I'm curious what speakers did you have previously and what is the rest of the system? Thanks, glad you're enjoying them!
Anyone else order Caladans from Clayton Shaw?
After watching videos and reading positive reviews I ordered a pair of Caladans. It’s been 2 weeks and I have never received an email confirmation of sale. The charge on my cc was from Spatial Audio. I have called and left VMs twice and also emailed Clayton’s info address. Crickets !
Has anyone else experienced this? I assume he’s extremely busy but I’m getting a little anxious.
I met Clayton at Pacific Audio Fest. He was in Spatial Audio Labs' room where they were showing off their Q6 speaker. This seems very much like a similar product although significantly less costly. I know Spatial Audio Lab has put the Q6 on pause because this product would essentially make the Q6 obsolete before it ever came to market. In any case, I thought the Q6 was a really great speaker so if this is anywhere close, it is a gonga. |
abd1, My virtual system is listed in my profile, except I do rotate cables in and out. I have an Aric Audio Motherlode XL preamp and a CODA S5.5 amp on order.....preamp arrives in about 9 weeks and the CODA will be here next week hopefully. I'll move on from the Denafrips amp and preamp at that time. Speakers I've owned: Thiel CS 1.2s, CS 2.3s, CS 3.6s, and CS 3.7s, vintage Infinity REF Kappa 7s, and Kappa 9s, Buchardt Audio S400 MKIIs, Tannoy Autograph Mini, Proac Response D2s, 1980s Sansui that I can't remember the model.....that's probably it. Never owned an open baffle or electrostatic before. |
Okay here you go, first listening notes from 3 days of listening to the Clayton Shaw Caladans. I am not very good at describing what I hear, so don't fry me on that.
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@vthokie83 Keep those new Caladans playing music and experiment with positioning. When the new preamp and amp arrive I have a feeling you are going to soil your pants! |
Vthokie83,
I have these on order as well, Nov 2nd, I'm patiently waiting at the door. I managed to get ahold of Clayton today (he's always busy), I asked about the break in method he circled back on playing an audio file on YouTube 10hz, he said that's the target and to let it play through the day, just enough to see woofer movement. He said this would FastTrack the initial break-in 100 hrs, with full break in happening around 300 to 500 hrs.
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Hey Vthokie83,
He said just to loop the 10hz track and let that play for about 100 hours. I also brought up over heating concerns which he advised that he was not at all concerned being that the speaker is so efficient. He was more about breaking in the spider by the voice coil that the part that needs to move as the woofer are so rigid right now being so new. He also said you didn’t have to play at loud volumes but look for some excursion happening with the woofer. I also tried that 10Hz on my CSS Criton 1TDX and those woofers were moving. He also brought up The user Tyson from AudioCircle saying that Tyson experienced break in on the at around the 500 hr mark on his Saphires using this method.
What I'll do is let them play that 10hz from 7 -4 then I'll play my track and listen for improvements throughout the week I have that cd from bass mekanik that does all those sweeps and ill just put on the track to repeat.
When I did my RF7-III upgrade, I could not tell I my situation because of what that speaker went thru going from a two way to a 2.5. A completely different animal, but I was shocked from that bass I heard from Ron's video,
Or try calling Clayton, 801-631-2994
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Seems like my order hit a snag. Looks like it is related to a PayPal issue. Clayton and team are asking me to dispute the transaction because they can't access the money I already paid. They then want me to reorder and will hold my place in line. Sounds a little fishy to me. Anyone else experience something like this? |
@owain if it is not too personal, what was your invoice number? I envy you with your delivery date! I have ordered mine on Nov 22 and my invoice is 182. |
@the_nick That sounds really fishy. What would you be disputing? Non-delivery? That would be bad for them. You'd have to provide PayPal with assorted proof and an email asking you to dispute it would not look good for them. |
@vthokie83 mine are enroute, did you play the 10hz file at all, how are they sounding now? and how many hours do you have on them? |
Owain, I did not play the 10Hz files, as my streaming set up was disconnected when I changed my equipment to a different listening room....I tried to find the CD, and it was not available anywhere. I ended up ordering the "Isotek High Resolution Full System Enhancer", and have used it as directed. I have about 65 hours or so on them. The bass has definitely opened up as expected, drives deeper, gets even punchier, is still quick and accurate......but I have no idea if they deliver the 32Hz as advertised. Frankly I don't care, the bass is just fun and enjoyable and accurate. Deep enough for everyone? I don't know, but more than enough for me. What I wasn't prepared for was the treble to relax so much more. As much as I thought they were exceptional for the first week or so, they have opened up even more with zero edginess, and just delivering information that sounds "correct" and effortless at all times....impressive. Here is where I am going to have an issue following up on the progress of the Caladans going forward. Last week I took possession of my CODA S5.5 amplifier, and it is now installed driving the Caladans for the last 30 hours or so. I will occasionally go back to my Buchardt Audio S400 MKIIs for brief periods, but not for long. The CODA S5.5 and Caladans are RIDICULOUSLY GREAT together....sorry for the caps, but I am running out of descriptives. How many different ways can I describe magic, effortless, beautiful, amazing, emotional, accurate, soundstage, emotion, depth, joy, happiness.....these have brought me to tears several times this past week. I don't know how they work with jazz, classical, chamber music, opera, choral, etc.....but with the music I listen to, I am amazed every morning I turn them on. And that is still with my old Denafrips Hades preamp (which definitely is better than I gave it credit for), I cannot imagine what will happen when I receive the Aric Audio Motherlode XL preamp in a couple of months, but damn I cannot wait. |
Don't see anything fishy in Clayton's request. He's telling you to get a refund and then re-send the money while he holds your place in line. He's not asking you to pay him twice. If you in fact sent the money to the right account phone number or e-mail and he hasn't received it then it's a problem on PayPal's end. If you questions ask him about it directly as nobody on this forum can help you. |
@the_nick Clayton called my friend and told him the same thing. He mentioned he had to call at least 75 customers. Maybe PP did this because the money was sitting in Clayton's PP account for a long time? |
@evank Very interesting, and thanks for passing that information along (which was the intended purpose of me posting here). I followed up on the email I received from Mark at CSAL after I received it yesterday but have yet to hear back. And not sure of the PayPal specifics, but don't want to speculate. At this point I am just looking forward to receiving the speakers. |
I want to read the response as constructive, but it's just not how it comes across. For awareness, I received an email from Mark at CSAL and responded to it as soon as I read it. So, as you mention I am following up with the company. As far as posting here for "help", that was not my intent. My intent was to see if others encountered a similar experience. This is informative not just for me, but others that may be in a similar situation. Hopefully if you ordered your transactions and experience have been smooth. |
I ordered a pair in cherry the week before Christmas. Confirmed the charge to Spatial Audio on my CC but never received a confirmation email or any other response from CSAL. I’ve sent two on line inquiries through their website but no response. Customer service is lacking but the product appears to be outstanding at least from the new recipients of the Calladan. |
@vthokie83 Thank you for that great followup, I was really curious what your ear was picking up, your sorta mirroring what Clayton was laying down on the road-map to full break-in. I don't have that type of Amp congrats to your accomplishments there perhaps one day. WAF is still an occurrence here. I bought those cd from discog the sheffield audio labs test and burn in cd. You have me curious with the option you used, I might have to look at that, I loved seeing your emotions, sounds like there taking your breath away. I was also looking at those Buchhardt mkii but went with the CSS Criton 1TDX, with superior xo. Those floored me into going to GR to upgrade the RF7-III, that was so much work.
Man, so little time on this rock to get exposed to this hobby. |
I too initially ordered via PayPal on NOV 1st. It seems there are some shady practices going on with them. Allegedly several lawsuits settled out of court as to not bring public attention to PP's poor service to vendors. Per Clayton's recommendation, I disputed the order and received my money from PP after 100 days. I'm ready to purchase via Square, but can't seem to figure out how. Do I need to request an Square invoice from Clayton? |
Hey @knock1 , For reference my order was done with a credit card, just passed through my PayPal account. I use PayPal due to the good customer support and dispute resolution when needed. Anyway, my intent was not to steer this thread too far off topic, but I am glad some other folks chimed in to make me aware of other, similar situations, so thank you for that. @vthokie83 as a fellow Tech alum I am looking forward to more of your impressions and hope to have my Caladans soon as well. I saw some other comments from you in DAC threads and may reach out directly to pick your brain on it. Right now I am on a middle of the road Schiit stack (modi multibit, Freya s, and Vidar 2), along with a Wiim Pro streamer and Wharfedale Lintons. I get the feeling the Caladans will outpace those and have me itching for the next upgrade. Nick |
This is little disconcerting, unless my train of thoughts is flawed. @vthokie83 ordered on 11/1/23, received on 2/7/24, serial # 00023. @owain ordered on 11/2/23, received on 3/13/24, serial #00032. It looks as if only nine sets were made in more than one month! I hope this is wrong conclusion. |
I placed an order (#259) with Clayton on 3/9. Had I nice chat on what I could expect from the Caladans, as I have a unique listening room. I did not press him for an exact time frame for delivery, but he did say he has hired additional people, and is ramping up production. Realstically, I would imagine obtaining them in 2-4 months. This is a new company, so I’d imagine there will be growing pains long the way. Can’t wait to play with the new Caladans! |
@mewsickbuff Your order # is from the Spatial Audio order system. When I placed an order, my # was 1111, but the invoice I got directly from Clayton was 245. |
I'm not sure how the invoice numbers work, I'm not positive there is a correlation. I ordered on 11/1/2023 with Invoice #179, and received SN 00023. It was hard for me to be patient, but in the end I have an amazing pair of speakers for what I consider a steal of a price. The speakers are gorgeous, use very high quality components, are well built, and sound better than anything I have every owned....and I've had some expensive speakers over the years (at least for me) Any new company will have some growing pains, and I think the positive response to the Caladans from the New Record Day video caught everyone off guard.....and pressed them into production earlier than planned. For me it was well worth the frustration. |
@terrapin77 exactly, my order was 845 and invoice is 182 @vthokie83 good things come to those who wait! |
vthokie83I agree and I have an additional data point/info. Clayton left a voicemail yesterday evening because my original wood choice was white oak (invoice #107 order date 12 Nov). I was wavering on my wood choice after Clayton posted the pics of actual baffles in the cherry, maple, and walnut. I asked if I could get a picture of a white oak baffle to help determine my final wood selection. They have not yet received the first round of baffles in the oak. Clayton has seen the raw wood, "which looked really good". |
Hello All, I also worked to reverse my charge per Clayton's feedback and was asked to reorder it for delivery, but have two questions. 1. The new price is more expensive than when I originally ordered. There's a premium now for walnut and shipping is more expensive. How did you resolve these differences with Clayton? 2. I was told the dispute case is considered open for 90-days, thus the merchant can show proof of delivery and they will reverse the credit return. How have you mitigated the risk of being billed twice, if the dispute is reversed with proof of delivery?
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I feel ya. Agree about the customer service. It took 2 online inquiry, an email and a phone call before I got a call back from Clayton. Compare this to the Eversolo I bought online and the owner called me the same day to thank me for the order. It appears CSAL had an initial production slowdown due to the furniture manufacturer which has now been resolved and the baffles are better than expected according to CS. As of 3-23 they are working on November orders producing 30-40 pair per month but production is anticipated to ramp up now that the woodworking issue is fixed. No promised date but looks better than ordering a Decware amp.LOL. I ordered Dec 20 and looking forward to these. April??? BTW there is a recent blog update by Clayton on the website describing the PayPal / billing etc.
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