Campfire Audio - Solaris Stellar Horizon

Haven’t heard the OG Solaris. I like the Solaris Stellar Horizon though, not the best IEM at that price range, but pretty good. I like Campfire Audio more for their aesthetics than their sound.

**Introduction** I attended an audio show and had the chance to listen to over 30 IEMs. Rather than going too deep on every single one, I wanted to highlight the 3 IEMs that truly impressed me and share some rapid-fire thoughts on the rest. Do note that these are my subjective impressions, and the rapid-fire takes might not convey everything. **64 Audio U12t** 64 Audio was the brand I had looked forward to the most at the show. And U12t was easily the best IEM I heard there. The first thing that caught my attention was its imaging and soundstaging, it was one of the few IEMs that gave me a true sense of holographic staging. I really liked the treble tuning, it was extended, crisp, and avoided being sibilant. The midrange was on the warmer, lusher side, with upper mids slightly recessed for my taste. I hadn’t expected the bass to sound this good coming from BAs. It was detailed, hit hard, but decayed a tad faster than typical DDs. **Softears Enigma** At first, I thought it was just another ridiculously overpriced IEM that would sound mediocre. But I was wrong, the bass quality was pretty good, better than U12t. I didn’t feel anything special about the mids, they were neither shouty nor recessed. I sensed a dip around 5-6 kHz, as I am quite sensitive to peaks there. This made vocals much smoother to listen to, but there was a lack of excitement, so vocals weren’t the strong suit of this IEM. But it was the treble that hooked me and made me want to keep listening. The treble had an 'ethereal' quality. It felt lighter, extended, refined, and more importantly, exciting. Because of this, I just kept listening and ended up staying longer than I had planned, it was that good. **64 Audio U4s** This is basically a 'baby U12t', with a dynamic driver for the bass, giving it a proper bass thump. It had all the qualities I mentioned in U12t, but the overall technical prowess was slightly lower. I am still confused whether I preferred U12t’s faster bass response or U4s meatier bass response, nevertheless it was good. The midrange had similar qualities to what I described in U12t impressions. But the treble performance was a slight downgrade compared to U12t, it was on the splashier side with touch less refinement. **Top Performers in:** **Bass** * 64 Audio Volur * Sennheiser IE 900 **Mid-range** * 64 Audio U12t/U4s * Mega5EST **Treble** * Softears Enigma * 64 Audio U12t **Rapid-fire impressions** **64 Audio Fourte** * Emphasized bass * Recessed vocals * Non-offensive treble * No wow factor * Overpriced **64 Audio Trio** * Recessed mids, but not as much as Fourte * Non-offensive treble * Third best 64 Audio IEM for me **64 Audio U18t** * Treble presentation didn’t work for me * Not as good as U12t **64 Audio Volur** * Best bass I’ve ever heard in an IEM * Treble is quite peaky **64 Audio Nio** * Darkest among the 64 Audio lineup I’ve tried * Not my preferred sound signature **64 Audio Solo** * Best planar IEM I heard at the show * Bass quality wasn’t the best compared to others * Technical performance not up to the price **ThieAudio Monarch MK3** * Chonky shell, but still comfortable to wear * Emphasized yet controlled bass * Treble was slightly peaky * No wow factor **Sony IER Z1R** * Uncomfortable to wear, lacks proper seal * Because of that, bass suffered, I had to hold it with my hands to get the best seal * Bass quality is great (not the best I’ve heard, can’t say much due to poor fit) **Sennheiser IE 900** * Vocals sounded stuffy, weird, and recessed * One of the best bass I heard at the show after 64 Audio Volur * Lacking in detail and imaging for the price **Sennheiser IE 600** * Better tonality than IE 900, especially in the upper mids * Again, not the best in technical performance **Mega5EST** * Most normal-sounding IEM I heard at the show * Quite bassy for this type of mid-range * Not the best in subjective qualities **Dunu Da Vinci** * Similar impression to Mega5EST * This type of sound signature doesn’t work well with such a bass boost **Letshuoer Cadenza 12** * Fairly neutral with a bass boost * Lacks the wow factor * Treble was slightly on the harsher side **Elysian Pilgrim** * Non-offensive sound signature * Treble is a bit forward and spicy * Lacks excitement **Softears RSV** * Bass quality was good * Vocals sounded strained * Nothing special about the treble **Softears Volume S** * Non-offensive, but somewhat shouty on some songs * Slightly peaky treble (in some songs) **Softears Studio 4** * Sounded okay (but in a good way) * Nothing particularly special **FATfreq Maestro Mini** * Driver flex * Too much bass (works well with engaging songs) * Treble not refined **FATfreq Scarlet Mini** * Driver flex * Even more bass (too much on top of the already excessive bass of Maestro Mini) **FATfreq Grand Maestro** * Didn’t felt as bassy as compared to others * Faced similar fit issues like the IER Z1R **Campfire Audio Andromeda Emerald Sea** * Warm sounding with non-offensive treble * Didn’t felt anything special about the rest **Campfire Audio Trifecta** * Very weird sounding (that’s what I wrote in the notes:) * Overpriced for what it is * But looks stunning though **Campfire Audio Astrolith** * Too much treble * Again, overpriced **Campfire Audio Solaris Stellar Horizon** * Best sounding Campfire Audio IEM in my opinion * Bass quality was good * Mids sounded recessed * Energetic treble response

I'm quite pleased with them. I started in iems in the wrong direction, the expensive ones. So far my history is shure se846, Noble k10, campfire Solaris, anole vx, empire ears legend x, and then Oriolus traillii. Then I wanted to get into headphones the same way, settled with the dunu sa6 mkii and fatfreq maestro mini for my iems. Found a good deal on tea pros, got em and it's what I listen to the most now. I do miss some lushness in the mids, but my music is better suited to v shape anyways, probably my ideal would be u shape (EDM, pop, hip hop) and I only got it because I heard it was good for gaming. It's so good at all of that, that I listen to it more than the Stax setup I bought. At retail price, I'd strongly consider it. At sale or good condition second hand, it's an instant buy for me

For someone who is into any hobby, that extra level of performance is not linear in terms of price. So $2k iem or headphones are not 2 times better than $1k iem/HP. This is true for any hobby. Is a Ferrari Daytona SP3 really worth $2.25 million vs a $200k Porsche? (ie 10x better?) Not in terms of just performance from a linear perspective, but if you have the money than maybe. Also made in the US, or Italy (for the Ferrari) etc...that is a factor. I am not a Campfire fanboy, but I do have a few pairs that I bought used. I think they are great, especially at a pre-owned price. I also do own some chifi gear and that is also great sounding. I have not heard these, but they are getting high praise, as they should for that price! I think they might be comparable to the HD-800s, which are also not cheap. But it depends, putting that much performance into a tiny little iem is not as easy vs full-size HP. I know some people comment on other Campfire products not being great. I do agree that they should pair back their sub-performers and stick with the iems that are great, the Andromeda, Solaris etc... and I suppose this pair as well. This approach would be the Ferrari approach, each vehicle is fantastic. Porsche, is there really a lot of love for the Panamera? Fugly.... I don't think people are saying Porsche is a trash company because the Panamera is ugly. Granted, it's more attractive than the old Pontiac Aztek, but that is a low bar ha! All I'm saying, who cares what others think. If you have the money and like what you hear, just buy it and enjoy :)