ZMF Caldera - New Planar Magnetic from ZMF!

[LE9000]

I hope I receive a fair product because the wood design (shou sugi ban) seems like it depends lot on the luck!

You will get lucky! It is hard to resist any ZMF once you have it in your hands. Pictures seldom do them justice.

 

[dguitarnut]

What you are buying is one of the best sounding headphones made……..the woody you get is just a bonus! LoL!
I love my plain Jane Oak CO

 

[Lyssky]

Hi Caldera Owners - new member here.

Do any of you EQ your Caldera?
Mine is a CO. I’m still in the exploration phase but my initial thought was that it seems to roll off quite early in the “sub bass frequency”.

Hey there, welcome.
I may be one of the few who applies considerable EQ to my Caldera. That's because I am coming from the LCD-XC and am used to a much brighter character. It's not that CO is dark. The fault is mine alone. I used to apply a little EQ even to my LCD-XC making it brighter. But brighter in this context does not mean piercing highs. It is more about a boosted upper-mid region and also giving a little push to the beginning section of the brilliance region. While many may find this alteration disturbing to the ear, all I hear is an increase in clarity and air. I am pretty sure that it's not about my hearing since I close both ears when I hear a shrieking sound or a fast motorcycle, roaring truck passes by. So I don't jack up the highs too much if the headphones are adequate in this region which Caldera is.
Considering bass, yes, I too add a measure of sub-bass and mid-bass as well, enough to make the Caldera rumble but not so much that it blooms out (Not sure if that's even possible with the Caldera. This beauty takes EQ like a queen).
I feel quite lucky that Mojo 2 DSP fits like a glove in this respect and unfortunately I became so dependent on Mojo 2 that I feel like the only time I may give it up would be if Hugo 3 comes with the same or a better implementation of this feature.

 

[LE9000]

Hey there, welcome.
I may be one of the few who applies considerable EQ to my Caldera. That's because I am coming from the LCD-XC and am used to a much brighter character. It's not that CO is dark. The fault is mine alone. I used to apply a little EQ even to my LCD-XC making it brighter. But brighter in this context does not mean piercing highs. It is more about a boosted upper-mid region and also giving a little push to the beginning section of the brilliance region. While many may find this alteration disturbing to the ear, all I hear is an increase in clarity and air. I am pretty sure that it's not about my hearing since I close both ears when I hear a shrieking sound or a fast motorcycle, roaring truck passes by. So I don't jack up the highs too much if the headphones are adequate in this region which Caldera is.
Considering bass, yes, I too add a measure of sub-bass and mid-bass as well, enough to make the Caldera rumble but not so much that it blooms out (Not sure if that's even possible with the Caldera. This beauty takes EQ like a queen).
I feel quite lucky that Mojo 2 DSP fits like a glove in this respect and unfortunately I became so dependent on Mojo 2 that I feel like the only time I may give it up would be if Hugo 3 comes with the same or a better implementation of this feature.

Thanks!
I have been playing around with the EQ presets available in Roon. I EQ my Vérité and LCD-3 - to get them to my liking. The Caldera sounds pretty amazing even without EQ but it feels like there is def some potential in EQ.
Will have to study the manual EQ settings since this is completely new to me.

 

[julpe]

Hey all, I have a quick question about your experiences with DAC&AMP pairings for your CO. I recently got myself a CO and was thinking of pairing it with a Gustard R26 and a Cayin HA-3A, since I could get my hands on these easily through local dealers.
Do you guys have other good pairings for around the same price range? Can also be a SS AMP ofc

 

[G8torbyte]

Hey all, I have a quick question about your experiences with DAC&AMP pairings for your CO. I recently got myself a CO and was thinking of pairing it with a Gustard R26 and a Cayin HA-3A, since I could get my hands on these easily through local dealers.
Do you guys have other good pairings for around the same price range? Can also be a SS AMP ofc

I've had very pleasant results with the Violectric V222 and V281LE solid state amps, and for an output transformer coupled (OTC) tube amp, the Icon Audio HP-8 MkII is fantastic for planar and dynamic headphones. Currently I use the Schiit Bifrost 2/64 DAC which pairs well with my amps and the Caldera Open.

 

[LE9000]

Some serious brain burn in going on here. I was initially missing a bit of sub bass. But things are smoothing out now.

Also; I realized I was using a low HP output on my Taboo amp. The high output feels like a better option. But it might be a mental thing

These babies do make sweet sweet music.

 

[goldwerger]

Some serious brain burn in going on here. I was initially missing a bit of sub bass. But things are smoothing out now.

Also; I realized I was using a low HP output on my Taboo amp. The high output feels like a better option. But it might be a mental thing

These babies do make sweet sweet music.

The Caldera is fantastic on the Decware Taboo. I use the low gain for a better noise floor (if you have a Lucid mode dial in your version, I like to engage it and turn it to about two o’clock).

 

[LE9000]

The Caldera is fantastic on the Decware Taboo. I use the low gain for a better noise floor (if you have a Lucid mode dial in your version, I like to engage it and turn it to about two o’clock).

True. It really works well with Taboo. Mine is the mkiii. Has old and new lucid mode.
AND very low noise. It is my second Taboo. The first one was def more noisy as it was an early build. I do miss some of the Punch my first Taboo had though.
The chain right there:

 

[goldwerger]

True. It really works well with Taboo. Mine is the mkiii. Has old and new lucid mode.
AND very low noise. It is my second Taboo. The first one was def more noisy as it was an early build. I do miss some of the Punch my first Taboo had though.
The chain right there:

that's a great amp alright!

I have the mk4 but also still have my older mk2.5 (SE84TS+) as I'm finding it hard to let go, even tho I should..

In my amp, I find the high gain to be just a touch too noisy for the Caldera (I'd only use it with low sensitivyt headphones), but in general the presentation of both low and high gain is identical other than the input voltage and resulting output power/noise floor

 

[LE9000]

that's a great amp alright!

I have the mk4 but also still have my older mk2.5 (SE84TS+) as I'm finding it hard to let go, even tho I should..

In my amp, I find the high gain to be just a touch too noisy for the Caldera (I'd only use it with low sensitivyt headphones), but in general the presentation of both low and high gain is identical other than the input voltage and resulting output power/noise floor

It can be my hearing playing tricks on me. But on my Taboo the high output seems much more dynamic on the Caldera.

I have no idea if the additional resistors on the low output has any impact on the dynamic’ swing’ of things …

 

[goldwerger]

It can be my hearing playing tricks on me. But on my Taboo the high output seems much more dynamic on the Caldera.

I have no idea if the additional resistors on the low output has any impact on the dynamic’ swing’ of things …

In my experience, usually lower gain means less amplificaiton in noise and distortion, and therefore provides more linear range and headphone, and therefore better dynamics. But I'm not 100% sure about how it's implemented in the Taboo (never really looked into it). As a general practice, I try to always use low gain, unless I'm driving a very hard load and need more volume range.

But, of course, there's theory and then there's practice.. so do whatever sounds best on your end!!

 

[Pharmaboy]

As a general practice, I try to always use low gain, unless I'm driving a very hard load and need more volume range.

I couldn't agree more. 5 or 6 of my amps have switchable gain, but I've never used anything but the lowest gain with any/all headphones here, including power hog planars.

Part of the reason for this is a chronic excess gain issue in my main system (DAC that outputs 3.0v, well above the nominal 2.0v standard)--but I also use only low gain in my side system with a DAC that outputs 2V single-ended and 4V balanced.

The very few times I experimented with higher gain, it sounded louder, but not any better, and it robbed me of rotational real estate on the volume pot (so not worth it).

 

[m3lover1]

Hello all! Are these pretty easy to drive off portable sources? I don't have and don't intend to get any desktop dacs/amps, so I'm wondering if these run well off my daps (DX340, R8ii) along with my LP EA4?

I just got the Empy II's but might return those to get these. Anyone else here have listened to both and say how do they compare?

 

[betula]

Hello all! Are these pretty easy to drive off portable sources? I don't have and don't intend to get any desktop dacs/amps, so I'm wondering if these run well off my daps (DX340, R8ii) along with my LP EA4?

I just got the Empy II's but might return those to get these. Anyone else here have listened to both and say how do they compare?

I think, the Caldera is a significant step up from the Empy II. Caldera sounds more refined, more detailed, more dynamic, more energetic with better separation and imaging. Empy II in comparison sounds a little V shaped and soft, unrefined. Still not bad headphones, but IMO Caldera is much better. (I also think the Elite is much better balanced and tuned than the Empy II. Between Elite and Caldera, the choice could be personal preference. Elite is a lot more laid back and more spacious. Caldera is more exciting, livelier, thicker.)
Caldera (or Elite) can be driven from portable sources like your DX340 to relatively good (adequate) levels, but certainly not to their full potential. For that you will need proper desktop gear with pretty much any TOTL headphones.