[Lyssky]

Album Advice:
Whyzdom - From the Brink of Infinity
What a production! And Caldera doubles the experience!

 

[Benesyed]

Cables wont really change the sound much/at all. I would consider pad rolling or EQ for greater bang for buck. A lot of cable talk is sadly snake oil. All these people also swore they could notice a difference. It happens because your brain is expecting it, not because there is one!



But if we must talk cables, I have been curious about getting gravedigger cables. They use a plastic polymer coating that doesnt conduct as much mechanical noise as the fabric sleeving man brands use. The fabric/nylon tends to conduct noise when it rubs against things. In my case my hoodie when im moving around my cold house

 

[number1sixerfan]

Having the Envy, the Atrium Open is the one ZMF I prefer on my OTL. The closed version does better on the Envy but it’s 50-50.

Got the TC and Caldera at the same time about a year ago. TC is long gone. Caldera is quite different but ultimately more my preferred sound signature especially with female vocals, which are too recessed to me on the TC. The TC is still amazing but with the lack of comfort and weird fit that requires specific placement to get the same sound each time, I just gave up on it. If you see a Caldera you really want, go for it!

The Caldera with female vocals is immaculate. I listen to a lot of female vocal heavy music across a lot of genres with headphones, and it definitely excels in that regard.

 

[RonPlata]

Finally pulled the trigger and bought a caldera and so, my weeks of suffering waiting for its arrival have begun.

I just have a couple of questions, How does the caldera take a good bass shelf (probably around 8db)? Is it as good as Audeze drivers in that regard?
I will try to get rid of my Verite closed if I can just add some extra bass to the caldera for EDM. Also, how is the slam compared to the VC? Does the VC has more slam just because its a closed back? How does the soundstage compare to the VC? one of the aspects I love about it is the big soundstage it has for a closed back.

 

[joshua1122]

How does the caldera take a good bass shelf (probably around 8db)?

On stock lamb pads, I only listen with +8dB @90Hz,Q=0.7, and I personally find the Caldera takes it very well, with great authority. With lamb thick pads, I have to reduce that down to +4-6dB. Given my HRTF, I have to add +11dB @100Hz,Q=0.69 to reach the same level of bass on my LCD-X. YMMV. I also find the Caldera does a much better job with slam than the LCD-X.

On the VC, I get nowhere close to the same bass volume with the same +8dB @100Hz,Q=0.7, but there is something going on with ear/pad interactions that I've yet to figure out. To me, I get significantly wider and taller sound stage on Caldera than on VC, but that's possibly just my HRTF.

Edit: When using Magni Piety on High gain, I do have to reduce the bass shelf +8dB -> +6dB (stock lamb pads). Something about that amp just adds a lot more to the bass region.

 

[Lyssky]

Finally pulled the trigger and bought a caldera and so, my weeks of suffering waiting for its arrival have begun.

I just have a couple of questions, How does the caldera take a good bass shelf (probably around 8db)? Is it as good as Audeze drivers in that regard?
I will try to get rid of my Verite closed if I can just add some extra bass to the caldera for EDM. Also, how is the slam compared to the VC? Does the VC has more slam just because its a closed back? How does the soundstage compare to the VC? one of the aspects I love about it is the big soundstage it has for a closed back.

I use Mojo 2 DSP. My opinion is that Caldera can be EQed as well as Audeze. It is not fair to compare LCD-XC to Caldera and mine is a 2020 version so it is the old Audeze bass but as a general idea I think LCD-XC bass is more overarching (don't know if it's the correct word) but less precise (obviously). Caldera bass is very well nuanced, emotional and plays its own game.

 

[yolosauce]

Cables wont really change the sound much/at all. I would consider pad rolling or EQ for greater bang for buck. A lot of cable talk is sadly snake oil. All these people also swore they could notice a difference. It happens because your brain is expecting it, not because there is one!



But if we must talk cables, I have been curious about getting gravedigger cables. They use a plastic polymer coating that doesnt conduct as much mechanical noise as the fabric sleeving man brands use. The fabric/nylon tends to conduct noise when it rubs against things. In my case my hoodie when im moving around my cold house

I purchased an 8ft gravedigger cable a few years ago. The build quality is great but it's heavy. You can feel the weight of the cable pulling down on the headphone. I also have several Norne cables and they are lightweight and don't have microphonics as long as you don't get the metallic sleeving.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I use Mojo 2 DSP. My opinion is that Caldera can be EQed as well as Audeze. It is not fair to compare LCD-XC to Caldera and mine is a 2020 version so it is the old Audeze bass but as a general idea I think LCD-XC bass is more overarching (don't know if it's the correct word) but less precise (obviously). Caldera bass is very well nuanced, emotional and plays its own game.

I use lambskin thick pads w/my Caldera and wouldn't think of EQing this headphone in search of more bass. What I'm getting is perfect, also perfectly proportionate to what the Caldera is doing in all the other frequencies.

The bass I hear with Caldera is not simply deep and hard hitting--it's tonally accurate and textured in way that sounds pretty close to the real thing. What more can one ask of headphone bass?

FWIW, I love bass (from headphones, speakers, and live music), but I always want it be excellent in the context of everything else I'm hearing, musically...

 

[Lyssky]

I use lambskin thick pads w/my Caldera and wouldn't think of EQing this headphone in search of more bass. What I'm getting is perfect, also perfectly proportionate to what the Caldera is doing in all the other frequencies.

The bass I hear with Caldera is not simply deep and hard hitting--it's tonally accurate and textured in way that sounds pretty close to the real thing. What more can one ask of headphone bass?

FWIW, I love bass (from headphones, speakers, and live music), but I always want it be excellent in the context of everything else I'm hearing, musically...

I need to highlight Caldera's bass a bit more when using Mojo 2. Maybe this is not necessary with other types of dacs/more powerful amps. Don't have any other so can't try. And I too love bass. So much so that I listen to some songs only for the bass feel.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Maybe this is not necessary with other types of dacs/more powerful amps.

That's an interesting comment. It got me thinking:

• I have now tried this headphone with at least 7 different amps and 4 DACs
• The DACs were my MHDT Labs Orchid; Metrum Onyx; Audio GD R2R-11 MK2; snf borrowed Schitt Bifrost OG version (not multi-bit).
• I hear considerable consistency in bass sound across all these devices. I probably get more sonic variability from changing amps than from changing DACs, but that's to be expected. For example, my fine TC-tube amp, the Icon Audio HP8, has exceptional tube bass, yet its bass sounds somewhat different than bass on amps such as the Violectric V281 or Wells Milo. But those differences can be heard with other headphones, as well

I really can't think of a single amp+DAC+Caldera combination in my system where that great Caldera bass would need boosting.

No doubt part of this is that once I put the lambskin thick pads on the Caldera, the sound was so exceptional (not just in the bass) that I knew I'd never take them off. The bass is somewhat elevated and more palpable with the thicks than with any of the other pads I tried.

I always thought of myself as somewhat of a basshead ("somewhat" because I also need the bass to integrate with other frequencies in a lifelike way). Maybe I'm not as much of a basshead as I thought...?

 

[ckhirnigs113]

D8K Pro was so *close* to me but the 7kHz peak is a deal breaker because it makes vocal sound sibilant.

Does the OG D8K have this peak as well? I know the Pro is supposed to be brighter than the OG.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

Does the OG D8K have this peak as well?

Not to my ears it didn't. It's a lovely, smooth, slightly warm headphone with even but slightly rolled off highs.

 

[jlbrach]

is the warranty transferable on the caldera?

 

[ckhirnigs113]

is the warranty transferable on the caldera?

No, the warranty isn’t transferable on any ZMFs.

 

[jlbrach]

ok thanks, dont see why not appreciate it