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

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

  1. abisai2

    abisai2 Friend

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    To add to this.

    I tried the Andromeda's with my iPhone XS (lightning to 3.5mm) and iFi Nano BL. Sound quality out of the iPhone was fine. The sound out of the iFi device sounded better to my ears. The direct port sounded better overall but, there is audible hiss. The hiss essentially disappears when using the iEMatch port but, sound quality is impacted. I would describe it as a reduction in staging and treble quality. Almost like a haze.

    I then tried an iEMatch with a Hiby R6 and experienced the same reduction in staging and audio quality. Needless to say I was not satisfied so I bit the bullet and bought a Sony ZX300. I have about 45 hours on the ZX300 so far but, I am satisfied so far and feel I have a portable system I can enjoy for a long time without having the urge to upgrade.

    In all cases except the iPhone, a balanced cable was used.
     
  2. gepardcv

    gepardcv Almost "Made"

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    The RME ADI-2 DAC has absolutely no hiss with the Andromeda. (And a +1.5dB nudge on the bass knob sounds nice.) The Soekris dac1541 has a little hiss (I hate to sound like I'm parroting typical audio nonsense, but it really does disappear once the music starts), but it's otherwise a remarkably sweet-sounding pairing.

    The iEMatch is pretty much the only thing that makes the Andromeda tolerable out of my laptop (MBP) when I'm away from my desk.
     
  3. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    For giggles I decided to try out the Andro on my Galaxy Note 8. And actually the sound is actually pretty good. It would be nice to use these together for convenience when I don't have my DAP with me. Only problem is that I'm getting some interference (sounds like tube noise).

    Any idea if there might be a way to reduce or eliminate the noise issue? I'm using Poweramp as the player.
     
  4. scapeinator1

    scapeinator1 Once You Go Black You'll Never Go Back

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    This is pretty common with smart phones. IEmatch will get rid of it, but may reduce the volume too much for usability.

    Alternatively get an LG flagship with the quad DAC. Very little noise for me on an LG G7.
     
  5. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

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    Might be the OS resampling too. Try Neutron and see what that does. It gets around resampling.
     
  6. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

    edit...NO noise with Neutron!! :bow:
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2018
  7. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

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    UAPP will likely work too. It's a bit more user friendly. Like JRiver vs Foobar2k.
     
  8. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    UAPP is paid right? I think that I already bought it. This is great though. I either forget to bring my DAP or forget to charge it and then end up with a block of time for an hour or so where I could listen to the Andro...and now I have my phone to fall back on as a source.
     
  9. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    @Ice-man , I presume you tried different tubes (sorry, couldn't help myself).

    Given the low impedance of the Andro over much of its range, I wonder if the noise is a repeat/update of this issue:

    https://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-headphone-issues-208838/

    (the original article on xda was more informative but seems no longer to exist). Note the problem doesn't seem to be with output power. Blame was aimed at the chip, but I wonder if it was more about how Android audio interacted with the firmware.

    I have an S4 which exhibited horrendous clicking/scratching with borrowed lowish (but not Andromeda-low) impedance IEMs via Poweramp (which takes its input from Android audio). I didn't try those with UAPP. Note also that UAPP (for which, another vote as a great player) has a setting under Settings/Android audio to 'Force 16-bit', which purportedly "Solves a problem with heavy noise for some Samsung devices on Nougat when playing through headphones".
     
  10. HeartOfSky

    HeartOfSky Acquaintance

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    UAPP on my LG G7, and the Andro-S sound pretty great. Got enough volume sensitivity to add in IEMatch for a different sound profile.
     
  11. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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  12. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Sadly no - the low-impedance 'phones I was talking about in the (tortuous) post above were borrowed KZ ZS5s.
     
  13. neogeosnk

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    Sencond on Benchmark HPA4. For a non Sony Dap with no hiss or independance bloat (heavy bass emphasis) the iBasso DX-200 with single ended Amp 5 sounds incredible with Andromeda-S.
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2018
  14. AvijitS25

    AvijitS25 Acquaintance

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    How do you find the S with a sony Dap?
     
  15. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    Only heard the original andromeda with a Sony Dap, really good combo. I was basically saying the DX200 is also a good combo and I think as good as the Sony Dap(s) @brencho let me audition.
     
  16. LunaC

    LunaC New

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    That has been my go to now for the 2 years I have used them. I also have some blue foam from walgreens ear plugs that I punched out to fit in the dome for more sealing pressure and noise reduction
     
  17. mscott58

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  18. AvijitS25

    AvijitS25 Acquaintance

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    Almost everything from IF recently has been super odd recently, esp the Meze and the DCS articles. I enjoyed the podcast with ken and the interview with the owner of HeadphoneBar.
     
  19. Ice-man

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    I thought the remarks on the Campfire series were just way off base. Preferences aside, Andromeda being V shaped and the Orion being neutral and uncolored...what? That site has lost me completely.
     
  20. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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    Exactly. That was a bit of a head-scratcher for me too. Makes me wonder if he got the different models confused?
     

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