ZMF Caldera Closed

[rsbrsvp]

I've never actually tried it, but it will fit on the CC the same was as it does on the CO, so you could try it if you are curious.

true -- and vice versa- the red and black CC mesh will fir the CO.

 

[AnyDave]

true -- and vice versa- the red and black CC mesh will fir the CO.

Yes indeed.

 

[rsbrsvp]

Yes indeed.

So Black mesh for CC would darken CO more than mantle mesh becasue there is more felt???

 

[AnyDave]

So Black mesh for CC would darken CO more than mantle mesh becasue there is more felt???

The black mesh covers more of the driver, but the mesh itself has a fundamentally higher level of acoustic resistance as well. So it's more damping on a couple of different fronts.

 

[rsbrsvp]

The black mesh covers more of the driver, but the mesh itself has a fundamentally higher level of acoustic resistance as well. So it's more damping on a couple of different fronts.

Yeah. I just tried the black mesh on the CO. It is a bit darker than the mantle mesh- but IMHO it is to much; not that it makes he headphone darker than the CC, just negates the open nature of the CO by too much. It is crippeling it....

 

[AnyDave]

Yeah. I just tried the black mesh on the CO. It is a bit darker than the mantle mesh- but IMHO it is to much; not that it makes he headphone darker than the CC, just negates the open nature of the CO by too much. It is crippeling it....

Yeah, I haven't tried that yet on the CO, but that doesn't surprise me at all. I prefer the stock damping on the CC (which should come as no surprise), but I don't think the CO needs that.

 

[erics75]

All this talk of meshes and sonics got me thinking. When I first got the CC i found it a bit intense up top. But now that it's broken in i'm finding it quite mellow up top. Not as mellow as the dynamic models, but far more mellow than any planar i've heard. I think when I get home I'm going to take the mesh off (currently using the stock red mesh) and see what i think All in the name of science!

 

[dguitarnut]

Well well well
I took off the red stock mesh……….NOW it’s sounds like a righteous Caldera! WOW
What a revelation……..I can interchange between both Calderas and now appreciate the difference between open and closed.
Happy days !

 

[rsbrsvp]

The CC is indeed one of the most the most mellow planars I ever heard- and I love it. But it still has wonderful energy in the mellowness. lcd-4 is also a mellow planar, but the CC is better balanced- no question.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

A little experiment today, actually I quite like Caldera Closed with Caldera Thin Earpad (Leather, top and side Perforated), more than the default pad of Caldera Closed (Hybrid, top perforated). The thin pad provide more air between instrument, "sharpen" the attack notes, to put it short, just make the headphone livelier, but still remain warm, full body and sweet.

With typical solid state amp, hybrid still sounds really good, but for some tube amps that i tried, the thin pad is clear winner for me.

 

[AudioDuck]

The CC is indeed one of the most the most mellow planars I ever heard- and I love it. But it still has wonderful energy in the mellowness. lcd-4 is also a mellow planar, but the CC is better balanced- no question.

Thank you- that is very helpful! I’ll look at your gear/signal chain as well to set context. My hope is that CC is “the ideal planar” for my ears, as I am a big fan of the ZMF “house sound”.

EDIT: I actually don’t see your gear setup listed. Would you mind sharing amp/source you’re using? (Not questioning judgement or quality, simply for context of “the mellow planar” as that sounds extremely promising for me. )

 

[hafzz123]

A little experiment today, actually I quite like Caldera Closed with Caldera Thin Earpad (Leather, top and side Perforated), more than the default pad of Caldera Closed (Hybrid, top perforated). The thin pad provide more air between instrument, "sharpen" the attack notes, to put it short, just make the headphone livelier, but still remain warm, full body and sweet.

With typical solid state amp, hybrid still sounds really good, but for some tube amps that i tried, the thin pad is clear winner for me.

Have you tried removing the mesh on CC? Some people seems to prefer without mesh so i'm a bit curious

 

[idairyou]

Have you tried removing the mesh on CC? Some people seems to prefer without mesh so i'm a bit curious

The CC will need at least the minimal mesh, and I personally rock the default mesh (red).

I am not treble sensitive, but that does not mean give me all the treble and I'm good. You don't go to your powered speakers and turn the treble dial to 10.

The CC will need mesh of some kind for most folks.

 

[rsbrsvp]

I changed my mind about "no mesh". It is not that it is bright in a bad way but I just like things a bit thicker and more textured. Going with black for now.

 

[rsbrsvp]

Thank you- that is very helpful! I’ll look at your gear/signal chain as well to set context. My hope is that CC is “the ideal planar” for my ears, as I am a big fan of the ZMF “house sound”.

EDIT: I actually don’t see your gear setup listed. Would you mind sharing amp/source you’re using? (Not questioning judgement or quality, simply for context of “the mellow planar” as that sounds extremely promising for me. )

So I have a very energetic system with a Hibiki SDS Signature DAC and a audio-gd HE-1 MK3 preamp and a Mass Kobo 394 MK2 headphone amplifier. On it's own things are too neutral for me on ALL my headphones but I use a bit of DSP. I know many are into the "bit perfect" salespitch, and if that works- all the power to you, but for me it never has. 64 bit processing is nearly perfectly transparent so I use a tube emulator program to thicken and melow things up a bit. I have a real tube preamp as well which is highly regarded and I sometimes switch out for my ss preamp, but it overly softens things to my tastes. It is a beautiful haze, but still a haze. By the way, to my memory, the LCD-4 was a bit more mellow and lush- but had to much of a upper midrange lower treble dip. The CC nailed the balance of mellow and lively much better IMHO.