I like the suedes when I want a more relaxed presentation. And they are comfy haha. I think my personal preference is 1. Stock 2. Ultra perf 3. Suede 4. Thick

Stock gang :)

I agree I had gotten the ultra perf for my atrium prior to getting a caldera. In the caldera it’s a fun pad for when I’m bored. I feel like it makes caldera more holographic and the dynamics are retained. Bass is a little sucked out but I feel similar about the stock tuning of caldera so it’s...

I will tell you if you haven’t heard any ZMF’s with the holo audio stuff… it is a transcendent experience. I had my atrium at hand for SoCal CJ 2023 and it turned the atrium into an extremely detailed bass cannon. It was remarkable…. Currently saving to get the entire stack haha

Thanks for the great write up, nowadays I prefer great imaging with a bit of a neutral focus. But I also like to switch it up and have some more warm and brassy tubes depending on the headphone. Open to suggestions but I can’t deny that the blue tube color isn’t incredible lol

What's everyone's opinion of tube rolling the 6v6s? I have heard itr doesnt make as big of a difference as the preamps tubes. Just wondering if its worth my while. Currently have fivres in.

I will say it has made the staging crazy sounding though haha. But I’m glad to hear I just gotta give em some time.

Yeah this was the biggest surprised too as I have Mullard 12AU7s and they have a nice warm tone. Kinda shocked from it, but yeah I need to let them burn in more. Most of the time when I burn in, it’s about 10 hours or so. So I was kinda shocked they were still bright.

Your statements are exactly how I feel. I recently got some Millard E80CC tubes and they are very bright. I swapped to the thick’s to tame it out a bit. But in general I love the stock pads for the same reason you described.

Yeah in the NYCJ thread someone was asking for like a quiet time and I’m kind of inclined to want that too. Or at least a room where is no talking and vendors can bring like one or two headphones to try it out. That would go a long way with actually seeing if you like something about a...

I will say that prefer the CO on tubes than SS personally. Both sound great though, I do wana get my hands on a MJ3 eventually though

Based on the picture showed, throughly apply it to that area that is cracked, not too much, not too little. But you should have a decent coat. You’ll need to let it sit for about 4 hours or so (ideally 8) but since the only force comes from putting in on your head you may not need to be that...

As someone who used to work as a composites manufacturing engineer for spacecraft, if the headband snapped you could get a really strong adhesive like E9394 and bond it back. It won’t look pretty (there will be a grey paste), but it’ll solve your issue

I would attempt to put my calderas on my good boys head but I know he would flip out lol

I feel like giving convention impressions are a bit useless personally. Largely because it’s such a loud environment any sense of imaging or stage goes out the window. The only thing you can ascertain from a convention is just the overall tonality and if that aligns with your preference. Beyond...

How was the sub bass?

I actually just got my thick’s in today. And I prefer the stock because I feel the thick’s take away the dynamics that makes the caldera really fun for me. That said the thicks bring the bass to where I personally want them, but I’m not willing to trade the dynamics for it. Depending on the...

Owning both, I think they both bring something very unique to the table. Comparing stock pads on each, Caldera is more analytical but still extremely musical. It has a kind of unique laid back sound, that I’ve only really experienced in Meze products prior. Listening to the caldera is a...

Thank you!

Would you happen to know a place selling the mullard E80CCs? eBay doesn’t seem to have much, neither does tube depot

I feel like if you’ve heard the caldera with the MJ3 you would understand why those genres in particular. The Caldera already has nice plucked planar sound, but the MJ3 brings that out in a more pronounced way with excellent dynamics and bass. I actually think if you just use a caldera it’s the...

Yeah if power is the issue I definitely see the need for the upgrade. Though I personally tend to prefer running high power headphones on solid state typically.

I’m kinda with the same sentiment the HA-3A is so good I don’t see how it could get any better. Super curious about the Aegis though, but I kinda feel like I’d rather just go straight OTL to have both types of tube sounds

So far what I enjoy the most about the caldera is how textured music and stringed instruments sound. Stringed instruments in particular have a certain vibrato I’ve never heard in other headphones. Couple that with amazing dynamics and it’s pure bliss. I’ve been the biggest Atrium stan for a...