Campfire Audio Vega 2020 Review – When Rebels Grow Up

The old Vega vs the new Vega. Read on to find out more.

The Emperor and The Blade (Part 2): Noble Katana – The Mellifluous Blade

Shortly after my acquisition of the Noble Kaiser 10 (K10), the California-based marque announced the Katana, a new design featuring 9 custom drivers per side and promises a different tuning signature. In this review, I hope to depict Katana in its own light, and not so much compare it too heavily to its royal sibling, which now sits alongside it as co-flagships of the house of Noble.

Campfire Audio Andromeda Revisited – Impeccably Done

Ever since I got the Campfire Audio (CA) Vega in late 2016, I really didn’t use anything else. It ticked so many of my boxes, that I was reluctant to return to other earphones. That was until the acquisition of the exciting new Cerakote (CK) Pacific Blue edition of the renowned CA 5BA flagship – the Andromeda. We have reviewed the regular Andromeda previously, so this time around we will change things up and talk about this special iteration with new setups, pairings, and against the context of the current market dynamics.

The Emperor and the Blade Part 1: Noble K10 – Famous Last Words

Noble Audio’s K10 is the IEM to get. A legendary classic in audiophile circles, this 10-driver IEM has a musical sound that works for all genres and if you want, can be made to custom fit your ears with your own choice of colours and materials.

Campfire Audio Vega – Mega

A review of Campfire Audio’s single dynamic driver flagship – the Vega. With an extremely refined and hard hitting bass coupled with a top level resolution in all other frequencies, it’s no wonder that the Vega has been getting rave reviews.

qdc 3SH – From All My Heart

We review the qdc 3SH – a triple driver IEM that performs with exceptional sweetness and grace in the midrange frequencies.

Jerry Harvey Audio Layla – Larger Than Life

In 2013 JH Audio announced the Siren Series of in-ear monitors, with each piece named after a famous rock song about women. Roxanne was the first, with sisters Layla and Angie joining thereafter, and Rosie being the latest addition to the growing lineup. Priced at a prohibitive $2499 USD, Layla is the most expensive of the bunch, and also the most pricey universal iem in the world at the time of its release – until the even more expensive Layla 2 donned in an all titanium housing succeeded it that is. Welcome to insanity.

Shure SE846 – The Sound and the Fury

Back when I was still in high school I blindly bought a pair of Shure earphones without knowing anything about audio. At that point in time I hailed from an illustrious personal audio track record, such as having upgraded from the basic Apple ibuds to the Apple ‘in-ear EarPods’. The source was a sky blue Sony MD player, and listening to soapy break-up ballads from NSYNC, A1 and Westlife without ever having experienced any break-ups while cruising in a Chinese taxi in the Nanjing rain at a crawling speed was as good as I thought things could get. I remember feeling nothing after getting the Shure, I got it partly because of the brand name, and partly because I simply wanted to spend. Music listening soon became an indispensable part of my life, and somehow I splurged on the then Shure flagship E500PTH (push-to-hear).