Campfire Audio Solaris - raising the bar?

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by mscott58, Oct 10, 2018.

  1. captkirk

    captkirk Khan's BFF

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  2. LVF1

    LVF1 New

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    Thanks!
     
  3. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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    Little update. Took Marv's advice and changed up the tips a bit. Am now using Medium Symbio W's (a silicone/foam hybrid) on the Solaris, which is smaller than I normally use. Got a bit more insertion and also was able to correct the issue with the left unit slipping out of my ear occasionally. More comfortable now, and don't notice the size of the Solaris at all. The slightly deeper insertion does seem to be making them a bit more enjoyable, with even more natural bass and still awesome imaging.

    Speaking of bass, was just listening to Beck's "Guess I'm Doing Fine" from Sea Change and the bass line is just so natural and textured, being warm but not bloated - just real and such aural pleasure. I know this is one of Ken's favorite albums, and I can see why. "Already Dead" is also one that must be heard to get the full sense of the 3D-like nature of the Solaris.

    Interesting thing is happening, which is that I find myself turning the volume down on the Solaris as I get used to it. That's only happened to me once before, which is when I got my first pair of CIEMs, the Noble K10s. I take it as a high sign of quality when you get such good sound with lower SPLs.

    Also the burn-in of several days of consistent playing have really helped the DD and the BAs integrate even more. What before sounded like several pieces fitting well together now is just one complete picture, with no seams that I can find.
     
  4. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I often find myself turning down the Andromeda as I listen and I agree it’s a sign of a well designed IEM.
     
  5. BeerNuts

    BeerNuts New

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    Pretty much my exact problem. I don't think I own anything that is gold. Really one of my least favorite colors for sure. But exactly like you said we are buying for sound so ill probably pull the tigger soon anyway.
     
  6. LVF1

    LVF1 New

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    How's the clarity and layering?
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    More layering front to back. Doesn't have the BA articulation of the Andro in the lows, but more physicality. Tradeoffs, but worthy one because physical is like x3 more, but articulation is x2/3.
     
  8. LVF1

    LVF1 New

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    It looks like the Solaris or the 64 Audio N8/A12t will be my next purchase next month. These do have the advantage of being universal in case I wanted to sell it down the road, I'm sure it would be easy and I wouldn't lose too much money.

    I like a slight V shape sig and it sounds like it's kinda close to it. I like bass, but not too much bass that bleeds/blooms/muddies up the sound. I also don't like recessed mids, but not TOO much mids either and just a tad of sparkle for those 80s metal guitar solos. This also sounds like a slightly less warm Trio too. I liked the Trio, but it was slightly too warm for me and this is a lot more affordable too.

    RIP Trio and Fourte and a lot of other overpriced hybrid IEMs. The sony sounds like it might be the closest competitor, but the sony is more expensive and looks much heavier and more uncomfortable and CA customer service is also a big reason to go with the Solaris.
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2018
  9. seamon

    seamon Acquaintance

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    In my opinion, the A12t is a better IEM than tia forte.
    The tia forte had a prototype which was this extremely natural IEM. It was by far the best IEM I had ever heard. It was reaching He-1 level of naturalness. The in production version of tia forte sucks. It has this extremely strange midrange which is unacceptable for a $3600 IEM.

    I was almost about to buy an A12t this month but bought the Solaris instead. Hope I made the right decision.
     
  10. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    The Solaris loaner showed up today. We have a 2.5mm TRRS, 3.5mm TRS, and 4.4mm Pentaconn cable. I'll be comparing this to my favorite IEM that I own, the PP8, over the next week.

    I've only plugged this into the WM1A on the 4.4mm so far, but I find that my normal listening level is lower on the WM1A than the PP8. In high gain, my normal listening volume is about 028/120 on the PP8; it's about 017/120 on the Solaris. The louder end of normal for me will reach 040/120, but I find myself turning it down quickly. This is using the HD Tracks version of Amber Rubarth's 'Letter to My Lonelier Self'.

    I still haven't ready anything in this thread yet, but initial impressions are more positive than the past few CA items I've heard. I thought Ken Ball said he couldn't do better than the new Atlas on tuning, but this seems to hit everything I want so far right out of the box. (READ: not a basshead IEM, which I've come to expect from CA.) This isn't burned in yet, but straight out of the box I can see the potential for this to be one of the best items of the year... We'll see how that holds at the end of next week.

    IMG_6819.JPG
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    BURN IN 72 HOURS. SHIT YOU I NOT. IT GETS BETTER. KEN WAS RIGHT. IT GOOFY MAY SOUND, BUT DOUBT NOT IEM MASTER YODA-KEN. 72 HOURS NOT LONG. LIKE PHONO CARTS. PHONO CARTS NEED SAME BURN IN.

    I haven't updated my impressions since; but others have indicated the same. I will say more sooner or later.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2018
  12. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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    100% agree. The integration of the DD and BA is impressive to start, but after the burn-in it just melds into one cohesive thing. Also play with the tips a bit to see what works best. I've settled on slightly smaller Symbio Ws, to get the best of silicone and foam and took Marv's advice to try slightly deeper insertion. Enjoy!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 2, 2018
  13. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    I'm going to be racking up as many hours on these in the next week as I can. I'll just leave them playing on the Magni 3 at my desk all week while I work and am not listening.

    I've experienced positive results with burn in on other Campfire Audio IEMs, so am giving it the benefit of the doubt on the gaps I see at this point.
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Bass was thick, slow, and didn't want to move upon first use. It loosens up quickly in an hour, but it gets better and better. The BA drivers loosen up and get quite a bit more resolving. I didn't listen much during the burn in process, only at select points to check; I mainly listened to other gear I got in the house. I mean, it's to the point that I might even go back to the foam tips!

    This is why my initial comments were more measured, as @shotgunshane thought I was being polite. I just wasn't totally sure yet. Now I am double sure. BUY THIS NOW x2.
     
  15. seamon

    seamon Acquaintance

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    I always liked Campfire Audio products because of their design and commitment to quality. However, I was never satisfied with any of their IEMs until today.

    The Vega was my very first high end IEM but it had a litany of issues such as bass overpowering mids, some sibilance, poor treble extension etc. I wanted to love that IEM so bad. Next is Andromeda. I actually heard the Andromeda before Vega but Andromeda is not an IEM that grabs your attention like the Vega. It was later I realized Andro was a better IEM than Vega but it had its issues too, too much Treble, no sub-bass rumble and thin mids. I thought Dorado would be perfect. Vega Bass + Andro Treble. Alas it was the opposite, it sucked on both ends and the middle. It was almost pathetic...

    That brings us to now, I was one of the first to order a Solaris and received it within a couple days. Props to CA for excellent service. I was half prepared to be disappointed because of my previous experiences but that did not happen.

    The first thing one notices about the Campfire Audio Solaris is the layering. There's just layers upon layers of well separated sound. The bass is layered. 2 bass notes never overlap, you can distinctly make them out. The bass extension goes almost as low as an Audeze LCD. Moreover, the bass is textures unlike any IEM I have ever heard before. This reaches almost Audeze LCD levels of texture. Bass is tight and mid-bass impact is superb. There's just one small concern, this is tuned to be bass light so bassheads need not apply.

    The midrange is perfect. It is very articulate, has the perfect amount of thickness(neither too thick like the A12 nor too thin like the Andro) and has good body. Female Vocals are hauntingly beautiful. This is one of the few IEMs that does both male and female vocals well and that too without any sibilance.

    The Treble is not as dark as I would like it to be but it's fantastic. It's fast and relatively smooth with great extension. I could have preferred a darker and smoother Treble but most people will like this better.

    Soundstage is pretty darn big especially the vertical stage. It's right up there among the top soundstages. Next is Solaris' 3 biggest strengths - Imaging, Separation and detail retrieval.

    Solaris Imaging is pin precise accurate. You can tell exactly where each sound is coming from. The Solaris makes it so easy.

    Solaris separation is on a different level entirely. On Eric Clapton's Layla, I could distinctly hear the other singer like never before. On other IEMs I always knew there was someone else and on good ones I vaguely drew a point but on the Solaris, the other singer stood distinct from Clapton throughout the song. This was unreal, never had I experienced this level of separation and pin precise imaging.

    Many IEMs rely on brightness to fake transparency. One good example is the U18, half of its resolution is faked. This is not the case here, Solaris relies on true transparency to convey micro-detail. The treble is a touch darker than Andromeda but the level of transparency the Solaris exhibits is unreal. This is easily one of the most detailed IEMs on the market. Maybe only Jomo Flamenco can beat it but this is a close second. No other IEMs can touch the Solaris at micro-detail.

    Campfire Audio Solaris is a different beast. It's not the best IEM for any particular thing. It's an all-rounder. It excels at everything. It has virtually no flaws.

    All TOTL IEMs have 1 very debilitating flaw that ruins the entire presentation:
    Tia Forte - Uneven Mids.
    U18 - Too much Treble.
    Kaiser Encore - Too shrill.
    Zeus - Sibilant + shrill.
    Legend X- Treble extension.

    Campfire Audio Solaris has no flaws. You can't point to anything and say it does this wrong. It may not wow you with any one thing like some IEMs but you soon realize that it has no faults.

    Mine are currently burning in. I think I really like this IEM.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2018
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    You should post your impressions here. Reddit is blocked at my house.

    Ctrl-C
    Ctril-V

    Really, not that hard.

    EDIT: TY!
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2018
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    @seamon: what are you running Solaris out of? What tips? How many hours so far?
     
  18. seamon

    seamon Acquaintance

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    Straight out of my phone (LG V35). I tried these with a CMA600i, performance increases by a lot but too much hiss. I'll try to source a Mojo from a friend.

    I am using Comply Foam with deep insertion by squishing them first. The stock foam were too uncomfortable . I tried the large Final ones but they created this massive seal and were painful to remove lol. I'll try JVC Spiral dots and Symbio this weekend. I had been using a CIEM for so long that my tip game had become weak xD.

    When I wrote the review, I had 15ish hours on them but now I can feel the treble has settled in and become a bit smoother, maybe mental burn in of adjusting to a new signature.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2018
  19. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    G-sh darnit. Just when I had accepted never having to justify spending big money on TOTL IEMs again because they're all flawed anyway, this happens.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2018
  20. seamon

    seamon Acquaintance

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    So after 3 days of burn in, the bass improves by a lot. It feels a lot more tactile now. I think that is the correct word. Overall sound feels a tad more open I think.
     

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