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All-Time Favorites: Audio Physic CalderaAll-Time Favorites Audio Physic Caldera

The first loudspeaker with which JP could listen to Wagner's “Ring” for days on end: Joachim Gerhard's sound sculpture, which never grated and outgrew itself.

By JP · First published on Facebook · 11 comments

All-Time Favorites: Audio Physic Caldera

No. 3 Audio Physic Caldera

The modular, idiosyncratically designed “Caldera” from Audio Physic gave me a great deal personally. Magnificent listening sessions, of course. The Caldera was the first loudspeaker with which I could listen to Richard Wagner's Ring over several days, and sometimes nights, in a row, which gave me a completely new view of this masterpiece. Thanks to the Caldera I could recognize and experience musical connections more intensely instead of just consuming individual parts. Today I think I know what (also) lay behind this: the Caldera was probably ahead of its time in terms of low distortion. Be that as it may, it never got on my nerves. Nor did it have a preference for particular musical styles, which still can't be taken for granted today.

I dealt with this sound sculpture created by Joachim Gerhard intensively and for an unusually long time. More transparently than any loudspeaker before, it taught me that the choice of components driving or feeding it deserves special attention and rewards it. As a reviewer, especially in high end, I had the privilege of access to many expensive components. My fondness for Spectral electronics? Probably also a consequence of those days. Or the sensational tube monoblocks from Convergent and the robust yet richly colored reproduction of various McIntosh amps: hardly any other loudspeaker – at least in this price class – reflected the intentions of the amplifier designers of the time better. Just think of Nelson Pass's Aleph 1: it was impressive how well these amplifiers matched the Caldera.

That the Caldera radiated linearly goes without saying; but its ability to render spaces in width, depth and height, exceeding the standards of the time, was particularly remarkable. The Caldera was a loudspeaker that could outgrow itself.

Which loudspeakers have particularly impressed me over the last 30 years? Countless ones. But only very few left a lasting and often formative impression. Objective criteria? There are none – this selection is purely a matter of taste. The order of the favorites, like price and age, is secondary.

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From the discussion

11 comments

“It's astonishing how popular the Caldera still is today.”

A voice from the discussion

No. 3 of the favorite loudspeakers drew a good ten comments, many in English. Caldera owners from all over the world chime in, plus someone who still overhauls the speakers today.

An update for the Caldera

The most approval goes to a specialist: it's astonishing how popular the Caldera still is. He offers an update refined over time that brings it up to the level of new loudspeakers costing around 20,000 euros, carried out successfully dozens of times. Another confirms: with the beryllium tweeter update it is still state of the art today.

Owners tell their stories

An English-speaking connoisseur tells a special story. He had the woofers' rubber surrounds replaced with precisely cut deerskin, following a method by Japanese audio writer Egawa, whose daughter glued in the surrounds with great skill. The result was extremely good. He particularly values the sealed cabinet with its tight, fast bass. Another runs his Caldera, with tweeter update and bass module, on an ASR amplifier, alongside a Genesis V. With Audio Physic's placement guide and room treatment, the spaciousness is unbelievable: guests often think the Genesis is playing because the instruments and voices are so far behind the Caldera. An American lived for six years with a pair in bird's-eye maple, probably the only one in North America, and sold them to a friend so he can keep hearing them. JP: “Caldera fans are simply everywhere in the world.”

One still has a restored pair and finds them “simply top,” for another they were an unattainable dream. And one regrets: sold after two years, for 2,000 euros – “should have kept them.”

This summary is based on 11 of 12 comments; the rest could not be retrieved from Facebook when they were collected.

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Comments from the Facebook page in the original German, names shortened.

On Facebook♥ 11
Es ist erstaunlich, wie beliebt die Caldera heute noch ist. Ich biete ein mit der Zeit verfeinertes Update an, welches die Caldera auf einen so guten Zustand versetzt, wie neue Lautsprecher um 20.000,-€. Das habe ich dutzende Male erfolgreich getan.
On Facebook♥ 3
Agreed: The Caldera was a superlative speaker design. A true classic. One of the best cabinet speakers ever. Once I had the Caldera bass units’ rubber surrounds replaced by deer skin cut to exact fit and fixed to the cones and basket by a special glue that was ideal for the project. This was developed by the Japanese audio writer and reviewer Mr. Egawa, and he had trained his daughter, who possessed unusual dexterity with her hands, to prepare, cut out, and glue in the deer skin surrounds to achieve a perfect result every time. The resulting sound was extremely good, and it did justice to Joachim’s excellent Caldera design in a very complimentary way. I also very much appreciated that the Caldera was a closed box design that resulted in a very tight and fast bass reproduction.
On Facebook♥ 3
My Caldera has the update tweeter and the Rhea for bass extension. Driven by my beloved ASR Emitter II exclusive Akku. The second speaker is a Genesis V, even with the help of a Krell FPB600 this combo is my clear No. 1 b in my main listening room. The Genesis is also basis for my home theater, Manger speaker for center and rear do the 7.0 system (the V generates enough bass for me to enjoy movies).
1. On Facebook
  BTW, based on the original speaker placement guide from Audio Physic, plus room treatment, the spaciousness created by the Caldera is unbelievable. Most people sitting first time here believe, the Genesis is playing, because the instruments and voices are far behind the Caldera.
On Facebook
Ich hab sie noch im restaurierten Zustand einfach Top Lautsprecher
1. On Facebook♥ 1
  mega geil 👍 waren damals eine meiner absoluten Traum Lautsprecher, nur preislich absolut unerreichbar für mich.
On Facebook
Habe sie 2Jahre besessen und verkauft,hätte ihn Mal besser behalten 🥴🥴🥴 Später für 2000€ verkauft 😭😭
On Facebook
Scan Speak kennt was von Lautsprecher ! Nur noch die richtigen Ohren und alles komt klar ! Ihre commentaren sind richtig !
On Facebook
Mit dem Beryllium Tweeter Update von Joachim Gerhard auch heute up to date.
On Facebook
I lived with a pair of gray birds Eye Calderas for six years. Probably the only pair of that finish in North America. A very enjoyable time in my audio adventure! I am aware that I probably didn’t extract every last ounce of performance, but loved them nonetheless. I sold them to a good friend so luckily I get to continue hearing them!! Absolutely fantastic speakers as are all of the first gen APs. I’ve still got Virgo 2 and Sparks in theater usage!
1. JP
  Die Fans der Caldera gibt es halt überall auf der Welt. Danke für deinen Kommentar