ZMF New Headphones: Vérité and Aeolus

That just means you buy two monitors

 

And install windows 32bit twice to get 64.

 

So much price noise, so little headphone signal.

I'll grab a hard listen to these tomorrow, if able, and post a few impressions and pics. Work took a shit on my vacation plans, so might be Saturday.

 

Much excitement

 

That would bring some good insight to the discussion. It’d be great to hear your thoughts of the Auteur compared to the Verites and the Atticus compared to the Aeolus. If time permits of course.

 

That's a great perspective.

Headphones are physically much easier to ship from person to person (to person), so there's nothing really to stop the ADHD.

I don't foresee letting go of my Auteur Teak anytime soon (even if wondering whether I should have sprung for Cocobolo instead), unless a sudden financial issue arises. It sounds and feels like money well spent (as far as that's conceivable in audiophool land). I wish Zach & team all the best on their expanded product lineup, and even if I don't feel comfortable exceeding what I've already spent on headphones, it's cool to see competition in that higher-tier. Hopefully that will result in some better products down the road trickling down to the sweet $ spot.

 

I'll bring my Eikon or Auteur to compare, which seems silly since he will have some there. It should alleviate any possibility of differing sonic attributes / unknown FRs, so I'll do it anyway. That and I want to try them on some amps around the show.

 

@zach915m Is Vérité completely open or partially closed? I remember reading that the Auteur is 80% open, in case of being partially closed, which would be the %?

Btw, the headphone looks incredible in pictures, I'm sure in person they'll look even better, great job!

 

The grill on the verite is apparently 1/3rd larger than the auteur's (the verite's grill is concave) so it looks like it'll be more open? Also, there seem to be more vents on the sides.

 

I've been wondering this for a while: What do wood cups do for the sound of a headphone? Ostensibly there is damping (not made of wood) inside the cup that is absorbing sound.

I like the look of ZMF headphones a lot and the craftsmanship, but I kind of wonder whether the wood does anything. Fun fact though, apparently the direction of wood grain can actually affect the optimal angle at which sound is maximally reflected off of it. If the inner wood surface isn't uniform then potentially its reflecting sound back in a more diffuse manner than a plastic or metal cup would. Any physicists in the house?

 

Instrument makers know different woods produce different sounds. "Tone woods" in particular (ie, rosewood, spruce) are valued for specific sonic contributions to an instrument's sound. I'm hardly a physicist, but I suspect the "sound" of different woods resides in resonant properties--not just resonant frequency, but characteristics such as pore size/number; figure/direction of grain; density & hardness indexed to oak; moisture content; finish used; on & on.

My brother has dabbled quite a bit in guitar modifying. Either he or a luthier/repairman pal do things like switch out the Telecaster's maple body for a swamp cedar body; partially hollow out the body (ie, more than stock); line the outside of part/all the body w/a different wood, etc. He tells me the sonic consequences of each such change are clearly audible even just strumming the instrument unamplified.

I'm a ZMF fanboy: own an ormosia henryi Ori & padauk Eikon; owned a coco Atticus; have heard a cherry Eikon at great length in my system; auditioned Auteur (blackwood & teak). One of the (many) things I like about Zach is that he overtly factors in the sonic qualities of wood w/each model of headphone. Wood is as much a component of his manufacturing & "voicing" of headphones as are drivers.

Different woods were said to have noticeable effects on the sound of the Omni/Ori (something I never had the opp'ty to check). But I can tell you my padauk Eikon sounds significantly different from my friend's cherry Eikon. Differences are not huge, but when you know the sound of that headphone, differences are pretty obvious.

 

I think @scapeinator1 's question may be similar to mine:

I realize there will definitely be some difference based on wood/material used (based on differences in physical properties, just like how different wood for stringed or percussion instruments will change sound), but will there be a big difference between different pairs of the same models and woods (but of course different individual wood cups) or big difference based on the direction the cup and hence wood grain is installed?

 

Having owned / heard several,

The one thing I've noticed having tried multiple different Eikons and Auteur, with different woods, is that the same model with different wood will all sound almost identical. I say almost, because tonally they really do sound the same. It's really small things that the wood effects in small ways, like speed, transients, and to a very very minor amount leading and trailing edges. The harder the wood, the faster it sounds. Lower density wood tends to give a slightly softer sound. Please keep in mind that the differences are not immediately apparent, and you have to spend quite a bit of time with the headphones to discern the differences.

Zack has said before, and I will vouch for it, pick the wood that looks aesthetically pleasing to you. Unless you are super nit picky about it, that is, in which case your nervosa is your own.

 

Thanks for not buying them, or else I wouldn't have them... yuk yuk yuk...

 

Thanks for adding that, was wondering what if anything besides appearance (and weight) I was really missing out on. I would imagine they do give off different scents - the Teak mildly smell like roses.

 

I don't often smell my headphones, let alone other's. I think weight would probably be the other major selection factor beyond appearance. For those barely unable to hold their own heads up, the ash is much lighter. Real men wear padauk / blackwood / cocobolo.

 

I have many leather-clad headphones and my apartment smells of rich padauk.

 

That's OK, I don't mind the LCD-X's weight and many complain about those. The Teak feel comparatively feather-weight.

Am cautiously intrigued by the Aeolus (don't really need another headphone), haven't yet heard the Atticus so hope to try its open sibling sometime next year.