Review: Campfire Audio Andromeda 10

Design and fit

Given how varied and adventurous Ken Ball’s recent designs have been, I never quite know what to expect from Campfire anymore – and Andromeda 10 is no exception. When I first saw images of the new model, I wouldn’t immediately have identified it as an Andromeda. Look a little closer, though, and the lineage becomes clearer, with the angular, faceted aesthetic of the original carried forward and reinterpreted for a very different era.

The launch edition’s black and gold stainless and Damascus steel finishes don’t exactly help in that regard, stripping away any trace of the original’s iconic green. The regular green version restores that visual connection instantly, and serves as a reminder of just how powerful colour cues are in shaping our perception of design. But I digress.

In hand, the shells initially left me momentarily confused – which side was which, and exactly how they were meant to sit in the ear. These are unlike almost any IEM I’ve used before. Once I worked out left from right, though, everything clicked surprisingly quickly. I skipped the stock tips and went straight to my trusty SpinFit CP145s, and the fit was comfortable from the outset.

Despite their stainless steel construction, Andromeda 10 sits very comfortably in the ear. They’re certainly heavier than titanium or resin designs, but that added weight never translates into discomfort. The moulded ear guides do an excellent job of distributing the load, keeping the earpieces stable and well balanced. There’s no pressure in my ear canals, the seal is secure, and isolation is good enough that everyday sounds — including my MacBook Pro keyboard – largely disappear once everything is properly seated.

The overall fit reminds me a little of Sony’s older 1000-series single dynamic driver designs, where the bulk of the housing sits outside the ear. Andromeda 10 protrudes in a similar way, which means lying on your side isn’t something I’d recommend unless you’re keen on Damascus steel impressions in your concha.

Build quality, however, is beyond reproach. These are quite possibly the best-made Campfire IEMs I’ve handled to date. The design is undeniably bold and more radical than most, but it works – and crucially, it remains comfortable for long listening sessions. Just don’t be surprised if they draw a few curious glances in public, especially if you opt for the classic green version.

Drivers and technology

The original Andromeda launched with five balanced armature drivers, so it almost feels inevitable that Andromeda 10 would double that number to… ten. Jokes aside, while driver count alone doesn’t guarantee better sound, it does give designers more flexibility in shaping and refining the final tuning – and Campfire has clearly taken full advantage of that here.

Andromeda 10 employs Campfire’s largest balanced armature array to date, splitting its ten drivers across three distinct frequency bands: a quad-driver bass array, a quad-driver midrange array, and a pair of high-frequency tweeters. The quad BA bass configuration is particularly notable, as it’s something entirely new for Campfire, and naturally had me curious about how it would stack up against what I consider some of the finest multi-BA bass implementations in the business – but more on that later.

The midrange is handled by a quad BA array coupled to a new proprietary technology called Noise Elimination Mid Circuit, or NEMC. Campfire describes NEMC as being engineered to reduce unwanted noise and resonance inherent in balanced armature designs, improving clarity, enhancing perceived detail, and increasing diaphragm stability. In theory at least, it’s designed to let the midrange breathe a little more freely, without the artefacts that can sometimes creep into complex BA setups.

Up top, Andromeda 10 returns to more familiar Campfire territory, with its twin tweeters using the company’s well-established Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber (TAEC) technology. TAEC functions as an acoustic chamber that precisely reflects and resonates high-frequency output, expanding technical performance while contributing to a greater sense of spatial imaging, layering, and soundstage.

One final technical detail worth noting is the inclusion of a vintage hybrid ceramic capacitor inside each earpiece. Its role is to help meld the three BA arrays into a more cohesive whole, smoothing the transition between drivers and bringing the final tuning closer to what the designers ultimately intended.

On paper, at least, these ingredients suggest something very different from the original Andromeda – but as always, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So let’s eat.

Tech specs

• Drivers: 10 custom balanced armature drivers (quad bass, quad mids, twin highs)
• Tech: TAEC, NEMC, hybrid ceramic vintage capacitor
• Impedance: 8.5Ω @ 1kHz
• Frequency Response:5-20 kHz
• SPL: 94db @ 1 kH:12.10 mVrms
• THD: less than 1%
• Price: limited launch edition $2,499, standard “green” edition $1,799
• Website: www.campfireaudio.com

Continue to sound impressions…