[cats4cans]

I've been listening to Taj my entire adult life. He was "roots" before people even used the word. I'm pretty sure I saw him live once, but memories from those days tend to be ... uhm, fragmentary.

The first of his albums I heard--and IMHO the best--was "The Natch'l Blues" (link below). And yes, it sounds wonderful on the VO. I wish they'd mixed the bass a bit higher; then again, there's the amazing guitar of Jesse Ed Davis to balance out any flaws.

Now I’m going to have to listen to this album on every setup I have. So damn good. Started with speakers earlier and am now with Hagerman Tuba into Aeolus with BE2 hybrid pads. The VO with Caldera ultra perf might have to wait until tomorrow. I can’t believe this album has existed for the entirety of my life and yet i’d never heard it until today. It’s going to be in the rotation for a while. I’ve heard a few Taj Mahal albums before, but I may need to go through the entire catalog. Grateful for streaming.

 

[robo24]

Still crossing my fingers for an eventual suede ultra perf Caldera pad

Got em today and I couldn't even remember what pads people were recomending the lambskin version of it on. I'm preferring it on the Atrium & Aeolus more than on the Verite. They do give a more expansive stage than the Universe suedes I use 95% of the time, but I found female vocals hard to concentrate on. I had liked the original Caldera suede (solid inner wall) on the Verite but it did bring a nice bass boost, but also some muddieness and I gave up on them after a few days. With the perforated inner wall there's definitely no bass boost, but it doesn't suffer vs. the Uni suedes. Very comfortable pads and might be worth a try, though try on the others first if you own them. Haven't compared them to the seude BE-2 yet.

 

[Rollnrock]

I've been listening to Taj my entire adult life. He was "roots" before people even used the word. I'm pretty sure I saw him live once, but memories from those days tend to be ... uhm, fragmentary.

The first of his albums I heard--and IMHO the best--was "The Natch'l Blues" (link below). And yes, it sounds wonderful on the VO. I wish they'd mixed the bass a bit higher; then again, there's the amazing guitar of Jesse Ed Davis to balance out any flaws.

Nice Album. It deserves a quiet listen with a glass of bourbon

 

[AudioPowerHead]

Got em today and I couldn't even remember what pads people were recomending the lambskin version of it on. I'm preferring it on the Atrium & Aeolus more than on the Verite. They do give a more expansive stage than the Universe suedes I use 95% of the time, but I found female vocals hard to concentrate on. I had liked the original Caldera suede (solid inner wall) on the Verite but it did bring a nice bass boost, but also some muddieness and I gave up on them after a few days. With the perforated inner wall there's definitely no bass boost, but it doesn't suffer vs. the Uni suedes. Very comfortable pads and might be worth a try, though try on the others first if you own them. Haven't compared them to the seude BE-2 yet.

So the uni suede pads is still the best for you on the VO ? It is for me. Tried the Caldera suede pads on my VO, didn’t like it.

 

[robo24]

So the uni suede pads is still the best for you on the VO ? It is for me. Tried the Caldera suede pads on my VO, didn’t like it.

Yes, I'm sure I'll try these new Caldera pads on the VO again. Some may prefer the wider stage with them though.

 

[heliosphann]

Looks like I'm going to have to make another addition to several of my pad reviews.

 

[sianofabio]

Yes, I'm sure I'll try these new Caldera pads on the VO again. Some may prefer the wider stage with them though.

Suede Uni for me also. The thinner pads shows more dynamics as they are closer to ears but they loose on stage. The solution is to just use a higher volume with the uni suede.

 

[Pelilin]

Wow so there is new pads for VO? Until today i only use BE2 pad because of its warmer and punchier presentation and thicker notes. Somehow BE2 pads have more "right" sound to my ear.

 

[shafat777]

Wow so there is new pads for VO? Until today i only use BE2 pad because of its warmer and punchier presentation and thicker notes. Somehow BE2 pads have more "right" sound to my ear.

Not made specifically for the VO, but zmf just released their ultra perforated suede pads for their caldera. Since these have perforations on the inside, it can be safely used with the VO/atrium. I personally prefer the lambskin ultra perforated caldera pads on my atrium.

 

[dbull12]

Bit of a cross-post from the Pietus Maximus thread but I thought this might be a better place to ask:

Has anyone had ears on both the Pietus Maximus and Cayin iHA-6 with the VO? Would love to hear any comparisons. iHA-6 has the higher output impedance from the SE outputs which seems beneficial for something with a ton of mid-bass like the Atticus, but I'm not sure if it's really as crucial when it comes to synergizing with Verite

 

[droptables]

First time posting in this thread. I have had my VO's for about 3 months now. The VO's have sounded great from the get go, but it wasn't until I did some pad rolling from the Universal lambskin to the BE2 lambskin, Caldera ultra perfs to finally settle on the Caldera stock lambskins. Which to my ears was the perfect pad for the VO's, but this has also become my favorite pad for the rest of my ZMFs as well.
The reasoning, to my ears the Universal and Auteur pads sound really similar to where I can't really tell much of a difference between the pads.
The Caldera Ultra Perfs while sounding good just move the vocals too forward for me.
The Caldera stock move the vocals back for me while still sounding amazing.
I have ran this on all my amps as well from the ZMF Homage, Cayin HA-3A, and the Eufonika h5.
The Cayin being my favorite with a specific tube roll the Apos Ray 12au7 and the Russian 6V6 reflector (a tube I didn't expect much from but figured I would give a try), with the VO's is the most organic and realistic sounding presentation of music I have heard to date.
The homage has to be the closest thing to a tube amp I have heard without being a tube amp and pairs really well with all of my ZMFs.
The Eufonika, I just prefer with my AO's, it sounds great but I prefer the Cayin with the VO's.

 

[andrewchoppa]

First time posting in this thread. I have had my VO's for about 3 months now. The VO's have sounded great from the get go, but it wasn't until I did some pad rolling from the Universal lambskin to the BE2 lambskin, Caldera ultra perfs to finally settle on the Caldera stock lambskins. Which to my ears was the perfect pad for the VO's, but this has also become my favorite pad for the rest of my ZMFs as well.
The reasoning, to my ears the Universal and Auteur pads sound really similar to where I can't really tell much of a difference between the pads.
The Caldera Ultra Perfs while sounding good just move the vocals too forward for me.
The Caldera stock move the vocals back for me while still sounding amazing.
I have ran this on all my amps as well from the ZMF Homage, Cayin HA-3A, and the Eufonika h5.
The Cayin being my favorite with a specific tube roll the Apos Ray 12au7 and the Russian 6V6 reflector (a tube I didn't expect much from but figured I would give a try), with the VO's is the most organic and realistic sounding presentation of music I have heard to date.
The homage has to be the closest thing to a tube amp I have heard without being a tube amp and pairs really well with all of my ZMFs.
The Eufonika, I just prefer with my AO's, it sounds great but I prefer the Cayin with the VO's.

Nice one!!! I have to say my vos sound great on my eufonika and mcchannson otc amps, butvreally shine on the crackatwoa. Not surprising but they are sure are versatile. Enjoy!!!

 

[sp33ls]

but really shine on the crackatwoa.

Criminally underrated OTL amp. It’s a shame that it’s no longer available. Was truly a giant killer for its price.

 

[andrewchoppa]

Criminally underrated OTL amp. It’s a shame that it’s no longer available. Was truly a giant killer for its price.

I was fortunate to buy it 2nd hand too and in great nick!!!!!!! So price was insane!!!

 

[Pharmaboy]

Nice one!!! I have to say my vos sound great on my eufonika and mcchannson otc amps, butvreally shine on the crackatwoa. Not surprising but they are sure are versatile. Enjoy!!!

I have a number of amps here (believe it's 8 currently) and had a number of others (since sold) during the time I've had my silkwood VO. The VO sounded very good on some amps & spectacular on others. Current favorite is the Icon Audio HP8 ... insanely good sound.

In all that time, the VO failed to sound at least good on just one amp: the Monoprice Liquid Gold X. Which wasn't really surprising, since the LGX was finicky & seemed to really come alive only with planars.

Net/net: the VO will sound really good with just about amp that isn't underpowered for its 300 ohm impedance.