[goldwerger]

Great write up...I only had the stock pads with the set I reviewed...nice to hear about the others (of course there's always @heliosphann with his mega-write ups too).
Thanks for sharing & good luck with the shoulder surgery!

Thanks buddy

@heliosphann review is much more informed and thorough than my short write-up, that's for sure!!

 

[Pharmaboy]

shoulder surgery

??

 

[jinxy245]

??

You have to read the whole thing, including the intro....not just the juicy bits

 

[iamoneagain]

Indeed an amp with rich bass texture (e.g. a good TC tube amp) may fit well with the suede. It's all so chain specific, but that's part of the fun...



Depending on your preferences, if you want more bass impact, the stock Caldera are more impactful in the bass to my ears. They certainly will offer you a different voicing than the suede, so you may have two headphones in one if you get them..

Thanks. I feel my amp provides really good bass texture and have plenty of impact. But who I’m a kidding, I’m sure I’ll break down a buy the stock at some point. It just I have the Salire stand coming this week and the Verite Silver cable on order. Not even sure you can buy other Caldera pads on their own yet.

 

[goldwerger]

You have to read the whole thing, including the intro....not just the juicy bits

@Pharmaboy this is from picking up too many headphones...

Thanks. I feel my amp provides really good bass texture and have plenty of impact. But who I’m a kidding, I’m sure I’ll break down a buy the stock at some point. It just I have the Salire stand coming this week and the Verite Silver cable on order. Not even sure you can buy other Caldera pads on their own yet.

you're kidding no one silver cable on the caldera is real nice!

 

[WillieB]

Caledera Pads impressions

I finally got around to doing some pad rolling on the Caldera.

I spent all day today listening to the Suede and Cowhide pads, before reverting back to the familiar stock Caldera lambskin pads. All of these pads deserve much more brain burn-in time to form safer impressions, but a shoulder surgery is coming up this week and greatly motivates me to make sure my favorite pads are all in place as I can't see myself swapping pads with one hand... So, my impressions come with the significant caveat that they are based on few hours of listening to each:

Caldera -- It seems like I am a sucker for all ZMF stock pads. These are my fifth ZMF headphones, and across all of them I've always reverted back to the stock pads. So the Caldera pads, to which I've listened over the last few weeks, are my reference baseline. Everything I love about the Caldera comes wtih these pads - natural timbre, excellent resolution, visceral bass, great tonal balance and frequency extension (https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/authors/goldwerger.546676/reviews)

Suede -- Wow, these are comfortable! I love the feel of leather, but these suede pads are something else in terms of comfort. Sonically, they have a very distinct sound signature that I think will be a great fit for some folks and genres, offering a very clear trade-off: lower bass is rolled-off relatively to the Caldera pads, while there is a clear elevation in upper mids and treble. To my ears, this elevation extends a bit beyond an increase in the presence region and continues through upper treble. However, this increased energy is smooth non-fatiguing, and I don't believe will be an issue for anyone who is treble sensitive. Rather, the result is a sense of extended clarity and expanded soundstage, and vocals (especially higher tonal female vocals) are outright magical. The sense of extra air and sparkle is wonderful and a big draw of these pads for me. However, the trade off here is a notable drop in bass energy. I think that had I never heard the Caldera pads, I might have been very happy with these pads. But they do not provide the same physicality and, what I find, that satisfying bite in the bass region that the Caldera pads offer; and the sub-bass is notably reduced. If you spend most of your time listening to small acoustic or jazz ensembles, or intimate vocal studio recordings, these pads are really worth a try! This kind of music is high in my rotation, so it was hard to take these pads off.. but I also love rock, pop, large orchestral and live band music; and for those, the Caldera pads are much more satisfying to my ears.

Cowhide -- Some folks may find these pads a tad less comfortable as the surface area is a bit smaller and feels a tad less plush (personally, they were completely ok for me!). These pads sound darkest to me. I've seen some of the ZMF measurements, but I personally do not perceive the elevation in treble shown in the FR graph. Weather due to the material or shape, the outcome to me is that these pads feel darker to my ears of all 3 pads. This will be a welcome plus for many. The overall sound signature of these pads is a more relaxed listening experience. There is a little trade off in resolution and sharpness of imaging compared to the Caldera pads, and the stage feels a little smaller, but the Cowhide pads let you lean back and are really quite a fun experience. This may be a weird comparison, but the experience of the Caldera wtih Cowhide reminded me of the experience of listening to my beloved erstwhile Aeolus, coupled with better technicalities.

I haven't had a chance to try the thin or thick Caldera pads. Perhaps I'll get my hands on them at some point, and if so I will be sure to report. For now, the Caldera pads for me are a happy story of love at first sight enduring...

I have the same three pad selections and have had time to make it through all three for a few days each. I have to say that my experience was very similar to yours. I too came full circle with the Caldera as my favorite. All three are really excellent options, and I would be happy with any of them, but the Caldera are the clear winner for me. After a few weeks I plan to give them all another shot and who knows what I'll find then. I seem to find things that I missed on the second try. Maybe I'll have the thick pads by then as well.

Great write up!

 

[goldwerger]

Caledera Pads impressions

I have the same three pad selections and have had time to make it through all three for a few days each. I have to say that my experience was very similar to yours. I too came full circle with the Caldera as my favorite. All three are really excellent options, and I would be happy with any of them, but the Caldera are the clear winner for me. After a few weeks I plan to give them all another shot and who knows what I'll find then. I seem to find things that I missed on the second try. Maybe I'll have the thick pads by then as well.

Great write up!

thanks! and yea.. revisiting this in a few weeks may be a very good idea.. I'm also curious about the thick and thin versions!

 

[swedishpat]

Caledera Pads impressions

I finally got around to doing some pad rolling on the Caldera.

I spent all day today listening to the Suede and Cowhide pads, before reverting back to the familiar stock Caldera lambskin pads. All of these pads deserve much more brain burn-in time to form safer impressions, but a shoulder surgery is coming up this week and greatly motivates me to make sure my favorite pads are all in place as I can't see myself swapping pads with one hand... So, my impressions come with the significant caveat that they are based on few hours of listening to each:

Caldera -- It seems like I am a sucker for all ZMF stock pads. These are my fifth ZMF headphones, and across all of them I've always reverted back to the stock pads. So the Caldera pads, to which I've listened over the last few weeks, are my reference baseline. Everything I love about the Caldera comes wtih these pads - natural timbre, excellent resolution, visceral bass, great tonal balance and frequency extension (https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/authors/goldwerger.546676/reviews)

Suede -- Wow, these are comfortable! I love the feel of leather, but these suede pads are something else in terms of comfort. Sonically, they have a very distinct sound signature that I think will be a great fit for some folks and genres, offering a very clear trade-off: lower bass is rolled-off relatively to the Caldera pads, while there is a clear elevation in upper mids and treble. To my ears, this elevation extends a bit beyond an increase in the presence region and continues through upper treble. However, this increased energy is smooth non-fatiguing, and I don't believe will be an issue for anyone who is treble sensitive. Rather, the result is a sense of extended clarity and expanded soundstage, and vocals (especially higher tonal female vocals) are outright magical. The sense of extra air and sparkle is wonderful and a big draw of these pads for me. However, the trade off here is a notable drop in bass energy. I think that had I never heard the Caldera pads, I might have been very happy with these pads. But they do not provide the same physicality and, what I find, that satisfying bite in the bass region that the Caldera pads offer; and the sub-bass is notably reduced. If you spend most of your time listening to small acoustic or jazz ensembles, or intimate vocal studio recordings, these pads are really worth a try! This kind of music is high in my rotation, so it was hard to take these pads off.. but I also love rock, pop, large orchestral and live band music; and for those, the Caldera pads are much more satisfying to my ears.

Cowhide -- Some folks may find these pads a tad less comfortable as the surface area is a bit smaller and feels a tad less plush (personally, they were completely ok for me!). These pads sound darkest to me. I've seen some of the ZMF measurements, but I personally do not perceive the elevation in treble shown in the FR graph. Weather due to the material or shape, the outcome to me is that these pads feel darker to my ears of all 3 pads. This will be a welcome plus for many. The overall sound signature of these pads is a more relaxed listening experience. There is a little trade off in resolution and sharpness of imaging compared to the Caldera pads, and the stage feels a little smaller, but the Cowhide pads let you lean back and are really quite a fun experience. This may be a weird comparison, but the experience of the Caldera wtih Cowhide reminded me of the experience of listening to my beloved erstwhile Aeolus, coupled with better technicalities.

I haven't had a chance to try the thin or thick Caldera pads. Perhaps I'll get my hands on them at some point, and if so I will be sure to report. For now, the Caldera pads for me are a happy story of love at first sight enduring...

How do you like caldera compared to your L5000? I’m looking to get the caldera closed back when it comes out. I think that will be the perfect closed back on the go?

 

[shafat777]

My Caldera pairs really well with ZMF Verite Cable. I am trying to a/b between the verite cable and a brand new Norne Skollvar V2 Fusion cable and i am leaning more and more towards the Verite cable due to more trnansparency and better staging.

 

[goldwerger]

How do you like caldera compared to your L5000? I’m looking to get the caldera closed back when it comes out. I think that will be the perfect closed back on the go?

Now, that is a VERY challenging question.

We are comparing an open-backed planar to a closed-backed dynamic, meaning a bit of apples and oranges.

First, it's important to note that on my L5000 I have replaced the pads with ZMF Universe Lamb Solid earpads (yes, there is consistent a ZMF theme in this picture). That has had a transformative change in comfort and fit and, as a result, in sound. Since this is off topic to this thread, so here is the link to my post about this change in the L5000 thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-technica-ath-l5000.886814/post-17063207

Second, if I did draw a comparison, I'd say that that comparatively (rather than absolutely) the Caldera are warm and the L5000 are bright (neither is overly either on their own). The Caldera has that sub-bass and bass physicality discussed here often, while the L5000 has a very well resolving bass but it is lower in quantity. The Caldera has great resoltuion in the upper mids and treble, but the L5000 outright shines in its clarity in that region.

One could say that the Caldera offers a meaty, physical, visceral experience; while the L5000 offers a superb delicacy.

If I had to choose one, I'd be madman walking circles...

 

[swedishpat]

Now, that is a VERY challenging question.

We are comparing an open-backed planar to a closed-backed dynamic, meaning a bit of apples and oranges.

First, it's important to note that on my L5000 I have replaced the pads with ZMF Universe Lamb Solid earpads (yes, there is consistent a ZMF theme in this picture). That has had a transformative change in comfort and fit and, as a result, in sound. Since this is off topic to this thread, so here is the link to my post about this change in the L5000 thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-technica-ath-l5000.886814/post-17063207

Second, if I did draw a comparison, I'd say that that comparatively (rather than absolutely) the Caldera are warm and the L5000 are bright (neither is overly either on their own). The Caldera has that sub-bass and bass physicality discussed here often, while the L5000 has a very well resolving bass but it is lower in quantity. The Caldera has great resoltuion in the upper mids and treble, but the L5000 outright shines in its clarity in that region.

One could say that the Caldera offers a meaty, physical, visceral experience; while the L5000 offers a superb delicacy.

If I had to choose one, I'd be madman walking circles...

Thanks for your very interesting information! Sounds like caldera will be perfect for me as I like warm full bodied sound with a good amount of quality bass. Can’t wait for the closed back version!

 

[shafat777]

 

[Pharmaboy]

If I had to choose one, I'd be madman walking circles...

Inspiring! From now on I wll mutter these words as I walk in circles...

 

[goldwerger]

Inspiring! From now on I wll mutter these words as I walk in circles...

 

[DenverW]

Great shots! I will title the last one as, "The Envy Behind the Voice."