Alien Brain by Campfire Audio - Official Thread

[Ryokan]

Reminds me of H.P Lovecraft for some reason

Hope @cleg reviews these.

 

[XERO1]

Did Campfire just make their first ever Harmon-esque tuned IEM?!

I'll definitely be checking these out at CanJam SoCal.

And who knows, I might even go home with my first ever Campfire IEM!

 

[cleg]

Reminds me of H.P Lovecraft for some reason

Hope @cleg reviews these.

Will try to get a loaner here, but not sure how fast it will be )))

 

[vasix]

Campfire Alien Brain

/Disclaimer: This IEM was purchased with personal money, without a request to write positives from Campfire Audio./






Pros:
- Powerful, controlled, textured bass. The bass is fast and dynamic. Good mid/sub bass ratio. The bass is well separated from the mids and operates in its own space. The quality of the driver plays a major role here, imo! To be completely honest, I haven't heard better bass in terms of tonality and timbre in an IEM under $2000.
- Mids are neutral with a touch of warmth. The lower mids are not suppressed, the upper mids are not flashy. Full, rich mids with proper tonality. Nowadays it is very difficult to hear properly tuned mids in IEM.
- The treble extension is well done and adds space and atmosphere, without sharp peaks. Complete absence of sibilance.
- The male vocals are thick, organic, slightly forward in the mix. It's a real pleasure to listen to them with the Alien Brain.
- The female vocals are natural, without nasality and without a strange ВA timbre.
- A tireless sound that you can listen to for hours. Forgiving of older/bad recordings, as long as they are not too poorly mastered.
- Well balanced sound, without overemphasizing any one area in the FR, resulting in an all-rounder set. It's impressive that you can listen to your music library in a shuffle and enjoy different music genres equally.
- With this IEM you hear music in a different and unique way. It's hard to explain in words.
- Good sense of 3D soundstage if you find the right eartips - there is good width, good depth and decent height. The layering inside is done excellently. The images are accurate and large - both dynamic and static - with a good pinpoint factor. The reverberation tails are not missing, you can perfectly enjoy the picture of sound drawn by the Alien Brain.
- This is a musical IEM, but it hasn't lost its technicality. Although it's not a technical beast.
- The guitars have very good texture and superb tonality.
- The drums have an outstanding head-banging sound. The double pedals are distinct and a pleasure to the ears.
- One of the few IEMs on the market that reproduces metal music incredibly well - everything is separate and without any congestion on stage.
- Very good macrodynamics and good microdynamics. Especially for the price!
- Impressive coherence for 5 drivers with very good note weight . Campfire proves once again that you don't need to cram 12, 16, or 19 drivers into a shell to achieve impressive sound. I guess this is because of the technology used.
- The included cables don't need immediate replacement. In fact, the match is the best with them!
- Unique and bold design. These IEMs are beautiful, but only if you see them in person.
- Еasy to drive. He's not very picky about the source.



Cons:

- A little more soundstage height would be welcome. But it's not bad anyway!
- Some may find the bass to be present, but let's not forget that this is more of a set for entertainment, not for dry analysis.
- The resolution could be a little better, but that's a quibble for the price. Don't worry - you hear everything like you would with a $2,000 set.
- Slightly dry timbre in the cymbals, but compensates with natural and unexaggerated attenuation.
- Fit may not be for everyone.
- Choosing eartips is difficult. This IEM works well with Final E, but they are not included in the package.



Final score 9.8/10 S-tire

Music used for tests:

Меtallica
Asylum
Structures
Beneath the massacre
The Zenith Passage
Polyphia
Mencea
Ingested
Cytotoxin
Infery
Soreption
The Aristocrats ...

40 fingers
Paco De Lucia
Marcin
Stefano Barone
Peter Finger
Oscar lopez ...

Nidia
Moderat
Amon Tobin
Faithless
Josephs Perception
Fluke
DJ Danifox
Jon Kennedy
ASC
Soul Intent
Yosi Horikawa
The Prodigy
Shpongle
The Future Sound of London
Acid Lab...

Angela Barren
Aneesa Strings
Latanya Alberto
Sade...

Prince
Sting
Onipa...

Miles Davis
Harbie Hancock
Duke Ellington
John Coltrane
Stan Getz...

And many many others...


Sources used: DC Elite, Tanchjim Luna, Dragonfly Cobalt, Shanling M7.

Enjoy the music, metalheads. And not only... with this magnificent set.

 

[TirthaHifi]

How does this sound as compared to Thieaudio MK3

 

[Glotka]

How does this sound as compared to Thieaudio MK3

Bloom Audio recently reviewed the Alien Brain (Youtube video) and made some comments about how these IEM’s compare to Thieaudio Mk3.

 

[vasix]

How does this sound as compared to Thieaudio MK3

MMK3 makes one major mistake, like most Chinese tuning IEMs - they suppress the lower mids a lot, which is not good for many libraries. I have never heard such a thunderous and wonderful drum section as in the Alien Brain. AB is better!

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

One of my favorite IEMs. Review coming tomorrow.

 

[vikinguy]

I’d be interested if anyone has heard AB and Vahalla.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

CAMPFIRE AUDIO ALIEN BRAIN review

Harmonious Frequency Syncopation!!

Thank you for the read, likes, shares, and comments! I appreciate all of you!

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/campfire-audio-alien-brain.28208/reviews#review-38164

 

[potatosh]

How does Alien Brain compare to Dark Star?

 

[Mageborn23]

How does Alien Brain compare to Dark Star?

I can only use memory as a comparison. But I did not enjoy the Dark Star. I didn't enjoy the meta tuning. The Alien Brain on the other hand, Is lively, energetic. Clean and a lot of fun.

 

[potatosh]

I can only use memory as a comparison. But I did not enjoy the Dark Star. I didn't enjoy the meta tuning. The Alien Brain on the other hand, Is lively, energetic. Clean and a lot of fun.

Sounds like Alien Brian sounds more similar to Bonneville I guess? Interesting... (I used to have Bonneville/Ponderosa but sold in favor of Dark Star)

 

[shimigg]

For anyone who tried the Alien Brain, is it better than the OG Solaris ?

 

[CFA Chris]

Sounds like Alien Brian sounds more similar to Bonneville I guess? Interesting... (I used to have Bonneville/Ponderosa but sold in favor of Dark Star)

Hey all, had a chance this morning to do some A/Bing on Alien Brain. Bonneville overall has a more 'aggressive' feeling tuning, with more bass response, particularly in terms of sub extension, and has more high end energy as well, which makes it feel more energetic and have amore of an edge to it than Alien Brain.

Alien Brain, by comparison feels a little more relaxed while still having a nice sense of air and detail. The more even-keeled bass response lends itself to better separation and imaging on busy tracks in particular. Highs still have some nice sparkle but are smoother overall.

For anyone who tried the Alien Brain, is it better than the OG Solaris ?

I don't have the OG Solaris, but vs. my 2020 Solaris, Alien Brain has similar amount of bass, but maybe just a bit more and richer overall quality. The 2020 definitely has more high end sizzle. Vocals felt a little more forward on the Alien Brain as well. 2020 is one of my favorites, so I was surprised to find myself leaning toward Alien Brain. It also again had an interesting edge in terms of separation and layering.

Comparisons were done with AK SP3000, Time Stream Ultra, and Final Type E tips. I find I like foams on Alien Brain best, but wanted to use the same tips across comparisons.

I think Alien Brain operates in a really nice sweet spot in terms of price/performance. Of course I'm biased here but thought I'd chime in!

Thanks everyone!