[kmmbd]

My take on the Campfire Audio Bonneville: https://www.headphonesty.com/2024/01/campfire-audio-bonneville-review/

To summarize: Campfire Bonneville offer a solid, all-around package. The bass and treble go for excitement without veering into “overbearing” territory, and the midrange tuning is as safe as it comes, even though the boost near 1.5kHz might make vocals sound "chesty" at times.

Overall technicalities are also excellent considering their peers, and the stock accessories are good enough to get you started. I do advise an audition before purchase, as the thick nozzle might be an issue if you have small ear canals.

Neutral-heads will feel disappointed however, as the Bonneville do not mimic any of the academic tuning targets and, by that metric alone, will be considered a “no-go” for certain audiences.

I tend to be less dogmatic, and the coloration on the Bonneville is tastefully done. As long as you tinker a bit with the right choice of ear tips, I have no reservations about recommending the Bonneville. These will serve you tremendously well as the primary “TOTL” IEMs, unless you've got something at a far higher price point.

 

[emdeevee]

My take on the Campfire Audio Bonneville: https://www.headphonesty.com/2024/01/campfire-audio-bonneville-review/

To summarize: Campfire Bonneville offer a solid, all-around package. The bass and treble go for excitement without veering into “overbearing” territory, and the midrange tuning is as safe as it comes, even though the boost near 1.5kHz might make vocals sound "chesty" at times.

Overall technicalities are also excellent considering their peers, and the stock accessories are good enough to get you started. I do advise an audition before purchase, as the thick nozzle might be an issue if you have small ear canals.

Neutral-heads will feel disappointed however, as the Bonneville do not mimic any of the academic tuning targets and, by that metric alone, will be considered a “no-go” for certain audiences.

I tend to be less dogmatic, and the coloration on the Bonneville is tastefully done. As long as you tinker a bit with the right choice of ear tips, I have no reservations about recommending the Bonneville. These will serve you tremendously well as the primary “TOTL” IEMs, unless you've got something at a far higher price point.

Bonneville is an amazing TOTL-sounding set priced just right.

Addressing your major point with Bonneville, I would say you should try the Black Star. Same drivers as Bonneville but the tuning brings down the mid bass a touch more than Bonneville, resulting in vocals that pop out more and I don't hear that chesty sound in male voices here. And I hear a more holographic stage with greater height and depth. And, unquestionably the best deal at 999!

 

[theveterans]

My take on the Campfire Audio Bonneville: https://www.headphonesty.com/2024/01/campfire-audio-bonneville-review/

To summarize: Campfire Bonneville offer a solid, all-around package. The bass and treble go for excitement without veering into “overbearing” territory, and the midrange tuning is as safe as it comes, even though the boost near 1.5kHz might make vocals sound "chesty" at times.

Overall technicalities are also excellent considering their peers, and the stock accessories are good enough to get you started. I do advise an audition before purchase, as the thick nozzle might be an issue if you have small ear canals.

Neutral-heads will feel disappointed however, as the Bonneville do not mimic any of the academic tuning targets and, by that metric alone, will be considered a “no-go” for certain audiences.

I tend to be less dogmatic, and the coloration on the Bonneville is tastefully done. As long as you tinker a bit with the right choice of ear tips, I have no reservations about recommending the Bonneville. These will serve you tremendously well as the primary “TOTL” IEMs, unless you've got something at a far higher price point.

Excellent review and an excellent unbiased take of what would a stock Bonneville should sound like. As much as I like the Bonneville, it isn't optimized at all in stock form hence what you describe here in the cons is what I would also write if I ever use it in its stock form, and in fact an impression from a fellow head-fier has also confirmed your findings below:

Bonneville needs careful system matching like many high-end speakers and headphones out there. How to fix the bass bleed, chesty vocals and uneven treble peaks in one simple fix: You MUST NOT use the stock cable and opt for a cable that has gold-silver alloy mix or even better gold plated gold-silver alloy, or an alternative is to use a very refined copper cable. Candidates for the correct cable that eliminates every fault of the Bonneville so you can enjoy its incredible e-stat headphone like refinement across the board well as incredible coherence between the drivers are the following: Effect Audio Chiron (or any of Chiron + Cleopatra II/Horus/Caliburn), Centurion or Eletech Ode to Laura. I'm pretty sure other cables such as Brise Shirogane, PW First Times Shieldieng or PW Orpheus will work great as well. You would need a DAP that will pair best with the following cables mentioned as well.

Here's an anecdotal experience of such Bonneville transformation using just a pure cable swap:

We also had a very fun venture seeing the most dramatic change I've heard a cable cause with the Bonneville. The Bonneville had some very extreme bass bloom that made them sound extremely muddy off of my M8 with the stock cable, with mids and treble being... okayish. Switching out the stock cable to his Effect Audio Thor 8 wire? I believe it was, was a dramatic shift. The bass bloom was completely gone and the sound became significantly clearer, better, separated, and just all around incredibly good. Also an interesting demo as I heard none of that bass bloom and muddiness listening to the Bonneville at CanJam SoCal with my Shanling M6 Pro and its stock cable.

 

[emdeevee]

Excellent review and an excellent unbiased take of what would a stock Bonneville should sound like. As much as I like the Bonneville, it isn't optimized at all in stock form hence what you describe here in the cons is what I would also write if I ever use it in its stock form, and in fact an impression from a fellow head-fier has also confirmed your findings below:



Bonneville needs careful system matching like many high-end speakers and headphones out there. How to fix the bass bleed, chesty vocals and uneven treble peaks in one simple fix: You MUST NOT use the stock cable and opt for a cable that has gold-silver alloy mix or even better gold plated gold-silver alloy, or an alternative is to use a very refined copper cable. Candidates for the correct cable that eliminates every fault of the Bonneville so you can enjoy its incredible e-stat headphone like refinement across the board well as incredible coherence between the drivers are the following: Effect Audio Chiron (or any of Chiron + Cleopatra II/Horus/Caliburn), Centurion or Eletech Ode to Laura. I'm pretty sure other cables such as Brise Shirogane, PW First Times Shieldieng or PW Orpheus will work great as well. You would need a DAP that will pair best with the following cables mentioned as well.

Here's an anecdotal experience of such Bonneville transformation using just a pure cable swap:

I'll second this...for my tests of Bonneville, I used drjuggles impi cable (SPC) which transformed it into what it's supposed to be. You must put a good cable on Bonneville, as with all CFA, IMHO.

 

[o0genesis0o]

I used drjuggles impi cable (SPC) which transformed it into what it's supposed to be

Isn’t “what it’s supposed to be” is what CFA included in the retail box?

 

[emdeevee]

Isn’t “what it’s supposed to be” is what CFA included in the retail box?

If that were the case, there would be no cable business!

 

[cats4cans]

Neutral-heads will feel disappointed however, as the Bonneville do not mimic any of the academic tuning targets and, by that metric alone, will be considered a “no-go” for certain audiences.

I’ve never seen the term “neutral-heads” before. Not quite as catchy as bass-head. Not sure I like the association with academic targets though.
I keep spending my subwoofer money on head-fi gear. But by taking the room out of the equation I get better bass performance. It’s a conundrum.

 

[o0genesis0o]

If that were the case, there would be no cable business!

It’s for “upgrade”. CFA wouldn’t expect you to shell out extra for an upgrade for the IEM to be “up to spec”. My two cents.

Still looking for a cheap cable for my Andro, btw. Can’t find the new campfire cable in Australia

 

[theveterans]

It’s for “upgrade”. CFA wouldn’t expect you to shell out extra for an upgrade for the IEM to be “up to spec”. My two cents.

Still looking for a cheap cable for my Andro, btw. Can’t find the new campfire cable in Australia

Up to spec is subjective. Some people will find DAP/ portable Tube amp rolling with stock cable can have similar effects of reducing the bloom/chesty vocals/treble peaks and actually bring refined sound similar to cable upgrades. Read the review and you’ll see that @kmmbd resorted with that approach to end up on a similar place as cable rolling

 

[kmmbd]

Addressing your major point with Bonneville, I would say you should try the Black Star.

Thanks for the suggestion. I would surely try to track them down for a full review treatment. From my understanding, despite the same driver config, the midrange driver on the Black Star is different from that of the Bonneville (Knowles dual-diaphragm driver). The latter has lower distortion at high SPL and tends to have a better timbre usually. Despite that, the price gap is substantial enough and Campfire already knows how to get the most out of the "old-style" BA drivers.

Bonneville needs careful system matching like many high-end speakers and headphones out there. How to fix the bass bleed, chesty vocals and uneven treble peaks in one simple fix: You MUST NOT use the stock cable and opt for a cable that has gold-silver alloy mix or even better gold plated gold-silver alloy, or an alternative is to use a very refined copper cable.

I agree that the Bonneville can scale according to source quality, as you've already seen in the pairing section of the review. Regarding using different cables, the problem is that the reader may feel aggravated knowing that they need to shell out on a specific cable or else the Bonneville are not "worth it". That's a sentiment I try to avoid evoking in the readers. Thus, the review and ratings are based entirely on the "standard" or stock setup, other than the eartips because usually eartips are a very personal thing and are fairly affordable for most.

I’ve never seen the term “neutral-heads” before. Not quite as catchy as bass-head. Not sure I like the association with academic targets though.

Yeah definitely not a catchy term. The association with academic targets is due to how many tend to EQ/normalize IEMs against a baseline target and any deviation from that is frowned upon, which is something I tend to avoid. Does not necessarily mean that those who like neutral sound signatures are going to abide by one specific target or another. Neutral can be a spectrum instead of something definitive after all.

It’s for “upgrade”. CFA wouldn’t expect you to shell out extra for an upgrade for the IEM to be “up to spec”. My two cents.

I think the Timestream cable is one of the better stock cables out there. Campfire is confident enough to bundle this with the flagship Trifecta as well, and those who liked Trifecta in the stores or during shows seemed to like it even with the stock cable. Nonetheless, I'd rather Campfire keep the cost down and not bundle exotic cables like UM does and then jacks up the price to surreal levels.

 

[theveterans]

Nonetheless, I'd rather Campfire keep the cost down and not bundle exotic cables like UM does and then jacks up the price to surreal levels

Exactly! I understand your point of reviewing it on its stock configuration. Let the consumers explore their own synergistic pairings with it. Discussing Bonneville’s scaling up potential through your review is also appealing to many and that’s usually how these aging and classic headphones such as Utopia, Susvara and even Campfire Andromeda stay relevant in their positions. Audiophiles in general do like rabbit holes

 

[Marrogwar]

What should i try if i love how Campfire Holocene sounds? Is Andromeda an upgrade? Or maybe Ara?

 

[OhmsClaw]

What should i try if i love how Campfire Holocene sounds? Is Andromeda an upgrade? Or maybe Ara?

Ara is the direct spiritual upgrade.

 

[CFA Chris]

What should i try if i love how Campfire Holocene sounds? Is Andromeda an upgrade? Or maybe Ara?

I agree with @OhmsClaw that Ara is a great upgrade from Holocene. You may also be interested in Ponderosa, BlackStar, or Andromeda 2020/OG Andromeda as well.

 

[CFA Chris]

We've finalized the products we'll be showing in NY this year. Looking forward to chatting with folks in attendance!

• F *****
• Trifecta Spectral Collection
• BlackStar
• Bonneville
• Cascara
• Supermoon
• Ponderosa
• Solaris Stellar Horizon
• Andromeda Emerald Sea