Campfire Audio Honeydew

Greetings!

Today we’re checking out the Honeydew, one of two brand new products from Campfire Audio.

Hailing from Portland, Oregon where their products are designed and hand-assembled, Campfire Audio has been bringing high end in-ear-monitors to the public since 2015. It all started with the Jupiter, Orion, and Lyra. Since then their lineup has been expanded and refined with popular releases like the Andromeda and Atlas. The Andromeda in particular has become a staple recommendation for audiophiles looking to step up into the realm of TOTL (top-of-the-line) gear thanks to a balanced and technically proficient yet entertaining sound. It looks pretty cool too.

With the Honeydew and its sibling, Satsuma, we are seeing a shift in nomenclature from the brand. Whereas past products followed a celestial naming scheme, these two new models are titled after colourful, sweet fruits that make for a delicious snack during the warm summer months. Honeydew features a full-range 10mm dynamic driver with a liquid crystal polymer diaphragm set within a 3D printed acoustic chamber, all tucked inside the same brand new housing as it’s single armature twin. Where the Satsuma goes for a more balanced, mid and treble focused sound, the Honeydew pulls tuning queues from the Polaris II with an extremely entertaining, v-shaped signature.

How does it perform? Let’s find out, shall we?


What I Hear The Honeydew fits well into the Campfire lineup alongside models like the Vega 2020 and Dorado 2020 thanks to a monstrous low end that is the driving force in the characterization of the listening experience. Like those other models, the Honeydew’s bass digs impossibly deep to provide a very thumpy, visceral experience. Betraying it’s status lower down on the totem pole is some looseness and occasional mid-bass bloom that leaves some notes sounded a bit bloated and boomy. Thankfully it keeps up in terms of speed so rapid bass notes like those heard in Havok’s “Time Is Up” remain distinct. Texturing is extremely smooth which I would usually consider a negative, but given detail is still good and the rest of the frequencies are just as silky, I’ll chalk this up as a positive. It ensures the presentation is consistent and coherent top to bottom. I do want to note that the Honeydew scales fairly well with a balanced connection, clearing up some of the bloom and adding texture back. If you have the ability to run it balanced, do it.

The midrange of the Honeydew is unexpectedly linear with a warm and natural timbre that makes it oddly satisfying with live recordings like King Crimson’s “Cat Food”. I just love the way strings and woodwinds are reproduced. Everything is lively and energetic yet smooth and non-fatiguing. The same can be said for the Honeydew’s vocal performance. While recessed in comparison to the bass and to a less extent treble, I never had an issue understanding what was being sung or said, even amidst the clashing of cymbals, deep thrumming of a bass guitar, or massive digital bass. Voltage’s “Life Of A DJ” is a perfect pairing with the Honeydew with articulate, reggae-inspired vocals, warbling basslines, and clattering snares. Notes are thick and weighty which does result in less detail, but given the genres the Honeydew excels with (i.e. basically anything with heavy electronics use) and how refined the presentation is, I can forgive it. This isn’t an analytic earphone after all.

The Honeydew’s treble is also reasonably well balanced with small peaks in both presence and brilliance regions, with the larger of two in the upper treble. The presence peak is needed to ensure the Honeydew isn’t so smooth to the point of all micro detail being masked. While I personally would like a bit more of a lift here, I think most listeners will appreciate Campfire’s modesty as it results in a presentation that retains good detail while being far from harsh or grating. The brilliance region lift is more to my taste, however. There is just the right amount of sparkle on chimes and cymbals with plenty of space between notes. Attack and decay qualities are on the moderate side, further contributing to the Honeydew’s smooth presentation. Lastly, notes are extremely well controlled and tight with zero splash or sloppiness to creep in a ruin the experience. Nicely done.

The Honeydew’s sound stage is an area I think a lot of people will be quite pleased. This earphone sounds big. That big bass provides an expansive platform on which everything else is layered. Despite vocals setting things off with a fairly intimate way, effects get tossed way off into the distance. This dichotomy makes the Honeydew feel very dynamic when used for gaming and movies since it immerses you in the content in a way that few earphones do. The nuanced imaging with clean channel-to-channel transitions doesn’t hurt, nor does the depth of the layering. Instrument separation is generally quite good, though that mid-bass bloom can sneak up and smear things at times.

Compared to a Peer (volumes matched with Dayton iMM-6)

Periodic Audio Ti (199.00 USD): I’m sure you can imagine it came as a surprise when I popped in the Ti for a comparison, only to find that despite the Honeydew being a bit of a bass monster, the Ti was even more so. Both extend into sub-bass regions beautifully with the Ti having extra emphasis. As a result, it sounds slightly more skewed towards a thinner, more textured, and more visceral presentation vs. the Honeydew whose mid-bass has more impact and adds additional warmth. When it comes to speed the Ti is quicker. That said, I prefer the way the Honeydew lets things linger. Leading into the mids the Ti has an upper region lift that I really like. This gives vocals more presence than you hear from the Honeydew, although it comes at the expense of timbre quality and note density. The Honeydew just sounds more natural. Treble from the Ti is very much skewed toward the presence region with the brilliance region struggling to provide much shimmer or sparkle at all. While it provides more detail than the Honeydew, it is less refined with a graininess to it that takes away from the experience. The Ti is also less well controlled with notes lacking the same level of definition. When it comes to sound stage these two perform quite similarly. Wide, deep stages with accurate imaging, good layering and separation. I don’t really find one to be superior to the other.

Both of these products seem tailored towards fans of big bass, and in that regard they do not disappoint. That said, while I prefer the Ti’s midrange presentation, the lack of treble refinement and brilliance region emphasis holds it back. The Honeydew is simply more entertaining and refined. Add to that more comfortable and better built and you’ve got my pick of the two.

Sennheiser IE 300 (299.00 USD): The IE 300 doesn’t lack in the low end, but compared to the Honeydew the difference in elevation is quite evident. Campfire’s entry extends better and has a much heavier, thicker presentation that makes it considerably more visceral and punchy. The IE 300 in contrast has a sound that is quite a bit quicker, lighter, and more nimble. It is much less full-bodied. This lean, light feel continues into the midrange. While the IE 300 nearly matches the Honeydew’s warmth and excellent timbre, it provides more detail and vocal clarity. Unfortunately this comes with some vocal aggression on Tees and Esses that is nowhere to be found in the Honeydew. When I listened to these two back-to-back then looked at the measurements it didn’t seem right that treble emphasis was pretty close. The IE 300 sounds quite a bit brighter to me. I suppose it’s possible this effect is exacerbated by the lean note presentation and thinner brilliance peak that is concentrated at 7k vs. a smoother spread across 7k to 9k. Despite the IE 300 sounding quite a bit brighter, I don’t find either particularly fatiguing, though I do appreciate that the Campfire nearly matches the impressive clarity of the IE 300.

I like both, but I think the Honeydew is the one I’d like to use more often. The more full-bodied sound provided better compliments the tuning style and bass presence. The thicker, less fatiguing midrange also doesn’t hurt.

*Since the Satsuma and Honeydew provide the same external build and accessories, these sections will be the same for both reviews with slight alterations made where necessary.*


In The Ear The Honeydew features an all-new shell design for Campfire Audio, though one that still draws inspiration from the iconic angular design first introduced in 2015 with the Jupiter and Orion. While still rife with straight angles, the new shell is quite compact and petite. Along with a new shell design, this is the first product from the brand that I’m aware of to move to molded ABS plastic. While it certainly lacks the heft and quality feel of their other steel, aluminum, and ceramic models, fit and finish is definitely up to snuff. Seams are extremely tight and properly aligned without excess glue or whatever bonding material was chosen peeking out. The steel nozzles are similar in design to those of the 2020 Dorado and Lyra and protrude from the housings at a natural angle. Outside of the CA logo molded into each face plate, there isn’t much else of speak of. The design language fits in well with the brand as a whole, with the exciting colour (“Mellow Yellow”) really making everything pop.

The Honeydew comes with a new ‘Smoky Lite’ Litz cable. Outside of one small change, nothing else about the cable seems different from the regular Smoky Litz included with the Andromeda 2020, IO, and various other models. I might be just a tad thinner and the sheath more flexible, but even with the two cables side-by-side I’m not confident about this. Either way, the 90 degree angled jack is still smartly designed with an extension to permit compatibility with a wide variety of device cases, though the strain relief remains stiffer than I find ideal. That said, I still have yet to experience any issues with it on the numerous cables in my possession. My experiences with Campfire’s cables have shown them to be plenty durable. Within the small, reliefless aluminum y-split, the cable divides sending two strands on each side to the ear pieces. Slotting into the top of the split is a small plastic chin cinch. It moves much more smoothly here than on older Campfire cables and as a result is much more useful. The one change mentioned earlier is the preformed ear guides. They are now opaque black instead of translucent white as found on all previous versions of this cable. Functionally it is unchanged and does just as good a job of holding the cable securely behind the ear. I like this cable, even if above the y-split it can get a bit tangly.

All points where the shell meets the ear are smooth and rounded leaving this, in my experience, as Campfire Audio’s most ergonomic and comfortable design to date. The lightness provided by the use of ABS absolutely helps with this since the earphone doesn’t droop in the ear, or slip out of place while walking, running, etc. If you decide to take the Honeydew out into noisy environments, you’ll find that isolation is slightly above average for a vented earphone. When out in noisy areas, outside sounds are muffled effectively, though I still found myself upping the volume just a tad to counter. I recommend rolling with Campfire’s included Mushroom foamies if you require the most isolation possible.


In the Box The Honeydew arrives in the same packaging we have become familiar with from the last few releases from Campfire Audio. But is it really the same? When I first held the box, it felt a little different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was until I removed the lovely Campfire Audio logo embossed sticker sealing the exterior sheath shut, then opened the lid of the interior box to reveal the inner contents. Ah ha! This packaging is smaller. Not by a lot, just a few millimetres, but they’ve definitely condensed it down slightly into a more compact experience. This is a change I can fully get behind since it uses less material and creates less waste, a philosophy more in line with the earlier, extremely compact packaging that came with models like the original Polaris, Comet, and Atlas.

Anyway, the theme this time around has changed. The large sticker that adorns the front of the sheath carries with it strong 80’s summer vibes thanks to the use of bright colour gradients set within various well-defined circles. Images of the Honeydew’s creamy orange shells are present and there is also a gemstone tucked into the bottom left corner. Don’t really see how that one fits into the theme, but it looks cool so I’ll let it slide. A smaller sticker can be found along one of the side panels and provides some basic information about the Honeydew, such as that it features a single balanced armature with Campfire’s T.A.E.C teach, a stainless steel spout, among other details. Removing the sheath to reveal the main box within sees Campfire’s traditional nighttime mountain scene has not been abandoned. ‘Nicely Done’ remains printed on the front flap as well, which always puts a smile on my face. Once inside the box, you find a compact half moon carrying case and yet another, smaller box containing the rest of the accessories. In all you get:

• Honeydew earphones
• ‘Smoky Lite’ silver-plated, copper litz cable
• Canvas zipper case (handmade in Portugal!)
• Mashmellow foam tips (s/m/l)
• Wide bore silicone tips (s/m/l)
• Final Audio Type E tips (xs, s, m, l, xl)
• Cleaning tool
• Campfire Audio lapel pin
• Mesh accessory bag (x3)

In all a very comprehensive accessory kit, as is always the case with Campfire Audio products. The only thing I would love to see added in the future is a set of bi- or tri-flange tips to satisfy the crowd that prefers that style. Going back to the new case, this is my favourite iteration of Campfire’s half-moon style case so far. Not only is it smaller and more pocketable than previous versions, without sacrificing the ability to comfortably hold the earphones and some extras, but the canvas material looks and feels fantastic in the hand and will certainly be able to take some abuse. Hopefully they carry it forward to future releases.

Final Thoughts The Honeydew is a very welcome entry to Campfire Audio’s lineup. It is their second most affordable model and does an excellent job of giving buyers an idea of what to expect if they want to move up to something more capable with a similar tune. It finds a nice balance between the mega bassy Vega 2020, and still bassy but more mid-heavy Dorado 2020. It does what the Polaris II did, but more affordably and that is nothing but good.

I also love the new shell design. While I wish it was made of something a bit more premium, giving that up for the outstanding ergonomics and lightness seems like a worthwhile trade. Plus, they still feel plenty durable, you won’t have to worry about paint chips, and they have those sweet chromed steel nozzles to give you something nice to admire.

Overall a quality product with a fun sound, and a worthy opponent in what has become a very congested and competitive market segment. If you want something in this price range with wicked bass in a comfortable, well appointed package, look no further.

Thanks for reading!

– B9

Disclaimer A huge thanks to Caleb at Campfire Audio for reaching out to see if I would be interested in covering the Honeydew, and for arranging a sample for review. The thoughts within this review are my subjective opinions and do not represent Campfire Audio or any other entity. At the time of writing the Honeydew retailed for 249.00 USD: https://campfireaudio.com/shop/honeydew/

Specifications

• Frequency Response: 5Hz – 18kHz
• Sensitivity: 94dB SPL @ 1kHz 18.52 mVrms
• Impedance: 46.40ohms @ 1kHz

Gear Used For Testing LG Q70, Earstudio HUD100, Earmen TR-Amp, Asus FX53V, TEAC HA-501

Some Test Tunes

Supertramp – Crime of the Century
Slipknot – Vol 3 (The Subliminal Verses)
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Aesop Rock – The Impossible Kid
King Crimson – Lark’s Tongues in Aspic
King Crimson – Starless and Bible Black
Infected Mushroom – Legend of the Black Shawarma
The Prodigy – The Day is My Enemy
Steely Dan – The Royal Scam
Porcupine Tree – Stupid Dreams

It's really not hard to see the foothold Campfire Audio (founded in 2009 as ALO Audio) has managed to take over the IEM market in a relatively short period of time. Since 2015, Campfire has seemingly taken the IEM scene by storm with its unique tunings that either make life-long fans or permanent enemies of the company. While not as polarizing as, say, Tin Audio, Campfire's tunings are certainly unique and they've been able to amass enough variety in those unique tunings to have a little something for everybody.

Why then, with all of this momentum, would Campfire decide to go completely back to the drawing board with entirely new products? The Andromeda successfully sold and re-sold (and re-re-sold) with its variants. Like Pokémon, avid collectors seem intent on buying them all. It's a positively dizzying number of SKUs to maintain. And, yet, that's exactly what Campfire Audio has done in 2021; in the heat of summer, no less. And not with one new model, nay, not even two: Campfire came out with a c-c-c-combo breaker and released four new IEMs, all within weeks of each other.

This review will focus on the Honeydew, one of the two new entry-level offerings from Campfire and hoo boy...a lot of things have changed. For starters, both the Honeydew and Satsuma are technically intended for the pro market. The Honeydew featured in this review was designed as “a fresh take on Pro IEMs,” featuring a tuning that makes the Honeydew in particular an “excellent choice for drummers, bassists, Djs, and electronic beat makers."

Campfire Audio...making pro-sumer IEMs? This is an interesting proposition. In today's environment, when we are having to figure out how to do much more in the home environment that we used to take for granted, even musicians are starting to face the struggle of bringing as much of the studio into the house as they possibly can. While this might be an easy obstacle for engineers and studio techs who already have a pretty good grasp on the available gear to overcome, your average musician tends to have a much harder time piecing together equipment that doesn't instantly max out the credit card, yet gives a solid bang-for-buck solution that can serve its purpose reliably and substantially. In this respect, pricing something like the Honeydew as, say, a $250 drummer's monitor makes a lot of sense.

But is it only a pro tool or is there a little bit of Campfire Audio's fun factor cooked into this IEM? Let's find out!

Oh, and it should be quite apparent at this point where the perspective of this review will come from. There's a reason for that. Tools that are purpose-built for tracking and monitoring tend to have very specific tunings that, while they may be a phenomenal choice for the intended use (say, making sure you can still hear all the other instruments in your band while you're wailing away with 64-count kicks and a really tasty take-out-the-whole-kit fill), but there may be compromises in other areas. There's no more clear example I can think of this as with Shure's IEM line. Fantastic for the stage, but a little lacking in the musical enjoyment category.



Talk about an unboxing experience that lives up to the Campfire name! Not many companies manage to pull off that fine balance between “fantastic unboxing experience” and “economic packaging that doesn't choke up the landfill.” This entire retail box can be returned to a flat-packed state and its internal layout is very well-thought out.



Once the interlocking flaps have been released, we catch our first glimpse of the contents inside. I managed to pull a CA Comet case out so we can see just how different things are with this new generation.



Well that's our first major difference! Gone is the pleather, sherpa-lined zipper case. Long live the canvas, sherpa-lined zipper case! Really, the overall shape and material are the biggest changes here. In terms of internal layout, I found that both cases still have about the same usable real estate. This case is now small enough that it disappears in my pocket in ways that only the Etymotic's neoprene cases were previously able to do. I'd say this is a step in the right direction.



Pack-ins, though not fully-pictured, include a wax removal tool, three mesh “socks” for housing an abundance of tips and the IEMs themselves, and the above 3 sets of tips. From left to right, there's the affectionately-named “marshmallow” foam, Campfire's stock wide-bore silicone, and Final Type E silicone tips. Considering the price (and this potentially going to a brand new market), I'd say pack-ins are comfortable, though market leaders like Dunu do now have the upper hand in this regard.



And here's the main event. Man, these shells are light. I don't mean in terms of color, I'm talking about weight! Turns out there was a practical purpose to ditching shells made of aluminum or stainless steel because this ABS housing is fantastically light. Comfy, too. Not many IEMs pass this following test, but just to be sure ergonomics on the Honeydew were at the top of their game, I recruited a little help:



Turns out they fit 7-year old ears, so I'd say that's another win! My daughter's ears definitely sit on the tiny side; there aren't many TWS out there that will fit the openings of her ears yet, so to see an IEM come in that can handle the task is pretty impressive. I consider myself to have average-sized ears and, despite its small size, these Honeydew managed to stay locked in my ears regardless of which tip I used. Even the marshmallow tips can be worn for hours at a time without making my inner ears sore.

But here's the bummer...as part of this shrinking effort on Campfire's part, the nozzle shrank as well. This means that some tips that fit effortlessly on Campfire IEMs in the past may fit either loosely or not at all with the Honeydew. I did find that Campfire's stock wide-bore silicone tips really wobbled on the nozzle, but did not affect the fit or seal once inserted into the ears. Users of aftermarket tips should take caution to prevent losing a tip in your ear. It's for this reason in particular that I would not recommend using something like the Azla XELASTEC. If you're particularly worried, I suggest using one of Final Audio's tip adapters, but you'll have to buy a retail kit of their tips for the privilege. Personally, I find the marshmallow foams to be the clear winners for long-term comfort, but don't hesitate to try out both CA's house tips as well as the Final E; in the case of the Honeydew, there are pretty clear sonic changes as a result of tip selection. My ears prefer the Marshmallows for being able to balance overall tonality while providing a good seal and staying comfortable; I believe most listeners will find themselves coming to the same conclusion.

Before I get too far into the sonic notes, I wanted to discuss the type of driver used. While the Comet (and Satsuma) feature a familiar and skillfully-tuned balanced armature, the Honeydew presents a first for Campfire by bringing in one of the latest buzzwords in driver selection: a LCP dynamic driver. LCP, or liquid-crystal polymer, has been adopted by folks like Moondrop for the Aria and tend to spark a bit of mixed debate in terms of whether driver break-in is required. For the sake of everybody's sanity, I'm leaving that debate out of this review as well, but will say that my experience here could lend credence to the idea that there's more to the story.

What I can say, however, is that my experience with the Honeydew's frequency varies wildly from source to source. According to Campfire's spec sheet, the Honeydew features a nominal impedance of 17.44 ohms at 1kHz and my experience has shown that IEMs sitting in this 20-ish ohm impedance category do tend to be a little more source-dependent than those with a nominal impedance closer to the 1-ohm mark. Similar to the Tin P1 I have been experimenting with off on the side, the Honeydew really does seem to require the right source to really shine. On the wrong one, bass and sub-bass uncompromisingly take the entire show. If tonal balance is even remotely your concern, source pairing will be paramount.



Make no mistake: when it comes to tonality, the Honeydew is appropriately named. This is not the sort of IEM one buys when they're looking for a neutral bass response. This isn't even the sort of IEM one should consider if they want a mild bass lift. The Honeydew is unapologetically boisterous; sub-bass and midbass dominate the frequency response. There's enough of a notch cut between the sub-bass and lower bass to prevent bloom from saturating the signature and treble makes a healthy appearance, so thankfully things never veer into to dark a territory. On the right source, this notch is barely perceivable and you end up with a sub-bass that simultaneously slaps and booms in abundance. Do not consider the Honeydew if you're after a low-fatigue bass response; you will not find it here.

Midrange is a mixed bag with the Honeydew. While it's perfectly serviceable and, at least as far as all IEM companies go it's pretty great, I find midrange response to end up behind the curve to even the veteran Comet. Unfortunately, Honeydew's healthy low end translates to portions of the mids getting sucked out of the mix. On one hand, this keeps drum tracks glued in a center image that all other instruments seem to revolve around. For a drummer's ego, this IEM is one heck of a trip. I feel like everybody else is going to have a problem with that, though, especially because so many of the spatial cues required to transform recorded material into “take you there” material just won't be hit with these IEMs.

And it's that sense of a realistic connection to the music that keeps me from making the Honeydew an easy recommendation. The wall-of-sound effect that you'd think an IEM like the Honeydew can give out in droves is, instead, stunted by funky staging because the drums simply won't diffuse into the track. Again, if you're a session drummer and need that sort of signature, this is perfect for you. If you don't follow drum tracks in your music, it won't be a problem either. Enjoy being walloped by bass, follow the melodies, and disregard any of this as a negative. Don't let me yuck your yum. However, for those who favor technicalities over tonality, especially with timbre and spatial positioning, the Honeydew is going to drive you nuts.

Luckily, you can combat some of this effect with source pairing. Going through the full gamut of sources I had on hand, I found that swapping from single-ended to balanced did not produce much of a sonic benefit. In any case. For full transparency, the 788's noise floor was quite audible using the Honeydew balanced and I would suggest folks using that combination stay single-ended only. To date, this is the only IEM I've plugged into the 788 and been able to hear that noise floor. And, truth be told, it was one of those setups were I really didn't enjoy listening to the Honeydew.



But this...woah momma I'm willing to go out on a limb and say the Qudelix 5k makes just about the perfect pairing for the Honeydew. It's not horribly expensive, deeply customizable, and now features the AutoEQ library, meaning you should be able to apply compensation curves for the Honeydew effortlessly thanks to a recent firmware update. Honestly, though, stock tuning is phenomenal with this combination. Bass is fat, but tighter than with the other setups. Mids are just a little bit sweeter. Treble extends just a little further and never get fatiguing. Using the 2.5mm connection isn't a requirement, but I would suggest taking advantage of the Qudelix's ability to dish it out.

It was with this combination that I proceeded to listen to that playlist I linked at the beginning of this review about a good eleventy billion times, not because I was listening for something new, but because I simply wanted to hear it again and again and again. In the quest to make Honeydew a fun, summertime IEM, mission accomplished. Sadly, it will never be a transformative, “holographic” IEM where you just close your eyes and you're in the studio/concert hall/etc. I found, however, that one can take advantage in playing material that is usually deficient in the same regions the Honeydew is boosted and end up with a really good outcome. Synthwave and Progressive rock/metal, in particular, benefit most from the Honeydew's tuning. Atrey's Dark Prince (Final Cut) runs ripe with oscillator drift; the kind of drift that's just addictive to listen to with this combination. If you're a fan of late-night runs, this might make a stellar combination for you as well.

But would I buy it for myself? Sadly, no. My quest for a fun-tuned IEM continues, but I consider the Honeydew a very worthy offering at the $250 mark. I find the pro focus a refreshing change for Campfire and hope they continue to pursue it, though I do recommend they make it a little more obvious to prospective buyers if this is the case. Perhaps we'll see stage CIEMs coming out of Campfire's repertoire next.