[swedishpat]

Anyone tried the caldera with the ifi ican signature? How does it compare to the GT?

 

[StevenR296]

I was just asking because I noticed you have the volume set at 69. That is very loud, but if you’re on low gain I see that being the case. I have yet to reach 60 on volume dial with any of my headphones. I did get near 50 when I was demoing the Caldera’s. I really enjoyed how the GT handled the bass on them.

It was mostly as a joke, lol. But that was also with the pre-out, not the headphone out, so I usually need a higher number on the Soloist there. I think about 20~25 is where I have the headphone output on medium gain, can't recall for low gain, that fluctuates.

Anyone tried the caldera with the ifi ican signature? How does it compare to the GT?

The iCan is one I considered! My buddy @msing539 is a fan of his. In the end, I figured the Soloist was a better contrast to the Pendant I already have. I've heard the iCan has more weight and meat to the bone with a bit more warmth, and the Soloist is tighter and faster, yet manages to hit harder, though that's just going from what I've read.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Definitely! Sometimes medium, but mostly low for the headphone amp and high for the pre-amp

Why would you change the gain for preamp output?

 

[StevenR296]

To get more or less effect of the tubes in my Pendant. I have to listen more to see if that actually makes a difference or not. I guess I just assumed that less gain from the Soloist and more volume on the Pendant would bring more tube effect, and more gain from the Soloist and less volume on the Pendant would be a bit more of a purist sound. Or am I just wonky and the only thing I'm changing is volume?

 

[xmr0613]

I have read almost all the discussions, do you know if there are more detailed comparisons between UTOPIA and Caldera?

I do have both the Utopia OG and Caldera. Recently I've been distracted by many other things in life so haven't found time to A/B them yet. Here's some rough comparison of them + LCD5 just for a quick reference.

Soundstage: Caldera > LCD5 > Utopia. Caldera's soundstage is comfortably bigger than the other 2 and probably comparable to Susvara (I don't have them anymore).

Details/Separation: LCD5 is slightly but surely ahead of the other 2. Detail wise I think the Caldera and Utopia are very close. Utopia has a brighter presentation (although I never think it's too bright) which helps the perception of detail retrieval. In terms of separation, I think the larger soundstage is helping the Caldera, as in that the Utopia has a much smaller canvas and limited room to dissect.

Dynamics: They are all great! Caldera has the most "bass slam", LCD5 is very intense and engaging in the mids, but overall I still think the Utopia is still the most dynamic of the 3.

Tonality:
- Caldera is the warmest. The bass response on the Caldera is absolutely delicious without being overblown. The mids to me doesn't quite have the Atrium magic, but is still full and emotional. Also this along with Atrium are the 2 least "dark" ZMFs I've heard. It's still warm but it's also pretty transparent.

- LCD5 has pretty strong emphasis on the mids and could feel "studio like" at times, mostly due to its superb technicalities. It's clean, sharp and numbingly fast. Listening to albums like Discovery or Mezzanine with them is pure joy.

- Utopia has been my "daily driver" for a long time and it has become the "just right" reference for a while. The small, intimate soundstage combined with amazing dynamics and great details really is a magical blend. It's definitely brighter (but with less sibilance to me) than the Caldera with lighter bass. I'll say both are within my comfort zone for enjoying contemporary music.

 

[ItHz]

To get more or less effect of the tubes in my Pendant. I have to listen more to see if that actually makes a difference or not. I guess I just assumed that less gain from the Soloist and more volume on the Pendant would bring more tube effect, and more gain from the Soloist and less volume on the Pendant would be a bit more of a purist sound. Or am I just wonky and the only thing I'm changing is volume?

As I understand it: the Pendant's volume knob attenuates the input signal before it reaches the amplification stage. The voltage reaching the amplification stage will produce the same output volume whether it's from high preamp output with high Pendant attenuation or lower preamp output with lower Pendant attenuation.

Some cases where it might be preferable to adjust the preamp and Pendant attenuation:
1. If certain ranges of the Pendant's attenuator sound slightly different then adjusting the preamp's output would allow you to keep the Pendant's attenuator in a preferred range (e.g. sometimes attenuators can have a channel imbalance in the very early portion of the rotation range)
2. If certain combinations of preamp output and Pendant attenuation just seem to sound better to you. There are too many potential explanations for synergy between components ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
3. If the interconnects are picking up EMI/RFI then keeping the preamp output high can maintain a stronger signal-to-noise ratio

 

[ColSaulTigh]

It pays to have friends in the industry!

Since I have so many headphones now that use the same connector, I had a buddy offer me a stupid deal on a Tara Labs Omega Live with HFX Floating Ground Station. Same cables I have for my Utopia, but now in ZMF flavor!

Enough yammering, time for some cable porn...

 

[shaylin3]

I do have both the Utopia OG and Caldera. Recently I've been distracted by many other things in life so haven't found time to A/B them yet. Here's some rough comparison of them + LCD5 just for a quick reference.

Soundstage: Caldera > LCD5 > Utopia. Caldera's soundstage is comfortably bigger than the other 2 and probably comparable to Susvara (I don't have them anymore).

Details/Separation: LCD5 is slightly but surely ahead of the other 2. Detail wise I think the Caldera and Utopia are very close. Utopia has a brighter presentation (although I never think it's too bright) which helps the perception of detail retrieval. In terms of separation, I think the larger soundstage is helping the Caldera, as in that the Utopia has a much smaller canvas and limited room to dissect.

Dynamics: They are all great! Caldera has the most "bass slam", LCD5 is very intense and engaging in the mids, but overall I still think the Utopia is still the most dynamic of the 3.

Tonality:
- Caldera is the warmest. The bass response on the Caldera is absolutely delicious without being overblown. The mids to me doesn't quite have the Atrium magic, but is still full and emotional. Also this along with Atrium are the 2 least "dark" ZMFs I've heard. It's still warm but it's also pretty transparent.

- LCD5 has pretty strong emphasis on the mids and could feel "studio like" at times, mostly due to its superb technicalities. It's clean, sharp and numbingly fast. Listening to albums like Discovery or Mezzanine with them is pure joy.

- Utopia has been my "daily driver" for a long time and it has become the "just right" reference for a while. The small, intimate soundstage combined with amazing dynamics and great details really is a magical blend. It's definitely brighter (but with less sibilance to me) than the Caldera with lighter bass. I'll say both are within my comfort zone for enjoying contemporary music.

Very good thank you, are you using the original cable?

 

[xmr0613]

Very good thank you, are you using the original cable?

Utopia: A custom cable made by Torq (I think it's copper)
Caldera: A generic copper cable I forgot who made
LCD-5: Audeze original cable

 

[Pharmaboy]

To get more or less effect of the tubes in my Pendant. I have to listen more to see if that actually makes a difference or not. I guess I just assumed that less gain from the Soloist and more volume on the Pendant would bring more tube effect, and more gain from the Soloist and less volume on the Pendant would be a bit more of a purist sound. Or am I just wonky and the only thing I'm changing is volume?

Interesting question. I haven't heard the Soloist or Pendant (well, heard the latter very briefly once)--but I do have 2 modest but very good sounding tube amps, one OTL and the other TC. In my experience, the "tube effect," that particular quality of ease and three-dimensionality, is present at all volumes and (to a large extent) regardless of DAC used. At least to my ears, though many tube amps have slight tonal warmth, this is not the primary ingredient in the "tube effect" you mention.

Yes, if you have (for example), an exceedingly warm DAC driving your Pendant, maybe the overall sound would be warmer. But the "tube effect" part of things should be pretty much the same.

 

[klyzon]

Just received it yesterday! Haven’t had time to change pads to cowhide yet too.

It makes an interesting combo with the ha200 on specific filters. Will need to do a whole lot more listening

 

[David A Silva]

Just received it yesterday! Haven’t had time to change pads to cowhide yet too.

It makes an interesting combo with the ha200 on specific filters. Will need to do a whole lot more listening

Gorgeous coffee Caldera - love @ 1rst site every time! Looking forward to your impressions after you slap on some cowhide!

 

[damascato]

Hey people, what are your impressions with the different pads on the Caldera.

I have tried the Alcantara ones vs the “stock” perforated lambskin and I think they make the sound thicker and less detailed?

 

[goldwerger]

Hey people, what are your impressions with the different pads on the Caldera.

I have tried the Alcantara ones vs the “stock” perforated lambskin and I think they make the sound thicker and less detailed?

My Caldera pads impressions: https://tinyurl.com/2s37tw2y

But the more exhausitve (and better) info on all pads would be @heliosphann - here is his detailed writeup: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zmf-caldera-new-planar-magnetic-from-zmf.964836/post-17254005

 

[BooUrns]

Hello Everybody! Sorry to derail the thread a bit, but I wanted to let you know that tomorrow, Sunday ( Jan 22nd) Zach and I will be livestreaming with @TylersEclectic and talking about what's ahead for ZMF in 2023. I think there was some conjecture in one of the ZMF threads... something about electrostats and potential brain implantations...

In all seriousness-- we are excited to talk with Tyler and love seeing familiar names and new ones alike pop into the chat!

The place to be is here:
YouTube Live Stream Link

So to recap:

Tomorrow: January 22, 2023
7:00 PM Central Standard Time

...and apologies in advance for anyone subbed to multiple ZMF threads for the cross posts, BUTTTTT, if you're subbed to multiple ZMF threads you might as well tune in!