Campfire Audio Solaris - raising the bar?

I'm not going to say much until I let them burn in at regular listening volume for a few days. @KenBall let me know to do this before giving them a proper evaluation. I'm inclined to believe him because the Vegas changed upon burn in (and from memory required way more recommended hours). I would expect the bass to get better - less thick, and the highs to get more lively. Out-of-the-box, the Solaris sounded a little constricted and restrained.

The frequency response seems tilted downward, slightly dark, but leveling off in the highs, compared to Andromeda. Using the already attached foam tips, the highs are wonderful, gentle, zero sibilance, present, but not overdone. There is no strange overly done diffuse field compensation with +1532db in the 2-3kHz region, which personally drives me to the brink of insanity and puts me into fits of rage whenever I hear female vocals. The bass I can't quite put my finger on yet. I almost want to say is there some slight bass emphasis. Or maybe its a matter of the bass driver laying things on thick. Again, going to let this thing burn in. It seems to be changing already and this probably contributes to why I am still trying to figure things out.

Measurements in a bit. This is by far the best DD-BA hybrid integration I've heard yet. It's always been nice try, that's close, or the horror, the horror! I don't think it's perfect, but then again, let's see if that dynamic driver loosens up and gets a bit snapper where it meets the BA mid driver.

Hiss seems just a tad bit worse than Andromeda. I can hear just the slightest faint hiss from the ZX2. With Andromeda, I hear none, other than when the ZX2 is powering up.

Obligatory un-boxing photos below to satisfy the hipster crowd. Remember, I'm old, so I could be doing these improperly. TBH, I don't get that excited when audio gear arrives at my door. High HP or insane handling cars get my heart to race a lot more.

 

Forgot this one.

 

Quick measurements for your reading pleasure: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/campfire-solaris-measurements.7004/

My last post comments were from notes right after I picked them up from the FedEx office. After only a few hours of burn-in (music, drum tracks, pink noise, pause, recycle), they are starting to loosen up. I can hear where this is going. I like it.

Couple of thoughts:

1. It was always on the top of the mind, but I couldn't quite express it in my earlier post since I had just woken up: the Solaris remind me of the Audeze LCD2C, but not so laid back. Just something to be aware of for those who use the Andromeda, don't like the Audeze sound, and are considering moving to the Solaris.
2. For what's it's worth, no hiss from Fulla 2, but Solaris is so sensitive that I'm afraid to turn the volume knob and there is channel imbalance at low volumes (all pots mis-track to some extent at the extreme low ranges). I can imagine folks easily blowing up their Solaris IEMs running them from desktop rigs. FR does not change from Fulla 2 to ZX2, noting that they are different sounding devices.
3. Holy shit, I mentioned this before, but this is the best integrated most coherent DD / BA hybrid* I have ever heard. I mean, I can still tell the top end is BA, having a lot similarities to Andromeda's top end, but more exquisite, less grainy, smoother, "less BAish". Curious what @KenBall's tweaks here were, and if the same or improved drivers were used.
4. The low end is obviously DD, which by nature is going to lay things on thicker than BA lows. However, the transition from the lows to the mids is seamless. That is until something better comes along, probably from Campfire Audio in 2020. The DD is fast and articulate. No fuzzy stuff like with JVC HA-FD-01.
5. There is more dimensionality, more depth, compared to the already very good Andromeda.
6. Bassheads need not apply. Then again, there is much more physicality to the bass than the measurements would have you believe.

*The scary thought had occurred to me that Ken is playing a big trick on us, and that Solaris isn't a hybrid but uses the same type drivers throughout.

 

Can someone tell me if the bass driver has any relation to the Vega, and before that, the Lyra II drivers? Just curious. I don't keep track of this stuff like the supar IEM geeks, but I find it interesting.

Also, I'd like to have customs of these. The Lt. Uhura earpiece thing isn't as comfortable for me, though I'm sure this better for those who found the Andromeda's fit too shallow. The Andromedas were perfect for me.

 

Considering that the Atlas uses a 10mm ADLC DD, the Vega a 8.5mm ADLC and the Lyra 2 a 8.5mm Be, the one in the Solaris is probably the Atlas driver.

(Purely speculation of course, best if Ken confirms it directly)

 

Just a quick update after overnight burn-in. I also switched to the medium sized silicone tips and opted for a slightly deeper insertion:

Holy cow. BUY THIS NOW.

I can see why @KenBall was so excited about this one. This is like the culmination of his work. Taking DD to where it could go (speed with the physicality). And refining BA where it could go. And then successfully melding both, where all others had failed before.

And with a FR that is agreeable to most of the SBAF crowd. Ken makes something for everyone, especially the bassheads, but he did us a huge favor here.

 

I used the regular silcone tips. I couldn't get a good fit with the Final tips and I wasn't sure about their more restrictive exit diameter.

I tried medium at first, then large, then back medium, but shoved in a little bit. Part of the improvements could probably be attributed to a less tight seal compared to foam. Another part could be that foam muddies things up. I used a similar approach with Lyra II (a DD IEM I like and still use, but everyone seems to hate here). Andromeda with its leaner BA texture I used foam.

It's a bitch to get silicone tips to sit right. A design where the silcone is less slightly less flexible might be ideal. I would have to defer to the IEM Jedi on this. I'm pretty noob when it comes to IEM tip rolling and keeping up with developments in the IEM world.