Just my take on the solaris. cut and somewhat edited from a larger piece i've been writing after trying a bunch of random stuff for a day in a hifi shop.
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CFA - Solaris
Widely hyped latest and greatest IEM by community darling Campfire Audio after their smash hit with the excellent andromeda. Seeing what this fuss is all about, I went out of my way to try and listen to a pair for myself. This set was nigh fresh from the box from a hifishop in amsterdam.
Initially, fairly good 'wow'-factor thanks to the apparent sparkly highs and texture. After longer listening however, more and more things become apparent. It's not bad per se, but there's some very interesting, and questionable choices in voicing that just don't sit well with me. It certainly didn't live up to the hype generated around it.
Overal tonal balance is good, but not somethings I'd be able to immediately place in the traditional vee/warm(dark)/mid/bright/'neutral' categories. Starting from the bottom up, the bass has suprisingly little heft and body to it, almost (but not quite) like the drier bass in a full-BA setup. Was kinda interested in solaris initially due to it being rumoured as 'andro with DD bass'. but alas, it wasnt to be.
Then, lower mids, mids, thin for my tastes, but otherwise quite natural and 'effortless' like hd800 can be. That is, diffuse, ethereal staging that that just gets pushed back too much. This being more of a personal preference, due to liking more intimate and warmer mid presentations in both speakers and head-gear.
The upper mids, treble again, questionable. Sparkly, with good apparent detail, but there's this certain thing to it that just makes it sound 'wrong' to me. not bad. just.... that certain je-ne-sais-quoi kinda lacking in something. That combined with the certain kinda plasticky timbre and nasality, it kinda just took me out of any sort of immersion.
Speaking about immersion, staging quite good actually, for a fully sealed iem, quite a large stage, but can fall prey to falling apart in cohesion at times.
Just like how I did the big write up on the m7, (and the ones still in pipeline for ex1k, cd3k and l700) I usually prefer to reference to tracks rather than referencing the different 'ranges'.
This all powered from the balanced out of a ZX300 with JP region firmware. All tracks 16/44 Flac self ripped or from trusted sources at minimum. Direct Source turned on to rule out any dsp interference.
With all that said, for now, I'll share the notes from one album.
- Fleetwood Mac - Tango In The Night - Little Lies / Mystified / You and I, Pt.2
Ah, fleetwood mac. Consistently some of the best mastering and mixing for headphones out there in myopinion, despite the years that have passed. While 'Tango In The Night' isn't quite the tour-de-force of masterpieces and intrigue like 'Rumours' was, it IS a much more upbeat feel-good kind of album.
With the Solaris, The first track I mention in this album, Mystified, track 6, is a wonderful affair. The tuning and large stage fits wonderfully with the dreamy, detached vibe going on here. The all important reverb and snare drums sparkle and shimmer with enough energy like they should, and the diffuse mids give just the right amount weightlessness without overdoing it, like the HD800, or the rare Stax ED5 equaliser can do.
Onto track 7, Little lies, we quickly stumble upon what in my opinion is the most glaring fault of the solaris. Now that the vocals are back to the forefront, now that everything has gained their weight and authority back, I quickly find that vocals, even the famous chorus of 'Tell me lies, sweet little lies', have gained a weird kind of nasality to it, along with a... brittle? very plasticky timbre that wasnt quite apparent one track earlier. The presentation still 'effortless' and unstrained, it just feels wrong. I would almost compare it to the 'upscaling' gimmicks some daps use, most notably, the DSEE HX and such from sony. I double, even triple checked during various phases of my time with the solaris to make sure it wasnt on my side. Despite the apparent clarity and effortlessness, there is raw edge, plasticky thing to it... brrr
The final track in this album, fun, and upbeat with a solid drum backing behind it. much more full and mellow than most of the tracks here. But here we stumble on the other major flaw of the solaris. The bass feels drier than should be here, it's much more thumpy and dry than the likes of EX1000, HS1551, gr07AE or even the all-BA M7 I'm addmittedly enamored with. While not fully the 'dead BA bass' many BA iem suffer from, it still is a far cry from the body and impact a good DD can have. Limp wristed indeed. I had expected MUCH more out of a DD in this price bracket really...
All of the above being said, I do not think the Solaris is terrible or anything. The resolution is there and some, the presentation and voicing in the mids quite unique. Just the plasticky nature and almost nasality of the treble, and bass that frankly is almost unbecoming of a DD that make the solaris a less than ideal candidate for me. Slotted next to the andromeda, or perhaps just above would've been a fine place. The current msrp of 1500usd, or 1600+ eur in europe, make it a lot less attractive with how competitive the market is today.
