šŸ”· Campfire Audio Cascade

Pretty comfy for me as well, but if you are susceptible to hotspots on your head, that might become an issue

Hopefully wont be an issue, never experienced any hotspots with anything i used so far.

@M0N :raising_hand_man:t2:

What would be an open back version of this signature (with similar or better technicalities than 1990 ofc)? Was about to press order but held back because of the small earcup and being closed back. 1990 earcups spoiled me as my whole ear are in the pads, canā€™t put anything smaller on now.

If there is nothing comparable I might just find an xl pads for the cascades but I would prefer an open back first.

Hmmm thatā€™s honestly a hard one, because the signature on these is pretty strongly tuned with a unique sound, hard to really say. I know closed wise they kinda had some similarities of like a mdr z1r potentially, and if you donā€™t mind going for something more neutral but still slightly warmer tuned the zmf eikon might be a good alternative, but I canā€™t really think of things that are too similar to it

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How can this thread only have 24 posts?

I love my Cascades. The bass was overpowering at first, but my brain has adjusted nicely. I find little to no bleed into the mids. These also sound much open than my other closed backs.

On the downside, the headband is horrible and has a hot spot that will actually cause physical pain. If ordering these, try to add some Dekoni Nuggets. :grin:
I wish the cups had more clamp and I am working on that.

You donā€™t have to be a basshead to enjoy these, but it would help if you had some variety in your collection. I think these balance off my Gradoā€™s nicely.

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I had these briefly and found them to be unbelievably sloppy for the price point and the bass was completely overwhelming on every track I tried, and I actually bought them with the intention of getting a basshead set. But I wanted clean and fast bass and these delivered neither. The way I see people talk about them makes me think I may have had a wonky set because I wouldnā€™t have paid 100$ for what I heard, let alone the actual price tag.

Well it took me a while to really enjoy them. The first few weeks just made me giggle. Then I adjusted to the sound and now I just love it. I enjoy their bass like I enjoy my Gradoā€™s mids. I donā€™t find bleed or slop, but maybe I am just not that fussy.

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Iā€™d say the cascades donā€™t provide clean fast bass like a planar can. I wouldnā€™t say they sound sloppy though. I can hear how the bass can creep into the mids and produce a thick dominating low end effect with a thick mid bass impact but thereā€™s still good separation and detail.

If I was looking for fast clean bass, these wouldnā€™t be it.

If the bass is too thick, cloth pads dial them back and present cleaner/leaner sounding mids? They sound less thick but still provide the thump. I enjoy both pads but Iā€™ve been loving the cloth pads for longer listening sessions.

Wow, this thread has really gone cold. I still love my Cascades, maybe even more so with new pads. I ordered the cloth and the XL leathers. I only use them now with the XL leathers.

I couldnā€™t wear these for a week straight like my favourites, but I can wear them for several days and enjoy them immensely.
The Nuggets make them very comfortable, but I wish they had a tighter grip on my head. If I bent over to tie my sneakers, they would fall off.

If you are a variety junkie like me, these are a must for the collection! :grin:

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It has been a year since I posted about my Cascades on this forum. That surprises me, but I guess it shouldnā€™t as my SR2ā€™s are just about in the same situation. :grin:

Anyway, I pulled my Cascades out today to try and get them more playing time. With the XL pads I enjoy the Boom, but tire of it within a few days. So for the rest of the week I will be going through my three sets of pads and two sets of filters. My goal is to make me want to listen to them for a week straight, like my favourites.

Bounced around today and landed on a combo that I Really like: cloth pads with the # 1 filter, which is supposed to raise the bass and mids. The bass is still quite present, but not overwhelming. Enjoyed it with test list and now moving on to the regular line-up. The Paris album from Supertramp sounds fantastic! I will bounce around some more and then move on to some jazz.

Pretty clean sound with very good bass and mids. :+1:t3:

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More playing with the Cascades today. For the better part of the last year, I have been using the XL pads. I enjoyed them but after a few days, I would have to change headphones. So I guess I wasnā€™t enoying them a ton.
I remember being unimpressed with the cloth pads when I first got them. Too mushy. Yesterday I pulled out my two sets of filters and chose the # 1ā€™s, which highten bass and mids. And I was enjoying the cloth pads a lot more.

Today I started rolling pads and filters. The cloth pads need filters, for me. I put the stock pads back on and I was super impressed in two ways. They were super bassy, but much cleaner than the XL pads. Going from an on-ear to an over-ear had diluted the sound. On my rock songs the drums were Outstanding. A nice, sharp crack.
Too much bass for some of the music though and way too much for a lot of my jazz. I think that, going forward, I will be using these more than in the past. But these are the only headphones where I will be changing the pads depending on use and mood. The cloth pads and filters will be for jazz, softer rock and some pop. The stock leather pads will definitely be for most of the new and classic rock.
Or more likely, when I get bored with one sound, I will just change pads. :laughing:

Still more days ahead with these and something might change, but I think I will hanging on to these for several more years.

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Thank you for posting your insights here. I have enjoyed reading them. I am thinking about picking up a set at the start of July, moatly for portable/commute usage on the bus. I think I will mostly be running the stock Leather pads, and I will see about tuning the sound with the filters a bit. I mostly listen to rock and soundtracks which typically dont have too much low end, but I think these will add some nice punch where it counts.

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I really do like the Cascades. As far as mobility goes, due to their folding feature, they do not have strong clamp. Just food for thought. I do find the cloth pads have too soft a sound the XLā€™s get a bit sloppy. To me the stock pads are perfect.

But they are Very bassy and you may tire of them on a daily basis. I pull them out every 4 to 6 weeks and Love them, but I have a large collection and rotate weekly.

Good luck!

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Thank you for the insight. Iā€™ll try to pair it with a source that tames the low end a bit.

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Where can they even be bought? I havenā€™t seen them available whenever Iā€™ve bothered to check. Are they still being produced?

They sell a-stock, b-stock and used at Cascade Archives - Campfire Audio Market

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