Campfire Audio - Andromeda Emerald Sea (2023)

These are the newer Andromedas, the Emerald Sea.

Don’t bother with anything else for now, the Emerald Sea is an extremely capable IEM, but it has some issues in the treble region. I’d recommend testing out some EQ profiles and experiment that way. This profile has worked really well for me, and fixed all the issues I had with them out the box. 🎧 Campfire Audio Emerald Sea – Corrective EQ (10-Band Graphic) Preamp: -4 dB 31 Hz → +2.0 dB # Adds sub-bass weight 62 Hz → +1.5 dB # Reinforces bass punch 125 Hz → +1.0 dB # Warms low mids 250 Hz → 0.0 dB # Neutral anchor 500 Hz → +1.5 dB # Restores vocal warmth 1 kHz → +2.5 dB # Brings vocals forward 2 kHz → +2.0 dB # Adds articulation 4 kHz → -2.0 dB # Smooths shoutiness 8 kHz → -3.5 dB # Tames treble glare 16 kHz → +1.5 dB # Adds air and shimmer

I’ve been lurking this sub for a while and got a whole bunch of great tips on what kind of gear to get. First I went with a Cayin RU6 to drive some Senheisser DT 990 Pros (250 ohms) that I use in the studio for flat reference mixing. Listening to high res lossless audio with those and the Cayin was… ok. Certainly better than using Bose, but nothing to write home about. Thinking I wasted money on the Cayin, I went shopping around. I was looking for beautifully sculpted IEMs for listening to music. So I zeroed in on Campfire Audio Andromeda (Emerald Sea). I tried them and I could not believe the clarity and instrument separation on dense mixes. I plugged them into my Cayin, saw that it was on sale because it was an open box item. And then I listened… Holy shit! I can hear pick scrapes. Faint finger slides on guitar chord changes. Room reverberation for ALL instruments became crystal clear in the mix. Previously hidden delays and modulation effects became obvious. While I understand these IEMs have a scooped EQ profile, the bass tracks are defined and lose their mud, while also giving a nice thump to the sound. Percussion details spring out and there’s distinct separation of the drumskins and the cymbals. There’s sizzle in the brightness, but it’s never harsh. Everything has its own layer and space. Nothing competes in a good mix. I’ve never heard music like this except for a studio environment, and certainly never out of my iPhone. I understand now. For shits n giggles I A/Bed the Andromedas with Powerbeats (absolute junk). I am ruined. I’ve been listening to Grateful Dead live shows (Veneta 72, Boston 77, Cornell 77, ect). Mk.gee’s Two Star and the Dream Police. Several Rush records. All Billy Strings’s records and several shows, including the recent one in Eugene on Nugs. I certainly hope this audiophile dabble doesn’t become a crippling addiction lol. Cheers to this community for all the thoughtful advice and discussion.

They are legit incredible. They flatter music beautifully.

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)

64 Audio 12T and Campfire Andromeda is another. I'd say that even old school stuff like the Aurisonics ASG 2.5 might still be perfectly good today and Shure SE846 still has its fans.

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