ZMF Caldera Review and Impressions

I recently had an oak Caldera for an extended period with stock leather pads and no titan mesh. Comparing it to my Susvara, 800s, and 6xx, I found the Caldera to lack synergy with my HRTF, A2, MJ3 / Envy amps. In short, A2, MJ3 / Envy, and Caldera didn't seem to match well for my tastes, and Caldera may have issues beyond that lack of synergy at least with my ears and with stock pads.

I will say the treble in Caldera didn't bother me, but the excessive mid-bass with cup reverb + A2 + MJ3 / Envy led to a ponderous sound, impacting clarity and precision. Beyond that, Caldera with stock pads sometimes had an unnatural nasal tonality for vocals. However, the level of dynamics was just about perfect with drums being quite special (in comparison I find Utopia almost distractingly dynamic).

Overall, I would just as well listen to my 6xx as Caldera on MJ3 / Envy + A2. A scaled-up 6xx held its own against the Caldera, even in resolution/microdetail, and exceeded it in timbre/tonality. Moreover, while Susvara is often compared to Caldera, I found Susvara far superior in clarity, openness, 3Dness, resolution, and image size, especially on Envy (where Caldera didn't scale anywhere near Susvara). Access to a different source might have changed things, and there's potential for improvement through pad rolling (and a harder wood), although I couldn't explore those options.

P.S. They were the best looking headphones I've ever seen for sure - I enjoy the stock wood look particularly for Caldera, in comparison to many of the limited offerings.