Packaging and Accessories

The ZMF Caldera (open) I reviewed last year was a demo unit that was in use at CanJam London which, along with many, many other headphones, made the cross-ocean journey not in retail packaging. As such, I was thankful that this time I am able to show you the full retail experience that paying customers will get. Expect to see a custom Seahorse hard case—the SE 430—that has the ZMF sticker on it. This is a waterproof travel/storage case with a large handle to make it easy to take the headphones with you as needed. The case does an excellent job protecting your precious headphones with the cool twist to lock/unlock handles on the side and foam lining paired with the thick pluckable foam sheet cut out to snugly hold the headphones. The accessories are placed on the side to help prevent any scratches to the ear cups in transit.


You get to choose not only the installed pads on the Caldera Closed but also an additional set of replacement pads included with the price. There will be a drop-down menu to pick your preferences and expect to also see a guide about what the various pads will do. A thin wooden sheet with laser-engraved info works as a really nice owner's card telling you what the headphones serial number is, when these exact headphones were made, what the ear cups are made of, and also provides an assurance of the hand assembly and testing all ZMF headphones undergo. We also get a ZMF-branded microfiber cloth to help keep the headphones clean. More branding is seen on the soft cloth drawstring pouch which will contain the two cables you have chosen during the ordering process.


If you opted to purchase additional ear pads or a tuning mesh, then they will ship separately. ZMF was also kind enough to separately ship me a few different Caldera Closed ear pads and a different tuning mesh to try out and see how they change the sound presentation of these headphones. I'll have a whole page talking about these later on, but note how the pads come in bags that seem specifically made for them, including with the markings on the front for easier identification.