[gonintendo]

The Cayin IHA6 does look really interesting. If this is the amp chosen to pair well with zmf headphones, then so be it. What i wanna know if how does it play with planars like HE1000se or Expanse?

I listened to the HEKv2 on it a bit and thought it sounded great.

 

[Badlands]

Out of all the solid states I have the two most dry and zesty with Caldera are the GSX and the Schiit Asgaard. Ones that have more heft and liquidity are the a Cayin iha, wells milo, Ecp Ravenswood and JDS Element. It's probably partially the damping factor and the design of the amps, but the Caldera will vary quite a bit within solid state amps not just with tubes.

Wow, as someone who purchased the El Amp II as my first desktop amp (which you kindly recommended btw when I purchased the Auteur a couple of years ago) it’s exciting to me that it imbues the Caldera with more heft and liquidity vs other amps. The El Amp II doesn’t seem to get a lot of play (pardon the pun) on Head-Fi. It‘s a very reasonably priced, great sounding and versatile amp. Not implying that it’s at the level of IHA6 or Ravenswood but it sounds darn good with everything I’ve thrown at it. Even the most sensitive IEM’s like the Campfire Audio Solaris SE are dead quiet yet still elevated when powered with the El Amp II. Of course, I do have the Kenzie II which is magical paired with my Auteur. I can’t wait to try either the Atrium or Caldera on both amps once I’m fortunate enough to own either of those headphones!

 

[DenverW]

It’s been a week since I’ve been able to listen after my appendix was torn out of my body kicking and screaming…I always seem to need to snap a photo . Stay safe with this storm comin!

I've heard of people selling a kidney for high end gear, but never an appendix. What a great trade!!!

Oh, and that's a gorgeous photo too .

 

[StevenR296]

My wife and I just tested positive for COVID earlier today.. We made it soo close to Christmas. Now I get time off work, more time with my wife and daughter, and more time with my Caldera? Maybe this won't be so bad

 

[shafat777]

My wife and I just tested positive for COVID earlier today.. We made it soo close to Christmas. Now I get time off work, more time with my wife and daughter, and more time with my Caldera? Maybe this won't be so bad

Wishing you and your family a quick recovery and good health. Zmf headphone will surely make the next few weeks better for you.

 

[jlbrach]

My wife and I just tested positive for COVID earlier today.. We made it soo close to Christmas. Now I get time off work, more time with my wife and daughter, and more time with my Caldera? Maybe this won't be so bad

my girlfriend and I had covid a couple of weeks ago...fortunately it was like a cold..hope it is mild for you as well...the music will pass the time

 

[dfiled]

Seeing Amit’s review where he said the Caldera sound “perfect” on the Euforia got me curious, especially since the word on the street (and from Zach himself) was that OTLs weren’t a good match for the Caldera. I have a Feliks Elise at home, which is basically the same amp as the Euforia with less high end components and a more stereotypically warm tubey sound. So I brought the Calderas home from work for a test drive.

The results were …. amazing. Super holographic and enveloping. Plenty of volume. Impressive dynamics and impact. I actually preferred it to the OTC amp I usually listen to these on at the office. (I am willing to concede that other factors may have been at play — I could focus on the sound more when not distracted by work). The bass was definitely less tight and defined than on the transformer coupled but also more impactful and fun.

This amp puts out a measly 200mW so I’m going to put it out there that more current isn’t necessarily required , depending on what sound you’re going for.

 

[iamoneagain]

Great news. Somehow my Caldera is arriving early. It’s out for delivery today and usually get FedEx packages in the mornings. I guess I don’t have to spend time with my family after all Actually my son, who’s 11, told me he plans to do nothing all next week, so that makes two of us.

 

[whirlwind]

Apparently this came out yesterday and Marcus just let me know: https://headfonics.com/our-top-gear-awards-for-2022/

Yes we're a sponsor over there but it's always nice to win anything haha. As you guys know I'm pretty choosy with who we send our headphones to because of how "paid" review sites operate (conflict of interest, way advertising works, doing reviews while also being a dealer/mfr etc) but I've always been super impressed with how Marcus runs headfonics as it really is ALL about the headphones and gear for him and his site. Just because a site doesn't spew negativity doesn't mean it can't be super helpful to people and honest about gear rankings etc, and he tallies the line brilliantly.

Anyways - very honored.

Congrats.

I much enjoyed the review.

 

[zach915m]

Seeing Amit’s review where he said the Caldera sound “perfect” on the Euforia got me curious, especially since the word on the street (and from Zach himself) was that OTLs weren’t a good match for the Caldera. I have a Feliks Elise at home, which is basically the same amp as the Euforia with less high end components and a more stereotypically warm tubey sound. So I brought the Calderas home from work for a test drive.

The results were …. amazing. Super holographic and enveloping. Plenty of volume. Impressive dynamics and impact. I actually preferred it to the OTC amp I usually listen to these on at the office. (I am willing to concede that other factors may have been at play — I could focus on the sound more when not distracted by work). The bass was definitely less tight and defined than on the transformer coupled but also more impactful and fun.

This amp puts out a measly 200mW so I’m going to put it out there that more current isn’t necessarily required , depending on what sound you’re going for.

Most people measure how "good" an Amp is based on pure resolution and technicalities. I wholeheartedly agree that holography, timbre, midrange realism and things that aren't quite as measurable should be considered, but they are harder to easily quantify with science etc. There are merits to using an OTL with a 60ohm headphone for sure, and we've been using the Glenn and @L0rdGwyn airmid lately and enjoying them with caldera a ton. But as far as a blanket recommendation it's hard to make, since OTL will always do worse in those technical "solid/firm" bass areas by which many use as a guiding stick.

 

[NutritiousNoodles]

When people say that a particular amp can "drive" a pair of headphones, often what they actually mean is that they like the sound of the headphones out of that amp. This often has nothing to do with having enough power.

 

[TheR0v3r]

Today, I received my Caldera headphones and I have been listening to them all day totally captivated by its sound. I have only had them for one day, so I need another week to fully vet them. But, I am pretty sure that it is my new favorite headphone. It is certainly in the top 3 and probably no lower than number 2. I have been trying to figure out what is the essence of why they sound so great to me. In the watercooler thread, we were discussing DD and BA timbre in IEMs and the pros and cons of it. I made this post and I realized that it captures what I believe is the super power of the ZMF Caldera and why I love it so much. tl;dr. It has the best instrumental timbre of any headphone or IEM I have ever heard.

Let me know what you think. For headphones, planar magnetic timbre is the analog to Balanced Armature timbre:

Today, I finally received my ZMF Caldera planar magnetic headphones. It has the best instrumental timbre of anything I have heard in headphones or IEMs by a mile. Because of it, I think it is my new number 1 headphone. I still need to do the a/b tests, but it is tentatively the best.

If has better bass timbre than DD because not only does it have the same velvety texture in all frequencies. But, upright bass, cellos and violins sound woody, saxophones, clarinets, oboes sound reedy, trumpets, trombones and french horns sound brassy and cymbals sound correct with the right tsing and it has the resolution of a planar magnetic headphone. When paired with Holo May DTE DAC and Ferrum Orr amp, which have a natural sound to them, this is the best instrumental timbre I have ever heard.

Typically, a DD driver does well with the lower register instruments because the decay is slower and more natural. But, for the highs, you need more resolution. So, a large ensemble of violins needs resolution to sound clean. So, BAs sound great. But, BAs lose that woodiness that real violins have when you hear them live. It sounds too smooth which I describe as glassy. There is a texture to them that is a third dimension that you get with Caldera that is most common with a DD driver, but you are getting it with this planar magnetic resolution. When BA bass has this glassy texture, it sounds wrong to my ear and that is how I hear most BA bass. Mentor is better because UM has implemented technology that simulates DD decay, but to my ear it is not the real thing. I don't even rank it in my top 10 bass responses because of it. We shall see if Storm has figured out how to make a BA driver sound more natural than a great DD driver. ZMF has figured out how to make a planar sound more natural than a DD.

Help! What does ”BA” and ”UM” stand for?

 

[cdanguyen08]

Help! What does ”BA” and ”UM” stand for?

Balanced Armature(type of driver) and Unique Melody(company that made Mentor)

 

[HeavyCn]

I would highly recommend the Cayin IHA-6 for the Caldera. It is not to shabby with ZMF dynamic sets as well due to the higher output impedance on one of the 6.35mm outputs.

 

[stelladiver]

Sure this has been already covered, but how does the Caldera compare to the LCD-4 or X?