To bring things back on topic a little more, I was using the Shure SE846 and happy for years. In a trip to NYC I stopped by Audio46 and listened to a few of the latest gen IEMs. Walked away with the Solaris, it was on another level vs the SE846.
The wind-in-the-port issue means I had to sell them, but I blame the Solaris for sending me on a new IEM journey years after I thought Iâd found my endgame 
Lol yeah, I am just getting into higher end iems as I have really always been a headphone person, but this canjam trip for me was pretty much just trying iems since I had heard all the headphones before lol
High end iems have come a long way, they just move too quickly for me to keep up with everything going on lol. I recall being impressed by the 846 awhile ago
Thanks @M0N. So itâs closer in practice to âdriver inflexibleâ, by which I mean the seal ends up preventing the driver from moving as it should?
Pretty much accurate 
CanJam in London last year was where I replaced the Solaris. Itâs been more and more ever since. Stupid Solaris, I should have never listened to them!
I shouldnât have any problems with wind in the port syndrome as I only use them indoors
Out of interest what did you replace them with?
Ah, youâll be absolutely golden then, theyâre a great-sounding IEM.
I initially replaced them with the 64 Audio U18t, but I have those and a few others now. Not because the U18t wasnât good enough (itâs an amazing IEM for which Iâve since ordered custom tips), but because I caught âthe bugâ again and have been enjoying experimenting with different sounds.
How did you find the U18t stacked up against the Solaris? as both the U18t and a8000âs are x2+ the price I can get the Solaris for 
Itâs worth lol
The Solaris has, IMO, slightly better texture to the bass. As has been said many times before, thereâs something about DD bass that just isnât the same as BA, no matter how well-tuned. So on that level, I think the Solaris takes it. More impact, more slam, more textured and just a bit more natural sounding.
For everything else, though, the U18t is more suited to my tastes. The midrange is excellent. However where it truly shines, at least for me, is the treble. Iâm not a detail freak and treble often annoys me and fatigues my ears/brain. I donât usually chase sparkle, because I find it becomes annoying once youâre over the âwow, so much detailâ phase. The U18t is different though. The best word I can think of to describe the treble is âsweetâ. Smooth implies itâs recessed, but sweet is better because it describes that itâs present and noticeable, but not tiring. Loads of air and it never really tires me out (although it can show up on poorly recorded tracks, but lots of things can get a bit excitable when this happens).
Itâs a huge price jump though, so as always, itâs all about what is important to each listener. For me though, it was worth it, I really like the U18t and never regretted selling the Solaris, as nice as I find the sound on the Campfire flagship.
I need those xD
Thank you for your honest opinion I appreciate it 
all though iâm not sure my bank balance will lolâŠhopefully I can listen to them along with the a8000 and a few others at CanJam UK and decide on which is the best bang for buck maybe the Tia Trio also 
Cool - see you at CanJam UK then. Trying to organise to meet up with some of the folks over on Head-Fi so feel free to hit me up on here if you want to have some people to hang out with for drinks on any of the days
Sorry - will stop derailing the thread now - more Solaris opinions please!!
Side track hi-jack âŠ. not sure if Unique Melody will be a CanJam UK, but something to check out if yâall are going.
Cool sounds good 
Donâr worry too much about that as most threads end up that way on here in a good way lol
The mest was pretty nice, not exactly my style but pretty impressive for the price imo
Lol I donât think there are many threads on here that havenât been derailed
My very first IEMs were Noble K10 Customs that appeared maybe twice at Massdrop, marketed as some of the best-reviewed in-ears on Head-Fi. While I usually take Dropâs marketing spin (and Head-Fiâs comparative expertise) with a healthy pinch of salt, thereâs no doubt those were a well-regarded model and hardly a bad place to start. And, OMG, custom fit. If I ever get on an airplane again it wonât be without CIEMs.
Meanwhile, as my headphone collection grew and I began to appreciate variety, I eventually found my way to CANJAM SoCal (2019). And aside from getting a chance to hear the Sennheiser HE-1, the #1 thing on my list was to figure out why every other IEM I read praise about was Campfire Andromeda.
Having heard a lot of excellent headphones by now, Iâve had plenty of first impressions along the lines of âwow, thatâs really nice.â But only a handful of times where a listening experience has been so shockingly good that it stopped me in my tracks. OG Andromeda did that. I clearly remember thinking, âOMG, IEMs can do that?â Prior to that moment, Iâd held a prejudice that going to IEMs meant sacrificing some of the magic of headphones for the sake of portability. Andromedas shattered that illusion.
The only criticism I could muster was, âwell, the bass is a little to rolled off and politeâI wish these had a little more going on.â Itâs the same way I felt (and still feel) about Utopias, which are still a benchmark for me in absolute technical ability. Thereâs nothing wrong, and nothing objectively lacking, but my personal tastes want just a little more down low so that some of my favorite high-energy electronic tracks are more engaging.
And then I tried Solaris. Done. Sold. Perfection. The Andromedas probably outshone them in mids and sparkly magic, but these were close enough and with exactly the right balance of low end that I was missing: full, smooth, detailed. Listening to the birds chirping and bass hit on Yosi Horikawaâs âWandering,â I knew I had to have these.
After the show I did a silly thing: I placed a single order for Andromeda, Solaris and Atlas. I was all-in on Campfire.
The Andromedas went to my wife, who sings in a womenâs choir and has been both supportive and appreciative of my audio hobby. The Solaris became my babies, and later justified the wholly unnecessary purchase of the gold SP1000M just to create an ensemble look (and for the ever-so-slightly more portable form factor of the M). And the Atlas were purely for the sake of varietyâto have something to indulge in excess bass like some kind of audio triple-dark chocolate fudge gelato.
The Atlas surprised me with still-detailed mids that are simply recessed rather than overwhelmed by bass. I could easily see them being a daily driver for anyone wanting to bring the bass. They pump out the beats in a way that makes Solaris seem tame by comparison, but they accomplish that without smothering the mids and highs the way my Fostex TR-X00 Ebonies do.
Atlas does have some quirksâIâve encountered both the driver flex and the lockout issues with mine, leading me to stick to foam tips. The flex issue can result in something internal suddenly releasing, causing a loud PING sound that leaves my ears ringingâmaking my fear both for my hearing and my IEMs. And the lockout simply leaves enough pressure in place that the driver cannot move, leading to little or no sound. Letting foam tips expand in place completely eliminates both problems, but itâs unfortunate that such a high-end IEM should have such issues.
Fortunately, Iâve not had any such issues with Solarisâthe DD seems to equalize just fine with silicone tips, and sound levels and quality have never been adversely affected. The only issue with Solaris is the large bore size where the IEM body connects to the chrome stemâthere is a shoulder on the black body of the IEM just below this that has the tiniest edge to it that can dig in just enough to cause some discomfort on long listening sessions. Itâs usually not problematic for me, but it can be, depending on fitment. Itâs interesting that Atlas seems to have the exact same nozzle dimensions, but without the sharp shoulder (and also a wires-down insertion style) and completely avoids the potential comfort-issue I have with Solaris.
When Campfire announced the Special Edition Gold remix of Andromeda I jumped on them, hoping to recapture that Andromeda magic, but with the extra bass I craved. Did they deliver? Yeah, mostly. I feel like mids and highs are closer to parity with Solaris than OG Andros, but with BA bass instead of DD bass. And theyâre tinier, lighter and more comfortable. I still prefer the overall sound of Solaris, but the Andro Golds offer just enough compelling distinctiveness to cement a permanent place in my collection. The DD bass of Solaris is more visceral, bringing a dimension to the listening experience that earns it the top spot in my collection, but the BA bass of the Andro Golds is tighter and more controlled. Coupled with the better comfort factor and not so blatantly drawing attention to whatâs in my ears, the Andro Golds are a better choice for certain situations.
Iâve listened to some other very good IEMs that Iâve enjoyed very much, like Noble Khan and Katana, but nothing that I felt I needed to add to the collection, and certainly nothing that I thought could replace Solaris. Iâve been pretty content to consider my IEM journey complete, save one exceptionâŠ
Iâve gained quite a bit of respect for Crinacleâs IEM rankings. I find him to be a harsh critic, but fair. So Iâve long wondered about the tiny collection of IEMs to which he has awarded an S rank, and specifically about the 64 Audio U12T (which badly needs its own thread, BTW). I finally got a pair last Friday, after patiently watching for any kind of sale or deal (and landing one at 20% off / $1600).
Like OG Andromedas, the U12Ts have been one of those ear-opening moments on my audio journey. They deliver sub-bass like no other IEM I have heard, but maintain the clarity and detail of BAs. Mids and highs are still excellent and detailed; theyâre not so âguilty pleasureâ a signature as the Atlas. I am now looking to configure a pair of A12Ts as my ultimate endgame, and the likely end of my search for anything better.
Are they worth $500 more than Solaris? That depends on how much an additional $500 stretches your budget. They certainly deliver enough beyond Solaris to command that price difference. And yet the Solaris, for me, already reaches a level of excellence across the board that makes it equally easy to say that they do everything well enough that it would be wiser to invest that $500 difference into a DAP that will do them justice.
Nice writeup, and I agree completely with your words on the Atlas. It surprised me that it wasnât simply the bass cannon that I expected, but the driver flex/lockout issues persist. I donât like the way foam tips affect the sound, so I stick with the silicones and just deal with the lockout when it happens. Itâs usually only when I first insert them, and can occur when I feel the need to adjust them. Unfortunately since they are heavy and not over-ear, I feel the need to fiddle with them more than I would an iem I place over ear and forget about it. It does seem like it happens less after owning them for several months, but it still happens too frequently for me to recommend without reservation
