Hey, I thought you guys would be interested in my comparison of the Caldera to 3 other headphones. The first part of the review of the caldera was before I had the thick pads for them. My ears fully touch the drivers on the Caldera with anything other than the thick pads so my initial review was that they were pretty bad. The updated review is that the bottom. Fiorured I should include both reviews in case anyone else has a similar problem with the Caldera.
TL : DR Great mids and sub-bass, slightly muddied highs, and smallest sound stage of the headphones I compared it too. Basically a slightly worse version of the D8000 Pro. A fantastic headphone that I have no need to own because I already own the D8000 Pro.
https://imgur.com/W10uUO1
Thror, D8000Pro, Caldera, Rognir
Signal Path: Computer:Audio-GD R8MK2: Switch box: Bottlehead Mainline/TorBalanced/Audio-GD Master-9
I don't use any EQ when listening to music.
I figure I will give a general comparison of different sound aspects of the headphone then give a little more detail after the fact.
Comfort and weight: This is really subjective area since everyone has different sized heads and ears. I have a massive head so most headphones tend to run tight on me.
Weights: D8000Pro 538g, Caldera 519g, Thror 485g, Rognir 492g
Personally I find the Thror to be the most comfortable headphone. It has plenty of room for my ears and its setting is a slide with a nut to lock it in place so you can get the fit to be perfect. The tightening system is a little awkward if you are having other people try them on since they would have to unscrew the bolts then set the headphones to there size. It is the lightest of the bunch and doesn't squeeze my head as hard as the other headphones do.
Next would be the D8000Pro. It is the heaviest of the lot but not by much. I like the adjustment system and the ear pads fit great around my ears with no pressure. I do find the third point of articulation on the cups to be bizarre and completely unnecessary. I don't get why I would ever want to spin the cups clockwise or counter clockwise? It really just adds an unnecessary adjustment I have to make to be possitive the cups are sitting the right way.
After that would be the Rognir. It has the same pads as the Thror but uses an auto adjusting system for how the headphones sit on your head. I find that I'm constantly having to readjust the headphones so the ear pads do sit on the tops of my ears. Which gets quite annoying after a while and makes my ears sore.
Just behind the Rognir would be the Caldera.I like the adjustment system and the pads are really high quality but its pads aren't deep enough to stop my ears from touching the driver covers. So there is a constant pressure on my ears. Combine that with how tight the headphones sit on my head I can't actually wear the headphones for more than an hour with out getting some kind of headache. I can't bend the headband to make it less tight since I don't own them I can easily see how on a normal sized head these would be super comfortable headphones but for my massive head, My poor mother, it is not great.
I'm going to only post a couple things about how certain ranges of sound compare on the headphones where I noticed any major differences. Since the headphones are all around $3500 none of them are really bad at anything.
Sounds Stage: Again there isn't too much a difference between the 3 open back headphones but for some reason the Closed back has the largest sound stage.
The Rognir is a bizarre closed back headphone that has this insanely massive, to the point of almost sound artificial/hollow, sound stage. It is the biggest of the 4 by a lot. It also has the most separation between instruments. The other 3 headphones? The D8KP has the second largest sound stage with the Thror and Caldera being pretty much tied. For separation I would say the Thror would be second followed by the D8KP then the Caldera behind it, but not by much.
Sub Bass: Remember how I just said none of the headphones are bad at anything. I lied. This is the most definitive difference between the headphones.
Song
used for sub bass: 2049 by Hans Zimmer, Benjamin Wallfisch
The D8000Pro is so much better at sub bass than any of these headphones its not even funny. It has incredible rumble with enough power behind it you can feel the Sub bass shaking your whole head. The Rognir has some sub bass with a little bit of the low end rumble, but doesn't really even compare to the D8P. The Rognir can be a little farty sounding when reproducing super deep bass. The caldera had a little less sub bass than the Rognir but was lacking in the rumble that was present with D8P and Rognir. The Thror didn't even show up to this comparison. It has zero sub bass and doesn't even try to reproduce and thing below lower mid bass.
D8000Pro>>>Rognir>Caldera>>>>>>>>>>>Thror
Precision and detail: There was a slight difference in how focused on details the headphones were.
Most of the headphones were pretty on par with each other. With the only noticeable exception being the Thror. The Thror is able to take every super minor detail and bring it front and center. I didn't noticed there was a difference between them till I was listening to the song
Spokey Donkey by The Seatbelts. The song begins with a Harmonica solo. During the solo you can hear the player stop and breath between verses. Only on the Thror was I able to hear the slightest smack from the players lips coming off the harmonica right before he would breath. What is lacks in sub bass it makes up for in detail and precision. The only other thing of mention between the headphones is that the sound stage is so massive on the Rognir that it feels like some details can get lost in its massiveness.
Thror> Caldera=D8KP> Rognir
Couple other genera/songs I like:
Painkiller by Judas Priest
The Thror really shines over all the rest due to how fast and precise it is with the guitar, vocals and symbols. Every instrument is perfectly represented with out anything getting lost. The lack of sub bass doesn't matter in an music where they are only using a drum kit. Though, if you are going from any of the other three headphones the bass can come off as lean compared to the other 3.
The D8P while great added a little too much bass, especially in the sub bass and lower bass area. Some of the lower mid details got a tiny bit lost in the bass. The guitar and vocals didn't shine quite as bright as they did with the Thror.
Caldera had a similar problem to the D8P. Though most of its added bass was in the mid range. The vocals are better compared to the D8P but not nearly as good as the Thror.
Rognir with its massive sound stage. Everything is so far away from each other that certain parts can come off as slightly hollow. Its bass is the second best balanced out of the headphones behind only the Thror. Since the sound stage is so massive the symbols can come off a little dry/thin when compared to the vocals/guitar.
EDM or any high speed dance music.
I thought the D8KP would be a clear winner in the EDM since it has the best bass of the headphones but the the energy and attack of the Rognir blew it away. The Rognir is so violent and fast when it comes to music in this category that it is almost impossible to imagine any headphone existing that could beat it. It's massive sound stage is an incredible complement to the the genera. It helps separate out everything and create a more enjoyable experience. I'm to even sure if the D8KP gets second place in this since it has such a warm laid back sound it kind sucks a lot of the life out the music. Second place is goin got go to the Caldera followed by the Thror then, surprisingly the D8K in last.
Jazz:
The D8KP is a clear winner when it comes to jazz and other music like it. Listening to jazz with the D8KP is like being in a bar with a private band playing music just for you. The headphones are so laid back, warm, and smooth that the music just envelopes you. They are truly incredible with this genera. The Caldera and Thror are both equally good at Jazz but the Caldera does a little better job with the Bass. The Rognir might be a little to aggressive for some versions of jazz.
Female Vocals and highs: Female vocals are really important to me since about 2/3 of my music has women singers.
The Thror is so good when it comes to highs. Which naturally makes it the best for female vocals. Second would be the Caldera followed by the Rognir. The D8KP with is warmth and bass focus is probably the worst but not bad in anyway.
For the super high end all but the D8KP got slightly sibilant. With the Rognir being a little bit worse than the other 2.
Conclusion: None of the headphones were really bad at reproducing music... Besides the Thror and sub bass
D8000Pro - Laid back, smooth, and warm headphones with the best bass and sub bass you can get in a pair of headphones. Warmth can cause high end to come off a little muted. Really shines with Jazz, trance, and Soundtracks.
Thror: Fast and detailed. Neutral bright headphones. Lacking in lower and completely missing sub-bass. Highest detail. Best with highly detailed music, Metal, acoustic and female vocals.
Rognir: The most dynamic sounding headphones. Super aggressive, in your face sound with with comically large sound stage. Least amount of micro details. Closest you can get to what a headphone on cocaine might sound like. Best with any fast dance music, EDM, and bass machine songs.
UPDATE REVIEW:
After being told there should have been a pair of thick pads in the box. I took everything out and low and behold they were under some random pieces of cardboard in the box. Turns out not having my ear touching the driver covers majorly increased the comfort, enjoyment, and sound quality of the Caldera. My ears no longer touch anything and with the headband fully extended I could easily wear them all day. I would say, if I owned them and could bend the crap out of the headband, they would easily be tied with first place for the most comfortable headphones overall.
The thick pads took the caldera from being a neutral, kinda flat sounding, and boring headphone and really lived them up. They are now on approaching a warm/neutral-warm sound signature. The thick pads combined with the Mainline really turned the Caldera into a fantastic and fun headphone.
The first major change in the sound was major increase in the bass in all ranges especially in the sub bass region. Instead of really only having mid bass it now will reach as low as the D8KP. They still aren't as powerful in the subs as the D8KP but they are now actually able to compete with them. They are now in comfortable second place in the sub bass.
The sound stage did increase a little bit but not in a major way. They still have ever so slightly the smallest sound stage being just behind the Thror it might even be tied with it but I just didn't have enough time compare them. I wish I had noticed the the thick pads right away.
The highs are little bit muted/muddied now, and I noticed the symbols in rock music tends to get lost in/covered by the bass. The highs are little rounded out and the headphones don't really have much sizzle on symbols. It also means all the harsh highs are now gone which is a great since it had the most out of the headphones(though it didn't have much to being with).
I would honestly say they are now like a lite version of the D8KP. Which is a very high complement since I consider the D8KP to be the best headphone I've ever owned. The D8KP is still a better headphone in every way, over all, but it does cost 30%, ~ $1000, more for it over getting the Caldera. So it might not be a fair comparison.
If I had to pick between to the D8KP or the Caldera. I would honestly hesitate for a second but would still end up getting the D8KP. The D8KP is as close to, in my opinion, a perfect headphone as you can get. Yes the Rognir is super energetic and the most fun headphone to listen to but it's constant attacking sound can get fatiguing for long listens. The Thror is king when it comes to micro details and the best for listening to rock and metal. But its precision, especially in the highs, can also get fatiguing for long listening sessions. Where as I could wear the D8KP and the Caldera, I think after adjusting, all day with out any problems.
If you were trying to choose between the Caldera and the D8KP. I would first look at your system and see if the extra ~$1000 could be spent on improving it first. If something in your system could be improved; improve it and get the Caldera. Then I would be 100% sure that you can afford the extra ~$1000. If you are at all hesitate about being able to afford the higher price of the D8KP. It would be better to get the Caldera. If you are perfectly happy with your system and you can afford the extra cost of the D8KP. Then get the D8KP.
If you are looking for a pair of headphones that you can wear all day with out being fatiguing. That will work great with pretty much any genera of music you throw at with out coloring the music too much all while have great bass you would be hard pressed to find a better headphone then the Caldera in its price range.
). I like how the Final headphones sound but could never really get on with their comfort level and not because of the weight but the design (flimsy cups, flimsy earpads, basic headband).
