[ThanatosVI]

I am dying to hear the Caldera, Zach has the magic hand at tuning. I generally don't like planars as much but I do have his OG Fostex mod, the Ori. That is one of the sweetest sounding planars I've ever heard. I really wanted to get to canjam socal to hear it, but daddy duties killed that dream. I'm sure at some point I'll sell another organ and pick one up on impulse hahaha. But first things first, that new Wells Audio OTL that's coming out later this year or early next is a the top of my list of purchases.

What amp are you using currently?
Maybe you should reverse the order and get a Caldera first

 

[betula]

I am dying to hear the Caldera, Zach has the magic hand at tuning. I generally don't like planars as much but I do have his OG Fostex mod, the Ori. That is one of the sweetest sounding planars I've ever heard. I really wanted to get to canjam socal to hear it, but daddy duties killed that dream. I'm sure at some point I'll sell another organ and pick one up on impulse hahaha. But first things first, that new Wells Audio OTL that's coming out later this year or early next is a the top of my list of purchases.

Caldera is definitely not your average planar.

 

[Leto Dal]

I heard Susvara recently on my Bliss and while it can do some things better than Caldera and has a really great airy stage, if I had to choose it would be Caldera hands down. Only very slightly behind in detail retrieval, Caldera delivers way more organic sound with more realistic instrument body and a far better bass, while still being incredibly revealing. Considering how much cheaper and better build Caldera is, well.. Something tells me that if it ran at Susvara price, many people who chase that elusive "best" would go for Caldera.

 

[AudioDuck]

I am dying to hear the Caldera, Zach has the magic hand at tuning. I generally don't like planars as much but I do have his OG Fostex mod, the Ori. That is one of the sweetest sounding planars I've ever heard.

Most likely a closed Caldera would suit my tastes a bit better than the VC, so down the road I might have to dig deep to find funds for one… it’s probably a VERY good thing the Caldera Closed does not yet exist!

(I’d power a planar with my RSA Apache, not my OTL tube amp, mind you)

 

[betula]

I heard Susvara recently on my Bliss and while it can do some things better than Caldera and has a really great airy stage, if I had to choose it would be Caldera hands down. Only very slightly behind in detail retrieval, Caldera delivers way more organic sound with more realistic instrument body and a far better bass, while still being incredibly revealing. Considering how much cheaper and better build Caldera is, well.. Something tells me that if it ran at Susvara price, many people who chase that elusive "best" would go for Caldera.

Agreed. I prefer Caldera to pretty much all other flagship headphones. It is very good.

 

[helljudgement]

With ZMF November coming I thought I'd post a brief summary of my experience with this company's offering. Note these are just my experience and won't include anything I've not heard on my system for an extended period which only limits my feedback to just the 3 flagship.

Caldera:
Probably the crowd favorite and the easiest to recommend for anyone with the budget. Plenty to love here. Resolution on par with if not exceeding the most resolving ZMF's dynamic, right up there with the Utopia for reference. Doesn't have the slam of an Abyss or Final planar headphone but then again it is not tuned for that. It's tactile, strong, rich and nuanced. Overall presentation leans slightly towards neutral-dark given it's slightly laid-back presentation, a trait you'll find with most ZMF headphone. For anyone with money to spare and never tried a ZMF but looking to get in, this is the one I recommend getting. I'm all in on dynamic driver but this is special.

Atrium Open:
Co dynamic flagship alongside the Verite. Rich overtone likely attributed to the biocell driver. Slightly lifted mid-bass giving plenty oomph. Not the snappiest of headphone but not slow/sluggish in anyway. Plenty fast to keep up the busiest of passage. Standout here is it's timbre and rendering of textures. The most lifelike percussion rendering out of all the ZMFs lineup and an excellent headphone for rock and acoustics instruments. Mid's are not as laid back as the Caldera and Verite not overly glaring as well. Very open soundscape and one the widest in ZMF's lineup. Possibly the most "normal" sounding out of the 3 flagship especially for people who are new to ZMF. Recommended for anyone looking for a rich sounding headphone that plays well with a variety of genre. I own this and use this even way more than I'd like to.

Verite Open:
The most polarising amongst the ZMF lineup imo. Feedback I received from people who've heard it are that they either love it or that it's the one they like the least and no in between. There maybe some who are on the fence but given time they will fall into either camp. It is my personal favorite headphone regardless or brand/driver type. Excellent seperation and layering with great resolution. Plenty of cup resonance, resulting in a stage that is both wide and wraps around your head providing a very 3d feel. The widest staging ZMF I've heard especially on universe pads, exceeding that the Atrium and Caldera. Very coloured sound and upper mids are notably recessed with a W shaped tonality. Best headphone for Jazz by far. Recommended for people looking for something unconventional and willing to try something that is totally unique.

Amplification:
Don't get too hung up on the solid state or tube camps. I think @zach915m did an excellent job in making these as amp friendly as possible. As with all things, there will be amps that synergise better than others for a specific headphone but I've personally have not experience anything awful and I've tried these on $99 Schiit to kilobucks amps with kilobucks worth of tubes. Get your headphones right before sorting out the amp and don't let anyone you've never met convince you that your amp is inadequate and that X is better than Y. Always trust your ears.

 

[unfitstew]

I heard Susvara recently on my Bliss and while it can do some things better than Caldera and has a really great airy stage, if I had to choose it would be Caldera hands down. Only very slightly behind in detail retrieval, Caldera delivers way more organic sound with more realistic instrument body and a far better bass, while still being incredibly revealing. Considering how much cheaper and better build Caldera is, well.. Something tells me that if it ran at Susvara price, many people who chase that elusive "best" would go for Caldera.

Fair view! I personally prefer the Susvara for its more airy, more "etherial" sound. Yet smooth and not overly fatiguing. I prefer Susvaras mids and treble over the Calderas. Everything sounds so effortless on the Susvara. Calderas highs aren't as smooth and bother my ears a good amount after some time listening to it

To me the Caldera despite being a step down overall is fantastic for how close it gets for being nearly half the price.

 

[Leto Dal]

Fair view! I personally prefer the Susvara for its more airy, more "etherial" sound. Yet smooth and not overly fatiguing. I prefer Susvaras mids and treble over the Calderas. Everything sounds so effortless on the Susvara. Calderas highs aren't as smooth and bother my ears a good amount after some time listening to it

To me the Caldera despite being a step down overall is fantastic for how close it gets for being nearly half the price.

Yeah totally see your point too! If I didnt listen to so many different genres and especially some heavier rock, metal and industrial stuff, I probably would prefer Susvara. Depending on what you are looking for, it might be better for classic, jazz and "calmer" instrumental stuff. But Susvara just cant deliver the visceral natural sound in rock and metal paired with great seperation and detail like Caldera can. Caldera is just a better allrounder in my use case.

This very moment I am putting Caldera down after a session of Kyuss thinking to myself "this was ****ing amazing!"

 

[unfitstew]

Yeah totally see your point too! If I didnt listen so many different genres and especially some heavier rock, metal and industrial stuff, I probably would prefer Susvara. Depending on what you are looking for, it might be better for classic, jazz and "calmer" instrumental stuff. But Susvara just cant deliver the visceral natural sound in rock and metal paired with great seperation and detail like Caldera can. Caldera is just a better allrounder in my use case.

I really love the Susvara for rock and metal. But I have the ideal amp pairing for Susvara in the Bakoon 13R that helps give it more of a dynamic sound and gives som warmth to fill the sound more.

Caldera is for sure the more amp forgiving of the two and yeah is a very dynamic headphone. It is certainly more dynamic than Susvara in the bass. I would consider both all rounders for sure. I listen to most genres outside of country regularly (okay obviously not every subgenre. There is too many to account for haha).

On another topic my Auteur Classic came in and it is both beautiful and first impressions of the sound are that I think it is a headphone a lot of people will like. Its tonality is balanced and mostly inoffensive. I will say it does sound like a lot like well an Auteur. Will have to take my Auteur PG out of case soon to compare.

 

[Leto Dal]

I really love the Susvara for rock and metal. But I have the ideal amp pairing for Susvara in the Bakoon 13R that helps give it more of a dynamic sound and gives som warmth to fill the sound more.

Caldera is for sure the more amp forgiving of the two and yeah is a very dynamic headphone. It is certainly more dynamic than Susvara in the bass. I would consider both all rounders for sure. I listen to most genres outside of country regularly (okay obviously not every subgenre. There is too many to account for haha).

On another topic my Auteur Classic came in and it is both beautiful and first impressions of the sound are that I think it is a headphone a lot of people will like. Its tonality is balanced and mostly inoffensive. I will say it does sound like a lot like well an Auteur. Will have to take my Auteur PG out of case soon to compare.

Yeah much comes down to the amp, but Bliss is no slouch either, I believe it fuels up Susvara well and has some warmth to it too. I prefered Caldera for genres mentioned. Anyways beautiful Auteur! Are those rose gold accents?

 

[HarryHood]

I really love the Susvara for rock and metal. But I have the ideal amp pairing for Susvara in the Bakoon 13R that helps give it more of a dynamic sound and gives som warmth to fill the sound more.

Caldera is for sure the more amp forgiving of the two and yeah is a very dynamic headphone. It is certainly more dynamic than Susvara in the bass. I would consider both all rounders for sure. I listen to most genres outside of country regularly (okay obviously not every subgenre. There is too many to account for haha).

On another topic my Auteur Classic came in and it is both beautiful and first impressions of the sound are that I think it is a headphone a lot of people will like. Its tonality is balanced and mostly inoffensive. I will say it does sound like a lot like well an Auteur. Will have to take my Auteur PG out of case soon to compare.

Lovely Classic! Can you compare to the Atrium Open? Thanks.

 

[heliosphann]

Wow, love to see all the great discourse regarding various ZMF models, etc... Maybe going forward, we should start a generalized ZMF headphone thread to continue such discussions? ZMF Potpourri if you will. That way the individual ZMF model threads won't get too far off topic. Some food for thought.

In the meantime, I'm sure we'd all like to see some more tantalizing ZMF NOVEMBER pics that @zach915m is hoarding.

 

[unfitstew]

Lovely Classic! Can you compare to the Atrium Open? Thanks.

Will do when I have more time! I will try to remember to @ you or quite your question when I do. It may be this weekend when I have more time to A/B.

Yeah a generalized thread will be cool! Here is another pic of the Auteur Classic. I think it shows off the red tint better than the previous pic! @zach915m you really have outdone yourself between the stabilized pairs and the Ash release!

Edit: Somehow the picture didn't send with it. Fixed that haha.

 

[betula]

Doesn't have the slam of an Abyss or Final planar headphone but then again it is not tuned for that.

Great summary, this is the only sentence I would argue with. With the right amp the Caldera does slam like crazy. Definitely up there with the D8000 and perhaps just a hair behind the 1266TC. The Caldera on the top Holo May/Bliss stack has the potential to slam anyone's brain out.

 

[unfitstew]

Wow, love to see all the great discourse regarding various ZMF models, etc... Maybe going forward, we should start a generalized ZMF headphone thread to continue such discussions? ZMF Potpourri if you will. That way the individual ZMF model threads won't get too far off topic. Some food for thought.

In the meantime, I'm sure we'd all like to see some more tantalizing ZMF NOVEMBER pics that @zach915m is hoarding.

Just made one. My apologies if there is already a general HP and amp thread I didn't know about. I am not linking it here as I don't want to take from/advertise on this thread.