[Karnicopia]

I've been listening for a few hours now and they are really clicking with me and it was pretty instant and the sound on these just seems right up my alley. I've been partial to the Verite Open because I love the combination of the speed detail and musicality and these are in the same direction but the planar detail with the Atrium dampening really hits the sweet spot with treble for me. The Atrium had forgiving treble that I really never had become offensive even with bad recordings and these honestly seem similar I've put them through my treble torture tests and they consistently sounded great while still maintaining extension speed and detail. It's a nice balance and feels like Zach threaded the needle to right about perfect treble for me and it feels like he combined my favorite parts of the Verite and the Atrium.

I also lean slightly warmer than neutral and these seem to skew right along those preferences and I seem to enjoy these over a wider volume range than most other headphones and I'm not sure what to attribute that to but I like these at lower volume and I think I can push them at higher volume than I typically would with other headphones (have to try and stay on the right side of this one because it seems really easy to crank the volume with these!). Also this may have to do with the Atrium dampening but this seems to have really well defined imaging and layering of the soundstage and I think it's because the dampening is cleaning up reflections. I don't know that it feels particularly bigger than the Verite for example (I think it is but it doesn't feel like a huge difference) but both the Atrium and Caldera have pinpoint imaging within the soundstage and everything seems to have room to breathe and be well defined through complex passages. The Verite aren't slouches in this either I think it's a big strength of those but Atrium and Caldera just seem to excel at it.

I was really excited to try these on tubes with the LTA MZ3 but I actually prefer the sound right out of the TT2. I had a strongly different preference with the Diana V2 and thought these would behave similarly so I'm not too sure what that is about but I did feel the same way with the Atrium I preferred it out of the TT2 directly. Significantly preferred both of the Verite on tubes on the other hand. Maybe if I tube/pad rolled my opinion would change but I'm loving the sound of these out of SS so it isn't a real high priority I'll just enjoy them out of the TT2. I'll try some of the different pads over the weekend (cowhide and thick) but really enjoying the sound of the stock pads so far.

 

[dfiled]

I think folks are reacting to the upper midrange and lower treble which are extremely linear. At first listen it sounds a smidge flat. Most TOTL Planars present much hotter or more lively in this area. Once I adjusted to their tuning I have grown to love this in the Caldera.

I think this is an important point I hadn't appreciated and does explain why I didn't immediately love these headphones. Once EQ measurements are out, I will probably try to get these closer to Harman which I happen to like.

 

[breckstar]

Once EQ measurements are out, I will probably try to get these closer to Harman which I happen to like.

Have you tried EQ it yourself yet? There is raw measurement up on ZMF site which you can adjust based on that and also antdroids measurement against susvara which is pretty close to harman. Could be used as a general reference if you're waiting on someone to specifically drop some EQ filters.

 

[gonintendo]

Forgot how well recorded RATM’s stuff is

 

[dfiled]

Have you tried EQ it yourself yet? There is raw measurement up on ZMF site which you can adjust based on that and also antdroids measurement against susvara which is pretty close to harman. Could be used as a general reference if you're waiting on someone to specifically drop some EQ filters.

I’m always nervous about getting the q values wrong but no harm in toying around I suppose.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

I’m always nervous about getting the q values wrong but no harm in toying around I suppose.

Start small and adjust upwards (or downwards) as you find improvement.

 

[gonintendo]

I’m always nervous about getting the q values wrong but no harm in toying around I suppose.

Start small and adjust upwards (or downwards) as you find improvement.

This strategy is a good one, I’d also add that it’s best not to try to try to correct issues that vary a lot by headphone placement.

What I do when I EQ is look at a graph for a general idea of where there might be peaks and dips, then run a sine sweep to try to correlate what I see to the specific frequencies where I hear the issue. Then for each issue I might want to try to EQ I move the ear up around to see if it changes dramatically. If it does I don’t touch it, or I use a very low q filter to eq the general region more to my taste rather than try to correct the specific issue.
If it doesn’t change much, then it’s maybe an issue worth trying to EQ. You can then try to match the the q to how wide the issue looks on the graph and the gain to how far off your target it is (though I usually start a bit more conservatively) to start and then play around with how it sounds by ear. Each change you make should make things sound better across the board no compromises, otherwise I’ll remove the filter.

Caldera is a no EQ can for me though

 

[NutritiousNoodles]

I was really excited to try these on tubes with the LTA MZ3 but I actually prefer the sound right out of the TT2. I had a strongly different preference with the Diana V2 and thought these would behave similarly so I'm not too sure what that is about but I did feel the same way with the Atrium I preferred it out of the TT2 directly.

That’s surprising to hear, haven’t heard the LTA stuff, but according to them, they’re supposed to have the benefits of both SS and tube amps. Perhaps that’s just misleading marketing.

 

[joshua1122]

Caldera is a no EQ can for me though

Very good strategies you listed. I use a similar approach for myself, as well.

I also have felt that the Caldera sounds great without any EQ. Most other headphones I've owned require a good amount of tweaking, but this is the first time I've felt happy with the stock tuning. I still do add a bass shelf for some classical music that is mastered poorly, though.

 

[dfiled]

Have you tried EQ it yourself yet? There is raw measurement up on ZMF site which you can adjust based on that and also antdroids measurement against susvara which is pretty close to harman. Could be used as a general reference if you're waiting on someone to specifically drop some EQ filters.

Has anyone seen measurements for the Caldera up against the Harman target? I've seen them vs other headphones, this pad vs that pad, but not Caldera vis-a-vis Harman.

 

[Karnicopia]

That’s surprising to hear, haven’t heard the LTA stuff, but according to them, they’re supposed to have the benefits of both SS and tube amps. Perhaps that’s just misleading marketing.

I think that's accurate that LTA have a lot of the benefits of both tube amps in the soundstage and it is fast and detailed like SS but LTA stuff is also really linear and the Hugo TT2 leans a bit warm and I think I like what the TT2 does to the midrange in warming it up a bit. I don't think there is a massive gap here either I'd be totally happy listening to these out of the LTA but I think I just preferred what the TT2 was doing to the midrange.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Sorry for the delay. My new amp is a 2 chassis CFA3. It is a long story how this happened, but after 12 months the CFA3 is finally home. And it sounds amazing with the Caldera. My other SS amp is the very rare Cembalo Labs Spring 1. It has been my main amp for almost 3 yrs and it is a truly unique and amazing amp. Also, extremely good with the Caldera. And then I have an Icon Audio HP8 MK2 Signature with the Mundorf Caps.

The CFA3 is an interesting amp with a very clean sound. I love the way the Caldera sounds with it. Bottom line is that the Caldera sounds amazing with all three amps.

More to come…

Thank you for the insight.
Further I'm curious about the R28 pairing.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Woohoo!!!!

 

[trollbearpig]

Woohoo!!!!

Wow that box is niceee. Does it still come with the Pelican like case ? Or does that have a handle like the pelican ?

 

[trollbearpig]

Also I have discovered through mad scientist experimentation , that a bit of ganja greatly improves the sound quality of the Calderas. With the added enhancements I'm able to zone in on every possible sonic detail these headphones provide, and the soundstage becomes life-like. Use enhancements at your own risk