Campfire audio solaris special edition review

Our Take

Campfire Audio's new 3D printed ceramic acoustic chambers and natural abalone inlaid lids are the highlight of this limited edition release. Acoustic enhancements unique to this special edition deliver a sound that further refines Solaris's sonic signature.

The Story

Solaris Special Edition

Hand selected natural abalone inlays offer each pair a unique finish.

Limited Edition: only 750

Sensational Ceramic

New Enhanced Acoustic Material

3D printing in new high density ceramic material has opened the door to exciting new sonic opportunities.

Revisiting the acoustic chamber design of Solaris in this new material allowed us to further refine the performance of this critically acclaimed earphone.

Internal geometries have been tweaked to expand the soundstage and subtly elevate the vocal range performance.

A ReImagined Creation

Mixing from our palate of audio technologies, a sonic masterpiece emerged.

By incorporating our many individual acoustic technologies into Solaris we were able to create an exceptional earphone. Solaris is a hybrid design, blending the best of the balanced armature performance with the physicality of dynamic drivers. It features 2 custom balanced armature drivers paired with our T.A.E.C for extended highs, without sibilance or fatigue. A large single balanced armature driver provides rich delivery of mid frequencies. A specially tuned version of our 10mm A.D.L.C. dynamic driver, optimized with our Polarity Tuned Chamber, anchors the sonic performance with deeply engaging mid-frequency tonality and visceral bass response.

Introducing Super Litz

Our new Super Litz cable is made from four large conductors of Silver-plated Copper Litz wire. Each conductor is individually comprised of a selected set of particular diameter strands. The Super Litz cable is the perfect balance of physical gauge and performance.

The cable is terminated with our custom beryllium/copper MMCX connectors and over-molded 3.5mm plug. This cable brings out the best in Solaris.

The Craftsmanship

Constructing a Classic

Each pair of Solaris is hand assembled in our Portland, Oregon workshop. Our team of skilled builders pours their time and attention into each earphone they construct. The attention to detailed paid throughout the process ensures your Solaris will be a world-class earphone unlike any other.

Small Batch Production

Careful selection of each element of our earphones is just the start of the meticulous assembly of your earphone. Our close attention at every stage from design to production ensures your earphones will be a worthwhile and lasting product.

Custom Enhanced MMCX

Our custom Beryllium Copper MMCX eliminates the traditional shortcomings of the connection and harnesses all of its benefits. Beryllium Copper provides a robust mating mechanism; one that is typcially made from soft brass. This selection of a harder material extends the life of component and the earphone.

What's Included

• Premium Campfire Audio Leather Earphone Case. Made in Portugal.

• Campfire Audio Litz Cable – Silver Plated Copper Conductors with Berylium Copper MMCX and 3.5mm Stereo Plug

• Final Audio Tips (xs/s/m/l/xl)

• Campfire Audio Earphone Tips(s/m/l)

• Silicon Earphone Tips (s/m/l)

• Campfire Audio Lapel Pin

• Cleaning Tool

The Specs

Drivers

• Dual Custom Balanced Armature Drivers + T.A.E.C. (High)

• Single Custom Ported Balanced Armature Driver (Mid)

• Specially Tuned 10mm Dynamic Driver (Mid + Low)

• Plasma enhanced Chemical Vapor Depostion (C.V.D.) Amorphous Diamond Like Carbon (A.D.L.C.) Diaphragm

Enclosure

• Beryllium / Copper MMCX Connections

• Natural Abalone Inlaid Lid

• 3D Printed Ceramic Acoustic Chambers

• Durable PVD Finished Body

• Stainless Steel Spout

Frequency Response
5 Hz to 20 KHz

Distortion
Less than 1% THD

Sensitivity
115 dB/mW

Impedance
10 ohms @ 1 KHz

Designed and hand assembled in Portland, Oregon USA.

Welcome to my Cliffnotes, a series where I push out rapid fire opinions of some of the IEMs I’ve heard but can’t be bothered to fully review. Thus I won’t get too in-depth,  nor will I be too formal and technical. Less analysis, more… from-the-heart if you will.

Introduction

The Big Question:

Is there unit variance?

I’m cautiously relieved to say… no.

Yeah I know, a sample size of 2 is a joke by itself, but it’s not like I have free access to multiple samples of a limited-run product. At this point, I’m happy to just not have to fight Campfire again.

(High frequency variation is within the norm.)

The Impressions

It’s a Solaris.

No wait, that’s not fair. It’s a Solaris with a different faceplate.

Now before the Campfire crowd pulls out their pitchforks, hear me out. Let me frame this in a more relevant perspective: the Andromeda S and the Andromeda Gold. Now, the Andromeda S was a slight retune of the original, replacing the midrange driver with a different one and so bumping up the centre midrange a tad. It was still an Andromeda but was different enough that some would call it “an Andro with mids”, though the added midrange boost came with the unforeseen drawback of attenuating treble sparkle by virtue of reducing the contrast between the mids and the Andromeda’s upper-treble spike.

The Andromeda Gold… well, you can read up my review here but here’s a quick summary. In my own humble opinion, the Gold redesigns the Andromeda so drastically that it shouldn’t be called an Andromeda anymore, but rather its own entity entirely.

The Solaris SE? Well in terms of any tangible changes, it’s no Andromeda Gold. It’s barely even the Andromeda S. The changes that exist within the Solaris SE lie squarely within the intangibles, i.e. in imaging, resolution and coherency, and I’m not sure if the changes in those areas justified the use of that fancy ceramic zirconia chamber.

Campfire was right, not a lot of difference on FR.

The minute changes I do manage to hear is an extension in decay, which brings a smidgen more body to the mids compared to the original. But as a consequence of that, I found the original slightly cleaner sounding in the transients with better separation. The timbre of the SE is improved somewhat, but not enough for me to claim that it’s excellent in this regard.

Imaging also seems to take a hit as the SE doesn’t diffuse out as far as the original in my comparisons. The marketing was right in that regard in that the SE is more “precise”, but at the same time it is the unapologetically wide staging of the original Solaris that made it so alluring. 

But apart from those… the Solaris SE is still a Solaris. The same strengths, the same weaknesses. Nothing is fixed but nothing is ruined either, and so do not expect anything more lest you succumb to the sweet nothings of many a hype-man.

Is the Solaris SE worth it? Possibly as a collector’s piece, valued more than simply for its sound.

But let’s say you don’t already own a Solaris. Are the sonic improvements alone worth the $400 premium? In my opinion, absolutely not. Save your cash.

The Solaris SE’s grade will thus be linked to the original Solaris.

I’ve left Singapore yesterday but I should have enough content to last me a good while. Shoutouts to my big money Patreon boys:

“McMadface”
“Desertscrub”
Denis
Nicholas
Alexander

And special shoutouts to two new entrants to the big money club: “Galactus” and Rahul!