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

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

  1. Ty89m

    Ty89m New

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    Alright, opted to grab the ZX300 again for both the Andromeda, and Solaris should be arriving today - just couldn’t resist, will decide which to keep for the long term. Hoping the 300 suits the Solaris as well!
     
  2. tommytakis

    tommytakis MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    I’ve been using the Andromeda as my daily commute to work and at the gym to work out. Wow, these are amazing and I can see why people love them so much

    My portable setup: iphone 7+ with the lightning adapter > Andromeda | UERR (custom) OR macbook pro 2018 > Andromeda
    • Stellar imaging and layering that can stand toe to toe with full sized headphones, but it’s portable… what a world we live in! Each component is well separated and can easily pin-point each instrument with ease. I didn’t think this was possible with portable gears until now.
    • Lively and excellent clarity without any major glaring flaws in frequency from listening.
    • When I compare the Andromedas to my UERR customs, the UERR sounds sleepy and lifeless. UERR sounded flat and dark and as soon as I switched over to the Andro, the music becomes lively and engaging with noticeably more air. The stage of UERR is rather 2D compared to the Andro. I would sell the UERR if I could, but I made the mistake of getting it custom’d. Fml … I guess I can keep these as super expensive ear plugs for flights and studying.
    • Very resolving and can hear fine detail even at low volume. I noticed I used to crank up my UERR a lot more than I ever do with the Andros.
    Nitpicks:
    • Sometimes there is a slight roughness that I hear with vocals especially on poorly recorded tracks, but maybe this is the BA- timbre that I’ve read about? Vocals are not as smooth sounding as the HD650s, but maybe it’s unfair to compare them to the Sennheiser mids. This is a very small nitpick as it never gets to the point of piecing sibilance and don’t mind it at all as the overall presentation is lovely and engaging.
    • Wished there was a bit more bass presence... just a tiny bit haha
    • I'm legit scared to drop them as the green paint is notorious for scraping easily.
    • The nozzle is a bit too wide for my ears even with the updated nozzle. Also not the most comfortable IEM I’ve tried

    Overall, I’m quite pleased with the Andromedas, but I do want to compare them to the JVD FDX1 when I get my hands on those to see which I prefer for my daily commute.
     
  3. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Try a full copper cable and/or @Bill-P's foam mod to smooth the highs a bit. A Cu cable will also improve the bass a touch... YVMV
    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...a-dream-awesomesauce.2075/page-90#post-221353
     
  4. shotgunshane

    shotgunshane Floridian Falcon

    Staff Member Pyrate Flathead IEMW
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    @tommytakis you can sell a custom, you’ll just take a serious hit on how much you can recoup versus a universal. Check with Mike at Perfect Seal for reshell costs and keep that, along with shipping and impressions, in mind when determining a price. Also make sure he can reshell with UERR with those driver sleeves. Pretty sure he can though.
     
  5. BeerNuts

    BeerNuts New

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    Got my AG andros in the mail today, been listening to them for the past 4hrs. Don't know if I will keep them or not I only allow myself 1 IEM at a time so its either these or my Solaris. I had originally sold my green andros for the solaris so it will be interesting.

    Trying to think back to my greens and why i wanted the solaris was that i needed just a bit more bass. These deliver for sure, they do not feel lacking. They are not ghetto trunk rattling but no one wanted or asked for that. I will say that they are very close to my solaris, if i really want to tell the difference i need to get into micro details. I cant even nail down anything specific between swapping out the cables between listens. By the time the iems are swapped ive lost what i was looking for. They have played everything i have tried wonderfully, I cant say oh these are only good for X type of music. When i could swear on my greens there were a few albums i felt were lacking compared to the solaris at the time.

    Form factor coming from the solaris back to andro size is one of the best things. These are so stupidly comfortable and small, just a joy to wear even for hours on end. They don't come lose, don't lose my seal, don't fall out if i am moving around a lot. I may end up selling the Solaris just to be back to this level of easy use and comfort. Its shocking how i got used to the size of the solaris and forgot just how small the andros are.

    Now the kicker. I seem to have a single problem with them so far and that is that they sound horrible on the 3.5 out of my zx300. As soon as i switch devices (iPhone, Macbook) or swap to 4.4 they open back up again. Other than that its been amazing so far and I am glad i have 2 weeks with them before i need to decide. I think the design is not going to be limited to 1k going forward. AG will be 1k but these are too good to just shelf after that. They will produce more in different colors and sets for sure.

    Serial number is 0428 so either they are shipping random numbers or they have probably sold half of the 1k on pre-orders alone.
     
  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Nice review! would be interested to see some impedance measurements given your experience between low z-out sources and higher z-out sources.
     
  7. BeerNuts

    BeerNuts New

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    These gold/black andros are very picky about their source. I did some more testing today against the sources i had on hand. Using a iPhone X and Official Lighting Adapter it shifts everything to the low end and gives a muddy sound with too much bass impact and looses a lot of detail compared to other sources. It would be terrible for a first impression right out of the box. If I add my iEMatch it clears up the muddiness but removes the over all impact/fun and makes it more neutral/flat. Much like the 3.5 on the zx300 you just feel lacking.

    So far absolute best is 4.4 on the zx300 which makes these things fly. Second to that and my only other thing to test is my 2018 MacBook Pro which is ok but not fabulous.

    I really want to know what Ken uses in house at CA for these or at least what he uses at the trade shows to demo them to people. They were just in hong kong does anyone know anyone that was there and saw the demo?
     
  8. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    OK, I take back what I said. These really are Andromedas after all.
     
  9. KenBall

    KenBall Owner - Campfire Audio

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    We used the AK Kann Cube for the shows, also the impedance is actually quite flat on this model ... 6 - 18 ohm across 5Hz - 20k Hz, yes very low but fairly flat.

    Ken
     
  10. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    No impressions of the Andro Gold?
     
  11. Bloom

    Bloom MOT: Bloom Audio

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  12. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    I'm in the camp of preferring the Gold to the OG. The gold has a much denser image (more weight than OG). I agree there is a little less top end extension, but it has not been a deal breaker for anything I listen to. The gold is also more forward and energetic compared to the OG.

    The Gold is my personal "Improved MassDrop Plus" that I was wanting. If you are looking for an upgrade from the Plus, this would be my recommendation. If you are looking for an improved Andromeda OG - I might say look elsewhere. They are different enough to be two separate things. I have kept my OG because I still do enjoy them!
     
  13. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    The gold are a lot more precise than the OG, probably due to the crossover-less design.
    The bass is much improved over OG, but it is also a lot more present. As in, too much for most genres, with most sources.
    It's especially noticeable with my Terium 8-wire cable, which brings out the bass a lot more than the stock Litz cable.

    I created an EQ profile for Roon to better match the OG I had at the time, with same cable and ear tips.

    upload_2019-10-31_11-20-54.png

    I must say the bass is quite spectacular with the Final E tips, but it's sometimes too much of a good thing.
    I settled on the Spinfits, like with my previous OG. The bass doesn't stand out as much, but the music is more vibrant and all around believable with these.
    The Final E make the Gold sound more monitor like (which is fine, too).

    Like with most headphones - and especially IEMs and tip rolling - : YMMV.
     
  14. limesoft

    limesoft Friend

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    Anyone tried the new Sony ZX507 (ZX500) DAP with the Andros? Can't find what the output impedance might be, I'm wondering if it might replace my Sony ZX2..
     
  15. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
    I always wanted a refreshed ZX2. This might be it!
     
  16. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    Looking at the reviews on Amazon (most in Japanese), it doesn’t look too promising :/

    The charging port on the left side is indeed quite stupid...

    What could have been an impulse buy is now a “wait and see” affair for me.
     
  17. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    My understanding is that its a ZX300 for people who must have Android (even if it costs them 300 more dollars and 30% less battery life).
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2020
  18. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    I really just need an updated android on the ZX2 so I can run Roon on it.
    A better screen and faster UI wouldn’t hurt, but if there’s a way to simply update the ZX2 to newer Android, that would be just fine...
     
  19. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    Due to Android battery life is worse. Also you can only run bit perfect via Sony own music app. ATM if you use the Qobuz app for example running 24/96, it will down sample to 16/48. However, Sony's DAPs sucks at the beginning until future FW updates makes it great. I would give it time.
     
  20. Panohm

    Panohm Friend

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    Something you might be interested in: https://www.joybuy.com/601009928.html
    The ZX300 as we know had an "A" version with 16gb vs 64gb onboard for less money, available as a china only model. Seems this ZX505 is the ZX300A to the ZX507 if that makes sense.
     

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