Campfire Audio Solaris Stellar Horizon In-Ear Monitors

[VSG]

The Campfire Audio Solaris Stellar Horizon is a re-envisioning of its popular, classic Solaris IEMs. It uses a new hybrid driver configuration with a dynamic driver and three custom balanced armature drivers in a stunning shell design to put out a warm, forward-facing sound backed by premium accessories and a great unboxing experience.

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[FreedomEclipse]

Holy f**k that price tag though. Thats like two 4090s or one 4090 at scalpers prices

 

[Aynsley]

Another great in-depth review. Many thanks.

The dip between 2k and 4k is something of a puzzle. Granted that some people might like that tuning, I can't imagine a majority of the target users (rich audiophiles?) being happy with it. Could that dip be the unavoidable consequence of the overall acoustic architecture of the Solaris?

 

[VSG]

Another great in-depth review. Many thanks.

The dip between 2k and 4k is something of a puzzle. Granted that some people might like that tuning, I can't imagine a majority of the target users (rich audiophiles?) being happy with it. Could that dip be the unavoidable consequence of the overall acoustic architecture of the Solaris?

Can be a result of different driver sensitivity and crossover used, or even deliberate as in the case of 64 Audio IEMs. In this case it keeps things interesting in a good way for me and is one of examples where a frequency response measurement doesn't necessarily show the whole story.

 

[the54thvoid]

I approve of the new award. Very applicable.

 

[I_Want_Answers]

Ooh, a new award, noice!

Guess we'll be seeing a lot of it.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Holy f**k that price tag though. Thats like two 4090s or one 4090 at scalpers prices

Price isn't that crazy for higher end IEMs and Campfire is going to be pricey to start with. Wether Campfire is worth it is another matter. While their build quality is generally astronomical their sound has always been love it or hate.

 

[VSG]

Price isn't that crazy for higher end IEMs and Campfire is going to be pricey to start with. Wether Campfire is worth it is another matter. While their build quality is generally astronomical their sound has always been love it or hate.

I noticed they've discontinued their budget IEMs apart from the Holocene (even that is $650, hardly budget). So it might be a case of leaving the <$500 market for the occasional TWS set and mostly targeting a higher price bracket henceforth. You are right though, it will be interesting to see how many people are going to accept this.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

I noticed they've discontinued their budget IEMs apart from the Holocene (even that is $650, hardly budget). So it might be a case of leaving the <$500 market for the occasional TWS set and mostly targeting a higher price bracket henceforth. You are right though, it will be interesting to see how many people are going to accept this.

As someone who's heavy into the IEM game I feel they've been in trouble for a long time. A lot of trusted carriers simply don't carry their products anymore. Their product line has thinned out massively. Not just the budget end either. Their tuning is debatable (though in some cases like if you really like bass the Vega is really damn good, but they killed that off and a 900 iem is selling at a 300 price point where it runs smack into other offerings that clobber it on anything but bass and then shit it out and piss on it, and then do it again). Ken Ball himself is quasi controvercial and largely laughed at in some circles (J Harvey is not) and on and on.

They andromeda is what they have to show for all this. And it's not uncommon for a company to build a rep off one product that just fucking nailed it. Hat's off to them for that. And again, the metal and ceramic building is second to none and you have to really go up in the IEM game to get something that's built as good... but at that point the price is the same and it sounds better.

I listen to a lot of D&B and other stuff that favors base so I own the Vega... only after the 2020 version and the price drop from 899 to 299. It stomps the other heavy hitters here in build quality, comfort, and more (the ER-4 and Blessing versions aren't very good in those aspect) but then gets crushed in tuning and other aspects. They also killed that product line. Which I guess sort of enforce my point. And if you are going to shell out the cash for a single DD IEM done well, Sennheisers line up is pretty solid all the way up to the 1499 (it retails for 999) ie900 that doesn't suffer tonality issues. But the Campfire options kill it on build quality.

Also a lot of people shopping in this area aren't going to be interested in a company that kills product lines. While they rarely break, they can. This is fine in the 500 and under price segment especially when dealing with a company that's simply going to just upgrade you at a discount to the next it's not when slinging products that easily clear 1k.

They are in an odd and precarious situation.