[TheMiddleSky]

Thanks for this comparison! I love me some punchy bass so my FOMO is slightly relieved.

Just ordered the cowhide and thick pads to test out.

As a person who love Verite with BE2 Pad, I can't wait till I can try Ultra Perforated Pad for Caldera. It should boost airy feeling even more.

My set come with Cowhide, while it kicks harder with fuller notes, but a bit lack of airiness on top compared to stock pad.

 

[XVampireX]

In my experience there aren't many if any open back headphones that are more punchy/slammy than Focal headphones.

From what setup? I've heard Utopia can be scaled for punch/slam on Tubes, but on my SS setup not as slammy as I'd like or maybe not the kind of slam that I'm looking for. I'm looking for a more decisive slam, again, maybe we're talking about the difference in setups, but Utopia definitely has bass, just not so much from the kind that I'm looking for, maybe that would be a bit fatiguing, but this is my feeling. I just don't want people to think the wrong things like the setup I'm using is not on par or whatever, with May/Bliss it really brings this to a whole new level, but it's mostly very airy slam from the instruments, though there are many times (Especially with the Bliss) when things are giving me a wow on the bass front.

 

[AntonRisto]

From what setup? I've heard Utopia can be scaled for punch/slam on Tubes, but on my SS setup not as slammy as I'd like or maybe not the kind of slam that I'm looking for. I'm looking for a more decisive slam, again, maybe we're talking about the difference in setups, but Utopia definitely has bass, just not so much from the kind that I'm looking for, maybe that would be a bit fatiguing, but this is my feeling. I just don't want people to think the wrong things like the setup I'm using is not on par or whatever, with May/Bliss it really brings this to a whole new level, but it's mostly very airy slam from the instruments, though there are many times (Especially with the Bliss) when things are giving me a wow on the bass front.

I've used Focal Clear OG with Trafomatic Head 2 amp and Denafrips Pontus II DAC. Comparing the Clear OG to Atrium, Caldera and Susvara with the same setup, the Clear OG had the most punch/slam to my ears. I haven't heard to Utopia though, but what I've gathered from reviews and comments on the internet, Utopia seem to have similar punch/slam quality as the Clear. The Stellia might have even more punch/slam since the bass is more elevated and it is a closed back.

 

[Leto Dal]

How much more slam/punch is there on Caldera compared to Arya Stealth and Meze Elite?

 

[genefruit]

I'm looking for more Dynamic (Read, more! punchy/slammy/etc..) headphones than Utopia, bigger soundstage / imaging, faster.

I wouldn't say Utopia is more aggressive, especially since I have the OG and it should have elevated treble compared to 2022 version.

Have you considered Abyss 1266 Phi TC?

 

[XVampireX]

I've used Focal Clear OG with Trafomatic Head 2 amp and Denafrips Pontus II DAC. Comparing the Clear OG to Atrium, Caldera and Susvara with the same setup, the Clear OG had the most punch/slam to my ears. I haven't heard to Utopia though, but what I've gathered from reviews and comments on the internet, Utopia seem to have similar punch/slam quality as the Clear. The Stellia might have even more punch/slam since the bass is more elevated and it is a closed back.

Trafomatic is a tube amp, I guess tube amps are more synergistic with Focal's headphones, I'll get myself a Tube amp maybe in the future.

Have you considered Abyss 1266 Phi TC?

Yes, but I've heard it's unnatural.

Anyways you guys trying to make me skip Caldera, got it...

 

[AntonRisto]

How much more slam/punch is there on Caldera compared to Arya Stealth and Meze Elite?

I used to own both Arya Stealth and Elite, and when talking about slam/punch, by memory I'd rank them Caldera > Arya Stealth > Meze Elite, though the differences aren't huge. By memory, Arya Stealth is almost as punchy/slammy as the Caldera. Elite has the most bass but also the largest soundstage, which can reduce the sense of punch/slam in my experience.

 

[Alenotta]

I am in a similar situation right now waiting for Caldera Redheart.
HE-6B might be the do it all soluition with the mode switch and relativly affordable tubes options. Though there is an opinion that Caldera prefers solid state to tubes (which is certainly a matter of taste). Still to keep this option open I decided to get HA-3A which has less noise than 6A, is supposed to drive Caldera effortlessly and compliments my Verite Open very well and has much more affordable tube options. AND a iHA-6 which is supposed to be a great solid state option for Caldera. My situation is though, that I lack the space a bit for HA-6B since the whole setup is for my desktop use and I would prefer to run solid state for windows productivity with some background casual listening and some gaming and not torture expensive tubes for that.

Not sure if thats the right plan, still hesitating a bit if I shouldnt get HA-6B instead, but that was my reasoning so far.

Caldera sounds great on tubes. It has an impedance of 60ohms. It sounds nice off most stuff I’ve tried…even my mojo 2. Also sounded great with my Liquid Platinum hybrid. Maybe just try it with what you have on hand first. The HA-6A is def nice. I don’t think there is a big advantage to solid state with Caldera.

 

[XVampireX]

Ordered the RedHeart from my local dealer...

@zach915m - Hope I don't have to wait 2 months?

 

[Leto Dal]

Ordered the RedHeart from my local dealer...

@zach915m - Hope I don't have to wait 2 months?

Same question german local dealer, wonder what the waittime will be

 

[Leto Dal]

Caldera sounds great on tubes. It has an impedance of 60ohms. It sounds nice off most stuff I’ve tried…even my mojo 2. Also sounded great with my Liquid Platinum hybrid. Maybe just try it with what you have on hand first. The HA-6A is def nice. I don’t think there is a big advantage to solid state with Caldera.

Thanks for the insight! Do you think btw there is any major difference between HA-3A and HA-6A after swapping for some quality tubes (currently waiting for mullards with 6v6 Fivres), do I miss out on anything but certain types of tubes I cant use with HA-3A?

 

[Alenotta]

Thanks for the insight! Do you think btw there is any major difference between HA-3A and HA-6A after swapping for some quality tubes (currently waiting for mullards with 6v6 Fivres), do I miss out on anything but certain types of tubes I cant use with HA-3A?

I didn’t get a ton of time switching between the 3A and 6A at CanJam. Zach made a good video on the ZMF YouTube channel comparing them. I think the 3A is great and I’m sure you’ll be able to find your tube combo for it. I’m still tinkering with the HA-300 tube load out.

 

[goldwerger]

From what setup? I've heard Utopia can be scaled for punch/slam on Tubes, but on my SS setup not as slammy as I'd like or maybe not the kind of slam that I'm looking for. I'm looking for a more decisive slam, again, maybe we're talking about the difference in setups, but Utopia definitely has bass, just not so much from the kind that I'm looking for, maybe that would be a bit fatiguing, but this is my feeling. I just don't want people to think the wrong things like the setup I'm using is not on par or whatever, with May/Bliss it really brings this to a whole new level, but it's mostly very airy slam from the instruments, though there are many times (Especially with the Bliss) when things are giving me a wow on the bass front.

The Caldera’s bass is absolutely fantastic. Both in its sub-bass extension, quantity, and quality. It’s meaty and textured. This is a slamming headphone that rocks you. It should be your least concern. I highly recommend it!

 

[zach915m]

Ordered the RedHeart from my local dealer...

@zach915m - Hope I don't have to wait 2 months?

Same question german local dealer, wonder what the waittime will be

With our dealers it always comes down to whether they already ordered the headphone, have it in stock, or will order it after the fact.

We always encourage our dealers to keep stock or make orders when they have the LTD editions available to them, but I get it, there's a lot of brands and a lot of stuff to sell.

So anyways, best question to ask the dealer is always whether they have it in stock or not or if they have it already on order. If they don't and/or are dodgy than the wait time will come totally down to how good the dealer is at getting the order in with us after the fact of your order. If they get it in to us immediately it will come around the same as buying from us directly, if not you're at their behest, and we can't triangulate those relationships!

Many ZMF dealers are amazing and some others unfortunately display us all over their site but only order after they "collect" enough of them. We try to phase those dealers out but we can't spy on dealers inventory.

Anyways you guys should be fine, dealers have ordered a good number of the LTDs so far, but I personally can't make any promises as your relationship with receiving the headphone is with the dealer only.

 

[Leto Dal]

With our dealers it always comes down to whether they already ordered the headphone, have it in stock, or will order it after the fact.

We always encourage our dealers to keep stock or make orders when they have the LTD editions available to them, but I get it, there's a lot of brands and a lot of stuff to sell.

So anyways, best question to ask the dealer is always whether they have it in stock or not or if they have it already on order. If they don't and/or are dodgy than the wait time will come totally down to how good the dealer is at getting the order in with us after the fact of your order. If they get it in to us immediately it will come around the same as buying from us directly, if not you're at their behest, and we can't triangulate those relationships!

Many ZMF dealers are amazing and some others unfortunately display us all over their site but only order after they "collect" enough of them. We try to phase those dealers out but we can't spy on dealers inventory.

Anyways you guys should be fine, dealers have ordered a good number of the LTDs so far, but I personally can't make any promises as your relationship with receiving the headphone is with the dealer only.

According to my dealer the order is out already but he doesnt have a date yet, so my question was basically if you already have any dates when to expect the LTD Redheart Caldera to be shipped to Germany? I am not very familiar with your runtimes after an order was palced, thats why I am asking, only managed to get your headphones second hand here in Germany so far, pretty excited to finally purchase a new one