[idairyou]

Officially joined the ZMF family after meeting the tremendously passionate, talented, and amazing team consisting of Zach, Bev, AJ and so many others at CanJam! So far, I am a fan of the Calderas but am waiting to try out the mesh mantle + thick pads to try and tame some of those upper mids, particularly for vocals. I also have a WA23 LUNA coming in tomorrow so I am excited to see how that pairs. But in the meantime, the Calderas definitely seem to act more akin to a dynamic driver than any other planar I've heard. You sacrifice some speed for a meaty, powerful sound with strong timbre and PRaT---definitely a musical treat.

I also had some fun taking and editing some photos of a Stabilzed Wood LTD pair that I took home with me (still deciding what to name her ). She is a bit more turquoise than green IRL.

The green is just beautiful, congrats.

I can't say this enough, get a BBB strap. They have an olive-green strap that would go perfect with this one.

I will also suggest the suede pads.

 

[avin13]

Officially joined the ZMF family after meeting the tremendously passionate, talented, and amazing team consisting of Zach, Bev, AJ and so many others at CanJam! So far, I am a fan of the Calderas but am waiting to try out the mesh mantle + thick pads to try and tame some of those upper mids, particularly for vocals. I also have a WA23 LUNA coming in tomorrow so I am excited to see how that pairs. But in the meantime, the Calderas definitely seem to act more akin to a dynamic driver than any other planar I've heard. You sacrifice some speed for a meaty, powerful sound with strong timbre and PRaT---definitely a musical treat.

I also had some fun taking and editing some photos of a Stabilzed Wood LTD pair that I took home with me (still deciding what to name her ). She is a bit more turquoise than green IRL.

thanks for sharing the pics! Great photos, glad to see it in its entirety. I believe I saw this pair in the can-jam impression thread on the shelf below a red resin Homage. I always get a lil gitty seeing a green caldera.

 

[ng5921]

Don't worry, jump right in. I'm far from being an eloquent or accurate describer of impressions and still consider myself a novice in all this.
We have a passion for music and like to try matching up a good set of gear with the music we enjoy. During the CanJam seminar with Zach and Bevin on Saturday afternoon someone described their experience with the Caldera and how it strongly brought to them an emotional response several times. I think many can relate to this since music played well, mixed with memories, nostalgia and feelings will evoke a range of emotions and euphoria.

Here's some of my impressions, and for context the songs I tried out were: Interstellar Medley by Hans Zimmer, Diasasterpiece by Slipknot (and a couple other songs from the Iowa album), Warning Sign by Coldplay, and a few songs from the Meteora album by Linkin Park. Disasterpiece sounded especially good on the CC .

I listened to the CC on the DIY Aegis, ZMF collab Aegis, and on the Viva Egoista 2A3, as well as on my Qudelix 5k (which powered it really well!)

I'm also pretty sensitive to sibilance, which is an issue I have with the Caldera Open and need to eq it out.

• Soundstage - I felt that the soundstage was just as wide as the Caldera Open, with great imaging (I think I'm using that term correctly, it felt like I could pinpoint where sounds were coming from)
• Bass/sub-bass - definitely a boost here, a very welcome one IMO. Punchier than the Caldera open, but not excessive. With my CO I eq in a bit of a bass boost.
• Treble - I feel like the CO has a bit of a peak (which I eq out), but the CC did not seem to have this peak and was less sibilant.
• Resolution/Clarity - extremely similar to the Caldera Open
• Comfort - just as comfortable on the head as the Caldera open! The pair I demo'd had the older style ZMF headband, so I think the BBB would make them even more comfortable.
• Looks - it speaks for itself...love the geometric cup.

I've tried a number of ZMF closed backs (VC, AC, Atticus, and Bokeh) and others as well (SJY Starry Night, DCA Aeon 2 Noire, Aeon Closed X) and in general I vastly prefer open back headphones. But the Caldera Closed really did have the same "wow" factor as the Caldera Open, and at times I was forgetting it was a closed back! It addressed what I find to be the two main shortcomings of the Caldera Open, which is somewhat lacking bass and a trebel peak. With the tuning I heard at CanJam, I would run the Caldera Closed with zero EQ.

Just my 2 cents, but the CC is definitely going to be my next purchase! I'm just imagining how gorgeous the stabilized models will look...Phenomenal work from ZMF.

 

[ng5921]

Officially joined the ZMF family after meeting the tremendously passionate, talented, and amazing team consisting of Zach, Bev, AJ and so many others at CanJam! So far, I am a fan of the Calderas but am waiting to try out the mesh mantle + thick pads to try and tame some of those upper mids, particularly for vocals. I also have a WA23 LUNA coming in tomorrow so I am excited to see how that pairs. But in the meantime, the Calderas definitely seem to act more akin to a dynamic driver than any other planar I've heard. You sacrifice some speed for a meaty, powerful sound with strong timbre and PRaT---definitely a musical treat.

I also had some fun taking and editing some photos of a Stabilzed Wood LTD pair that I took home with me (still deciding what to name her ). She is a bit more turquoise than green IRL.

I was eyeing those at the show..so beautiful. Great photography work!

 

[G8torbyte]

@ng5921 Nice review, well done!
From Hans Zimmer to Slipknot? You're range of genres is kind of like mine. For hard rock/metal I love the AO so much and use it a lot with other just good 'ol vintage rock as well as classic country. The Caldera is definitely a planar that bridges the differences to dynamics like no other. I tried the Caldera Closed on some stellar amps at the ZMF CanJam room and was loving it with all types of music.
Try a few different pads. I brought home the Caldera thick pads from CanJam and noticing more detail/holographic imaging that I'm enjoying now with the Geshelli J2 DAC/Homage combo.

 

[G8torbyte]

I also had some fun taking and editing some photos of a Stabilzed Wood LTD pair that I took home with me (still deciding what to name her ). She is a bit more turquoise than green IRL.

As a JRR Tolkien fan "Imladris" or something elven or vernal comes to mind for a name. Beautiful and elegant.

I picked "Novarupta" as a handle for my lava burst ash.

 

[betula]

Here's some of my impressions, and for context the songs I tried out were: Interstellar Medley by Hans Zimmer, Diasasterpiece by Slipknot (and a couple other songs from the Iowa album), Warning Sign by Coldplay, and a few songs from the Meteora album by Linkin Park. Disasterpiece sounded especially good on the CC .

I listened to the CC on the DIY Aegis, ZMF collab Aegis, and on the Viva Egoista 2A3.

I'm also pretty sensitive to sibilance, which is an issue I have with the Caldera Open and need to eq it out.

• Soundstage - I felt that the soundstage was just as wide as the Caldera Open, with great imaging (I think I'm using that term correctly, it felt like I could pinpoint where sounds were coming from)
• Bass/sub-bass - definitely a boost here, a very welcome one IMO. Punchier than the Caldera open, but not excessive. With my CO I eq in a bit of a bass boost.
• Treble - I feel like the CO has a bit of a peak (which I eq out), but the CC did not seem to have this peak and was less sibilant.
• Resolution/Clarity - extremely similar to the Caldera Open
• Comfort - just as comfortable on the head as the Caldera open! The pair I demo'd had the older style ZMF headband, so I think the BBB would make them even more comfortable.
• Looks - it speaks for itself...love the geometric cup.

I've tried a number of ZMF closed backs (VC, AC, Atticus, and Bokeh) and others as well (SJY Starry Night, DCA Aeon 2 Noire, Aeon Closed X) and in general I vastly prefer open back headphones. But the Caldera Closed really did have the same "wow" factor as the Caldera Open, and at times I was forgetting it was a closed back! It addressed what I find to be the two main shortcomings of the Caldera Open, which is somewhat lacking bass and a trebel peak. With the tuning I heard at CanJam, I would run the Caldera Closed with zero EQ.

Just my 2 cents, but the CC is definitely going to be my next purchase! I'm just imagining how gorgeous the stabilized models will look...Phenomenal work from ZMF.

Thanks for the impressions. The thick pads on the CO add a little bass and smooth out that upper-mid/lower-treble forwardness, just enough to my liking. I wonder, if the CC has even more bass than the CO with thick pads? I guess it depends on the CC pads too and it is still not the absolute final tuning, although the official release is just 1-2 months away.

 

[Lyssky]

Do people actually take big-time headphones like the Caldera on board planes? That's kind of hard for me to imagine...

Last week I did (couldn't leave them at home) but no listening, just hugged the seahorse case all through the flight

 

[mattiastomas]

wonder, if the CC has even more bass than the CO with thick pads? I guess it depends on the CC pads too and it is still not the absolute final tuning

I use thick pads + mantle mesh on my CO. Listening to the CC it did have slighty more bass to me. The “stock” pads on the CC I heard were hybrid pads

 

[goldwerger]

Some HeadFi members on the water cooler team wear the wooden nametags with their HeadFi name/handle during the CanJam.

however the event time is kind of limited when there are so many cool items to see and try and it would be difficult to balance the time if you're distracted on conversations.

I had the same view initially but learned to value my time connecting and reconnecting with community members above all else. It just makes the audio journey (and, incidentally, the discovery) so much more enjoyable. Can’t recommend enough taking time to deliberately while some time away in wonderful conversations and making new friends who share your passion

 

[goldwerger]

I couldn't resist anymore. These are coming home babe.

Love that grain. Congrats!

 

[goldwerger]

I wonder if the closed version is a little heavier in general due to more wood in the cups?

A set I demo-ed, I believe it may have been ash, was quite light!

 

[goldwerger]

I was in the ZMF Room and sat down next to a guy listening to the Aegis. I recognized his Caldera from the photos here on the thread. Turns out it was AcousticMatt. Such a random encounter

"Excuse me sir, don't take this the wrong way but I recognize your Caldera"

Great seeing both you and @AcousticMatt at the ZMF room.

Love your story of recognizing him based on his headphones

 

[goldwerger]

Actually, no, I don't think so. Good point.

I've spent most of my life designing IEMs, so I had that in my mind when I typed that. I was thinking more of Head-Fi gear in general getting recognized. Oops.

OT but recall once riding the NYC subway with my Noble Sultan and getting a very pointed stare followed by a slight nod and smile..

 

[goldwerger]

I also have a WA23 LUNA coming in tomorrow so I am excited to see how that pairs.

Nice! Always had half an eye slanted toward that amp. It’s just so much fun. Great choice and congrats on a gorgeous set!