Verdict
Offering excitement , panache , and vivid listening experience , the Andromeda Emerald Sea offers a dynamical , immersive sound that ’s become Campfire Audio ’s trademark . The price is sky mellow , and they need a sufficiently open partner to extract the good performance from them , but there ’s no doubtfulness the Emerald Sea is a very enjoyable IEM .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The first time I reviewed theCampfire Andromeda , I was n’t enthuse by them . But a subsequent re - take heed opened me up to their charms .
With the sequel now available , and move over the loquacious name of Andromeda Emerald Sea , Campfire has re - imagined its well - selling in - ear monitor with novel features , both inwardly and out , for a in high spirits asking price .
The price sets all kind of outlook but the main one is whether the Emerald Sea subsist up to its exalted claims .
Design
Campfire ’s attack to products has n’t changed one iota . If anything , it ’s amped up with the Emerald Sea .
The boxful it come in is a large wooden one – not unlike wooden Nipponese jewelry box – with the Campfire Audio logo etched into the side . Lifting the first screen bring out an mental image of an emerald sea and pucker indoors are the earphones along with the rest of the add-on that includes two carry pouches ( modest and full-grown ): a small folder that holds a certification of ownership ( this Emerald Sea earphone is no.32 ) with a seal of favorable reception , among other bits .
There ’s another sac with two more cables ( 2.5 mm TRRS Balanced , 4.4 mm Balanced ) , as well as capitulum - wind ( marshmallow and atomic number 14 tips from small to large ) , an earphone cleansing tool , and what I ’m presuming to be the lapel ( a hand ) . It ’s all doubtlessly fancy and gives the impression you ’ve bribe a phone of high quality . Just like with the previous model , it ’s a big first printing .
The only problem is once you ’ve take everything out is how to put it all together again . You wo n’t require to drop the case either . I did and the sides came off , but some first-rate mucilage later and it was back to normal .
The earphone is a newfangled three-D printed shape , and it suit fine in my capitulum but despite looking and feeling as if I ’ve plonked the bolts from Frankenstein ’s Monster into my auricle .
The fit is slopped and snug ; the cable system trails in an over - auricle draw design before trailing down across the shoulder joint . The haphazardness - sequester place of the sealing wax are strong enough that you wo n’t be easily interrupt . Better perhaps for indoor use as some awareness will be require if you ’re using them outdoors .
The earphones make their presence cognizant after about an hour , which requires a niggling more fidgeting in term of their positioning . I would n’t describe them as extremist - comfortable , but I ’d advocate breaking up hearing Roger Huntington Sessions every now . I ’ve switch to the silicon ear - tip from marshmallow and aside from how they feel , there was n’t much variety in terms in the speech sound – a small less brash , perhaps .
The finish is excellent , and the building of the machine aluminium casing is of gamey lineament with its contoured shape bound light off and vomit up shadows that are redolent of Astell & Kern ’s players . To my retention , the Emerald Sea green colourway is weak than the premature Andromeda but the anodized finale is yet heart - catch .
The Emerald Sea comes with three Time Stream cables , which use silver - plate litz as the signaling director . It looks good and I ’ve not had any consequence in terms of comfort . If they do get tangled ( which they certainly will ) , untangling them has n’t examine to be an strenuous issue .
Features
Features are always few for a pumped earphone , but the Emerald Sea seem to have undergone a significant re - tooling .
The driver have been redesigned with five “ all - young ” tradition dual - midriff balanced armature that Campfire claims reduces distortion and offer swell constancy and resilience . Indeed , the Total Harmonic Distortion ( the amount of audible noise in the signal ) is rat to be less than 0.5 % .
The headphone hail with an MMCX connecter , which makes them a little harder to prize off but has the advantage of making them more secure , clicking into place when tighten to the cable . There are three Time Stream cables , one that force out in a 3.5 mm output , the others in balanced 2.5 mm and 4.4 millimetre terminations .
Frequency reply covers 5Hz to 20kHz , even though man ca n’t really see below 20Hz . Impedance is measured at 6.375 ohms @1kHz , and Sound Pressure Level ( SPL ) at 94dB , which entail the Emerald Sea are easier to repel with a range of author .
Sound Quality
I was n’t , initially , a buff of the previous model but enjoyed them more on a 2d listen . The Emerald Sea fares much better from the get - go .
Used with a few sources and amplifiers : an Astell & Kern SR35 , FiiO M15s and aChord Mojo 2headphone amplifier , it ’s worth taking a little interest in the devices the Andromeda Emerald Sea spouse with as the A&K has proven to be a better portable euphony player . It also does n’t necessitate to be drive quite as concentrated , and I ’d set the intensity low as the Emerald Sea does n’t need much boost to go loud .
All the earmark of the Andromeda model carry over here in full term of its tuning , but I ’d say that the public presentation is more balanced . It can still be brash , fiery , and up-and-coming but more so at higher loudness degree and it ’s at higher mass where some fatigue sets in .
The soundstage is blanket and expansive , as wide as you ’ll regain on an over - pinna pair of pumped headphones . Like the previous model , the staging and emplacement of instruments and vocal is realised in an imposingly vivid way . It proves itself to be a very dynamic performer , sweeping from highs to lows fluidly and backing up those wholesale dynamic shifts with plenty of power , like with Alex Belcher ’s Citadel soundtrack ( Qobuz 24 - bit/48kHz ) or the Meeting Kitty track from Ludwig Göransson ’s Oppenheimer that ’s a plenteous , profuse , and redolent listen as the course intumesce and boom .
There ’s flock of clarity present to path , though there ’s a raw warmth to its presentation that does rob it a fiddling of point and definition . Listening to Talking Heads ’ 2023 remaster of the blockage make Sense live transcription , that warmth is present in the rich and firm bass of Once in a Lifetime and the smooth description of David Byrne ’s voice . I would not say the warmth is to the detriment of the overall production , but the Emerald Sea sees a better trade between subtlety and energy than the Orbit true wireless managed .
With Quantum Mechanics from the Göransson ’s Oppenheimer ( via a Chord Mojo 2 ) and the earphones give excellent bass weight , the string of the violins are sweet and extravagantly present , high frequency instrument strike with good distinctness and brightness ; with dynamism on a pocket-sized and large scale well note . All - in - all the Campfire strikes a lively , smooth presentation . What attain me is the pictorial , enveloping nature of the sound .
With a play of Busta Rhymes ’ Touch It , the basso is quite well balanced : tight , punchy , conveying plenty of slam , as well as describing the bass voice with variety . More importantly , that bass voice is flawlessly present and distinct from the midrange , avoiding spilling over into it .
I found using it with the SR35 derive more detail and definition , override the Emerald Sea ’s predilection for warmth and bask a clear , clean sound . With The Beatles prospicient and Winding Road I hear more pungency , contingent , and definition in the three-fold area than I did on the FiiO M15s , but with the FiiO there ’s a big emphasis on the voice and a warmer tone overall .
It shows that the Emerald Sea is n’t the driving force in damage of the demonstration you see , and it ’s worth considering the feature of the source / amplifier at your disposal . In any eccentric , the Emerald Sea is happy to dance with either , though the SR35 is the more refined partner .
A little spot of experimentation is require to find the right intensity too . Too high can run to fatigue , but too downcast can betray its sentience of dynamism , and all that vitality and animation can pass aside .
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Should you buy it?
The Andromeda Emerald Sea are much like their forbearers with plentifulness of energy , but they ’re pared down a touching for a more measured carrying into action .
Nearly $ 1500 / £ 1500 for a wired in - earphone is a sumptuousness purchase . If you ’re in hunting of a much more affordable IEM , try theSennheiser IE 200instead .
Final Thoughts
The Andromeda Emerald Sea are absurdly expensive for a wired in - earphone – $ 1450 / £ 1499 is out of the motion for most mere mortal . They ’d also need a high - quality source to extract the best performance from them .
So as long as you a ) have the budget and B-complex vitamin ) have those required eminent - quality reservoir , the Emerald Sea offers thrillingly grand , dynamical , and energetic operation . From the packaging they come in , to the build timbre , and eventual sound , the Andromeda Emerald Sea exerts a high level of opulence and performance . They ’re an immersive listening experience .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every lot of headphone we refresh soundly over an drawn-out period of time of time . We utilize industry standard tests to equate features properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to critique a product .
get out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
Campfire states the Emerald Sea ’s frequency response run for from 5Hz to 20kHz .
