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

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by purr1n, May 13, 2016.

  1. scapeinator1

    scapeinator1 Once You Go Black You'll Never Go Back

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    I could see someone saying that the Andromeda was V-shaped if a very midcentric veiled sound was your baseline on what you thought neutral was. My guess is its just that the detail in the treble is very striking and that was interpreted as V-shaped. Brightness and detail are two very different things imo but they can get conflated perhaps.
     
  2. AvijitS25

    AvijitS25 Acquaintance

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    Even if he got the models confused it would make no sense. I have seen the Andromeda being called V-shaped several times now and I don't think the Orions can be called uncoloured either. I wish Tyll had a chance to pick someone as his replacement like how he was approached by John Atkinson IIRC
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Easy enough to explain. The devil is in the details. Probably the 10000000th time I've explained this.

    Andromeda will be V-shaped out of a zero ohm source with typical silicone tips. The reason Andromeda is not viewed as V-shaped on SBAF is that we recommend running it from a 2-ohm source, e.g. Sony ZX2, iFi, IEMatch, etc. There has also been quite a lot of discussion on tip rolling to tame the highs. @Bill-P found a great tip that worked well, better than my Compy with filter (the Compy foam has certain downsides - but good enough for me overall). Even after all this, I still feel the Andromeda is very slightly hot in the mid-treble; but I would much prefer this to a nasty upper midrange emphasis or an overly done diffuse field target nonsense that makes my brain want to explode from female vocals.

    Orion is slightly mid-centric. Its impedance curve is much better behaved than Andromeda's. Orion's tonal balance will not change much from different output impedances. Still, I'd rather than take Orion - close enough to neutral - than one of Jerry Harvey's latest $3500 same ol' same ol' creations shilled heavily on HF.
     
  4. likearake

    likearake Acquaintance

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    Maybe someone you can trust about headphones/earphones should be aware of that, though?
     
  5. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Oho - impudence, as opposed to impedance! Which will probably be the title of the next article on IF...
     
  6. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Sounds like Orion might be a better fit for me for a daily-earpiece because of its flexibilty and simplicity in still sounding pretty good regarding of what I use for source/amplification. Thanks Marv @purr1n .
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2018
  7. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Heh - indeed, he might have just saved you $900!

    What would you use for mobile, iPhone? If so, the treble will be boosted quite a bit cf. your MCTH. Have a look at the impedance measurement in the first post:

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...udio-orion-measurements-and-impressions.2624/
     
  8. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    At the moment, my Pixel 2 XL will have to suffice until I can get a ZX300A (whenever they're available again). Or I can rebuild my Gen 5 iPod Video...
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I have nothing against Ralf. He simply does not exist in my universe. If I had more time, I'd make a parody site run by a Mr. Worfe.
     
  11. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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    I personally would pay real money to subscribe to that site, and might pen a "review" or two for it...
     
  12. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    It really has become somewhat of a farce. You just can't make shit like that up.
     
  13. theveterans

    theveterans Facebook Friend

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    I use an iPod Touch 6G for my Andromeda and IMO it's a very good pairing without any hiss on a very silent room or electrical noise bleed unlike iPhones with the headphone jacks (fatiguing sounding) or some smartphones.
     
  14. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    Deutsche Hifi Tage Impressions Part 2: Andromeda S

    Part 1 (PP8) here

    Gonna keep this very brief as there isn't really much to say. I directly compared the Andromeda (v2) and the Andromeda S from my Galaxy S8 (US Snapdragon variant). The S8 has a bit too low a Zout for the Andromeda to sound best, it's too warm for me on the S8. I could be wrong, but I think it's in the 2 Ohm range.

    When I started listening to the Andro S I immediately knew within fractions of a second that it wasn't for me. The upper mids are a lot more distant on the S and the bass seems muddier/less controlled. I'm not sure if this is a result of the more laid back midrange or if it's a seperate change, but I didn't like it. After less than a minute I knew that I preferred the non-S variant.

    To be honest the only thing I wrote down in my notes is "the 'S' stands for shit".

    Part 3 (Solaris) soon
     
  15. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

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    From all the impressions I've read, it seems the tuning change on the S is to increase the lower midrange emphasis. If true, this would indeed make the upper mids feel even further back, which is something I definitely have no interest in.
     
  16. scapeinator1

    scapeinator1 Once You Go Black You'll Never Go Back

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    @shotgunshane For what it's worth, I think people who like mellower sounding IEMs will appreciate the S. When I move from LG G7 + Andro S to my Jot + Focal Clear when I get home, I do notice the difference in the upper mids but it doesn't bother me much. The resolution and detail retrieval is there on the S it's just not as prominent. I mean some people genuinely were unable to enjoy the regular andros because the bass was a little lean and mids were not as prominent. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
     
  17. theveterans

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    I would say it might be at 1 ohm or less since Andromeda sounds neutral (but very slightly on the warm side) with the iPod Touch at 1.7 ohms. IMO, Andromeda (CK Blue)'s tuning (at 1-2 ohms) is close to perfection that having a lower mid emphasis on the S would need a DAP with 3 ohms OI or higher (I.e. any iPhone with a headphone jack) just to get that upper mid/treble to the frong but doing this would surely hurt subbass that is perfectly preserved with Andromeda (v2 or CK Blue) tuning at 1.7 ohms O.I.
     
  18. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    There are a few sources stating values from about 2.5 to 3.5 Ohm or so, but I don't think it's more than 3 Ohms. Maybe I'll have to measure it myself at some point, but with the UERM it does sound like the OI is lower than the Rag's SE output (which has a 3.3 Ohm OI according to Schiit), but still much higher than the OI on the Leckerton UHA-6smkII.
    I don't agree that 1.7 Ohm is perfect for the subbass with the Andromeda. I thought the FR was really good from the Rag SE output. I measured the FR to be very close to the UERM from the Rag's SE output here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/andromeda-measurements-discussion.4423/
    This is all assuming stock cables ofc. I'm actually not sure which cable the one I heard had and I don't keep track of CAs cables at all. IEM cables tend to be in the 1-2 Ohm resistance range, so they will definitely affect the FR.
     
  19. AvijitS25

    AvijitS25 Acquaintance

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    Is an increase in lower midrange bad or just personal preference thing? When I tried both the S and the Green, they were close in my opinion. Idk if this is the right way to put but the vocals were more forward and some instruments were definitely further back. I want to describe the S as thicker, more presence in the vocals but I am not sure if those words would be accurate. Additionally, I found the Andromedas way more pleasing than the only other iems I have heard recently EE ESR(very sharp) and Bravado(needed more midrange).

    just to provide some background I used the SE out of the zx300, and was listening to some artists I liked like joey badass, Lucy Rose, and Olafur Arnalds. And the only Iem I have long-term experience with is the CA Orion.


    Additionally, I was wondering why would raising the midrange make the bass muddier or is this an OI thing? (purely asking out of inexperience) @Serious
     
  20. scapeinator1

    scapeinator1 Once You Go Black You'll Never Go Back

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    The lower mids boost did not increase the bass. The bass is just boosted based on the S tuning. They are two unrelated changes.
     

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