[Honeypot]

If you can stretch that far, the Grand Silver Palladium is a fantastic match with the Caldera: clean, clear, natural. I wouldn't call it either bright or warm, just natural. Not thin or bright like some silver can be, not overly warm like some copper can be. You have the clarity of silver and the more pleasant tone and body of copper in a natural package. The best cable I had for the Caldera so far. I would avoid pure silver cables based on your description.

Absolutely agree. The GSP is a fantastic match for the caldera. I've tried pure copper from corpse cable and forza audioworks and silver/copper from the latter too. Each of them makes the caldera sound slightly different, but the GSP gets the best.

Just bought the ZMF Grand Paladium Silver to pair with the Atrium open to try to get a bit more air and my expectation was that it would be "too much" for the Calderas. Well...they're FANTASTIC on the Calderas. Now, full disclosure, I'm in my 50s so I've obviously heard my last dog whistle but still, the extra detail and nuance this cable brought to the Caldera had me digging through my library all over again and I didn't think I could appreciate the Caldera anymore than I already do. I fully expected this cable to bring back the heat on the Caldera's treble that the pads had fixed, but for my ears they not only didn't do that but weren't harsh at all. My usual cable has long been the ZMF 2K, which I thought offered the best balance of features.

I run the AO in copper, I like them warm and relaxing. But I should try the GSP. Maybe the stage opens even more.

I finally pulled the trigger on the Grand Silver Palladium before I start to hesitate again

Congratulations, enjoy!

 

[SunRa Fan]

Absolutely agree. The GSP is a fantastic match for the caldera. I've tried pure copper from corpse cable and forza audioworks and silver/copper from the latter too. Each of them makes the caldera sound slightly different, but the GSP gets the best.

I run the AO in copper, I like them warm and relaxing. But I should try the GSP. Maybe the stage opens even more.

Congratulations, enjoy!

Jury's still out on my experience running the AO with this cable. There was certainly more detail and clarity, but I haven't listened enough. Curiosity got this cat, when I swapped over to the Caldera with the cable to confirm my expectations of peaky treble when I was instead COMPLETELY wrong and spent the rest of the night enjoying a new pair of headphones from ZMF...maybe that's what they should do. This pairing sounds so good(on the Aegis) that ZMF should consider offering a bundle with the Caldera and the Grand Paladium Silver cable.

 

[betula]

This pairing sounds so good(on the Aegis) that ZMF should consider offering a bundle with the Caldera and the Grand Paladium Silver cable.

Indeed. They work together rather well. Synergy is there!

 

[Toonartist]

Oh sorry, it is high I agree. It because the manufacturer that makes our custom Jacks only makes two of the colors for us and only does aluminum, and even then the Jack's are expensive, then to carry the custom colors we have to have another manufacturer custom machine each piece in the actual metal, like brass, copper, steel etc etc and the custom machining cost in low qty and all different metals is just really high. I'm sure of we were able to make thousands of them we could get the cost down slightly, but even then it's expensive metals and I'm not sure how much we'd save.

That makes sense now, I did wonder why it was so much more but that explains everything... maybe make an option to supply without XLR/6.35 etc for those happy to fit their own? Probably still complicates things too much but just a thought.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I can't describe how much I like the Caldera Closed. Thinking about buying the Open, as well.
Could anyone please, give some details ( comparison) between the two?
Thank you in advance

I compared them in some detail in my review of the CC. They're both amazing sounding headphones. I could happily live with either (currently living with the Caldera Open).

 

[Lyssky]

There it is, one of my childhood songs. Caldera makes it all the more beautiful.

 

[legend192]

I have a Caldera, and was thinking of getting a Tungsten. Does having a Caldera make a Tungsten pointless? Is the Caldera just a better version of the Tungsten, or are they completely different headphones with different strengths that compliment each other well?

 

[SunRa Fan]

I have a Caldera, and was thinking of getting a Tungsten. Does having a Caldera make a Tungsten pointless? Is the Caldera just a better version of the Tungsten, or are they completely different headphones with different strengths that compliment each other well?

I haven't heard the Tungsten but my understanding is that they are less resolving than the Caldera, while requiring more power from an amp than most any other headphone on the market. IMHO the current Tungsten is the "headphone of the moment". Popular...until something else comes along to supplant it and all the YouTube head-fi guys start singing the praises of the new kid on the block. If you haven't heard a Tungsten and likely won't, wait, be patient and soon enough you'll be able to pick up a used one on the cheap when people start needing to fund the next popular one that comes along. If you want to hear something amazing from your Caldera, scroll back a few pages and look at what I and a few others have been saying about the ZMF Grand Paladium Silver cable. It's transformative to the sound of the Caldera, and for less than half the cost of a Tungsten.

 

[betula]

I have a Caldera, and was thinking of getting a Tungsten. Does having a Caldera make a Tungsten pointless? Is the Caldera just a better version of the Tungsten, or are they completely different headphones with different strengths that compliment each other well?

I compared them only two pages ago on this thread.

 

[idairyou]

There it is, one of my childhood songs. Caldera makes it all the more beautiful.

My favorite childhood album. Wore the vinyl out on this one when I was 5 years old. When it showed up on Qobuz at 192/24 I listened to it and brings a smile to my face every time.

No music, but whatever brings a smile to your face, and I can honestly say it sounds good on any headphone.

 

[erics75]

My favorite childhood album. Wore the vinyl out on this one when I was 5 years old. When it showed up on Qobuz at 192/24 I listened to it and brings a smile to my face every time.

No music, but whatever brings a smile to your face, and I can honestly say it sounds good on any headphone.

The man behind the music. It brought goosebumps stumbling on this recently. Those old tracks from my childhood elicited such an emotional response from me. Linus and Lucy is the track I think every adult over 30 would instantly recognize.

 

[legend192]

I haven't heard the Tungsten but my understanding is that they are less resolving than the Caldera, while requiring more power from an amp than most any other headphone on the market. IMHO the current Tungsten is the "headphone of the moment". Popular...until something else comes along to supplant it and all the YouTube head-fi guys start singing the praises of the new kid on the block. If you haven't heard a Tungsten and likely won't, wait, be patient and soon enough you'll be able to pick up a used one on the cheap when people start needing to fund the next popular one that comes along. If you want to hear something amazing from your Caldera, scroll back a few pages and look at what I and a few others have been saying about the ZMF Grand Paladium Silver cable. It's transformative to the sound of the Caldera, and for less than half the cost of a Tungsten.

I did listen to a couple Tungstens at canjam. On Saturday they sounded unbelievable. On Sunday I brought my Caldera to compare one of them against, and the Tungsten didn't sound anywhere near as good as it had the day before. Maybe it was because I was listening on a tube amp that was just turned on, I'm not sure. The Caldera did seem more polished, and more a finished product, getting everything right. The Tungsten definitely had a bigger soundstage (reminded me of an HD800s, not in size, but in having a void space between your ears and the soundstage), while the Caldera seemed more enveloping. The Caldera did seem better, but that I why I am wondering if the Tungsten would compliment the Caldera, or just be redundant.

 

[idairyou]

The man behind the music. It brought goosebumps stumbling on this recently. Those old tracks from my childhood elicited such an emotional response from me. Linus and Lucy is the track I think every adult over 30 would instantly recognize.

I got the SACD release of A Boy Named Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas that I purchased in 2004/2005 I think.

Both are still two of my favorites to listen too.

I've been trying to find the Japanese SACD release of A Boy Named Charlie Brown with the Obi intact. The only ones I found so far have been over $100, and I'm not willing to pay that much for just for nostalgia.

 

[betula]

I did listen to a couple Tungstens at canjam. On Saturday they sounded unbelievable. On Sunday I brought my Caldera to compare one of them against, and the Tungsten didn't sound anywhere near as good as it had the day before. Maybe it was because I was listening on a tube amp that was just turned on, I'm not sure. The Caldera did seem more polished, and more a finished product, getting everything right. The Tungsten definitely had a bigger soundstage (reminded me of an HD800s, not in size, but in having a void space between your ears and the soundstage), while the Caldera seemed more enveloping. The Caldera did seem better, but that I why I am wondering if the Tungsten would compliment the Caldera, or just be redundant.

IMO in a collection of 5-6 or more headphones there could be place for both. (Given you can drive the Tungstens adequately.) If you have 2 or 3 headphones, then there are better complimentary options. At the end of the day, it boils down to personal taste: if you like both headphones equally, get them both.

 

[legend192]

IMO in a collection of 5-6 or more headphones there could be place for both. (Given you can drive the Tungstens adequately.) If you have 2 or 3 headphones, then there are better complimentary options. At the end of the day, it boils down to personal taste: if you like both headphones equally, get them both.

Do you think there are many who find the Tungsten and Caldera compliment each other? Or do you think most just prefer the Caldera over the Tungsten if the Caldera is in their budget?