Yeah. The filters don't do much. It would be nice to have a parametric equalizer, but as we know, Chord is not very strong in software.
RAZ's TOTL review and rambles thread, on life support
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Headphoneus Supremus
It's weird though, because their focus is on fpga; essentially, "field programmable" tech that can be fully customized to modify sound.
so i'm curious why they didn't enable more dramatic adjustment potential in the h2.
for instance, i'd love a "mojo" setting on my h2, but, i kind of understand why they didn't do that...alas, i own both.
so i'm curious why they didn't enable more dramatic adjustment potential in the h2.
for instance, i'd love a "mojo" setting on my h2, but, i kind of understand why they didn't do that...alas, i own both.
I am going to play with Equalizer APO to see if I can get my Sennheiser HD800S headphones to sound good with the Hugo 2 using the Oratory1990 EQ presets.
bluestorm1992
Headphoneus Supremus
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
I've kinda been planning a "favourites of 2020" post, but I keep having to postpone that because of new gear arriving... Got another 4-5 impression posts planned over the next few weeks and then hopefully a big-ass post to close it off before NYE. Anyhow, for the first post of December, none other than the
Campfire Audio Vega 2020 - when the DD doesn't suffer from an identity crisis
If I have to be entirely honest the white ceramic shells are one of the main reasons I went for the Vega over the Dorado. I didn't read up much on either, but a friend described them as a "bass pillow" - while I don't consider myself a nutty basshead, I do enjoy some phat hits, and I don't currently own anything way over the top bassy, so I figured why not.
The first thing that stands out with these is just how tiny they are - I have to use way larger tips than what I do normally just to make them actually fill my ears - they just kinda sit in there, and I don't get really good seal, so they feel a little sub-optimal in that respect. The packaging is the sort of hipsterish, eco-friendly, minimalistic yet well designed branding that Campfire have been going for lately. I quite like it, it's funky and it's pretty. I enjoy it. The shells are also super nice and they check off the "no acrylic universals" requirement, while also having a premium and sturdy feel to them.
On sound, there's actually not all *that* much to be said here. They're quite V shaped, with an obsene amount of bass. I am honestly not the best person to judge these, because I enjoy all kinds of bass - loads of bass, slow bass, fast bass, BA bass, DD bass, double DD bass, textured bass, plastic bass. I don't especially mind as long as it isn't completely missing and as long as it isn't that open back headphone bass "you can feel" - I like punchy stuff generally but I'm not pretentious.
The Vega comes across as an IEM that has a lot of bass quantity and quality. It bleeds heavily into the midrange, but tbh I don't think you can put this much bass into something without muddying it up. I'd say the bass is pretty slow all around, enjoying a nice and drawn out decay. Considering you'd buy this pretty much entirely for the bass, it's actually very pleasant to listen to, and quite satisfying too.
Discussing the mids is kinda pointless in this case cause there's just not all that much of them. Between the heavy bass and super present treble, the midrange gets left behind almost entirely. In passages that have no bass the IEM doesn't sound quite right because the treble is quite overloaded to balance the lows, so you end up hearing the vocals, which come across as quite sibilant at times depending on how trashy what you're listening to is.
For stuff that don't get affected by the rather forward treble, the Vega has really good texture and a generally good balance between thickness and clarity. Maybe a bit too much clarity, I think Campfire could've easily gone for a way muddier tuning and gotten away with it.
In general the Vega 2020 performs best when you don't really hear the midrange. It just doesn't feel like it is designed to play any mids in all honesty.
The treble is a little overdone, and pushes the tuning towards a rather extreme V. In passages where you have both the bass and treble working the IEM sounds really good, and you can actually feel like it is doing what it was designed to. The treble has pretty good sparkle as well, and is rather nicely extended. There's a little too much lower treble which makes it kinda bad with poor recordings and more sibilance-prone stuff. I'd tone it down personally, mostly to make the IEM a more comfortable and relaxing listen. You get plenty of excitement from the bass quantity as is.
The technical ability isn't bad, but it is heavily masked by the amount of lows. You get reasonable detail for a V shape because of the treble tuning. The staging has good width, which is my main requirement where staging is concerned, but lacks some depth and height
All in all, the Vega 2020 is a simple IEM - it smashes and it sparkles, not concerning itself with much else. Is it perfect? Hell no. Is it a great IEM? Ehhh so so, it's fun
What I do love about the Vega is that is isn't yet another dynamic driver that was given an identity crisis by its tuner. It moves air like a dynamic driver was designed to move air. It's not polite, it's not refined, but it is certainly true to its identity
Campfire Audio Vega 2020 - when the DD doesn't suffer from an identity crisis
If I have to be entirely honest the white ceramic shells are one of the main reasons I went for the Vega over the Dorado. I didn't read up much on either, but a friend described them as a "bass pillow" - while I don't consider myself a nutty basshead, I do enjoy some phat hits, and I don't currently own anything way over the top bassy, so I figured why not.
The first thing that stands out with these is just how tiny they are - I have to use way larger tips than what I do normally just to make them actually fill my ears - they just kinda sit in there, and I don't get really good seal, so they feel a little sub-optimal in that respect. The packaging is the sort of hipsterish, eco-friendly, minimalistic yet well designed branding that Campfire have been going for lately. I quite like it, it's funky and it's pretty. I enjoy it. The shells are also super nice and they check off the "no acrylic universals" requirement, while also having a premium and sturdy feel to them.
On sound, there's actually not all *that* much to be said here. They're quite V shaped, with an obsene amount of bass. I am honestly not the best person to judge these, because I enjoy all kinds of bass - loads of bass, slow bass, fast bass, BA bass, DD bass, double DD bass, textured bass, plastic bass. I don't especially mind as long as it isn't completely missing and as long as it isn't that open back headphone bass "you can feel" - I like punchy stuff generally but I'm not pretentious.
The Vega comes across as an IEM that has a lot of bass quantity and quality. It bleeds heavily into the midrange, but tbh I don't think you can put this much bass into something without muddying it up. I'd say the bass is pretty slow all around, enjoying a nice and drawn out decay. Considering you'd buy this pretty much entirely for the bass, it's actually very pleasant to listen to, and quite satisfying too.
Discussing the mids is kinda pointless in this case cause there's just not all that much of them. Between the heavy bass and super present treble, the midrange gets left behind almost entirely. In passages that have no bass the IEM doesn't sound quite right because the treble is quite overloaded to balance the lows, so you end up hearing the vocals, which come across as quite sibilant at times depending on how trashy what you're listening to is.
For stuff that don't get affected by the rather forward treble, the Vega has really good texture and a generally good balance between thickness and clarity. Maybe a bit too much clarity, I think Campfire could've easily gone for a way muddier tuning and gotten away with it.
In general the Vega 2020 performs best when you don't really hear the midrange. It just doesn't feel like it is designed to play any mids in all honesty.
The treble is a little overdone, and pushes the tuning towards a rather extreme V. In passages where you have both the bass and treble working the IEM sounds really good, and you can actually feel like it is doing what it was designed to. The treble has pretty good sparkle as well, and is rather nicely extended. There's a little too much lower treble which makes it kinda bad with poor recordings and more sibilance-prone stuff. I'd tone it down personally, mostly to make the IEM a more comfortable and relaxing listen. You get plenty of excitement from the bass quantity as is.
The technical ability isn't bad, but it is heavily masked by the amount of lows. You get reasonable detail for a V shape because of the treble tuning. The staging has good width, which is my main requirement where staging is concerned, but lacks some depth and height
All in all, the Vega 2020 is a simple IEM - it smashes and it sparkles, not concerning itself with much else. Is it perfect? Hell no. Is it a great IEM? Ehhh so so, it's fun
What I do love about the Vega is that is isn't yet another dynamic driver that was given an identity crisis by its tuner. It moves air like a dynamic driver was designed to move air. It's not polite, it's not refined, but it is certainly true to its identity
Been really curious about that one, and appreciate the info man!I've kinda been planning a "favourites of 2020" post, but I keep having to postpone that because of new gear arriving... Got another 4-5 impression posts planned over the next few weeks and then hopefully a big-ass post to close it off before NYE. Anyhow, for the first post of December, none other than the
Campfire Audio Vega 2020 - when the DD doesn't suffer from an identity crisis
If I have to be entirely honest the white ceramic shells are one of the main reasons I went for the Vega over the Dorado. I didn't read up much on either, but a friend described them as a "bass pillow" - while I don't consider myself a nutty basshead, I do enjoy some phat hits, and I don't currently own anything way over the top bassy, so I figured why not.
The first thing that stands out with these is just how tiny they are - I have to use way larger tips than what I do normally just to make them actually fill my ears - they just kinda sit in there, and I don't get really good seal, so they feel a little sub-optimal in that respect. The packaging is the sort of hipsterish, eco-friendly, minimalistic yet well designed branding that Campfire have been going for lately. I quite like it, it's funky and it's pretty. I enjoy it. The shells are also super nice and they check off the "no acrylic universals" requirement, while also having a premium and sturdy feel to them.
On sound, there's actually not all *that* much to be said here. They're quite V shaped, with an obsene amount of bass. I am honestly not the best person to judge these, because I enjoy all kinds of bass - loads of bass, slow bass, fast bass, BA bass, DD bass, double DD bass, textured bass, plastic bass. I don't especially mind as long as it isn't completely missing and as long as it isn't that open back headphone bass "you can feel" - I like punchy stuff generally but I'm not pretentious.
The Vega comes across as an IEM that has a lot of bass quantity and quality. It bleeds heavily into the midrange, but tbh I don't think you can put this much bass into something without muddying it up. I'd say the bass is pretty slow all around, enjoying a nice and drawn out decay. Considering you'd buy this pretty much entirely for the bass, it's actually very pleasant to listen to, and quite satisfying too.
Discussing the mids is kinda pointless in this case cause there's just not all that much of them. Between the heavy bass and super present treble, the midrange gets left behind almost entirely. In passages that have no bass the IEM doesn't sound quite right because the treble is quite overloaded to balance the lows, so you end up hearing the vocals, which come across as quite sibilant at times depending on how trashy what you're listening to is.
For stuff that don't get affected by the rather forward treble, the Vega has really good texture and a generally good balance between thickness and clarity. Maybe a bit too much clarity, I think Campfire could've easily gone for a way muddier tuning and gotten away with it.
In general the Vega 2020 performs best when you don't really hear the midrange. It just doesn't feel like it is designed to play any mids in all honesty.
The treble is a little overdone, and pushes the tuning towards a rather extreme V. In passages where you have both the bass and treble working the IEM sounds really good, and you can actually feel like it is doing what it was designed to. The treble has pretty good sparkle as well, and is rather nicely extended. There's a little too much lower treble which makes it kinda bad with poor recordings and more sibilance-prone stuff. I'd tone it down personally, mostly to make the IEM a more comfortable and relaxing listen. You get plenty of excitement from the bass quantity as is.
The technical ability isn't bad, but it is heavily masked by the amount of lows. You get reasonable detail for a V shape because of the treble tuning. The staging has good width, which is my main requirement where staging is concerned, but lacks some depth and height
All in all, the Vega 2020 is a simple IEM - it smashes and it sparkles, not concerning itself with much else. Is it perfect? Hell no. Is it a great IEM? Ehhh so so, it's fun
What I do love about the Vega is that is isn't yet another dynamic driver that was given an identity crisis by its tuner. It moves air like a dynamic driver was designed to move air. It's not polite, it's not refined, but it is certainly true to its identity
Unexpected and an enjoyable read, thanks for that. This is what CA's DD range does best if you ask me, unapologetically DD bass monsters with some added technicalities thrown in for good measure.
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I did it. I was able to successfully pair my new Chord Hugo 2 with my Bottlehead crack to get the perfect warm, yet detailed sound signature with a big sound stage and great imaging and deep bass. The HD800S paired direclty with the Hugo 2 is way too bright. Huge sound stage and tremendous detail, but unlistenable. The tube amp puts an envelope of warmth around that huge sound stage while retaining most of the resolution and detail within it. I finally achieved the sound I've been seeking. It works for all of my genres of music. This was an accidental pairing. I would have never though of pairing the Hugo 2 with the crack.
Nice! The BHC soars and sounds insane with good dacs, and I can only imagine how amazing that sounds. I have mine paired up with a Schiit Gungnir Multibit, and the sound is transparent, punchy, smooth, and open, and I can listen for hours without fatigue and I never feel like I am missing out on details.
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
I’ve started using my IG to post photos of daily setups and gear... in other words I’m on my way to become a basic biiiiatch
And as every basic biatch would say - gimme a follow
instagram.com/mvvraz
And as every basic biatch would say - gimme a follow
instagram.com/mvvraz
I was going to purchase a gumby or bimby, but now that I have discovered how well my BHC sounds with the Hugo 2, I am going to use it in desktop mode for when I listen at home. Now, I have several use cases for the Hugo 2 when originally I bought it for listening to my IEMs.
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
Rhapsodio Infinity Mk2 should be arriving later today and impressions will be up by tonight!
Wow - is the coil surrounding the treble drivers actually poking out of the shell?
KuroKitsu
Headphoneus Supremus
On living vicariously with iems with Michael this Friday we feature another Rhapsodio flagship.
So tell us how it sounnnnnnnnnds
So tell us how it sounnnnnnnnnds
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