Campfire Audio Andromeda Review: Holy Cow, This is a Dream, Awesomesauce!

FWIW, the sparrow has been using stock medium silicone tips from day one, after having tried Comply, Spinfit, Ortofon, Spiral Dot & Sony Hybrid tips)

 

That bodes well. I have small ears, and these definitely don't qualify as comfortable for me. Switching back and forth between the Andromeda and UERM, the comfort difference is like night and day. Thing is, I like the sound of the Andromeda more, particularly the sub-bass. I think I'm going to have a very difficult decision as to whether or not the trade-offs vs the UERM are worth it for me.

 

The sparrow has average-sized ears, so he's quite fortunate in that sense, so he very rarely gets fit/comfort issues with stock tips. That said, I do think CFA came up with some very good quality silicone tips.

Although in my case the difference isn’t night and day, I do find the Andromedas slightly more comfortable than my UERMs and certainly more practical in terms of ease of insertion and removal.

And, FWIW too, another friend, also an Andromeda & UERM owner, finds the Spiral Dots to be the best for him. Spiral Dots are also wide-bore tips like the stock tips (unlike the Ortofons, Sony Hybrids & Spinfits). BUT, the thing with these tips is that, afaik, you have to order them from (Amazon) Japan (not sure you can get them on eBay) via Tenso and, on top of that, you have to choose the right size as you get 3 pairs of the same size per pack (got mine 2/3 years ago so don’t know if they now do packs with one pair of each size like Ortofon does).

 

It's not so much the tips that are uncomfortable for me, although the wide nozzles don't help, but the entire housing makes my ear hurt with any insertion deep enough to keep them in my ears. The UERM is actually quicker to get on for me because I have to fiddle and twist the Andromeda so much to get somewhat deep insertion with the cables angled up over my ears. The Andromeda comes out quicker since it's just a tug, but it's not like the UERM takes more than a few seconds to remove.

I'd line up for a custom Andromeda under $1500, but I'm definitely not going to pitch the Andromeda after just a couple hours use. A wide bore double or triple flange tip might make the difference for me, assuming that exists. I'm going to check out some of the HiFiMan double flange tips I have at home.

 

No, the handset is running stock 1.80.617.1 (latest security patch). I prefer the 10's less bloomy bass to the stock S7/E.

 

That's my one complaint regarding the Tinsel: its ergonomics are a hot mess. The Litz is noticeably nicer (tangle, microphonics).

 

I'm finding Campfire stuff coming in great ergonomics. Maybe only Audio Technica can eclipse CA in this respect.

 

Would you say the HTC 10 + Andro is a significant step up in sq from S7 Edge + Andro?

 

I think I read that all new units of any of their 5 IEMs come with the Litz cable now. Digging back I couldn't find anything official but I did find this:

Source: http://headfonics.com/2016/05/the-orion-by-campfire-audio/

 

You're correct, the tinsel cable is discontinued and they haven't even listed it for individual sale on their new site, making their cheapest IEM cable come in at $289. Hopefully they put the litz cable back up for $149.

 

Both cables are available for $149...

https://www.campfireaudio.com/product-category/cables/

 

My bad, I was still looking at the ALO Audio site as that's where I ordered my Orions originally. ^^

 

Got the Andromeda yesterday, been using it about 6 hrs total.

The memory wire is a pain in the ass, hang it loose around the ears and it creates microphonics when moving around, hanging it tight eliminates microphonics but causes discomfort on ears after a bit. It's a shame because the litz cable itself is great. My ears were a little sore after 2-3 hrs of use, but that's probably due to not finding the right balance with the memory wire positioning and the right ear tips.

The sound is really nice, lively with lots of details, the bass takes a bit getting used to and sounds a bit weird compared to my IE800. Overall, it's a big improvement over ie800 for me, just wish the bass was slightly tighter/cleaner.

The comply tips weren't easy to use with the huge nozzles and the spinfits I had seemed to alter the sound and made it much brighter, settled on stock silicon medium tips for now. I do have some spiral dots on the way, but anyone have any other recommendations for tips?

 

Speaking of which, why aren't Campfire's products being sold on ALO's website anymore?

 

Maybe there's magnets.

Seriously though was just using that quote to show that Litz are standard on all models now.

 

Significant, no (I listen at low-ish volume): several hours with the S7 were pleasant enough. One track where the bloomier bass with the S7 is present is Haim's "Falling," particularly the leading minute with effects and Este's bass guitar.

 

Oh wow, this is the key for me. I had been pushing them as deep as possible into my ears, making them very uncomfortable. Now that I'm using a shallow insertion, they're perfectly comfortable. Thank you very much for this. You probably saved me selling these.

 

Can you give a more detailed explanation about the improvements from IE800? My T8ie died out for some stupid reason, being left out in a dry environment, in a pelican case stuffed with silica gel and the RMA will take quite awhile. I have my IE800 as my spare and I still love it despite the better comfort of T8ie.