[steve468]

Atrium and Caldera are very different (having not had them side by side but one after the other). Caldera is the planar upgrade to the Verite series in my opinion. I’m very curious whether there’s any thought of a ZMF planar with Atrium’s tuning. For now, I actually think the Expanse is the planar upgrade to the Atrium

 

[Edosan227]

so, since I'll have a overnight shipping, i figured i pickup a pair of pads, any recommendations? I love having an airy sound and big soundstage, however, if the stock pad already accomplishes that(from what I understand it does), which pad should i get to complement that?

 

[goldwerger]

so, since I'll have a overnight shipping, i figured i pickup a pair of pads, any recommendations? I love having an airy sound and big soundstage, however, if the stock pad already accomplishes that(from what I understand it does), which pad should i get to complement that?

For that you'll want the Caldera Lambskin Ultra Perforated pads - definitely what they emphasize for me (and why I like them)

 

[YtseJamer]

If you're not a planar magnetic fan, your gut may be correct here. That said, the Caldera is a planar with one of the liveliest attacks and most pleasant timbres I've ever heard. At this point, the Atrium and Caldera share roughly equal time on my head as I like them for very different reasons:

Atrium:

• The best timbre I've ever heard in a headphone... there's something almost euphoric about how some songs sound with these.
• Nice, wide soundstage.
• Forgiving for poorly-recorded tracks (the Caldera... not so much so).
• Works well with any genre, but especially rock, metal, alternative, etc. (which is a lot of what I listen to)

Caldera:

• More resolving without sacrificing timbre. The Atrium is no slouch when it comes to detail retrieval, but the Caldera is definitely noticeably better in this department.
• Deeper sub bass extension.
• Very crisp and fast.
• Definitely my go-to for electronic music, pop, or anything where I want to hear as much detail as possible. I am happy to use these with pretty much any genre as well, though.

If I wanted to use my most fun pair of ZMFs (or if I wanted something more isolating), the Atrium Closed would be my choice.

Actually, it's not that I dislike all the planar headphones, but my experiences with Audeze and Hifiman over the last 10 years have left me quite disappointed. I've owned nearly every model from both brands, except for the LCD-4, LCD-5, or Susvara, and none of them stuck around. My favorite planar ever was the pre-fazor LCD-3, which could have been my endgame. Unfortunately, one of the earcups' wood broke, and the replacement pair I got from Audeze didn't sound the same, leading me to sell them. After dealing with the letdowns from all those Fazor's LCDs, I just decided to stop buying headphones from Audeze. Your description of the Caldera lines up exactly with how I pictured their sound, and I'm sure they're fantastic, but it's just not the kind of tuning I'm looking for in a ZMF headphone.

Atrium and Caldera are very different (having not had them side by side but one after the other). Caldera is the planar upgrade to the Verite series in my opinion. I’m very curious whether there’s any thought of a ZMF planar with Atrium’s tuning. For now, I actually think the Expanse is the planar upgrade to the Atrium

Now we're talking! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that ZMF's next release, following the Caldera Closed, will be an open planar headphone priced at $2500 max with a tuning similar to the Atrium. That would truly be my dream headphone.

 

[JackarlTwo]

honestly kinda regret reaching out to zmf immediately, even though I do want the atrium, I feel like they'll be pretty similar to my meze elite, whereas this will be a complement, oh well, lol

I haven't heard Caldera myself yet, but you're probably not going to be disappointed with Atrium at all. It has a ton of impact and fun too. The timbre is where it does so good. I just love how instruments and vocals sound so real. I kind of suspected you were sent the wrong pair of headphones because installing the wrong grill would be VERY weird haha

And hey, you got to demo the Caldera!

 

[JackarlTwo]

so, since I'll have a overnight shipping, i figured i pickup a pair of pads, any recommendations? I love having an airy sound and big soundstage, however, if the stock pad already accomplishes that(from what I understand it does), which pad should i get to complement that?

I think the Universe pads, Caldera ultra perforated and Auteur lambskin pads are all the pads anyone really needs. All three pads got that big soundstage, but they do it slightly differently. Caldera UP being the widest to my ears, Universe being the most normal/ uniform, and Auteur having better depth/ height. Again, HRTF differences so it's a good idea to try them all.

 

[sp33ls]

Caldera is the planar upgrade to the Verite series in my opinion.

What’s a planar upgrade?

 

[Edosan227]

I haven't heard Caldera myself yet, but you're probably not going to be disappointed with Atrium at all. It has a ton of impact and fun too. The timbre is where it does so good. I just love how instruments and vocals sound so real. I kind of suspected you were sent the wrong pair of headphones because installing the wrong grill would be VERY weird haha

And hey, you got to demo the Caldera!

yeah, I am a little disappointed to not get my atrium, but now i get to unbox 2 zmf headphone for the price of one, and getting to demo the caldera through the wkn is not bad, haha

 

[recstar24]

I think the Universe pads, Caldera ultra perforated and Auteur lambskin pads are all the pads anyone really needs. All three pads got that big soundstage, but they do it slightly differently. Caldera UP being the widest to my ears, Universe being the most normal/ uniform, and Auteur having better depth/ height. Again, HRTF differences so it's a good idea to try them all.

I’ve asked this before, but with the universe pads, you think there’s enough difference between Lambskin and the hybrid lamb/suede to constitute getting both of them? My atriums had the caldera UP which are great but I recently switched to universe hybrid to check out a different flavor.

 

[JackarlTwo]

I’ve asked this before, but with the universe pads, you think there’s enough difference between Lambskin and the hybrid lamb/suede to constitute getting both of them? My atriums had the caldera UP which are great but I recently switched to universe hybrid to check out a different flavor.

I've not heard the hybrid Universe pads. I tend to almost always prefer full lambskin over hybrids, the Auteur pads are close enough in sound it's probably not worth owning both pair of pads of the same type IMO

 

[Edosan227]

well, I had fun checking out the cladera, it's nice, but ultimately I was correct in thinking it's not really my preference. I want my atrium now!!!! T_T

 

[AcousticMatt]

Atrium Open (in the softer cherry wood) is still my favorite headphone by leaps and bounds. I've tried with a variety of pads over the last 1.5 years or so, but still prefer leather Auteur pads by a large margin. The overall tone and incredible headstage, imaging and layering makes this headphone near perfect for any genre IMO. Very engaging and fun but never fatiguing.

Also, if you haven't heard AO on the new Nitsch Pietus Maximus you owe it to yourself to do so asap. Jaw-dropping synergy is at play here.

Got caught up in the beauty of your aged cherry Atriums that I forgot to ask what you like so much about this Nitsch pairing with them!

They've been on my list to check out. I've been enjoying my headphones lately from smaller setups and surprisingly the iFi Diablo is fitting my sound desires better than any other amp for me that I've got. I've decided to get a solid state because of this that'll be more desktop size. The Pietus Maximus is high on the list - especially if it sounds great with the Atriums since I listen to these and the AC and Caldera the most out of everything I own.

 

[bunnygal23]

well, I had fun checking out the cladera, it's nice, but ultimately I was correct in thinking it's not really my preference. I want my atrium now!!!! T_T

Care to elaborate? Esp compared to your Elites?

 

[Machiavelli1310]

How long did your Atria take to arrive after order confirmation? I am still waiting for mine, just wanted to hear how long it took for you guys.

 

[Leto Dal]

How long did your Atriums take to arrive after order confirmation? I am still waiting for mine, just wanted to hear how long it took for you guys.

About 5 weeks for stabilised unit. But there are plenty of people on goldensound discord waiting for their ZMF November units, some over 8 weeks.