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

hey sparrow, is "Mr Uncool" referring to j****444?
If so, then I have to say that I am right now listening to his modded Fostex and would like to know more about the Fostex vs Andromeda? ....please...

especially soundstage, bass quantity and transparency is what I am mostly courious about... the Fostex is very transparent but lacks some bass and soundstage is not that great to be honest. I have the Oriolus for bass and soundstage, but if Andromeda ticks all of these boxes then I have to rob a bank soon...

 

Would anyone happen to have heard both the Hidition NT-6 PRO and/or Aurisonics ASG-2.5 and the Andromeda? I'm curious how the Andromeda compares specifically to these 2 iems. (Current daily driver, ASG-2.5 and used to have NT-6 PRO) Thanks!

 

What led you to part from the nt-6pro? Interested in your take on that ciem, thanks.

 

I have a pair on order, and might have them in time for the DC area meet at Capital Audio Fest. If not, they'll certainly make an appearance at the fall meet. If you bring your stuff, you can try them out at those events.

 

Hey Griffon, thanks for the welcome. Good to be here.

Yes.

Here's a few brief comments I sent Mr Uncool re: the Andromeda vs 02 BT:

-- Note weight is thicker on Andros but not much more.

-- Timbrally piano reproduction is definitely more correct on the Andromeda; piano, by comparison, sounds a little thinner and artificial, particularly in the high registers where the 02s sound as if EQ had been boosted. PLEASE bear in mind I'm comparing the EXCELLENT 02s to the astonishingly good Andromeda.

-- The 02s sound more 'digital' overall, and while sounding pretty good on good masters, note weight AND timbre is still more believable on the Andromedas.

-- Bsss is excellent on the 02s, but I think the Andromeda reaches just a tad lower and provides a more accurate picture of the low end; the quality of bass reproduction is truly phenomenal, with a great balance between decay, clarity & speed.

-- Dynamics are more precise on the Andromedas, more easily picking up details during quiet passages and rising up to the occasion when instruments are louder and maintaining quiet ones, er, quiet.

-- Remarkably coherent. This phone (the Andros), like the LAB I, really sounds like a single driver phone, but the Andromeda covers the whole spectrum better (and it's 5 drivers vs 2 on the LABs!).

-- Soundstage width, in particular, and height are phenomenal and depth is very very good. I don't think I get the same sense of space from either my HD600s or HD800s , TBH (though I haven't actually compared the Andros to the Senns yet).

 

thanks for your impressions and comparison! As I read it, the Andromeda beats the Fostex in every possible way

although I appreciate the Fostex for its transparency and neutrality, there are times where I think the timbre is slightly off and notes are thin sounding where they shouldn't be, especially piano. The soundstage of the Fostex is also rather closed in (I don't mean the imaging, which is very good due to how transparent it is). However, what Mr Uncool did to the Fostex is just great, the unmodded version really sounds like $30, but after the mod it is right up there to be compared to even $1000 IEMs. This is the magic of tuning

Normally I think that BA-drivers sound far more "digital" than DDs, so it's a huge feat for the Andromeda to sound more "analogue" or natural compared to the Fostex (which seems to have a high quality DD inside). I think the higher-end BAs are getting better and better. The Oriolus I use now is a great example.

And...if you can compare Andromedas soundstage to the HD800s in one sentence then I think Campfire created something very very special here

Btw, I may meet Mr Uncool (haha, he is a very cool and nice guy in real life) this weekend, so we will have a chat about the Andromeda, as it also caught his interest

 

It's been quite some time since I've had them but here's what I remember.
The NT-6 PRO is an amazing ciem but it's a princess. Unless you're going to be using them with a desktop DAC/AMP, or willing to carry a brick with you I wouldn't recommend them. They can scale and scale with downstream equipment, the better the dac, amp, cables, etc the better they will sound. So they don't seem to hit a plateau in terms of sq scalability. This is also bad because due to their chameleon like nature, they will sound pretty mehh with ok equipment. You really need a top notch dac/amp for them to really shine. The sound of the NT-6 PRO can change quite significantly depending on what other gear you use them with (hence the chameleon like nature), so you'll really have to play around with your setup to find your optimal sound (even cables can make a noticeable difference).

The treble is very well extended but enhanced so don't get these if you like a rolled off treble. The treble is extremely smooth though with no hint of harshness or sibilance. The overall sound is very clean throughout the range. Transparent with the other equipment you use. Bass can be truly something to behold on these iems depending on setup. But the bass is of some of the highest quality I've ever heard. It can slam with such impact that you will think their are dynamic drivers present even though it's a BA ciem. The bass is exceedingly clean, layered, controlled, but still somehow has 'cajones'.

I only got rid of them because I got tired of using them with a brick stack on the go. But yeah, if you've got cash to spare they are definitely worth getting but you have to have patience. Getting just the right dac/amp/cable combo will take some trial and error. One thing of note is that crappily recorded music will sound well...crappy. But well recorded music will be stunning so it's a double edge sword. These ciems will not hide any imperfections in the music. I'm a crappy writer, sorry for the unorganized ramble lol.

I've moved on from dedicated DAPs and transportable bricks. I just want a simple smartphone / iem setup. Hopefully the Andromeda will sound decent enough out of a smartphone.

Galaxy S7 Edge sounds terrible, maybe I should get the HTC 10 to use with the Andromeda.

 

10 days go, the friend who put the Andromedas on my radar (and subsequently pointed me to Señor Marvey’s impressions) remarked, after I’d shared my Andromeda vs UERM impressions with him and two other friends and UERM owners, “My impressions are slightly different from the sparrow’s. (I think note weight on Andro is slightly heavier than UERM) but the bulk of my impressions mirror his. Bottom line, I'd take the Andro over the UERM 12 times out of 10.” The sparrow couldn’t agree more now that he has compared the UERM and Andromeda a few times (though he still feels note weight is roughly the same).

After nearly 2 weeks with the Andromeda, I’d like to add the following:
a) Most of us in this forum know just how difficult it is to get good/accurate treble reproduction; I, myself, have not heard a ‘phone that does treble better than the Andros, absolutely no question about that.
b) Anyone who has a set of UERMs and thinks (very) highly of them MUST audition the Andromedas — I honestly doubt there’d be a single UERM owner who would fail to notice the not so subtle sonic improvements of the CFAs over the UEs.

Oh, but wait, aren’t customs supposed to be (much) better sounding than universals? Glad to see that stupid, and long-held belief, has been proven to be utter nonsense…unless, of course, it comes down to the number of drivers (5 BAs on the Andromeda vs 3 BAs on the UERM) — let’s get our Noble Audio “Super Wiz 50” (50 BAs) or, better still, the super duper JHA “Da Virgin Mary” (72 BAs), I say.

 

Good name for the imaginary JHAs, you'd need divine intervention to get 72 BAs working well together in a single housing that fits in your ear.

 

Mine just shipped out today. Eagerly waiting to compare them to the UERR. UERR I feel has an all around better sound (not as harsh) than the UERM but neither is good for riding on train or being out and about in LA. Andromeda fits the bill and if it sounds as good as Marvey says.. will be my one and only. Thanks for impressions and hype free reviews.

 

Can't wait!

 

Have compared the UERM & Andromeda very, very quickly, so take comments with a pinch of salt. Sources:
6G iPod Touch (~1 ohm)
A friend’s iPhone 6S (~3 ohms)
AK240 (~3 ohms)

In order of preference, from best to worst SQ:

UERM:
1 - iPod Touch — very correct overall
2 - AK240 — closer to Touch, with slightly less pronounced treble, seems a tad less resolving
3 - iPhone 6S — warmer (more mid bass), lacks a bit of treble energy

Andromeda:
1 - iPhone 6S & AK240 — very similar, great SQ
3 - iPod Touch — wamish

(Won’t be able to compare these IEMs again using an iPhone 6S until I meet with my friend again)

 

How so? I'm interested.

Also, please update later with how Andro does in LA

 

With all the praise the Andromeda has been getting, I think I'm just gonna go ahead and order them now.
I'm definitely curious as to how the Andromeda would sound out of your schiit stack.

 

Whilst waiting for my Andromeda I have been scouring the internets for the ZX2.

It looks like getting the Japan / Asian version is the way to go - No volume cap limits.

 

Any update on the heptagon charts for all the CA IEMs?

 

Seems to be quite a bit of talk about the new AudioQuest Dragonfly Red, anyone tried this dac/amp with Andromeda?