[Pharmaboy]

VO is great, but when direct comparison with Caldera, you wil notice that there are some upper mid / lower treble VO that a bit piercing or has metallic feel.

I'm hardly an expert on the Caldera. I had a loaner and had finished burning it in when medical issues started messing with my hearing, so I didn't fully explore its sound. But I do own and love my silkwood VO and did compare the two, however briefly.

I don't hear anything in the upper mids/lower treble of the VO that sounds piercing or has a metallic feel (have heard it on 2-3 different DACs and at least a dozen amps). I also don't hear the "midrange recession" that has been mentioned many times in connection with the VO.

From day-1 I found the VO to be unusually expressive and musical tonally/timbrally, IMO its greatest strength. I just don't hear significant deviations from sonic reality with this headphone. In fact, I keep coming back to it to tell me the "absolute truth" about any amp or recording I'm getting to know.

One of these days I'll do more Caldera listening and finish comparing it to not just the VO, but also the Final D8000 (that was the comparison I most looked forward to). But I just had to put in my 2 cents on the VO...

 

[goldwerger]

I'm hardly an expert on the Caldera. I had a loaner and had finished burning it in when medical issues started messing with my hearing, so I didn't fully explore its sound. But I do own and love my silkwood VO and did compare the two, however briefly.

I don't hear anything in the upper mids/lower treble of the VO that sounds piercing or has a metallic feel (have heard it on 2-3 different DACs and at least a dozen amps). I also don't hear the "midrange recession" that has been mentioned many times in connection with the VO.

From day-1 I found the VO to be unusually expressive and musical tonally/timbrally, IMO its greatest strength. I just don't hear significant deviations from sonic reality with this headphone. In fact, I keep coming back to it to tell me the "absolute truth" about any amp or recording I'm getting to know.

One of these days I'll do more Caldera listening and finish comparing it to not just the VO, but also the Final D8000 (that was the comparison I most looked forward to). But I just had to put in my 2 cents on the VO...

I agree. The VO is such a great headphone. Splitting hairs, for me the choice of which I'd grab is a bit genre dependent. For more rythmic music, I find the Caledra gives me a bit of an edge due to its speed and bass extension, but I love the timbre of the VO for vocals and acoustic music (in relative terms only; in aboslute terms, I think they are both very well rounded).

ok I need to take a bit of a rest from my fandom posts today... happy listening!

 

[iamoneagain]

Showed my friend a pic of the Caldera and he suggested they would go well with Scotch . I have a bottle of Glenlivet 12 but these deserve better. I’ll have to look at those posts a few pages back.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

You guys broke me down and I'm going to get the Elrogs!

Is the 5u4g worth the effort too?

From what I understand, it depends on your amp. In my Woo's, yes, rectifiers make a huge difference. The Elrogs are the most impactful, best (IMO) I've run in either my Woo WA6-SE's or my WE5-LE. I know that someone mentioned that Craig (Eddie Current) says they don't make a difference in his Studio B. So I guess what I'm saying is, YMMV.

 

[paradoxper]

From what I understand, it depends on your amp. In my Woo's, yes, rectifiers make a huge difference. The Elrogs are the most impactful, best (IMO) I've run in either my Woo WA6-SE's or my WE5-LE. I know that someone mentioned that Craig (Eddie Current) says they don't make a difference in his Studio B. So I guess what I'm saying is, YMMV.

They're not recommended as the circuit wasn't designed for it as voltage will sag.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

I need to find someone who's needing to fund a caldera by selling an Atrium. I think after reading your post that Atrium could be my end game after enjoying my Auteurs for quite a while.

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/zmf-atrium-shisa-stabilized-7-norne-vygarde-cable.36017/

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/zmf-atrium-cherry-with-wooden-case.35085/

They pop up in the Classifieds fairly often, or you can always hit up the ZMF website and see what kind of deals there are on B-Stock...

 

[StevenR296]

Tonight's been good

 

[ColSaulTigh]

They're not recommended as the circuit wasn't designed for it as voltage will sag.

There you go.

 

[Orange5o]

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/zmf-atrium-shisa-stabilized-7-norne-vygarde-cable.36017/

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/zmf-atrium-cherry-with-wooden-case.35085/

They pop up in the Classifieds fairly often, or you can always hit up the ZMF website and see what kind of deals there are on B-Stock...

Will be posting an cherry with aged copper once my stabilized set comes in also

 

[wkesquire]

Showed my friend a pic of the Caldera and he suggested they would go well with Scotch . I have a bottle of Glenlivet 12 but these deserve better. I’ll have to look at those posts a few pages back.

Did someone mention Caldera and scotch? Here’s my Caldera with my stash of Glendronachs, my second favorite distillery behind Aberlour:

And if you prefer your whiskey with an “e” (i.e., American made):

This isn’t a great pic, but the Calderas are killer on my solid state setup. I’m amazed every single time I put them on.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

@ColSaulTigh has Elrog Mos, not sure if he has received his Kingwood yet?

I received mine last Friday. Been burning them in for the last several days. Right now I'm keeping my tube compliment pretty static (although I'm testing a new-to-me pair of Emission Labs 5U4G rectifiers). Elrog Mo's + 4x Ken Rad 6J5G's (via adapters) sound really good on the Calderas. There's a bit of a little carve out in the upper bass range that I'm adjusting to (quite a different sound signature to the Atrium or my Meze Elites). To really give you a thorough review, I probably need another week with them.

 

[shafat777]

Before i post my initial impression of the Caldera, I would like to ask if anyone here powers their caldera with a GSX mini? This amp gave me a completely unexpected sound signature with the caldera. Please share any info regarding this setup.

 

[Coran]

I received mine last Friday. Been burning them in for the last several days. Right now I'm keeping my tube compliment pretty static (although I'm testing a new-to-me pair of Emission Labs 5U4G rectifiers). Elrog Mo's + 4x Ken Rad 6J5G's (via adapters) sound really good on the Calderas. There's a bit of a little carve out in the upper bass range that I'm adjusting to (quite a different sound signature to the Atrium or my Meze Elites). To really give you a thorough review, I probably need another week with them.

Where did you happen to find EML 5U4Gs? I have been searching for a while and they just don't seem to be in stock anywhere.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Where did you happen to find EML 5U4Gs? I have been searching for a while and they just don't seem to be in stock anywhere.

The classifieds. I happen to hook them about 10 minutes after they dropped. How many are you looking for, I'll keep my eyes open for you.

 

[karangovil]

Where did you happen to find EML 5U4Gs? I have been searching for a while and they just don't seem to be in stock anywhere.

I believe you can get the EMLs here http://tubesusa.com/ELtubes.html