Campfire Audio - Introducing 2 new models Hello Andromeda and Nova

[willowbrook]

  Just a different shell coating (CeraKote)... been around for two months now.
Everything else still is the same.

I actually sent an e-mail to ALO Audio and they said that they have not produced andromedas with Cerakote coating yet. The updated housing has been in sale for quite some time now though.

 

[Currawong]

 
So,here`s my issue with my 5 moths old gold plated copper EXO set of cables.The green is OXIDATION/ sulfation mark.I called them and they keep telling me that this is normal,while I and many of my friends believe that this may cause problems on audio quality.Either way,this is evidently a significant sign of poor build quality for a 2k dollars pair of cables.
Does anyone has experienced the same issue?
Is it normal?Does it affect the audio quality?And what do you think i should do?
THANKS

 
I can't say for these particular cables, but my UE and JH cables that turned green ended up causing some very nasty distortion in the treble. I reckon it'd be pretty obvious if the same thing was happening, as what happened with my cables was bad enough to make the IEMs unlistenable.
 

  Has anyone try to pair Mimby + Vali2 (low gain) with Andro? Would this be good pairing?  

 
There is almost no hiss on low gain, surprisingly. I'm not sure I'd recommend it, but at least it'll be listenable.

 

[Decommo]

 

  Has anyone try to pair Mimby + Vali2 (low gain) with Andro? Would this be good pairing?  

 
There is almost no hiss on low gain, surprisingly. I'm not sure I'd recommend it, but at least it'll be listenable.

 
Thank you very much for testing it out. Great to know that it is hiss free (almost). Can you elaborate a bit more why you are not sure you would recommend it though? Does it make it too warm?

 

[bobeau]

Been using some Andromedas for the past week.
 
I'm coming from some Roxanne CIEMs which unfortunately lost a driver in an earpiece after a couple years, a TG!334, and an IE800.  For my taste these are the best earphones I've heard.  Coupled with a Mojo and Roon out of my MBP, this is just a crazy good portable setup.
 
I've been curious about the Vegas as well and almost snagged a pair off the classifieds.  Ultimately though from reviews these are likely more my cup of tea -- I tend to use for hours on end while writing software.  I need a less in-your-face experience.  Looking forward to trying them out at CanJam Socal though.

 

[svetlyo]

A few times in the thread people compared the Nova to Flare Audio R2A/PRO - could you please elaborate on that? How similar are they in their general tonal balance? 

 

[KB]

 
So,here`s my issue with my 5 moths old gold plated copper EXO set of cables.The green is OXIDATION/ sulfation mark.I called them and they keep telling me that this is normal,while I and many of my friends believe that this may cause problems on audio quality.Either way,this is evidently a significant sign of poor build quality for a 2k dollars pair of cables.
Does anyone has experienced the same issue?
Is it normal?Does it affect the audio quality?And what do you think i should do?
THANKS

HI Morimoriya 62,
 
While your cables are not made my ALO I can talk about this issue with some experience. Your cables appear to use a PE (Polyethylene) jacket. A PE jacket can over time turn silver plated wire green in color or darker in color. The greening is called galvanic corrosion and while it sounds bad I have yet to see a audio cable that was impacted by this discoloration. From my experience as a long time cable maker this can happen when a PE jacket is used. While it does not alway happen in the right environment this can happen, PE jackets can let in moisture and sweat. Also with my experience as a long time cable maker and cable listener I can tell you that the cables that turn green like this are not effected sonically by this discoloration. I have done extensive cable autopsies of green wires under microscopic examination and the green you see I was able to brush off and expose the silver underneath. While it does to appear to effect the cables sonics it does "look" bad and therefore there can be some psychoacoustic effects . Because of this ALO uses FEP jackets or medical grade PVC with stranded wire that is enameled or coated to seal the metal from the air to prevent this discoloration. I like the sound of PE jackets but because of this problem we do not use PE jackets much anymore.
 
It looks bad but it should not effect the sound. While I do  not what to defend a competing cable company this is the facts as I know them.
 
I hope this helps!
 
Thanks
 
Ken

 

[420204]

I actually sent an e-mail to ALO Audio and they said that they have not produced andromedas with Cerakote coating yet. The updated housing has been in sale for quite some time now though.

My post referred to the Orion, not Andromeda. Andromeda is the only one of the BA iems that is not housed in a CK shell (yet?)

 

[Morimoriya 62]

HI Morimoriya 62,

While your cables are not made my ALO I can talk about this issue with some experience. Your cables appear to use a PE (Polyethylene) jacket. A PE jacket can over time turn silver plated wire green in color or darker in color. The greening is called galvanic corrosion and while it sounds bad I have yet to see a audio cable that was impacted by this discoloration. From my experience as a long time cable maker this can happen when a PE jacket is used. While it does not alway happen in the right environment this can happen, PE jackets can let in moisture and sweat. Also with my experience as a long time cable maker and cable listener I can tell you that the cables that turn green like this are not effected sonically by this discoloration. I have done extensive cable autopsies of green wires under microscopic examination and the green you see I was able to brush off and expose the silver underneath. While it does to appear to effect the cables sonics it does "look" bad and therefore there can be some psychoacoustic effects . Because of this ALO uses FEP jackets or medical grade PVC with stranded wire that is enameled or coated to seal the metal from the air to prevent this discoloration. I like the sound of PE jackets but because of this problem we do not use PE jackets much anymore.

It looks bad but it should not effect the sound. While I do  not what to defend a competing cable company this is the facts as I know them.

I hope this helps!

Thanks

Ken

Thanks alot ken .
Very good information

 

[willowbrook]

My post referred to the Orion, not Andromeda. Andromeda is the only one of the BA iems that is not housed in a CK shell (yet?)

Ah ok. I guessed I missed a post before.

 

[musiclvr]

 

[musiclvr]

^^^^^ My Andromeda's sound superb with this pairing!!

 

[Jalo]

HI Morimoriya 62,

While your cables are not made my ALO I can talk about this issue with some experience. Your cables appear to use a PE (Polyethylene) jacket. A PE jacket can over time turn silver plated wire green in color or darker in color. The greening is called galvanic corrosion and while it sounds bad I have yet to see a audio cable that was impacted by this discoloration. From my experience as a long time cable maker this can happen when a PE jacket is used. While it does not alway happen in the right environment this can happen, PE jackets can let in moisture and sweat. Also with my experience as a long time cable maker and cable listener I can tell you that the cables that turn green like this are not effected sonically by this discoloration. I have done extensive cable autopsies of green wires under microscopic examination and the green you see I was able to brush off and expose the silver underneath. While it does to appear to effect the cables sonics it does "look" bad and therefore there can be some psychoacoustic effects . Because of this ALO uses FEP jackets or medical grade PVC with stranded wire that is enameled or coated to seal the metal from the air to prevent this discoloration. I like the sound of PE jackets but because of this problem we do not use PE jackets much anymore.

It looks bad but it should not effect the sound. While I do  not what to defend a competing cable company this is the facts as I know them.

I hope this helps!

Thanks

Ken

Ken, my understanding is that when silver oxidises it turns black, when a cable turns yellowish, it is more due to the PE jacket.

 

[Decommo]

@KB Do you mind asking what amps you used when you tune sound of Andro? Love how Andro sounds and only downside is that it is quite hissy and hard to find good pairing due to hyper sensitivity.  If it is under 1ohm, it gets bassy and if it is over 2 ohm output impedance, it gets quite thin sounding..  

 

[willowbrook]

  @KB Do you mind asking what amps you used when you tune sound of Andro? Love how Andro sounds and only downside is that it is quite hissy and hard to find good pairing due to hyper sensitivity.  If it is under 1ohm, it gets bassy and if it is over 2 ohm output impedance, it gets quite thin sounding..  

Have you looked into IEMatch or maybe different tip rolling? IEMatch has 1 or 2.5 output imp choice and gets rid of the hissing.

 

[Decommo]

 

  @KB Do you mind asking what amps you used when you tune sound of Andro? Love how Andro sounds and only downside is that it is quite hissy and hard to find good pairing due to hyper sensitivity.  If it is under 1ohm, it gets bassy and if it is over 2 ohm output impedance, it gets quite thin sounding..  

Have you looked into IEMatch or maybe different tip rolling? IEMatch has 1 or 2.5 output imp choice and gets rid of the hissing.

 
Yes, I heard ifi iEmatch but doesn't it change sound? Love to hear someone who has tested with IEMatch if it does not affect the sound but just get rid of hiss. 
 
Besides, interest to hear what amp Ken used to tune the andro... Maybe Alo RX? 
 
Only source that i could get hissless was iPhone actually. The rest of daps and amps create minor hiss and either make the sound slightly bassy (if output impedance is close to 0.5 ohm) or thin (over 2ohm) and quite hard to find ideal source/amp to pair with.