Campfire Audio Astrolith Review

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^{Sound General}

Technical Performance & Synergy

The Campfire Audio Astrolith impresses with its strong resolution and detail, offering a well-balanced presentation that feels both organic and natural. This realistic tuning is largely due to its excellent tonality and instrument timbre, making it a true-sounding IEM. Despite its natural sound, the Astrolith remains versatile, providing an enjoyable experience with genres like EDM thanks to its great bass texture and treble sparkle.

One of the standout features of the Astrolith is its soundstage. It strikes a perfect balance between forwardness and spaciousness, offering a large and airy stage with ample width and depth. This spacious and wide presentation places Astrolith among the best in its price range for those seeking an expansive and immersive listening experience.

The transparency is on a high level, and the detail retrieval is very impressive. This is a very smooth yet detailed presentation, and the spaciousness of the Astrolith makes complex songs appear easier, and listening to them a breeze. The separation performance here is outstanding too, and especially the bass separation from the mid-range plays a crucial role. So overall, the new Campfire offering has great technical performance.

Pairing the Campfire Audio Astrolith with neutral and flat-sounding gear can significantly enhance its performance, especially considering its slightly darker tuning and bass emphasis. To fully appreciate Astrolith’s detailed and spacious presentation, it’s crucial to use a source that can unlock its full potential. This combination will result in a more balanced and immersive listening experience.

For optimal results, consider high-quality sources like the HIBY R6 Pro II, an excellent DAP within its price range. Other great options include the Shanling M7, FiiO M15S,, or Sony NW-WM1AM2, all of which pair exceptionally well with the Astrolith.

Comparisons

The Bonneville is a highly capable IEM from Campfire Audio, and it’s natural to wonder how the new Astrolith compares to this popular offering. Both IEMs provide a similar unboxing experience, featuring an eye-catching design, and offer a comfortable fit. However, with the Astrolith priced $800 higher, you might question whether it’s worth the premium.

In terms of sound performance, there’s no comparison. The Bonneville offers more bass quantity, particularly in the sub-bass region, where it’s deep and powerful. However, it suffers from mid-bass congestion, which reduces clarity and can overshadow the mid-range. Additionally, the Bonneville’s bass response is noticeably slower compared to the Astrolith’s planar driver, which delivers excellent transient response.

When it comes to the mids, the Astrolith stands out with superior timbre, definition, and transparency. The treble range in the Astrolith also offers better clarity, extension, and articulation. While both share the signature Campfire tuning, the Astrolith is technically superior in overall resolution, bass and treble performance, clarity, and detail.

The Oriolus Monachaa has a completely different driver configuration with three dynamic drivers. That results in a fun yet technically strong IEM at the flagship level, offering good fit, unique packaging and overall sound. The build quality is much better with the Campfire offering though.

The Monachaa is a full-bodied, vibrant, and organic-sounding IEM. It has more sub-bass and it’s aimed to sound fun, striking and colourful in that region. The Campfire presents a faster bass which is more controlled but not as rumbling in the sub-bass region, even though it doesn’t miss anything in terms of overall quantity. However, I would say the Astrolith has a better bass texture, especially in the mid-bass.

In the mid-range, the planar driver helps the Astrolith to sound very natural and realistic with a fabulous timbre. The instruments sound more true to life with the Astrolith, with better overall tonality. The treble is pretty good with the Monachha, despite having a full dynamic driver setup, but I think the new planar driver from Campfire surpasses here in terms of extension and articulation.

In the sound-stage department, the Oriolus sounds expansive and spacious, and it has a more atmospheric feeling. The Astrolith also has a great soundstage, particularly in terms of width, but it’s more mechanical and more precise in its presentation, especially when it comes to separation. Both sound quite spacious, but the difference is that the Oriolus is vast but vibrantly and vaguely, whereas the Campfire has a sharper separation with better focus.

The Annihilator has long been a favourite in the $3,000 flagship territory, and for good reason. It’s a commendable and highly recommendable IEM that, like the Oriolus, provides more sub-bass and a deeper rumble.

In the mid-range, both IEMs offer excellent transparency and resolution, though they present this range differently. The Annihilator features a rich, forward upper mid-range characteristic of the typical Elysian tuning. In contrast, the Astrolith delivers a more robust and organic mid-range with realistic and natural timbre and more defined lower mids. The Annihilator’s lower mid-range is slightly laid-back, making the Astrolith more balanced in this respect.

When it comes to treble, both IEMs impress, though the Annihilator is particularly renowned for its treble performance. Both are bright in the treble range, but not using foam tips with the Campfire can be taxing during long listening sessions (foam tips mitigate this issue). The Astrolith offers a more effortless upper treble, while the Annihilator provides a more pronounced lower treble.

The Annihilator is an essential choice for fans of the Elysian tuning and is particularly notable for its vibrancy. It’s also easier to drive compared to the Campfire Astrolith, which benefits from a bit more amplification power—though most DAPs can handle it well. The difference largely comes down to driver technology. The planar drivers in the Astrolith are worth exploring if you seek perfectly balanced mids with exceptional timbre, extending treble, and fast, controlled bass with excellent decay.

Conclusion

To me, the Campfire Audio Astrolith is the most successful release from Campfire in quite some time. The achievement of integrating two planar drivers that work harmoniously and cohesively is remarkable. This new IEM excels in tonality, transient response, treble extension, and bass texture. It delivers a very coherent sound, complemented by an excellent soundstage.

The Astrolith consistently provides an enjoyable listening experience, and the more you listen, the more you appreciate it. It may take some time to adjust to its planar presentation, but once that period is over, you’ll find yourself in a sweet spot where the sound is not only enjoyable but also technically impressive. Highly recommended.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Creative packaging
• Fantastic build
• Striking design
• Latest planar IEM technology
• Mid-range timbre
• Bass texture
• Great transients
• Treble performance
• Good staging

Cons:

• Mid-bass is a bit too prominent
• Fitting can take some time
• More premium ear tips should have been provided
• Silicone ear tips can make the treble sound harsh

Page 1: About, Packaging, Design & Build, Fit

Page 2: Sound Quality