For all campfire iems
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It would be really interesting to see a (non marketing hype) side by side comparison of the campfire lineup. They have so many options now it’s hard to even know where to start with them. I really like my Andromeda, but I have no idea where that fits in the current campfire lineup.
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They also have not just different products but also different yearly revisions where the sound has changed.
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Ok so I owned the Campfire Andromeda Pacific Blue a while back, in audiophile years probably a decade ago so I’ve got very decent experience with the Andromedas. Most recently i picked up the Andromeda 2020 version and i liked it a decent bit but found it to be a bit more clinical and less organic than the Pacific (not that organicness was a huge strength nor nothing) however something that i really forgot about is driver burn in because it’s been so long that I’ve bought something new (technically was a open box purchase but evidently the previous person didn’t use it much) but today as i was listening to it the Andros suddenly opened up. The staging that these dude’s have is crazy good. At first it was feeling a bit 2d in terms of it not having the best abilities to give everything it’s own space but now we are back babyyyy. I mean it’s so fun sounding too, love listening to kpop because it has a real nice punch, awesome bass, smooth but very sparkly treble. The biggest weakness is probably dynamics as it’s lowest low in comparison to highest high isn’t that different but honestly it’s like it is what it is. I really feel like it’s one of the trade offs it makes and a perfect representation of what the Andromeda really is, the Andromeda’s trade off some technical aspects for the most balanced sound i’ve heard off an IEM. Sure sometimes I have found myself wanting maybe more depth, more dynamic abilities but the Andromeda besides being fairly neutral they specialize in being extremely fun (I guess reminds me of the Ilouds in that aspect), balanced and capable. I listen to such as wide range of genres and many of them deman opposite traits, Kpop demands good treble and punch to sound really fun and really portray the high pitch sounds best while ballads demand a certain level of organicness and a good tonal balance in addition to a sound that is’nt too forward and aggressive. The Andros imo do just that where they have a sound that is forward enough to be extremely engaging but also can be laid back enough to enjoy some slower songs. Honestly i was worried due to things like the newer Andros having crossover, tuning changes etc that It would be a LCD2 PF vs FZER situation where you have to be careful in choosing but honestly it feels like it’s a safe pick to go with any Andro at this point.
It’s an audiophile experience in a portable package 
Also lesson of the day, don’t forget to burn your shit in as much as possible!!!
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For reference to people that might not now, i may only have had the Andromeda 2020 version for a few days I owned a previous version before multiple times and for long periods of time.
I legit feel crazy sometimes, when I see people just bypass the Andromedas at any price range when looking for something new. Then when they actually try the Andromeda’s and end up preferring something else too I feel like maybe the Andromedas were God’s gift to me for who knows what reason. It’s just ridiculous to me, how amazing these dudes sound. The word extraordinary by definiton feels just right for the Andromeda. I’ve owned Andromedas for so long that I’ve had them through a million pairings in both source (Ifi Diablo, Hiby R5, Hiby RS6, Bifros + Pass Labs HPA-1, Bifrost + Liquid Platinum, Questyle dongle dac, QP2R and others I’m sure) also 4 different cable configurations including a Satin Audio high end cable, 2 Effect audio cables both copper and silver plated and also the Litz cable it comes with. I’ve spent very decent time with the Andromedas and all of these combinations as well and they have always been amazing, personally preferred them over many other iems and many other headphones in many price ranges over and under. I’ve also unlike most of my gear now had the opportunity to hear every single little change because I’ve owned it for so long and have gone through tons of source gear to pair with it for decent periods of time each.
The Andromeda + Effect Audio Maestro cable + Hiby RS6 is hands down my favorite Musical reproduction device I currently have. (I would say that the pairing of Pass Labs HPA-1 preamp + Bifrost +Morrow cables + Focal Alphas 80 speakers is at least just as good/enjoyable if not better) It’s just so good, it’s a crazy balanced sound where It’s forward enough to be incredibly fun/engaging but just back enoug to be relaxed for the right music (ballads). It’s got incredibly fun, deep and very punchy bass to just bring the fun to bassy music. The mids might be the weakest point in terms of detail BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE they bring a mids whore like myself sooooo much pleasure as they are very forward (in comparison to Andromeda Pacific Blue version the lower mids are slightly recessed tho) and great timbre but most importantly tonal balance and smoothness to them. Treble, veeery sparkly but not brigh it’s just enough the right amount of energy in the upper registers to sound both detailed and energetic. Actually in my experience the RS6 dac really takes some treble energy away from most things so If you want more treble energy pair it with anything else and you will be good as well but I think this is just perfect enough.
Here’s the thing though, whenever I tried higher end source gear paired with gear that is high end enough or scales more and more there’s been a few things that stand out. It’s not like back in the day when you would be trying to figure out if imaging is better, if stage is wider or if timbre is better but instead when you move to higher end not just gear itself (like a Susvara paired to an Atom amp/dac combo) and instead you have everything up in levels and with good synergy you end up finding a few things. 1. Certain helft within the music and I don’t mean a thicker tonal balance but instead It’s what I think people call great grip/control over every instrument. I’ve heard this before in only a few pairings including the Alphas + Bifrost + Pass Labs + Morrow cables and the combo I’m talking about today with the Andromeda + RS6 + Effect Audio Maestro (Actually also heard it when I had the Andromedas + Satin Audio cable although I don’t remember If i was using the Ifi Diablo as source at that time or if it was something else/also Alphas plus RS6 Dac alone have some of that too) Either way as I was saying there is just a different type of control that these higher end pairings have (pairing is the key word) a different type of way in which they layer the details too (RS6 Dac in particular has been such a game changer of the space it gives to every instrument, the layering of depth. Best Dac ive heard so far, looking forward to see what other changes come as I go up the Dac ladders in the future). My biggest problem and one of the only problems or weaknesses I felt the Andros had was depth and dynamics but honestly with this pairing theres so much depth, such intricate layering of detail and placement of instruments that it’s completely a non-issue IMO.
It’s been such a pleasure to get to experience this more and also really shows me firsthand the importance of getting to own music transducers (IEMs, Headphones, Speakers) through many differnece sources of gear and also through alot of time and the Andros and Focal Alphas are the perfect examples of that for me. I look forward to really buckling up this year and finally pulling the gun on the Pass Labs preamp to bring my Focals to their former glory and to even greater heights than before.
Live long and and I hope we all strive our best to get to our audio Utopias!
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I never noticed until rn but the Andromeda 2020 have ALOT of sub-bass, feels like it’s way more present than even on the Focal Alphas and maybe even more than hawks. Just really surprised to be honest lol
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@Towa So, what do you think of the Andromedas now that you’ve had them two months?
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@dB_Cooper not kidding I had 1 image only with a mandatory foot peek, and the website dosen’t allow me to upload that one in particular lol. Guess ill have to save it for my OF
I have 1 day into having the Campfire Audio Fathom, my first impressions were that it’s an Andromeda.
:theface:
But seriously, it’s pretty close to it lol, and the only differences it currently has in my opinion only come from the difference in source and cable i have. The IEM comes with a Campfire Audio Stream silver cable, while I used ta Effect Audio Maestro cable with the Andromeda if i remember correctly. While I’ve learned that Silver cables can have amazing bass, and this one sounds good with the bass, I still think it sacrifices some warmth and width for more clarity, precision in the sound signature. The IEM itself does have really good subbass in particular but has less midbass than the Andros. It imo does have decently more detailed mids but it’s also not a huge step up in that aspect.
All in all, I would say that the Fathom is veeeery similiar to the Andromedas and with the same source even more so if I had to guess. The 2 stand out differences are that the Fathom has more of a subbass focus as opposed to midbass focus of the Andromedas, it does have more sparkly mids and more detail/clarity in the mids, but again not a particularly big upgrade either.
Considering that the 2020 Andromedas and the Fathom are around the same price new if i remember correctly, I guess it makes sense that it’s, so far, a slightly different tuned IEM lol.
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Guess we’ll all just have to follow you on TikTok?
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Alright i’ve changed my mind about a few things lol. As it turns out the Fathoms just like the Andromedas (2020) have a pretty decent burn in period. And these have changed a faaaairrrrr bit! In particular the MIDs are actually suuuuuuuuuuuper fucking good. Definetly the star of the show, they are super detailed, and a good combination of smooth when they need to be while being sparkly enough too. Honestly listening to any vocal track has been nothing but an absolute pleasure with the extrememe mids detail but familiiar Campfire presentation. The IEM is all around extremely well rounded with pretty decent bass (although, I defiently expected a more bassier IEM in comparison to the Andromeda, but it’s pretty similiar in bass so far), veeeery good mids and the treble can actually be pretty dang strong pre-burn in. After that the treble is what changes the most as it does start taking more of a backseat to the mids and bass.
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Fucking campfire audio is Bae. I swear, anything they make is fucking amazing. Been fucking enjoying the shit out of the Fathoms for the past days, everything just sounds lovely lol. It’s detailed but actually quite smooth! With nice warm bass, nice warm mids and decent treble (altho rolled back a bit at times). The staging is nice and holographic as expected of Campfire IEMs, they have great speed and everything is just lovely lol. Everything sounds good with them! I FUCKING MISED AUDIO. I’M SO GLAD I’M BACK AND I’MMA KEEP ON FUCKING Going NOW THAT I’VE BEEN WAY MORE FINANCIALLY STABLE.
I’mma do some overtime this week for more purchases lol
On a side note I do need to buy a IFI IEM match again because there is some floor noise, which isn’t a problem with most music but with my post-modern and classical stuff I want the blackest background possible!
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Congratulations on all @Littledrummerboy , don’t forget to start a ROTH IRA fund this year, invest it well and maximize your deposits yearly. You will thank me 40 years from now. 
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Even if you don’t max it out. Time is in your side and compound interest is crazy strong. This is an example of only 5k per year at 7%
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I Def need to look into these financial related things as I’m currently putting in 56 hour weeks to make bank specifically to get back into high end audio. Pulling those extra 16 hours is a pain but worth it!
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Been super enjoying this IEM. I can verify that it’s sonic characteristics are definitely cousins to that if an Andromeda. This IEM is particularly good, imo, at having a holographic sound, detailed midrange and bass. In terms of quantity of bass, I would say the subass is pretty fun, detailed, hefty but because the midbass doesn’t stand out as much the iem dossnt feel particularly colored. The Fathom is a bit closer to a dark-neutral sound signature imo! It’s an interesting combination since it’s bassy, but it’s not what I would have considered traditionally bassy like something with rounded subbass and is instead neutral with outstanding subbass detail and hefty punch. The mids are also fairly detailed and a step above the Andromedas IMO. While the timbre is relatively the same, the detail in the mids definetly stands out when comparing to something like the Andromedas, it just seems more refined and cohesive. The treble, I guess there’s not much to say about it lol, it’s there and gives some contrast but it’s definitely more pulled back than other stuff I’ve heard. Maybe a big closer to the Second revision of the nighthawks in terms of quantity of treble. While I enjoy everything with these guys, Hip-hop and post modern/classical (as the mids are hefty/punchy and detailed) music is what ive been enjoying the most with these! I know it’s a weird duo but it works strangely amazing for these genres lol (rock too btw).
I’ve plugged these into my laptop, switch and A&K CA1000 portable Amp and I can say with confidence that no matter where you plan on plugging em you want an impedence adapter like my Ifi adapter since they will be fairly noisy without one.
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