[Toonartist]

Found the sickest bass representation so far on the AC (with my WA2 OTL amp using Tung-Sol 5998 power tubes, RFT EZ-81 foil getter rectifiers, and Telefunken G73R input tubes)… DAMN.

My ears are telling my chest: “Why don’t you feel vibrations too?!”

Yeah, it really hits hard with that one

I love the sound of the glass rattling as if in time to the bass on Talabout by Stavroz.

 

[Kevintj604]

Day three of ownership and I just received the Caldera Suede’s last night. Wow. I only had about 8 hours on the Lambskin but a few mins on the suede and I probably won’t go back to the Lambskin for a while.

The Suede are super natural on this. Timbre to my ears is perfection. Easily the most enjoyable tuning I’ve heard out of all of the ZMF lineup that I’ve tried.

As a side note ZMF have unbelievable service. I ordered the pads on Thursday over Thanksgiving weekend and they arrived Monday from US to Canada.

Can’t wait to get my Caldera on Thursday but these AC’s are incredible.

 

[mattiastomas]

Day three of ownership and I just received the Caldera Suede’s last night. Wow. I only had about 8 hours on the Lambskin but a few mins on the suede and I probably won’t go back to the Lambskin for a while.

The Suede are super natural on this. Timbre to my ears is perfection. Easily the most enjoyable tuning I’ve heard out of all of the ZMF lineup that I’ve tried.

As a side note ZMF have unbelievable service. I ordered the pads on Thursday over Thanksgiving weekend and they arrived Monday from US to Canada.

Can’t wait to get my Caldera on Thursday but these AC’s are incredible.

Yup, there are a lot of us who prefer the suede over the lambskin for the AC. Definitely brings the whole thing together!

 

[Kevintj604]

Yup, there are a lot of us who prefer the suede over the lambskin for the AC. Definitely brings the whole thing together!

Yeah. They transform the AC to a completely different headphone for me. These should be the stock pad. I get a lot more instrument separation and distinction. Treble is perfect on them and the slightly brighter tilting lift gives a better sense of resolution.

 

[erics75]

@Ciggavelli @robo24 Thank you for your detailed feedback. It seems I made the right choice by ordering them I recently had the chance to compare almost all ToTL headphones with my 1266 and to be honest none of them was offering me something where I could have justified the price. Instead the Atticus grabbed my attention with a totally different presentation. They just made me want to stand up and dance in the shop. I hope that the 1266,Atrium Closed and Atticus will be my trifecta and I will stop this urge to find something "better". I will report back once I have compared them.
Thank you!

The Atticus has that effect on people haha. For years it was my go to all time favorite fun headphone, only being passed by the Atriums, which IMO take the playful spirit of the Atticus and improve pretty much all aspects of it.

 

[JerseyD]

Pairing made in heaven.

Oh, the Naim! I thought you meant the ZMF and whatever whiskey is in that rocks glass!

 

[texx2818]

Oh, the Naim! I thought you meant the ZMF and whatever whiskey is in that rocks glass!

That was the last remnants of a WhistlePig rye...hahaha.

 

[AnyDave]

Yeah. They transform the AC to a completely different headphone for me. These should be the stock pad. I get a lot more instrument separation and distinction. Treble is perfect on them and the slightly brighter tilting lift gives a better sense of resolution.

It's funny how taste factors into these things. I'm the exact opposite with the AC. I first heard it with the suede and I felt it tipped the treble too much. When I heard it with the stock pad, I far preferred that. It's one of the nice things about having so many pad options.

 

[Kevintj604]

It's funny how taste factors into these things. I'm the exact opposite with the AC. I first heard it with the suede and I felt it tipped the treble too much. When I heard it with the stock pad, I far preferred that. It's one of the nice things about having so many pad options.

Yeah. It's all about preference. I used to index super heavy for a much warmer sound and in the past year or so I've leaned much more for resolution and detail retrieval which is almost always in the treble presentation. Nice to be able to hone in on a sound that makes sense for everybody's ears and tastes with just a pad change. I haven't tried the Auteur Hybrid's yet but i'll try in a week or so.

 

[erics75]

It's funny how taste factors into these things. I'm the exact opposite with the AC. I first heard it with the suede and I felt it tipped the treble too much. When I heard it with the stock pad, I far preferred that. It's one of the nice things about having so many pad options.

have you tried the Auteur suede pads? I was like you and preferred the lamb pads to the suede, but after reading a few impressions of the Auteur suede i bought a pair. They're now my favorite pad of the three. They sit sonically towards the middle of the two stock pads. bassier than the Caldera suede and brighter than the Caldera lamb. Soundstage seems a tad smaller/more intimate than either Caldera pad, but not by much. All in all i've become quite smitten with them. given the b stock pad pricing, i ordered an Auteur solid lamb pad to try for fun. i have a feeling that's going to be bass overload, but who knows.

 

[sp33ls]

Yeah. It's all about preference. I used to index super heavy for a much warmer sound and in the past year or so I've leaned much more for resolution and detail retrieval which is almost always in the treble presentation. Nice to be able to hone in on a sound that makes sense for everybody's ears and tastes with just a pad change. I haven't tried the Auteur Hybrid's yet but i'll try in a week or so.

You’re gonna love the Caldera, then.

I don’t prioritize detail retrieval as much as I do timbre, dynamics, and just generally a lifelike rendition. This is one reason why I love Zach’s dynamic drivers (which are no slouch in details, don’t get me wrong.)

 

[Kevintj604]

You’re gonna love the Caldera, then.

I don’t prioritize detail retrieval as much as I do timbre, dynamics, and just generally a lifelike rendition. This is one reason why I love Zach’s dynamic drivers (which are no slouch in details, don’t get me wrong.)

Yeah. I can't wait until I get them. The AC so far is a bit of a chameleon. The synergy with iFi Gryphon and Magni Piety combo is horrible. With CMA Fifteen it's mind-blowing. One of the best pairings I've heard with the Questyle. With the HA-3A it tilts a bit more warm and euphonic.

 

[mattiastomas]

The synergy with iFi Gryphon and Magni Piety combo is horrible.

Thats interesting. At work I use the AC with Modi Multibit and Magni Piety and it sounds pretty good. Not as good as my home setup for sure, but definitely pretty good.

 

[hanumanbob]

I've had no issues with the Gryphon and AC. You do have to be careful though that the swiched on the underside doesn't get flipped. It's a toggle for IEMs and if you flip from middle which is easy to do it is bad.

 

[Kevintj604]

Thats interesting. At work I use the AC with Modi Multibit and Magni Piety and it sounds pretty good. Not as good as my home setup for sure, but definitely pretty good.

Could be the Gryphon Burr Brown DAC chip that I'm not liking but the Questyle is MUCH better.