Campfire Audio Andromeda in-ear Headphones - Official Thread

That’s a surprising configuration given the strengths of the normal Andromeda - which, out of a 1.5-2.0 Ω source was, for me, a near unbeatable product at its price point (even if I can’t use it due to fit/comfort issues).

I’m clearly in a cynical mood this week … because my first two thoughts on reading this were not super positive. The first being that it is really a different IEM piggybacking on the very well regarded “Andromeda” name. And the second was I want to call this the: Andromeda “Raided the Left Over Parts Bin” Edition

Nozzles off the Polaris … screws from the IO … no room for a cross-over so we can squeeze in a couple of extra BA drivers for more bass …

Now, Ken is a professional at this stuff, and I’m not. I only go by what I hear (and/or measure), and I have, of course, NOT, heard these. So they could be magnificent. Though I still think they’re different enough that they warrant a distinct product name.

My concerns are several, though …

The standard Andromeda gets too bassy for me from sources with under about 2 Ω OI. Which is most DAPs, it seems. I know the trend with IEMs has been seemingly towards ever higher levels of bass (and I do like a bit more bass with an IEM than like with normal headphones). Thus I am concerned that this takes things too far in that regard.

I have only had one good experience with BA drivers that are allowed to run full-range (implied by the lack of a crossover*). That’s the Etymotic ER-4 (original and current). And I only think that gets away with it because a) the bass isn’t too potent b) the treble rolls off early, and c) it’s a single driver unit.

7 BAs with no crossover, all running full-range, at a minimum it’s a bold approach. There are obvious impacts to crossovers, from phase/coherence issues to loss of resolution etc. But there are benefits too … such as not pushing drivers into regions they don’t operate well/minimizing the range that a given driver has to cover.

The different nozzles are welcome … oddly they fit me much better than the standard Andromeda nozzles.

Time will tell, and it’ll be interesting to hear them, but it’s hard to understand why these are “Andromedas” when they differ so much in execution.


*There are other ways to mix and blend the output of multiple drivers, which CA and other manufactures have used. But, unless there are per-driver-group filters, without a crossover we’re doing that in the mechanical/acoustic domain … which means the driver is still being asked to operate at full-range and will be outputting as such.

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So in my mind there is an advantage to doing this given the substantial variation and source dependency of the Andros. The Andromeda isn’t perfect in its frequency response either, but with the right source, and the right tips, it’s really quite good - and I think this extra driver addition may allow for a bit more source flexibility, or potentially even a more practical application. I often find myself wishing my Andromeda had better bass extension, detail and control that’s identifiable in less than ideal environments. Right now if I go outside onto a noisy bus, I lose a lot of that definition down low.

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I thought the same thing.

I thought the last thing Andromeda needed was MORE bass. It needs more mids!

That said, the change of nozzle to the Solaris/IO/Polaris v2 style is a welcome change if it behaves how the IO did when I wore it. It was very comfortable compared to the Andromeda’s shallow fit.

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Hmm. I’m on the other end of the spectrum here - I’ll grant the Solaris does some neat things with staging but I find the Andromeda easier to fit and less fatiguing to listen to. I’ve spent way more time with my Trio than either, though.

I’m curious enough that I ordered a pair to try.

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Some great comments in this thread. Upon seeing this revised Andromeda my first thought is why? Personally I don’t care for constant updating of products. This is of course unless it’s a major upgrade. Which this could be of course. But I am in the camp that says this will adversely affect the stock Andromeda sound. I can’t see how they could keep the basic Andromeda FR with adding extra drivers surely this will skew it. Though I am no expert just an interested party.

if anoynone is interested in the limited black/gold edition…

Jude has measurements and impressions of the Andromeda Gold on Head-Fi.

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the “original” green Andromeda with the golden screws would look awesome

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forgot to add - output impedance <1.4Ω (32Ω loaded)

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I’m looking to get my first pair of good in-ears. I did a bit of research and the Andromeda’s (or Vegas) seem to be good fit. I’ve read that output impedance of your source is a topic of debate. Would you think, that they would be a good match for my Fiio Q5?

The sweet spot is said to be around 2 Ohms. Eq can also help. Below 2 Ohms it’s lower end becomes more pronounced and above 2 Ohms it gets brighter. It’s down to preference really.

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Thanks, that sounds like it could match. I like a neutral sound reproduction with the possibility to have good bass extension when I’m in the mood for certain tracks.

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Just spent 4 1/2 hours with the Andromeda in my ear holes… my ears are not happy with me (physical pain wise, damned sensitive ears) :cry: But these are still the only IEMs I’ve come across that I can stand for more than 30min to an hour without my ears starting to ache. Well the BGVP DMG, is another one that I can run with for a bit, also I had decent length of use with the T2/T3s. But none so far as long as I can stand the Andromeda which is odd, because the shape of it doesn’t scream comfort lol.

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Tried the Andromeda at munich high end this may and it was like they are made for me. From the beautiful design I thought/wondered how could this fit my strange small ears. They look edged like a strange lady in a bar a few points over your weight class with the single aim hurting you.

Over many years tried IEMs and always lost them- main reason beeing probably standard sized tips
Arrived at the CA booth with my T3 attached to ES100 :slight_smile: hanging out over ear like at the bakery store. What a nice chat! Cool experiance!

Most days I Go out for a walk with our dog for about an hour. Stereo happiness. Later in the office I put the right one in and in the break use both for an hour. In the afternoon I use again the right one only and the left ear is free for calls or people trying to disturb me. No physical problems.
I now use always the smallest tips with the big head and in my tiny ears.
So reading you used them for over 4 hours is very interesting to me.
IEM Investment over 200 still hurts my reasonable part- but with knowledge comes responsibilty- my wallet aches but it makes so much sense
And the case- want to live in this cuddly thing :love_you_gesture:

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Impressions to come after I plug in my (also arrived today!) TA-ZH1ES.

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Are you sure that isn’t a 64 Audio IEM ? :smirk::rofl:

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I mean I honestly could not be happier with the serial number for that exact joke :wink:

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I haven’t seen anyone else mention this yet but the Andromeda Gold comes with three of Campfire’s awesome little mesh bags (one for IEMs, one for foam tips, one for Final Audio Type E tips).

Still haven’t had time to rig up the TA-ZH1ES or do A/Bs but I’ve been listening to Tidal on my Nano BL (via IEMatch port, of course). The new-style nozzle fits my ears much more securely than the shorter nozzle on the regular Andromeda.

Nothing scientific but I find myself gravitating to live tracks on the Gold. Still using the standard foams (which I generally liked on the Solaris but didn’t care for on the Andromeda - nozzle change probably comes in to play here).

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I reviewed the Andromeda here on Reddit.

If you would rather not use Reddit, I’ve attached the word document in this post here with the photo album linked here

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Nice review.