Seattle area folks - if anyone wants to try out the ZMF closed-backs, let me know and maybe we can meet up. I got all three demo units in this week, and probably will have them for a bit of time this summer.
@xiaoyaoyou We probably need to do another meet-up! It’s been too long 
Almost worth flying back to Seattle for …
It has been too long! I would love to see everyone and have a mini-meet in our area. I’d like to try out all the closed backs you have there, and maybe bring the new gen Eikon I have.
Keep me in the loop 
(After months of being blocked from headphones.com due to malware warnings, I can get back in!)
FYI, I’m just about to write a review of the Caldera Closed (head-to-head comparison with the Caldera Open) on Head-Fi. I am terribly impressed with the CC–the same burnt ash model you show here. They sound eerily similar and both are among the best planars I’ve ever heard.
I also heard the Atrium Closed at CanJam/NYC a few months ago. That’s another winner! It has bass for days.
A common thread here is ZMF’s ADS (Atrium Damping System), which seems remarkably effective to me. Every headphone I’ve heard with it has remarkably good soundstaging, and most ZMFs already did have that IMO. I’m guessing the ADS is part of the reason the open and closed versions of the Caldera sound so similar.
Yes absolutely! Let’s get organized. It would be great to see you and @xiaoyaoyou and @robson as well.
Hi folks,
Ask and ye shall receive. I’m always interesting in trying out new kit and I’m more than happy to help arrange the logistics.
If I haven’t sold my OG Eikon by the meet, I can bring it by if anybody wants to compare it to the new Eikon.
Regards,
Vic
That would be an interesting comparison…
That’s beautiful, and it looks nice in the garden!
Do I see a Porsche behind the hedge there?
No, it‘s my wife’s Mini Cooper
Hey Lothar,
Knowing that you like green, I think you should get this matching Homage to go with it!
Thank you for the tip!
The amplifier looks very good, but if anything, I will consider the Aegis, since I have now bought the Feliks Audio that I had here to test, I am slowly getting more and more critical looks from my wife 
as my man cave is slowly escalating 
Those Black and White Ebony Caldera closeds are probably the most beautiful cans I’ve seen. After all, who really needs two kidneys?
I did a quick look at different pad options for the ZMF Bokeh
The Bokeh‘s in August are interesting and the Black&White ……… mmmmh, I guess I will ……
It’s been a few weeks since I added the two gems to my collection and was able to compare them.
These headphones sound completely different and are clearly far more of a complement than a replacement for each other.
Nevertheless, you automatically develop a fondness for a model that you consciously or unconsciously use more often.
—————
I would be interested to know which of the two models with which sound chain is your favorite 
,
and why?
That’s a beautiful Caldera!
A couple years ago I reviewed a loaner Atrium Open, then bought it. That AO was my first experience with ZMF’s ADS (Atrium Damping System). I was so impressed by the AO’s sound. A year of so later, for reasons I still don’t understand, I stopped being impressed, then sold it…
The Caldera Open was a different journey. I had a loaner CO but couldn’t review it for medical reasons, so passed it on. Months went by and ZMF started offering a “Mantle” mesh + several new earpad options. So I ordered a coffee oak Caldera Open with Mantle mesh installed and all 4 sets of pads designed for the headphones–then reviewed it.
The Caldera impressed me from the get-go w/stock pads and mesh. But when I listened to my pair with the Mantle mesh and lambskin thick pads, the sound quality went way higher. That was a little over a year ago. The Caldera instantly became my favorite planar (I’ve owned a bunch).
I currently own two other planars that please me greatly (ZMF Ori; and Final D8000 with the D8KProLE’s “H” pads), but the Caldera is top dog. It has easily the most impressive combination of resolution and musicality/musical realism I’ve ever heard.
Side-note: I’m in the process of reviewing a DAC, and the Caldera Open is the headphone I automatically chose for this because it lets me hear the small/subtle differences between the loaner DAC and the ones I own. IMHO, the Caldera Open is ZMF’s endgame headphone.
Yes, I know, and here’s some more that Zach put on the head-fi page.
God help me, I must resist temptation! But I would love a Blackwood Atrium Open to match my Blackwood VO, and a Caldera Open in Black & White Ebony. Time to pray that I sin no more… 
God might forgive me, but my wallet and wife won’t!
