Campfire Audio - Introducing 2 new models Hello Andromeda and Nova

Aug 8, 2019 at 9:03 PM Post #7,471 of 9,829
Andromeda has strong name recognition. It will sell better calling it an Andromeda.

Yeah, quite a few people consider Andromeda (S) to be CA’s best IEM to date. It’s one IEM that’s certainly lived up to its hype. (Some would even go as far as to say that it was a one-hit wonder... though I don’t really consider that to be the case.)
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 9:11 PM Post #7,472 of 9,829
I’m still in the return window for a pair of andromedas. I wonder if I should pony up the extra cash for these or just stick with what I have. I probably don’t have time to wait for people to hear these unless it happens soon.
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 9:20 PM Post #7,473 of 9,829
I’m still in the return window for a pair of andromedas. I wonder if I should pony up the extra cash for these or just stick with what I have. I probably don’t have time to wait for people to hear these unless it happens soon.

Technically, if you’re really curious, you could pay extra for the special edition then return them for the originals if you don’t like them. Would cost you 2x two-way shipping.
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 10:40 PM Post #7,475 of 9,829
So here you are, the Andromeda Gold Special Edition in Hong Kong. Impression: retain the sweetness I like with the vocals of the original but add a lot of hard-slamming bass. 73B0039B-517D-4406-B1B3-1037E2112F49.jpeg 3F41D452-1A02-44EB-A4C3-C9D7034144D8.jpeg
 
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Aug 8, 2019 at 10:45 PM Post #7,476 of 9,829
Nice smexy gold Pollack style packaging.

Curious to see how it sounds compared to the Solaris.

I wonder if they will change the nozzle on the Green Andromeda eventually too.
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 10:54 PM Post #7,477 of 9,829
So here you are, the Andromeda Gold Special Edition in Hong Kong. Impression: retain the sweetness I like with the vocals of the original but add a lot of hard-slamming bass.

Any Comparison to Atlas's bass? I'm pretty sure the bass is probably more emphasized than Solaris, but still don't know if the extension reaches DD levels
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 10:58 PM Post #7,478 of 9,829
Any Comparison to Atlas's bass? I'm pretty sure the bass is probably more emphasized than Solaris, but still don't know if the extension reaches DD levels
I am using Atlas and the original Andro. Not reaching the same hard-slamming level of Atlas but pretty close. (Ken said it too, who was kind enough to share a selfie with me!)
 
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Aug 8, 2019 at 11:03 PM Post #7,479 of 9,829
I am using Atlas and the original Andro. Not reaching the same hard-slamming level but pretty close. (Ken said it too, who shared a selfie with me!)

Thanks for your impressions. Then again, if there's no compromise in the soundstage and imaging due to more emphasized bass, it is still worthy to be called "Andromeda". Comparing to original Andromeda, does the Gold differ in the midbass and upper bass emphasis, or it's just the Gold provides more slam on subbass region?
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 11:25 PM Post #7,480 of 9,829
Thanks for your impressions. Then again, if there's no compromise in the soundstage and imaging due to more emphasized bass, it is still worthy to be called "Andromeda". Comparing to original Andromeda, does the Gold differ in the midbass and upper bass emphasis, or it's just the Gold provides more slam on subbass region?

I can only say they retain the same soundstage and I couldn’t find discernible difference in imaging. I think they do provide more slam on subbass (if I understand the term correctly).

3C220F20-820C-49A1-A6D0-82249CA307FE.jpeg

The nostril compared with Altas’.
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And a pair of rare Brass Andromeda.
F78032EF-569A-4FA5-A8FD-A4D0322D1AFA.jpeg
 
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Aug 9, 2019 at 12:04 AM Post #7,482 of 9,829
Bad google translation of Chinese text:


It just says the guys have enjoy female vocals thru the Andro so much. In 2017 CA held a writing competition called “Indescribable Andro” (?) and the prize was two Brass version of Andro (one for Hong Kong and one for China). Only two pairs were available and very rare.
 
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Aug 9, 2019 at 12:06 AM Post #7,483 of 9,829
mine is not better than Google: :o2smile:

"2017 June - Limited to 2 pairs

Within a year of its initial release, Andromeda has garnered the praise of every headphone hifi fan, fans esp love / crazy over its rendition of female voice.

The next year, CA held the "speechless angel" writing competition, winner will be award the super limited edition hand polished Andromeda Brass, 1 is allocated to each of Hong Kong and China region, extremely rare and valuable."
 
Aug 9, 2019 at 12:10 AM Post #7,485 of 9,829
We finished shooting a video earlier today about the Andromeda Special Edition Gold, and will post it tomorrow.

Before they sent it to us, Campfire Audio mentioned the Andromeda Gold had a more V-shaped signature (versus the standard Andromeda), so I was expecting it to be heavy-hitting like the Vega or Atlas. When it arrived, I found it to be less V-shaped than I was expecting -- perhaps more accurately described as more U-shaped (versus Andromeda). Certainly more bass lift with the Andromeda Gold, but more mild than I'm hearing from the Atlas. It's also more lively up-top, so the Andromeda Gold is a bit more exciting in its presentation.

Imaging is still open-sounding, airy, so that's one of the ways it's definitely still Andromeda-like. There are enough differences, too, that it could have just as easily been called another model name entirely.

Here's the frequency response versus the standard Andromeda:

Campfire-Audio-Andromeda-Gold_and_Andromeda_FR.jpg


I'm really enjoying the Gold's more spirited presentation a lot. For those who wanted more excitement (but perhaps less so down low than the Atlas), it's a great addition to the Campfire line. Again, while they could have called this something else entirely, there's enough Andromeda in it that I understand the naming choice.

One more thing I'll mention is that I was floored when I ran the measurements and saw this level of channel-matching with the Andromeda Gold:

Campfire-Audio-Andromeda-Gold_channel-matching.jpg


In our experience, Campfire's IEMs have gotten to a point where they're among the best left-right-matched headphones we've measured. This Andromeda Gold, though, has the best left-right matched frequency response of any headphone of any type we've ever measured here. It's remarkable, really, considering there are seven drivers per side.

Again, we'll post the Andromeda Special Edition Gold video tomorrow.


The measurements included in this post were made using:

 

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