[NoName1]

Has there been any word if they are going to start selling the new smoky cables separately soon? I would like to pick up a new lightning cable but I prefer the new cable without the memory wire.

 

[zombywoof]

This is a very interesting thread for me. My favorite IEMs so far have been the Massdrop plus, but I sold them because I could not get a mic cable that would work with PS4. I currently have the Campfire Novas and after quite a bit of tip rolling am finally happy with them. I had planned to save my pennies and move up to Andros, but I might give these a shot.

I also have the Nova, and have been pleased with them. I found the MEE Audio and RHA double flange tips (RHA preferred of the two as they have a larger bore than the MEE) to be the best choice for me on the Nova. I did some comparative listening tonight with the Nova and Io. (IPod Classic, Allan Holdsworth - Secrets, Final Audio medium tips that came with the Io and Fiio dual density medium silicone tips on the Io; I prefer the Fiio tips). I find this to be an excellent album for comparison. There are dense and airy passages, female and male vocals, piano solos, fast guitar/synthaxe passages, and superbly recorded drums and bass. I found the mids to be a bit more forward on the Io, and the treble to have a bit more sparkle. The Io may be a bit better at retrieving the detail than the Nova, but now I am stretching the comparison just a bit. I am not a bass head, so I find the bass response of both to be acceptable. Neither has the clarity of the Jupiters, but probably not unexpected, right? The shape of the Io shell is very slightly different than the Nova. Facets have been added to reduce the "sharpness" of some of the corners, but they are very similar. I do not have any comfort or fit issues with the shape of the Nova (I have worn them for hours on the train with no problem) and would not expect any with the Io. I will add the Io does have a longer sound tube, and thus goes a little deeper into the ear. I believe the double flange tips on the Nova accomplish essentially the same fit geometry, and also improve isolation. I did not try the double flange tips on the Io. So, if you like the Nova, I believe you would like the Io, as well.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

My Io arrives tomorrow.

Will try to put all the BA driver heresy out for of my head and just . . . listen to the musicians playing the tunes.

If it sounds good, I’ll stop there. I probably could convince myself vocals sounded thin on any set of cans with enough preconditioning. My ears are smarter than that though. Probably because they don’t know how to talk.

 

[NewEve]

Headphone Dungeon's review of the IO is up.

 

[Wheel Hoss]

Some impressions:

-Packaging and Presentation is impeccable
-Build quality is marvelous
-Very wide soundstage
-Light bass but enough paired with my Mojo
-Wonderful Mids
-Pianos sound great
-T.E.A.C. adds a touch of air that makes acoustic instruments sound just right

Not sure these will work as all-rounders, but for audiophile music that is well-produced with lush acoustic arrangements they really sing.

 

[mammorth]

Just tried the Io with the Iphone dongle, wrote down some of my impressions:

Vocals sounded weak and oddly pitchy, as though as it was over boosted, especially on female vocals.
Some bass, but it was of BA timbre, and didn't had much texture and rumble
Treble felt a bit rolled off, extension was poor
Overall I felt there was something lacking, the tuning does not sound natural on the ballads/pop songs that I auditioned.
However, the flaws became less apparent when I played electronic songs, so this genre could perhaps have been the intended one for the Io.
Another thing to note could be if there's any impedance skew, as much of the impressions here seem to vary from mine....

Would not recommend blind buying at all.

 

[czy6412]

Just tried the Io with the Iphone dongle, wrote down some of my impressions:

Vocals sounded weak and oddly oitchy, as though as it was over boosted, especially on female vocals.
Some bass, but it was of BA timbre, and didn't had much texture and rumble
Treble felt a bit rolled off, extension was poor
Overall I felt there was something lacking, the tuning does not sound natural on the ballads/pop songs that I auditioned.
However, the flaws became less apparent when I played electronic songs, so this genre could perhaps have been the intended one for the Io.
Another thing to note could be if there's any impedance skew, as much of the impressions here seem to vary from mine....

I would say the IO is rather difficult to drive. On my es100 I should turn the volume up to the level of my Vega

 

[Peter68]

Some impressions:

-Packaging and Presentation is impeccable
-Build quality is marvelous
-Very wide soundstage
-Light bass but enough paired with my Mojo
-Wonderful Mids
-Pianos sound great
-T.E.A.C. adds a touch of air that makes acoustic instruments sound just right

Not sure these will work as all-rounders, but for audiophile music that is well-produced with lush acoustic arrangements they really sing.

I’m thinking of these as a backup/travel pair of earphones when I don’t want to risk bringing my Andromedas. Do you think they’d work well for something like that?

 

[Wheel Hoss]

I’m thinking of these as a backup/travel pair of earphones when I don’t want to risk bringing my Andromedas. Do you think they’d work well for something like that?

I don’t have the Andros but I imagine the Io would be an ideal solution. I went on a two-hour walk from LIC to Sunnyside and back and never felt the IEMs. Super comfortable and cheap enough that if I lost them or damaged them I wouldn’t cry (too hard).

 

[KB]

Just tried the Io with the Iphone dongle, wrote down some of my impressions:

Vocals sounded weak and oddly pitchy, as though as it was over boosted, especially on female vocals.
Some bass, but it was of BA timbre, and didn't had much texture and rumble
Treble felt a bit rolled off, extension was poor
Overall I felt there was something lacking, the tuning does not sound natural on the ballads/pop songs that I auditioned.
However, the flaws became less apparent when I played electronic songs, so this genre could perhaps have been the intended one for the Io.
Another thing to note could be if there's any impedance skew, as much of the impressions here seem to vary from mine....

Would not recommend blind buying at all.

This is your first post on Head-fi? Humm... I keep seeing someone from Singapore consistently knocking Campfire stuff here, on other forums and Reddit. I urge everyone to listen for yourself and or read many of the formal reviews.

Thanks.

Kb

 

[NewEve]

MajorHifi's review of the IO is up.

 

[boneburglar]

This is your first post on Head-fi? Humm... I keep seeing someone from Singapore consistently knocking Campfire stuff here, on other forums and Reddit. I urge everyone to listen for yourself and or read many of the formal reviews.

Thanks.

Kb

Maybe they’re posting because the Io is relatively new and exciting and they didn’t have an HF account until they got/tried it because they wanted to write their first review.

Just because someone doesn’t like your IEM doesn’t mean they’re from Singapore either. I get that this guy is from Sg but to say that every Sg audiophile is out to get you if just absurd. Everyone else can dislike the Io. Judging from some other impressions that aren’t even overall critical, the Io isn’t 100% kickass across the board.



Thanks,

Bb

 

[Ziadax]

On the flip side, I'd also be critical of reviews that only give praise without any criticisms nor thoughts on what could have been improved. Every IEM including the Solaris and Andros have some sort of weakness. At the end of the day, what other people think doesn't really matter; it's whether your ears like what you're hearing or not. If you're going to selectively read reviews/impressions/thoughts to justify a purchase or vice versa I personally don't think that's the best way to go about doing things anyways.

 

[boneburglar]

More seriously, Campfire is kind the brand right now, and with a lot of fans comes a lot of people who are gonna share their less-than-keen views on the product. Singaporeans have a much higher degree of access to products that us Americans for the most part have zero means to try, so they're just going to be pickier with what they like vs. what they don't like, or just have more experience in general. No brand is going to receive 100% praise across the board, so please learn to take criticism.

 

[OverlordRush]

This is your first post on Head-fi? Humm... I keep seeing someone from Singapore consistently knocking Campfire stuff here, on other forums and Reddit. I urge everyone to listen for yourself and or read many of the formal reviews.

Thanks.

Kb

Must be something in SG that's making your amazing IEM not working as intended. I think its the air.