Campfire Audio - Andromeda 10

Zephyr - 1BA 1 DD I wanted my first IEM to be neutral bright, so it was a good fit. Pretty good instrument separation, good imaging. Some people say the soundstage isn’t that wide, while I agree, it’s not narrow either. Can’t go wrong for $159. Build is pretty solid, it doesn’t scream expensive, but it doesn’t look cheap either. I normally use these with the S&S eartips to make the sound a little more intense, Baroque Stage when I want more bass. Titan S2 - 1 DD Bassy pair, but not bass heavy. The soundstage is definitely narrower than the Zephyr. Good for EDM and other bass focused genres. The build itself is pretty astounding. The heft of the metal build adds a feel of high quality. I like how they feel cold to the touch when I put them on. The accessories that come with this set is just wild. I like using the S&S tips on these as it makes the sound a lot more intense. When I switch to the Baroque Stage tips, they just get more bass but smoother. EDX Pro - 1 DD I pretty much use these when I’m bored. I make sure I rotate through my headphones and IEMs and don’t forget about these. They’re fine, definitely not very detailed but good amount of bass. Narrow soundstage, separation is like 3/10. The shape is weird as it doesn’t go in my ears if I use my regular tips, they have to be longer or really big. I’d use this with my GameBoy. Andromeda 10 - 10 BA Still new so I still need to experiment. But overall very detailed without being aggressively detailed. Bass is detailed and textured, sparkly highs. Imaging is insanely good, adds to that “holographic” effect. The nozzle is short so the tips need to be a size larger. Will update.

Loved my OG Andros. Had a listen to those at my local and darn they sounded so close to the OG with all the bass and technicalities added. Amazing moment.

Of my collection 64 audio has been the most worth it for me. U12t is my gold standard I hold other iems to. It’s just bright and revealing, good sound and high technicality. The volurs do bassy really well with no mid bass bleed. Plus the 64 audio shell are the most comfortable to me and has the thinnest nozzle I’ve found on an iem as I have small ear canals. I got the andromeda 10s, and been very impressed. More holographic than the u12ts with a darker warmer sound.  Thieaudio Valhalla is more meh to me, warm and natural but not a huge standout over cheaper sets like volume s or tea pros. Plus it’s just a chonker of an iem. 

List is $2k, and I haven't seen any advertised lower than that. While I'd love to get a pair, it's definitely a luxury product. I have a pair of Andromedas that I got used a few years back. They sound great, but I'm smart enough to know that it's a hobby I don't need to pursue as it's just too costly. I do believe there are noticeable differences, but at a certain point, there are diminishing returns.

I think around 300$ is the sweet spot. I have tea pros (349$), a noble k10u (1600$) and a campfire andromeda S (1059$) and the difference is just around 20-30%

Cheapest endgame to me would be tea pros (349$) they sound so good and that bass is 👌 I also have kilobucks from before like the Andromeda S (1049$) and noble k10ua (1600$) they are better in resolution and soundstage but not that big of a difference compared to the tea pros.

Don't underestimate the Andromeda. They’re an older set and have been surpassed by many newer IEMs in terms of sheer detail. But it’s the sound signature that deserves its legendary status. It’s still one of the most spacious and smooth-sounding IEMs, and I would love to listen to it again just for that.

Look I own about 10 or so pairs of iem's and it still remains the pair that impressed me the most but I highly doubt that it's the best in its price range to this day. It's just the best I own in this regard.

I’d say the first break point is somewhere around $300ish, then the next break point is “entry” kilobucks around $1k. So for the first break point IEMs like Dusk, anything Xenns, Thieaudio, Softears, so on and so forth, and for the second break point you have a lot of solid options like Monarchs, Dunu Glacier, CFA Andromedas, 64 Audio U4S, etc. Edit: to clarify, those are the points where I think you get the biggest jumps in quality relative to price points around them. So I don’t think it’s as worth it to move beyond that $300-$400 price point unless you’re jumping up to $1k.

For the most part yes, although entry kilobucks start to get pretty unique. Good example could be something like the Andromedas, I’m not aware of anything else that really gets similar to the tuning of the Andromedas (not even the later versions of Andromedas themselves lol)

I would almost flip those honestly, at least in my experience - from $20 to $300 you get better/more controlled upper treble and the like, while with kilobucks you get more unique tunings (think things like Andromedas or the IER-Z1R or something)

Yeah - Campfire Andromeda, JH 13V2 Pro, QDC Anole VX, 64 Audio U12T, Campfire Moon Rovers

Tested nearly over 250+ iem, Impressed me positively or negatively recently, sorted by price Positive: KZ EDC Pro - for less than 10USD you get something easily rival up to $40\~$50 bracket KZ PR2 - first version with the mesh, toe to toe against my Z12 (S12 bass-boost variant) for less than half of its price EW300 - easily sounding like a $150 set for this, a must get for V-shape/treblehead around the budget Truthear Hexa - best in class neutral, imaging and technically for the price, extremely capable and non offensive but might sound "boring" to some Aful Explorer - best warm/relaxing sounding IEM at its price bracket, uniquely tune sound i would say its a rare find EPZ P50 - easily the best natural slight U shape signature at its price point Mega5EST (first version) - neutral, musical with good technically and resolution, one of the closer pre-end game set Negative (mostly are pricier sets disappoint me the most): Moondrop Chu - died after a month, replacement came then died after 2 months Kiwi Ears Quartet - its all bass, muddy, too warm. (Quintet is a lot better, i know its different) Softears RSV - tonality is wonky and the treble is a mess Softears Volume - combination of warm + popping midrange + peaky treble is not really what i prefer at all (i like the volume S by a lot more) Campfire Andromeda - never really get the hype for this back then. it just sounds awful, hollow, bassless, lifeless to me. Thieuadio Oracle Mk2 - identity crisis of the OG Oracle, sounds like a straight downgrade for me Thieaudio Monarch Mk 3 - weird tonality (its like W-shape sound), too technical and extremely fatiguing lastly of course its price tag (bass is SLAMMING in a good way though) These are what i can remember so far