Hi, so I'm using a Campfire Andromeda, but I'm not really sure how durable it really is. It looks tanky and durable, and while I won't treat it carelessly because of this, I want to know how much it can really take. I'm quite paranoid as this is my first (really) great IEM and I've heard that BAs damage easily.
If I am only wearing one ear and it bangs against a wall or another hard surface, will it be damaged? If I drop it from say, a waist height, will it be damaged? Also, one of my old IEMs was damaged from me accidentally squashing it with a bag. I repaired it, but will the Andromeda also be damaged?
Small bumps/knocks should be fine. I've dropped my Andromeda & Jupiter from my lap before and have had no issues, although I obviously try not to make it a habit. Otherwise it would be kind of hard to squash it with the aluminum shells. The paint is known to wear so that would be the only issue to look out for. Just pop them in your ears; don't let yourself worry too much about keeping them in pristine condition as that will only get in the way of you enjoying them. Cheers!
If you keep them in your pocket, or let them bang into each other you'll get some wearing of the green anodizing on the corners.
I don't know if dropping them from waist height will cause an issue, but they offer repairs for a fee should you damage the drivers from neglect. I wouldn't slap them on the table to clean the earwax caught in the nozzle though.
I haven't squashed my Andromedas yet. The leather case is a very convenient size for travel, and I use it to prevent the cable from tangling with my other IEM I'll bing as a backup.
Probably the MMCX connectors are going to at least be a concern. While different manufacturers have implemented the system, it’s done at different degrees of robustness. Thus the metal material is slightly different as is the design and construction outcome from every manufacturer. Funny we have a design protocol which actually shows a fair amount of random failures due to design and construction techniques?
With the above variables out of the way, you still want to make sure your not connecting the cable and disconnecting it a whole bunch of cycles. It seems MMCX connectors can get loose over time and start to cause intermittent fall-outs of audio. Often a new cable can be the cure but at times it’s actually the housing MMCX part of the IEM connection that fails; not good.
Due to these concerns many have abstained from causing unnatural side force on the MMCX joins. Keeping them is a case is the best way.
The weakest point is the thin cable that is attached to the MMCX inside the shell. When you keep detaching and reattaching the cables, you tend to move the MMCX housing which can cause the thin cable inside to rupture
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