Disclaimer:
The unit I reviewed is part of a review tour set up by Head-Fi members Wiljen. Huge thanks to Ken and Wiljen and everyone involved in this tour.
Intro:
Campfire audio is a well-known American manufactory famous for its high-quality IEM. Andromeda is one of the most iconic IEMs in the market, which bring huge success to the company. Then in recent years Campfire audio also launch serval IEMs with the great build and sound quality. With huge success in IEM market, Campfire first time ever launch its new portable, closed-back headphone Cascade.
Driver:
Cascade feature 42mm Beryllium PVD Diaphragm Dynamic Drivers. Beryllium is one of the superior material for the diaphragm of a high-frequency electroacoustic transducer. The driver components were manufactured through a method known as PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition), which is a process that involves depositing thin layers through the condensation of the vaporized element onto a form. Compare to other drivers like Aluminum and Titanium, Beryllium has the lowest mass, the highest stiffness, the lowest Poisson Effect, the highest speed of sound, and the highest tensile strength of the acoustically useful light metals. Also, the beryllium diaphragm exhibits substantially more output in the two octaves from 3 to 12kHz than all of the standard materials.
Build Quality:
The build quality of Cascade is maybe the best I have seen.
It is phenomenal. Aluminum and Stainless Steel Construction make it looks solid but not heavy, a nice weight on your hand. Sheep leather detachable pads are very elegant and plush, it feels like the whole pads are “hug” you into the Cascade. Also, It is very easy to replace because of the magnetic design. The clamping force is firm but not make me any discomfort. This plus the sheep ear pups give you a very good seal and secure fit. Again these pads are really really good.
The headband is touching my head, but nothing uncomfortable. The cable is lightweight also durable. Cascade use the Sennheiser HD800 style of push/pull connectors which is very easy to use.
Sound Impression:
Cascade has a very powerful and impactful sound signature, excellent speed and detail retrieval. It is very fun to listen to and it sounds open. The overall sound signature is warm, great quality bass, mid is a little recessed but still can have some impact. Scalability is incredible.
During my almost 7-day listening, I used cascade 80% of the time in my office 20% at home.
What I listen: Jazz, Light Electronic music, Rock etc.
I try different filter but I prefer no filter, so I will not cover filter sound different in this review.
Source:
In office: MacBook pro and mojo, Player: Jriver;
At home: Audio-GD Master 11, Player: Jriver;
IPad pro, player: HibyMusic.
All music file are using DSF or lossless 16 bit/44.1khz or higher FLAC file
Synergy:
I prefer to use MacBook directly with Cascade which still provides very nice sound without DAC/Amp. The synergy of Cascade and mojo is okay but because even Mojo give more detail but they both have warm tonality, sometimes it is just too much.
I am a little surprised after hearing Cascade pairing with Audio-GD master 11, I personally preferred this synergy, it makes the sound tight and provides a much cleaner sound. It shows Cascade has very nice scalability compared to some other bass-head headphones which typically lack. This might be a reason I still prefer it for in-home use rather than portable use.
Cascade is very source sensitive. One little default of the file or player will lead to a huge difference of the sound quality. When I play “Hotel California” DSD file using IPad pro's "HibyMusic" app and there is low-end distortion I never noticed. Same DSD file plays on master 11 using Jriver, there is no distortion at all and that is the first time I noticed it.
Bass: Cascade hits very hard, deep, great quality bass. It puts the entire low-end in front of you. Overall best bass quality I have ever listened, Try MJ’s Billie Jean and ACDC’s Thunderstruck which will give you thunder-like bass.
Mids: Mids is not his strength, but not like some other bass-head headphone, which you can’t feel the mids. Cascade still has some light impact which you still can hear it effortless.
Treble: Treble is a little roll off, but keep its crispy taste, a little forward presentation. Try Kenny G Always if you like Saxophone.
Soundstage:
This is very interesting. When you listen to some good quality recordings. you really can feel the size of the recording studio, with Cascade, it feels much more obvious. The different recording you can easily feel the different size of the recording studio, You can tell where the boundary is, which make the song much more interesting and fun to listen with. Try the Norah Jones Day Breaks album. Very relaxing sound with some low-end emphasis. Then listen to Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer. You can feel the drum sound reflect the wall and tell how big is the studio. But at the same time, some of the song you will feel too busy to keep too many things in this little room.
Conclusion and some thought:
Overall, a good product is the reflection of its creator. Good product has its own soul. People know what they want before they design a product. Cascade is a great product, if Ken is a chef, Cascade is one of the best treats he gives to this world. On the other hand, IMHO, Cascade is some kind of overkill for portable use. Because of some ergonomic design, you really can feel the compromise for its portable purposes, imagine how good it will be if it is a full-size can. But this is really a great start for a company. At $799 price point, this is an absolutely fantastic headphone if you want a fun, entertaining campfire house sound signature, great speed great detail retrieval, but also has great scalability.
The unit I reviewed is part of a review tour set up by Head-Fi members Wiljen. Huge thanks to Ken and Wiljen and everyone involved in this tour.
Campfire audio is a well-known American manufactory famous for its high-quality IEM. Andromeda is one of the most iconic IEMs in the market, which bring huge success to the company. Then in recent years Campfire audio also launch serval IEMs with the great build and sound quality. With huge success in IEM market, Campfire first time ever launch its new portable, closed-back headphone Cascade.
Driver:
Cascade feature 42mm Beryllium PVD Diaphragm Dynamic Drivers. Beryllium is one of the superior material for the diaphragm of a high-frequency electroacoustic transducer. The driver components were manufactured through a method known as PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition), which is a process that involves depositing thin layers through the condensation of the vaporized element onto a form. Compare to other drivers like Aluminum and Titanium, Beryllium has the lowest mass, the highest stiffness, the lowest Poisson Effect, the highest speed of sound, and the highest tensile strength of the acoustically useful light metals. Also, the beryllium diaphragm exhibits substantially more output in the two octaves from 3 to 12kHz than all of the standard materials.
Build Quality:
The build quality of Cascade is maybe the best I have seen.
It is phenomenal. Aluminum and Stainless Steel Construction make it looks solid but not heavy, a nice weight on your hand. Sheep leather detachable pads are very elegant and plush, it feels like the whole pads are “hug” you into the Cascade. Also, It is very easy to replace because of the magnetic design. The clamping force is firm but not make me any discomfort. This plus the sheep ear pups give you a very good seal and secure fit. Again these pads are really really good.
The headband is touching my head, but nothing uncomfortable. The cable is lightweight also durable. Cascade use the Sennheiser HD800 style of push/pull connectors which is very easy to use.
Sound Impression:
Cascade has a very powerful and impactful sound signature, excellent speed and detail retrieval. It is very fun to listen to and it sounds open. The overall sound signature is warm, great quality bass, mid is a little recessed but still can have some impact. Scalability is incredible.
During my almost 7-day listening, I used cascade 80% of the time in my office 20% at home.
What I listen: Jazz, Light Electronic music, Rock etc.
I try different filter but I prefer no filter, so I will not cover filter sound different in this review.
Source:
In office: MacBook pro and mojo, Player: Jriver;
At home: Audio-GD Master 11, Player: Jriver;
IPad pro, player: HibyMusic.
All music file are using DSF or lossless 16 bit/44.1khz or higher FLAC file
Synergy:
I prefer to use MacBook directly with Cascade which still provides very nice sound without DAC/Amp. The synergy of Cascade and mojo is okay but because even Mojo give more detail but they both have warm tonality, sometimes it is just too much.
I am a little surprised after hearing Cascade pairing with Audio-GD master 11, I personally preferred this synergy, it makes the sound tight and provides a much cleaner sound. It shows Cascade has very nice scalability compared to some other bass-head headphones which typically lack. This might be a reason I still prefer it for in-home use rather than portable use.
Cascade is very source sensitive. One little default of the file or player will lead to a huge difference of the sound quality. When I play “Hotel California” DSD file using IPad pro's "HibyMusic" app and there is low-end distortion I never noticed. Same DSD file plays on master 11 using Jriver, there is no distortion at all and that is the first time I noticed it.
Bass: Cascade hits very hard, deep, great quality bass. It puts the entire low-end in front of you. Overall best bass quality I have ever listened, Try MJ’s Billie Jean and ACDC’s Thunderstruck which will give you thunder-like bass.
Mids: Mids is not his strength, but not like some other bass-head headphone, which you can’t feel the mids. Cascade still has some light impact which you still can hear it effortless.
Treble: Treble is a little roll off, but keep its crispy taste, a little forward presentation. Try Kenny G Always if you like Saxophone.
Soundstage:
This is very interesting. When you listen to some good quality recordings. you really can feel the size of the recording studio, with Cascade, it feels much more obvious. The different recording you can easily feel the different size of the recording studio, You can tell where the boundary is, which make the song much more interesting and fun to listen with. Try the Norah Jones Day Breaks album. Very relaxing sound with some low-end emphasis. Then listen to Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer. You can feel the drum sound reflect the wall and tell how big is the studio. But at the same time, some of the song you will feel too busy to keep too many things in this little room.
Conclusion and some thought:
Overall, a good product is the reflection of its creator. Good product has its own soul. People know what they want before they design a product. Cascade is a great product, if Ken is a chef, Cascade is one of the best treats he gives to this world. On the other hand, IMHO, Cascade is some kind of overkill for portable use. Because of some ergonomic design, you really can feel the compromise for its portable purposes, imagine how good it will be if it is a full-size can. But this is really a great start for a company. At $799 price point, this is an absolutely fantastic headphone if you want a fun, entertaining campfire house sound signature, great speed great detail retrieval, but also has great scalability.
