Campfire Audio announced a brand new IEM this morning, the IO. Coming in at $299, it is the second cheapest IEM in Campfire Audio’s lineup and they have gone back to their more tradition anodized IEM shell. It features 2 BA drivers and Campfire Audio will also be shipping it with their new “Smoky Jacket” cable which eliminates the Memory Wire and instead uses a lightweight molded ear hook.
This is the official thread to discuss the newly announced IO.
Their description of “It is a remarkably expressive earphone. It delivers a refined sound that is also exciting.” makes me think these will be bright. I think the Andros are bright. Orions are good.
Yes pretty much their entire lineup except for the Andromeda lean towards a much warmer sound. I think these will be tuned pretty similar to the Andromeda as I know there are a ton of people who have been wanting an Andromeda-lite.
I am surprised at the price of these, I was always under the impression that Campfire IEMs were way out of my price bracket but at an advertised price of $300 they sound like it might be worth waiting for a few reviews before dropping over half of that on the Kanas Pros.
Without the gold screws it wouldn’t have the Iron Man color motif, and thus wouldn’t sound as awesome. Anything with Iron Man colors sounds awesome. Duh. As proof, I present to you:
We currently have the Comet, IO, Orion, Polaris, Andromeda, Vega and Atlas in the office so I’ll be able to give them all a pretty thorough listen for comparisons sake. So far the IO has more bass presence and is close to touching sparkly in the highs like the Andromeda but the midrange does seem to be recessed. That’s after just 5 minutes of listening with my Macbook Pro as a source though. Initial impressions though would be an Andromeda-lite with punchier bass but less detail and resolution.
Although I didn’t post pictures of it, the IO comes in Campfire Audio’s new packaging which is an excellent experience to unbox. There are youtube videos out there already but I feel like the unboxing experience is a definite notch above what was there before. Also the new “Smoky Jacket” litz cable is excellent so far. Fit on my ears immediately. Microphonics also seem like a non-issue. I rubbed the cable on my shirt and could not hear anything but I’ll come back with more info after using the cable for commuting. If the cable lasts though I could see quite a few people wanting to swap out the old stock cables for this cable.
They look really nice in your pictures…better then the promo pics for sure. Do they have an almost purple tint to them? Or is that just the way the light is reflecting off them? That case looks fairly fantastic also.
They do have a bit of a purple tinge. Though there isn’t enough purple there to get you excited haha. I was actually a little surprised as I thought they would be a deeper, more vibrant red but they are a little more subdued and tinted. I suppose that’s the “Garnet” in the “Garnet Red”.
Oh I missed that it was called garnet red… that explains it… I actually like the color! Not sold on the gold plated screws but they aren’t horrible looking.
I honestly haven’t listened to them since the initial unboxing as I have been with the Polaris ever since. While the IO is interesting, I was always more excited for the Polaris re-release as I really liked the V1. The idea of an Andromeda-lite doesn’t excite me as much since we have the Andromeda. However, I will be finishing up my initial impression notes on the Polaris today so I will be moving to the IO after that. I have also seen a very varied mix of impressions (including the HF drama yesterday). So I’ll have some proper IO thoughts towards the end of the week. I haven’t been getting to use headphones as often in the office for the last little bit with all the changes going on but once I get back to writing copy and some coding the headphones are going back on!
In reading the HF IO thread today, I recognize common keywords for the 2 BA profile even in the good reviews. I’ve come to believe that BA IEMs need something greater than 5 drivers to both span the full frequency range and smooth out the sharp peaks.
Mr. Stark, I don’t seal so good.
Sorry, couldn’t resist. Doesn’t seem like people are having much of a seal issue with these and they’ve definitely piqued my interest. Might end up being my first pair of CAs if I can swing it. @antdroid, looking forward to your impressions of them. You’re the swing vote for me.
