Campfire Audio Vega, Dorada, Lyra 2 Discussion/Impressions

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by purr1n, Oct 29, 2016.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Andromeda is good with Mojo too. Mojo has near zero source impedance which would normally result in a tad too much bass; but since Mojo is perceptually mid-centric, it works out well.

    For why ZX2, it came down to use case. The Sony ZX2 is a self contained player with its own UI (a good one) and storage (quite a lot of it). Therefore Mojo was not even considered. It was not a matter of irrational Mojo hate as Reddit extremists would you believe.
     
  2. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Does the Be driver impart any of its "sound" the same way that the Utopia does? That was a deal breaker for me with the Utopia.

    *EDIT* - I found where you mentioned they are like the Accuton Diamond Drivers.

    I saw the CSD... That treble ridge - that kind of worries me. Do you have a CSD for the Andromeda to compare with? I checked the Andro thread and didn't see one.
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2017
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    No CSDs for IEMs. I don't find CSD useful for IEMs because 80% of peaks above 7-8kHz are the result of specific coupler / IEM interactions. Too misleading. Even when I point out the peaks in FR may be caused by specific coupler / IEM interactions, IEM dweebs still go full retard and take them as absolute truth. In the end what happens is IEM dweebs argue on whether the 9kHz that may or may not exist. And then other IEM dweebs cherry pick specific measurements that might have or not have a peak to "prove" they are right. There is a reason why I haven't done much work on IEM measurements. Too misleading. Too many unknowns. Too problematic. Too many IEM dweebs tend toward being measurement extremists.
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2017
  4. M3NTAL

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    Ahh! I forgot about that. My apologies, I do remember your post explaining that.

    I'm all in for a Andro tuned dynamic driver based iem though.
     
  5. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Those have way too high an impedance and would probably turn the Andros into in-ear tweeters.

    You want something like the iFi IEMatch
    https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-iematch/
    Or one of the UE buffers (I don't remember which one, it should be in the Andro thread somewhere).
    http://pro.ultimateears.com/products/custom-accessories/wireless-and-hardware
     
  6. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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  7. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    @KenBall's ears just started ringing again. "Hmm, I'd better have that checked", he thinks.
     
  8. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Hopefully he can wait until I finish paying off my second Andromeda's LOL.
     
  9. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    So I’ve been using the hell out of my Vegas over the last week or so. I’m just going to type what comes into my head, this isn’t a full review or anything. Just some thoughts after a bunch of use. I should note that these were a demo pair so are fully burned in, although I’ve only had them for a couple weeks.

    Source: MacBook Pro headphone out, iPhone 6

    Preferences: Bass, and I’m only slightly ashamed of it, wait no…not at all ashamed. I love me some bass. I like sparkly treble. I think I’ve done some damage to my hearing over the years as a drummer despite my best effort at protection, so a little bit treble emphasis isn’t the end of the world for me. Mids it depends. I think my taste has evolved over time, as I used to prefer warm warm warm headphones. I don’t mind a bit of a v shape, and a little bit recession in the mids nowadays.

    From the above preferences, you can perhaps understand how I might enjoy the Vega. I love them. They have big bass. There is no need for an EQ bump in the low end…at all. The low end is perhaps a little bit bloated at times, but I think this has to do with seal and tip choice more than the actual earphones signature themselves.

    Definitely a bit of a V shape.

    These are not a “reference” “audiophile” tuned earphone, and I just don’t care. I use IEM’s on the bus, on the plane, when I’m doing stuff. I just don’t care about critical listening when I’m using my Vegas. I’m just trying to enjoy some tunes. The Vega do have a bit of a bump at 6.5k, which I could see bothering some people. It doesn’t bother me.

    The Andromeda are definitely the better earphone. They have a bigger soundstage, better technicalities, better balance in terms of tuning. I just don’t enjoy them as much for my uses. The Andromeda are also cheaper. Try both if you can before purchasing. However, if you like bass, and still want a quality earphone, you could do a lot worse than the Vega.

    I love my Abyss, and the Vega are kind of like an earphone version of the Abyss. I mean obviously not exactly, but big bass, a bit less mids, and kinda sparkly treble. The treble could be a bit sibilant for some people I think. It doesn’t bother me, but if you are treble sensitive there might be better options in terms of earphones.

    I’m not sure how these will compare to the new Atlas, but if you want a pair of Vega, there are some sales going on right now due to the introduction of the new TOTL model. This is just a guess, but if the Vega were tuned by Ken Ball and represent his idea of a flagship earphone, I think he and I might have similar tastes in terms of tuning. We both recognise others might prefer a more Andromeda style of tuning, but in terms of just listening and having fun the Vega has a place in the CA line up. If the Atlas is replacing the Vega, then I hope it has a similar tuning, as it would be a shame for this to disappear even though most will probably prefer the Andromeda.

    All in all, these are my favourite closed earphones that I have heard to date. The Andromeda are killer, and better for more ears I think, but if the Vega are right for you and your ears, then you certainly could do a lot worse. Big bass, slightly recessed mids, sparkly treble (that might be a bit sibilant.) These are killer for the kinds of music I listen to. Lots of electronica, rock, metal. I do listen to jazz and what not, but not as often. Definitely recommended, especially if you can find a great deal on a demo pair or something like I did with the Introduction of the Atlas.
     
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  10. Erikdayo

    Erikdayo Friend

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    I have a Vega and Andromeda as loaners at the moment and a Xelento on the way.

    Not really adding anything that hasn't been said. I think the Vega sounds pretty terrible when I use them with a normal seal using stock tips, Acoustune AET07, and Spiral Dots. There is so much extra bass, and for a lot of recordings it sounds like someone cranked the bass to 10 while everything else is at a 4 or 5. This can still work for certain music, but it often sounds laughably bad.

    That said, as noted, they sound pretty good when barely sealing. Problem is I don't see that as a realistic way for me to use the Vega. When I am at work and need to get up and walk around or on the go it isn't very doable. At home I could see it working, but I'd probably rather use something else.

    My initial impressions for the Andromeda are much more positive, but I'll hold off until I listen more.
     
  11. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    Deutsche Hifi Tage Impressions Part 4: Vega

    Part 1: PP8
    Part 2: Andromeda S
    Part 3: Solaris

    The usual preface: I listened to all the IEMs from my Galaxy S8 (Snapdragon variant). Show conditions, etc. I actually listened to the Vega a lot more than the Solaris and PP8. Maybe close to an hour total. Equinox probably even more than that.
    After listening to the Solaris I wanted to see how a real TOTL DD IEM for Campfire Audio would sound. I expected a lot of bass and what I got was... a lot of bass in the right channel and a much quieter, much less bassy left channel. The left channel of this Vega IEM had driver flex and if I inserted it with any excess pressure in my ear canal it would totally change the FR. It took me a bit to get it to seal without much pressure so I could get a decent channel imbalance. Because of this I don't think it's unfair to disregard my impressions because this Vega might've been broken. I hope driver flex isn't acceptable in a $1300 "diamond" coated DD IEM.

    After I got the fit right the bass was way too much, which was expected. On the first day I listened to it without EQ, but on the second day I tried to make my own EQ profile to get a better idea of the inherent driver sound. I only took a minute or two, so these are very rough, but here's the EQ profile that I used in Neutron:
    • Low shelf 48Hz, Q 0.46 -12db
    • Peak EQ 9300Hz, Q0.80 -8.21db
    • High shelf 13671Hz, Q0.81 +5.15db
    Basically I tried to get rid of the bass boost and sibilance that I heard and also tried to boost the upper octave a bit to restore some air. -12db is the maximum that Neutron allows, but it seemed about right, so I didn't use another filter. Usually I try to avoid shelf filters and do it with peak filters alone (since I think they sound better), but this was much easier to get an acceptable FR in 2 or 3 minutes or so. The 9.3kHz filter that I used is pretty broad. I don't think the peak that I heard in the treble is as wide, but a higher Q also didn't make treble more natural. I normally don't use EQ for listening as my IEMs don't require it, but the Vega absolutely did.

    I already heard some potential in the midrange before the EQ and applying the EQ further supported that. Even though the upper midrange is a bit withdrawn overall it still sounds much more cohesive than the Solaris. The midrange had a natural purity and clarity to it that only DDs can achieve. I found that the range from about 600Hz to 4kHz was quite good without EQ already. The sound stage is a lot smaller than on the Andromeda and it generally didn't have the laser precise imaging of the best IEMs. I think even my RE272 images better than that.
    I was also curious to hear if the Vega really did resolve at Andro level or even better and honestly, I didn't find that to be the case. Ambient information in Hotel California from HFO seemed to get lost. I even tried other tracks which I know have a lot of hidden information or ambient information that gets lost on lesser phones and the Vega never really recovered all of it or even most of it. The best thing about the Vega is its well damped sound that lacks BA coloration and has a good timbre in the midrange, if a bit warmed over. It also seemed to be good at the microdynamics. The rest of the sound was pretty mediocre. Anyway, keeping it short since it's possible these were defective and the Equinox seemed to do what the Vega was trying to achieve, except bettter.

    I also heard the HFM headphone range again, including the HE6SE which I didn't like at all and the HEK SE which I liked even less. The HE1000SE is supposedly a big improvement over the HEK, but it still sounded way too soft to me to take seriously. The HE6SE didn't sound at all like the awesome HE6 that I heard years ago. This one sounded quite overdamped and muddy in comparison. The rig they had for the full size headphones was really crappy though with an A&K SP1000M in DAC mode driving either a Niimbus US 4 or Modenaudio Lympha. From what I gathered the Niimbus US 4 is a Violectric V281 in a prettier case that has a bit higher output power at twice the price. Whatever it was, it was one of the worst headphone amps I heard. Any semblance of stage depth, microdynamics, resolution and even the macrodynamics went down the drain. It made the Modenaudio amp sound really good in comparison even if that one is probably at Leckerton sound quality levels.

    Equinox impressions next. Saving the best for last.
     
  12. ohmaigulay

    ohmaigulay Friend

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    These are impressions of the Campfire Audio Dorado I borrowed from the SBAF loaner library.

    I'm new to the IEM scene. I mainly do my listening on a stereo system and prior to that on full sized headphones namely planars. I wanted to give IEMs a shot since I'm able to do quite a bit of listening at work working during the night shift.

    I mainly listen to indie bands like Interpol and The Strokes, some emo music like Jimmy Eat World, and some acoustic alternative like Jack Johnson. Most of my music isn't necessarily recorded well but I do enjoy good sound. When I started out with full sized headphones I was into Planars namely the Hifiman HE-500, HE-6 and Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-3. I was sucked into the bass capabilities and presentation of planars. After I sold those off, I moved on to a speaker system now that I've my own place.

    I'm exclusively using the Dorados on an iPhone 6S straight out the headphone jack. I have a massdrop nuforce EDC3 and while it does the job, I could use more low end. The low end is what I enjoy the most on the Dorado. I definitely prefer the longer decay and impact of a dynamic driver IEM. The kicks of a bass drum and plucks of a bass guitar are satisfying with the Dorado. I also enjoy the presentation of the highs of Campfire Audio. Cymbals sound clear and with texture and shimmer.

    I was briefly able to listen to a Andromeda driven out of a ZX2 courtesy of @Bill-P at a past SBAF mini meet. The Dorados aren't at the same level as that setup. However due to the nature of my music/listening I find myself leaning towards the hybrid designed IEM.

    Thanks to @Vansen and SBAF contributors for facilitating the loaner library.
     
  13. wormcycle

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    I am really late to the Campfire game,but I got a great price for new Vega in Canada and decided to try it. I listened to Andromeda before and it just sounded correct to me, nothing more. But IEMs that were supposed to have a great bass, not bleeding to the mids, and superb resolution, I could not resist.

    I bought Vega to pair with Kann Cube and most of my listening was on Kann Cube, some on Bryston BHA-1.
    I will not do usual sound impressions, essentially I agree with most if not everything what @purr1n posted on Vegas, and instead focus on what makes Vegas so difficult to get it right. It may be for some use for the folks who want to buy them used, or who still own them but feel like something is missing.

    Essentially from the start I knew that I like their timbre, mids and treble , but I have to tame the bass somehow. It was too much.

    1. Fit: they are small and for that reason could be placed in many different positions in my ear. That is contrast to se846 that are big and they either fit your ears perfectly, that's me, or you hate them. Even after a couple of months of a daily use I sometimes put them in my ear and remove a couple of times before I get it right.

    2, tips: I cycled through all the stock tips and could not get a good seal. Then I tried triple flange and that was really bad: I never thought I could get too much bass from IEM but I got too much and some. Cutting to double flange made it a bit better but not good.
    I finally settled on Comply Isolation large. That was the best I could get but I was not entirely happy.

    3. Next step was to buy ALO Audio litz balanced cable and it improved things: it was a slight reduction in bass, now I really liked it although from time to time I would be still surprised by a cello on low registers sounding like a double bass.
    But the main promise of Vegas was met: bass was appearing exactly at the right time and place, lots of it, but without messing up with everything else.

    4. And the final discovery was that Vegas love power and it was purely accidental. One night I was using Kann Cube with HD800S (great pairing by the way), and left the gain on high. Usually I would be using low or medium gain with Vega.
    When I connected Vegas an adjusted the volume, that was the breakthrough I was waiting for. The details were just amazing, what was the most important the bass level was a touch lower again, and I immediately noticed a big improvement in transient response in mid and sub bass. Then I tried Vegas to Bryston BHA-1 balanced out and got exactly the same effect.

    The last point is to simply ignore all the reviews of Vegas from audio shows, impressions from 20 mins listening on some dinky $100 cell phones etc... Those are useless for most IEMs, and for Vegas in particular.

    I never bothered to compare Kann Cube to any DAP, I bought it as a replacement for my desk setup.
    I can safely say that, except for my main system which is full Bryston stack, Kann Cube and Vegas are getting the most of my listening time, and of many variations of my desk setup, nothing comes even close to the Cube-Vega pair.

    ** Slightly of subject but Kann Cube is a great pairing with HD800S and TR-X00 Mohogany, not so good with big planars like HEKv2.

    **
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2020
  14. Iron-Buddha

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    Got the Vegas right when they were announced. So had them for a while. Just got a used set of Andromeda S’ and spent some time A/B’ing them. My thoughts just in case anyone else is debating which one to buy and not able to hear both side by side.

    The most noticeable thing for me was the treble clarity on the Andromeda is spine tingling. I love this sensation, and while not everyone’s spine tingles for the same thing, or tingle at all, the top end of the Andromeda and the more forward intimate vocals was super sweet.

    On the other hand, the Vega still wins in smoothness and just a warm comfy presentation. Tone seems to be more natural. No harshness in poorly recorded vocals. Bass is still a bit too much for me, but works great in transit and on planes. It could be that I’m just used to the Vega in that (I) the sound doesn’t excite as much because I’m used to it, and (ii) the andromeda sounds a bit etched, like someone cranked the contrast just a bit more than natural, think of those TV’s that pop but...no real strawberry looks like that.....

    Still not sure which one I like better yet. Luckily, I can keep both.

    I will say, the Vega finish has kept up very well. The stainless steel Andromeda’s have micro scratches due to the mirror polish. I buffed it up with some Cape Cod, which is still better than the aluminum shells where the color is chipping off the edges. I’m not sure how I would feel if my $1000 iems started looking like a battle damaged Gundam.
     
  15. Rockwell

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    Apparently there's an updated 2020 Vega about to be released...quite excited if that's true as I've always wanted to try the Vega.
     
  16. Panohm

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    Both a vega 2020 and dorado 2020, strangely the vega is cheaper than the dorado which was the inverse in the previous version IIRC.
     

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