I rarely contribute here, but I thought I would because I have been living with the Verito Z for about a year. I have not heard a large variety of cartirdges in my system; however, I have had the opportunity to hear many of the very best in Dave Beetle's system. Dave is a friend, but I have no interest in his business. And I do not buy audio gear based on a sense of obligation to its sellers - much to their chagrin sometimes, I am sure!
I can second a number of comments by the other Verito owners here. The Verito does take about a 100 hours to "loosen" up (every year it is taking me longer, too). At first, though it has incredible detail and speed, it sounds constrained at both frequency extremes and rather thin. The change over time is dramatic, and it takes on the character Radicalsteve describes. An aluminum headshell will be a disaster. My experience indicates that such a combination will destroy the Verito's transparency, with resonances muddying the sound, blurring images and making for a quite unsatisfying hard, grating and sibilant performance. But a single performance is not the last word about the performer.
I used the Verito in a number of headshells, all aluminum, on a Dynavector 505 and I just could not understand why I could not make it perform as I had heard it at Dave Beetle's; I was getting frustrated by a smearing of image and a real hardness in the top end. Of course, I also was distracted by and played with cables to compensate for what I did not know were headshell issues. On Dave's suggestion, and that of a friend in Toronto also using the Verito, I tried a Shun Mook ebony headshell. That did it - a truly remarkable transition. I have been more than happy since, until recently. I recently changed tonearms to one with a handcrafted ebony wand, but it has a small aluminum plate that is used to attach the cartridge to the integrated headshell. While not as severe as before, the sibilance and top end hardness returned. After hearing from Dave B. the story in his ad, I slipped one of the ebony shims that come with the Shun Mook headshell between the top of the Verito and the aluminum mounting plate. Magic. Warmth, solidity of instrument and voice images, speed, tonal correctness, great ambient recording space detail, depth and width of soundstage - and great bass all have returned.
I just heard the Verito at Dave's on both a Dynavector 505 and a 12 inch SAEC - with the ebony shim - and compared to a London Decca on a 12 inch EMT arm. The London is wonderful - all the qualities above, but to a lesser degree than the Verito. In particular, somewhat less detail and a restricted and more forward soundstage, in comparison in Dave's system.
Synergy is a word with which we are all familiar. In light of that concept's application to this hobby, I always try to temper my natural, I think, desire to make statements about absolute value, especially when popping a new component into a system that is maximized for the one it's replacing (at least temporarily). I appreciated Mr. Dlanselm's comment that he was unsure about the role that the SME arm, with its aluminum headshell, might have played in his system. However, he did not say how many hours he put on the Verito. Unfortunately, Mr. Rauliruegas provided no information at all on such matters, on the time he spent, or how he spent his time, with the Verito. I really appreciate commentary where such significant detail is provided, rather than generalized comparative statements; but not everyone has the time. I know I usually do not. I am not prepared to spend the money on some of the cartridges that people have mentioned here. Fortunately, I have not had to because I have a friend who has had and played them all in a wide variety of set ups (I call David's big closet the "tonearm museum" - I think he really needs a big old bank vault given the total value of what he has available at home to try). By the way, David and I do not necessarily agree on the kind of sound we like - I have characterized our slight differences as "Drama vs Dharma", but the Verito is something I do agree with him on completely, given the right conditions of its use and the patience to listen and work with it. I also believe that we can get to a point where we will hear a system that "does it" for both of us. In fact, I think we're getting pretty close to being there.
For what it's worth, that's my story. Good luck with your purchase, Tpsonic, whatever you decide.
I can second a number of comments by the other Verito owners here. The Verito does take about a 100 hours to "loosen" up (every year it is taking me longer, too). At first, though it has incredible detail and speed, it sounds constrained at both frequency extremes and rather thin. The change over time is dramatic, and it takes on the character Radicalsteve describes. An aluminum headshell will be a disaster. My experience indicates that such a combination will destroy the Verito's transparency, with resonances muddying the sound, blurring images and making for a quite unsatisfying hard, grating and sibilant performance. But a single performance is not the last word about the performer.
I used the Verito in a number of headshells, all aluminum, on a Dynavector 505 and I just could not understand why I could not make it perform as I had heard it at Dave Beetle's; I was getting frustrated by a smearing of image and a real hardness in the top end. Of course, I also was distracted by and played with cables to compensate for what I did not know were headshell issues. On Dave's suggestion, and that of a friend in Toronto also using the Verito, I tried a Shun Mook ebony headshell. That did it - a truly remarkable transition. I have been more than happy since, until recently. I recently changed tonearms to one with a handcrafted ebony wand, but it has a small aluminum plate that is used to attach the cartridge to the integrated headshell. While not as severe as before, the sibilance and top end hardness returned. After hearing from Dave B. the story in his ad, I slipped one of the ebony shims that come with the Shun Mook headshell between the top of the Verito and the aluminum mounting plate. Magic. Warmth, solidity of instrument and voice images, speed, tonal correctness, great ambient recording space detail, depth and width of soundstage - and great bass all have returned.
I just heard the Verito at Dave's on both a Dynavector 505 and a 12 inch SAEC - with the ebony shim - and compared to a London Decca on a 12 inch EMT arm. The London is wonderful - all the qualities above, but to a lesser degree than the Verito. In particular, somewhat less detail and a restricted and more forward soundstage, in comparison in Dave's system.
Synergy is a word with which we are all familiar. In light of that concept's application to this hobby, I always try to temper my natural, I think, desire to make statements about absolute value, especially when popping a new component into a system that is maximized for the one it's replacing (at least temporarily). I appreciated Mr. Dlanselm's comment that he was unsure about the role that the SME arm, with its aluminum headshell, might have played in his system. However, he did not say how many hours he put on the Verito. Unfortunately, Mr. Rauliruegas provided no information at all on such matters, on the time he spent, or how he spent his time, with the Verito. I really appreciate commentary where such significant detail is provided, rather than generalized comparative statements; but not everyone has the time. I know I usually do not. I am not prepared to spend the money on some of the cartridges that people have mentioned here. Fortunately, I have not had to because I have a friend who has had and played them all in a wide variety of set ups (I call David's big closet the "tonearm museum" - I think he really needs a big old bank vault given the total value of what he has available at home to try). By the way, David and I do not necessarily agree on the kind of sound we like - I have characterized our slight differences as "Drama vs Dharma", but the Verito is something I do agree with him on completely, given the right conditions of its use and the patience to listen and work with it. I also believe that we can get to a point where we will hear a system that "does it" for both of us. In fact, I think we're getting pretty close to being there.
For what it's worth, that's my story. Good luck with your purchase, Tpsonic, whatever you decide.