[Wes S]

Let the fun begin! Demoing the open and closed check out the grain matching on the closed, it’s immaculate! Don’t ask me why the open mounted the closed, I let them play. Notice the extra hips on the closed… baby got back! Once the kiddies are asleep to the Stratus the Calderas will creep yay I’m a bit excited

Killer looking sets!

I have always thought that the Coffee Gold Oak is the best looking version of the CO made so far. The gold colored hardware contrasted on the dark stained oak wood is stunning and super classy looking.

The pair of CC's you have looked book matched pretty much just like the pair I have, and this is my first time seeing this wood type in person and I love the look and lighter weight.

Fun times ahead no doubt, and I have a feeling I know which one you are going to gravitate toward, and it will be fun to see if I am right.

 

[idairyou]

Killer looking sets!

I have always thought that the Coffee Gold Oak is the best looking version of the CO made so far. The gold colored hardware contrasted on the dark stained oak wood is stunning and super classy looking.

It's the reason I purchased the Coffee Gold Oak over the Kingwood.

 

[erics75]

Killer looking sets!

I have always thought that the Coffee Gold Oak is the best looking version of the CO made so far. The gold colored hardware contrasted on the dark stained oak wood is stunning and super classy looking.

The pair of CC's you have looked book matched pretty much just like the pair I have, and this is my first time seeing this wood type in person and I love the look and lighter weight.

Fun times ahead no doubt, and I have a feeling I know which one you are going to gravitate toward, and it will be fun to see if I am right.

Yeah the open looks amazing. I love traditional looking woods most and this one is super nice. Not that I don't love that CC, but the CO is so classy looking. Reminds me of my aged cherry AO, which is my all time favorite looking ZMF. I can't wait to get these some major ear time tonight once the kids are out. The CO looks like it might have been demoed previously so i'm thinking it's burned in or somewhat burned in. The CC looks like it came right off the assembly line, even the rods have not a mark on them.

 

[iamoneagain]

It's the reason I purchased the Coffee Gold Oak over the Kingwood.

I did see a recent CO in Kingwood with the gold versus silver and thought it looked great. Might have bought it if was originally sold like that. But still very happy with the Coffee Gold Oak.

Some of these CC woods sets are starting to grow on me. I still don’t care for the burnt edge ones. I prefer the shape to blend in. I’m not a fan of the colored resin sets for the most part but will be interesting to see how that looks with this new shape.

So I’m still kind of surprised no one has released a review yet. Just hints. I’m very impatient, so I would have been probably posting immediately and comparing to the open. There is a positive with this approach in that you capture your gut feelings. The harm is your opinions can change over time, so might regret your earlier postings. But I don’t see the harm in saying this is how you felt at first and how you feel now having spent more time. I’m seeing some of my earlier CO posts getting likes and luckily I generally still feel the same about the CO now as the day I got them.

 

[vsg28]

So I’m still kind of surprised no one has released a review yet. Just hints. I’m very impatient, so I would have been probably posting immediately and comparing to the open. There is a positive with this approach in that you capture your gut feelings. The harm is your opinions can change over time, so might regret your earlier postings. But I don’t see the harm in saying this is how you felt at first and how you feel now having spent more time. I’m seeing some of my earlier CO posts getting likes and luckily I generally still feel the same about the CO now as the day I got them.

I can't speak for others but I can't release my review until I have finished testing everything. This includes the new pads and mesh arriving on Tuesday, so I will plan on having my review go out on launch day/time allowing readers to purchase the set if they so desire. I'll start writing it tomorrow onwards though since it will be a really long one.

Edit: I will share these photos of the Caldera twins in the meantime, sorry no Salire on hand but hopefully sooner than later to use for such photos in the future.

 

[ng5921]

I did see a recent CO in Kingwood with the gold versus silver and thought it looked great. Might have brought it if was originally sold like that. But still very happy with the Coffee Gold Oak.

Some of these CC woods sets are starting to grow on me. I still don’t care for the burnt edge ones. I prefer the shape to blend in. I’m not a fan of the colored resin sets for the most part but will be interesting to see how that looks with this new shape.

So I’m still kind of surprised no one has released a review yet. Just hints. I’m very impatient, so I would have been probably posting immediately and comparing to the open. There is a positive with this approach in that you capture your gut feelings. The harm is your opinions can change over time, so might regret your earlier postings. But I don’t see the harm in saying this is how you felt at first and how you feel now having spent more time. I’m seeing some of my earlier CO posts getting likes and luckily I generally still feel the same about the CO now as the day I got them.

Aiming to publish my review Thursday

 

[betula]

I did see a recent CO in Kingwood with the gold versus silver and thought it looked great. Might have brought it if was originally sold like that. But still very happy with the Coffee Gold Oak.

Some of these CC woods sets are starting to grow on me. I still don’t care for the burnt edge ones. I prefer the shape to blend in. I’m not a fan of the colored resin sets for the most part but will be interesting to see how that looks with this new shape.

So I’m still kind of surprised no one has released a review yet. Just hints. I’m very impatient, so I would have been probably posting immediately and comparing to the open. There is a positive with this approach in that you capture your gut feelings. The harm is your opinions can change over time, so might regret your earlier postings. But I don’t see the harm in saying this is how you felt at first and how you feel now having spent more time. I’m seeing some of my earlier CO posts getting likes and luckily I generally still feel the same about the CO now as the day I got them.

My review will take a few weeks for several reasons.

1, limited time
2, insane number of sound tuning possibilities with meshes and pads
3, I think I'd like to publish my Bokeh review first and Caldera closed second
4, ZMF headphones need more time to fully reveal themselves. I want to give them a chance for this, and it takes weeks.

In the meantime, take a sneak peek at my testing gear:
(This arrangement is for photo purposes only.)

 

[iamoneagain]

Thanks for let me know when to expect reviews. I guess what I was expecting was maybe first impressions from a few of the people who got early sets. It’s my understanding that none of you are headphone reviewers for any sites but just ZMF customers. Wasn’t sure what other qualifications were used to determine who got early sets. And didn’t sound like you were told to wait to release reviews or impressions until the headphones were officially for sale.

 

[betula]

Thanks for let me know when to expect reviews. I guess what I was expecting was maybe first impressions from a few of the people who got early sets. It’s my understanding that none of you are headphone reviewers for any sites but just ZMF customers. Wasn’t sure what other qualifications were used to determine who got early sets. And didn’t sound like you were told to wait to release reviews or impressions until the headphones were officially for sale.

Well, I reviewed ZMF headphones before and talked to Zach in person at CanJam. He is very supportive to the community and in many ways prefers reviews from established members in the community as opposed to official review sites who might have some bias or more superficial attitude.
I think most of us just need a little more time to properly evaluate the headphones. A rushed opinion is never good.
On the other hand, if you have any specific questions, I can try my best to answer.

 

[zach915m]

Wasn’t sure what other qualifications were used to determine who got early sets.

The qualification typically is, I met the person at a Canjam and they said, "hey I'd like to check out pre-release units and give impressions!" Then usually there's a follow up and sanity check...and that's about it! I like to share with people, but it's easier when I've met the person face to face at least once, but not always.

 

[iamoneagain]

Well, I reviewed ZMF headphones before and talked to Zach in person at CanJam. He is very supportive to the community and in many ways prefers reviews from established members in the community as opposed to official review sites who might have some bias or more superficial attitude.
I think most of us just need a little more time to properly evaluate the headphones. A rushed opinion is never good.
On the other hand, if you have any specific questions, I can try my best to answer.

No please take your time.

I was only pointing out if I got an early set I’d probably have been posting impressions as soon as I got it. I’ve been a member since 2003 but don’t consider my an established member and relatively new to ZMF. Only first hearing the Caldera open in Dec 22 and a few quick listens of the other models since. I can share my enthusiasm but don’t know enough to be more insightful. So happy people with more experience will be sharing shortly.

 

[Monsterzero]

I guess what I was expecting was maybe first impressions from a few of the people who got early sets.

My review is going to take some time as my Caldera open is back at ZMF getting some TLC. What I can say is that like the open back, the CC seems to me to be one of those rare headphones that can handle any genre you throw at it.

Some headphones have too much midbass to handle fast metal. Some headphones are too bass light to be good for EDM. Some headphones have an artificial timbre or are too sterile sounding, ruining acoustic and folk.

The CC is slaying everything I throw at it. I like to use fast metal, dark forest and psytrance to test headphones. Typically a headphone will be good for one of the three, or perhaps two, but the third one is a big NOPE. The CC , like the open back, is epic across the board.

Another thing i can say at this point is, and this can be taken with a few grains of salt, is i prefer the CC with the ZMF Lektrik cable. It seems to speed up the CC just a touch, tightens up the bass a touch and there is a slight improvement in air vs. ZMF 2K copper cable.

Of course this can be dismissed as being ear, tastes and system dependant, but if you have the Lektrik or another silver cable I recommend giving it a shot.

 

[JackarlTwo]

Everything I've read about the Caldera Open and especially the Closed they seem like they could be right up my alley. It's not in my budget right now but damn, that Shedua wood is tempting. I'm looking forward to reading more in-depth reviews.

Photo from ZMF's instagram:

 

[SLC1966]

When I do a review, I like to take notes on my phone as I am listening. I usually listen late at night in bed or early morning in bed. No disturbances and the focus is just on the music. I then take these notes and clean them up and post randomly on the Head-Fi thread for the item. Each post is usually something specific I am discovering that I think might be of interest to others. I post as I am going along especially when it is an IEM or HP that has not been released yet. There is a high interest in the information since not many people have heard the item yet.
I then take all the posts and clean them up and add to them and make them coherent and flowing for review purposes. I do sometimes straight forward reviews or I develop a fictitious character with very specific odd traits and use them as my Muse for an interview method of getting the pertinent information to the reader.

I only review items of interest to me. And I do it for fun. I enjoy the hyper focus needed to put together a review that is hopefully of value to others.

I did an Atticus/Eikon Review for fun awhile back. The Caldera Closed is bringing back memories of that review.

I find that the ZMF house sound is all the way through all HPs. I have owned all of them except the Bokeh I also would like to amuse myself and overgeneralize big time and say that the ZMF HPs fall into two camps. There is the increased detail, clarity and a slight sub bass bump camp of the Eikon/Auteur and Atrium Closed and Open versus the higher resolution, fun with darkness and a slight mid bass bump of the Atticus/Aeolus and Verite Closed and Open camp.

The open and closed of each version stay within one of those camps which makes sense. The closed and open versions have the same exact driver.

For me the Caldera Open and Closed are the first ZMF headphones that do not stay within the same camp. From memory for me the Caldera Open was about the clarity and detail. Very quick. I also had the Audeze LCD 5 at the same time as the Caldera Open and the Caldera did lean (not all the way thankfully) in the direction of the LCD 5 intenseness and clarity of notes.

For me on the other hand the Caldera Closed is in the resolution/darkness and fun camp. That said of course the CC being a Planar driver has for sure a good amount of clarity and detail. What is unique with the CC is that it really has a wonderful “fun” sound for being planar.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, I do think the CO does not have a filter system while the CC does. I am guessing that this allowed Zach to play around with the tuning of the CC to be able to add some fun darkness which the CO has less of.

Those are my thoughts for the moment.

And another picture of Shedua fun:

 

[kumar402]

My review will take a few weeks for several reasons.

1, limited time
2, insane number of sound tuning possibilities with meshes and pads
3, I think I'd like to publish my Bokeh review first and Caldera closed second
4, ZMF headphones need more time to fully reveal themselves. I want to give them a chance for this, and it takes weeks.

In the meantime, take a sneak peek at my testing gear:
(This arrangement is for photo purposes only.)

Excellent….Please let me know your impression with MJ3 whenever you can