I just got my CC delivered right now, box still not opened, letting it Cool down for a bit. However my main listening is with a DAP, the Cayin N30LE AP and with the Caldera Open (CO) it was phenomenal, staging 3D, detail and vividness, best settings in the N30LE for CO was Tube Classic, Hyper-mode, and gain Hdb, volume at about 40, on some music 36 is plenty. Hyper-mode is a special class A static current mode on the N30LE
So I expect it to drive the CC just as well.
I tested the CO also on the Cayin N8ii , N7, N6ii-RO1 and the new N3ultra, only the N3ultra showed some weakness driving the high frequency properly but the rest of the sound spectrum was exciting
Will share impressions with CC on this thread.
Truly the Calderas are phenomenal headphones
Ok friends here's my update.
First let me begin by saying that by some crazy mistake I loosened the screws that tension my Caldera Open driver on the left ear. So I had to send it back for repair(I will never make that mistake again) so for over a week plus I was in audio agony. I went back to listening with my Hifiman HE1000SE and for the first time realized that it was rather dull and lacking in vividness. Images were more blurry, now HE1000SE is a fine Headphone until ZMF.
After unboxing the Caldera Closed to behold the beauty... oh so beautiful
I plugged it in with my Cayin N3ultra in traditional tube and Hdb gain and I was shocked by the meaty beautiful Sounds emanating around my head
Deep hefty bass, clear highs and lush mid range, I was playing Pink Floyd the wall, I just downloaded a HiRes version from Qobuz
Tested several other music's, Shostakovich string quartets (The Dannel Quartet) live recording but very well done, here you hear rich string tones and clear image placement.
So I went back focusing on work while letting the burn-in continue. Based on request from this thread I switched to the Cayin N7 to make sure it drives CC very well and it does, meanwhile there is a bit of veiling In the background of the presentation but I suspect this will clear with burn-in, For those interested in the N7 yes it works very well especially when playing DSD512F, the amplifier segment is ofcourse Solid State and there is always a difference in sound when electrons move in a vacuum as in tubes to a simulated flow in a semiconductor.
NOw my regular listening is with the Cayin N30LE AP (no iem version)
So late at night I settled down to proper listening, in the middle of that the CC background suddenly cleared up and images became very clear crisp rich alive in real palpable space classical strings are so rich you can liken the sound to digging your ice cream scooping spoon very deep into a multi-flavored organic ice cream, rich perfectly judged overtones, the imaged connect properly around you almost eliminating the feeling that there is a headphone over your head. And I was transported into another realm !!!!
Ecstacy, at this time I was searching for words with which to describe this to my fellow audiophiles and not sure I could find anything appropriate.
All I can say is that Zach and team have discovered the secret of the ultimate audio Sound!!!! Do you all remember that 1987 Masters of the Universe where to be a master of the universe you must know the proper combination of tones of music, when you do and produce these tones you can open portals into different dimensions, I belive Zach and team have become one of those masters
Huge thanks to them for their passion and devotion to sound, they can be considered gods of sound! Cables are Arctic Cable palladium silver Opera
