Campfire Audio Vega, Dorada, Lyra 2 Discussion/Impressions

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

  1. Returnity

    Returnity Acquaintance

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    Considering to buy a Campfire audio product but I need some guidance here! I own Pinnacle P1's and use them on the go with my Mojo. I love the sound signature of these, but I need something more detailed and with more resolution. A little bit of bass would be welcome too.

    As someone with no ability to audition them beforehand my last three candidates are: Andromeda, Vega and Dorado

    Never owned a BA IEM before, so pulling the trigger on Andros is frightening me after reading things like " hating that BA sound". Normally I should go step by step with a cheaper product before jumping up this high, but I know one day the upgradeitis will make me buy one of these anyway.

    I can call myself mostly a neutralhead, but I need to analyze the details in both extremes as well, such as the kick drums and the cymbals. FYI I loved the Sennheiser HD598 and ATH-M40x for home usage as well.

    So, which one would you guys recommend me for mainly progressive rock/metal, fusion and occasional death metal (in summary: energetic, complex music)? Would Andros be too anemic in bass for these genres?
     
  2. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

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    Bass levels on the Andro's are entirely dependent on the output imedance of your source. IF it's around 2-3ohm they are a wonderful neutral earphone with good but "neutral" amounts of bass. less than 2ohms you will get a lot more bass, but if that's what you want it's still otherwise a "neutral" tuning. Once you hit several ohms (my phone is 6) it becomes thin and shrill.

    Dorado is VERY V-shaped, but it has the best bass extension, slam and texture I've ever heard in an IEM, but if you are saying you're a neutral head I'm skeptical it's a good match. Never heard Vega. Interestingly I think Polaris sounds a lot like a cleaner Mee P1, has a very similar signature but I found it unideal for rock because of that.

    Jupiter is kinda like Andro but darker from the upper mids on, I like it for rock, but if you are really concerned with kick drum impact and the shred of guitars andro is better there.
     
  3. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    The Vega isn’t neutral. If you like to analyze, there’s nothing better than Andromeda.
     
  4. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    Don't like the Vegas at all myself, but haven't tried the Dorado.

    Andros are not really anemic in bass (source dependent), but ultimately, have the 'BA' bass type of sound that is distinctively different from the physicality of texture dynamics have.
     
  5. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Personally I wouldn’t worry about not liking the BA sound. I’d say it’s a small percentage of people who have such strong preferences that they wouldn’t even consider a BA. I prefer the texture and tactility of a great DD myself but I have yet to find one that is as great across the entire FR as the Andromeda, which is why the Andros remain my main headphone. I don’t even own over ear headphones anymore because when I used them, I found myself wishing I were using the Andromedas instead.

    The only caveat is that because the FR of the Andros will change based on the OI of the source, you may find your current sources do not make for good synergy (if you do some searching you should find a thread where Marvey gives his impression of the Andros with a Mojo so you can get an idea of the sound).
     
  6. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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  7. Returnity

    Returnity Acquaintance

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    @Merrick thanks for the effort. I have a Mojo, and the mentioned bass boost probably isn't going to be a major problem for me, since although I'm not a basshead I certainly do enjoy it most of the time.

    There were some reports of hissing with near zero output impedance sources such as mojo or the iphone dongle (which I happen to use sometimes as well, when I'm lazy). Is it really that audible to be concerned of?

    Anyway, could both of these problems probably be attenuated with an impedance adapter such as these?

    https://m.ebay.com/itm/3-5mm-20ohm-...hash=item58dcddb6d4:m:mP7NsGRviK4a2aDE9NlLOnw

    God, as much as I love my Mojo, I hate this lego game with all these cables and plugs and CCK's :)
     
  8. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    The hissing isn’t a function of the OI as far as I understand it, but is simply due to the Andros being so sensitive that they often hit the noise floor of the source (someone correct me if I’m wrong about that). In many cases the hissing cannot he heard while music is playing.

    Some people here use impedance adapters like the Fiio to lower the noise floor but others think that it kills the magic of the sound, so YMMV on that.
     
  9. KenBall

    KenBall Owner - Campfire Audio

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    Hey guys,

    We were working on doing something possibly but sadly it did not work out. We will not be doing any Co-branded IEMs at this time.

    Sorry for the confusion.

    Ken
     
  10. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    So the whole IEM is DOA, or just the co-branding part of it?

    I can say a lot of us are interested in a hybrid with an Andromeda tuning.
     
  11. LSW

    LSW Facebook Friend

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    I use the Vega with comply tips for that type of music and am happy with it. I haven't tried the Andro, but I have a feeling I wouldn't like it as much. I'd like to try it eventually though. It probably comes down to whether or not you like elevated bass - I don't just like it, I need it. Metal with no thump in the kick drums or B string on that 5 string bass is just bleh to me. I know when you go to a metal concert that stuff is punching you in chest - an IEM can never do that but the vega at least makes the effort.

    I can set up my home theater/stereo to have flat bass 20-200hz +/- 5 db but I'd much rather have the subwoofer crossed at 80 hz playing about 10 db higher than the mains, so that's what I prefer (at least with music, the sub will actually start bottoming out if I do that on a lot of movies due to the level of subbass energy in that material). I'm not a recording engineer so I don't really need or want pure neutrality, at least when it comes to bass.
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2017
  12. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    imho, that LH is demming them at hpfes last week and telling ppl they are "coming soon" when the project is DoA makes LH seem even more dodgy than before.
     
  13. Kunlun

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

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    @KenBall

    You likely saved yourself a headache, co-branded products are often a pain.

    Anyhoooooo, didya notice how people are asking for a Vega driven iem with less of a V sound? Like Vega half-reference-ish?

    UERM-with-subbass using the Vega's driver or whatever the next iteration is from wherever the Vega's driver is sourced from, please!
     
  14. HeartOfSky

    HeartOfSky Acquaintance

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    Have you checked out SBAF's thread on the Andro? It's extensive. This site has a lot of Andro fans.
    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...cow-this-is-a-dream-awesomesauce.2075/page-76

    I know you'd like some good bass, but your preference for neutrality should move you well away from Vega. I've had Vega since April and love it to pieces. For the past week, I've been using my friend's Lyra II and burning it in for her at the same time. The Lyra II is wonderful and the mids were beautifully lush. Bass is good, but I felt it was overall too bright for my tastes, as trebles were annoying me. When I put my Vega back into my ears, this morning, I could really tell just how deep and dark they are. Though Vega is lovely, I think Andro may be your better bet. Dorado, from what I've read, is also quite coloured. Andro should give satisfy your analytical/neutral needs, while still also not being completely "reference". Ken, from what I understand, prefers his products to have a factor of funness to them.
     
  15. KenBall

    KenBall Owner - Campfire Audio

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    All of it, but no worry, we have been very busy in the lab... having some freq fun ;) Stay tuned.

    Cheers,

    Ken
     
  16. KenBall

    KenBall Owner - Campfire Audio

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    Kunlun,

    You are correct, also its way more complicated than one might think, and yes I am following and listening to SBAF peoples.

    Thank you,

    Ken
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    That would instantly remove a wad of cash from my wallet. Like instantly.
     
  18. Returnity

    Returnity Acquaintance

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    Yes I checked all of it. It's mostly about Sony ZX2 worship, LOL. Is it really that bad with Mojo?
     
  19. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Oh god. I suppressed this dream already.
     
  20. elguapo

    elguapo Gringos falling from the skys

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    I don't believe it is ZX2 worship. It's ZX2 + Andromeda worship. Synergy matters.
     

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