I've been using the Andromeda for a little while now, and I think I've used it enough now to be able to formulate some kind of review on them.
Setup:
Campfire Audio Andromeda IEMs
ALO Audio SXC24 Cable, MMCX
ALO Audio Rx Amplifier
Chord Electronics Mojo
Anker Powerline+ USB Cable
AudioQuest DragonTail USB OTG Adapter
Sony Xperia Z5c
Tidal streaming via UAPP
Construction:
These are some cool IEMs. You can see the mill marks on the casing (which more visually appealing than any kind of mechanical function). The anodized finish is very even and the color is uniform. The aluminum housing gives a better feeling of durability. The MMCX connectors give a positive snap when connecting or disconnecting the cable. Stems held up to the abuse of me putting on and pulling off apparently undersized (NON STOCK) Comply tips and jamming them in my ear in strange directions (don't ask). That said, I'm now using the SpinFit tips which resulted in a much less violent insertion and removal process. The screws appear to use a non standard pattern, likely to prevent curious users from opening one up to look around inside (well played, Campfire Audio, well played). Grade: A+
Fit:
The first time I put them in with the stock medium Comply tips, I felt they were pretty comfortable with a good seal and rested well in the ear. This was surprising to me because I normally despise Comply foam tips. And sure enough, through more frequent use I realized I must have just gotten lucky the first time around. I want to be clear that this has nothing to do with the design of the Andromeda... I just don't like Comply foam tips... They take forever to insert, and even if I pull the foam back to the stem before inserting, I always feel like the foam occludes the opening and affects the sound. No idea if that's just in my head or not, but that's how I felt. I switched to the medium SpinFit tips and haven't looked back since. I've always used silicone ear tips in the past, but this is the first time I've used the SpinFits. Being able to angle the tip in the ear is a cool feature, even if I can't prove how much it affects sound quality. I'm planning on buying several spares, but they're shockingly expensive and there are very few official US distributors (just one I think). I'll probably grab a couple of two packs for now, and stockpile some other time. The housing was a bit tricky for me to deal with at first. If I put them in correctly, they fit fine. They are a little on the large side though, and sometimes I have to reseat them to avoid letting a few of the edges irritate my ear. After a while though I got pretty pro at putting them in, and can do it now with a very good success rate. Once they're in properly I can keep them in for hours and hours with no discomfort or irritation. There is something different about these than other IEMs I have used in the past... They sit relatively shallow in the ear. I still got a good seal, evidenced by the bass response, and I suspect the shallow fit is one of the reasons I can leave them in for so long... but I found isolation was negatively impacted by this design choice. I could easily hear what was going on around me with the IEMs in, whereas that hasn't been the case with most other IEMs I have tried. There is still decent enough isolation though, but I will reserve full judgment until my next flight. All in all, I would say fit is very good, but if I were king of the world (yikes!) I'd probably have opted for a slightly smaller housing and a deeper fit. Grade: B
Sound:
Be warned that this section is highly subjective, but with a few measurements made by others mixed in. I can't say anything about the test setup or methodology for the measurements I've read about. I'll also preface this section with the statement that I am firmly in the camp that believes there is zero audible difference between cables as long as they are built correctly and in working condition.
Bass:
The bass response to me is about as close to perfect as possible. It's not overpowering, there isn't any audible distortion that I can detect at listening volume, which is more than I can say for the SE846 which these IEMs replaced. The taper on the bass approaching the mid frequencies manages to avoid gaining the low frequency components in the vocals, preventing the bass from dominating the sound. But there is still enough gain through the entire bass range to make listening to bass heavy music very, very enjoyable. Grade: A+
Low Mids (Vocals, i.e. 100Hz-1KHz):
Vocals sound terrific with these IEMs. As mentioned previously, the taper on the bass does a good job of not allowing the lower frequency content dominate the sound. This range sounds pretty flat (spectrum-wise), which is a good thing because it means the vocals are transparent and lacking unnatural level changes. I have noticed that sometimes these frequencies can be overshadowed by some higher frequency content, but I didn't find this occurrence too often. Grade: A
Mids/Highs:
Not much to say here that is unique from my experiences with other subbands. The Andromeda IEMs really are a great performer. From some measurements I have seen, the frequency response does roll off rather quickly approaching 20KHz, but my ears are not nearly good enough to be able to hear that far out. This section of spectrum is very well executed, and I can't really find much to fault it. Grade: A
There are very sensitive IEMs, and as a result there is a noticeable hiss with most components I tried it with. I think the PHA3 did the best job of managing hiss, and the Cv5 the poorest job, with the Rx falling closer to the PHA3 on that spectrum. That said, the hiss is by no means even moderately distracting when playing music. Measurements that I have seen seem to indicate that the impedance curve is not very stable across frequency... which means the FR could be noticeably different between sources. I haven't really been able to explore this in my limited testing since the output impedance of all of my components are relatively close to each other, except for the PHA3 which I haven't spent much time listening to with the Andromeda. Even with the impedance curve and the sensitivity, this is still a great sounding IEM. Grade: A-
Final Thoughts:
I think I will be using these for a very, very long time. When I first got them and put them, I started listening to some music... When I stopped, I had no idea how long it had been or what time it was. That's a very good indicator for me... The warranty doesn't last as long as I'd like, but it's probably par for the course in terms of what other manufacturers provide. But there is always the option to pay for servicing after the warranty expires, and in general small to mid sized companies are much easier to work with than the conglomerates. I'm not too worried about it... It's very well built and I can't imagine having any real issues over the lifetime of the product. Overall Grade: A
