[DanielListening]

I always told myself I either need to be in the centre of a city or in the middle of nowhere.

I am currently in the centre of the city.

 

[tgx78]

I don't stop and express gratitude enough for how fortunate I am to live here. It's a small community and I'm cut off from the bustle of a larger centre. But the natural beauty and splendour I get to experience on a daily basis is, to use an audio term, summit fi.

Spoiler: Some BC Beauty

I raided my IG account for some highlights of the past year.

I woke up this morning and rode my bike a few minutes down the road to watch the sunrise by the river


A few minutes in a different direction is a nature walk through an old growth forest


A few minutes up the road and there's a world class hike through one of our provincial parks:


This was taken out of my bedroom window a couple weeks ago:



A random shot along that 100KM highway I referred to previously.


All in all I'm very grateful for my surroundings, something I don't express enough.

OMG SOo beautiful!

 

[Rockwell75]

Perhaps. Though I would find it hard to imagine that campfire is specifically any smaller than most other IEM companies other than those that cater more to professional artists. I find it hard to imagine they couldn't just order more parts as the need to rebuild inventory arose.

Most other companies don't use exotic materials for their shells like CFA does. Ken was talking about this a bit in that Darko podcast interview, how ordering specialized shell casings is difficult as many of their suppliers are't used to dealing in their comparatively low volumes that they require. Mind I'm talking specifically about the shells here, not the drivers.

So changing models frequently definitely seems like more of a way to drum up interest in new products.

Yeah and in a certain light it makes sense especially in a hobby like this where people are always seeking that next new shiny thing. I suppose for me as long as I keep enjoying their IEMs, the new tech they're putting out, and their overall design and aesthetic, I'll keep supporting them.

I think the dorado and vega are still relatively new enough that they will stick around a while longer. But it wouldnt surprise me if by next summer they were either completely phased out or replaced with others IEMs using the ceramic shells.

It wouldn't surprise me either but if it does go I hope it's only to make way for something similar & better.

There is also a couple early impressions from someone who apparently heard them a couple weeks ago on reddit that describes it essentially as a polaris v3, though not in a particularly glowing light. https://www.reddit.com/r/inearfidel...s?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 Then again, this is from crins subreddit, so take that as you will, though that same user does seem more interested in the holocene.

LMAO that's Scrub. I'll wait for some reliable impressions before forming an opinion.

 

[Rockwell75]

Will be mailing her away tomorrow. I was able to keep everything sufficiently tip top so that, apart from cutting the main seal, the new owner will experience the complete unparalleled unboxing experience.

 

[endless402]

Nooo I waited too long lol

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Dude.. I was just there this evening with few friends then went to a Pho place nearby.

We need more of these on this side of the border!

 

[Rockwell75]

Nooo I waited too long lol

I assumed you were no longer interested lol sorry.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Well you have to remember, these copper-silver, copper-gold, silver-copper, etc. alloys are actually far less conductive than plain copper, silver, gold, brass, etc. By mixing the two metals, the resulting alloy is less conductive than either would be on its own. So, a lot of times if they’re hearing anything it’s the objective degradation of signal quality

What some might think of as “degrading” is actually where the alchemy is with many of the best new cables. I'm listening to an example at the moment, it's a “Gold Plated Silver | Palladium Plated Silver | Silver-Gold Alloy, ” cable, which if conduction was the final word, would be grossly inferior to my all silver Thor/Leo, or big copper PW No. 5, but it's not, not even close. The Zeus has vastly superior dynamics, adds “flesh” to the Thummim’s midrange (it's the only weak point), and has an extended, but realistically smooth treble via the multiple States!

 

[Wildcatsare1]

I'm pretty old school in that I don't (and have no plans to) stream, I've got no real interest in TWS at this point and I love chasing after the best masters of my favorite albums. Here is a great list that contains many greats, oddities and rareities.

https://www.whathifi.com/us/features/50-albums-audiophiles

Why not do both? There’s a whole world filled with music out there for each of us to experience. Yes, we each have our “warhorses, ” but the beauty of streaming is discovering new artists, genres, or composers. Streaming gives us (for the few who are interested) to listen the hundreds of variations of, “Monk’s Dream, ” or the top ten recordings of Mahler’s 5th, providing an opportunity to decide which one is my preferred recording.

 

[Rockwell75]

Posted some impressions of the Bravado MKII's over in the EE thread. I like em' for my personal preferences.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/emp...ssions-formerly-earwerkz.786335/post-16440604

Cheers man the Bravado MKii was a big hit in my book.

It sure looks a lot like the Polaris. I wonder if Mammoth could live up to its name I'd definitely be getting the Holocene, since the C/2019 is my favourite in the Campfire lineup. And they share similar 2 BAs for mid/low + 1 BA for high + TAEC housing. Based from its description, it also matches the sound of C/2019. I also like the umber brown shell Despite its seemingly flat neutral tuning, the C/2019 does have a good warmth in the lower-mids, and quite a natural timbre

I'm really curious if the Holocene lives up to that distinction. If it gets the @ranfan seal of approval I may take the plunge on one.

Unfortunately (for me) this seems to be the definition when anything is described as "fun" now. Just means someone took the bass knob and cranked it with little regard to the whole picture. What is this, the 5th "fun" over-bassed monitor? They must sell well, but at the same time, they keep trying to fill this bass head category with new and slightly different, but really the same, stuff. And if they were successful models, wouldn't we have a stable release of some kind that hangs around longer than a season? Why constantly put out half-assed IEM's? It's starting to stink up the brand.

I would also disagree that they're "half assed". Honeydew is not perfect but it's great at what it does and an easy rec at its price for someone after a fun bassy IEM. Regarding the constant refreshing..I've been thinking about this a bit today. I actually don't mind their refreshing their mid-tier lineup every couple years. It gives one something to look forward to and as long as they're steadily improving...who cares? Plus at that price it's easy to justify a purchase or two every couple years...especially if each of them embody a new, distinct and beautiful aesthetic. This model gives them space to constantly try new and cool designs and approaches. CFA has a definite bassy house sound when it comes to dynamics and quite frankly i really works for me. I know it won't work for everyone but fortunately there's enough great stuff out there that we can all find ultimate audio fulfillment at whatever tier we're operating on.

Lol, yeah, it is.
For a newer model just dial up the bass +1 and add some estats, use ceramic chambers again. Sit back and collect accolades.

I would DEFINITELY sign up for that. I'd also to see essentially a Vega 2020 but tuned like Andromeda.

I don't know if this has been discussed before, but it occurred to me recently that the "new toy syndrome" and "flavor of the month" phenomena in audio might in fact be the flip side of brain burn-in: the sound signature is "different" in an interesting way to what our brains have previously encountered, but as we adapt to the new signature it becomes perceived as more "normal" and thus as less interesting and exciting.

Any thoughts? I could well be either dead wrong or stating something stupidly obvious.

I think it's more the dopamine rush that attends "new toy syndrome".

 

[Rockwell75]

Why not do both? There’s a whole world filled with music out there for each of us to experience. Yes, we each have our “warhorses, ” but the beauty of streaming is discovering new artists, genres, or composers. Streaming gives us (for the few who are interested) to listen the hundreds of variations of, “Monk’s Dream, ” or the top ten recordings of Mahler’s 5th, providing an opportunity to decide which one is my preferred recording.

I have a few really good ways to find new music...but this is a valid point.

 

[Rockwell75]

Why not do both? There’s a whole world filled with music out there for each of us to experience. Yes, we each have our “warhorses, ” but the beauty of streaming is discovering new artists, genres, or composers. Streaming gives us (for the few who are interested) to listen the hundreds of variations of, “Monk’s Dream, ” or the top ten recordings of Mahler’s 5th, providing an opportunity to decide which one is my preferred recording.

Speaking of randomly finding music here's some cool MIddle Eastern Hip Hop:

 

[tgx78]

modded my KBEAR Believe to match Isabellae’s tonality.. Believe has a 9mm pure beryllium foil diaphragm so I couldn’t get the treble extension of the Isabellae’s lighter diaphragm, but I feel overall technicalities are definitely better with much higher diaphragm rigidity.
It has a faster transient, better layering, sharper imaging, more tactile note weights, etc. Isabellae’s timbre is more organic and dare I say even romantic, but Believe is surprisingly not far off (just a shade cooler). I used to rate the Believe around 7/10 as it was insanely hard to drive, but now with the M8’s turbo gain, it totally soares above anything else I have in terms of single DD IEM. If I remember correctly, KBEAR couldn’t source this driver any longer from a Japanese manufacturer so they discontinued it… shame really

 

[ZachPtheDude]

What some might think of as “degrading” is actually where the alchemy is with many of the best new cables. I'm listening to an example at the moment, it's a “Gold Plated Silver | Palladium Plated Silver | Silver-Gold Alloy, ” cable, which if conduction was the final word, would be grossly inferior to my all silver Thor/Leo, or big copper PW No. 5, but it's not, not even close. The Zeus has vastly superior dynamics, adds “flesh” to the Thummim’s midrange (it's the only weak point), and has an extended, but realistically smooth treble via the multiple States!

I’m glad that’s what you’re experiencing, it doesn’t change the fact that the resulting alloy is an *objectively* worse conductor of electricity. It’s basic metallurgy. Whether that sounds “better” or not I’m not trying to dispute, I just think potential buyers should know that alloys don’t conduct electricity better. Same way they should know that unless PVC dialectric is carefully chosen for its anti-UV properties, well, it’s going to age and degrade much faster after UV exposure than other dielectric would. Again, can easily be prevented, but customers need to know ahead of time whether the PVC has anti-UV qualifies ahead of time for portable gear (why I like Han Sound). If these detriments are somehow beneficial for Hifi would be a different discussion.

 

[Rockwell75]

Some great Isabella impressions by @ian91...hopefully the first of many, by many