šŸ”¶ Campfire Audio Andromeda

Damn good price to meā€¦ Have had mine a year ā€¦Andro 2020ā€¦ My favorite when I got it and still isā€¦ Added the Smoky Litz balanced 2.5 cable from Campfire for them. The IEMs I got through this forum and He has since bought another set because He missed them. Mine were 600 I believe but not positive.

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They are very good. Itā€™s just not a night-and-day difference from my Etymotics. Or at least not one proportionate to the price difference. Thatā€™s what Iā€™m working out. I think I was expecting these to blow me away. They are slowly seducing me. Itā€™s definitely track-dependent. Some tracks shine. Some not as much. I perceive that to be a question of recording quality.

One odd note: I often perceive singers to be just a tad right of center rather than dead center. I canā€™t figure out whatā€™s going on.

I feel like I should keep a log of tracks with which the Andros donā€™t shine, and tracks with which they do.

Like everyone else Iā€™ve been listening a lot to Kate Bushā€™s Hounds of Love. Honestly, itā€™s badly recorded and I donā€™t think it makes much of a difference what Iā€™m listening with. That said, now Iā€™ve got Morrisseyā€™s Viva Hate (yeah, Iā€™m a gen Xer), and the Andros sing. I can hear each instrument very distinctly, and they seem spaced out in a way I donā€™t recall hearing on other sets.

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ā€œOne odd note: I often perceive singers to be just a tad right of center rather than dead center. I canā€™t figure out whatā€™s going on.ā€
Sounds like positioning to meā€¦ If you feel or sense that then I would think they are pretty accurate on that trackā€¦ Do other cans or IEMs give you that sense with that track?

No, they donā€™t. I think I need to do some a/bing.

This is spectacular on the Andros. I can place all the instruments precisely, hear them distinctly, and also soak in the cool acoustics of the room.

Itā€™s spectacular on the Solstice as well (the custom version)!

So, I am quite late to this party. I finally obtained a pair of Andromeda 2020. Iā€™m massively in love with these earphones. Wondering what anyone might be using these days to listen to them. I also ponied up and ordered a Mojo2. Any thoughts on the pairing? I have found in my listening sessions, comparing between my Moondrop Moonriver2, Fiio Q3 and Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt, that I prefer the Cobalt. There just appears to be that much more life to the music. Clearer and more resolute mids and highs with punchy, deep and tight bass. The combo seems to rock. I cannot wait to find out what happens with an even better dac/amp such as the Mojo2. The Mojo arrives tomorrow. Additionally, am I the only one who is now a collector of all things Campfire?

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Late update. My Mojo2 came. It rounded out a punctuated the bass and really lends a sense of space to the soundstage. Incredible combo, apart from the slight noise floor, which you canā€™t hear when music is playing, anyhow.

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Iā€™ve owned three pairs of Andros and the 2020s are my favorites. They definitely still hold up against the shiny new toys I have bought, and often sold off, in the meantime. The Andros are truly a classic that have a unique place in my collection that I donā€™t see changing any time soon. Congrats on your new Andros! :tada::sunglasses::metal:

As for sources, I actually just got a Cayin N8ii in September or October I believe and it has become my favorite source for mine and my favorite that I have ever heard them on at all. I also think they sound uniquely full and holographic on my Moondrop Dawn. For Christmas my girl got me one of the new Schiit Modi Multibit 2s to stack with my Magni 3+ in my travel desktop rig and I have to say that the MMB2 has very good layering, soundstage, and spacial cue rendering which combines perfectly with the strengths of the Andros making for a very dynamic and powerful performance. It really is a treat to use that combo for pretty much any listening. Then again, the Andros sound pretty great on most sources that have low noise floors, low output impedance, and that donā€™t stray to far towards the warm side of things. IME, when I combine them with a source thatā€™s too warm I lose a lot of dynamics and micro details and they take on a veiled overall presentation. What gear are you pairing yours with?

It is clear that CA hit on a winner with the Andromeda. Although, I wonder if anyone was going to create such an animal apart from CA. They are craftsmen and women with sound. My sources are not too exotic. Mostly using my phone and some sort of DAC/amp, or my laptop with the same rig. When I got the Andros, I had a Moondrop Moonriver 2, FiiO Q3 ( portable rechargeable dac/amp with a THX balanced amp circuit) and an Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt. Of the three, my favorite pairing was actually the Cobalt, followed by the Q3 and then the Moonriver 2. The Moonriver was just the slightest bit mushy on the Andros. The Cobalt has all the detail, but also presents a bit warmer. And of course the neutral-to-a-T q3 was robust and powerful while presenting clean and clear mids. Then I decided to pony up and buy a dac/amp worthy of the Andros price tag and capabilities. And it all came together with the Mojo 2. All the detail, all of the harmonics, all of the space and time domain info. Plenty of heft and slam in the bass. Yeah. That was money. So, that sucker is sticking around. Since then, I have picked up ALO Audioā€™s own Pilot, which is good, although it doesnā€™t present the bass authority the Andros are capable of.

So thatā€™s my story. Coming soon: Solaris Mercury.

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Iā€™ll definitely be interested to read how the Mercury work out for you. I havenā€™t read up enough on them, but the info I have come across seems somewhat limited. How are they supposed to differ from the regular Solaris?

The Andromeda 2020s have been my undisputed Campfire favorites since I got them, but the Supermoon CIEMs I acquired last summer are making their case to be top dogs. They may not be as unique as the Andros, but they have their own magic about what they do for sure.

I have never owned the Mojo 2, but I have heard it a few times and I did own the OG Mojo and it makes perfect sense to me that Mojo 2 is a solid match with your Andros.

Well, according to CAā€™s website, there is no major tuning difference. It is supposed to be equally good at staging and imaging, lusher sounding than the Andro. And it was limited to a run of 78 total units. So, itā€™s incredibly rare. I didnā€™t do too much research on it because what I had read about the Solaris 2020 was enough to sell me on any pair of Solaris earphones that resembled them.

Speaking of the Supermoon, they are supposed to be incredible. I would love a CIEM someday. And almost nothing sounds better than planarmagnetic drivers. My first ā€œexpensiveā€ (to me) IEM was the Letshuoer S12. And apart from some sibilance, the driver sounds astonishing. aA little thin for my tastes in the lower midrange, but unbelievably clear with a resoundingly present bass punch. So I can only imagine what CA would do with a quality PMD. Nonetheless, Iā€™m enjoying this foray into the IEM world and feel like I couldnā€™t have picked a better maker than CA.

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I have the S12s too and they really are incredible for the money. They are my favorite if the sub-$300 planars that I have tried. The Supermoons really are pretty spectacular. I think they are a bit overpriced, like most things in high end audio and IEMs, but they are hands down the best planar based IEM I have heard by a long shot. The level of detail and the energy, articulation, and agility is really just crazy to listen to. And it does all of that with a much more DD quality bass and timbre which is was really makes it exceptional for me. I find myself using it more and more for both fun and critical listening situations.

You definitely have to post something about how the Mercurys work out for you once youā€™ve had some time with them.

I will. I have really enjoyed this conversation.

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OK. Initial thoughts on the Solaris Mercury. It is immediately more spacious than the Andro. And it is immediately warmer in the lower mids than the Andro. Bass is readily more present. It is not quite as neutral as the Andro. There is a slight tip up in upper mids/lower treble that on some tracks comes of a tad sibilant, primarily on tracks that are tuned that way. However, it is still very clear and detailed. No sense of tinniness or sizzle. Bass is what I wish the Andro had (although I do love the presentation on the Andro, because of the purity of the neutral tuning). This is not a neutral earphone, by any stretch. Bass is realistic - not emphasized, just natural. If a kick drum would ring, the earphones ring at that frequency. It isnā€™t boomy unless boominess is called for. In that sense, I would say that the Solaris does what itā€™s told to do, with finesse and soul. My go-to album lately has been Wasteland, Baby by Hozier. Itā€™s a soulful album with a good mix of styles, and there is something about the tracks that dip into the Irish folk genre that really rings in my heart. Well recorded, well engineered and mastered, there is a little bit of everything for an audiophile to love. Treble shimmers with the Solaris, much the same way it shimmers on the Andros, maybe ever so slightly less (think Xylophone on the track Movement on Wasteland, Baby - at the very beginning of the song. Thump, ring, thump thump, ring, etc.) These are the earphones I have been looking for. I love a warm sound with good extension and plenty of thump that doesnā€™t overwhelm. I also love good soundstage, and these have it in spades. Space between instruments and width and depth to the atmosphere. Iā€™m in love for different reasons with these IEMs. No critical listening yet, just initial impressions.

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Also, the big difference between the Solaris Mercury and 2020 is primarily in the case work, which is richly chromed, and the cable selection it comes with - Three of CAā€™s Pure Silver Litz (2.5mm, 3.5mm and 4.4mm). I love the tuning. I love the cables. Iā€™m still trying to figure out how to get them to fit right. Not sure if Iā€™ll go with the foam tips. Currently Iā€™m using my JVC Spiral Dot tips and love how they sound, but they kind of beg to be more deeply inserted than the spiral dots allow.

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More deeply than Spiral Dots, but similar sound? That sounds like Radius Deep Mounts might be the answer if you have any.

Nice! Sounds like you found a good fit. Iā€™ll have to see if I can find someone with a pair for me to demo. If theyā€™re the same tuning as the nirmal Solaris I have a friend with a pair of those and I did listen to them very briefly at one point, but with unfamiliar music and a party happening around us so far from ideal circumstances lol! :joy:

Anyways, Iā€™m glad that your digginā€™ the Mercuries and thanks for coming back to post your thoughts. I wish you a long, music-filled life with your new shinies! :tada::metal::sunglasses::beers:

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What I mean to say is the earphones seem to want to go deeper than the spiral dots will allow. Iā€™m considering trying the foam tips provided. Although I tend to prefer the sound from silicon tips. I did find that the provided Type E Final tips are kind of where the money is, so far. Still havenā€™t tried the foam. :smiley: Loving them for sure. Take care.

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