infinity3914
New Head-Fier
Just to chime in, I agree with your assessment on the Atrium pad rolling, it's quite useful. At first, the Caldera Ultra Perfs were a bit too bright for me, but after some ear burn-in, tube rolling (even without EQ!), and using the solid mesh, they're undisputedly my most favorite pads for any non-electronic genre. For House, Techno, and DnB, I switch back to the Universe Lamb or the bass texture and impact. The Universe Lamb seems to push the vocal upfront, dial up the bass, and push all instruments closer.Hybrid pads can be very hit or miss for people. It's been awhile since I've heard them, but you can check out what I wrote in my pad write-up for the AO. Link in my sig below.
Pads I've also tried: BE2 Lamb, Universe Suede, Universe Hybrid. I think the BE2 Lamb has a tad more bass impact than the Caldera Ultra Perfs but just about everything less. Also, I couldn't get used to how close the drivers were to my ears with the BE2 Lamb. The Universe Suede was yucky to my ears as they did something weird to the vocal - like somehow they managed to place a wet cloth pag on the artist's head and held them at gunpoint. The Universe Hybrid pads, although the most comfortable, were uninspiring and felt quite mids (the zoomer's phrase for "just okay").
In terms of comfort, Universe Suede > Universe Hybrid > Caldera Ultra Perfs > BE2 Lamb > Universe Lamb. I find my Universe Lamb pads much firmer and tighter, and I'll have to take frequent breaks. YSMV (Your Skull May Vary) lol
In terms of preferences, Caldera Ultra Perfs (easy and critical listening) = Universe Lamb (fun and punch) >>> Universe Hybrid > BE2 Lamb ~ Universe Suede.
I don't use EQ on my Atrium, but if anyone has some good EQ presets that they'd like to share, I'm all ears.
Cheers!