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

How does isolation with comply compare to something like the ER4 with comply?

 

The triflange tips and ety foams on my HF2s isolated more. Never tried comply with the etymotics though. However the Andros with comply have good isolation but certainly not as good as etymotics due to their relatively superficial insertion.

 

question please:
i have the flc 8s....if i were to upgrade would the campfire andromeda be a sonically significant difference to warrant the 3x the price increase?
for rock and blues mostly...love balance, resolution, some warmth and great bass slam/bottom end,when warranted.

my sources, dragonfly red, iFi micros idsd, chord mojo

 

looking forward to trying these...eventually...hopefully, kudios that they're receiving so much praise without being extra stupidly expensive in the 1500-2000 range.

 

After a particularly frustrating night with foam tips I ordered some Ortofon silicone and Spiraldot tips. Like @yaluen mentioned, the Ortofon L is much like the M of other brands and are the best silicone tips I have used ergonomically. However, compared to the stock silicone or foam tips the sound out of the Ortofon is a little more diffuse than I like.

Enter the Spiraldots, they aren't as comfy as the Ortofon silicone, but sound more focused with a clearer center image and a little more intimate staging. The best tips for me so far in terms of sonic quality, and a noticeable improvement over the stock silicone in ease of seal.

 

Tend to stay away from iems for the past couple years due to always having comfort and nausea issues (realised its probably due to deep insertions). Listened to the Andromeda at a local retailer twice before deciding that i loved them enough to buy it. I've had them for a week now.

Its merits have been said by countless other previous posts. All in all, very pleased with the Andromedas! Even more so that they pretty much sound good from anything that doesnt hiss. I foresee using them as my daily portables for a very very long time.

Quick casual listening comparisons to my other headphones for the fun of it: HD800SDR, HD650 SBAF Modded, and stock Oppo PM3. Comply tips on the Andromeda with shallow insertion. I drive the Senns from Valhalla 2, and the portables from Oppo HA2 or straight out of Xperia X smartphone (both no hiss on the Andro). No EQ applied.

This is far from a fair and critical comparison, as they are different headphone types from different sources etc. And these are merely my impressions, so take them with a grain of salt

Soundstage width depth etc:
HD800(reference)> Andromeda(surprisingly close second, despite being iems)> HD650> Oppo PM3 (sounds alot more closed than the other 3)

Coherence:
HD650(reference)= Andromeda(more forward mids)> Oppo PM3(dull treble)> HD800(opens up the heavens or burns your ears on sibilant tracks, even with SDR)

Bass:
Oppo PM3(goes deepest)> HD800(tightest)> Andromeda(most textured)> HD650(most midbass)

Treble:
HD800 (can be majestic, can be too much)>> Andromeda(enough to dazzle without burning ears)>HD650(needs mod)> Oppo PM3

Sibilance:
HD800 (SSsSome SSssingersSs got long tonguessSsS)>>>Andromeda(if its there, its there)> Oppo PM3> HD650

Midrange, engagment, realism etc:
HD650= Andromeda> Oppo PM3> HD800 (sounds distant and lean compared to the others)

Dynamic Punch:
HD800> Andromeda> HD650>>>>>Oppo PM3 (PM3 sounds very very boring when directly compared to HD800 and Andromeda)

Articulation(detail, speed, plankton etc):
HD800("i can hear the backstage staff chatting")> Andromeda>HD650> Oppo PM3

Musicality (how much it makes me wanna T_T):
Andromeda=HD650> Oppo PM3> HD800 (more O_O than T_T)

Music is a wide mix of popular radio hits, rock, chinese and cantonese music, both live and studio, from the 90s to 2010s

 

Nice comparison. Sounds like you found the perfect iem bro, enjoy!!

 

Picked up the Andromeda from my local dealer after a 5 month wait. I was wayyy close on cancelling the order but i'm glad i waited.

I'm running it off the Mojo with an ifi IEMatch (high sensitivity). The hiss, most importantly, is gone with the IEMatch, Bass tightens up as well.

I've been dabbling in audio schiit since i was 18 ( I remember my grubby Shure E2Cs and E4Cs), i'm 32 now and i'm absolutely sure that the Andromeda is the most complete IEM that i've had the pleasure of listening to and owning.

While i have the HD800S as well - in a much pricier setup - ,there is something infinitely satisfying about connecting my Iphone to the Mojo, stuffing the Andromeda into my ears and just losing myself to the music while i lay prostrate in bed.

I admit i'm horrible at audio write ups and descriptions (sorry) - but there is one thing that i am sure of; the HD800S, while no doubt capable in it's own right, seems to make me seek out music that shines on it.

The Andromeda does the opposite - it allows me to delve into the music, regardless of genre (although shit recordings still sound shit), and seek out more music to listen to, over and over again - i've never explored Spotify so much in one night. The bass, mids and highs on the Andromeda are so insanely balanced.

So Kudos to Ken and all at Campfire for this astounding product (even more so for your sensible pricing in this insane world of BA arm races that we live in), it truly is an awesomesauce product.

 

Well, just the day I'd decided to 'come out of retirement' and post in the new CA thread, one or more of my Andromeda's drivers (right earpiece) seem(s) to have died — I do get bass and some freqs, but get much more sound on the left earpiece. Have swapped earpieces and checked MMC (sp?) connector too, but, no, it's a driver failure for sure. Have tested a couple other IEMs to make sure it's not anything to do with my hearing (earwax or the like).

This really sucks because the Andro is the only IEM, out of seceral I own (along with a couple of Senn headphones), I've been using for the last 5 months — that's how much I like it.

Hopefully things get sorted out reasonably quickly and smoothly because I had a good friend purchase these for me in the US, and he kindly sent them over to me in Europe. Let's see how this pans out.

 

Now, this is very strange. I used my Andros yesterday evening for about 4 hrs, and then, as noted already, one or more drivers 'died'/failed on the right earpiece. About 1:30 PM this side of the pond now. Dedided to try again the Andros and, lo and behold, things are back to normal!!, ie both shells reproducing the same great sound they always had.

I'm wondering if there was some sort of 'driver damaging condensation effect' that may have affected one or several on the right earpiece's drivers — I'd always noticed condensation on these phones (on both shells) after prolonged use (usually if going over the 60-minute mark).

I'll keep monitoring and see if the problem comes back, though I won't be able to give any updates in the next 4 days as I'll be away and will be taking my UERM instead.

Anyone had a similar issue with their Andros? This is very odd, to say the least.

 

It could have been a "stuck driver" issue, I think that can happen with BAs, especially if they are subjected to a sudden shock, like being dropped.

 

Might anyone know which model of Comply tips fit the Andromeda? I see they have the 100, 200, 400, 500. Thanks!

 

Just for future reference in the thread, http://www.complyfoam.com/ has a widget that helps you find the correct size:

 

The Orion, Lyra, and Jupiter use 400's so I'm going to assume Andros are the same. Thanks!

 

The Andromeda uses the 400.

 

The Comply website only mentions the older 3 models up to Jupiter. Andromeda has a slightly larger nozzle than the Jupiter. The 400 will work with the Andromeda, in fact it's what they ship with, but it will be a very tight and I personally struggled to get them to fit. I tried 500 and they work fine too.

 

Once you hear the Vega...

 

I did a comparison between the stock Comply Tx-400 and T-400 I had bought for my previous IEM. The former has the wax guard while the latter does not. I do agree with Marv that the wax guard reduces some of the treble peak inherent with Andromeda. However, while I don't consider myself a treble head, I much preferred the T-400 without wax guard. The Andromeda with Tx-400 lost some of that openness and airiness compared to T-400 and it was overall veiled sounding. To my ears, the difference was not minor and I daresay it was significant. The wax guard is not supposed to really affect sound, but it does, and in a negative way IMO.

So for those of you who are using your Andromeda with Tx-400, I strongly recommend you at least try out the T-400 (or, if you have spare tips, puncture an irreversible hole through the wax guard). Of course YMMV, but I'm guessing some of you will be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

 

...you'll make worthless posts such as this one?

Agreed, the wax guard has a negative affect of muffling highs, I've found this to be the case on more IEMs than the Andromedas. Part of the reason why I prefer the black foam tips provided.