Haven’t heard the Caldera but I’ve heard the Susvara off some solid chains and thought it was good but wanted something with more energy. Felt the same with the Verite when I owned it. I liked the VC more.
I ended up landing on Utopia 22 and I think it’s more my preference.
@PaisleyUnderground has the Calder and Utopia 22 and he may be able to assist here.
I’ve been interested in the Caldera or Atrium but not sure what they’ll offer.
I’ve only had limited experience with Susvara & Atrium, but when it comes to Caldera vs Utopia, Utopia is more mid-forward with generally better “dynamic slam” (because nothing really beats Utopia for dynamic slam), but Caldera has better bass extension & bass definition plus similar/competitive detail across the frequency range. Caldera is, to my ears, a better Arya by 3 or 4 notches. Can Susvara, perfectly amped, beat Caldera? Maybe, but you’ll spend a lifetime chasing that perfect amplification.
Fwiw, my personal experience from owning both Caldera & VO is that Caldera is a categorically better headphone than VO in almost every respect. VO has its own very particular “flavor” that is very appealing, but as an all-around headphone Caldera beats it handily. YMMV.
I’ll start with the fact that I tend to like warm, forward mids, to give you context of what I consider “good”.
As much as I enjoyed the Verite with stock pads, I loved the fact that ZMF provides different pads to tune their headphones to our personal preferences. I use BE2 pads, which are more linear than the stock pads, and boost the mids compared to stock pads. I also use a DHC Complement-C cable, which I had previously struggled to use because it made my other headphones too warm for my liking. But combining the Complement-C cable with the BE2 pads, my Verite “cocktail” is fast, detailed, spacious and just a little warmer than neutral. I absolutely love it.
I’m mentioning all this because my VO definitely doesn’t sound like it did when I took it out of the case, and if that stock sound is what you love about the VO, then we’re essentially talking about different headphones.
The Caldera is also fast, detailed and spacious, possibly more so than my VO. The Caldera with stock cable is more neutral than the Verite with stock cable, but still has some warmth in the mids. I also like the Caldera’s bass quality more than the VO (which has great bass itself).
I didn’t do anything to shift the tonality of the Caldera because I like it the way it is with stock pads. I know that some people like less sizzle in the Caldera’s treble, and they can either use thick pads or a mantle mesh to make the treble darker.
I haven’t had the chance to compare the Caldera and Susvara at home, so I can only go off a brief comparison I did at Axpona this year. From what you’ve said, I’m guessing that you’re prefer the sound of the Caldera, but that is a guess, not knowing your preferences. Your other option, which many Susvara owners do, is build a Susvara-specific chain to get the most out of it. For instance, some people have told me that the Susvara plus the warm but powerful Enleum Amp-23R achieved audio nirvana for them.
I’ll finish by saying the Caldera is my favorite headphone, along with the Utopia (both OG and 2022) because it seems to have been made for my preferences.
“Is the Caldera the one for me then?” If the “one for you” should be a planar, then I’d say the answer is yes. I have a Caldera and heard the Susvara a number of times. IMO the Caldera has far more weight and depth for most genres of music. Plus the sound of the Caldera can be fine-tuned to an unusual degree through choice of earcup mesh/screen & earpads. I ordered mine with the mantle mesh because it knocks down the upper midrange a bit (it really does); and the lambskin thick pads, the warmest, most resonant & chill of the 4 pad sets I tried.
The Caldera is still relatively neutral, but it hits hard and has real musical power. It also runs quite well off a good transformer-coupled tube amp (it sounds amazing on my Icon Audio HP8 w/NOS tubes).
My favorite headphone of all is the silkwood VO, but the Caldera comes in a very close second. I’ve had >half a dozen good planars here and the Caldera laps the field.
When you say weight and depth, what do you mean by depth? Depth in the stage?
I agree with this on the Sus. It’s a picky one to get right. I felt the closest that I got was the Envy with Elrogs. A really great amp for the Sus. I enjoyed it more than the WA33.
I just like the Utopia a little more off a DNA amp. To me it’s just more energetic.
Would you guys say the Caldera has some energy to it? Not exactly like a Utopia but more energy than a Sus?
I was being imprecise. I wasn’t referring to soundstage depth–more like depth of bass notes.Sorry for being vague.
The quality I was getting at overall is impact: the Caldera has exceptional dynamics. I’m told the Utopia has more of this than any other headphone, but I really wouldn’t want more than what the Caldera gives me.
I also should address soundstage: courtesy the Caldera’s ADS (Atrium Damping System), its soundstaging is spectacular: mainly wider, but also somewhat deeper and taller than I’m used to from planar headphones.
Ok cool. I appreciate it. Just trying to get a feel for their signature and traits.
I had the VO for a while but wanted more. I think the caldera may offer that.
Yes! The VO had been my favorite for years, until I got the Caldera. The clarity, detail, and separation along with really ideal, textured bass put it up a level from the other ZMF TOTLs. The bit I’ve heard the Susvara I haven’t been wowed by it, though I’m sure I’d appreciate it if I actually owned it. The other option would be the Caldera Closed in a few months or so if you need a closed back.
I second all of this.
Yes, Caldera has some of that engaging slam that makes Utopia so special. Not as much as Utopia, of course, but more than any other planar I’ve heard. In my brief experience, I would say Caldera’s bass is its real secret sauce. I’m not certain I’ve ever heard Susvara amped to its maximum potential, but I would be shocked if it is capable of producing the fleshed out bass weight of Caldera.
Susvara hits pretty damn hard off the envy. And with the right tubes it’s very impactful and textured.
The D8kp LE is another one. IMO it hits harder and can have even more texture.
I think chrisnyc75 is referring to slam not bump/punch. Can be hard to separate but i usually associate slam with dynamics while bump/punch with an increase in quantity.
For me, the d8kp (non-LE) doesn’t slam as hard as the utopia (because of its compressed dynamics, in comparison) but the utopia, in exchange, doesn’t punch as hard as the d8kp, if that makes sense.
Imo the d8kp doesn’t have linear bass presentation. Instead, it bumps the mid-bass noticeably and slowly rolls off in the very low sub-bass, which doesn’t have adequate impact and extension (in comparison). That being said, it makes up for it in its impressive (and compelling) texture capabilities, as you mentioned.
Edit: to clarify (cause i think i worded it poorly), by slam I mean dynamic slam/impact.
I didn’t say bump, I said it hits hard.
And it’s not confusing for me. I think I have a pretty good understanding of bass. Slam would be IMPACT. Bump to be would be something having a bump in the mid bass. Bump refers to an elevation somewhere in the FR.
And your second comment doesn’t make sense. You’re speaking about impact. It either has a harder impact or it doesn’t.
You can say the Utopia has great dynamics and that would be hard to argue against.
And the D8KP does have linear bass extension. How could you say it doesn’t and the Yh5k does?
Was this D8KP off the burson? Maybe the different op amps you’ve used?
PM’ed for more discussion, I don’t want to derail the thread further.
Actually… I’m interested and it /is/ pertinent to ZMF, no?
I don’t think it is? I was trying to explain what chrisnyc75 meant when he said slam (in my view) (I could have missed the mark since I’m not chrisnyc75), by explaining it through the utopia and d8kp, and it looked like it started to veer into talking about d8kp qualities… My next response didn’t have anything to do with any zmf, so if you know of a specific thread we can always move the discussion there.
I think it’s fair to say that most people use “slam” in reference to bass impact, but actually my use of it here, and specifically in regard to Utopia, the “slam” characteristic exists throughout the frequency range. I think of it (correctly or incorrectly) as the product of fast transients plus the amount of air actually being moved. Utopia has ‘slam’ from 20hz to 20Khz because you can physically feel, not just hear, the sound waves. This is something planars do not generally do as well as dynamic drivers, due to basic physics - they aren’t moving as much air as a dynamic driver does/can. I’m not entirely clear why some planars do it better than others, but I find Caldera to do it better than any other planar I’ve heard.
I hope at least some of this made sense. 
Yup, that was what I was thinking when you mentioned that. I worded it poorly and misinterpreted the post.
Anyway, glad you’re enjoying your Caldera.
I would add that this “dynamic engagement” is something I index for, far more than the typical ‘soundstage’ or ‘neutrality’ or even ‘resolution’. If I can’t FEEL the music in addition to hearing it, I’m probably not as engaged as I want to be. In that sense, I think I’ve found the perfect cadre of headphones for me. 
I’m still getting used to the Caldera and how it compares to my VOs, and feel like maybe it would sound a bit better if the cups were a slight bit further from my ears. Maybe I’ll try opening up the headband curve slightly, or try different pads.
Do you know if all the ZMF headphone pads are mutually compatible? I’m tempted to try my VO pads on it…
