Currently rolling tips. So far switching to Spinfit W1 from Eletech Baroque felt slightly more spacious and mids hint more forward. I will acquire the Pentaconn Corsair brass most likely next month when I visit Asia
Campfire Chat - Official Campfire Audio 2024 Thread!
- Thread starter CFA Chris
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OhmsClaw
500+ Head-Fier
Most importantly, do you have AZLA Crystals to compare to the Baroque?
Takeda`1537
100+ Head-Fier
Initially would have assumed the BS to be a Stellar Horizon with simpler finishing but sensitivity and impedance are different...Cross posting from the Watercooler in case it's helpful.
I had a few days to do some direct a/b of both my own Black Star and the tour Bonneville but still have yet to get it all written and posted.
I think I'll ultimately come down on saying they are more similar than not. They have the same drivers in different shells with no good explanation for the price difference except to say Black Star buyers are getting a real deal, as if the Bonneville buyers weren't already enjoying the best buy around.
Both have generous bass and the same bottom - up tuning approach. To my ears, Bonneville has slightly more bass, most in the mid bass. The difference is not huge but noticeable in the mids and treble which get a bit less color from the bass, making BS a little more "open" sounding with vocals jumping out a bit more. I also found the Bonneville stage to be wider and more linear while the BS to have more height and depth. Still, these are surely brothers from the same mother and superior for their pricing.
If there was a feeling that CFA botched the early 2023 releases, they have certainly outdone themselves with the way they closed out the year on the budget side. BS was the last iem I bought in 2023, and it's providing as much joy as any other I have ever bought, so CFA fanboy, I have become.
Edit: I'm going to posit that BS is less $ because it was less r&d cost. I think they took Bonneville drivers and put them in an existing shell.
Stellar Horizon: Sensitivity = 9.145 mVrms to reach 94db, Impedance = 4.4 Ohm at 1 kHz
Bonneville: 14.59 mVrms for 94 dB @ 1 kHz:, Impedance: 29 Ohms @ 1 kHz (this must be a typo on CFA's website... 29 Ohms?)
Black Star: 9.429 mVrms for SPL: 94 dB @ 1 kHz, Impedance: 9 Ohms @ 1 kHz
Has anyone had a chance to measure these three and compare them?
OhmsClaw
500+ Head-Fier
May not be, depends if the crossover/drivers are wired in series or parallel. Radon 6 for example is 26 Ohms? E-stats usually make large impact on sensitivity though (which CFA doesn't implement). I know ThieAudio stuff just soaks up current with their Estat implementations.
It looks a lot like it, but inside it's a Bonneville. Interesting the numbers though.
Takeda`1537
100+ Head-Fier
Impedance has such an influence on sensitivity, on sound, how "moody" the IEM turn out to sound when paired with sources ...
OhmsClaw
500+ Head-Fier
Sure... If you're running them on non-standard IEM sources. Almost everything is under 1 Ohm these days. I can get away with running RN6 on the Valhalla 2 in Low Gain (6Ohms vs 26Ohms), but I can hear OI issues between the Mojo 2 and SA1 4.4 on the EVO (4 Ohms IEM vs 2Ohms 4.4 and sub 0.5 Ohm 3.5mm) Heck, even the Mjolnir 3 runs under 1Ohm in low gain single ended no feedback.
If anything that makes the Bonneville less source picky if true.
Takeda`1537
100+ Head-Fier
indeed ... the higher the impedance, the less picky the IEM turns out to be ..
Never tried the Azla Crystals. Baroque is somewhere between W1 and Campfire stock silicone but without the harshness in the vocals of the stock silicone tips.
Tanalasta
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Be interested in how they fit and compare - to help with sizing. If the Baroque was available in a ML I'd probably be right. Yet to try the W1's - readily available on amazon so waiting for a pair to arrive.
IMHO, the tip selection varies with the cable and DAP synergy to your Campfires. I was using the Eletech Baroque with the Andromeda to enhance the BA bass texture and let the upper mids and treble shine more without sounding thin, but with Bonnevile, there are some resonances that I detect that can make the soundstage less open and has that occasional unwanted upper treble energy that the W1 Spinfits eliminates completely without any negative consequences. So far, the Bonneville with W1 tips, AK SP2K Cu DAP and Effect Audio Bespoke Chiron x Cleopatra OCTA and my own HRTF and sonic preferences is currently the holy grail of Campfire Audio house sound with a perfect blend of harmonic richness, dynamics, technicalities such as 3D spherical with rectangular staging and incredible coherence in tuning for a hybrid IEM design.
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Not at all.
PixelSquish
Previously known as idiotekniques
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Really interested in the Supermoon and Bonneville. Need to audition those. If I ever up sticking with my Volür, I'll have a spot for one more IEM around 1k. This way I'll have the Cascara tied to my Shure TW2, the Volür or another totl IEM for me, and then one in the middle with a bit of a different sound on the higher quality end.
That's like a trifecta for me at this point. Trying to find other 1k IEM as well to try. No UM, tried the monarch but it was defective. So those are out.
Anybody have comparisons of the Bonneville to the Supermoon?
That's like a trifecta for me at this point. Trying to find other 1k IEM as well to try. No UM, tried the monarch but it was defective. So those are out.
Anybody have comparisons of the Bonneville to the Supermoon?
Bonneville/Black Star is closer to the Volur than Supermoon is. Ponderosa is a pretty good alternative with sharper transients than even Supermoon from what I remember
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