Campfire Audio Andromeda Review: Holy Cow, This is a Dream, Awesomesauce!

Andromeda in the house. My order was placed June 10th and it arrived today.

Let's cut right to the sound quality. I'm at a coffee shop so my source is my phone: FLAC files on my Samsung Galaxy S4/SCH-i545 (OI is ~4 ohms, I think). Using the stock silicone tips (medium). I've had the Andromeda in my ears for about 30 minutes, so consider these as really early, "off the cuff" impressions. Though both these have been jettisoned recently, my reference IEMs are the (custom) UERM & (custom) Empire Ears Apollo-X. The Apollo-X's tuning (falling on the slightly warmer side of neutral) is closer to that of the UERR, so it made for a nice complement to the UERM.

First thing I noticed is how smooth, in both tuning and texture, the Andromeda's sound is. Next, was how cohesive it sounded. Easily among the most impressive IEMs I've heard when in regards to those qualities (I've owned my fair share of of well-regarded, upper tier custom IEMs). I sensed very little, if any grain and there's a real absence of any glaring peaks or dips in the tuning. Probably due to the high-ish OI of the S4, I do sense a slightly enhanced center/upper treble.. but nothing close to what I'd consider fatiguing or offensive.

The soundstage is very wide.. quite good (but not quite great) depth.. excellent height. The width is just incredible.. panoramic in every way.. but the width feels slightly exaggerated. Along with an ever-so-gently laid back midrange, the imaging (while incredibly good) isn't quite as pinpoint as the UERM, from what I remember. What I loved about the UERM was it's gorgeous midrange and reference grade staging and imaging. Few, if any, IEMs I've owned have the ability to place the stage on flat, cohesive plane out in front of your eyes (and present soundstage and imaging like you're sitting in front of a pair of great speakers in a studio) like the UERM. Timbre? I don't sense anything off here. It's definitely a BA-based phone.. but, again, some of the most accurate timbre from a BA-based IEM that I've heard. Speed is excellent.. great balance between note weight, decay, and speed/clarity.. better than the UERM.

More later.. gotta run..

I'm excited to revisit all these observations when I get home and slap the Andro on my portable rig (see sig below).

 

Awesome. Speed, cohesion and accurate timbre make me happy. Waiting since May, but it sounds like it's going to be worth it...

 

damnit marv

well i ordered these fookers, to compare with my uerr

better be good!

 

My Andromeda showed up today. I'm upgrading from the SE535se. Initial impression, out of my iPhone 6, was HOLY HELL WOW. I didn't even need to go back and compare to understand the difference from the SE535se — the Andromeda is tremendously better at just about everything. What I need to go compare against is my HD600!

 

Hear hear! We'll all go in on a bouquet of left nuts for you (and thanks @sphinxvc for much needed laughter!)

 

Do you have any issues with crackling with the DFR and iphone? I do not get it with DFR+PC, but DFR+iPhone produces a crackle. Not sure if I should replace the USB connector, or what the cause may be.

 

These arrived at my office yesterday, listened to them through the evening and on my commute to and from work.

100% dope, full recommendation.

 

I've been listening to mine a lot since they arrived yesterday. They're by far the highest end ear/headphones I've owned so take the following impressions with a grain of salt. What impresses me most is the treble and I'm not usually a treble guy. It's super well extended and present without ever being sibilant or artificial. The mids strike a great balance between clarity and thickness/warmth. Bass is chameleon like - it can slam and go deep on house tracks but stays tight and in its place on acoustic tracks. It does seem to lack a little texture with upright bass but maybe that's a BA thing (this is my first BA IEM). Sound stage doesn't sound massive to me but sounds natural and not closed in.

In general, I've enjoyed them a ton so far. I thought maybe the BA/neutral/high end combination might make them too analytical and decrease listening pleasure but the opposite has been true.

One question on MMCX. The cable on mine accidentally popped of while fiddling with the IEM in my ear. Is this normal? Are you supposed to take off/put on the cables just by pulling and pushing at the connector?

 

I think it's probably because I associate neutral with exaggerated treble and a bright and lean sound. Reviewers rarely state that gear is brighter than neutral or reference, just that its not pleasurable for them subjectively and people who prefer a more reference sound will like it. It's almost apologetic, like they should like it. Maybe I'm conflating neutral and reference though. Anyway, this is OT.

 

THIS. The resolution is quite simply.. INSANE. Trailing notes, decay, echo, plankton in vocal inflections.. everything is there with incredible clarity. More impressive is how it's very natural, effortless, and precise in the way it goes about excavating this detail.. like it's running off some fancy EC tube amp .

One thing I'm noticing is how clean the Andromeda sounds.. it's so clean that, at times, I find it lacks some of grit and "rawness" (i.e. UERM's midrange has this in spades). I haven't heard the HE1K, but I often hear it kind of possesses this ultra-"clean" quality, right? Like it makes everything sound good. The Andromeda is very very revealing..but paradoxically, I've heard little, if anything, that sounds outright terrible with it. Stupid resolving.. w/o the downsides?

 

This is really reassuring me that my blind Andromeda over K10U choice will have been the right one. CA have been very helpful, modifying their checkout process to deal with my South African billing address in the space of a day so I could place my order, and committing to hit a week long window while I'm in Seattle for delivery, so I really like their ethic as a company as well. I wish I didn't have to wait until I get to Seattle in a couple of weeks to get my hands on them!

 

Those are the precise words I've had bouncing. They are an excellent complement to the modded HD 650 -- so much so that I've foregone trying the Elear.

 

I can't tell if I like using comply tips or spiral dots more. I feel like I get a wider soundstage and better layering with complys - but typically spiral dots have been stronger at these aspects on other IEMs. What are other folks using/preferring?