I've been using the Harman Kardon BT's for about 3 years now, and they have, and are, a great set of headphones, with a nearly balanced signature, and only a slight emphasis on highs and bass. I wasn't planning to buy another set of headphones, and especially earphones, considering that I have found that I have drifted to over ear headphones, rather than in ears. I also had a stenosis in my right ear, which is a bone growth, that required surgery. I had if for the past 3 years or so and it was initially causing infections, however doctors did not diagnose the stenosis until about 9 months ago, the point at which infections were happening monthly, As such, I believed the infections were from in-ears, a large reason for why I went to headphones. In ears certainly worsened infections, however. My ear still does bug me with a dull ache at times, but so far the Orion earphones have not caused discomfort, so luckily I can keep using them without worry. The reason I bought the Orions was largely due to the fact that my dad has been looking at some better headphones, and an amp or DAP. I am largely against the price of Astell and Kern products, but he has had interest in the Junior. As for headphones, he so far prefers in-ears, to avoid the sweating that he has noticed with trying my Harman Kardon's. I showed him some reviews of well known in-ears, some that I have bought and returned. He is looking for balanced sound, so I told him to look at Etymotic and a few others. By chance, through a Headphone Bar email, I spotted Campfire's Orion, with $100 off or so, thus essentially offering a price that matches the Canadian and American dollar at around $350. Looking at reviews, they seemed to be what my father would enjoy. The only issue however, they loop around the ears, and for whatever reason he can't go with that. Myself, I just couldn't let it be, and I wanted to try another set of in-ears, and a balanced set as well, so I went for them. So far, I am very pleased.
Packaging:
Very minimalist indeed. I'm not big into the environment and global warming stuff, but I prefer what I buy to not have a box within a box, within a box, wrapped with a plastic covering, or hard plastic case. As long as every arrive intact, I'm fine with it. The Orion's come in a simple box, sealed with the label overlapping the seam. Inside you are presented with the canvas case, inside the Orion's cushioned by a wool padding of sorts. Very simple, unlike other earphones that I have bought that feature some intricate plastic tray that the earphones sit in and the wire wrapped about here and there. With the quality of the earphones and cable (a single wire strand from each phone is as thick as I have seen whole cables on other earphones, such as the Klipsch S4), I doubt just tossing them in the case will ever be an issue. Also in the package is the eartips, cleaning tool and instructions. There is no extra pointless stuff, and I can easily put the packages of tips and the tool in the case with the earphones, at least while I figure out which tip or tips I prefer.
Design:
Like the case, the Orion's are simplistic looking, slightly on the industrial/angular side of designs. It is very elegant though, not made to stand out, but stand out through it's utilitarian look. There is no Bozo the Clown theme here, like what is seen with the popular, consumer lines of headphones, like Monster, or Beats. Actually, I would have to say that the Orion earphones have a design like my Harman Hardon's: Squared off and angular, black, simple. The Orion's are just the smaller in-ear version. Everything on the Orion's is well designed and manufactured with high standards, and I don't expect anything to fall off or start rattling during my listening sessions.
Sound:
I have so far used the Orion's for about 4 hours, and about 12 hours of burn-in on top of those 4 hours. I am still unsure of the burn-in process, especially when not dealing with large drivers, but I am hoping that there is an ounce more bass to come in. I mean an ounce, as I am not one for heavy bass for the most part. Where the sound is now, I am getting a very balanced sound, accurate bass, great mids and a treble that is bright but no piercing. In some cases, I hear times when I would like a touch more highs, but it is very seldom that I don't find there to be enough sparkle. I have just started using the standard tips, rather than the foam tips (I tried both the comply and the standard foam tips), and I feel that I am enjoying the sound more. There is not a great deal of difference, but the foam does seem to have a slightly muffling of sound. The result is that the highs come of a tad more and the bass sounds the same amount, but with more punch. So far, this is the only set of earphones I have tried where I truly prefer the basic tips. Also, when dealing with loop around wires, foam tips are a bit more awkward to use. Balanced, no matter what, is how I will continue to describe the sound. Oddly, the Orion's have made me realize just how close to balanced the Harman Kardon's are, as I was initially expected a great deal of difference coming from them.
Depth and sound stage is quite decent. I don't think much better can be found for in-ears, unless going much higher end, and even then I am not sure how much more could be improved. I don't think in-ears can ever match on-ear headphones, even closed back, for in-ears are...well they stuck in your ears and the sound is just pushed down the ear canal. Going for binaural music, like CC Coletti's Bring It On Home album, does clearly bring about a major improvement of sound stage, and the spacial representation of the music not being in your ears.
My only gripe with the Campfire's Orion is the sensitivity. While they are easy to drive, and I have really only been using an iPod touch to play the music, the phones are rather sensitive to what you play through them. I have also tried with the iPod going through LOD with my Fiio E12, but I don't hear much difference. Either way, if you listen to MP3 below 320kbps, or something with improper ripping or remastering, you hear distortion, and, often accompanied with, unpleasant treble. I have listened to multiple types of music, FLAC and MP3, and it is sort of hit or miss whether it will sound good. For example, the first song I listened to on the earphones was Adele's Hello. The voice was rather harsh, and the bass just distorted the moment it sound. It killed the earphones for me right off the bat, but then I turned on Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On. The bass was tight and the voice was accurate. It is even better now with some burn in, or maybe I'm just getting used to the bass. I've listend to some Stevie Nicks, and it is clear as a bell. Rock, R&B and jazz definitely seems to be where the Orion's shine so far, although they do quite well with most music, pumping the bass quite well if the song needs it. Overall, it seems the only distortion that you will find is when the files themselves have the distortion in them. All of these songs I have listened to on the Harman Hardon's and never experienced distortion, but clearly the sensitivity is the cause, as many songs will just play flawlessly, and others are nearly impossible to listen to. It looks like I will have to revamp my music collection and go for only lossless. Of course, there are those songs that have distortion on anything, like some of the music from Led Zeppelin; I have not been able to find any version of Whole Lotta Love that doesn't have a distortion sound in various section. Another song is Little Red Corvette by Prince. In the beginning of the song, there is also a second or two of distortion in Prince's voice. My consensus is that the distortion it is either it is the particular file quality, or the song itself is distorted (can't find a version of the song in lossy or lossless that sounds cleaner).
Overall, Orion by Campfire is a great set of earphones. I don't have huge ears, but so far have not had comfort issues, besides the occasional ache in my ear due to surgery. The sound from the earphone's is very true, and natural. Bass is usually exactly what I want, although there is the odd time where I would like more. The same goes for the treble; the sparkle is often perfect, but the odd time I here a note or voice and I realize it didn't quite make my spine tingle. Then again, if more bass and treble was present, I would possibly find it too much for most of what I was listening to. Oddly, I am finding myself to be enjoying the basic eartips more, over the foam tips. The sound is ever so slightly cleaner, and it is easier to insert this style of earphones without dealing with squishing the foam tip. No earphone or headphone is perfect, at least perhaps until a zero is added to the price, but the Orion's are very close, with very little that I would like to see changed in the design and sound. I am looking forward to seeing what else Campfire comes out with, larger headphones perhaps. I will continue to play around with sources and amps as well, see if I can hear an improvement with the E12. Perhaps the E12 can deliver that extra oomph or sparkle that I would like.
Packaging:
Very minimalist indeed. I'm not big into the environment and global warming stuff, but I prefer what I buy to not have a box within a box, within a box, wrapped with a plastic covering, or hard plastic case. As long as every arrive intact, I'm fine with it. The Orion's come in a simple box, sealed with the label overlapping the seam. Inside you are presented with the canvas case, inside the Orion's cushioned by a wool padding of sorts. Very simple, unlike other earphones that I have bought that feature some intricate plastic tray that the earphones sit in and the wire wrapped about here and there. With the quality of the earphones and cable (a single wire strand from each phone is as thick as I have seen whole cables on other earphones, such as the Klipsch S4), I doubt just tossing them in the case will ever be an issue. Also in the package is the eartips, cleaning tool and instructions. There is no extra pointless stuff, and I can easily put the packages of tips and the tool in the case with the earphones, at least while I figure out which tip or tips I prefer.
Design:
Like the case, the Orion's are simplistic looking, slightly on the industrial/angular side of designs. It is very elegant though, not made to stand out, but stand out through it's utilitarian look. There is no Bozo the Clown theme here, like what is seen with the popular, consumer lines of headphones, like Monster, or Beats. Actually, I would have to say that the Orion earphones have a design like my Harman Hardon's: Squared off and angular, black, simple. The Orion's are just the smaller in-ear version. Everything on the Orion's is well designed and manufactured with high standards, and I don't expect anything to fall off or start rattling during my listening sessions.
Sound:
I have so far used the Orion's for about 4 hours, and about 12 hours of burn-in on top of those 4 hours. I am still unsure of the burn-in process, especially when not dealing with large drivers, but I am hoping that there is an ounce more bass to come in. I mean an ounce, as I am not one for heavy bass for the most part. Where the sound is now, I am getting a very balanced sound, accurate bass, great mids and a treble that is bright but no piercing. In some cases, I hear times when I would like a touch more highs, but it is very seldom that I don't find there to be enough sparkle. I have just started using the standard tips, rather than the foam tips (I tried both the comply and the standard foam tips), and I feel that I am enjoying the sound more. There is not a great deal of difference, but the foam does seem to have a slightly muffling of sound. The result is that the highs come of a tad more and the bass sounds the same amount, but with more punch. So far, this is the only set of earphones I have tried where I truly prefer the basic tips. Also, when dealing with loop around wires, foam tips are a bit more awkward to use. Balanced, no matter what, is how I will continue to describe the sound. Oddly, the Orion's have made me realize just how close to balanced the Harman Kardon's are, as I was initially expected a great deal of difference coming from them.
Depth and sound stage is quite decent. I don't think much better can be found for in-ears, unless going much higher end, and even then I am not sure how much more could be improved. I don't think in-ears can ever match on-ear headphones, even closed back, for in-ears are...well they stuck in your ears and the sound is just pushed down the ear canal. Going for binaural music, like CC Coletti's Bring It On Home album, does clearly bring about a major improvement of sound stage, and the spacial representation of the music not being in your ears.
My only gripe with the Campfire's Orion is the sensitivity. While they are easy to drive, and I have really only been using an iPod touch to play the music, the phones are rather sensitive to what you play through them. I have also tried with the iPod going through LOD with my Fiio E12, but I don't hear much difference. Either way, if you listen to MP3 below 320kbps, or something with improper ripping or remastering, you hear distortion, and, often accompanied with, unpleasant treble. I have listened to multiple types of music, FLAC and MP3, and it is sort of hit or miss whether it will sound good. For example, the first song I listened to on the earphones was Adele's Hello. The voice was rather harsh, and the bass just distorted the moment it sound. It killed the earphones for me right off the bat, but then I turned on Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On. The bass was tight and the voice was accurate. It is even better now with some burn in, or maybe I'm just getting used to the bass. I've listend to some Stevie Nicks, and it is clear as a bell. Rock, R&B and jazz definitely seems to be where the Orion's shine so far, although they do quite well with most music, pumping the bass quite well if the song needs it. Overall, it seems the only distortion that you will find is when the files themselves have the distortion in them. All of these songs I have listened to on the Harman Hardon's and never experienced distortion, but clearly the sensitivity is the cause, as many songs will just play flawlessly, and others are nearly impossible to listen to. It looks like I will have to revamp my music collection and go for only lossless. Of course, there are those songs that have distortion on anything, like some of the music from Led Zeppelin; I have not been able to find any version of Whole Lotta Love that doesn't have a distortion sound in various section. Another song is Little Red Corvette by Prince. In the beginning of the song, there is also a second or two of distortion in Prince's voice. My consensus is that the distortion it is either it is the particular file quality, or the song itself is distorted (can't find a version of the song in lossy or lossless that sounds cleaner).
Overall, Orion by Campfire is a great set of earphones. I don't have huge ears, but so far have not had comfort issues, besides the occasional ache in my ear due to surgery. The sound from the earphone's is very true, and natural. Bass is usually exactly what I want, although there is the odd time where I would like more. The same goes for the treble; the sparkle is often perfect, but the odd time I here a note or voice and I realize it didn't quite make my spine tingle. Then again, if more bass and treble was present, I would possibly find it too much for most of what I was listening to. Oddly, I am finding myself to be enjoying the basic eartips more, over the foam tips. The sound is ever so slightly cleaner, and it is easier to insert this style of earphones without dealing with squishing the foam tip. No earphone or headphone is perfect, at least perhaps until a zero is added to the price, but the Orion's are very close, with very little that I would like to see changed in the design and sound. I am looking forward to seeing what else Campfire comes out with, larger headphones perhaps. I will continue to play around with sources and amps as well, see if I can hear an improvement with the E12. Perhaps the E12 can deliver that extra oomph or sparkle that I would like.