This is the official place to discuss the Campfire Andromedas
As of April 25th, 2019 the Andromeda has been updated. Ken Ball has stated that the tuning of the Andromeda remains the exact same but the accessories are different. Say goodbye to the clunky memory wire and say hello to Campfire’s new “Smoky Jacket” cable that is memory wire free!
Updated packaging is below.
Highlights
Key Features
Dual High Frequency Balanced Armature Drivers + T.A.E.C.
The Andromedas are easily on my top 3 list for favourite headphones and is probably my favourite in-ear headphone, beating out Noble’s Kaiser Encore. I’m an understated sometimes flashy guy and the Andromedas fit that perfectly. They are a striking green that stands out immediately which I am a huge fan of. I generally lean towards a warmer sound and stay away from treble and although the Andros aren’t exactly warm, there’s something about them that makes we want to keep them in all day.
They do have a rather large fit though and I know people do have issues with the edges of the Andromedas cutting their ears so they aren’t for everyone. But if you can get past the fit issues you are in for a musical snack.
I also got to try out the Atlas at CanJam SoCal 2018 and its looking like the Andromedas + Atlas combo would fill every need. Super excited to get a unit to the office soon!
Are people actually cutting their ears, or is the shape of the Andromeda just painful for some?
Also, has the sensitivity of the Andromedas been a problem? What do you drive them with? I had a bit of trouble from a pioneer Xdp-300r when I was testing the Andros. Just a little background hiss.
Despite those issues, they’re still my favorite in-ears. The Noble Kaiser Encores and Westone W80s are close though.
I actually just used a little Advanced Sound Accessport Lightning DAC to run it straight from my phone. Didn’t get any hissing from that in comparison to the straight up lightning dongle.
I did want to try it with the iFi Audio Micro iDSD Black label though as it does have an IE match option on it that is supposed to be pretty good. I heard it can change the sound signature a little bit though.
I for got to mention the UM Pro 50s from Westone are better in my opinion than the W80, but you know, they got that bass.
I have to say the Polaris from these guys has really been wonderful to listen on. One of my favorite sounding things so far… balance, clarity, punch. I look forward to hearing what these guys are like, see if they can actually be that much better.
Are in-ears like this known to create better/worse stereo image? It seems that, because they’re shoved into my skull, and because they’re so light on my head, there’s a very real sense that they “disappear”, I’m just in the music space. Is this a known quantity with in-ears? I would imagine open-backed headphones would create this better, but I’m finding exactly the opposite so far.
I haven’t heard the Polaris yet, but I can say the Andromedas are amazing.
Ya, headphone imaging is interesting to think about. Here’s a good description of the problem with headphone imaging vs. speakers. It’s pretty obvious when you think about it. If you have an SPL Phonitor X laying around (which I think you do) the crossfeed settings are made to compensate for the headphone problem.
I would say in-ears should only give you a better stereo image when sound isolation is important. If you are in a completely quiet space, open-back headphones should be better. The problem with open-back is that you need complete silence (including background hums) to enjoy the added openness and soundstage.
I just got my Andromeda this past Friday and having hard time getting them out of my ears. Just outstanding. Details are amazing. Soundstage is wide and deep. I had been saving to get this and now that I have them, wondering why it took so long. I had the Jupiter and still have the Lyra v1. Just really digging CA right now.
The Andromeda is one of the few headphones that when we get them returned, we have a hard time re-selling them. Not because they are a tough sell used but because we don’t want to let them go! Haha. As long as you can find a source that gets rid of their notorious hiss they are absolutely fantastic and the hype around them is very deserved.
I’ve had my Campfire Audio Andromedas for about a year now and I love them. They are very detailed, are have a fantastic soundstage. I’ve come across a couple of posts complaining about how they fit in the ears, but I guess I’m lucky. They fit mine just fine. Also it is worth noting that there are two revisions of the Andromeda. The 2nd revision has an updated housing with 2 edges cut to fit better.
I got my first pair of these on Monday and agree that they are really delightful. My fun test is Atom Heart Mother, and I was smiling ear-to-ear through the entire album. I didn’t notice any physical discomfort issues at all.
What tips are you using with them? My left ear canal is actually smaller than my right so I find myself constantly switching tips. I usually go for the Comply tips but I know people really like the Spinfit tips as well.
I’ve been listening to the Andromeda almost exclusively. Been cable rolling to see what changes I can perceive. The silver plated copper? one supplied was great. Nice staging and detail retrieval. Hate the over ear loops. Tried the original tinsel cable I got with my Lyra. It was just ok, cable very twisty and hard to keep in control. Sound was darker, not as good separation. Details still pretty decent. Swapped in an 8-wire Norne Vorpal (all copper) and damn, this made the Andro sound like my 64 Audio U8. Bass was huge. Almost overwhelming. No bleed over, just bass everywhere. Details were a little softer. Like it was muting the treble some. Soundstage was curtailed vertically. Like the ceiling was dropped down by 10 feet. Not sure if this is the signature I want. Will keep listening to see if it becomes better. May need to get a better pure silver. I am thinking 8-wire Therium or Silvergarde from Norne.
I bought the U8 to give me that bass (which is so sweet from it). Andromeda was to be my be all, everything great, IEM. I have to think this over. Unexpected results. Those who are not cable lovers/believers, please don’t tell me it’s all in my head. Having so much fun with this that it’s worth it to me.
I’m a writer. Creative, too. And a musician. You’d think I could string the vocab together well enough to write an audiophile review, but to me it’s like describing wine or art. It’s all so personal. What I can tell you is what I’m comparing it to (in the same general price ballpark): Shure SE846, Westone ES50 (custom IEM), Campfire LYRA (not fair, I know). Then in the headphone dept, Grado RS1, Sennheiser HD800.
The Andromedas are clear favorites. Why? Hell, all I know is that when I listen to - anything - I end up smiling ear-to-ear and moving my body to the beat.
The detail and clarity from the andromeda’s are amazing. I love iem’s and going from any other pair (although not a fair comparison, as I don’t feel that the SE846 or Massdrop Plus are detail monsters) to my andromeda’s puts a huge smile on my face every time.
The fit for me is fine and I find them comfortable.
-Paul-
I hadn’t realized that there were new Spinfit tips available, so thank you for this!
Courtesy of Amazon’s Prime, I should have a complete set in my hands sometime this evening and will be very interested to see how they compare to the standard versions.
The “insert” idea is nice to see … might cut down on the number of variations of tips one needs to keep around to deal with the different bore sizes on various IEMs.
