[Pharmaboy]

Surprisingly I find the soundstage width larger with the thick pads with a touch more organic timbre across the FR. It does not seem to sacrifice technicalities in any meaningful way, and just shaves off a bit off the shouty upper-mids for a more linear presentation.

You nailed it.

I would also add that the thick pads--maybe by putting more space between the ear & the driver--gave the sound a bit more of an "atmospheric" quality, as if the listener is a few rows further from the music being played. This headphone has resolution and dynamics to spare, so there's no real cost in either for using the thick pads. I loved that sound right away...in my review, I said the sound seemed chill and more relaxed (at least for me, that's a meaningful upgrade to the already insanely good Caldera sound).

I have 2 headphones that I'm always eager to hear again on this or that amp: the Caldera open, and the Verite open. IMO they're the ideal compliment to each other: TOTL planar sound vs TOTL dynamic sound. Somehow every piece of music I play through either headphone, no matter how familiar, sounds slightly unexpected, different, and very pleasing.

 

[Monsterzero]

After countless hours lurking in the thread, today I am officially joining the Caldera owners club . Couldn't be happier with how my Caldera looks! This one is called "Dusk"

 

[TheMiddleSky]

I rarely seen a Resin Caldera like this, belong to a member here (I don't think he online daily here though).

edit: Actually he posted it before me! haha

 

[ng5921]

After countless hours lurking in the thread, today I am officially joining the Caldera owners club . Couldn't be happier with how my Caldera looks! This one is called "Dusk"

What a gorgeous pair! Congrats on entering the club

 

[Lyssky]

A very short lived and quite unfamous band with only one album in 2012. This song certainly shows their potential. Beautifully written. What a pity.

 

[silverfox44]

Can anyone comment on how much (USD) previous runs of Caldera stabilized have been? Are they the same as the current Caldera LTD pricing or more? I'm not sure if there will be any in the upcoming stabilized drop, but wanted to prepare the bank account in case

 

[djentbat]

Can anyone comment on how much (USD) previous runs of Caldera stabilized have been? Are they the same as the current Caldera LTD pricing or more? I'm not sure if there will be any in the upcoming stabilized drop, but wanted to pretty the bank account in case

I think it’s more like $3899.99

 

[ng5921]

Can anyone comment on how much (USD) previous runs of Caldera stabilized have been? Are they the same as the current Caldera LTD pricing or more? I'm not sure if there will be any in the upcoming stabilized drop, but wanted to pretty the bank account in case

It depends - during ZMF November they do B-stock headphones which can be stabilized and there were some that were <3k this past november if I remember correctly. Note they only do B-stock sales during ZMF November. There were also many non-B stock that were 3.2-4k+. I'd imagine the prices for non-B stock stabilized would be 3.5-4k+.

 

[mattiastomas]

Can anyone comment on how much (USD) previous runs of Caldera stabilized have been? Are they the same as the current Caldera LTD pricing or more? I'm not sure if there will be any in the upcoming stabilized drop, but wanted to pretty the bank account in case

I've seem them run anywhere from $3800 - $4200.

FYI in November there's ZMF November where they sell B-Stock units for stabilized as well and you get a good deal on those. Some B-stocks you can't even tell by looking at the finish that its a B-Stock (There will be a marking the unit that its B-stock though. For now its on the headband but the location may change).

 

[JackarlTwo]

Thick pads, but only slightly.


Stock Caldera Pads: Solid, Thick Caldera Pads: Dotted

So while the graph itself doesn't show a ton more bass, the way I've understood it (and heard with other headphones) is the *relation* of bass frequencies to the rest of the response. Maybe I'm wrong about this but that's how I try to "read" graphs. The thick pads are clearly more laid back in the mid-range to lower treble so that could contribute to a perceptually stronger bass for people. And surely graphs are just graphs, not a definite statement on the sound but more like a tool.

 

[AnyDave]

So while the graph itself doesn't show a ton more bass, the way I've understood it (and heard with other headphones) is the *relation* of bass frequencies to the rest of the response. Maybe I'm wrong about this but that's how I try to "read" graphs. The thick pads are clearly more laid back in the mid-range to lower treble so that could contribute to a perceptually stronger bass for people. And surely graphs are just graphs, not a definite statement on the sound but more like a tool.

Yeah, based on those graphs, many listeners would likely perceive a bit more low end due to the reduction in mids and upper mids.

If everybody wants, I can probably make some quick measurements with a Caldera set I have here on my GRAS 45CA.

 

[Bootycall922]

Just tried the Warwick Aperio today at Canjam Singapore. Am I insane to say that Caldera is much better? LOL

 

[Leto Dal]

Nope, I found Aperio lacking, its much more resolving that Caldera, but ovral tonality was just meh to my ear.

 

[goldwerger]

I also didn’t like the Aperio that much (thought demo was at CanJam Dallas in open noisy floor condition which wasn’t helpful, so perhaps I missed something)

 

[betula]

I am back to my (special, beautiful, custom-made ebony) Calderas and audio gear after a week off. My wife calls it a 'second love' and she is right. Nothing gives me more pleasure and satisfaction after her. Zach has really nailed it with his first planar in my humblest opinion.
There is no headphone on the current market that embodies the best of good planar headphones and good dynamic driver headphones. The Caldera, as I said in my review, is the most dynamic sounding planar headphones ever. Dynamic timbre, realism, texture, body, thickness, with planar speed, impact and extension. Perfect merging of two worlds the Caldera is. Zach's wizardry.

The Atrium caters for many ZMF fans with a thick, lush, dynamic, bassy natural, organic fun. Exploited mostly with OTL amps. I appreciate the love and fanbase. Nothing can beat 300B amps with the Atrium for acoustic or vocal centric music.

I do listen to many different genres though, including EDM (progressive psychedelic trance), so bass extension and bass articulation, speed is important for me. That is where the Caldera comes in: the ZMF that provides bass extension, sub-bass slam when there is slam, yet they sound organic enough to represent my favourite female vocals like she was singing into my ears. Thanks Zach!

For reference I use thick pads as they slightly tame those prominent 2K-3K frequencies, but I do not use the mantle mesh as they dull the sound too much for my preference. YMMV.

Bokeh and Caldera closed coming in soon for long term review. I couldn't be more excited and more grateful. Thank you, Zach!