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: