[mashuto]

I agree with a lot of this recent sentiment here. The bonneville is a really good IEM and I think it was probably the best I have heard from them as far as going for a somewhat more balanced type of tuning as opposed to something much more heavily colored. Still a little sad that the fit didnt work out for me. Though its probably for the best as I already had Singularity on order and really only should have gone with one of them.

 

[cats4cans]

Is it just me or are most of the comments about Bonneville and to a lesser extent Cascara? The middle children seem to be forgotten. Should that be taken as a sign? Are they not liked or just being ignored by better performance (at a higher price) or better value?

 

[mashuto]

Is it just me or are most of the comments about Bonneville and to a lesser extent Cascara? The middle children seem to be forgotten. Should that be taken as a sign? Are they not liked or just being ignored by better performance (at a higher price) or better value?

My take is that its likely just more about where peoples interests lie on this forum rather than those necessarily being bad. On head-fi it seems that people usually gravitate towards either the high end regardless of cost or towards the low end where the most value can be had for the least amount of money.

I would also say that in the case of the ponderosa, the similar driver config to the extremely well regarded andromeda, which can still be found for about the same price now as the ponderosa, kind of makes it a hard sell unless it does something extremely unique.

As for the supermoon, I think its just not getting much attention because its not actually a new IEM, they just essentially rebranded it into the chromatic series. Not forgotten, just already had its time and has already been discussed a good bit.

 

[revelo]

Is it just me or are most of the comments about Bonneville and to a lesser extent Cascara? The middle children seem to be forgotten. Should that be taken as a sign? Are they not liked or just being ignored by better performance (at a higher price) or better value?

Supermoon is excellent, but it is essentially unchanged in it's Chromatic Series variant and it's merits have been well discussed already. Ponderosa is essentially an andromeda variant, but nothing super special. The Bonneville and Cascara are more so something new, and are both very good.

 

[Rockwell75]

Is it just me or are most of the comments about Bonneville and to a lesser extent Cascara? The middle children seem to be forgotten. Should that be taken as a sign? Are they not liked or just being ignored by better performance (at a higher price) or better value?

@mashuto and @cats4cans covered it pretty well I think. Speaking for myself I already own a Supermoon so it's release as part of the Chromatic series is kind of a non-event for me, though I'd happily trade my penitentiary grey Supermoon for one in orange. Ponderosa is the least interesting of the 4 for me, partly because I have an intrinsic aversion to BAs but also because all the reports I've read lead me to think that in Ponderosa they went for a more warm/analogue sound like they did with Emerald Sea...which I wasn't particularly fond of. That said I know at least two folks who liked Ponderosa the best out of the 4...but neither of them are very fond of the brand as a rule.

 

[cats4cans]

Thanks for the summation guys. That all makes sense. I toy with the idea of stepping up to the next level, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out. The only IEM I have much experience with is the limited run Onyx (1DD, 1BA). I think if it was better regarded then I wouldn’t have found it available months after the drop. I like it though. I had been considering Holocene before the revamp but it’s hard to interpret reviews without common ground. Sounds like Ponderosa is classic Campfire tuning without being exceptional, but that’s also the limit for what I’d be willing to risk completely blind. It also seems like you lose most of your bass authority with all BA designs. I’ll just have to keep reading and keep lookout for some barely broken in models on the used market.

 

[revelo]

Thanks for the summation guys. That all makes sense. I toy with the idea of stepping up to the next level, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out. The only IEM I have much experience with is the limited run Onyx (1DD, 1BA). I think if it was better regarded then I wouldn’t have found it available months after the drop. I like it though. I had been considering Holocene before the revamp but it’s hard to interpret reviews without common ground. Sounds like Ponderosa is classic Campfire tuning without being exceptional, but that’s also the limit for what I’d be willing to risk completely blind. It also seems like you lose most of your bass authority with all BA designs. I’ll just have to keep reading and keep lookout for some barely broken in models on the used market.

Check out their marketplace site where they have decent deals on B stock and refurbished units especially for older models. Apparently there will be a bunch of stuff added to the site around black friday.

 

[Rockwell75]

I love the popping colors on this set.

 

[korvin12]

I love the popping colors on this set.

I wonder Raphael can do the same job too?

 

[korvin12]

Cascara as great. It's a class leading single DD at its price point. I heard it briefly at CanJam but after a month with Bonneville i wanted more. I must have picked a lame shipping standard as mine is taking forever to arrive.

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought it's a 2DD?

 

[Rockwell75]

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought it's a 2DD?

Nope, single DD.

Also I may as well share this here...cross posted from the Watercooler and RS8 thread.

I've been loving me some RS8/Bonneville today. RS8 has really grown on me after a while. It's not quite as dynamic as LP6 but it's technically excellent and super refined, transparent, clear and above all effortless in its presentation. Instruments and vocals are natural & authoritative with just a touch of added wetness Signature is arguably more balanced overall than LP6, which I found to be tilted ever so slightly upward. Staging is cavernous and deep and outside my head. Sonically it blows my SR35 out of the water, but I would hope so given the trade off in size & portablity. R2R has this thing where the longer you listen the better it sounds and as this afternoon has progressed I've just become more and more intoxicated with the sound of the RS8. I'm a fan.

 

[SpaceInvader77]

Just left the Campfire Audio HQ building where I was able to listen to just about every IEM they have made. (Including a new set they are releasing next week!)

As far as the Chromatic series, I was pleasantly surprised by Cascara and Ponderosa. Cascara had much more detail than I was expecting, however was still very bombastic. Ponderosa takes all qualities of the earlier Andromedas but sounds a little less hollow.

 

[Tristy]

Just left the Campfire Audio HQ building where I was able to listen to just about every IEM they have made. (Including a new set they are releasing next week!)

As far as the Chromatic series, I was pleasantly surprised by Cascara and Ponderosa. Cascara had much more detail than I was expecting, however was still very bombastic. Ponderosa takes all qualities of the earlier Andromedas but sounds a little less hollow.

Ooo inside goss.... What sort of driver arrangement are we looking at with these new IEM's? Fancy dropping some tidbits?

 

[chanflin65]

Yes yes yes si spaceinvader77

 

[SpaceInvader77]

What I gathered, it will be the cheapest in the “Elemental Series” and has a rather flat tuning. Similar to a Solaris shell.

Honestly, it sounded very good, and will do fantastic at its price point for people who do not want a colored IEM.