[rgs9200m]

Is Teak a good-performing wood type for a Caldera? Thanks. ('just interested in sound and reliability, not how it looks, since it looks fine to me. I have a Teak Eikon and it's fine.) Thanks again.

 

[TommehHiFi]

Is Teak a good-performing wood type for a Caldera? Thanks. ('just interested in sound and reliability, not how it looks, since it looks fine to me. I have a Teak Eikon and it's fine.) Thanks again.

Teak is a pretty rare wood but there is no wood Caldera can sound like it is underperforming on.

 

[vsg28]

Well this took longer than I thought but here's a follow-up to my previous post about the different ZMF pads and mantle mesh:

Writing up my review soon, but it's kinda cool how the various pads and mantle mesh come together to help not only address potential fatigue/sibilance issues for some but also help fine tune the tonality to different preferences. Don't take the measurements as gospel though, there are a few places where my subjective listening experience didn't match what I measured and, as always in such cases, I defer to my own ears rather than a rig which is less-than-perfect.

 

[rgs9200m]

Thank you @TommehHiFi! There was a nice Nov2023 one. Best to you.
Edit:
(Do the November-sale ones have the Mantle Mesh? Is it something that can be added to an already built unit? Just curious.)

 

[TommehHiFi]

Thank you @TommehHiFi! There was a nice Nov2023 one. Best to you.

Yeah it's a looker

 

[TommehHiFi]

Edit:
(Do the November-sale ones have the Mantle Mesh? Is it something that can be added to an already built unit? Just curious.)

They shouldn't have the mantle mesh on. You'll have to get it separately on the site under the DIY parts tab. It's a mild adhesive system so good for a few on and offs. Takes a few seconds to install; longer to get the pads back on. It seems most people don't get treble harshness with the Caldera though and there's give and take with "technicals" when smoothing the sound out with the mantle. Besides taking away some treble harshness at the expense of mild detail loss, I feel it gives 'maybe' a less open but more weighty presentation.

 

[goldwerger]

My Black & White Ebony Caldera has just arrived. Piece of art in its appearance and piece of art in its sonic performance. Thank you Zach and team ZMF for such a beauty!

Choosing wood was a long process. I was leaning towards the sound of hard wood editions, but I was also worrying about too much weight. While I respect all the stabilised and coloured editions, a natural wood look is much closer to my taste.
I had a weight limit around 550g in my mind as I remember from years ago that the LCD2C is exactly 550g and I found that comfortable. 600g or above was unfortunately out of question as I find that too much for occasionally wearing all day. Of course, I know, weight is not everything as I didn't find the 490g Focals very comfy and ZMF also has excellent weight distribution which makes the headphones feel lighter than they are.



As the lightest options I almost went for redwood or walnut as I love the look of those sets, but I was quite sure I would prefer the sound of hard wood cups. Macassar ebony was a strong candidate as well, but the potential weight scared me off. This is when I found black & white ebony: still ebony, still hard wood, but a lot lighter than other ebonies (and absolutely gorgeous looking!). The oak Caldera I have on loan weighs 526g with the thick pads, and it is 1350 lbf on the Janka hardness index. Walnut has a rating of 1000 lbf for perspective, redwood is way under 1000 lbf, macassar ebony is 3200 lbf, but the black & white ebony has a rating of 1800 lbf. So, while not as hard as other ebonies, still harder than oak and only weighs 566g with the thick pads on. I can live with that and also enjoy the small benefits what harder woods bring to the sound. (I consider them benefits; it depends on what sound you are after.)



My new Caldera still has some burn-in to do, but some quick a/b comparisons with my oak loaner Caldera pretty much confirmed what I was expecting. Sound on my ebony unit is a little tighter, a little clearer. I suspect, it is mostly because of shorter decay and slightly quicker transients in general, a tad more immediate cup reflection. It is really not night and day difference, but present. The ebony is somehow a little tighter, more coherent than the oak. I like the lush mids on the oak, but the clearer bass and the slight improvement in overall perceived clarity and immediacy makes me prefer the ebony. Also, what got me as a bit of a surprise, treble feels more controlled, more rounded as well. Very happy betula here.

I love black & white ebony.. your set is just incredible!

 

[Pharmaboy]

Is Teak a good-performing wood type for a Caldera? Thanks. ('just interested in sound and reliability, not how it looks, since it looks fine to me. I have a Teak Eikon and it's fine.) Thanks again.

Teak is moderately hard, about the same Janka as white oak. It is frequently used as a tone wood in various instruments, which IMO makes it more likely to be a good selection for headphone earcups.

I owned just one headphone with teak earcups: the E Mu Teak. The sound was quite amazing. I'd still have that headphone if the comfort hadn't been misery (and since then I kind of avoid closed backs because they exacerbate headache).

Speaking just for myself, if I was ordering a Caldera and teak was available, I'd go with it in a heartbeat...

 

[hafzz123]

As a Verite user I think "crispiness" of Caldera should suit you better. Harder wood tend to deliver more energy on bite and impact as well (closer to your preference).

Actually you're right, tried Caldera Kingwood again yesterday for several hours and i appreciate that extra snap and energy. I should've get Caldera in the first place LMAO

 

[JGreen08]

How much of a difference does the wood make to the sound? For instance, without being able to directly compare two different Calderas, would I be able to notice a large difference or is it more just a nuance to the overall Caldera sound profile? I'm honestly tempted to pick the wood type by how it looks and the overall weight.

 

[heliosphann]

I'm honestly tempted to pick the wood type by how it looks and the overall weight.

This is really how you should decide. There are differences in woods, but most are subtle. The differences can be more noticeable on certain models, like the VC. I don't believe it's as big of a factor with the Caldera (although I've not personally verified this).

 

[betula]

How much of a difference does the wood make to the sound? For instance, without being able to directly compare two different Calderas, would I be able to notice a large difference or is it more just a nuance to the overall Caldera sound profile? I'm honestly tempted to pick the wood type by how it looks and the overall weight.

I do not think, most people could pick up the sonic differences wood makes on different Calderas if they tried the headphones separately in different locations. All of them will give you the pleasurable Caldera sound. Earpads make a more significant difference. When A/B comparing two different Calderas though, some subtleties will pop up. I can only really talk about oak versus b&w ebony, but the ebony does feel a little clearer, a little snappier, a bit more coherent/cohesive. I noticed; it is easier to pick up some very subtle details in the mix.
ZMF on their website suggests prioritising look over sonic differences when it comes to choosing your Caldera and I generally agree. The sonic subtleties different wood types offer will only matter to those most discerning audiophiles who also carefully pick their headphone cables (like most of us here ).
When I A/B compare the oak and ebony Caldera, I am very glad I opted for the harder wood as I appreciate those minute changes but If I only heard the oak Caldera, I would still be perfectly happy.
I would say, find a middle ground when it comes to wood choice. If you fell in love with a look, just go for it. If you have 2-3 options and you find it tricky to pick one, think about these small sonic differences wood makes and choose the one you think would be closest to your sonic preference.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

My Black & White Ebony Caldera has just arrived. Piece of art in its appearance and piece of art in its sonic performance. Thank you Zach and team ZMF for such a beauty!

Choosing wood was a long process. I was leaning towards the sound of hard wood editions, but I was also worrying about too much weight. While I respect all the stabilised and coloured editions, a natural wood look is much closer to my taste.
I had a weight limit around 550g in my mind as I remember from years ago that the LCD2C is exactly 550g and I found that comfortable. 600g or above was unfortunately out of question as I find that too much for occasionally wearing all day. Of course, I know, weight is not everything as I didn't find the 490g Focals very comfy and ZMF also has excellent weight distribution which makes the headphones feel lighter than they are.



As the lightest options I almost went for redwood or walnut as I love the look of those sets, but I was quite sure I would prefer the sound of hard wood cups. Macassar ebony was a strong candidate as well, but the potential weight scared me off. This is when I found black & white ebony: still ebony, still hard wood, but a lot lighter than other ebonies (and absolutely gorgeous looking!). The oak Caldera I have on loan weighs 526g with the thick pads, and it is 1350 lbf on the Janka hardness index. Walnut has a rating of 1000 lbf for perspective, redwood is way under 1000 lbf, macassar ebony is 3200 lbf, but the black & white ebony has a rating of 1800 lbf. So, while not as hard as other ebonies, still harder than oak and only weighs 566g with the thick pads on. I can live with that and also enjoy the small benefits what harder woods bring to the sound. (I consider them benefits; it depends on what sound you are after.)



My new Caldera still has some burn-in to do, but some quick a/b comparisons with my oak loaner Caldera pretty much confirmed what I was expecting. Sound on my ebony unit is a little tighter, a little clearer. I suspect, it is mostly because of shorter decay and slightly quicker transients in general, a tad more immediate cup reflection. It is really not night and day difference, but present. The ebony is somehow a little tighter, more coherent than the oak. I like the lush mids on the oak, but the clearer bass and the slight improvement in overall perceived clarity and immediacy makes me prefer the ebony. Also, what got me as a bit of a surprise, treble feels more controlled, more rounded as well. Very happy betula here.

Damn good Ebony you have there, congrats! When I was looking at Caldera collections on web, Black White Ebony was the one that truly catch my attention.

While I like Blue or some other attractive colours for Dynamic Driver ZMF, I always think Caldera "should be" in more mature accent, more elegant and timeless rather "exotic and cheerful". Of course this is just my personal preference.

 

[Sword of Damocles]

Well this took longer than I thought but here's a follow-up to my previous post about the different ZMF pads and mantle mesh:






Writing up my review soon, but it's kinda cool how the various pads and mantle mesh come together to help not only address potential fatigue/sibilance issues for some but also help fine tune the tonality to different preferences. Don't take the measurements as gospel though, there are a few places where my subjective listening experience didn't match what I measured and, as always in such cases, I defer to my own ears rather than a rig which is less-than-perfect.

It is always interesting how different results you can get with different devices. The Caldera review unit I had measured like this using my IEC711 clone with the new KB501X pinna. I haven't seen other FR measurements quite like mine when it comes to upper mids and lower treble. This still kind of matches what I heard, as I didn't spot anything unnatural and the treble was bright and sparkly but never fatigued me.

 

[vsg28]

It is always interesting how different results you can get with different devices. The Caldera review unit I had measured like this using my IEC711 clone with the new KB501X pinna. I haven't seen other FR measurements quite like mine when it comes to upper mids and lower treble. This still kind of matches what I heard, as I didn't spot anything unnatural and the treble was bright and sparkly but never fatigued me.

So many variables involved. Different rigs, none of which are industry standard ones to begin with, different headphones, different positioning on the rigs, different people doing the measurements, and of course different ears that are listening to the headphones. I see measurements as a general guide for quality control and to see the relative tonal balance, but ultimately I always rely on my own ears to describe how something sounds to me. The FRs can be useful for comparisons when every other variable is the same though, such as the effect of the mantle mesh as well as different pads.