[mashuto]

  Crisp and clear trebles is my preference. Bass and the rest of the spectrum need to be there too, but rolled off trebles are a no go zone for me. I bought the Shure 535 (untested as well) a few years ago and I almost killed myself!
If only those IE800 would fit better...

As @MidFiMoney said, treble definitely does not feel rolled off. It may not have the extension of some others, but it definitely doesnt feel lacking. I havent heard any totl ba iems, but even compared to my IT03, the trebles are not as crisp or edgy. Though they are just as well represented and not lacking in detail. They just dont have that slight edge. So if crispy treble is your preference, sounds like maybe a BA iem would be better.
 
But these definitely present as bass forward if not heavy. And seem to have a bass focus. But its a heavy impactful bass that never overpowers and never gets in the way of the rest of the sound. It seems almost like they are somehow a basshead iem that are still balanced, definitely not neutral, but balanced.

 

[Iron-Buddha]

   
I plan on putting them up against the Elear tomorrow just to satisfy curiosities (I know, I know). The Vega does have a full-size feel to it and it reminds me of the Elear a lot. So much so, that I'm comfortable with letting the Elear go and upgrading to a TOTL can at a later time.

Let me know how it goes!   The Elears have piqued my interest but I already own the Vegas and am not interested in "more of the same".   

 

[MidFiMoney]

  Let me know how it goes!   The Elears have piqued my interest but I already own the Vegas and am not interested in "more of the same".   

I listened to a couple tracks earlier and there are definitely some similarities, most noticeably in the mids and highs. The mids on both are nicely presented and offer good detail and separation. The treble on the Elear is a little more tame but the two have a similar character IMO. The Vega may be a tad bit brighter but also more sibilance-prone.
 
The bass presence is quite nice on the Elear but being an open-back design, it can't match the physicality of the Vega. With the bass boost engaged on my Oppo HA-2, the Elear gets much closer in the bottom end and the sounds become even more comparable.
 
The Elear's stage is taller and a little wider but I want to say the Vega sounds a bit deeper. I also find the Vega more engaging but I tend to find IEMs more engaging than cans so it might be entirely psychological haha. I think the two compliment each other nicely, depending on what you're looking for. These are very initial impressions, though.

 

[davidmolliere]

  I listened to a couple tracks earlier and there are definitely some similarities, most noticeably in the mids and highs. The mids on both are nicely presented and offer good detail and separation. The treble on the Elear is a little more tame but the two have a similar character IMO. The Vega may be a tad bit brighter but also more sibilance-prone.
 
The bass presence is quite nice on the Elear but being an open-back design, it can't match the physicality of the Vega. With the bass boost engaged on my Oppo HA-2, the Elear gets much closer in the bottom end and the sounds become even more comparable.
 
The Elear's stage is taller and a little wider but I want to say the Vega sounds a bit deeper. I also find the Vega more engaging but I tend to find IEMs more engaging than cans so it might be entirely psychological haha. I think the two compliment each other nicely, depending on what you're looking for. These are very initial impressions, though.

 
After some quality time with the Elear, I'd say I agree to a lot of what you say. 
 
But I'd say lower mids are fuller on the Elear, upper mids are more foward on the Vega (yes, we agree Vega is brighter) which makes for a warmer and more relaxed presentation (although in absolute terms I wouldn't categorize it as relaxed given its dynamics ). 
 
I understand your appreciation of soundstage and that was my initial impression too. But after dozens of hours on the Elear I would differ on how much wider, taller and deeper the Elear is compared to the Vega. For the record, I am also an IEM guy they do get the most of my listening time but there is something to be said for full sized headphones especially open backed.
 
I would say the Elear has a very similar approach to soundstage and tuning as the Vega (highly coherent and yes less airy or big than others in their category) but the stage size is indeed much bigger and that applies to depth as well. 
 
I have listened so much to IEMs these past years (3/4th of my listening time) that I might have forgot what full size open back bring to the table. 
Yes, the Vega hit harder but that also because there is quite a bit of pressure applied to the ear (as closed as it can get). And again, the Elear don't sound like open back bass wise, they really kick! Same goes for the perceived resolution nothing between you and the music (well, a few millimeters), the Vega also provide Ginzu knife layering with a precision like nothing I have heard.
 
Yet, as I get to spend some time with the Elear I am re-discovering some advantages of full sized open back and one of the biggest one is "realism". With the Elear I feel like I am litterally at the concert venue, it's not a big stadium like but rather one of those smaller concert venue I love so much where you're close to the artist. The music is breathing, decay feels more natural, there is more space between instruments although the relative space is very similar to the Vega so all in all my brain will interpret soundstage as being close to the Elear.
 
I feel like with the Elear despite loosing on layering and depth vs the Vega, it takes less effort (or at least from listening fatigue I deduct it does). It's like the contours of instruments is not as sharp but the distance between them is greater. This makes for a more relaxed experience. I don't know if I make sense.
 
This is my experience with DX200 on high gain balanced with both.

 

[MidFiMoney]

   
After some quality time with the Elear, I'd say I agree to a lot of what you say. 
 
But I'd say lower mids are fuller on the Elear, upper mids are more foward on the Vega (yes, we agree Vega is brighter) which makes for a warmer and more relaxed presentation (although in absolute terms I wouldn't categorize it as relaxed given its dynamics ). 
 
I understand your appreciation of soundstage and that was my initial impression too. But after dozens of hours on the Elear I would differ on how much wider, taller and deeper the Elear is compared to the Vega. For the record, I am also an IEM guy they do get the most of my listening time but there is something to be said for full sized headphones especially open backed.
 
I would say the Elear has a very similar approach to soundstage and tuning as the Vega (highly coherent and yes less airy or big than others in their category) but the stage size is indeed much bigger and that applies to depth as well. 
 
I have listened so much to IEMs these past years (3/4th of my listening time) that I might have forgot what full size open back bring to the table. 
Yes, the Vega hit harder but that also because there is quite a bit of pressure applied to the ear (as closed as it can get). And again, the Elear don't sound like open back bass wise, they really kick! Same goes for the perceived resolution nothing between you and the music (well, a few millimeters), the Vega also provide Ginzu knife layering with a precision like nothing I have heard.
 
Yet, as I get to spend some time with the Elear I am re-discovering some advantages of full sized open back and one of the biggest one is "realism". With the Elear I feel like I am litterally at the concert venue, it's not a big stadium like but rather one of those smaller concert venue I love so much where you're close to the artist. The music is breathing, decay feels more natural, there is more space between instruments although the relative space is very similar to the Vega so all in all my brain will interpret soundstage as being close to the Elear.
 
I feel like with the Elear despite loosing on layering and depth vs the Vega, it takes less effort (or at least from listening fatigue I deduct it does). It's like the contours of instruments is not as sharp but the distance between them is greater. This makes for a more relaxed experience. I don't know if I make sense.
 
This is my experience with DX200 on high gain balanced with both.

One thing is for sure, you are much better than I am at articulating what you hear

  Like I said earlier, I only listened to a couple of tracks and those were the things that stood out to me. I've also never heard either through a balanced source but that should be changing in about a week when the DX200 arrives. How do you like the DX200 with the Elear and Vega, btw?
 
I'd say I spend about 95% of my listening time on IEMs. So my opinions may be biased haha. As for the staging, I didn't mean to overstate it. I'd say they are more similar than different. But the Elear sounds a little bigger to me. Maybe that's because the sound is coming from outside my ears or the open-back design. I don't know.
 
The Elear bass is the best I've heard on an open-back. It is no slouch; it's just not as visceral because so much energy escapes out the back of the cans. I also agree that the Elear is the more realistic sounding of the two. 

 

[davidmolliere]

  One thing is for sure, you are much better than I am at articulating what you hear   Like I said earlier, I only listened to a couple of tracks and those were the things that stood out to me. I've also never heard either through a balanced source but that should be changing in about a week when the DX200 arrives. How do you like the DX200 with the Elear and Vega, btw?
 
I'd say I spend about 95% of my listening time on IEMs. So my opinions may be biased haha. As for the staging, I didn't mean to overstate it. I'd say they are more similar than different. But the Elear sounds a little bigger to me. Maybe that's because the sound is coming from outside my ears or the open-back design. I don't know.
 
The Elear bass is the best I've heard on an open-back. It is no slouch; it's just not as visceral because so much energy escapes out the back of the cans. I also agree that the Elear is the more realistic sounding of the two. 

 
I am just a humble hobbyist and learned most of what I have from people here
 
The DX200 is a good pairing with the Vega IMHO, first of all it's quite powerful and god knows the Vega love power more than any IEM I have had (which is strange given sensitivity and impedance...). Aside from that, it's neutral and I think the Vega will pair best with a neutral source, also one that has great soundstage to give the Vega some air (thicker source can make it a bit congested) and it's definitely one of the DX200's strong suit. For the same reason I think it's a good pairing to the Elear, I must say I am surprised at how little I need to push the volume compared to the Vega (10-15 on the 120 steps). One thing for sure, the DX200 is a great DAP with its default amp and I can't wait to see what kind of modules will come up in the following months!
 
I has so much juice I never feel the need to stack it up (in fact it sounds like a DAP + Amp stack!) with the Mojo and I think it's not as good a match for the Vega or Elear. I am having thoughts about the Continental V5 for some tube goodness but not sure about the pairing (anyone on Vega +CV5 ?)

 

[MidFiMoney]

   
I am just a humble hobbyist and learned most of what I have from people here
 
The DX200 is a good pairing with the Vega IMHO, first of all it's quite powerful and god knows the Vega love power more than any IEM I have had (which is strange given sensitivity and impedance...). Aside from that, it's neutral and I think the Vega will pair best with a neutral source, also one that has great soundstage to give the Vega some air (thicker source can make it a bit congested) and it's definitely one of the DX200's strong suit. For the same reason I think it's a good pairing to the Elear, I must say I am surprised at how little I need to push the volume compared to the Vega (10-15 on the 120 steps). One thing for sure, the DX200 is a great DAP with its default amp and I can't wait to see what kind of modules will come up in the following months!
 
I has so much juice I never feel the need to stack it up (in fact it sounds like a DAP + Amp stack!) with the Mojo and I think it's not as good a match for the Vega or Elear. I am having thoughts about the Continental V5 for some tube goodness but not sure about the pairing (anyone on Vega +CV5 ?)

Thanks for the insight. It definitely sounds like I made the right choice. I can't wait until the DX200 arrives! 

 

[claud W]

For those reading this thread to decide weather or not to buy the Vegas, it depends. If you have good electronics and are used to top of the line headphones like the Ether Flows, HD 800s Utopias etc, Go for the Vegas. You will not be disappointed. You need great electronics to get the best out of them. They sound absolutely fabulous powered by my RSA Shadow playing Apple lossless from my iPod, But hook them up to my Schiit Ragg and Yiggy they  compete in many ways with my Ether Flows.

 

[Zixpk]

Ordered the Vega today and should receive it end of the week or beginning next week. Also waiting to receive my Fiio x5iii. Will report back once I have both (even though my experience is minimal compared to many other members here)

 

[canali]

 
For those reading this thread to decide weather or not to buy the Vegas, it depends. If you have good electronics and are used to top of the line headphones like the Ether Flows, HD 800s Utopias etc, Go for the Vegas. You will not be disappointed. You need great electronics to get the best out of them. They sound absolutely fabulous powered by my RSA Shadow playing Apple lossless from my iPod, But hook them up to my Schiit Ragg and Yiggy they  compete in many ways with my Ether Flows.

what gets me is that for the price (under $1500) the Vegas have such a great reputation...in this world
of increasingly sky high priced iems that are fast becoming out of reach for many (the Empire Ears Zeus XR Adel @ $2800 or the Tia Forte @$ $3500)
it's nice that these Vegas still offer so much value...sure they're not cheap by any means...but they're not $$$$ priced either....
so in short, kudos...just hope that they keep their prices under the $1500 mark.

good value and CS builds a loyal clientele base.

 

[ExpatinJapan]

I have most of the Campfire Audio series of earphones reviewed.

Including the Vega.

Please see my signature.

 

[beowulf]

   
what gets me is that for the price (under $1500) the Vegas have such a great reputation...in this world
of increasingly sky high priced iems that are fast becoming out of reach for many (the Empire Ears Zeus XR Adel @ $2800 or the Tia Forte @$ $3500)
it's nice that these Vegas still offer so much value...sure they're not cheap by any means...but they're not $$$$$$$$ stupidly priced either....
so in short, kudos...just hope that they keep their prices under the $1500-2k mark.
 
good value and CS builds a loyal clientele base.

 
"Expensive" is always relative depending on pocket depth, but value always applies, regardless of that.
In my case I have some difficulty going over 1.5K and feeling it is good value. Something like the Andromeda and the Vega is produced with good materials, probably with somewhat expensive cost of labor and sounds quite good, so a chunk of that price is justified if you compared them to some $500 made-in-vietnam IEMs.
But diminishing returns are triggering for me. I haven't heard something like the Tia Forte or the Zeus, but the improvement would have to be extremely impressive to justify the premium.
 
Also, by design, IEMs are a lot more vulnerable to damage (it's not all that difficult to drop a set of BAs on a hard floor, cable tugs, etc) and loss due to either clumsiness or theft.
 
If the Vega were a bit less pricey, I'd get a pair, but at full price I don't think they will justify it for me, considering the $ I put in the Andromeda and how well it performs. It would be nice if CA would have some significant discounts for repeat customers, although they probably wouldn't want to do that as it might erode prices in the used market, if people start dumping them.

 

[Iron-Buddha]

   But hook them up to my Schiit Ragg and Yiggy they  compete in many ways with my Ether Flows.

 
OH MY GAWD!   Are you trying to stop me from spending money?!   I'm looking at the Ether Flows as the Elear seems to be too similar......and now this.    

 

[Iron-Buddha]

so in short, kudos...just hope that they keep their prices under the $1500 mark.

good value and CS builds a loyal clientele base.

 
I hope so too.  
 
Even ignoring the country of origin, the Vega's, with the DLC driver, liquid metal housing and litz cable, seem reasonably priced IMHO.  Having owned JH Audio, Shure, Heir and Sony IEM's, the Vegas look and feel the most solid.  And, for those that didn't notice, the liquid metal itself is PVD coated.  
 
Now, someone tell me the Ref 8 cable doesn't do much....because I got an itch.

 

[MidFiMoney]

   
I hope so too.  
 
Even ignoring the country of origin, the Vega's, with the DLC driver, liquid metal housing and litz cable, seem reasonably priced IMHO.  Having owned JH Audio, Shure, Heir and Sony IEM's, the Vegas look and feel the most solid.  And, for those that didn't notice, the liquid metal itself is PVD coated.  
 
Now, someone tell me the Ref 8 cable doesn't do much....because I got an itch.

Haha I've heard the Ref 8 is a nice upgrade to the stock cable. You might want to PM expatinjapan and currawong. I know they've both heard it.