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

Possible backpack set up without mods: MoMB, one of those battery packs (like the ChargeTech or something) with AC output for the MoMB, and an amp of your choice.

 

Therein lies the problem. It seems as though there are some good DAP pairings for Andromeda but finding an amp that is technically suitable and has good synergy is proving to be difficult...

 

Now we need a "Best Amps/(Attenuator) for the Andromeda" list.

Luckily (or unluckily) I'm finding it great out of pretty much everything I plug it into.

 

Got the Andromed a couple of days ago. Hopping between them and the Shure SE846 mostly. Want to get rid of one of these two, preferably.



The Andromeda aren't easy. It's like having a full afterburner in your ear. I thought I liked sharp, grainy bright treble, but whoa..
The hiss is also challenging. My desk setup has zero hiss, totally flat noise floor, but they sound too bright out of it. Not the right impedance probably. Much smoother out of an S7 Edge Exynos (Lucky/Cirrus/Wolfson), but there's some hiss (not much tho, I'd say tolerable).

I expected to park the SE846 to return a few minutes after starting with the CAs, but it didn't happen. The Andromeda are really good however. Still rotating them. Might prepare a proper review later.

 

Try @Bill-P's foam trick.

 

Saw it, looks interesting. A touch of EQ around 6-8 kHz seems to smoothen them to my ears at least, but that's something else to try. They actually sound just perfect with some recordings. Listening to Diana Krall's "Popsicle Toes" now and expected some sibilance on this one but it is just about right. Cowboy Junkie's "Sweet Jane" on the other hand, very SSsss. Sadly the stack that gets me the flatter, totally quiet noise floor also gives it an even brighter tonality.

My Andromeda didn't come with the Comply TX-400, only the open foams, SpinFits and some generic silicons. Using the default foam, but I ordered the Comply. Perhaps the little debris protection mesh tames the higher frequencies a bit too.

 

What exactly are you driving them with? The OI must be pretty high if they're bright. I know they're bright and hissy as f**k out of my OP3, so I never use them together. I assume it's with the SMSL M8+VA2?

 

Yes, M8+VA2+P1. I was very pleased to find a source that was really flat on noise even at ridiculous volume levels, but then realized they need a warmer source. The S7E Exynos turned out to be a surprising good match, for a quick, easy solution while I look for an alternative.

 

Coming from SE846, surely Andro will be afterburner. But then, SE846 is "boom boom" monster. Had you listened to a neutral gear, Andro would be slightly bright yet smooth.

If you think Andro is "sharp, grainy bright treble", HD800, Grado, Audeze, closed-back Ether treble will be supernova party in your cochlea.

 

knowing your taste on headfi, i would suggest jupiter or lyra to be honest, both, ime, are better than the shures but with a more laid back profile. if you venture outside of CA, the Oriolus 2 or Noble K10 might be more broadly compatible to what you are getting from the z1Rs.

 

There's a new tip exchange thread in the FS forum.

I posted that I have Comply Tx-400s I don't need, that I'm looking for the wide bore double flanged tips that came with the fitear that @deafdoorknob recommended, and will trade any of my non-Spinfit medium tips for those.

 

Just to update on this, I've put more hours on the comparison and tonight while listening to Keb' Mo' "Slow Down" (recommended btw, great album even if you don't care for blues, very captivating recording quality) something just clicked in my noodle...

I'm keeping the Andromeda and returning the Shure SE846.

Nothing particularly bad with the 846 and the fuller, lush mids are great sometimes, but I don't use IEMs often enough to justify both and it will be easier to tone down the Andros brightness when needed than make the 846 less veiled on the high frequencies (EQ helps but affects tonality too much for my taste).

Really liked the resolution and detail on that album. Lots of air, very good separation and positioning. Bass was still enough and somehow the timbre of instruments felt more natural on the Andromeda.

Also have some XBA-Z5 ordered, which might scratch the occasional bassy fun itch with a warmer, meatier hybrid signature.

So Andros it is.

Still think they're super fugly tho, but I didn't get them to look at.

 

@beowulf Foam tips will emphasize the bass and reduce the treble, so you'll be good.

 

My gut feeling is yes, it does make my other headphones pretty much obsolete or at least makes me consider selling them off. If you are the type of person who doesn't care to own a stable of headphones then this line of thought makes perfect sense. I prefer the stock Andromedas over my stock HD600 and stock HD800. I don't like having headphones that are barely used or used less than once a week. I've since given my HD600 to my little brother and am seriously considering selling off my HD800 and possibly Gung/Mjolnir (1st gens) and just enjoying my Andros (straight out of my smartphone/laptop/MBP). I can deal with the hiss by cranking the volume a little higher than normal.

 

You could try the iFi iEMatch to defeat hiss. Protect your hearing before it's gone! (take it from a deaf guy)

 

I have an iEMatch and my intial impression is that it takes away too much from the sound while getting rid of the hiss. The tradeoff is not favorable imo, and I mean that in a significant way. This is in the following setup: smartphone (HTC One M7) -> iEMatch -> Andromeda. So far I am regretting buying an iEMatch.

 

Ah. That's not good.

Haven't had a chance to consider one yet since I'm quite satisfied with Clip Zip -> Andromeda, although slightly dark it sounds good enough for on the go usage to me. I'm not very sensitive to hiss so that helps if there's any hiss with them.

OP3 is utterly terrible with the Andromeda thanks to godawful hiss, and it's either hiss city or deaf town with it, so it has never been in the running. Do have a Nexus 5 and a Z3 Tablet Compact sitting around, should be giving them a go in a few hours.

 

I don't think Andromeda obsoletes anything; it just offers near TOTL performance for $1100 ($850 B stock) which makes almost everything else unattractive in comparison.

Even though the Andro is technically (and tonally) superior I still prefer UERM/UERR for doing critical listening/music restoration due to the smooth treble roll off. TOTL full size cans like Utopia or modded HD800 are equal and/or superior Andro in various ways.

BTW for the hiss thing you guys are talking about, do you hear it while music is playing? If no I wouldn't worry about it unless it's really obnoxious or painful. The most important thing is how the amp is controlling the drivers; IMO a small reduction in noise floor is not a big deal as even -50dB (good vinyl playback) is below the noise floor of nearly all recordings.

 

I've been using my Andros in balanced mode since I got them, other than to do a few tests. Switched back to SE on a whim today and am actually finding I prefer the GOV2+ this way, and the ZX2 doesn't seem to be suffering too badly either (I know the ZX2 isn't true balanced). Might just leave these SE from now on.