[swedishpat]

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

Thanks for an awesome engaging review! I will also be using a DAP. Is the blue cable a shielded version of the Opera?

 

[ECKHUAAA]

Thanks for an awesome engaging review! I will also be using a DAP. Is the blue cable a shielded version of the Opera?

No not shielded just not using the transparent sleeve. This cable was originally used to connect my DAP to the Shangri-la jr Electrostat headphone/energizer system, so to afford it additional protection Arctic Cable used the standard sleeve rather than the transparent. But since getting the Caldera Open I had put the Shangri-la jr for sale and reterminated the Opera for Caldera.
Thanks for kind comments on review.

 

[RoThe]

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

The wood on your picture looks so much darker than in the stock image of the standard version. I was prefering the Ltd edition because I dont like the lighter wood colors that much, but in that picture it looks better.. or is it just the photo? Would you say the stock photo or yours is closer to reality colorwise?

Or does it vary from model to model so much?

 

[yupio]

The wood on your picture looks so much darker than in the stock image of the standard version. I was prefering the Ltd edition because I dont like the lighter wood colors that much, but in that picture it looks better.. or is it just the photo? Would you say the stock photo or yours is closer to reality colorwise?

Or does it vary from model to model so much?

I'd say the wood colour, even if its lighter, it will turn darker over time due to use and seasoned. I went for the standard version as I liked the burned texture. Looks very much like zebrawood.

 

[ECKHUAAA]

I'd say the wood colour, even if its lighter, it will turn darker over time due to use and seasoned. I went for the standard version as I liked the burned texture. Looks very much like zebrawood.

All I would say is that in real life these headphones are really beautiful to behold
Different lighting can make it look different
Its a work of Art

 

[jamato8]

I am trying to like the appearance but having had a cabinet shop I have never like the burnt wood look. But I understand the appeal.

 

[goldwerger]

if you’ve seen me post this already pls excuse the repetition

---

Hi guys,

Since a couple of you are already engaged there it occured to me this may be of interest to some other of you so figured I'll just quickly share this.

After seeing the Watercooler thread creating an amazingly vibrant and friendly communtiy for portable audio (and having been part of it myself), I had few members asking me to set a parallel Watercooler thread for the headphone community (full size headphones, amps, dacs, realted gears and general banter for headphone community).

After several weeks getting feedbacks and consdiering the undertaking, I decided to plunge in..

The Watercooler Headphone Edition thread is now launched:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...of-gear-impressions-music-and-musings.972819/

Since launching Saturday we've got nearly 30 pages of posts. It's highly engaged with lots of great communtiy members and eclectic content from gear to music to audio topics. Everyone is warmly welcome to drop in anytime, share anything related to headphone, music, or just banter and hang around!

---

End of PSA… back to Caldera Closed thread!!!

 

[idairyou]

Just got an email that the blocks of wood have been chosen for my LTD CC and the CNC process will start.

I am a happy camper today.

 

[JackarlTwo]

I really like this method of changing meshes on the Caldera/ Caldera Closed. Instead of potentially damaging the wooden threads by inserting and removing screws, at worst you'll ruin the adhesive which is much cheaper and easier to fix.