[betula]

Imo, the Elite has the best impact/ kick I've heard to date from an open back headphone.
It feels like it hits "behind your neck/ throat".

After my brief listening comparison between Elite and Caldera, I'd like to get a Caldera combined with the impact of the Elite .

Was tested with Chord Mojo 2, Audio-GD R28 and the two combined.
It was a pleasure to have these 2 beau's with me for a couple days.

Music ranges from Amaranthe over Kamelot to UtA, mostly symphonic und power metal, but also a bit of Foy Vance, Agnes Obel to ZEDD.

In the end, it's up to audition yourself and decide. As usual.

Maybe we mean different things when we say 'impact', or perhaps you used suede earpads on the Caldera and leather on the Elites, but to me the Caldera is a lot more impactful headphone than the Elite. I am saying this as someone who loves both of these headphones and owned them for years.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Maybe we mean different things when we say 'impact', or perhaps you used suede earpads on the Caldera and leather on the Elites, but to me the Caldera is a lot more impactful headphone than the Elite. I am saying this as someone who loves both of these headphones and owned them for years.

I consider the Elite to have slightly stronger impact when using the Hybrid Pads.

(I actually don't know which pads have been on the Caldera for the comparison)

 

[betula]

I consider the Elite to have slightly stronger impact when using the Hybrid Pads.

(I actually don't know which pads have been on the Caldera for the comparison)

Fair enough, we all hear differently. To me the Elite with all setups and earpads sounded a bit softer than the Caldera.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Maybe we mean different things when we say 'impact', or perhaps you used suede earpads on the Caldera and leather on the Elites, but to me the Caldera is a lot more impactful headphone than the Elite. I am saying this as someone who loves both of these headphones and owned them for years.

Different hearing, I guess.

Hybrid pads on the Elite, except there was a full leather pad at the time.
Can't stand suede pads on any of my headphones.
On the Caldera, there were the stock pads and the ultra perf for testing.

Oh, and I've to blame myself.
It wasn't the Mojo 2 in this setup, but the Mojo OG.

 

[betula]

Different hearing, I guess.

Hybrid pads on the Elite, except there was a full leather pad at the time.
Can't stand suede pads on any of my headphones.
On the Caldera, there were the stock pads and the ultra perf for testing.

Oh, and I've to blame myself.
It wasn't the Mojo 2 in this setup, but the Mojo OG.

Could be hearing, could be different audio chains. It is interesting though, that both of you guys say you find the Elite more impactful, as I generally agree with your observations. In this case however I must differ; to me the Caldera in general is just 20% or even 30% more impactful than the Elite.
Maybe we should check what we mean by impact? To me it is an almost physical feeling caused by the leading attack of the notes. Good impact means a strong, very dynamic presentation, good speed and weight.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Could be hearing, could be different audio chains. It is interesting though, that both of you guys say you find the Elite more impactful, as I generally agree with your observations. In this case however I must differ; to me the Caldera in general is just 20% or even 30% more impactful than the Elite.
Maybe we should check what we mean by impact? To me it is an almost physical feeling caused by the leading attack of the notes. Good impact means a strong, very dynamic presentation, good speed and weight.

My Definition of impact would be the same

However Caldera has 6 different pads, maybe it has more impact with some and less with others?

 

[betula]

My Definition of impact would be the same

However Caldera has 6 different pads, maybe it has more impact with some and less with others?

Pads definitely influence impact, but I would say not more than 10%-15%. Suede pads are the least impactful on the Caldera, but the rest is relatively similar in this regard.
Who knows, maybe on the same audio chain and same pads we would agree, or at least would perceive a smaller difference.

 

[Jefecesti]

I have now been auditing the recently received Empys.

One thing I have noticing is that especially on metal genre (which i usually listen) the bass dynamic is quite muddy and lacks on the punch like the Lirics do have. So far I've been listening with 6.3 mm copper upgrade cable and leather pads. And the iCan Pros bass adjustment knob surprisingly only increases the muddiness.

Is it possible to gain more of the bass punch and dynamics in some way? The Meze silver plated balanced xlr cables are coming. Will they fix this "problem"? Or should I direct my gaze right away to the Elites?

Thank you Tanalasta for the Meze silver plated upgrade cables! Kudos!

Great seller, very warm recommendation!

I instantly noticed more air and cleariness compared other copper upgrade cables. Now I can add more dynamic bass, punch and body from iCan pro without muddiness.

 

[aleopold]

For those OGs out there, I had a pretty cool learning experience over the weekend.

Using Alcantra pads, I added a very slight mid high shelf and then added a slight peak for presence. The resulting sound was tight and detailed and more resolving than anything I have heard. As time went on I was amazed by the detail but also noticed I wasn’t getting chills…. The depth of the stage and instrumental positioning was superb. There were sounds and instruments and singers in tracks I didn’t realize were there!

I then went back to stock and the sound blooms, is darker, but also somehow was more emotionally engaging and magical. But it didn’t satisfy my conscious mind and still something felt missing.

I then just added the very slight presence boost only (no mid shelf) and I had both emotions and a touch more detail. It was quite engaging actually and balanced the emotion and detail.

The details for the EQ add are:
Frequency=5000, Q=2.49, db=0.21. It creates a nice bell curve bump from 4-6k hz.

This change is very slight but created such beautiful sound that I’ve been thinking about for two days. The way bass and timbre is presented and envelops around you is exceptional and is the strength of this headphone in my opinion.

Before all of this I thought the OG needed more treble to brighten it up and tried EQ there with no success. I learned it’s actually the presence which is needed, and with Alcantra pads everything else is tuned very well for my tastes at least.

Anyway for those still wondering about the OG this is worth trying - experiment with a peak in the 4-6k range.