Suede! I love the sound from both stock and suede pretty much equally however the comfort of suede is higher for me. I've had suede on for the last couple weeks; i'll have to switch back to stock for a bit for a comparison now that i've brain burned in the suede. So far I've only done one swap from stock to suede.Alright everyone, Stock or Suede, what’s your preference ready GO…
ZMF Caldera - New Planar Magnetic from ZMF!
- Thread starter ScornDefeat
- Start date
dfiled
500+ Head-Fier
Would love to hear from others who are in a position to compare stock vs lambskin thin. Further comparisons to cowhide would be icing on the cake.
I'm not sure how many people have the lambskin thins or cowhides. As they're not available for sale yet they'd have to be sent as demos or selected when people purchased the caldera, and I'd think most people would select the stock lambskin then the suedes. But again, who knows!
joshua1122
100+ Head-Fier
So I've been contemplating making a new headphone stand for my Caldera, and after reading about someone in another thread talking about making a cocobolo stand for their cocobolo Atrium, I decided I had to do the same. I had previously looked up kingwood prices for making an audio rack, and I only saw 3/4" thick, 2-3" wide strips for $40-80, so I told myself there's no way I'm joining that many oily-wood pieces to make a rack. However, a simple headphone stand looked like it'd be something within reason. I spent a couple days looking for a good match, and I found one local dealer that had pieces the right sizes for a single headphone stand. I'm thinking to keep it simple – something akin to the Salire, just as a single.
Man, these kingwood pieces are solid, heavy things. Pretty amazed to feel the density on them. To me, the grain on what I received isn't as nice as my Caldera's – but for a headphone stand, I think it'll look nice. I'm hoping I'll find a finish that can bring out a bit more color depth, that still works with such an oily wood like kingwood (or rosewoods in general). I've worked with cherry, maple, cedar, and small bits of ebony (for a violin fingerboard) before, but this'll be my first time with a rosewood. It'll be an interesting way to spend my Christmas vacation, I guess!
Man, these kingwood pieces are solid, heavy things. Pretty amazed to feel the density on them. To me, the grain on what I received isn't as nice as my Caldera's – but for a headphone stand, I think it'll look nice. I'm hoping I'll find a finish that can bring out a bit more color depth, that still works with such an oily wood like kingwood (or rosewoods in general). I've worked with cherry, maple, cedar, and small bits of ebony (for a violin fingerboard) before, but this'll be my first time with a rosewood. It'll be an interesting way to spend my Christmas vacation, I guess!
gonintendo
100+ Head-Fier
Cowhide is a bit more v shaped (or maybe u shaped?) where the upper mids are a bit recessed but treble and bass are a bit accentuated (on the bass it’s more of an impact thing than a level thing). Thins are more of a counter clockwise tilt from the stock pads where bass is a bit deemphasized (while also being a bit faster) and upper treble is a bit more emphasized. Both have more of a transient emphasis and sound more tactile (even in the bass, but are also a bit more fatiguing. Lambskin thin is more micro detail forward while cowhide is more macro detail forward (aka blam/slam etc)
dfiled
500+ Head-Fier
Just the info I was looking for, thank you!
DJ XtAzY
100+ Head-Fier
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For me I've been using suede, only because I've been lazy to swap pads. Now I'm gonna switch back to stock and see how I like them.
This might sound weird, but I also listened to them without any pads on lol.
This might sound weird, but I also listened to them without any pads on lol.
This indeed sounds weird. Like driving your car without tires or eating your dinner from the table top.
NutritiousNoodles
Head-Fier
Now you have me wondering how it sounds without pads…
Edit: Surprisingly not completely terrible.... Why would you clamp your ears with a pair of grills though?
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Pharmaboy
Headphoneus Supremus
FWIW, you can glue up oily woods with great success if you follow a few basic rules:So I've been contemplating making a new headphone stand for my Caldera, and after reading about someone in another thread talking about making a cocobolo stand for their cocobolo Atrium, I decided I had to do the same. I had previously looked up kingwood prices for making an audio rack, and I only saw 3/4" thick, 2-3" wide strips for $40-80, so I told myself there's no way I'm joining that many oily-wood pieces to make a rack. However, a simple headphone stand looked like it'd be something within reason. I spent a couple days looking for a good match, and I found one local dealer that had pieces the right sizes for a single headphone stand. I'm thinking to keep it simple – something akin to the Salire, just as a single.
Man, these kingwood pieces are solid, heavy things. Pretty amazed to feel the density on them. To me, the grain on what I received isn't as nice as my Caldera's – but for a headphone stand, I think it'll look nice. I'm hoping I'll find a finish that can bring out a bit more color depth, that still works with such an oily wood like kingwood (or rosewoods in general). I've worked with cherry, maple, cedar, and small bits of ebony (for a violin fingerboard) before, but this'll be my first time with a rosewood. It'll be an interesting way to spend my Christmas vacation, I guess!
- Forget Titebond or any other water-based glue (they're usable with certain precautions, but it's PITA and outcome uncertain)
- Use a polyurethane based glue such as Gorilla Glue
- And follow the instructions to apply water to each edge that will be glues (it's counterintuitive, I know)
- And when it's all dry, be careful chipping off the squeezeout--hard as granite and sharp enough to tear your skin
PS: Your headphones in that picture are stunning...just beautiful.
joshua1122
100+ Head-Fier
Thanks for the tips on gluing. I've read similar accounts on other woodworking forums, so what you suggested was my plan as well. The headphone stand would probably only need to join 2 pieces to make the base to make it at least 5" wide (or 3 pieces if I want to exclude sapwood on the base). Either that, or only have a 3" wide base so I don't have to join at all, sacrificing a bit of sideways stability.
I drew a boring, basic mock-up of a design using the dimensions of the wood I'll be using. I printed it out, glued it to some scrap white cedar boards I had of the same thickness. I used a scroll saw to make a quick prototype build of it this evening.
It functions well enough, I guess. I may slim it down a tiny bit more in the middle for aesthetics, but I'd also hate to cut out more of the nice kingwood. Hard decisions – I'm an engineer, not an artist lol. I guess tomorrow, I'll give it a try on the real thing!
Thanks for the tips on gluing. I've read similar accounts on other woodworking forums, so what you suggested was my plan as well. The headphone stand would probably only need to join 2 pieces to make the base to make it at least 5" wide (or 3 pieces if I want to exclude sapwood on the base). Either that, or only have a 3" wide base so I don't have to join at all, sacrificing a bit of sideways stability.
I drew a boring, basic mock-up of a design using the dimensions of the wood I'll be using. I printed it out, glued it to some scrap white cedar boards I had of the same thickness. I used a scroll saw to make a quick prototype build of it this evening.
It functions well enough, I guess. I may slim it down a tiny bit more in the middle for aesthetics, but I'd also hate to cut out more of the nice kingwood. Hard decisions – I'm an engineer, not an artist lol. I guess tomorrow, I'll give it a try on the real thing!
Nice job! you know if you post these types of pictures, you will soon be that guy who gets orders for stands right?...
