Introduction to the Campfire Audio Clara Review
Campfire Audio has long been a staple at Ear Fidelity, with the majority of their product lineup—dating back to the Dorado 2020 and Vega 2020—receiving in-depth coverage on our website.
Among their recent releases, few have generated as much anticipation as the new Clara. First unveiled to enthusiastic reception at last year’s CanJam events, the Clara has sparked speculation that Campfire may have introduced its most compelling IEM since the iconic Andromeda.
Actually, Campfire Audio has been on an upward trend lately. Their Moon Rover and Astrolith have both been fantastic offerings, marking a successful and highly optimistic period in the CFA’s history.
The Clara is the result of a collaboration with Alessandro Cortini—renowned musician and member of Nine Inch Nails—who also holds the distinction of being the first Italian artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Technically, the Clara features a hybrid driver configuration: a dual-magnet dynamic driver, a dual-diaphragm balanced armature, and a pair of high-frequency super tweeters utilizing Campfire’s proprietary T.A.E.C. (Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber) technology.
With a premium price tag of $1,999, the Clara enters a highly competitive segment and carries expectations that go well beyond the weight of its celebrity collaboration. Let’s take a closer look at what it brings to the table.
Packaging
The packaging and overall unboxing experience of the reviewed Campfire Audio Clara marks a notable departure from the brand’s recent design language. Unlike the bold, colorful, and often extravagant presentation typical of Campfire Audio products, the Clara opts for a more understated and minimalist aesthetic.
The IEMs arrive in an elegant box with subtle branding. Inside, you’ll find the usual suite of accessories: two fabric pouches, a leather carrying case, and two Time Stream cables—one terminated in 3.5mm and the other in 4.4mm.
A standout feature of the Clara’s packaging is the introduction of a new hard-shell carrying case. While the traditional leather cases included with previous models have been visually appealing, they often lacked robust protection. This newly designed case offers significantly improved durability and security—an excellent and much-needed enhancement.
Another thoughtful addition is the Campfire Audio Pilot, a USB-C dongle DAC that also includes a Lightning adapter. While technically considered a bonus accessory, it is far more than a mere afterthought.
I first encountered the Pilot in 2021 during my review of the Solaris Limited Edition and was genuinely impressed by its performance. It significantly outperformed the standard Apple dongle, delivering a remarkably refined listening experience.
Overall, the unboxing experience of the Clara is nothing short of excellent, with a beautiful balance between design and functionality. And the new case is absolutely phenomenal!
Design, Build Quality and Comfort of Campfire Audio Clara
Just as the unboxing experience signals a shift from Campfire Audio’s traditional approach, the design of the Clara continues this departure.
Where many of Campfire’s past IEMs have prominently featured robust metal housings, the Clara opts for 3D-printed acrylic shells that closely resemble custom in-ear monitors. While acrylic may lack the immediate tactile luxury and perceived durability of metal, it brings a significant advantage in terms of ergonomics. The Clara is exceptionally comfortable, with a contoured shape that sits naturally in the ear, making it ideal for long listening sessions without fatigue.
Visually, the Clara is refined and tasteful. The deep navy color of the shells is complemented by subtle metal accents on the faceplates and nozzles, striking a balance between minimalism and sophistication. While I personally still lean toward the satisfying heft and durability of full-metal IEMs, there’s no denying that the Clara delivers an elegant aesthetic and a comfort level that’s arguably superior.
Importantly, Campfire Audio has retained its signature high-quality MMCX connectors. These remain some of the best in the industry—solid, secure, and reliable, with a reassuring click that inspires confidence. It’s a thoughtful choice that ensures compatibility and longevity without compromising the user experience.
Since I already mentioned comfort – the Clara is an easy all-day listen for me. The shells that are inspired by custom IEMs are very comfortable and create no hotspots.
Tech
The Clara uses some interesting technologies to ensure the highest possible quality of its sound.
At its foundation is a Dual Magnet dynamic driver equipped with a bio-cellulose diaphragm, responsible for producing rich and impactful bass. For midrange reproduction, Clara employs a Knowles dual-diaphragm balanced armature driver. This driver is paired with Campfire Audio’s proprietary Clear Wave tuning chamber, a specially engineered acoustic enclosure designed to optimize phase coherence and frequency balance in the mids. The result is a full, natural vocal presentation and a midrange that feels both spacious and intimately detailed.
High frequencies are handled by two dedicated super tweeters, each integrated with Campfire’s Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber (T.A.E.C.) technology. This design choice contributes to the Clara’s extended yet non-fatiguing treble, offering excellent resolution and airiness in the upper registers.
The Clara also maintains Campfire’s tradition of passive crossover design, ensuring a natural transition between frequency ranges without electronic coloration.
We are still yet to see newer technologies like the Bone Conduction to be used by Campfire Audio. However, this company usually takes some time to implement new drivers into their IEMs, as they want to make sure they can do it right.
The Clara is yet another DD + BA combination from the Americans, but since they pretty much mastered that craft, I don’t see any problem with that. Less is more, and this sentence makes a lot of sense when speaking about Campfire Audio.
Sound of the reviewed Campfire Audio Clara
Campfire Audio is one of those companies that don’t really have a house sound nowadays. From v-shaped Andromeda and Trifecta to midrange champions like the Solaris 2020 and flat-tuned models like the Moon Rover and the Solaris Stellar Horizon, they’ve been on a journey offering many different options for different listeners.
Because of that, it’s always hard to expect what their new model will sound like. Is it going to be a spiritual successor to the legend itself, the Andromeda, or is it going to be a more reference-tuned IEM? It’s always a guess and an interesting thing for audiophiles.
Enter the Clara. Given that it’s a collaboration with a renowned musician and audiophile, one might expect a neutral, studio-reference tuning. While that’s partially accurate, Clara introduces its own twist to the formula by adding a tasteful richness and warmth, creating a presentation that’s both musically engaging and technically accomplished.
The bass is a strong opening here for the Clara. It’s even so slightly boosted, but tastefully. It’s not bloated by any means, offering a beautiful tonal balance and an exceptional texture. Low frequencies are fast, tactile, and well-controlled, never sounding out of place.
It won’t satisfy bass-heads in my opinion, but it’s really far from being bass-light at the same time. For me, it gives you the perfect balance of power and refinement. The mid-bass is the most boosted here, giving you a sensation of full-bodied, strong, and dynamic presentation.
What’s especially impressive is the ability to form shapes in low frequencies. If a certain bass line is supposed to have a specific shape, the Clara delivers it in a highly natural, spectacular way. Because of that aspect, bass frequencies get a whole new meaning.
It also has an ability to sound loose if it’s supposed to sound like that. It doesn’t force too much control of the sound, which is neccessary with a lot of albums. Some bass lines are supposed to sound a bit loose and flowing, and the Clara delivers.
The midrange is by far the best frequency of the Clara in my book. It’s rich, warm, and incredibly detailed at the same time. This is the type of midrange you’ll usually find in TOTL offerings costing way more than Clara does.
Vocals are presented with a beautiful richness and analog vibe that’s just impossible not to fall in love with. Every single instrument and vocalist sounds just as they should – natural. I’ve always been a fan of this type of presentation when it comes to midrange – I’m a huge enthusiast when it comes to male vocals, and this type of sound simply works wonders with those.
It does a fantastic job when it comes to the distance of the midrange from the listener. Vocals come forward with ease, but they also can sound distant, depending on the mix. This is hugely important if you really want to dig into the recording and see what’s up.
The treble is delicate, smooth, and exceptionally coherent. There’s no harshness whatsoever, but the detail is there. And by detail, I mean lots of it.
This is a very hard task to actually combine such smoothness and delicacy with a top-tier level of resolution. This grade of technicality is often combined with a rather harsh and forward-sounding treble that might be problematic for many users, myself included. I’m quite sensitive to treble, hence my all-time favorites are usually IEMs/Headphones that are able to combine a fantastic level of detail with a smooth, relaxed presentation.
What does it all mean? You’ll never feel like the treble is peaky or too forward sounding, but the detail is just there…lots of it actually. Another thing worth mentioning is that the shine and a natural metallic timbre are there as well. Drum cymbals have that weight and thickness to them, and the Clara shows it perfectly with no hesitation.
High frequencies are also well-separated and spacious. Every little high note that is supposed to float in the air and go from left to right sounds convincing and very precise.
The soundstage is what you could have expected from the IEM at this level. Its width and depth are both great, but not the best in the world by any means. The Clara simply sounds natural, not enlarging the soundstage size.
The whole focus went into separation and imaging here, which are both exceptional. Every sound source has its place and is separated from the rest of the mix – if needed obviously. Considering the whole tuning of this IEM, this kind of soundstage that is focused on a natural size and being precise at all times just suits it perfectly.
Because the bass is able to show contour and shape so well, the soundstage gains that hyper-realistic feeling about it. You simply feel submerged in the mix. This works wonders with electronic music and synthwave, which are usually all about the “you’re in there” feeling.
Comparisons
While we could describe the Astrolith as bold, big, and spectacular, the Clara takes a completely different approach here.
The Clara is all about that neutral yet superbly natural tuning and being refined at all times.
While both offer exceptional level of technical abilities, they just present them in a vastly different way.
The Astrolith has been named our “Best IEM of 2024” for a good reason. It combines that highly energetic, dynamic, punchy, and vivid signature with loads of details and superb resolution.
On the other hand, the Clara is more refined and audiophile-oriented. It’s richer, more neutral, and transparent sounding, which might be a more suitable choice for many.
This comparison is much closer than the previous one. The Moon Rover is a highly neutral, reference-sounding IEM that offers a lot of technicalities.
However, while the Clara has that warmth and smoothness to it, the Moon Rover takes no prisoners and is more refined and beautifully tuned.
It is, once again, a matter of preferences in a way. If you like your IEMs to be just neutral, with no add-ons at all, the Moon Rover is the IEM to get from Campfire Audio.
However, I really appreciate when audio manufacturers offer something unique, more refined, and entertaining. The Clara takes the neutral and technical approach and adds richness and analog character to it, which just works wonders in my book.
If you want me to be completely honest – the Clara is just a more interesting product than the Moon Rover. The latter is obviously an exceptional choice for a specific crowd, but the Clara takes the cake when it comes to pure joy when listening to your favorite music.
These two IEMs seem to aim for a fairly similar approach to the sound reproduction. Both are fairly relaxed sounding in the midrange and just beautifully natural.
However, the Clara has a technical edge over the Perpetua. While the latter is like a jar of honey, the Clara gives you more detail and insight into the mix.
Also, the bass of the Perpetua is just more realistic and convincing, as well as more energetic. While the Perpetua might sound too relaxed in many music genres, the Clara is a Jack of All Trades when it comes to music.
Also, if you’re working with music professionally, the Clara is an easy choice here. The Perpetua might suit you more if you’re really all about that relaxed, effortless, and easy-to-listen-to-sounding signature. I’d personally pick the Clara with no hesitation.
These two IEMs are similar in many ways. Both offer sophisticated, reference tuning with superb technical capabilities.
However, where these two differ is the timbre, especially in the midrange. While the Svanar is all about that incredibly airy, but very technical tone, the Clara is much smoother and richer sounding.
On the other hand, the Svanar offers a soundstage that is really hard to beat when it comes to IEMs, still being one of the best in the market.
To be completely honest, the Clara is more enjoyable to listen to. Its beautiful tonality and smoothness to the midrange bring vocals to life, offering a level of engagement that surpasses the Svanar.
When it comes to detail retrieval and overall resolution though, I’d call it a tie here. Both are insanely good in those regards and picking one over the other would come down to your personal preference. No bad choices here, definitely.
Pairings
Cayin N6iii
The new, yet to be reviewed (I’m working on it!) Cayin N6iii is a true powerhouse when it comes to mid-high range DAPs.
While I won’t go into the details about the DAP itself here, I can definitely share my thoughts about how it pairs with the Clara. After all, I’m listening to this combo right now, writing this review.
What can I say here…this setup is absolutely phenomenal. It sounds crisp, super fast, and technical, but it also has that natural richness and smoothness to it.
Every single song I’ve tried here sounds mesmerizing. The level of detail and resolution, while not being picky or too extreme is just mind-boggling.
If you have the N6iii, the Clara is a MUST LISTEN for you. Trust me on this one.
What if you don’t have the DAP of the level of the previously mentioned N6iii? Worry not, you can still get an incredible company for the Clara…but cheaper.
The FiiO M23 + Campfire Audio Clara combo sounds very mature and very universal. Natural tonality, fantastic speed, and the sense of “you’re there”, it’s all present in this setup.
I don’t get a feeling that the M23 limits the Clara in any way. Sure, it sounds even better with the N6iii, but that DAP is just absolutely bonkers.
Having that in mind, you don’t need high-end equipment to pair with the Clara. However, do keep in mind that these IEMs will scale infinitely with better gear. They’re just that revealing, and simply that good.
Campfire Audio Clara Review – Summary
The Campfire Audio Clara proves that not all audio brand-artist collaborations are built the same.
Rather than living on the artist’s name, the Clara makes a name for itself by simply being a fantastic product.
The best accessories included in the box in the history of Campfire Audio, a striking design, great build quality, and a sound that is just an ode to classic high-end audio. Technical yet musical.
This is THE Campfire Audio IEM to get in 2025, no questions asked if you’re looking for a refined, neutral, and smooth sound.
I know I’m repeating myself here, but Campfire Audio has been really on a high horse lately and they seem to release a banger after banger.
Highly Recommended!
Big thanks to Campfire Audio for providing us with the Clara for this review. I wasn’t paid or asked to say anything good or bad about this product, all of the above is just my personal, unbiased opinion.
Founder of Ear Fidelity. I’ve been into audio for many years, working in production, distribution, retail, and marketing throughout my career. Now trying to revolutionize the art of reviewing audio gear, but one thing will never change: Music is the most important.
