Campfire Audio - Introducing 2 new models Hello Andromeda and Nova
Aug 27, 2019 at 3:46 PM Post #7,895 of 9,825
Hahaha, amazing, now I understand :bulb:

Thanks for keeping up with me.

I’ll try it tonight.

Amazing! This is plain crazy!

Indeed, if you disable direct sound as well as all sound settings on the Sony NW-ZX300 it isn't the same as with the direct sound enabled. It clearly opens up, it's not gigantic but it's there :D

It seems to also works if you enable Dynamic Normalizer btw… which is good!
 
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Aug 27, 2019 at 3:56 PM Post #7,896 of 9,825
The majority of my listening will be through an SP1000 + Amp Module and balanced cables. I'll be comparing them to Atlas, Solaris, and to the extent I can pry them away from my wife, OG Andromeda....

It will probably be a little while before I have much to report. I want to take some time to saturate myself with varied listening and try to develop some meaningful comparisons rather than rely too much on first impressions.

So far I've been listening to Andro Gold in their default configuration--foam tips and the stock SE cable. I'm far from done exploring, but a couple experiences are worth mentioning already:

First, the bass response is impressive, both in terms of quantity and quality. The Golds are not quite as hard-hitting down low as Atlas, but they more than held their own during some aggressive tracks by Bassnectar. They were quite a good match for that type of material--they reach down low, but they're tight, clean and nimble enough to capture low-frequency play. They did a decent job with one of my favorite test tracks for deep bass: "Corona Radiata" by Nine Inch Nails. Just past the 5:00 mark there are some low frequency sweeps that drop down into the abyss. I use that passage to check for muddiness or boominess in subwoofers, but it worked well with these IEMs, too. Compared to Solaris, the Andro Golds were a little softer / fuzzier, but still well within the realm of very good. They stayed coherent through the sweep, through to the low flutter at the end.

Second, while retreading some tracks with Solaris after listening on Andro Gold, I immediately liked Solaris better. However, I had deliberately allowed Solaris a couple unfair advantages: balanced cable and path from SP1000, and spiral dot tips.

I picked Sarah McLachlan - Bloom to explore some vocals, and what I noticed with Solaris vs. Andro Gold was more natural and extended vocal decay with Solaris on "Dirty Little Secret [Thievery Corporation Mix]." Overall, Solaris just sounded more refined and balanced to me; Andro Golds were rolling off the vocal decay too quickly. Solaris separation and imaging was slightly better.

After swapping to a balanced cable (ALO Super Litz 2.5mm, same as I use on Solaris) and Campfire medium Si tips, those differences diminished considerably--the vocal decay, detail and separation are better on that Sarah McLachlan track and the bass tightened up on "Corona Radiata." I'm now listening to "Keep on Dreaming" by Delerium, and the vocals are properly haunting.

Personally, I suspect most of what I heard might be the SE implementation on the SP1000 or simply the better separation of going balanced, period. And as I'm not very accustomed to tip-rolling, perhaps going from foam to wide-open silicon accounts for some of that as well? In any case, the stock configuration was definitely holding the Andro Golds back from their potential. Now that I'm listening through a configuration more at parity with my Solaris setup, the Andro Golds have really opened up and are hugely impressive!
 
Aug 27, 2019 at 4:06 PM Post #7,897 of 9,825
xdsd or mojo to be paired with andromedas? Assuming both are fine, but im leaning towards the xdsd just so I can bluetooth from my phone while leaving the xdsd in my pocket.
 
Aug 27, 2019 at 4:08 PM Post #7,898 of 9,825
And as I'm not very accustomed to tip-rolling, perhaps going from foam to wide-open silicon accounts for some of that as well?

The "right" / "wrong" tips can make / brake an IEM for me — from a musical standpoint that is (not to mention the comfort).

Why not try the Andromeda SEG again with their stock cable and keep the silicone tips on?

EDIT I tried the foam tips — yeah, nope… unless you want to restrain your lows.
 
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Aug 27, 2019 at 4:19 PM Post #7,899 of 9,825
So far I've been listening to Andro Gold in their default configuration--foam tips and the stock SE cable. I'm far from done exploring, but a couple experiences are worth mentioning already:

First, the bass response is impressive, both in terms of quantity and quality. The Golds are not quite as hard-hitting down low as Atlas, but they more than held their own during some aggressive tracks by Bassnectar. They were quite a good match for that type of material--they reach down low, but they're tight, clean and nimble enough to capture low-frequency play. They did a decent job with one of my favorite test tracks for deep bass: "Corona Radiata" by Nine Inch Nails. Just past the 5:00 mark there are some low frequency sweeps that drop down into the abyss. I use that passage to check for muddiness or boominess in subwoofers, but it worked well with these IEMs, too. Compared to Solaris, the Andro Golds were a little softer / fuzzier, but still well within the realm of very good. They stayed coherent through the sweep, through to the low flutter at the end.

Second, while retreading some tracks with Solaris after listening on Andro Gold, I immediately liked Solaris better. However, I had deliberately allowed Solaris a couple unfair advantages: balanced cable and path from SP1000, and spiral dot tips.

I picked Sarah McLachlan - Bloom to explore some vocals, and what I noticed with Solaris vs. Andro Gold was more natural and extended vocal decay with Solaris on "Dirty Little Secret [Thievery Corporation Mix]." Overall, Solaris just sounded more refined and balanced to me; Andro Golds were rolling off the vocal decay too quickly. Solaris separation and imaging was slightly better.

After swapping to a balanced cable (ALO Super Litz 2.5mm, same as I use on Solaris) and Campfire medium Si tips, those differences diminished considerably--the vocal decay, detail and separation are better on that Sarah McLachlan track and the bass tightened up on "Corona Radiata." I'm now listening to "Keep on Dreaming" by Delerium, and the vocals are properly haunting.

Personally, I suspect most of what I heard might be the SE implementation on the SP1000 or simply the better separation of going balanced, period. And as I'm not very accustomed to tip-rolling, perhaps going from foam to wide-open silicon accounts for some of that as well? In any case, the stock configuration was definitely holding the Andro Golds back from their potential. Now that I'm listening through a configuration more at parity with my Solaris setup, the Andro Golds have really opened up and are hugely impressive!

2-3 days until i get my second 4.4 bal cable in the mail so i can really compare to the Solaris to the Golds. It just isn't fair ground to not give both the same chance. I need to be able to just pop the cables in and out to tell between them and not swap the iems. I am still not expecting the Golds to win or anything, just to see how close they are.

The one thing i think the cable wont change is the soundstage and imaging of the two. Solaris wins this hands down for my taste. Solaris is like sitting in a concert hall center stage about mid-close seating. If you close your eyes and relax you are 'in' the music. The Andro Golds are more like a sound studio or smaller venue if that makes any sense. The voice is more closer on some songs and instruments are more direct left and right of ear like a T shape. Solaris has the voice just a bit back and the instruments at more of a V like they are also on stage. This stuff is stupidly hard to describe. The Golds are just like more in your face just a little a bit. I mean none of it is bad, were are talking about $1200+ earphones here. lol

Did you feel the same about the sound stage between them?
 
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Aug 27, 2019 at 4:21 PM Post #7,900 of 9,825
All off and direct sound unchecked (off). You'd think it would be the same as direct sound on but it's not.

It does in fact feel like there is a difference, thats really weird. The only problem is i have to kill the EQ i had because that stays on with these options, direct was supposed to remove the EQ if there was one. Only an issue when trying to compare between iems.
 
Aug 27, 2019 at 4:25 PM Post #7,901 of 9,825
Decided to try a few ALO cables on the Gold Andros (Smoky Litz, Regular Litz Cable, Super Litz Cable and Gold 16), on 3.5mm unbalanced.

I'll just say that the Super Litz Cable is, in my opinion, the worst pairing out of the four here. While I got to hear just a bit more detail in the midrange, the bass got somewhat muffled and even a bit bloated to my tastes and I couldn't bring myself to like it.

The Smoky Litz and Regular Litz Cable seemed to be relatively similar, as I couldn't hear the biggest of differences between them. I do feel like the Smoky Litz is just a tad bit warmer and clearer in the mids, which is why I've been using it on them even when there are other cables that I have.

Finally, the Gold 16. This cable makes the Andro Golds sound great, but for its price, I think the Smoky Litz is almost as good. The Gold 16 gives percussion especially more clarity, and the bass is given more character and "room to breathe" if that makes sense. Makes it ever so slightly closer to DD bass, but again doesn't quite cut the job for me. I still love my Solaris. Anyway, the Gold 16 makes the Gold Andros more refined in clarity and presentation. Slightly enhances its somewhat mild V-shape signature and may not be for everyone, but it's great for me.

If I were to rank these cables it'd be:

1. Gold 16
2. Smoky Litz (this honestly sounds great with the Gold Andros already)
3. Regular Litz
4. Super Litz

In conclusion, unless you need a balanced cable with the Gold Andros, I think the Smoky Litz does its job pretty well.

I can't seem to find my Reference 8 which is probably somewhere I didn't search well enough and I haven't been able to find an SXC 8 cable for purchase around where I live. Somewhat unfortunate.
One thing I'm happy is that I've finally removed the memory wire on these ALO cables, I swear they are so uncomfortable when they were around.
Because of this I pulled the trigger on the Andromeda AG SE. As I have the following cables Litz, Reference 8, SXC 8 and Gold 16 in balanced.

I'll be comparing them to the Andromeda White, Atlas and Solaris.

I'll most likely be selling my Andromeda White or returning the Andromeda AG SE. Only room for one Andromeda for me.
 
Aug 27, 2019 at 4:52 PM Post #7,902 of 9,825
The "right" / "wrong" tips can make / brake an IEM for me — from a musical standpoint that is (not to mention the comfort).

Why not try the Andromeda SEG again with their stock cable and keep the silicone tips on?
That's a perfect test. Thanks for the good idea. :)

The tips did account for most of the differences. With the stock cable and Campfire medium Si tips I get the full measure of decay from the Sarah McLachlan track and the bass on "Corona Radiata" is immaculate--no more "slightly fuzzy" sensation.

Balanced still sounds slightly better to me, mainly in terms of imaging / separation. I'm finding it easier to pick out and track individual elements than with the stock SE cable. That much is consistent with prior experience--my first IEMs (and only IEMs before the Campfires) are Noble K10 CIEMs. Tips were not a factor of course, but I did notice audible improvements when I switched to a fully balanced playback chain.

Anyway, I know tips do make a difference, but I haven't had enough experience with tip rolling to quantify it. This was a very helpful exercise for me to figure some of that out. Thanks again for the suggestion!
 
Aug 27, 2019 at 4:57 PM Post #7,903 of 9,825
That's a perfect test. Thanks for the good idea. :)

The tips did account for most of the differences. With the stock cable and Campfire medium Si tips I get the full measure of decay from the Sarah McLachlan track and the bass on "Corona Radiata" is immaculate--no more "slightly fuzzy" sensation.

Balanced still sounds slightly better to me, mainly in terms of imaging / separation. I'm finding it easier to pick out and track individual elements than with the stock SE cable. That much is consistent with prior experience--my first IEMs (and only IEMs before the Campfires) are Noble K10 CIEMs. Tips were not a factor of course, but I did notice audible improvements when I switched to a fully balanced playback chain.

Anyway, I know tips do make a difference, but I haven't had enough experience with tip rolling to quantify it. This was a very helpful exercise for me to figure some of that out. Thanks again for the suggestion!

No worries, happy to be useful.

As edited in my post which you quoted before I did so: I tried the foam tips and the difference is, well, really there…

The foam tips aren't for me, at all. Good to have options though… that's why they're there.
 
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Aug 27, 2019 at 7:05 PM Post #7,904 of 9,825
The "right" / "wrong" tips can make / brake an IEM for me — from a musical standpoint that is (not to mention the comfort).

Why not try the Andromeda SEG again with their stock cable and keep the silicone tips on?

EDIT I tried the foam tips — yeah, nope… unless you want to restrain your lows.

20190827_124750-01.jpeg

Still got a few more tips to try out but so far I'm really enjoying it with the wide bore Mandarins. It's very comfy and doesn't really affect the sound. Also doesn't hurt that the color matches...lol. The most comfortable tips I've tried though is the Sony triple comforts but rolls off the treble a bit too much for me.

I believe tips are very important when listening with iems and I place them as second most thing not to over see. First is the quality of your music recording.
 
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Aug 27, 2019 at 10:40 PM Post #7,905 of 9,825
At the end of the day, I have to say goodby to the Andromeda GLD. It's is too punchy in the low end. What started off as excitement results in fatigue and eventually strain. The cause is anyone's guess: longer stem length + four bass drivers, lack of cross-over, I dunno. After four days, I will be keeping my 2019 Andromeda GRNs and returning the GLD. I will miss the detail in the bass of the GLD, but I won't miss the ringing in my ears. I will keep an eye out for the Andromeda S on the secondary market or Ball's next epiphany. It's been a fun ride seeing what will come next. We're in such a period of rapid evolution in IEMs.
 

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