[mashuto]

Can only report what you hear! Cheers for doing that.

Always happy to. I just know that my thoughts here don't always align with others in terms of what components make the most difference to sound. And I also know that some things a lot of the more seasoned reviewers hear, I just don't. Likely just due to my priorities being a bit different on what I look for and what's important to me.

Anyways, it's Monday morning, new spotify discover weekly playlist, now I just have to decide if it's going to be a dorado or nio kind of morning.

 

[JesusCrew]

Thank you for your insights @mashuto ! Would you say the Dorados fit well for electronic music ? Specifically some ambient/drone pieces, and techno, hence the need of a good quality sub-bass. The Vega 2020 might be a little more pronounced in that regard, so i'm still unsure about which one to pick.

 

[mashuto]

Thank you for your insights @mashuto ! Would you say the Dorados fit well for electronic music ? Specifically some ambient/drone pieces, and techno, hence the need of a good quality sub-bass. The Vega 2020 might be a little more pronounced in that regard, so i'm still unsure about which one to pick.

I think they do well with electronic. Bass is pretty solid on them, though weight seems to be fairly even between midbass and subbass. Subbass quality is definitely good but it's just not the sole focus. And there's enough warmth to the signature to give bass a little boost. But it is a somewhat balanced signature overall so if you are looking for something with a real bass tilt, the vega might be better. But I also haven't heard the new vega.

 

[mashuto]

I almost hate to post this as it may dissuade a few others from jumping on board, but I unfortunately have to send my dorados back. I am not returning them, but I am pretty sure I got a defective set and will need a replacement. A few days after I got them I noticed a pretty sharp (though mild) pain in one ear when using them. I thought maybe they were sitting weird or pinching something in my ear and just couldnt figure it out. Different tip selection would help, but it came back today as I was trying out more tips. Im about 99% positive that something in the left earpiece is shorted to the brass stem and shocking me. Some eartips were better just because they minimized or eliminated contact on my ear. I even got my multimeter out and sure enough there is a connection between the stem and the socket.

I am pretty sure this is a very rare thing that I just happened to be the recipient of, and I am sure that itll be covered under warranty. And shoutout to @Andrew DiMarcangelo at bloom audio, super quick response and a shipping label sent over pretty much immediately for me to send it back, you guys rock.

 

[Tristy]

I almost hate to post this as it may dissuade a few others from jumping on board, but I unfortunately have to send my dorados back. I am not returning them, but I am pretty sure I got a defective set and will need a replacement. A few days after I got them I noticed a pretty sharp (though mild) pain in one ear when using them. I thought maybe they were sitting weird or pinching something in my ear and just couldnt figure it out. Different tip selection would help, but it came back today as I was trying out more tips. Im about 99% positive that something in the left earpiece is shorted to the brass stem and shocking me. Some eartips were better just because they minimized or eliminated contact on my ear. I even got my multimeter out and sure enough there is a connection between the stem and the socket.

I am pretty sure this is a very rare thing that I just happened to be the recipient of, and I am sure that itll be covered under warranty. And shoutout to @Andrew DiMarcangelo at bloom audio, super quick response and a shipping label sent over pretty much immediately for me to send it back, you guys rock.

Are you listening to them when the source is connected to the mains? If that’s the case, I get/got a tingling sensation all the time from every campfire iem I’ve owned and don’t think a new unit would resolve this.

 

[mashuto]

Are you listening to them when the source is connected to the mains? If that’s the case, I get/got a tingling sensation all the time from every campfire iem I’ve owned and don’t think a new unit would resolve this.

Yes, but also happened when not plugged in. On my n6ii and crappy fire tablet. It also wasn't tingling, but actual sharp pain. Something I have never experienced with the 5 other campfire IEMs I have owned.

When I checked for continuity on my multimeter, the left earpiece was connected from the socket to the stem, while the right was not. And the left ear is where I felt it.

Pretty sure, and I hope it's just a one off issue as otherwise I have never had any issues with the build of any campfire IEMs. And I'm pretty sure it'll be covered under warranty and replaced.

 

[Tristy]

Yes, but also happened when not plugged in. On my n6ii and crappy fire tablet. It also wasn't tingling, but actual sharp pain. Something I have never experienced with the 5 other campfire IEMs I have owned.

When I checked for continuity on my multimeter, the left earpiece was connected from the socket to the stem, while the right was not. And the left ear is where I felt it.

Pretty sure, and I hope it's just a one off issue as otherwise I have never had any issues with the build of any campfire IEMs. And I'm pretty sure it'll be covered under warranty and replaced.

Ahh fair enough, just sounds like you got unlucky unfortunately! Do let us know how you get on.

 

[JesusCrew]

Yes, but also happened when not plugged in. On my n6ii and crappy fire tablet. It also wasn't tingling, but actual sharp pain. Something I have never experienced with the 5 other campfire IEMs I have owned.

When I checked for continuity on my multimeter, the left earpiece was connected from the socket to the stem, while the right was not. And the left ear is where I felt it.

Pretty sure, and I hope it's just a one off issue as otherwise I have never had any issues with the build of any campfire IEMs. And I'm pretty sure it'll be covered under warranty and replaced.

Hopefully that is not a flaw in its design, as this would mean mandatory product recalls. Unlucky for you anyway :/

 

[mashuto]

Hopefully that is not a flaw in its design, as this would mean mandatory product recalls. Unlucky for you anyway :/

Not to sound like an apologist or anything, but I doubt it's a design flaw, or I would probably expect it to have happened to both earpieces. And while I know there's been some drama surrounding campfire in the past, they always seem to put out quality products from a build and design perspective and I would find it a bit hard to believe they would have missed a potentially huge issue like that during design and testing.

 

[JaZZ]

How are they compared to the Atlas? Same levels of bass? Do they remind you in any way to the Solaris or completely different?

Picked mine up today. Atlas «diamond» bass driver plus some BA tweeter sounded too good to resist. I already own the original Andromeda and the Atlas. The latter is my favorite IEM, although sometimes my preference switches to the FiiO FH7. Note that I equalize – even the freshly acquired Dorado has no total freedom to sound like the manufacturer intended –, after all it has to match my ears and my sonic ideal or my interpretation of neutral, resp. And it gets equipped with my best cable, the Norne Silvergarde SX.

These are just preliminary impressions, but they speak a clear language. Bass and lower midrange sound exactly like the Atlas, so they get the same EQ settings (mainly a reduction of the ~120 Hz area plus some minor boost below 40 Hz. The treble is quite even and of ultra-fine resolution. In this respect some similarities to the Andromeda are there, but to my ears texturing is superior. Soundstage is extraordinary for an IEM. Especially laudable is the impression of great cleanness and clarity. I highly recommend foam tips, otherwise you'd probably get too much sparkle and glare (→ reflections within the ear-canal). A change from the originally mounted silicon tips to my favored Xcessor tips was ear-opening, made for much better detail reproduction and texturing.

These sound like they could become my favored IEMs. Although I'm a big fan of the Atlas and prefer it to the Andromeda, even its treble, the Dorado improves on the latter aspect without sacrificing anything.

 

[JaZZ]

I almost hate to post this as it may dissuade a few others from jumping on board, but I unfortunately have to send my dorados back. I am not returning them, but I am pretty sure I got a defective set and will need a replacement. A few days after I got them I noticed a pretty sharp (though mild) pain in one ear when using them. I thought maybe they were sitting weird or pinching something in my ear and just couldnt figure it out. Different tip selection would help, but it came back today as I was trying out more tips. Im about 99% positive that something in the left earpiece is shorted to the brass stem and shocking me. Some eartips were better just because they minimized or eliminated contact on my ear. I even got my multimeter out and sure enough there is a connection between the stem and the socket.

I am pretty sure this is a very rare thing that I just happened to be the recipient of, and I am sure that itll be covered under warranty. And shoutout to @Andrew DiMarcangelo at bloom audio, super quick response and a shipping label sent over pretty much immediately for me to send it back, you guys rock.

I get these «electrical shocks» with most of my Campfire IEMs (1x Atlas, 2x Andromeda) – sometimes just from one driver, sometimes from both –, but only if the source/amp is connected to the mains (and your feet or another part of your body are earthed), never with battery power. I suspected that this behavior was the reason for CFA to switch from metal to ceramic, and indeed I got no shocks during my first encounter with the Dorado, driven by a Chord DAVE (a wonderful combination!). Ken Ball still owes me an explanation for this phenomenon, which can also be coupled with hum. But he preferred to give a sarcastic answer (as if he agreed with the «high sensitivity» argument in the same thread) and made me look like a dumb ignorant. Fact is that CFA don't recommend to use their IEMs with mains-powered devices – but refuse to tell the reason.

 

[mashuto]

I get these «electrical shocks» with most of my Campfire IEMs (1x Atlas, 2x Andromeda) – sometimes just from one driver, sometimes from both –, but only if the source/amp is connected to the mains (and your feet or another part of your body are earthed), never with battery power. I suspected that this behavior was the reason for CFA to switch from metal to ceramic, and indeed I got no shocks during my first encounter with the Dorado, driven by a Chord DAVE (a wonderful combination!). Ken Ball still owes me an explanation for this phenomenon, which can also be coupled with hum. But he preferred to give a sarcastic answer (as if he agreed with the «high sensitivity» argument in the same thread) and made me look like a dumb ignorant. Fact is that CFA don't recommend to use their IEMs with mains-powered devices – but refuse to tell the reason.

I have read about one or two cases with the andromeda before. But if this genuinely happens with their IEMs, thats a defect in my opinion. The closest I also used my recent dorado with mains, was simply using the devices when charging. But thats all USB, via a usb power brick. And again, it happened both with or without my devices being plugged in. It was sharp and painful and I had to remove them from my ear when I felt it. And those multimeter tests seem to very specifically confirm that the electronics were shorted to the stem on the left earpiece and not the right. I have also never experienced this with any of the other campfire IEMs I have owned (vega, atlas, polaris, andromeda gold, solaris 2020).

As for their recommendation, all I can really imagine there is that for such sensitive IEMs, the amount of power a desktop amp could potentially provide could very likely damage the drivers if overpowered. Of course, I cant say that with any kind of certainty, so its really just a guess. Again though, if their IEMs are shorted as a matter of practice and not the exception, thats a real issue in my mind. Though I would find it hard to believe.

Also glad someone else finally got their hands on the dorado. Your quick impressions definitely seem to line up with mine and kind of match exactly what I was hoping for, Atlas driver plus BA treble, especially considering that for me as well the Atlas had long been one of my favorite IEMs, and out of all the other campfire IEMs, its the one I still have. And while I would still say the atlas is better for those who want just a big bass sound, the dorado is I think better in probably every other way. I did on occasional find the treble could run a tiny bit hot (not ever really pushing into sibilant territory), so when I get mine back, I will give a try to foam tips, though I generally really dislike foam. Though maybe time to give my earrbond hybrid tips another try (found them very very soft and hard to get a seal) or even maybe pick up some some symbio tips (though I have some old pairs and found the foam in them too hard, and they became painful after some time).

 

[Signal2Noise]

I’m interested in these. Only drawback is exchange rate is terrible. Maybe a Black Friday deal around the corner?

 

[sica]

A change from the originally mounted silicon tips to my favored Excessor tips was ear-opening, made for much better detail reproduction and texturing.

What Excessor tips are these? Couldn't find them with Google.

 

[Rockwell75]

Are you listening to them when the source is connected to the mains? If that’s the case, I get/got a tingling sensation all the time from every campfire iem I’ve owned and don’t think a new unit would resolve this.

In the instruction booklet for Campfire IEMs they specifically mention not to plug them into anything connected to an electrical main.