Campfire - Equinox custom IEM !

Hello SBAF,

Campfire Audio is currently doing a very limited beta sale of our newest creation the Equinox CIEM !!!

We did not want to make a big loud sales-y horn tooting commotion over this new product. We would rather respect the craft of making custom IEMs by going very slow and methodical in our process as we prefect the fit process. Therefor we will only be accepting a very limited number of orders for the Equinox CIEM by Campfire. We plan to open a limited number of orders soon.

We are super excited about this new product, it has some really cool new tech as well as some unique elements that I think people will find refreshing.

CFA Equinox CIEM, made in Portland Oregon.

More to come soon....





Ken

 

That's great, may we see your FR chart for it? I've found your measurements line up with my experience of your iems, so it'll be very helpful.

 

Hybrid or single DD? Inspiration from the Fitear Air that you listened to?.
I'm excited to see Campfire getting into customs, the quality and price/performance has always been high.

 

Very sexy looking IEM. I'm excited to hear more! No pun inte... nevermind, I did it on purpose.

 

That connector housing could be reason enough to get excited. Not many ways to differentiate a ciem, but Ken just did.

 

Cool stuff @KenBall and can't wait to hear it! Enjoy HK

 

Which model in your lineup does it most closely sound like?

 

@Elnrik - Believe it uses an Atlas core, but could sound a bit different as it has what looks to be a port in the outside of the housing, so that might make it less of a bass cannon (sorry @Warrior!)

 

 Some ports are made to be closed!! 

 

The ole Sony MDR7550 electrical mod is evidence of this.

 

Bit more info from Ken here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/campfire-audio-equinox-custom-iem-beta.885013/#post-14418919

A single dynamic with what looks like two bores?

 

Ahh it's a CIEM Atlas and..i just got the Atlas not too long ago too. Still enjoying flipping between my Andromeda and Atlas, they go with me everywhere. So an Atlas with a proper seal and bigger bore opening? should be something pretty special...hmm.

Features and highlights are:

10mm ADLC (Diamond) full range custom dynamic driver
Precision 3D printed solid unibody shell design using all bio compatible materials
Solid stainless steel accent parts that secure the driver
Pressure relief bore to enhance and flatten the FREQ
Low impact short insertion for comfort and ease of insertion and removal of the CIEM
Pure silver litz cable
That signature Campfire sound, rich and wide wide wide.

 

Oh wow, Campfire getting in the customs game! I know this will make a lot of people happy as some people enjoyed the sound but the fit was not right for them.

 

Take me now.

 

Color me very intrigued

 

We will have them on display at RMAF. We made universal versions you can demo, the universal versions dont sound as good as the full custom version but it can give you a good sense of the CIEM.

Hope to see you at the show.

Ken

 

So my Fall of 2018 is off to a great start! Got back from a business trip this week to find a package had been delivered from my good friend Ken at CFA/ALO. Ding, dong the Equinox is here!



Wanted to post some pics and some very early impressions/thoughts, but will wait on any significant sound-related input until I've had more time with them and can do some A/B listening of the Equinox with the Andros (and Vegas and Dorados if I get the time).



First impressions of the Equinox out of the box: (sorry for the number of bullets, but trying to be somewhat complete)

- Same great packaging, with the now familiar CFA star-field box (with it's motivational "Nicely Done" text inside) and shearling-like zippered pouch (one of the nicest IEM holders I've used and my everyday carrying case for my Andros)



- Super-soft and flexible silver Litz cable included, with no memory wire (Ken was nice enough to make mine with a Sony 4.4mm plug for my 1Z)



- Top-shelf construction, which is honestly expected from ALO/CFA on any product these days, they've set the bar high in my experience. The stainless portion blends seamlessly with the 3D printed resin custom insert. The resin body is black, but not a super-dark black, having a bit more of a really, really dark grey type of tinge. Looks great anyway.
- The finish of the "C" part of the CIEM is well done also, with a good polish and no visible seams or lines in the resin. Knowing these are 3D printed they must spend some significant time sanding/polishing/finishing them.



- Total surprise to find my initials inlaid in the resin! On the top of the insert Ken and team put "MH" in light grey right into the material on both units. It's not etched, it actually in the resin. Cool looking and a nice custom feature.



- I didn't notice anything on the CIEM that designated which was left or right, but again if you've had CIEMs you'll know that it's easy to tell from the shape which is which. The cables also have a red/blue dot on them to help out, just make sure when you attach/reattach the cables you get it oriented correctly.
- The insertion depth is significantly less than my Noble K10s, with the Equinox being ~0.8" from flat top of the stainless steel portion to the deepest edge bore. This makes putting them on and off quite easy, especially if you're used to deep-insert CIEMs. I was going to include a comparison picture, but I can't find my K10's right now!
- The Equinox also doesn't stick out of your ear very far as you can see in one of the pics (sorry it's a bit fuzzy, was having a hard time getting a decent pic - and funny that my LAu photo-bombed the pic in the background).



- The Equinox is even shallower than the Andro, which is almost 1" from baseplate to end of tip.



- Even though the insertion isn't as deep, their fit and isolation is really good. The soft cable just lays over the back of your ear and I find it quite comfortable, especially since it's so light weight - this also mitigates microphonics. Given the isolation of the custom fit and the physical structure of the cable I can flap the cable hard against my chest and not really hear anything.
- All together a well done package, both box & case as well as cable and CIEM
- Only nit I can find so far regarding the physical structure of Equinox is actually tied to it's low profile. Specifically, to remove them I find myself grabbing them by the connector joint at the end of the MMCX cable. I know Ken uses his own custom Beryllium copper MMCX connectors that are quite strong, but I worry that over time if the pulling on that part of the connector might be an issue? Not sure, but just wanted to point it out.

Okay, a few very early thoughts on how they sound:
- The integrated port is key to their sound. If you cover it with your finger it totally changes the sound! Cover the ports and they sound like crap.
- They do hit deep, laying down some significant bass (yes @Warrior, you'll drool a bit), although I don't find the bass to distract too much from the rest of the frequency range. Please note that I'm not a total bass-head, but I do like me some low frequencies. They're more Vega-like in this respect, which is not surprising since I they both have the ADLC single dynamic driver, although the Equinox driver is 10mm while the Vega is 8.5mm. If the bass is too much I'm sure you could EQ it down to your taste (for those of you who believe in EQ that is...)
- Resolution of fine details is exceptionally good. I know it's passe to say, but I'm literally hearing a few things that I haven't noticed before in my long-time reference tracks.
- Mid-bass seems to be especially nice, and combined with the DD makes cellos sound very nice. Rockin' some Rostropovich (although I know @Cellist88 would prefer a different cellist).
- Sound stage appears to be solid. Not sure if how it stacks up to that strong-point of the Andros, but it's good. More on that later.
- Hard to beat the coherence of the single DD, and in this regard the Equinox does not disappoint.

Much more to come, but hope this helps everyone who is interested. Well done once again @KenBall!

 

Oh wow, nice. This looks like an exciting new phase for CFA, which they seem to be rolling out in theIr iterative, methodical way. Nicely done indeed.

Have you heard Atlas? It would be interesting to know how the tuning compares.

 

Not yet, but I'm coming up soon on the Atlas/Comet tour, so the timing will be good.