New Campfire Audio IEMs

Ah, maybe the TH-X00, but I'll admit I still haven't heard one! Aren't the mids recessed on the X00? The Vega is not U-shaped to my ears.

 

I was thinking the TH-X00 too from the way he described them...

 

The Vegas start to roll off after 13 kHz, so the Andros have better top end extension. The tone/texture/timbre is fantastic though, and not harsh when using foam tips.

In general the Vega is more lively than the Andros, which is a more polite IEM.

 

In that case the X00 may be a good analog for the Vegas. I listened to the Andros through the Joti and the bass got boomy and hollow. The Vega bass has impact but it's solid and deep.

 

The Andros definitely win on airiness in general (I realize that isn't exactly what you mean when you say treble air but I'd say it's a general strength of the Andros).

 

I let the Vegas burn in from 1 AM last night to 4 PM today. The bass seems more controlled now, and the mids feel a bit boosted, which makes sense as the product listing mentions slightly elevated mids. The Andros may win on treble but damn the combo of bass and mids here is seductive.

 

Since I asked about the mids on head-fi, I'll ask about da bass here. Does it still hit hard? Any comparisons to other IEMs regarding bass now that it has settled?

 

@Warrior it may be a combo of driver burn-in and brain burn-in, because when I first popped in the Vegas I thought the bass was too much and wasn't sure if I could keep them (this is why I chose not to post about sound impressions for the first few hours). There were still some tracks last night where the bass levels shocked me (The Beatles' Abbey Road remaster is surprisingly bass-heavy). Today the slam has subsided a bit and this has allowed the texture of the bass to shine through. But these are still the bassiest transducers I own by a long shot.

By comparison, the Orion was all texture, barely any slam. And even then the texture on the Vegas wins out. I think the Andros have quite good bass, but like Marv said, they lack the "fatness" of the best bass reproduction. The Vegas have big ol' bottoms, and they love to swing.

 

Its great to participate especially when we have great, deep, thoughtful reflection on so many facets of the products, not just mine also. Im glad you brought up the headphone because we feel like CFA cans are going to be something special. I have been working on them for a few years now and have not been trying to hide them. I have spent a lot of time grabbing people (customers) I know from show, communication via email and obtaining your opinions on them as we work our way through the delicate tuning process. I think its great to be in close touch with you all with this regard not that I do not trust my own tastes or what I am hearing. I think its good not to be in ones own acoustic bubble.

Made it to Tokyo last night, sadly Fedex took a crap and all our show stuff is still not here, was suppose to be delivered 2 days ago. Ohmmmm! Ohmmmm!! trying to stay calm

Ken

 

Hey ibzerg1570,

The Vega, Lyra II and Dorado all have the same ID as the first Lyra. Compared to the CNC aluminum shells of the others (Andromeda, Jupiter, Orion and Nova) the 3 new DD IEMs are smaller and have nozzles (what we and my engineer call a "spout") that are longer. The 3 DD IEMS I feel will have more of a universal fit appeal.

Oh one more note the Dorado has a slightly wider spout / nozzle due to the fact that the dual BAs are located in the spout area.

Cheers
Ken

 

Hey Merrick,

Cool, yeah I keep forgetting to mention that the 3 new DD iems really, really respond well to some good burn in and is essential to burn in before critical anything. Things start to settle down after about 72 hours clocked.

Also, I recommend good foam tips vs silicone tips for these DD iems. The foam tips will flatten the HF peaks but more importantly the foam tips really make the HF peaks more broad/wide (key) as well as isolate better. So foam over silicone unless silicone fits and seals better for you then yeah go with silicone. I found that the spinfits tend to measure better than other silicone tips which is why we decided to include a full array of Spinfits with all our IEMs.

Cheers

Ken

 

Thanks Ken, good to know! I'll keep running these. They already sound quite spectacular. Between these and the Andromedas, I'm very keen to hear those full sized headphones!

 

@KenBall thanks for participating and answering our questions. Any chance you can get a frequency response graph up of the Vegas like you've done with the Andromedas? Would love to see how they are with respect to the Andromedas. Thanks!

 

Hey Paranoidroid,

I was hoping to get away from emphasis on freq measurements :-0 but when I get back I can.

I also thought it might be fun to bring my mobile measuring rig to the SBAF meet in LA. ? we can geek out. Its not SPL super accurate but gives you a fairly accurate freq.


Ken

 

Regarding the driver integration on the Dorado's I find it to be seamless and quite coherent. Once the DD settles in there are some areas that smooth out, but that only takes a few days.

Hope some others choose the Dorado's as well so we can get more impressions posted here. I did post my impressions on HF right after Jude's video came out so take a look if you're interested. The Dorado is a great performer as well!

Cheers

 

Is a a hybrid combining the best of the Vega (Bass - diamond DD) and Andros (treble - resonator chamber) next?

 

Definitely interested in the Dorado too... Just not ready to spend anymore money, at least for a week.