SpaceInvader77
100+ Head-Fier
What a great picture! I’m definitely a CFA fanboy, they look as good as they sound.Not all chromatic but definitely very chromatic lol
Campfire Audio Chromatic Series
- Thread starter SpaceInvader77
- Start date
Haha same. A fanboy with spending problems (wallet crying and dying in the background)What a great picture! I’m definitely a CFA fanboy, they look as good as they sound.
SpaceInvader77
100+ Head-Fier
I’m glad I’m not alone. Haha. I always seem to have a couple of CFA sets on my mind that I have the urge to splurge on! I keep going back and fourth with wanting to grab an Emerald Sea. When I’ve heard it in the past, I’ve found myself wanting to hear more of it.
I love your Solaris and Supermoon. Absolutely beautiful!
CFA Chris
Sponsor: Campfire Audio
Not all chromatic but definitely very chromatic lol
This is awesome! Such a wide range of styles, colors, and tunings!
leo5111
1000+ Head-Fier
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anyone own vega 2020,s and heard the cascara? how do they compare like which is better sub bass etc
I auditioned the Bonneville a few weeks ago, then I sold my Cascara, got the Bonneville and I am very satisfied at the moment.
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Our review from @B9Scrambler on the Ponderosa is now published! Includes comparisons to the Cascara and Andromeda 2020
https://headfonics.com/campfire-audio-ponderosa-review/
https://headfonics.com/campfire-audio-ponderosa-review/
I am not a die hard CFA fan but during my head-fi journey, I found myself sometimes coming back to buy CFA IEM.
When Campfire Audio was established back in 2015 and released Lyra, I was very impressed with the material being used to build the earphone body (the ceramic chamber) and the ALO Tinsel cable. The built of both earphone and cable are so beautiful and the SQ is also supreme, as a single DD IEM (8.5mm beryllium diaphragm). Up to now I regret that I sold Lyra, I should have kept it for long term use.
The next CFA IEM that I got was Polaris, and the last one was IO. After I sold my IO in early 2020, I have not owned a CFA IEM and left CFA for almost 4 years, but the particular timbre of CFA is always in my memory, especially that signature sparkling treble and extension is actually a very enjoyable listening experience.
So recently here it comes the CFA Chromatic Series. When I look at this series of IEMs for the first time, once again it draws my attention because I really like the design of Solstice and this series applies the same design of it, but now they have become universal. I also like the stock cable - the new Time Stream Cable which is made of 8 strands of SPC conductor and it should provide sufficient signal to the IEM. Also its flat shape is easy to manage and not getting tangled.
I am very curious about how the Cascara sounds. I like the single DD design, it is priced at entry level and it is pretty easy for me to get. Also I would expect the SQ of it would be close to IE 600. I audition it and I found its bass is fantastic, the mid and high are also acceptable but not as transparent as IE 600. It has a dark sounding so I think maybe a burn-in would help to improve the whole sound signature of it.
After burning in the Cascara for more than 300 hours. The bass was tamed a bit but still very powerful, and it had become tight and hits really hard. The mid and high stand out a bit and starts to shine. The sound stage is at a satisfactory level for a single DD IEM. Even this new dual magnetic diaphragm is overall impressive , I still found the sound signature is a bit dark, the musical instruments lack of layer and the CFA signature treble and sparkling is still missing. This lures me to try Bonneville! >< and it gives every elements that I want! ^^
With the Bonneville, the dual diaphragm of the new Knowles BA produces a brand new listening experience to me. For the treble the CFA signature is not even back but it is enhanced. It has a very strong treble energy there but it never spikes my ear, no peaky treble at all and very smooth. The micro details are at top notch that the Cascara can't compare. The same dual magnetic dynamic driver that Cascara equips reproduces great bass texture. It dives very deep and hits hard. Vocal is not forward, not behind and its position is just right for me. As some of the users here describe it is an "all in one" package that most of the head-fiers want.
During the beginning stage, the timbre of the Bonneville is bombastic and it takes about 240 hours of burn-in to let it stabilize. After the 240 hours mark, the coherency has improved a lot, the quantity of the bass is tamed but it has become very tight, still diving deep and powerful. The highlight of Bonneville that I really like is the smooth but powerful treble, the dynamics and the presentation of the micro details. you will know what I mean when you audition it. Well done CFA! I love it and Bonneville is definitely a keeper this time.
My girlfriend bought me a black colour CFA IEM case a while ago and it has become the perfect home of my Bonneville:
When Campfire Audio was established back in 2015 and released Lyra, I was very impressed with the material being used to build the earphone body (the ceramic chamber) and the ALO Tinsel cable. The built of both earphone and cable are so beautiful and the SQ is also supreme, as a single DD IEM (8.5mm beryllium diaphragm). Up to now I regret that I sold Lyra, I should have kept it for long term use.
The next CFA IEM that I got was Polaris, and the last one was IO. After I sold my IO in early 2020, I have not owned a CFA IEM and left CFA for almost 4 years, but the particular timbre of CFA is always in my memory, especially that signature sparkling treble and extension is actually a very enjoyable listening experience.
So recently here it comes the CFA Chromatic Series. When I look at this series of IEMs for the first time, once again it draws my attention because I really like the design of Solstice and this series applies the same design of it, but now they have become universal. I also like the stock cable - the new Time Stream Cable which is made of 8 strands of SPC conductor and it should provide sufficient signal to the IEM. Also its flat shape is easy to manage and not getting tangled.
I am very curious about how the Cascara sounds. I like the single DD design, it is priced at entry level and it is pretty easy for me to get. Also I would expect the SQ of it would be close to IE 600. I audition it and I found its bass is fantastic, the mid and high are also acceptable but not as transparent as IE 600. It has a dark sounding so I think maybe a burn-in would help to improve the whole sound signature of it.
After burning in the Cascara for more than 300 hours. The bass was tamed a bit but still very powerful, and it had become tight and hits really hard. The mid and high stand out a bit and starts to shine. The sound stage is at a satisfactory level for a single DD IEM. Even this new dual magnetic diaphragm is overall impressive , I still found the sound signature is a bit dark, the musical instruments lack of layer and the CFA signature treble and sparkling is still missing. This lures me to try Bonneville! >< and it gives every elements that I want! ^^
With the Bonneville, the dual diaphragm of the new Knowles BA produces a brand new listening experience to me. For the treble the CFA signature is not even back but it is enhanced. It has a very strong treble energy there but it never spikes my ear, no peaky treble at all and very smooth. The micro details are at top notch that the Cascara can't compare. The same dual magnetic dynamic driver that Cascara equips reproduces great bass texture. It dives very deep and hits hard. Vocal is not forward, not behind and its position is just right for me. As some of the users here describe it is an "all in one" package that most of the head-fiers want.
During the beginning stage, the timbre of the Bonneville is bombastic and it takes about 240 hours of burn-in to let it stabilize. After the 240 hours mark, the coherency has improved a lot, the quantity of the bass is tamed but it has become very tight, still diving deep and powerful. The highlight of Bonneville that I really like is the smooth but powerful treble, the dynamics and the presentation of the micro details. you will know what I mean when you audition it. Well done CFA! I love it and Bonneville is definitely a keeper this time.
My girlfriend bought me a black colour CFA IEM case a while ago and it has become the perfect home of my Bonneville:
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I'm considering the Cascara. They are described as "Deep, forward bass-response paired with a smooth, warm mid and high-end." Would these pair up well with a particularly warm source, for example the Cayin N3Ultra (which I have on the way) which has the very warm Tube sound?
CFA Chris
Sponsor: Campfire Audio
I am not a die hard CFA fan but during my head-fi journey, I found myself sometimes coming back to buy CFA IEM.
When Campfire Audio was established back in 2015 and released Lyra, I was very impressed with the material being used to build the earphone body (the ceramic chamber) and the ALO Tinsel cable. The built of both earphone and cable are so beautiful and the SQ is also supreme, as a single DD IEM (8.5mm beryllium diaphragm). Up to now I regret that I sold Lyra, I should have kept it for long term use.
The next CFA IEM that I got was Polaris, and the last one was IO. After I sold my IO in early 2020, I have not owned a CFA IEM and left CFA for almost 4 years, but the particular timbre of CFA is always in my memory, especially that signature sparkling treble and extension is actually a very enjoyable listening experience.
So recently here it comes the CFA Chromatic Series. When I look at this series of IEMs for the first time, once again it draws my attention because I really like the design of Solstice and this series applies the same design of it, but now they have become universal. I also like the stock cable - the new Time Stream Cable which is made of 8 strands of SPC conductor and it should provide sufficient signal to the IEM. Also its flat shape is easy to manage and not getting tangled.
I am very curious about how the Cascara sounds. I like the single DD design, it is priced at entry level and it is pretty easy for me to get. Also I would expect the SQ of it would be close to IE 600. I audition it and I found its bass is fantastic, the mid and high are also acceptable but not as transparent as IE 600. It has a dark sounding so I think maybe a burn-in would help to improve the whole sound signature of it.
After burning in the Cascara for more than 300 hours. The bass was tamed a bit but still very powerful, and it had become tight and hits really hard. The mid and high stand out a bit and starts to shine. The sound stage is at a satisfactory level for a single DD IEM. Even this new dual magnetic diaphragm is overall impressive , I still found the sound signature is a bit dark, the musical instruments lack of layer and the CFA signature treble and sparkling is still missing. This lures me to try Bonneville! >< and it gives every elements that I want! ^^
With the Bonneville, the dual diaphragm of the new Knowles BA produces a brand new listening experience to me. For the treble the CFA signature is not even back but it is enhanced. It has a very strong treble energy there but it never spikes my ear, no peaky treble at all and very smooth. The micro details are at top notch that the Cascara can't compare. The same dual magnetic dynamic driver that Cascara equips reproduces great bass texture. It dives very deep and hits hard. Vocal is not forward, not behind and its position is just right for me. As some of the users here describe it is an "all in one" package that most of the head-fiers want.
During the beginning stage, the timbre of the Bonneville is bombastic and it takes about 240 hours of burn-in to let it stabilize. After the 240 hours mark, the coherency has improved a lot, the quantity of the bass is tamed but it has become very tight, still diving deep and powerful. The highlight of Bonneville that I really like is the smooth but powerful treble, the dynamics and the presentation of the micro details. you will know what I mean when you audition it. Well done CFA! I love it and Bonneville is definitely a keeper this time.
My girlfriend bought me a black colour CFA IEM case a while ago and it has become the perfect home of my Bonneville:
Thanks so much for sharing your CFA journey! It's always really cool to hear about the ebb and flow of our IEMs in someone's personal collection. Very glad to hear that the Chromatic Series caught your eye and led to you having an earphone you're getting lots of enjoyment out of
Bonneville is a top-3 CFA IEM for me so I'm always stoked to see other folks enjoying it as well.
fejnomit
1000+ Head-Fier
Not sure the N3Ultra is going to be "warm Tube sound." I think it's going to be more linear that most people assume its tubes will be, plus you can ramp up or down the effects of the tubes. I would say that it will have a warm-leaning sound with the possibility of adding tube fullness, which to me happens in the lower mids/upper bass. If I am right, then that would be a complement to the Cascaras which have a full (sub)bass and nice, clear highs but don't have too much mid fullness. I use them with the RU7 to achieve the same result. Hope that helps.
bertwaffles
New Head-Fier
The more I research the more I change my mind. Due to travel and what not I am looking at the Supermoon but then I found the Bonneville. After a couple reviews the Bonneville def seems to fit my taste in music and from what I can tell gaming. Is the stock cable enough? What kind of upgrade cables are recommended? To me this seems like it may be the best fit for immersive gaming as well and I am certainly a bass head so I think that this may be it.
What dac/amp portable style works the best? mojo 2, gryphon, WA11?
What dac/amp portable style works the best? mojo 2, gryphon, WA11?
Sedna1994
New Head-Fier
Hi guys i buy Astel kern 35 but i have problem:
My mac doesn't recognize him , amd android file transfer app not work too ,
Like i can transfer my music from mac to my new astell Kern ?
With my astell kern yunior no have problem .
My mac doesn't recognize him , amd android file transfer app not work too ,
Like i can transfer my music from mac to my new astell Kern ?
With my astell kern yunior no have problem .
parawizard
100+ Head-Fier
I tried out all the Cascara, Ponderosa, Bonneville and the Blackstar recently. Everything was too hot for me except the Cascara and the Blackstar. I thought the Bonneville sounded really anemic which was confusing considering what I had read so far about it. I thought maybe my source was broken so I switched it out. Didn't make a difference.
Switching out to Sennheiser or other IEMs I have, the mid suck out was really apparent on the Cascara for me. Otherwise it's tuning I liked the most out of all CIEMs CFA have offered. Not enough for me to want to buy it though. Good only for some material I listen to. Some of the really bass heavy material even ended up not having enough mids.
Ponderosa was interesting but quite lean compared to some other BAs that I already own or have owned. I found myself liking certain things but I knew there was a lot of low end missing.
Finally I tried the Blackstar which regretably is not available as a custom. It had more mids and more low end. Enough that I think I wouldn't find it fatiguing long term. Tried a bunch of different material and didn't feel like I was missing anything. Almost all universal tips tend to irritate my ears now after a couple decades without much issue. So probably won't be picking this one up.
Bumping up the volume a bit more helped but that made them too hot for my hearing. Isolation seemed very good and I couldn't seem to find a seal issue.
Switching out to Sennheiser or other IEMs I have, the mid suck out was really apparent on the Cascara for me. Otherwise it's tuning I liked the most out of all CIEMs CFA have offered. Not enough for me to want to buy it though. Good only for some material I listen to. Some of the really bass heavy material even ended up not having enough mids.
Ponderosa was interesting but quite lean compared to some other BAs that I already own or have owned. I found myself liking certain things but I knew there was a lot of low end missing.
Finally I tried the Blackstar which regretably is not available as a custom. It had more mids and more low end. Enough that I think I wouldn't find it fatiguing long term. Tried a bunch of different material and didn't feel like I was missing anything. Almost all universal tips tend to irritate my ears now after a couple decades without much issue. So probably won't be picking this one up.
Bumping up the volume a bit more helped but that made them too hot for my hearing. Isolation seemed very good and I couldn't seem to find a seal issue.
Did you try the supermoon ?
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