Glad to hear it! Owning the Xelento made me think it wouldn’t be for me at all but I almost wanted to sell it for an Andromeda S after hearing the regular Andromeda.
1 Like
I have a good number of iem’s and the thing that the andromeda brings more than any of my other ones is that initial wow factor. It’s got a beautiful sparkle to the treble. It’s such a fun listen. Now I am a treble head more than anything so my specific likes wont be to everyone’s taste. Some people won’t like the Andromeda’s but for those that do it’s a really nice iem to have in any collection. Enjoy.
Even though I shy away from comparing it to the ER2, the ER2 was really that eye opening moment for me. I used to believe I was treble sensitive but really I’d just been listening to peaky IEMs with generally poor treble. The ER2SE leans bright while being smooth so it didn’t really bother me, and I actually enjoyed the sound quite a bit. While the Andromeda is impressive, I can’t say it shocked me beyond just being a very pleasant listen.
Also, the new Andromeda custom, the Solstice, is interesting. Although $1500 is alot to pay for an Andromeda the option is pretty nice, and people have been asking for a while.
EDIT: let me clarify, the Andromeda is alot better than the Ety, it’s just that I’ve tried alot more things since and it might just be impossible to return to that initial immediate “wow” moment. Even the IER-Z1R, which occupies an entire price bracket above the Andromeda was just a decided improvement, not mind blowing.
3 Likes
Of course everyone has differing tastes. And I do agree that the new iem from Campfire look really interesting. I liked the etymotic but couldn’t get on with the very deep insertion required.
Here’s a measure of the new 3 driver model coming later this year. It looks pretty great up until that lack of pinna. I legitimately thought that it was DF compensated (speaking of Ety), which would have been a nearly instant cop for me, because I love DF tuning and the newer CFA long nozzle fit is nearly perfect for me. I feel like they just kneecapped the pinna gain to make it similar enough to the Andromeda while killing the pinna enough to get you to shell out for it (and the Andromeda isn’t exactly a heavy hitter in the pinna gain department.)
1 Like
Thanks for the measurement. I too prefer a DF tuning to the Harman myself. Well at least much nearer to DF.
I just got a pair of these 
I wasn’t sure if they’re live up to the hype, but I gotta say that they’re pretty great. Source impedance definitely impacts the sound, and I’ve been having fun playing around with one of these cheap inline volume controls. It’s basically a variable resistor, so by adjusting the volume it also changes the tuning on the Andromeda!
5 Likes
Congratulations on winning them!
They’re uncommonly good, when properly matched, irrespective of price.
And yes, they’re EXTREMELY sensitive to OI …
3 Likes
To your ears, what’s the perfect output impedance? 2 ohm? I suspect the iFi products are a little too high… Before I go build my own adapter with inline resistor, do you have any other recommendations?
1 Like
1.5 to 2 ohms, depending on signature preferences.
It’s about perfect out of the balanced output on the recent A&K players.
2 Likes
Alright, looks like I’ll build one 
1 Like
Thanks, I had seen that. Enjoyed your review! I’m going to get a few resistors and play around with them to see what I like best.
3 Likes
So, using a 3.5mm plug and jack with screw terminals, and my LG V20, I was able to quickly try out a few different resistances ranging from 1.2 to 2.7 Ohm (which is actually 2.2 to 3.7 Ohm when you include the V20’s 1 Ohm output impedance). I have for now settled on 2.2 Ohm resistor for a total impedance of 3.2 Ohm as the optimum balance between bass and treble. Interestingly this is close to the 2.5 Ohm impedance of the iFi IEMatch, which is a popular pairing with the Andromeda. 3.2 Ohm is a similar impedance as an iPhone 6, which is one of the popular source pairings with the Andromeda.
It’s pretty incredible how much of a difference I could hear just in this small range of resistances. It’s no wonder that the Andromeda are considered extremely sensitive to source pairing and even cables!
I’ve got mixed feelings about this behavior. As a hobbyist it’s fun to be able to play around like this and to have the opportunity to tune to taste without EQ or complicated circuitry. The availability of the IEMatch as a good default “tuning” of the Andromeda is also nice. On the other hand, I could see this leading people on a long and potentially expensive chase of different DAPs or other source gear to match with the Andromedas, let alone cables. From that perspective, it’s not really a consumer-friendly design.
Anyway, as a next step, I’ll build a more permanent adapter with the 2.2 Ohm resistors. If I’ve got the patience, I might even document it on video 
EDIT - I should note that I was running this out of an LG V20, which from what I’ve read has an output impedance somewhere between 1 and 2 Ohm, so the total impedance on which I settled is actually in the range of about 3 to 4 Ohm.
EDIT 2 - I just went ahead and measured the output impedance of the LG V20 in low power mode with a 2.2 Ohm resistor in line, and the total impedance is 3.26 Ohm. So that means that the LG V20 has an impedance of right around 1 Ohm (at least in low power mode).
7 Likes
thank you Percy!
this is quite interesting!
1 Like
Man this thing is a chameleon! I’ve been playing with tips some more, having tried the following now:
Final E Tips - With their narrow bore, they really pump up the bass. Quite comfortable.
Spinfit CP100 Tips - A little like the Final E tips but sound a little off in comparison. Very comfortable.
Stock Foam Tips - Pretty balanced sound. Very comfortable.
Stock Silicone Tips - Wide bore + decent seal = slightly more v-shaped.
Acoustune AET07 - Kind of like brighter Spinfits
Symbio W - Best sounding of the bunch, probably because of the combination of largish bore and good seal. I actually like these straight out of the LG V20. Comfort is unfortunately below average. The tips are kind of shallow and I can feel the seam between the silicone and foam hitting my tragus. It’s not awful, but a little disappointing given how much I like their sound.
5 Likes