[40lb]

My first over $1000 headphones or iems were the Hifiman Edition X v2. I was so disappointed when I heard them. Eventually they grew on me to some extent and I definitely preferred them to the HE400i but the value was poor and flew in the face of the sound quality I expected from such an expense. I'm wondering whether the Solaris will really disappoint me too.

That's unfortunate that happened to you but these things happen. I have one Hifiman product and I was nervous hitting the order button as all I was reading was how bad Hifiman's quality control was, fortunately I lucked out and even now my IEMs are going strong 5 years later. I understand people want to make sure what they're buying is a good product but there is always a risk of getting something bad no matter how qood quality control is.

Most of the reviews I read matched what I heared from the Solaris and I'm extremely happy with them. It has me listening to music more often. If the Solaris matches what your looking for try it if you can and if you can't just like I wasn't able, I went ahead and purchased anyways because it matched what I wanted. Granted there are other IEMs out there that have the same sound signature I was looking for but my risk of getting a dud from is all the same.

Overall a hobby should bring enjoyment not stress. If going up to the high end of this hobby causes stress maybe it's best to stay at the low/mid end.

 

[jeffreyw311]

His excuse is literally the same as people who make that excuse. If you’re not getting the point I’m making then then perhaps this change would make you more happy:

lmao I'm not the one giving the My 8 year old child must have his reasons for not telling me how he came home with 20x $100 bills and that's quite frankly good enough for me excuse ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It’s literally the same type of excuse. “He’s my family so I’m not going to bother questioning how a 8 year old child came home with $2000 in $100 bills and I don’t really care how he came home with those bills because I trust him”.

It’s a hilarious lack of intellectual curiousity for one to not bother to question a situation that makes no sense. A 8 year old child doesn’t come home with a whole wad of $100 bills and you’re being a bad parent if you don’t believe he didn’t steal them or something along those lines. Exact same thing with this Solaris situation:

1. Campfire Audio has produced a very exceptional IEM
2. Someone has noticed notable variances in the different samples he listened to
3. He measured them and noticed a huge difference in objective measurements that confirm his subjective hearing experiences
4. Instead of clearing the air by saying some samples are bad or whatever, Ken Ball starts deflecting by talking about channel matching when the issues isn’t about channel matching.
5. Instead of providing target curve for the Solaris like he did for the Andromeda and Vega, he completely ignores the question.

Now, wouldn’t most people be a little curious if someone who dodged the question like this? Or maybe we should just accept that he has reasons for hiding his target curve - which he for whatever reason didn’t for the Andromeda or Vega when he didn’t have as much Head-Fi influence? He even provided measurements detailing the different target curves for Andromeda and Andromeda S. Why absolutely nothing for the Solaris?

 

[rutter]

That's unfortunate that happened to you but these things happen. I have one Hifiman product and I was nervous hitting the order button as all I was reading was how bad Hifiman's quality control was, fortunately I lucked out and even now my IEMs are going strong 5 years later. I understand people want to make sure what they're buying is a good product but there is always a risk of getting something bad no matter how qood quality control is.

Most of the reviews I read matched what I heared from the Solaris and I'm extremely happy with them. It has me listening to music more often. If the Solaris matches what your looking for try it if you can and if you can't just like I wasn't able, I went ahead and purchased anyways because it matched what I wanted. Granted there are other IEMs out there that have the same sound signature I was looking for but my risk of getting a dud from is all the same.

Overall a hobby should bring enjoyment not stress. If going up to the high end of this hobby causes stress maybe it's best to stay at the low/mid end.

Nah, it wasn't a technical problem. I actually returned the first pair, got a second. Listened to Audeze LCD 3, X, 4, Focal Elear, Clear, Utopia, Sennheiser HD800S, Aeon Flow Open, Hifiman HE400i. With dacs and amps I got as far as $2750 value. I even listened to headphones at a store on a $7000 McIntosh thing (something150something). Just terrible value, the HD650 set that firmly. I have this irrational hope that I might be happy with an iem. This is not at all a hobby for me, no clue why people keep framing this as a hobby. Just want really good sound and a reasonable return for the money.

 

[franz12]

Nah, it wasn't a technical problem. I actually returned the first pair, got a second. Listened to Audeze LCD 3, X, 4, Focal Elear, Clear, Utopia, Sennheiser HD800S, Aeon Flow Open, Hifiman HE400i. With dacs and amps I got as far as $2750 value. I even listened to headphones at a store on a $7000 McIntosh thing (something150something). Just terrible value, the HD650 set that firmly. I have this irrational hope that I might be happy with an iem. This is not at all a hobby for me, no clue why people keep framing this as a hobby. Just want really good sound and a reasonable return for the money.

I heard only hd600 and hd660, and they were good headphones. but they were just not pleasing. sounded too digital with some resonance. returned them straightly.

 

[Audiophonicalistic]

Nah, it wasn't a technical problem. I actually returned the first pair, got a second. Listened to Audeze LCD 3, X, 4, Focal Elear, Clear, Utopia, Sennheiser HD800S, Aeon Flow Open, Hifiman HE400i. With dacs and amps I got as far as $2750 value. I even listened to headphones at a store on a $7000 McIntosh thing (something150something). Just terrible value, the HD650 set that firmly. I have this irrational hope that I might be happy with an iem. This is not at all a hobby for me, no clue why people keep framing this as a hobby. Just want really good sound and a reasonable return for the money.

If you enjoyed the 650 over audeze and focal then you've found your endgame. I listened to a similar setup at local audio store and they also had a mcintosh amp running with a music server. That setup I don't think the hd650 can compare but nonetheless if it's the sig you want then it's perfect for you. Bright side is you're done looking!

What other iems have you been eyeing compared to solaris?

 

[rutter]

I know for sure that isn't endgame, hence one of the issues. Better qualities are there, just across multiple expensive headphones with serious flaws rather than one.

I was considering just the Sony Z1R with the Solaris.

 

[fokta]

Sorry man I'd forgotten that I was supposed to run my subjective impressions by you before posting them. What's your interest in the Solaris? Have you ever heard it? Were you ever seriously considering buying it at some point? Do you have any interest in this thread apart from using it as a platform to hype the Z1R?

Regarding my comment, please consider it in context. @fokta was asking me about what I thought about the quantity of bass in the Solaris, but it was a loaded question which I interpreted as "Are you, a person whose signature until yesterday read 'Campfire Atlas rules them all' satisfied with the amount of bass in the Solaris, an IEM described by some as bean lean on bass?" So when I responded that the bass was "perfect" I was saying that, imho, coming straight from the Atlas the quantity of bass in the Solaris left nothing to be desired. Admittedly the word "perfect" is a strong (and in this case probably not ideal) one but I stand by the statement (and really you have absolutely no business contradicting this) that the impact and quantity of the bass in the Solaris leaves nothing to be desired...to me. It's also worth noting, and this was also implicit in my reply, that my response yesterday was based on my first few hours with the Solaris and that I planned on "leaving more detailed impressions later".

I'm not a professional reviewer and I don't pretend or imply that my impressions should be given any weight beyond that a Campfire fanboy posting in the Solaris thread on Head-Fi. So when you say "the bass is definitely not perfect in terms of impact/air/tonality" and that it is "kind of limited in terms of macrodynamics"-- I have no reply beyond that of someone who, when listening to his favorite music on the Solaris, finds nothing wanting and can't wipe the smile off his face. However when you say that "it's a conscious trade off on the part of Campfire Audio, doing it like this adds body to the midrange and maintains coherency" I'm tempted to suspect that it was a good decision on the part of Campfire Audio and that in this case maybe the whole is greater and more important than the sum of the parts.

lmao



I tried it out. I like the suppleness of the Atlas cable. I'm not sure where I stand on memory wire (or the lack of it) just yet. Regarding sound to be honest I didn't notice any difference. I probably lack the delicacy of perception requisite to discerning differences in sound signatures between high end cables.

noted. Tq for trying out.
If my memory still correct, bass is more detail rumble (subbass) when using Atlast cable...
Solaris can be puncy and boomy if you pair with Alo Copper cable, which is not my cup of tea Sig that I hope from Solaris....

anyway, enjoy your Solaris...

 

[40lb]

@rutter , it sounds like your journey has been ruff. If full size headphones doesn't do it for you I'm not sure IEMs will. I have not yet found an IEM that can match it's TOTL counterpart. Solaris included, the only thing I feel I can say is the builds on IEMs are better and I find the Solaris to be wonderfully done.

You say serious flaw and terrible value. Why is that?

 

[Rockwell75]

@rutterI find the Solaris to be wonderfully done.

I think you mean nicely done

 

[40lb]

I'll leave this here

 

[Trifter]

@rutter , it sounds like your journey has been ruff. If full size headphones doesn't do it for you I'm not sure IEMs will. I have not yet found an IEM that can match it's TOTL counterpart. Solaris included, the only thing I feel I can say is the builds on IEMs are better and I find the Solaris to be wonderfully done.

You say serious flaw and terrible value. Why is that?

Do you mean a TOTL IEM vs TOTL Headphone? I have a pair of K10's and a pair of HD650's and i'm looking to either get a second pair of IEM's or Headphones (looking at HD800/800s/820).

 

[40lb]

@Trifter
Yes, I meant TOTL IEMs vs TOTL Headphones.

 

[Rockwell75]

Anyone have experience with spiral dots on the Solaris? Impressions? Other recommendations for tips?

 

[BananaOoyoo]

Maybe a weird comparison request, but how does the Solaris do vs. EE Phantom?

 

[Rockwell75]

I've spent the evening doing some A/B with the Solaris and the Atlas. I never thought I'd say this but the Solaris actually makes the Atlas seem small (soundwise). The Solaris has a massive soundstage comparatively. But also in terms of bass impact and power. Often I'd listen to a song on the Atlas, switch to the Solaris expecting to hear a decrease in bass-- only to find the bass still present, but sharing a much larger sound space with all sorts of Andro holographic imaging, detail and loveliness floating around. I don't think Solaris is as forgiving of crap recordings as Atlas is, but a well mastered recording through Solaris is a thing to behold. If anyone has the means check out the remaster of The Gallery by Dire Straits on the Solaris...it was something of a religious experience for me.