Dec 15, 2024 at 4:39 PM Post #1,816 of 1,903
Got this Shedua beauty yesterday!

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The wood is quite a bit darker than on the picture. I absolutely love it though, prefer the natural wood over the resin/stabilized stuff.

Unfortunately having a stubborn cold for a while, so not really in the mood for listening to music currently. Gives me the opportunity to burn them in properly though :)
Thanks for sharing and sorry about the cold- I had something similar hit last week and am now finally 100 percent again. That Shedua is very pretty, and the grain is similar to my Bocote.

But indeed, the burn-in time is good news. I will say there is definite improvement with the CC after about 100-150 hours. It’s a phenomenal headphone regardless, but reaches another step up with time.

I finally pad rolled from stock (hybrid) to TWP Suede today, and look forward to spending more time with my CCs post-pad update. (Kevin at ZMF recommended the Suedes and thick pads in addition to stock hybrids when I got my CCs)
 
Dec 16, 2024 at 2:10 AM Post #1,818 of 1,903
Thanks for sharing and sorry about the cold- I had something similar hit last week and am now finally 100 percent again. That Shedua is very pretty, and the grain is similar to my Bocote.

But indeed, the burn-in time is good news. I will say there is definite improvement with the CC after about 100-150 hours. It’s a phenomenal headphone regardless, but reaches another step up with time.

I finally pad rolled from stock (hybrid) to TWP Suede today, and look forward to spending more time with my CCs post-pad update. (Kevin at ZMF recommended the Suedes and thick pads in addition to stock hybrids when I got my CCs)
I probably have 150 hours on my CC and the TWP Suede have officially become my favorite pads with the CC. I started with the Caldera Thick but swapped over due to some chain updates. I will eventually try the thick pads again but TWP Suede sounds so damn good I'm reluctant to switch ha
 
Dec 16, 2024 at 2:19 AM Post #1,819 of 1,903
I probably have 150 hours on my CC and the TWP Suede have officially become my favorite pads with the CC.
Yeah, we are in a similar situation then. I’ve noticed very recently that the CC’s sound stage keeps growing.

It’s getting taller than it was, and starting to include areas over my shoulders with some recordings, too. It’s quite remarkable, and I treasure my CCs more and more. (I also wonder if my Norne Audio JS-16 cable is still burning in and improving)
 
Dec 17, 2024 at 3:10 PM Post #1,821 of 1,903
Has anyone else here owned both the LCD5 and the CC, and know how do they stack up against each other?
The LCD5 is not a headphone many people actively seek out because it's bass light, aggressive in the mids, and in general tries to set technicalities way over musicality, the CC is somewhat the opposite, amazing musicality with still very high technicalities.
 
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Dec 17, 2024 at 3:39 PM Post #1,822 of 1,903
I’ve already asked this a few months ago, but…

Has anyone else here owned both the LCD5 and the CC, and know how do they stack up against each other?
I quite like the dark but smooth sound of the LCD2/3/4 but never got on with the 5. Audeze took a different direction with the 5, it is tuned to sound a little bit like a neutral/technical studio monitor. Good and accurate sound, fairly flat response. Not an awful lot of bass. A little unexciting, I would even risk saying 'soulless'. It is a good and pretty accurate sounding headphone, just not very engaging. That said, once I tried them on some 10K+ super tube amp, can't remember if it was the Egoista 845 or the Primavera, the headphones sounded surprisingly good; finally heard some life in them.
The CC versus the 5 sounds warmer, smoother, a little slower and a little less detailed. But it has character, life, good bass, and sounds engaging. Technicalities are still very good, just not quite on LCD5 level. You do get a thick, weighty and lifelike presentation though with good note weight and excellent timbre. I prefer the CO to both, but between the LCD5 and CC I would still get the CC, despite being closed-back. That organic ZMF texture/timbre is just a winner. (I think, CO's technicalities are pretty much on par with LCD5, to my ears CO is a little bit above CC in this regard.)
 
Dec 17, 2024 at 11:38 PM Post #1,823 of 1,903
Just recently wrote a review on SBAF on my Caldera Closed loaner. Yes, I have to write my thoughts over there since it's their loaner program not head-fi's.

BTW, I love the Ash wood from CC. Really looks so good along with the DIY Aegis :)

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Jan 1, 2025 at 12:14 PM Post #1,824 of 1,903
Has anyone here measured the thick top-perf pads to see how tall they are compared to the top-side perf thicks? I know a few pads were compared in the CO thread a while back, and I might pick up a pair if its dimensions are similar. The ZMF page for the top-perf pads only lists the dimensions for the thin pads.
 
Jan 1, 2025 at 9:32 PM Post #1,825 of 1,903
Has anyone here measured the thick top-perf pads to see how tall they are compared to the top-side perf thicks? I know a few pads were compared in the CO thread a while back, and I might pick up a pair if its dimensions are similar. The ZMF page for the top-perf pads only lists the dimensions for the thin pads.
Don’t have them all here to compare, but I think there are only three Caldera pad thicknesses: Thin, Standard, and Thick. I would assume the TP and TSP Thick pads are the exact same thickness.
 
Jan 2, 2025 at 10:18 AM Post #1,826 of 1,903
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I did get to try many headphones during my last business trip and CC was my favorite. It was so smooth that i couldn’t get it of my head. I prefer it even to the HE-1. Call me crazy. This and meze elite were my top. I also tried Atrium, i find atrium much more detailed and had more note weight but splashy treble despite trying it on tubes / ss etc. didn’t do it for me. I expected atrium to be warm and lush, cc to be detail monster but turned out the other way. I was with other people in demo session and we shared exactly same thoughts.
 
Jan 2, 2025 at 1:57 PM Post #1,827 of 1,903
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I did get to try many headphones during my last business trip and CC was my favorite. It was so smooth that i couldn’t get it of my head. I prefer it even to the HE-1. Call me crazy. This and meze elite were my top. I also tried Atrium, i find atrium much more detailed and had more note weight but splashy treble despite trying it on tubes / ss etc. didn’t do it for me. I expected atrium to be warm and lush, cc to be detail monster but turned out the other way. I was with other people in demo session and we shared exactly same thoughts.

You are not alone. I also felt CC was so relax, lush and butter smooth when compared to Atrium Open with ZMF Aegis.
 
Jan 2, 2025 at 2:06 PM Post #1,828 of 1,903
Got a pair of CC on order, but the description of them as lush and relax is making me uncomfortable. I was under the impression they were ZMF's version of linear/incisive tuning? Warm and lush is my personal anathema....:scream:
 
Jan 2, 2025 at 2:11 PM Post #1,829 of 1,903
Got a pair of CC on order, but the description of them as lush and relax is making me uncomfortable. I was under the impression they were ZMF's version of linear/incisive tuning? Warm and lush is my personal anathema....:scream:
Everyone's opinion will be different, plus what one person calls lush another will call neutral, etc. I personally would not call the CC lush. The decay is too fast, leaving a strong transient strike with fast decay and a leaner presentation than something like the AC or BC. It's tuning is definitely not neutral, but it's not as warm as most other ZMFs, at least to me. It's fun and engaging, and maybe lush by Utopia/Susvara standards, but not by traditional ZMF standards. Just my opinion though. Pad rolling plays a big part too, as does the chain used. With leaner tuned pads and a solid state or neutral tube amp, the CC can sound quite neutral as well.

EDIT - Let me define lush as I use the term: Lush would be warmth paired with moderate to long decay. Notes would be thick and weighty, especially beyond the initial transient strike. They'd hold for a moment then trail off naturally with tangible weight.

Fast, hard hitting transients without the longer decay would not be lush to me. I don't include smoothness in my idea of "lush" as it's its own category easily defined separately. I do think some mix smoothness in with lushness, but I choose not to. I do think the treble on the CC is smoother or less peaky and fatiguing as the Atriums (both models), though I don't find the Atriums fatiguing in general.
 
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Jan 2, 2025 at 2:14 PM Post #1,830 of 1,903
Got a pair of CC on order, but the description of them as lush and relax is making me uncomfortable. I was under the impression they were ZMF's version of linear/incisive tuning? Warm and lush is my personal anathema....:scream:

I bet you won’t mind its presentation. I find the bass performance to vary between the amps so with something like Aegis + KT88 it would be quite punchy and deep
 

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