a wider stage and is a bit more agile as tracks get complicated, but the V2 is pretty darn close. The LCD-X extends deeper in the lows and rumbles more, it also has more of a vertical component to the sound than the V2. The V2 is lighter and presents tighter, but is not as fast to react to complicated tracks so can become overwhelmed/shmeared by comparison.

At this point I have only tried the vented pads as they are what were on the set when they arrived. I will try out the other pads tonight.

Other thoughts and Information:

• The new headband is great and a nice improvement over the original V1 version. They have great ear cup movement up and down and full swivel front and back via the central pivot of the headband.

• They appear to be dual sided, the magnets are very thin and numerous across the mirror like finished driver.

• I measure 12.5 ohm resistance across the drivers for those who are interested.

• The colorway on these headphones is a bit too "bright" for me, and the recent addition of black is very welcome.

• One other option would be to have a black grill instead of the chrome one that is on all sets currently.

• The magnetic pad connection is excellent...more companies need to do this.

• They are senstivie to static electricity, and at my office (very dry) I experience split second drop outs when I get a shock on my desk, but this is not unique to these headphones.

This was meant to be a first impressions, but I got carried away. I will follow this up at the end of the loaner with more thoughts.

 

Good job! It looks much more mainstream

 

Is there still room to add in a stop over in Milwaukee? Looks like they have not moved too far along the line yet. - sorry, wrong thread, will post on other side

 

A little iconic production design where the prequels and Disney sequels had none.

 

Wow…this is nice. Sadly I only tried this combo the day I have to send it to next person. I was not expecting the headphone to work out of Walkman. Good bass extension and Walkman adds enough warmth and treble is exquisite. Female vocals is just so creamy and lovely

 

@Ksaurav402 thanks. Do you have impressions of Verum 2 with another chain?

 

Yes, I will post it in a day or so. Used it with Holo Audio Bliss amp and Sonnet Pasithea as DAC with Schiit Freya + as preamp.

 

Wow wow. Saw such devices only in internet.

Will be waiting.

 

Thanks SBAF for loaner. Glad I got a chance to listen to this headphone. Overall it is a well balanced headphone with very little to fault at.

The chain I used :

Roon + HQPlayer (Sinc-L, LNS15)-> UltraRendu + SU6(I2S)-> Sonnet Pasithea-> Freya + (KenRad VT231) -> Holo Bliss/EC ZDS

Key points :

Comfort - comfortable and lightweight. Clamp is good and tight. The suspension strap was good and evenly distributed the weight.

Pad mounting - magnetic pad mounting is the way to go. Easy to swap pads. Loved it.

Bass - well extended specially with the pads with vent but the other one was not too far off either. These don’t slam like Atrium but you will feel the sub bass whenever music calls upon and will never feel shy of it. Bass is tight. I would have loved some more tactility and rumble but this is just fine and you won’t feel bass shy with right setup

Mid Bass - now mid bass is linear. However anyone coming from ZMF or Fir Audio like me may feel it is on thinner side. But there is no right and wrong here. It’s just another way to portray the music. I personally would have loved slight bump in this region but during my listening session I got used to it pretty fast. Surprisingly Sony Walkman filled up mid bass pretty well. I missed pairing it with ZDS and now I feel it would have worked great and would have made it perfect headphone for me. But pair with warmer setup and this won’t be an issue.

Mids - Mids are sweet. Never felt recessed or anything . There is just enough energy around 2-3 KHz for vocals to shine. No shoutiness at all. Female vocals sounded sublime. Male vocals not that much due to leaner presentation in mid bass but that is a preference thing and not a fault of headphone.

Treble - this is the strongest suit of this headphone. Treble is well extended and has good energy but in my setup even at high volume there is absolutely no fatigue and that points to the fact that there is no major peak and dip and is uniform and well extended. Percussion and some strings instruments will shine and pop out from back ground. Well done. I have always found treble as the reason to hate a headphone and in case of Verum this is the reason to like it.

Headstage - the music is presented like a well done painting on a Canvas. There is enough width, close to Atrium and then good layering as well. However not as deep sounding as Atrium. Each instrument gets its own space and very rarely do they overlap and I feel it’s all due to good linear mid bass and extended treble. I never felt as if something is hiding in background.

Dynamics : Better in Micro. Its was so easy to pick details out from background.

Closing thought - At $400-450 this is a winner. I don’t see any reason as why this can’t be a headphone in everyone’s collection. It does everything right. I don’t have much experience with expensive Planars so don’t know what special they do. May be some extra slam? But who is interested if Verum 2 is here. Get it and enjoy the music. If I enjoy Atrium due to its mid bass and colour and emotion then I enjoy Verum for its treble energy and uncoloured sound with sprinkles of sweetness.

glamour pic

 

lightweight? Any idea how much they weigh? I had assumed they’d be as hefty as the verum 1, which I would not call lightweight

 

I forgot to take the weight. But relative to my ZMF headphone or Audeze of past it is light. I guess it would be around 400g.

 

@edd Verum 2 prototype weights around 450-460 grams but indeed feels much more lightweight in comparison with Verum 1 or other headphones with usual suspension strap. Thanks to "wings" - suspension strap touches head not in one spot like v1 or Audeze but in a wide region and evenly distribute weight. Final version will be about ~420 grams

@Ksaurav402 thanks! Especially for comparison with TOTL headphones with a 6x higher price tag. For Verum 1 my goal was - very good headphones for 350$, for Verum 2 goal is - very good headphones regardless of price tag.

 

I want to thank SBAF for the opportunity to be part of this loaner with the Verum 2. It's a rare and wonderful opportunity to be able to listen to different and diverse headphones and to discover different talented makers in audio.

My Setup: Laptop (Foobar 2000) Flac and Mp3 > Singxer SU1 (S/PDIF) > Gungnir A1 (XLR) > Mjolnir 2 (WE396A tubes)
Comparison Headphone: Sash Tres SE

Info about myself: I have a diverse taste in music - I will listen to any and all genres, and as a result, I aim for a "jack of all trades" setup, and always look for sound that is balanced across the spectrum. Sorry, but I want it all - I don't want to compromise even at my modest mid-fi levels.

Ukraine Power: Sash Tres SE and Verum 2


Highlights:

Ergonomics: Surprisingly felt very light weight, and probably due to the headband/suspension system, which is pretty fantastic. Definitely robust and felt good to wear for long periods. For me, I didn't get as much clamping force as compared to other headphones - it was just okay for me, and maybe I need to really fiddle more with adjustments to the headphone (I had left it as is). One other item of note, where the headphone marks the R and L with large lettering, is something I came to appreciate where it was just clear and straightforward to where I was plugging the HPC connectors to. No turning the headphone all around to find tiny indicators that are often hidden or in inconspicuous places, its straight to business with the Verum 2. Bottom line, wearing this headphone is pretty comfortable AF.

Top view of the headband


Sound:

• Sub-Bass: Verum 2 does extend down to the sub-bass. I can feel the rumble where the song calls for it. Overall, it is polite in my opinion, it is capable when needed, but it's still more of a bystander in the overall sonic picture.

• Bass (Mid-Bass): Very tight, punchy, typical planar linear bass sound. However, presentation is on the leaner/thinner side. Depending on your perspective, one could consider this neutral. Note weight is lighter overall in this area.

• Mids: Vocals sounds a half step recessed. I wonder if this was a deliberate approach in order to frame the vocals with a bit more air and staging to them. But mainly I feel placement just a few rows back from center stage. However, it also lends to a better sense of depth, and it works quite nicely in tandem with all the other instrument action happening.

• Treble: The absolute freaking star of the show for these headphones. Showcases microdetails with aplomb. Can get airy, ethereal, but overall crisp and clear, and can reach that sense of sparkle in the treble without ever being etched or going off the ledge. Absolutely no fatigue and can listen for hours without any issue.

• Imaging/Soundstaging: Imaging is accurate, instruments are well layered to me, and I can place them accordingly. Staging is wide from left to right and has depth, and notes all have a sense of space and air around them.

Final Thoughts:

At this price point (400-450), this headphone does nearly everything right to me, and definitely does not do anything wrong. The headband suspension is well designed, and distributes the weight well, over all it felt like a lightweight headphone, for which you barely notice wearing it for long periods of time.

There are two things that really struck a chord in me when listening to the Verum 2. First, it excels exceedingly well with micro dynamics. Details are presented clearly, and upper mids/treble are truly a joy to listen to here. Second, this is one of the very few headphones (especially at this price point) that had "speaker" like qualities to me. I won't even try to explain this, but only that the way I perceive the headphone, the presentation really works and gives me that sense.

Also, I don't want to go into a full comparison with its Ukranian neighbor the Sash Tres SE, as I wanted to keep this focused on the Verum 2. On the whole, Sash Tres SE is extremely similar to the Verum 2. I would venture to say that the Sash Tres SE is to the Verum 2, as the HD650 is to the HD600. It would really come down to a matter of tastes/preferences really (one leaning slightly warmer/fuller, the other more neutral, having slightly better treble/air).

For me, it's another pure winner from the Ukraine. If I didn't already have the Sash Tres, I would jump on the Verum 2 in a heartbeat.