[jlbrach]

I spoke with Arthur today on unrelated matters, but eventually the conversation turned to the re-issued v281. Apparently Arthur is the only person in the world that will have these amps and once the 100 are gone he doesn't expect more to be built.

I would suggest not sleeping on this chance.

the 281 was a nice amp in its day but has been surpassed by many amps in todays market...why would anyone rush to get a reissued 281?

 

[Monsterzero]

the 281 was a nice amp in its day but has been surpassed by many amps in todays market...why would anyone rush to get a reissued 281?

Its tube-like quality without the expense and headaches that owning an actual tube amp can bring to the equation.

My vintage receivers have a similar sound...lots of warmth and bass to die for, and with a THD of 0.2,(my receivers, not the v281) they can have a lot of the same characteristics of a tube amp, at a fraction of the price, but they do take up an awful lot of real estate.

Still, I've yet to hear a SS amp do what a good tube amp can, but it seems that many SS amps try to get the THD down to 0.00001, which IMO is throwing the baby out with the bath water and often times these modern HP amps come across as cold/sterile to my ears. The v281 doesn't.

 

[LXMc]

I'm still very early in the process on listening impressions—So far the Caldera's giving me the silky mids and low reaching sub-bass from my Auteur Classics, combined with the super fast, punchy sharpness and clarity of my VC, but with everything turned up a notch. I think, in my current setup (mid-fi solid state), if they weren't closed back I don't know if I'd miss my VCs having the Caldera. The Auteur however still has this great, thick, bassy feel that contrasts the immaculate sharpness of the Caldera. I went into this purchase anticipating the Caldera to replace the Auteur and at this point I'm very unsure where I'm going to end up landing on that (as in...I'm wondering if I'm gonna end up keeping both...at least until an AC is in the picture).

I've briefly tried out the suedes and thick pads but sticking with stock for now. All 3 of these seem equally excellent and none of them are total write-offs to me (which wasn't the case pad swapping on my other ZMFs).

I mostly wanted to give some quick look & feel impressions of the Red Mallee Burl. I've seen a number of posts on most of the other burls (not sure I saw any Walnuts) across the various ZMF threads, with Redwood definitely getting the most coverage with its popularity. TLDR: Love the Red Mallee Burl.

A side note on this - I had ordered the Red Mallee originally because I liked how it looked in the store shots, but I got cold feet, mostly due to the weight (I knew in the future I wanted to get a hardwood AC and didn't think I'd want two heavy ZMFs as my main headphones) so I reached out to ZMF to change the order to Redwood. It was still early so they confirmed the change, but I expect it got lost in the shuffle of production as Red Mallee obviously came through in the end. I don't blame ZMF for this at all and I knew there was a risk trying to muck with the order after placing it (The only reason I'm mentioning it was I had made a bunch of posts referencing ordering the Redwoods so I wanted to clarify why it changed in case anyone had noticed). My initial dismay seeing they were still Red Mallee and not Redwood on opening the case was immediately gone as soon as I took them out and looked at them. I couldn't be happier that my attempted change didn't work out. I also haven't found the weight to be an issue at all. That BBB strap is awesome at spreading out the weight and the contoured caldera cups are so snug I rarely notice the weight.

The Red Mallee is definitely more subdued than the Redwood. It feels a bit less flashy with almost more of a wood-grain/burl mix while still having a striking colour. It feels like this wonderful mix between the Redheart and Redwood burl Calderas with mostly a smooth mottled grain but then around the edges are those cool burl figures that are all over many of the Redwoods. I really like the contrast and actually prefer the more subtle (mature?) look on the face of the cups. ZMF finished it in, what I think is the Matte wax oil, but it seems much more satin on these. My Maplewood Auteurs were the Matte oil and I don't remember them having the sheen these do, even new. They really feel sublime.

Wanted to get some detail shots of the different textures in there. They're quite smooth and many of the spots where it looks like there were some natural splits and whatnot that were filled in aren't noticeable at all running a finger across them. I'm really curious how many other Red Mallee Calderas or Atriums are out in the wild. I'd love to see how others turned out.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I'm still very early in the process on listening impressions—So far the Caldera's giving me the silky mids and low reaching sub-bass from my Auteur Classics, combined with the super fast, punchy sharpness and clarity of my VC, but with everything turned up a notch. I think, in my current setup (mid-fi solid state), if they weren't closed back I don't know if I'd miss my VCs having the Caldera. The Auteur however still has this great, thick, bassy feel that contrasts the immaculate sharpness of the Caldera. I went into this purchase anticipating the Caldera to replace the Auteur and at this point I'm very unsure where I'm going to end up landing on that (as in...I'm wondering if I'm gonna end up keeping both...at least until an AC is in the picture).

I've briefly tried out the suedes and thick pads but sticking with stock for now. All 3 of these seem equally excellent and none of them are total write-offs to me (which wasn't the case pad swapping on my other ZMFs).

I mostly wanted to give some quick look & feel impressions of the Red Mallee Burl. I've seen a number of posts on most of the other burls (not sure I saw any Walnuts) across the various ZMF threads, with Redwood definitely getting the most coverage with its popularity. TLDR: Love the Red Mallee Burl.

A side note on this - I had ordered the Red Mallee originally because I liked how it looked in the store shots, but I got cold feet, mostly due to the weight (I knew in the future I wanted to get a hardwood AC and didn't think I'd want two heavy ZMFs as my main headphones) so I reached out to ZMF to change the order to Redwood. It was still early so they confirmed the change, but I expect it got lost in the shuffle of production as Red Mallee obviously came through in the end. I don't blame ZMF for this at all and I knew there was a risk trying to muck with the order after placing it (The only reason I'm mentioning it was I had made a bunch of posts referencing ordering the Redwoods so I wanted to clarify why it changed in case anyone had noticed). My initial dismay seeing they were still Red Mallee and not Redwood on opening the case was immediately gone as soon as I took them out and looked at them. I couldn't be happier that my attempted change didn't work out. I also haven't found the weight to be an issue at all. That BBB strap is awesome at spreading out the weight and the contoured caldera cups are so snug I rarely notice the weight.

The Red Mallee is definitely more subdued than the Redwood. It feels a bit less flashy with almost more of a wood-grain/burl mix while still having a striking colour. It feels like this wonderful mix between the Redheart and Redwood burl Calderas with mostly a smooth mottled grain but then around the edges are those cool burl figures that are all over many of the Redwoods. I really like the contrast and actually prefer the more subtle (mature?) look on the face of the cups. ZMF finished it in, what I think is the Matte wax oil, but it seems much more satin on these. My Maplewood Auteurs were the Matte oil and I don't remember them having the sheen these do, even new. They really feel sublime.

Wanted to get some detail shots of the different textures in there. They're quite smooth and many of the spots where it looks like there were some natural splits and whatnot that were filled in aren't noticeable at all running a finger across them. I'm really curious how many other Red Mallee Calderas or Atriums are out in the wild. I'd love to see how others turned out.

Stunning!

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I’m surprised to have read so many Caldera owners say the soundstage is not as wide/large as the Atrium. I know it’s all subjective, but to my ears, it sounds identical in size to the Atrium.

With the Atrium I preferred the Auteur perforated leather pads, which were also the thickest. And I didn’t like any of the thinner pads. But with the Caldera, I prefer both of the thinner pads (lambskin and Cowhide). The stock leather pads are my second favorite, but to my surprise, I don’t like the thick pads at all.

I just don’t hear the Caldera stage as being cramped, small, or constricted in any way. It sounds just as wide and open as the Atrium but with larger images

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

A little ZMF headphone porn:

 

[TheMiddleSky]

I'm still very early in the process on listening impressions—So far the Caldera's giving me the silky mids and low reaching sub-bass from my Auteur Classics, combined with the super fast, punchy sharpness and clarity of my VC, but with everything turned up a notch. I think, in my current setup (mid-fi solid state), if they weren't closed back I don't know if I'd miss my VCs having the Caldera. The Auteur however still has this great, thick, bassy feel that contrasts the immaculate sharpness of the Caldera. I went into this purchase anticipating the Caldera to replace the Auteur and at this point I'm very unsure where I'm going to end up landing on that (as in...I'm wondering if I'm gonna end up keeping both...at least until an AC is in the picture).

I've briefly tried out the suedes and thick pads but sticking with stock for now. All 3 of these seem equally excellent and none of them are total write-offs to me (which wasn't the case pad swapping on my other ZMFs).

I mostly wanted to give some quick look & feel impressions of the Red Mallee Burl. I've seen a number of posts on most of the other burls (not sure I saw any Walnuts) across the various ZMF threads, with Redwood definitely getting the most coverage with its popularity. TLDR: Love the Red Mallee Burl.

A side note on this - I had ordered the Red Mallee originally because I liked how it looked in the store shots, but I got cold feet, mostly due to the weight (I knew in the future I wanted to get a hardwood AC and didn't think I'd want two heavy ZMFs as my main headphones) so I reached out to ZMF to change the order to Redwood. It was still early so they confirmed the change, but I expect it got lost in the shuffle of production as Red Mallee obviously came through in the end. I don't blame ZMF for this at all and I knew there was a risk trying to muck with the order after placing it (The only reason I'm mentioning it was I had made a bunch of posts referencing ordering the Redwoods so I wanted to clarify why it changed in case anyone had noticed). My initial dismay seeing they were still Red Mallee and not Redwood on opening the case was immediately gone as soon as I took them out and looked at them. I couldn't be happier that my attempted change didn't work out. I also haven't found the weight to be an issue at all. That BBB strap is awesome at spreading out the weight and the contoured caldera cups are so snug I rarely notice the weight.

The Red Mallee is definitely more subdued than the Redwood. It feels a bit less flashy with almost more of a wood-grain/burl mix while still having a striking colour. It feels like this wonderful mix between the Redheart and Redwood burl Calderas with mostly a smooth mottled grain but then around the edges are those cool burl figures that are all over many of the Redwoods. I really like the contrast and actually prefer the more subtle (mature?) look on the face of the cups. ZMF finished it in, what I think is the Matte wax oil, but it seems much more satin on these. My Maplewood Auteurs were the Matte oil and I don't remember them having the sheen these do, even new. They really feel sublime.

Wanted to get some detail shots of the different textures in there. They're quite smooth and many of the spots where it looks like there were some natural splits and whatnot that were filled in aren't noticeable at all running a finger across them. I'm really curious how many other Red Mallee Calderas or Atriums are out in the wild. I'd love to see how others turned out.

Damn good! i never expected Red Mallee would be this pretty. Kind of combination of retro classic feel and being hot at the same time.

 

[No Deal]

I almost went with the Redwood. I decided to go with the Red Mallee instead. I am not disappointed.

 

[LXMc]

I almost went with the Redwood. I decided to go with the Red Mallee instead. I am not disappointed.

Great looking set, glad to see another Red Mallee

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I apologize if this has already been answered. But does anyone have a frequency response for the Caldera with the Caldera Ultra Perforated pads? Everyone seems to want to use them with the Atrium, but I can’t find how they measure for the Caldera (which is kind of ironic) ?

 

[No Deal]

Great looking set, glad to see another Red Mallee

Thank you. These are hard to put down.

 

[ufospls2]

A little ZMF headphone porn:

The wood on those are particularly lovely

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

The wood on those are particularly lovely

Thank you sir!

 

[fuhnoo]

I apologize if this has already been answered. But does anyone have a frequency response for the Caldera with the Caldera Ultra Perforated pads? Everyone seems to want to use them with the Atrium, but I can’t find how they measure for the Caldera (which is kind of ironic) ?

I was looking for something like this as well and couldn't find anything. I purchased the pads anyway and have been listening to them on and off for the 4 days. I took some brief notes on how they compared to stock:

- Airier
- A little clearer, crisper, more analytical sounding
- Elevated upper mids and lower treble
- Bass is recessed a little

I really love how these pads make certain songs sound much more open and airy, although I imagine these might be a little too spicy for some folks (particularly those who need the mantle mesh). I forget which song it was, but there was one track I listened to that had a couple of moments of mild harshness that I was not getting from the stock pads. All that said, the stock pads are just so well rounded that I'm not sure I'll be able to stay away from them for too long.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I was looking for something like this as well and couldn't find anything. I purchased the pads anyway and have been listening to them on and off for the 4 days. I took some brief notes on how they compared to stock:

- Airier
- A little clearer, crisper, more analytical sounding
- Elevated upper mids and lower treble
- Bass is recessed a little

I really love how these pads make certain songs sound much more open and airy, although I imagine these might be a little too spicy for some folks (particularly those who need the mantle mesh). I forget which song it was, but there was one track I listened to that had a couple of moments of mild harshness that I was not getting from the stock pads. All that said, the stock pads are just so well rounded that I'm not sure I'll be able to stay away from them for too long.

Thanks for this! Is your Caldera stock or do you have the mantle mesh?