[Iron-Buddha]

I was supposed to look at the headphones but kept on looking at Ken's Panerai.  No wonder there are such synergies between the Vega and my PAM.

 

[mscott58]

I really envy you.  You get to extensively try out all that Campfire goodness before it hits the market and write passionate reviews that would sway any potential reader into making a purchase.  For what it's worth, you haven't let me down yet! 

Thx. Ken's a great guy and I'm lucky to call him a friend. Cheers

 

[Indigo Bob]

I just tried campfire audio at canjam this weekend and I couldn't believe what wonderful quality their build was as well as the musicality...
 
The Vega's were by far the best IEM's I have ever tried and the musicality that came out of them impressed me more than any of the Headphones.  
 
I can't believe they produced a sound like that...  It's like an achievement to make the Dynamic Driver exceed the BA's in so many ways.  
 
What a wonderful experience.  It will take me a little while to save up for, but the Vega's will be my next earphone.

 

[fuhransahis]

I just tried campfire audio at canjam this weekend and I couldn't believe what wonderful quality their build was as well as the musicality...

The Vega's were by far the best IEM's I have ever tried and the musicality that came out of them impressed me more than any of the Headphones.  

I can't believe they produced a sound like that...  It's like an achievement to make the Dynamic Driver exceed the BA's in so many ways.  

What a wonderful experience.  It will take me a little while to save up for, but the Vega's will be my next earphone.

I bought mine on Saturday at canjam, about 7 hrs into burning them in.

They are absolutely bonkers. I had no idea my music could sound this good, and it's even crazier how all this incredibly detailed and fully enveloping and immersing (soundstage) music is coming from such tiny, yet perfectly designed IEMs. I don't have much experience but on some tracks it's not like the singer is right there with you... it's even more intimate, as if you actually become part of the music.

Listening to them at the show they sounded fantastic... when I got to listen to them late last night with no BG noise and nothing but the music I think I literally giggled like a little girl from how good they are. It's like rediscovering every song I've heard, and I know theyll only get better.

I'm just in constant amazement with these... the Ken and the Campfire team are nothing short of talented sorcerers.

Absolutely fantastic work, please keep doing what you do in the way that you do it, don't ever change.

 

[pervysage]

Awesome to see impressions of people finally getting to experience the greatness that is the Vega 

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Vega super stack! Muhahahaha!

iBasso DX200 - Line out to - ALO Audio Continental V5, ALO SXC8 cable mini to mini, Effect Audio Thor ii iem cable to Campfire Audio Vega.

 

[adonissk]

I bought mine on Saturday at canjam, about 7 hrs into burning them in.

They are absolutely bonkers. I had no idea my music could sound this good, and it's even crazier how all this incredibly detailed and fully enveloping and immersing (soundstage) music is coming from such tiny, yet perfectly designed IEMs. I don't have much experience but on some tracks it's not like the singer is right there with you... it's even more intimate, as if you actually become part of the music.

Listening to them at the show they sounded fantastic... when I got to listen to them late last night with no BG noise and nothing but the music I think I literally giggled like a little girl from how good they are. It's like rediscovering every song I've heard, and I know theyll only get better.

I'm just in constant amazement with these... the Ken and the Campfire team are nothing short of talented sorcerers.

Absolutely fantastic work, please keep doing what you do in the way that you do it, don't ever change.

 
Talented sorcerers lol - can't agree more! It was an absolute pleasure dealing with the Campfire Audio team. Met Michael and Ken on Saturday, tested their patience auditioning the flagships. As soon as I heard the vega I knew...I needed to get rid of a couple IEMs (*cough*IE800*cough*). Luckily there was a vega left and it's been burning in for a bit over 24h now. In my ears mostly. 
 
I will not talk about the sound signature, I agree with most of what has been said here so far. This evening I was looking at the nozzle of the vega and I had a crazy thought. Went and dug up my 5 year old IE8 ACS sleeves and (omg!) they fit perfectly:
 

 
I had a perfect seal with the foam tips before, but now I have a perfect seal AND the drivers are further away from my eardrums. This has made the soundstage noticeably wider and taller, and the silicone canals added a bit of sparkle to the top end that I suppose the foam tips partially absorbed before. The tight and seismic low end is still there. Oh yes.
 
I am very very happy with these. Well done guys, hats off. 

 

[Fiberoptix]

Vega super stack! Muhahahaha!

iBasso DX200 - Line out to - ALO Audio Continental V5, ALO SXC8 cable mini to mini, Effect Audio Thor ii iem cable to Campfire Audio Vega.

 
Have the guys at effect switched up their MMCX connectors? Not seen the chrome ones before.

 

[mashuto]

Hello everyone. Been reading a small amount through this thread and find myself extremely intrigued by these. I unfortunately am not in a spot to demo them anywhere (as far as I can tell) and this would be by a large margin my most expensive headphone/iem purchase. And I probably should run as far away from this thread as possible, but you all know the feeling here of wanting to try something new and better. My current setup is an ibasso IT03 which I really like, specifically the sub bass extension and the clarity/detail. And it sounds like these just have a really wonderful strong bass that still manages to sound balanced. So, color me intrigued. I realize asking in here is probably not the best place since I am sure you all love yours, but if I go forward this would probably be my only purchase for the year. I also like that they look nice and small and are hopefully very comfortable to wear (my biggest complaint with the IT03 is that they are horribly uncomfortable for me, and I have resorted to a frankenstein eartip situation of a spiral dot over the end of a triple flange mee tip).
 
Anyways, another question, as far as sources, my reading has led me to believe that these do will when powered properly. Right now I am usually kind of lazy and when I am work, I just drive my IT03's from my phone, but wouldnt be opposed to potentially getting a better portable amp/dac. I have a fiio e17k, which is fine for my purposes, but doesnt really "improve" sound quality of anything I own by much, just makes it cleaner and lets me push the volume a bit farther and cleaner. How would it pair or would it be worth my time to invest in something extra too. At the moment, I am less inclined towards looking at DAPs just because I always have my phone with me and can easily play my local content or stream from spotify.

 

[mscott58]

Hello everyone. Been reading a small amount through this thread and find myself extremely intrigued by these. I unfortunately am not in a spot to demo them anywhere (as far as I can tell) and this would be by a large margin my most expensive headphone/iem purchase. And I probably should run as far away from this thread as possible, but you all know the feeling here of wanting to try something new and better. My current setup is an ibasso IT03 which I really like, specifically the sub bass extension and the clarity/detail. And it sounds like these just have a really wonderful strong bass that still manages to sound balanced. So, color me intrigued. I realize asking in here is probably not the best place since I am sure you all love yours, but if I go forward this would probably be my only purchase for the year. I also like that they look nice and small and are hopefully very comfortable to wear (my biggest complaint with the IT03 is that they are horribly uncomfortable for me, and I have resorted to a frankenstein eartip situation of a spiral dot over the end of a triple flange mee tip).


 


Anyways, another question, as far as sources, my reading has led me to believe that these do will when powered properly. Right now I am usually kind of lazy and when I am work, I just drive my IT03's from my phone, but wouldnt be opposed to potentially getting a better portable amp/dac. I have a fiio e17k, which is fine for my purposes, but doesnt really "improve" sound quality of anything I own by much, just makes it cleaner and lets me push the volume a bit farther and cleaner. How would it pair or would it be worth my time to invest in something extra too. At the moment, I am less inclined towards looking at DAPs just because I always have my phone with me and can easily play my local content or stream from spotify.

 


I'd suggest either the Rx or the CV5 as amps to give your IEMs a nice boost in SQ coming out of your phone. Both are great options with the CV5 being the clear winner in terms of overall SQ (and the ability to roll the tubes) but the Rx also is great and costs significantly less. Cheers

 

[vlach]

Yeah big statement but the more I burn in the DX200, the more I am convinced something very special is happening at least for me and my preferences. The DX200 / ALO Ref8 balanced cable / Vega combo is quite magical. WM1A is already something and I thought I found THE DAP but went for the DX200 only because I miss streaming capabilities too much. I expected DX200 to be a DP-X1 on steroid and probably not up to par with the WM1A (at the time I thought it was the endgame) but as it was my first DAP without streaming I realized despite its awesomeness I missed streaming too much.

I was wrong, the DX200 is just as good as the WM1A with a different flavour / signature : fuller mids, better detail clarity and transparency, airier with wider soundstage (note that depth is comparable, but for layering in my book the WM1A has the edge), more natural treble (to my ears). Also, the DX200 is the first DAP that just sounds... better than amps I owned or auditionned (granted, I haven't owned tubes or TOTL amps). Balanced, you get 2W @ 16 ohms no less thanks to 6V RMS which is quite uncommon for a DAP. That means more headroom and it shows! That power is not brute force, as I would peg DX200 as quite a refined DAP with a lot of nuance and subtlety (although not as stellar as WM1A in layering and a tad less apt at micro dynamics at least so far I am 300h into burn in).

I still got the WM1A btw, but now I am certain to sell it, well I'll also be selling the Mojo which I never thought I would (now I am eeing the ALO CV5 to get some tube goodness at home)

I didn't think things could get this good, now the Vega are getting holographic on me that soundstage and imaging...oh my

Thanks for sharing your impressions. This is very helpful and spares me the chore of reading through thousands of threads and discussions about burn in, balanced vs non balanced, cable upgrades, etc in both individual forums.
If the DX200 is indeed that good (and 25% cheaper) i think Sony has a major problem on their hands...

 

[davidmolliere]

Thanks for sharing your impressions. This is very helpful and spares me the chore of reading through thousands of threads and discussions about burn in, balanced vs non balanced, cable upgrades, etc in both individual forums. If the DX200 is indeed that good (and 25% cheaper) i think Sony has a major problem on their hands...

 
Your'e welcome, do read some other opinions though, can't hurt! I certainly don't own the truth and I am not by far the sharpest around here
 
While I am here I just ordered some MandarinEs Tips (http://www.head-fi.org/t/825397/a-review-of-mandarines-foam-tips), let's see how they fit the Vega
Thanks @Headpie for the tip (pun intended ;P)

 

[Dim666]

Vega super stack! Muhahahaha!

iBasso DX200 - Line out to - ALO Audio Continental V5, ALO SXC8 cable mini to mini, Effect Audio Thor ii iem cable to Campfire Audio Vega.

How would you describle the thor's cable ?

 

[billywilt]

  Hello everyone. Been reading a small amount through this thread and find myself extremely intrigued by these. I unfortunately am not in a spot to demo them anywhere (as far as I can tell) and this would be by a large margin my most expensive headphone/iem purchase. And I probably should run as far away from this thread as possible, but you all know the feeling here of wanting to try something new and better. My current setup is an ibasso IT03 which I really like, specifically the sub bass extension and the clarity/detail. And it sounds like these just have a really wonderful strong bass that still manages to sound balanced. So, color me intrigued. I realize asking in here is probably not the best place since I am sure you all love yours, but if I go forward this would probably be my only purchase for the year. I also like that they look nice and small and are hopefully very comfortable to wear (my biggest complaint with the IT03 is that they are horribly uncomfortable for me, and I have resorted to a frankenstein eartip situation of a spiral dot over the end of a triple flange mee tip).
 
Anyways, another question, as far as sources, my reading has led me to believe that these do will when powered properly. Right now I am usually kind of lazy and when I am work, I just drive my IT03's from my phone, but wouldnt be opposed to potentially getting a better portable amp/dac. I have a fiio e17k, which is fine for my purposes, but doesnt really "improve" sound quality of anything I own by much, just makes it cleaner and lets me push the volume a bit farther and cleaner. How would it pair or would it be worth my time to invest in something extra too. At the moment, I am less inclined towards looking at DAPs just because I always have my phone with me and can easily play my local content or stream from spotify.

As far as the Vega's go, I can wholeheartedly recommend them to you. They are the best sounding in ear or over ear I have experienced thus far. I prefer them by a good margin to my Fostex
TH-900. Of course sound is extremely subjective and that is just my opinion. For me their main attributes are that they seem to get the pace and tone to feel natural and engaging which gives me a strong sense of that "being in the same room" feeling. They are also comfortable for me which has not always been the case with other in ears that I have tried.  Do your wallet a favor and listen to any new headphones on your existing source for a while before getting something new. Despite other opinions recommending more power, etc., I actually like the Vegas straight out of my IPhone 5 better than from my Fostex HP-A8 desk top DAC/AMP. IMHO the sonic differences between headphones can be substantial while the differences between sources is much more subtle and correspondingly offers much less bang for the buck. Best of luck with your decision.

 

[DWbirdseye]

@mashuto a quality amp, dac combo will do wonders for the vega bass in terms of texture and tightning of bass notes. I've found that pairing the vega with a cell phone is certainly adequate, but the bass will sound bloated by comparison. A good quality dap will offer better imaging, soundstage, and resolution just to name few.