Campfire Audio Supermoon IEM Review and Measurements

hello,

don't really have much to say...

nice impact from percussion, (the opening of "Head Like A Hole" hit HARD.)

played a list of my favorite girl singers, if a female vocal is up front in the mix, these are just fine.

however, there are some male vocals in indie pop that are a bit hushed (looking at you, Mr. Gibbard) that are sometimes difficult for me to follow. with heart-wrenching lyrics, this becomes fairly important.

not my cup of meat, as any transducers i have need to play nice with multiple genres.

exquisitely made (as i have found all the CFA higher tiered products to be.)

not sure the price is justified, due to not working with all the stuff i listen to.

cheers!

 

Welp before I even listen to these - I'm going to be extra biased.

I've been waiting, excited with anticipation for an aftermarket intake system for my motorcycle. It's been held up for many different reasons like everything else. The day before Vansen said the Supermoons were on their way to me... I pre-ordered that intake... So, I can purchase 4 of these intake systems, which make +6hp... on a sub 400lb. bike or I could buy a Supermoon... or maybe just pocked the extra money?

I hope this week I have enough time to give these a fair listen. LCD-i4's will be out I'm sure. Maybe LCD-R or 2.1 if the battle warrants it.

I'm starting with the Spiral Dot ++ (whatever came with the DropXJVC woody IEM) - Maybe Sedna earfit next. They came with SpinFits I think. Not even gonna to try, my ears just don't work with those.

Welp - wish me luck, diving into the most super moon.

 

Using my HRTF profile in Reveal+ really helps the presentation of the Supermoon. They are a bit thin and wide before and they get more forward focused and dense with a much more focused, solid center image. My tastes don't particularly align with the top-end of the Supermoon. Metal dome vs. Silk dome is the quick and dirty explanation. With Reveal on though, the thinness is blended in much better with all the extra density focused into a smaller image. They are wide and flat across from ear to ear. Reveal is forward of face and a pretty decent job of 30° presentation. So just imagine folding a flat open book and closing it to 30° and the pages become more densely together. Mid's still recessed - almost an ethereal type quality. Bass still has too much mid-bass for my tastes. I think a low-end shelf below somewhere around 50's and maybe a small bump at 80 to keep a little punch and make sure to just a touch in treble for the sharpness of that punch. Touch shouty stock tuning. I'd probably really like a lokius for these, but that is a lot of my headphones HA HA HA.

I do like the top to bottom extension on these. I don't mind the mid suck-out much - they are pretty good for low-level listening and they come alive very quickly without much effort. They seem super sensitive.

I'm struggling thinking of something I've heard that sounds like these. The mid's->treble is like the Solaris OG from my best recollection. I think in my Solaris review I complained about the bass timbre there. These do scratch that itch I guess. I think I need to try some of the cheaper planar variations or even @rhythmdevils creations. I'm a collector and I find this sound unique. Different than the LCD-R, LCD-i4. The Supermoon lacking the finesses and outright ease, but right up there with some of the bests I've heard.

Now that I've thought that in my head, the Noble Khan does come to mind. Supermoon would be a much improved version of those. No issues between drivers and timbre differences.

I purchased the LCD-i4 at the B-Stock sale, so it isn't too much of a fair fight for value, but I do believe that the sound I'm currently hearing should be less than $1k IMO. I'm excited for people to start jumping on xMEMSx - I think TWS will have a field day with them. After I heard some of these value planar IEM's I'll reassess my thoughts on value and overall satisfaction.

 

I got to spend some time with the Supermoon thanks to the loaner.

All my testing was done using Tidal on an IBasso Dx320 with stock amp module.

They present a large and layered stage for a pair of IEMs, the bass is absolutely banging, and I found the treble to have a nice sparkle but without any fatiguing effect to my ears (In general I seem to be more sensitive to upper mid spikes rather than treble spikes), but I do find the mids a tad recessed.

They were really amazing for electronic music, very strong detail retrieval as well as staging (great for hearing sound effects floating around your ears, and it handled complex songs with tons going on with ease, giving everything its own place, a good example is: SledgeHammer by Savant, These IEMs + Savant put a stupid smile on my face many times), and spectacular bass that goes super deep, but I felt their frequency response was not what I preferred for rock/metal stuff. I much preferred the OG Campfire Andromeda for metal or latin jazz.

I would say the staging of the Supermoon was more precise and layered when compared to the OG Andromeda or the OG Solaris as well. Technically it is a very good IEM.

I think there is also the aspect of getting a good fit that is affecting the sound. I found that the deeper you insert them the less bass you get, and if you don't insert them too deep then they are super bassy. I think it is hard to get a good gauge of how the universal fit will compare to a custom version due to how much variance you get based on how you insert them.

I suspect the custom version would achieve a deeper insertion that may change the FR in a way that could be more favorable to other genres of music.

 

Loaner impressions

Thank you, SBAF and Campfire Audio, for the loaner tour. As someone who owns the original Solaris and Andromeda 2020, I'm favorably disposed to Campfire Audio's products even when their tuning isn't to my taste, as with the Dorado 2020, which had mids that were too recessed for me. The Supermoon, while impressive and pleasing in many ways, tilt away from my preferences.

One thing that bothers me about the Supermoon is that they need lots of juice. From portable gear such as an iFi Go Bar and a Sony ZX2, which isn't a powerful DAP, the Supermoon sound overly dark/warm and murky, lacking in macrodynamic strength, are too slow, and while they have nice timbre, they're too dull and the tuning is way off, with too much bass, too little treble extension, and recessed mids.

Spoiler: Listening notes from under-powered sources, just for diagnostic purposes

I'm leaving these listening notes here in case anyone is trying to get a handle on the Supermoon and suspect they're underpowered. With the iFi Go Bar and ZX2, I had to use the lightest, thinnest silicone tips to make the Supermoon listenable. Even then, they were too muffled, warm, and dull, a problem exacerbated by the rounded, soft transients and lack of macrodynamic contrast. The ZX2 fared better with the Supermoon, giving them a fun but overly exaggerated bass. The sub-bass goes super deep and has really nice texture, with plenty of growl and rumble as well as good slam. The bass is also nicely spacious with a big sound to it, one that's almost three-dimensional and enveloping. The sound is slightly wet - syrupy describes it better - but the mids are too recessed. Guitars sound wrong; power chords, for instance, are flat, dull, almost missing, and there's no bite to the higher frequencies. There's some treble roll off, too. Acoustic guitars have the very least sparkle as to be passably acceptable. Cymbals are poor, lack sparkle and definition, and come across as weirdly tinkly. The lack of treble air means that the Supermoon, from these sources, sound a bit closed in although they have good separation and layering. Making matters worse are the poor macrodynamics: the Supermoon, underpowered as they are here, are a bit flat, almost leaden, ponderous; there's not enough punch or percussiveness, coupled with low end emphasis makes for lack of excitement and energy.

The Supermoon sound fundamentally different, and immeasurably better, from desktop amps, as with my Monoprice Cavalli Liquid Gold X (on low gain, obviously), using an Yggdrasil A2 as a source. The Supermoon's sound is much better balanced now, meaning that it doesn't have overly exaggerated bass. Instead, the bass is not so thick and cumbersome; it's tighter, cleaner, and faster. There's still some mid-range recession. The Supermoon also has more treble extension. Cymbals sound better, and there's more treble air, although the Supermoon still lacks sparkle. With a more even frequency response, the Supermoon sounds much more natural and realistic, and the timbre of many instruments now sounds much better. Even so, the timbre is not consistently good. Acoustic guitars have an odd plasticky sound, one that's clipped, almost. I wonder if the harmonics/overtones are being done right?

Unfortunately, the Supermoon still sound a bit sluggish and slow, to me. (I should note that my main IEMs are the original Solaris). And the Supermoon come across as a bit flat and lifeless, with transient attacks that aren't snappy enough.

Compared to my Letshuoer S12 with rhythmdevils' tape mod, the S12 has more sparkle, a bigger, more open and spacious stage, much better decay, and vocals that are more forward. The S12 have better timbre, sound more coherent, are better balanced, have lighter tonality, and are less dark. The S12 may be a bit less resolving, although cymbals sound more complex on S12. Both share a few things in common - a rich, weighty/thick tonality, and some wetness to the sound. The Supermoon has more sub-bass depth and rumble.

 

The Super MoonMoon



This will be a super BriefBrief review

I listened via my elderly ipod 5.5 plus Apex Glacier amp (pm me if you love your DAP and feel it has MoonMoon power), yes, the supermoon needs a bit of juice to drive, that is kinda expected on an iem like this.

So, overall, this gives the impression of a driver that Ken at campfire has seriously dampened in various places to try to make a workable iem. And he's done a good job, this is a contender for top dynamic iem out there. It also has some issues in the sound.

I listened to this and then had my fiancee listen, she was in training to be a concert violinist once upon a time and so had some comments.

We compared the Super MoonMoon to my old Sennheiser IE800S. I'll eventually pick up the ie900, but not yet.

Right away, the Supermoon has an interesting treble with some peaks and dips. Extension is good, but cymbals, as others have noted, don't shine naturally, maybe this is a place in the range where the driver needed some dampening or something. However, violins sound quite nice. My fiancee found she could tell microdetails in vibrato technique with the supermoon while they were less audible with the ie800S. So, detail retrieval is very good. She found the supermoon to be bright in the treble with her violin listening (some classical pieces she knew backwards and forwards from playing them) versus the ie800S. And keep in mind many found the IE800S to be bright in the treble itself, so if you are sensitive to treble, have a care. I found the supermoon to be a little bright in that range, but not ever fatiguing at the high moderate volumes at which I listen. Listening volume is something to keep in mind when reading reviews, of course. Higher volumes and you'll want something less bright (like a stage monitor tuning) or you will damage your hearing--you might just do that anyway, so turn it down just a little.

For the bass, the focus is on the midbass, but the supermoon has very good bass extension into the subbass. With proper power to drive it and a good fit (oh god, getting fit just right on iems is so key) bass is present, but just a little dampened so it doesn't step in front of the other ranges, but can punch with bassy music. Although I think it's still a bit polite compared to something like the bass-tilted campfire Atlas. I prefer a subbass tilt as in the Ie800S, but the supermoon did well in classical music to balance cellos with violins, better than the ie800S did.

The mids may have a dip somewhere in their range, but overall were decently present, if a step behind the treble sometimes. I found the timbre on the supermoon to be good overall, but as with cymbals, not quite at the level of what dynamic driver iems can be capable of. Detail, however, was strong versus other dynamics.

To sum it, these are highly capable iems with a lot of strengths and a few weaknesses. Well driven, I think they will be some people's top iem. Good job MoonMoon.

 

Since you mention a w-shape, I'm going to ask whether you've been able to get ears on the Fostex TH-X00 for reference (ideally the Ebony variant)? The overall sonic profile on that one sounds about how you describe the Supermoon's, in particular the strong sub-bass and a mid-treble peak accenting sizzle (which is a bit different from sibilance IMO, but different vocabularies I guess).

Pretty stoked to hear how it conveys headstage though, I've grown less fond of super laterally-wide headstages e.g. DT880 or HD800 or many planars and have been leaning more into front-projected, like what you're describing. With the original CA Solaris as a touchstone, how would you say the layering of sonic images compares (not encouraging based on how you mention everything blends together...), and the overall dimensions of the stage?