[Bootycall922]

Difficult. An headphone will provide objectivly better stage, larger more life-like presentation and especially Caldera will give you realistic microdetail detail and physicality of instruments that only few IEM can come close to (not match). In the same time, IEMs are more convinient - they are small, easy to drive, you can use them on the move or in bed and overall presentation is far more initimate than over ears - which one might prefer by far to less initimate presentation of over ears.

Great. Which IEM are you using?

 

[Leto Dal]

Great. Which IEM are you using?

Unique Melody Mentor right now - s. my signature.

 

[Bootycall922]

Unique Melody Mentor right now - s. my signature.

Nice you prefer it over Jewel?

 

[Leto Dal]

Nice you prefer it over Jewel?

By far, Jewel felt very anemic to my ear while some find it neutral it sounded dead to me no matter which dap / amp pairing. Mentor is slightly warm analog sound with lifelike instrument representation and giant stage, though some people that are used to dynamic driver decay may dislike BA driver of Mentor for bass. Maybe we should take it to pm. Its caldera thread ;D

 

[feverfive]

Which is better? A TOTL IEM or TOTL Headphone like Caldera for home use in a quiet environment?

Piling on, but it all comes down to personal preference. **For me**, as I "grew up" in audio in the 2-channel speaker rig world, when I have a choice, I go headphones from a purely sound perspective. Headphones, again, to me, have a better chance at a speaker-like presentation. If said presentation is of no importance to you, it's a toss-up, IMO, and may even come down to other things such as comfort (e.g. are IEMs/heavier headphones comfortable to you?)

IEMs have their place, and they have gotten soooo much better over the past decade+ especially. I think back to when I joined head-fi as a teenager and how far IEMs have come; it's amazing.

 

[betula]

Which is better? A TOTL IEM or TOTL Headphone like Caldera for home use in a quiet environment?

Personal preference. I vastly prefer full sized headphones to IEMs due to their more natural sound and bigger, more lifelike space/staging, but there are people with opposite preferences to me. The last two years I think there have been a strong rise in IEM development and manufacturing. I am quite surprised to actually see more IEM posts in CanJam threads than headphone posts.

 

[idairyou]

Personal preference. I vastly prefer full sized headphones to IEMs due to their more natural sound and bigger, more lifelike space/staging, but there are people with opposite preferences to me. The last two years I think there have been a strong rise in IEM development and manufacturing. I am quite surprised to actually see more IEM posts in CanJam threads than headphone posts.

It's a matter of comfort as well.

Some people find headphones too heavy no matter how many grams. For me when I stick the IEM nozzle in my ear, after an hour my ear canal starts getting uncomfortably warm, and no matter the kind of tip I feel irritation on the skin. I've also never found an IEM that fit well enough where I don't feel some kind of pressure around the Cocha/Helix of my ear that become almost painful after an hour.

 

[chrisnyc75]

Which is better? A TOTL IEM or TOTL Headphone like Caldera for home use in a quiet environment?

100% depends on who you ask. While most people enjoy both, most everyone prefers one over the other, and it seems to be split about equally among enthusiasts. On a large scale (i.e. mainstream-ish), I'm certain you would find vastly more people prefer IEMs (mostly for their convenience?)

 

[Marutks]

Which is better? A TOTL IEM or TOTL Headphone like Caldera for home use in a quiet environment?

Soundwise full size headphones are better. IEMs are great for enjoying music outside.

 

[jlbrach]

Which is better? A TOTL IEM or TOTL Headphone like Caldera for home use in a quiet environment?

caldera..I have TOTL IEM's and love them when traveling but at home I will always go for a TOTL HP..assuming the equipment necessary to drive it properly

 

[Marutks]

Is it overkill to buy a Danacable Nirvana on a Caldera?

Yes, it is. You can get pure silver cable for much less.
I got mine from Lavricable. Not that I can hear any difference but YMMV.

 

[chrisnyc75]

Yes, it is. You can get pure silver cable for much less.
I got mine from Lavricable. Not that I can hear any difference but YMMV.

Cables and their material impact (or lack thereof) is a hotly contested topic in these parts. The actual answer is "YMMV (your mileage may vary)"

 

[jlbrach]

I have been listening to my caldera that I recently received and I am very impressed with how good they sound straight out of the chord dave..I have also listened out of my envy ..the envy sounds great but the caldera are easy to drive and I end up using the envy on low gain at -10 with the dave or about -30 using mid gain...

 

[chrisnyc75]

I have been listening to my caldera that I recently received and I am very impressed with how good they sound straight out of the chord dave..I have also listened out of my envy ..the envy sounds great but the caldera are easy to drive and I end up using the envy on low gain at -10 with the dave or about -30 using mid gain...

Try this. The sub-bass (which is where I think Caldera definitively beats Susvara) will blow your mind.

 

[jlbrach]

the caldera is definitely more dynamic and perhaps better for rock music..the susvara is more detailed and refined although the caldera os quite detailed..the susvara is my choice for frank sinatra and miles davis etc...the caldera for led zep