Campfire Audio - Introducing 2 new models Hello Andromeda and Nova

[bvng3540]

It's only a DIY SPC cable masterfully crafted by a friend.  His first cable made after years of hiatus.  Cost me around $65 tops.

Can he made one for me with 4.4mm plug

 

[pr0b3r]

Can he made one for me with 4.4mm plug

 
I can ask him.  Though I'm not sure if he's still got materials with him now.

 

[beowulf]

I never thought  even the  high-end IEMs would beat the full-size headphones by sound stage  until I listened the Andros. People always use the terms of details, transparence,...to describe the IEMs but rarely use large sound-stage, good separation on them[...]. Before Xmas, I had a chance to listen the Andros, I was shocked. The sound stage, the separation and especially the full body of music with great details all like coming from a pair of decent full-size phones.

 
This is one of the [many] reasons why I never cared much about IEMs. The sense of space and body, wide but accurate positioning a very out-of-your head sensation is usually something I prefer and I never heard IEMs that are satisfying enough. But I haven't heard the most loved models, so I'm giving the Andromeda a try given the comments regarding that aspect, as well as the treble.
 
I'm not expecting HD800 levels of air and sharpness, but it would be nice go get a bit of that, combined with the Z1R's lush body and fun, foot-tapping' fullness. I hope the Andromeda are much more fitting to that objective than the SE846.

 

[beowulf]

Here we go.. Guess I have to decide... I'll say the same on the 846 thread just to hear different reactions...

 

[pfurey89]

Andromeda is far better to my ears. 846 is too boxed in sound wise for me. What are you initial impressions?

 

[goldendarko]

Think you are in for a treat Beowulf, if you like a wide open dynamic sounding IEM. It blows the SE846 out of the water IMO.

 

[kino lau]

Here we go.. Guess I have to decide... I'll say the same on the 846 thread just to hear different reactions...

 
Based upon the Andromeda's occupying one more picture than the 846's...you already like the Andro's more.  

 

[beowulf]

Don't want to comment on the sound yet as they arrived today and need some mental burn-in.

I was a bit disappointed in not finding Comply tips with those meshes in the box. Could swear I saw them in a review but there are only the normal foams (installed), as well as a bag of spinfits and one of generic silicons. So basically, two sets of silicons.



No big deal. I guess I can get some of the Comply with wax guard.

What I really liked less was the poor QC of the leather case. The zip is sewn crooked which makes it harder to close (more resistance) besides looking cheap/sloppy.

Given it cost me almost $1500 (CA price in europe, taxes).. Well... Does not match the price band.

If it was not real leather it would look like something out of AliExpress. Not acceptable in this price band and with a claim of having units QC'ed individually.

Given the pressure required to open/close, the metal pulley will probably also not last long.



In terms of packaging/accessories, well, very underwhelming, but not a surprise to people who read the reviews.

Still, seen made-in-chinas with better presentation and nice cases. And even the cheaper 846 is much better served in acessories. Plus the case actually opens and closes well.

But the sound is what matters most so I'll spend some time with that tomorrow and maybe prepare a short review. Had to complain about the little things first (especially considering the coin)

 

[420204]

Don't want to comment on the sound yet as they arrived today and need some mental burn-in.

I was a bit disappointed in not finding Comply tips with those meshes in the box. Could swear I saw them in a review but there are only the normal foams (installed), as well as a bag of spinfits and one of generic silicons. So basically, two sets of silicons.



No big deal. I guess I can get some of the Comply with wax guard.

What I really liked less was the poor QC of the leather case. The zip is sewn crooked which makes it harder to close (more resistance) besides looking cheap/sloppy.

Given it cost me almost $1500 (CA price in europe, taxes).. Well... Does not match the price band.

If it was not real leather it would look like something out of AliExpress. Not acceptable in this price band and with a claim of having units QC'ed individually.

Given the pressure required to open/close, the metal pulley will probably also not last long.



In terms of packaging/accessories, well, very underwhelming, but not a surprise to people who read the reviews.

Still, seen made-in-chinas with better presentation and nice cases. And even the cheaper 846 is much better served in acessories. Plus the case actually opens and closes well.

But the sound is what matters most so I'll spend some time with that tomorrow and maybe prepare a short review. Had to complain about the little things first (especially considering the coin)

 
Question:
did the packaging have an ECT sticker on it? Just wondering if it came from Hong Kong (eglobal is based in HK)...
 
Thanks

 

[willowbrook]

Don't want to comment on the sound yet as they arrived today and need some mental burn-in.

I was a bit disappointed in not finding Comply tips with those meshes in the box. Could swear I saw them in a review but there are only the normal foams (installed), as well as a bag of spinfits and one of generic silicons. So basically, two sets of silicons.



No big deal. I guess I can get some of the Comply with wax guard.

What I really liked less was the poor QC of the leather case. The zip is sewn crooked which makes it harder to close (more resistance) besides looking cheap/sloppy.

Given it cost me almost $1500 (CA price in europe, taxes).. Well... Does not match the price band.

If it was not real leather it would look like something out of AliExpress. Not acceptable in this price band and with a claim of having units QC'ed individually.

Given the pressure required to open/close, the metal pulley will probably also not last long.



In terms of packaging/accessories, well, very underwhelming, but not a surprise to people who read the reviews.

Still, seen made-in-chinas with better presentation and nice cases. And even the cheaper 846 is much better served in acessories. Plus the case actually opens and closes well.

But the sound is what matters most so I'll spend some time with that tomorrow and maybe prepare a short review. Had to complain about the little things first (especially considering the coin)

Ouch, that case looks pretty bad. They should send a new one. The zipper on mine is sewed on correctly, but it's still pretty hard to open and close. Feels very stiff. I was missing a single tip with my package. The bag of comply tips had only 7 tips haha Luckily, I don't use foam tips, so I didn't really care much.

 

[beowulf]

Question:

did the packaging have an ECT sticker on it? Just wondering if it came from Hong Kong (eglobal is based in HK)...

Thanks

ECT? Don't think so. It had no stickers except a little one with the serial (on the plastic of the Andromeda package itself).
As for the mail package, it was sent from the UK.

 

[420204]

ECT? Don't think so. It had no stickers except a little one with the serial (on the plastic of the Andromeda package itself).
As for the mail package, it was sent from the UK.

 
Can you send me a picture of that sticker? I'm just curious...

 

[beowulf]

   
Can you send me a picture of that sticker? I'm just curious...

 
Sure. Will PM
 

  Ouch, that case looks pretty bad. They should send a new one. The zipper on mine is sewed on correctly, but it's still pretty hard to open and close. Feels very stiff. I was missing a single tip with my package.

 
 

  I was missing a single tip with my package. The bag of comply tips had only 7 tips haha Luckily, I don't use foam tips, so I didn't really care much.

 
Mine were complete, but I expected "Comply, stock foam and silicone" as I saw on reviews. However it had SpinFits instead of Comply, and that is listed in the manual. Guess they changed it. I'm going to buy some Comply but wasn't planning on having to right out of the box.
 
Sound... still won't comment. Except that they hiss on the Dell X240 which I sometimes use as a source at work. It's actually a good sounding laptop, there's no hiss at all with the SE846. Didn't expect much of a difference with the Andromeda, but the extra sensitivity seems to make the hiss more obvious. Maybe something simple like a DragonFly Black will help?
 
Other mobile source I tried was the S7 Edge (Exynos). Zero hiss. Haven't tried my desktop home gear yet but it had a super flat noise floor with the SE846 (and anything else I tried), so hopefully it will be fine.
 
Not sure if I reach CA about the case. I'm a bit bummed about it given the "artisan hand-checked" feeling of the Andromeda, but it's not such a big deal.
In terms of build quality, they appear to be fine, although I'm not as amazed by the cable as other users. Could use some better stress relief on the plug too (Shure got that better).
 
In terms of looks, I find the Andromeda to be quite.. well, ugly. But that has zero impact on my audio choices. They feel well built but the green, blocky design isn't my thing. So in terms of looks and packaging/presentation, I prefer the cheaper SE846(880e vs 1300e, the CA cost almost 50% more) by a large margin. Given the price, they get a "Meh" from me in these objective matters.
 
As for what really matters, the sound, I need to spend some time with them. I have two weeks to A/B them with the SE846 to pick & return. Perhaps I'll have an opinion by the end of today. They're both quite good, but the Andromeda will have to show some magic to justify a 50% price difference (we're talking around 350-370 EUR here). Maybe it is there.

 

[goldendarko]

Disagree about them being ugly, I think they are some of the sweetest looking IEM's, but all of that is personal anyway. Still surprised to hear you're not amazed by the sound quality, it was pretty much right away for me. Still try to find excuses to use them daily even now

 

[willowbrook]

   
Sure. Will PM
 
 
 
 
Mine were complete, but I expected "Comply, stock foam and silicone" as I saw on reviews. However it had SpinFits instead of Comply, and that is listed in the manual. Guess they changed it. I'm going to buy some Comply but wasn't planning on having to right out of the box.
 
Sound... still won't comment. Except that they hiss on the Dell X240 which I sometimes use as a source at work. It's actually a good sounding laptop, there's no hiss at all with the SE846. Didn't expect much of a difference with the Andromeda, but the extra sensitivity seems to make the hiss more obvious. Maybe something simple like a DragonFly Black will help?
 
Other mobile source I tried was the S7 Edge (Exynos). Zero hiss. Haven't tried my desktop home gear yet but it had a super flat noise floor with the SE846 (and anything else I tried), so hopefully it will be fine.
 
Not sure if I reach CA about the case. I'm a bit bummed about it given the "artisan hand-checked" feeling of the Andromeda, but it's not such a big deal.
In terms of build quality, they appear to be fine, although I'm not as amazed by the cable as other users. Could use some better stress relief on the plug too (Shure got that better).
 
In terms of looks, I find the Andromeda to be quite.. well, ugly. But that has zero impact on my audio choices. They feel well built but the green, blocky design isn't my thing. So in terms of looks and packaging/presentation, I prefer the cheaper SE846(880e vs 1300e, the CA cost almost 50% more) by a large margin. Given the price, they get a "Meh" from me in these objective matters.
 
As for what really matters, the sound, I need to spend some time with them. I have two weeks to A/B them with the SE846 to pick & return. Perhaps I'll have an opinion by the end of today. They're both quite good, but the Andromeda will have to show some magic to justify a 50% price difference (we're talking around 350-370 EUR here). Maybe it is there.

If you've got an iphone around you, I've heard good things of pairing with andromeda. I tried mine with galaxy s3 and the hiss + sound was hideous. No one in the right mind would think of keeping these with that combination. However, pairing with my gov2+ in FRM filter is a completely different experience. Might want to do some tip rolling with various tips to see how they hold up. I highly recommend getting a proper portable source and if you really want to get rid of the hiss, IEMatch is a very good product at doing so. These definitely deserve a proper source, you will be surprised.
 
I personally think the housing looks lovely, but my friend thought they were hideous. He thought I was crazy when I said I cashed in 850 for these lol Some people just don't want to understand...