Campfire’s Vega and Dorado

Sound impressions – Vega

Presentation
As with the Dorado and Andromeda, the Vega shares the similar Campfire house sound: a full sound, with a signature that doesn’t skimp on either bass, mids or treble. With Vega, it seems like Campfire went even further in that direction. Vega sounds heavier, there’s more weight to the sound.  Admittedly, it took me a while to get acquainted with Vega. When playing either classical or acoustic easy-listening music, Vega sounds clear and transparent, but its thicker note presentation doesn’t seem to fit as its signature might be considered too colored for a purist.  But switch to rock or say hip-hop, and Vega comes to life. This isn’t a case of a poor little dynamic driver having to compete with multiple BA setups; this is the power of a built-in speaker, coming at you strong.

Vega’s speaker-like presentation results from a signature characterized by strong bass, that gives the presentation both size and power. Especially an enhanced upper bass plays a key role in creating particularly thick notes, and an overall rich sound. While a powerful bass response can drown the rest of the signature, Vega creates a clear and coherent presentation due to the size and transparency of the midrange notes. This can be attributed to a treble bump in the lower treble region that boosts its clarity, while a well extended treble improves its resolution. As such, notes are full-bodied, clearly articulated and well-defined, even in bass-heavy music. Despite its forward bass, the mid-bass doesn’t tighten the stage. As with its Campfire siblings, the Vega fits its notes in a well-proportioned stage. Both Dorado and Andromeda have a rectangular-shaped stage, and rely on their width for separation. Vega in turn sacrifices some of their width for depth, recreating a more natural stage with even proportions in width and depth. The additional depth allows for an advantage in layering, giving instruments an impressive space to breathe. Accordingly, the separation is very good, especially when taking the full-bodied note presentation into account.

Bass
One of Vega’s defining features is undeniably its bass. I can mention its excellent sub-bass extension, but it really comes down to that beautiful texture and natural decay we’ve all grown to love from a good dynamic driver. Vega’s bass sounds like you’d expect a good dynamic bass to sound; that is, if you associate dynamic bass with a good deal of power. For make no mistake, it’s safe to say Vega’s bass has undeniably departed from neutral. Compared to Andromeda, it takes a more prominent role in the presentation. This is a rounded bass, with impressive weight. The grand sub-bass hits sternly dictate the pace; you can picture the pounding of the kick drum urging the rhythm on. Similarly, the mid-bass has more than average quantity, resulting in thicker but well-defined bass-lines.

But it’s the upper bass where Vega departs from its siblings. Due to an enhanced upper bass, notes gain in size, a certain richness that does wonders for male voices and heavy electric guitars. I’m not talking about dreamy high pitched solos or fast metal guitars; I’m talking about old school, big-sounding guitars. Blues rock classics like AC/DC or George Thorogood, that’s where the fun starts. Bands like Chevelle, Greenday, and of course Limp Bizkit’s “Breakstuff” as a fine example – that’s where it continues. Vega’s bass response enables a powerful and dynamic presentation.

Midrange
Vega has a neutral vocal presentation, both in size and tone; though remarkably clear, it isn’t particularly warm or bright. However, as previously mentioned the midrange gains warmth and size from the fuller mid-bass presentation. The combination with a forward and full-sounding instrument presentation creates Vega’s unique signature. The upper midrange is relatively neutral, but highly transparent. This adds a nice bit of clarity to acoustic and string instruments, as well as female vocals; notes resonate with a certain purity, and are clearly articulated. There’s an added thickness to the tone that works very well for instruments that extend to the lower regions, such as cellos. But as mentioned, listening to electric guitars is doing Vega justice. Guitars have excellent bite, and grungy electric guitars are a treat to listen to. For Vega combines this thicker note presentation with good resolution – notes are full-bodied, but also well-defined. Taken together, the combination of transparency, power, and size, results in an energetic and full-bodied midrange.

Treble
Vega has a bump in the lower treble region that boosts its overall clarity, and the articulation of individual notes. As with its siblings, it’s a treble that isn’t shy in the presentation. The treble is slightly brighter than neutral in tone. It gives guitars good bite, as well as boosting vocal clarity. Vega’s treble adds a nice bit of excitement. However, as it is slightly more enhanced than Dorado or Andromeda, I wouldn’t label it as completely smooth, although it generally refrains from sounding harsh. When paired with a brighter player, it can occasionally tend towards sibilance if it’s in the recording. Compared to Dorado, the treble isn’t as thick, but shows a bit more refinement in its definition.

Page 4: Comparisons and concluding thoughts