Campfire Audio Atlas; the hills are alive with the sound of BASS

Pros: glorious subwoofer bass, detailed mids, balanced treble, precise stage, bass is powerful with rest of the signature balanced Cons: heavy housing can make fit difficult Price: $1299 Website: Campfire Audio Introduction and acknowledgement For most audiophiles following the current in-ear monitor scene, the brand Campfire Audio should require no introduction. The Portland outfit sprang... Continue Reading →

August 9, 2018 4

Campfire Audio Cascade – substance with style

Pros: Solid metal construction, stellar bass, outstanding physical texture to the sound, big sound, musical but balanced tuning, emotive midrange, crisp treble Cons: Bass will be too much for some, have to detach cables to fold and stow in carry case, pretty much nothing else Price: $799 Product site: https://campfireaudio.com/shop/cascade/ Acknowledgement These headphones have been provided... Continue Reading →

April 20, 2018 6

64 Audio U8 – bass over APEX

Introduction I have always been fascinated by bass in music. That’s probably why I always feel a little bit of a fraud when someone calls me an “audiophile”, as my tastes quite often encompass a little more lower end substance than the current fashion for a more lean and mean sound. I can appreciate detail... Continue Reading →

November 14, 2017 0

64 Audio U8 – unboxing and initial impressions

October 6, 2017 1

Empire Ears Zeus-XR – the pinnacle of the pantheon

Pros: Sublime detail retrieval, very coherent tuning, switchable crossover modes, mid range clarity and expression, non fatiguing but truly transparent sound, superb build quality Cons: A little on the expensive side, prone to hiss with most sources, not a drastic difference between the two modes on some DAPs, not much else List Price: $2399 (empireears.com) Acknowledgment... Continue Reading →

August 30, 2017 4

Focal Elear – unboxing and initial impressions

Introduction The Focal Elear is a headphone that should need no introduction to anyone with anything more than a passing interest in over-ear headphones in the current market, making up one half of the French manufacturer's recent assault on the high-end headphone market with its big brother the Utopia. It is a headphone I have... Continue Reading →

August 4, 2017 2

Questyle QP2R – initial impressions (part 2 of 2)

Introduction This set of impressions follows on from my previous blog post about the QP2R (which you can find here), and concentrates mainly on the sonics and some comparisons with other gear. If you want to get the full picture, feel free to go back and read the first chapter - if you are the sort... Continue Reading →

July 19, 2017 2

Campfire Audio Lyra II – the comeback constellation: a smooth and soulful sequel to the original Campfire Audio single dynamic driver

Pros - Warm and engaging sound, powerful but not overdone bass, great build and ergonomics, beautiful midrange, smooth and clear treble Cons - Treble may be too laid back for some, not for fans of lean "audiophile" style bass List Price - $699 (Campfire Audio) Acknowledgement The Lyra II were provided to me free of... Continue Reading →

July 10, 2017 5

Audio Primacy – Quarter Final 2: Campfire Audio Vega vs Cardas EM5813

Introduction For those of you who haven't read the first article in this series, welcome to my informal "deathmatch" between various IEMs currently in my possession. As outlined in the original post (link here), I have come to a stage of my audio journey where I just don't have enough ears for all my gear.... Continue Reading →