[Hageatama]

I enjoyed reading this.

Reminds me of when I used to exhaustively list all the stages when i wrote a review.

Now i generally still follow a similar process but just write a summary/overview without all the minute details listed.

Thank you so much for your kind words. It was a labor, but sometimes it's fun to do a deep dive like that. I'd never been an early adopter, but when I do reviews, I see everyone else put so much effort into it, and it makes me want to put in the effort to match them! Also, I really appreciate the insight into your process as a reviewer too.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

Spent the afternoon with the Io and Mojo combo with Tidal Hifi and MQA tracks. Honesty, I feel like I’m listening to different IEMs than a lot of folks in this thread. But hey, that’s why life is grand. One man hears Bob Dylan and says he can’t sing; the next man spends his whole career imitating him (Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, et al).

Started off with some Waylon Jennings. No, they don’t have the bass of my Atticus. But paired with the Mojo, for casual on the move listening, the bass was more than adequate and offered a nice thump to the music. Even tried some 80s and rap, and was pleasantly surprised. My ears adjusted to the peak in the mids after about 30 minutes and now I’m used to it. And I hate sibilance.

Then I moved to acoustic music. This is where the Io really shows its strengths. Listening to Nick Drake’s second album “Bryter Later,” all the instruments just sounded right. The acoustic guitar was nice and chunky, piano was smooth and lush, and all the arrangements played out in a wide soundstage. I could listen to the Io + acoustic for days.

My plan is to get the Polaris II for genres that sound better with more bounce. I can’t imagine a better pairing for a bass heavy IEM than the Io (in its price range).

Oh, and the drivers definitely are sounding better with burn-in. Zach Mehrbach says it takes drivers 150 hours to become liquid. I liken it to what someone once said to me in response to complaints about the finicky nature of a new guitar: “It still thinks it’s a tree.” I feel that until you really use a device, it thinks it’s just component parts. You have to show it how to become the best version of itself. Hence, burn-in.

 

[echineko]

Honesty, I feel like I’m listening to different IEMs than a lot of folks in this thread.

What else have you heard?

 

[waiho2k1]

Hi all, a newbie here. Since I'm quite interested in this new IO IEM so followed this topic a bit and think here we are just trying to make some subjecting feeling more "objective", so we have to admit that different people have different hearing and feeling about the same IEM, and there's always nothing wrong to express different POV with other people.
Sadly I have no chance to try this new IEM in my place yet, otherwise I hope to share my first opinion here about it.

 

[marcussmj]

What else have you heard?

Not enough campfire of course

 

[Fawzay]

Hi all, a newbie here. Since I'm quite interested in this new IO IEM so followed this topic a bit and think here we are just trying to make some subjecting feeling more "objective", so we have to admit that different people have different hearing and feeling about the same IEM, and there's always nothing wrong to express different POV with other people.
Sadly I have no chance to try this new IEM in my place yet, otherwise I hope to share my first opinion here about it.

Congrats man! you just type the keyword in this line of hobby "subjecting"/subjective and im totally agree with you man

 

[JustJoseph]

There's nothing wrong in posting negative opinions on an IEM. However, I feel that my opinions are being brushed aside just because I do not agree with the people who have good impressions on it. For the record, these are the criticisms of the IOs that I have found:

First Impressions: Campfire Io

Slight v-shaped signature. Hollow and odd tone. Does have warmth to the sound but it's as if the stage has a huge hole in the middle, like how speakers are when they are not toed in. As such the more forward vocals feel unnatural, hollow and nasal. Tone is...musky sounding? Like it's a bit suffocated.

Highs have slight peaks at the lower treble. Extends somewhat smoothly with that sparkle. Sounds a little tizzy with the treble. Bass is fast and subbass is a little rolled off. Elevated midbass to upperbass/lowermids. One note bass. Even the bass has a feeling of hollowness.

Overall odd tone with forward and very noticeably hollow vocals. Average at best.

Just tried the Io with the Iphone dongle, wrote down some of my impressions:

Vocals sounded weak and oddly pitchy, as though as it was over boosted, especially on female vocals.
Some bass, but it was of BA timbre, and didn't had much texture and rumble
Treble felt a bit rolled off, extension was poor
Overall I felt there was something lacking, the tuning does not sound natural on the ballads/pop songs that I auditioned.
However, the flaws became less apparent when I played electronic songs, so this genre could perhaps have been the intended one for the Io.
Another thing to note could be if there's any impedance skew, as much of the impressions here seem to vary from mine....

Would not recommend blind buying at all.

*Buys Campfire IO and then takes to Singapore for business trip.
Gonna Send back for refund within 14 days when I come back to U.S

Bad tone and hollow vocals with stage confirmed.
@toranku

Initial impressions for IO.
Damn my Sony EX800ST costs less than IO and does everything better the soundstage is way more open everywhere top,bottom, sideways. The bass also has better presence all around, very nice energy, but for the IO the bass is very lackluster and can't even compete....I'm gonna stop comparing here for the bass.

The vocals and mids on the EX800ST have much more body and soul to them than on the IO.

Gonna send for a refund when I get back. But rest assured the IO is very beautiful, I love the yellow screws with red color, looks just like Ironman.

Very beautiful in the sun. But going back to CFA.

Ken Ball, don't take it personally but the IO is just not my sound signature.

To me I think it sounds abit, hollow (not sure if boxy is the right word to describe it). But for me I like a thick dense tone. Basically I am a tone and timbre nut lol. But I just was not feeling it from the IO.
I think maybe moving forward, maybe CFA could actually send their units around for some prelim feedback about their tuning etc. This isn't apple or other high tech stuff that secrecy about their releases is important for the company and the product. All this (audio, HeadFi) ultimately at the end of the day is about how it sounds, and seeing that CFA has had some (in my opinion) not so good reception on their latest few releases. I would advise them to take their time, slow down, stop releasing a new IEM every other month (they're getting bashed tbh) and to look into why their releases are getting poor reviews and probably in the future, get some initial actual community feedback regarding their tuning during the tuning process. I am not saying that everyone has to like your stuff, but when ALOT of people don't enjoy your stuff (and its not because the IEMs are heavy, has to be used with a module, or us ugly etc) for how it sounds... It should be something that CFA looks into.

Of course all of this will not come to fruition if CFA sees nothing wrong with what they are currently doing, brushing everything off as a conspiracy against them and just telling people to wait for the 'formal reviews'. By doing and saying so, it is not helping with the opine that formal reviews are 'biased' to the manufacturer. Because even for myself, I trust the reviews and feedback from bros here that I trust (based on what they have described previously about how a particular gear sounds, and what I hear fro myself of said gear) more than formal reviews on a website.

That is just my opinion. And my 2 cents from one business operator to another. I hope its taken in good faith.

Have just returned my IO back.

Some of my impressions and understanding of the sound of IO, with my A&K AK100II:

Bass:
This the best part. The bass of IO has enough punch that can precisely adds sense of atmosphere and rhythm to the music. The amount is right there for my taste and it don't bleeds into mid-range. The quantity is good, much less than N5005 and less than E5000 as well. The only thing that I dont like about bass is that it has much slower speed so the resolution is not good.

Mids:
Upper mids have been significantly lifted, this makes vocals really close to your ear, and ambient electric music began to lost its range and airyness. Good or bad? I think it depends on the genres of music and personal preference. You will find vocals more intimate, strings like violins stand out from the orchestra, but indie rock may lost its sense of mistery as well. The mids makes the whole music much more clearer, sometimes in a bad way. Mids is more emphasized compared to N5005 and E5000. The resolution is fantastic though.

Highs:
There's a part of highs that has been lifted as well. I cannot describe which part exactly but I think that's close to the range where highs of ie800/800s have been lifted, though not that much in quantity. It extends well and is fast in speed.

This makes resolution on the whole quite good, but if you continue listening to IO for several days you may find two things:
1.The lift of highs and upper-mids make the sound a bit fatiguing to listen for long time.
2.The bass, mids, and highs are separated from each other in the presentation of sound, not combined as a whole package. From my point of view the lifted mids is the part to blame. Your ear can be easily attracted by the upper mids rather than the music on the whole.

Tonality: neutral to bright
Power requirement: super easy to drive

I heard it twice on different days, and through different sources, and I would just like to drop a few thoughts.

However, all that aside, I have major issues with the one fundamental aspect of the IO - the sound. The IO sports a dual BA setup, a tried and tested formula that has worked since over a decade ago, with popular and venerable IEMs such as the IM02, and the LS200 from ATH. Despite that fairly safe formula, there is one fundamental issue that still lies in the IO, that has plagued largely every dual-BA IEM that has been in the market. The midrange is fairly disappointing, with a thinness to vocals, odd timbre and tone on strings, and just sounding hollow on most other instruments, except for perhaps the Saxophone. The plasticky timbre is not new to many BA IEMs, but it seems this one doesn't fix that either. The bass was fairly midbassy, and had not much extension into the subbass region. As for the treble, it was sparkly and fairly alright, and I have not many issues with it, as the larger issue was with the midrange.

Imaging was fairly intimate, and vocals felt very in-your-face. On the DMP-Z1, however, there was a slight improvement regarding that. However, needing a $8k player to improve one aspect is not something everyone has the luxury for.

I don't want to think that this is a bad product, but hearing it doesn't really inspire me to spend close to $300 bucks on this, when some chifi offerings are pushing out arguably better sounding products at a fraction of the price.

Just my two-cents worth, feel free to open a discussion with me if you please.

Wow, I missed a lot that happened in this thread while I took some time off to refresh my ears and listen more intently. Tested lossless files my Shanling M0, and Apple Model A2049 Dongle, as well as SDAC/789. To be clear, I've spent a few days, on and off, swapping tips, sources, A/B'ing, falling asleep with them in, etc. This is about as far as I can take it without a measurement rig.

The conclusion I've finally come to, is that the IO is a decently resolving, competent IEM. It's bright, and midrange is slightly forward. Bass is crisp and clear but lacking real impact. Honestly, the whole of the sound is clearer than the Massdrop Plus. But, the mids on the IO do sound slightly hollow to me with Dekoni Bulletz. It sounded a bit boxy with JVC Spiral Dots. However, the Bulletz fixed the timbre issues mostly. Imaging and head stage are pretty good. It's wide enough, tall enough, and sounds like to mix together in your head. With electric guitars, such as from Manowar's Gods of War album, and Guns 'n Roses, the IO sounds really good. Snares and hi-hats are tight and, I do have to agree with Jay, they have really good decay.

However, to my ears, the Massdrop Plus has more enjoyable sound. It does have a slight graininess compared to the IO, but, and this is probably my ears only, the sound field effect on the Plus is done so much better. You're enveloped by the sound, you're in it. The IO sounds, less full, less thick. But definitely has more sizzle, more energy in the high end. Maybe it's just that my ears and brain prefer the diffuse field.

If I had to guess, I'd say the lower treble, and lower mids had a slight boost to them. Bass, I guess would be rolled in the subbass region.

They can be a charming IEM, and the clarity and resolution is good. It really is, even compared to the similarly priced Plus. The build seems solid, and it's pretty AF. But personally, and these are my final thoughts on it, if I could only take one, I'd have the Plus.

As an addendum, I am going back to make my final edits to my initial impressions/comparisons post for the sake of having the info all in the same place and easily accessible to new readers.

Song List: Edited/Added 5/7/19 (19:30 EST)

• This Little Light of Mine - NY Spiritual Choir (Chesky's Binaural Sound Show)
• Don't You - Amber Rubarth (The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disk)
• Sleipnir - Manowar (Gods of War)
• Indian Summer - Kenny Baron & Mike Sherman (Interplay)
• Overture - Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori (Halo 3: ODST Original Soundtrack)
• A Walk in the Woods - Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori (Halo Original Soundtrack)
• Letter - Yosi Horikawa (Wandering)
• Acknowledge - Masta Ace (Disposable Arts)
• Call Ticketron - Run the Jewels (Run the Jewels 3)
• Lose Yourself to Dance - Daft Punk (Random Access Memories)
• Born And Raised (Reprise) - John Mayer (Born And Raised)
• Sweet Child o' Mine - Guns n Roses (Appetite for Destruction)
• Pork Soda - Glass Animals (How to be a Human Being)
• Doll's Polyphony - Geinoh Yamashirogumi (Akira! Original Soundtrack)
• Virtual Barber Shop - Princeton University (?)
• Shoot Down the Stars - Gym Class Heroes (As Cruel as School Children)
• Spanish Harlem - Rebecca Pidgeon (The Ultimate Demonstration Disk)

Listening Notes: I generally listen at several volumes. Low-Med to Med-High Volumes. On my M0, anywhere from 30-60 on the volume gauge, low-gain. With UAPP on my Pixel + A2049 Dongle, it's -6.5 dB, with Bitperfect Mode enabled. The THX 789 is used in Low Gain (Position 1) at roughly 10:30 on the volume knob while fed by an SDAC. Windows Master Volume set at 85%.

Generally, I use Letter & Doll's Polyphony for my imaging tests, Virtual Barber Shop, and Indian Summer to determine soundstage dimensions, Run the Jewels and Masta Ace to test bass, the ODST OST, and Glass Animals to test resolution, and coherence. I use Gym Class Heroes and Blue Scholars to test whether there's any treble spikes. Binaural tracks, and Spanish Harlem are mostly for testing soundstage and resolution. My general preferences are towards orchestrated soundtracks, but I also enjoy a bit of jazz, R&B, classic rock, college rock, and some dalliances with hard rock.

It's taken me a long time to get to where I trust my test tracks, but at this point, I've heard them on everything I've ever owned. I really enjoy my music.

So far, there have been quite a few similar opinions on the weaknesses of the IO
-hollow vocals
-bright (this is subjective)
-odd lift in vocals and treble
-odd timbre

I don't like how Ken Ball replied to one of the criticism:

This is your first post on Head-fi? Humm... I keep seeing someone from Singapore consistently knocking Campfire stuff here, on other forums and Reddit. I urge everyone to listen for yourself and or read many of the formal reviews.

Thanks.

Kb

It makes it seems like us Singaporeans are out to criticize Campfire. Mind you, I am a customer of Campfire too and have nothing but the highest praise for some of their iems eg Andromedas and Atlas. It is just that I do not like the IOs and think they are terrible. I agree with Ken Ball, I too urge everyone to listen to the IOs for themselves before making the decision to purchase them. If you do like them, then good for you.

I don't know if there are graphs on the IO released yet, but I think releasing them will allow readers to see for themselves how the IO may sound like (but of course graphs aren't everything).

I feel that negative Campfire criticisms are not taken kindly on head-fi. Just a hunch feeling.

 

[joshuachew]

There's nothing wrong in posting negative opinions on an IEM. However, I feel that my opinions are being brushed aside just because I do not agree with the people who have good impressions on it. For the record, these are the criticisms of the IOs that I have found:















So far, there have been quite a few similar opinions on the weaknesses of the IO
-hollow vocals
-bright (this is subjective)
-odd lift in vocals and treble
-odd timbre

I don't like how Ken Ball replied to one of the criticism:



It makes it seems like us Singaporeans are out to criticize Campfire. Mind you, I am a customer of Campfire too and have nothing but the highest praise for some of their iems eg Andromedas and Atlas. It is just that I do not like the IOs and think they are terrible. I agree with Ken Ball, I too urge everyone to listen to the IOs for themselves before making the decision to purchase them. If you do like them, then good for you.

I don't know if there are graphs on the IO released yet, but I think releasing them will allow readers to see for themselves how the IO may sound like (but of course graphs aren't everything).

I feel that negative Campfire criticisms are not taken kindly on head-fi. Just a hunch feeling.

Don't be rude. I am not Singaporean. We h8 each other, but seem to agree on how the IO sounds... That's saying a lot

 

[Currawong]

@JustJoseph I don't think your opinions were being brushed aside. At least in my case, I attempted to explain how differing opinions came about. Was anything I wrote helpful?

 

[JustJoseph]

@JustJoseph I don't think your opinions were being brushed aside. At least in my case, I attempted to explain how differing opinions came about. Was anything I wrote helpful?

What you said was helpful in explaining how different opinions come about. But to me, the IOs were just so bad right from the moment I put them in my ear, I don't think changing the device source (I used Samsung S9+ btw) or listening at different volumes will help. I listen at moderate volume btw and I did list an example of a track that I listened to. You said that the IOs sounded bad right out of the box, but it changed over time. I have no idea whether the review pair I listened to was burned in, but I think it is.

There were people who were saying that the thread had "devolved" and to skip what I had written because it isn't "thoughtful". I doubt that they would be saying that had I posted glowing reviews on the IOs.

My point here is that there are a considerable number of people who share similar criticisms on the IOs, but there are readers saying that criticisms like mine should be skipped because they are not "thoughtful". Even the owner of Campfire has given an arguably harsh reply to one of the critiques and ask others to read formal reviews.

 

[Currawong]

My point here is that there are a considerable number of people who share similar criticisms on the IOs, and there are readers saying that criticisms like mine should be skipped because they are not "thoughtful"

I'd suggest that what they were saying was that "bad" was too much of a generalisation without much info about what had brought that opinion about. Though equally a comment of "these are great" without any clarification is equally unhelpful. Unfortunately with each new product here you end up with a new group of purchasers, and that makes for the same kind of thing (ranging from everything from "hype train" to trashing) happening all over again.

At the moment I'm trying to formulate a way to describe the sound for my review. I think the tuning is just unusual enough that it isn't throwing up the usual patterns of "goes with this music, but not that". I'm guessing it's the upper mids/lower treble area that is giving me the impressions I've experiencing and what makes some people feel that the sound isn't "natural".

 

[waiho2k1]

I'd suggest that what they were saying was that "bad" was too much of a generalisation without much info about what had brought that opinion about. Though equally a comment of "these are great" without any clarification is equally unhelpful. Unfortunately with each new product here you end up with a new group of purchasers, and that makes for the same kind of thing (ranging from everything from "hype train" to trashing) happening all over again.

At the moment I'm trying to formulate a way to describe the sound for my review. I think the tuning is just unusual enough that it isn't throwing up the usual patterns of "goes with this music, but not that". I'm guessing it's the upper mids/lower treble area that is giving me the impressions I've experiencing and what makes some people feel that the sound isn't "natural".

Much agree with you, it's always hard to choose wordings to describe one's feeling, so the only thing is to respect, and maybe try to explain more why it is natural, why it is so and so...

 

[maira]

Spent the afternoon with the Io and Mojo combo

Lots of different impressions here. Seems its a matter of taste and maybe, the sound of IO is highly source dependent ? (!)

 

[sjgii]

can anybody compare the IO to the Orions? I love my Orion’s but i feel they lack clarity in very full mixes and the bass and high end have a bit to be desired. i’m thinking of getting these alongside them. i’m new here. just getting into this hobby! thanks!

 

[jaydunndiddit]

Lots of different impressions here. Seems its a matter of taste and maybe, the sound of IO is highly source dependent ? (!)

I think this is the case. The experience from my cellphone to the xDSD to the THX 789 all offered varying experiences. That, and I think genres of music plays a bigger deal more than anything else honestly. If you're mostly into lower quality/compressed recordings, the IO is very unforgiving. Especially if the source files are mastered to a point that is considered boosted. The sharp edge of the IO is just going to accentuate this more and give you a bad time.

Same with seal and tips. I cannot get an experience I enjoy as much with silicone tips but the marshmallow foamies offer a much more solid experience even over the Comply Smartcores (which tame that edge a bit more and enhance the lows).

If you're into hip hop, EDM, RnB, or anything that requires more impact in the lows, or just prefer a darker signature, the IO ain't for you. If you're into classical, acoustic, rock, folk, country, etc.then the IO is a stellar companion. Electric guitars sound great and textured especially when you can hear their distortion. Toms and snares have so much snap and pop that just grabs your attention and cymbals have good sizzle and decay while triangles ring out with gusto. Cello are textured and horns brap with authority and dance on that fine line of almost being overcooked. They have a level of clarity and present everything to you; for better or worse. Some folks are going to hate this but others are going to appreciate the more honest representation.

I enjoy them for what they are. They truly have grown on me as I e given my ears and brain enough time to take in this new signature. As I have started comparing to other sets, I find myself missing that added edge and emphasis as some.of my other IEMs seem grainy, veiled, and slightly dark by comparison, despite them not being this way normally.

They have a unique sound and aren't catering to a mass crowd. They aren't a generalist, but something more honest for those that listen to the specified genres I listed or have many sets and want a different flavor.

At this point prior to working and finishing my formal review, this is the best way I can describe the IO and its signature to these ears.