Verum 1 Impressions

Note – 3/11/2022 – Here we are a few years into the existence of the Verum 1. Its creator has delivered his apology (archive.org backup) to the community. I say apology because that is what he calls it. His words were ”Especially when people that were never slave masters apologized and took a knee to people who were never slaves after police murdering recidivist criminal.”

This is what ignorance looks like. People constantly bring up the opinion that you should be able to separate the maker of a good product from his views. I ask why? Why should I do that when he is the one that brought ignorance to the table? His ignorance is willful. He continues to this day to make fun of people in vulnerable situations in life, and is surrounded by people who do the same. He does it behind closed doors, then dares you to show him proof.

Does this make his headphones sound worse? No. What it does is spit in the face of music itself. Music is global. Music is all races. Music unites us. Music will move you even if you don’t understand a single word. I cannot enjoy the work of someone that willfully minimizes this. My review remains unchanged, though I do encourage you to seek other options.

What is the Verum 1? – The Verum 1 is a Planar headphone designed and built in the Ukraine by Garuspik, A member of the audiophile community who sought to put his own spin on the planar headphone. I’m normally weary of Kickstarter campaigns. I was burned by Zeyes in 2011 and watched a few crowd funded campaigns go down in flames. Garuspik was well beyond a dream and already had a prototype making the rounds by the time the campaign started. There was a well laid out plan and timelines in places that made the whole thing reassuring. Fast forward a few months and here it is.

Build & Comfort – The aesthetics of the Verum 1 are not for everyone. Once you get past that, you’re presented with a solidly built and sturdy headphone. I did not have any issues with the weight. Weight distribution is more important at times than the number of grams, and these do it well. I initially thought the angle of the 2.5mm connectors was strange–and still do–but it does a nice job of keeping the cables out of the way. My Verum 1s had a chip in the carbon fiber style paint, though it was minor. The biggest thing that stood out to me is the magnetic pad system. It makes most other headphone solutions seem unreasonable. For a first effort, the fit and finish is admirable.

Treble – I didn’t get a bright feel from these, but the treble is present and pleasant. Nothing negative here when considering the signature. Overall, it’s relaxed and reminds me of LCD-2Cs. I’ve enjoyed a brighter sound signature since owning my Utopia, but my rationale behind owning multiple headphones is matching them to the music I’m listening to. Not a believer that one headphone can do everything perfectly.

Mids – To me the Verum 1’s mids were a bit more forward than I remember the LCD-2C being. Instruments were presented nicely. Separation is not a strong point, but it’s not muddy. Vocals were presented with clarity and stayed out of the way of instruments. I enjoyed the mids best with music like the Dead Weather and Raconteurs. I had a really good time listening to drum and guitar solos.

Bass – Initially, I had some issues with bass and extension. This may have been the pads needing some time to soften and seal well, but it was where I wanted it to be in a day or so. The transition from mids to bass is nice. Planar bass is always intriguing when compared to dynamic. It extends well, is accurate in its presentation, and does not distract from the mids or treble. It is exactly what something like the M1060C should have aspired to be.

Conclusion – The Verum 1 is all about price to performance for me. At $350, I’d recommend them all day. Verum’s mission was clear in both physical and musical presentation. A headphone built for practicality by a music lover for a music lover. I hope this sends a message to anyone looking to do something like this. It can be done, and the audiophile community will get behind it!

MiniDSP E.A.R.S. Measurements - These were done w/ the Soekris dac1541 on the built in amp.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE MEASUREMENTS ARE PROVIDED AS A GENERAL IDEA, AND THAT EARS MEASUREMENTS ARE CONSIDERED INACCURATE, BUT LITERALLY BETTER THAN NOTHING.