ZMF Caldera Closed

[Nostoi]

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.

Thanks, reassuring. I did order the leaner pads - can't remember which ones - which are supposed to accent attack/decay. SS yes, not a tube guy (sorry). I owned the VC a while back and the mid-bass bump and soft technicalities never really won me over. I hope the CC delivers on this front...

 

[erics75]

Thanks, reassuring. I did order the leaner pads - can't remember which ones - which are supposed to accent attack/decay. SS yes, not a tube guy (sorry). I owned the VC a while back and the mid-bass bump and soft technicalities never really won me over. I hope the CC delivers on this front...

For what it's worth I find the CC to be a clear step up in performance over the VC. It's faster, more detailed, and easier to listen to. The VC has a slight glare in the treble I struggle with. That's totally absent on the CC. It's not as thick or euphonic sounding as the VC, though it's far from lean sounding. It's a very impressive headphone IMO.

 

[betula]

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....

I guess it depends on where you are coming from and what you are comparing them to. In general, I would perhaps call the CC warm-neutral. Warm compared to the Susvara for example, but more neutral compared to an LCD2 or Empyrean og.
I also wouldn't necessarily call them lush, but definitely smooth. CC does sound warm(er), smooth and quite thick as well with good body, so it is leaning towards 'lush' more than the CO for instance. Still 'lush' to me evokes impressions of a thick and warm sound that loses clarity and detail in its presentation. The CC still remains clear, while providing a smooth sound. Not as airy and clean as the CO, but still pretty clean.
For your preference I would highly recommend trying the black mesh and the full leather/protein pads on your CC.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

The VC has a slight glare in the treble I struggle with.

I'm glad you mentioned this, I thought I was alone in finding this to be a problem. I ended up moving on from my old Vérité because of it.

Back on topic: I've only heard the Caldera Closed briefly a couple of times at Capital Audio Fest but I'd describe it as laid back, which is to say with recessed upper mids and potentially in the treble. It wasn't rolled off, though, and had plenty of space, air, and openness. It's the most immediately appealing ZMF I've heard.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

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....

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.

Agree that pad and set up play big role, not to mention with CC we can select different front damping as well. CC with fast solid state amp like GSX shouldn't be too "lush" or too mellow.

Compared to most of planar headphones out there (DCA Stealth, Abyss Diana DZ, and all Hifiman headphones), I would categorised CC as "lush".

 

[PrestonSturgesEnthusiast]

Is there a consensus for which pad to get if you want more sub bass and less mid bass? I’m not actually looking for bright, just neutral bass, except below 50hz, where I dig abuse. Thanks everyone.

 

[jonathan c]

Is there a consensus for which pad to get if you want more sub bass and less mid bass? I’m not actually looking for bright, just neutral bass, except below 50hz, where I dig abuse. Thanks everyone.

... you have a precise requirement ... better met with EQ? ...

 

[PrestonSturgesEnthusiast]

... you have a precise requirement ... better met with EQ? ...

Indeed I do, sir, but I’d be interested to know if some of the pads would get me at least halfway there, since it seems to me that one of the main functions of ZMF pad swapping is the personalization of the sound profile.

 

[jinxy245]

except below 50hz, where I dig abuse.

For some reason I adore this phrase...

 

[lauthoerer]

Favorite pads with the red mesh.

Caldera Thick (Top Perf Only) - Adds a slight bump to soundstage width and depth and gives you the most lifelike 'you're in the room or in the audience' feeling

Caldera Hybrid (Top Perf Only) - I would consider this the default sound of the CC. Anything added or subtracted with the other pads is based on the Hybrid

Caldera Thin (Top Perf Only) - Very nice bump in bass impact. Little less soundstage width and depth but nothing anyone would notice unless you back-to-back A/B. If you're a bass head, I think this would be the one for you.

Wanted to bring this back up as I think it’s spot on! Went one full round on the tuning kit and when I came back to the (stock) Caldera Hybrid I realized how clearly I missed the bass of the Thin TP, so would consider those my preferred pads for the CC. Currently checking which one of my cables I prefer and already ruled the Niimbus supreme over my tube amps. Will check out the meshes in a couple of weeks once I have the sound of the CC on red/Hybrid locked into memory.

 

[jonathan c]

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....

The pairing of Caldera Closed and Mass Kobo 433 is not "warm and lush". To me, it is musically incisive () -- with a touch of warmth.

 

[ttys0]

Wanted to bring this back up as I think it’s spot on! Went one full round on the tuning kit and when I came back to the (stock) Caldera Hybrid I realized how clearly I missed the bass of the Thin TP, so would consider those my preferred pads for the CC. Currently checking which one of my cables I prefer and already ruled the Niimbus supreme over my tube amps. Will check out the meshes in a couple of weeks once I have the sound of the CC on red/Hybrid locked into memory.

Thanks for bringing this back up. I had completely forgotten about it.

I don't have the Caldera Thin pads, though maybe I kind of do? I do have the Bokeh protein pads that came with my Bokeh closed, which seem to fit the description. Tossing them on the Caldera Closed, there is a nice little bass bump! So far I'm liking them a little more than the hybrid, though that may just be a case of "they're different". I'll be leaving them on for a while, I think.

 

[lauthoerer]

I don't have the Caldera Thin pads, though maybe I kind of do? I do have the Bokeh protein pads that came with my Bokeh closed, which seem to fit the description. Tossing them on the Caldera Closed, there is a nice little bass bump! So far I'm liking them a little more than the hybrid, though that may just be a case of "they're different". I'll be leaving them on for a while, I think.

They’re indeed the same. I liked every pad “a little more” than the last one when I first tried them, but going back now clearly showed me the preference between the Hybrid and the Thin. Will be going through all four again when switching to the black mesh.

@idairyou any chance you wanna do a write up of your impressions with the other meshes ?

 

[Tabikinoya Cephas]

I've always liked that you aren't afraid of bad reviews, unlike other companies (I'm not singling out other headphone manufacturers here) that curate reviews and only send out samples to folks who only give their product positive reviews or try to cut out a media outlet for giving the product a bad review a la Nvidia.

In this case SuperReviews testing methodology is just plain wrong. If you feed anything that is electrically conductive (even a lightbulb) too much power or in this case not enough power, it will affect performance.

Even if all you care about is how something measures on a graph source gear matters.

So, in this case not sending out review samples to SuperReviews in the future is a good thing.

Superreviews sucks, really. He sees graphs and affects his listening impression then give a review. He cannot even give a listening impression without looking at graphs.

He also refuse any other approaches from zmf in measurements except his own. Sadly, he has a group of followers that buys into his nonsense.

 

[Wes S]

These headphones are just so freaking good it's insane! Being a ZMF fanboy since the early planar days and having owned the Classic, Blackwood, and Ori, the CC truly are everything I have always dreamed they could be and much more.

I have had this headphone for months, and I am still in the honeymoon phase and at this point I am kind of wondering if it's ever going to wear off. . .Don't get me wrong I am not complaining.

When listening to some well recorded stuff like Agnes Obel, Jeff Buckley and singer song writer stuff, or Acoustic stuff like Ottmar Liebert, and Rodrigo y Gabriela, it truly sounds so lifelike it's mesmerizing. Tone and timbre to die for!

Top off all that amazing tone and timbre with excellent resolution, airy holographic staging, excellent note weight, and really good punch, it's one heck of a listen.

The Caldera Closed is a dream come true, and is the best closedback in the world no doubt. The crazy thing is, they don't sound like closedbacks at all. Truly a remarkable accomplishment!

Long live the CC!