Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Tomatomater
5
Nov 5, 2017
To Campfire Andromeda owners, the SMSL IDEA sounds terrible with them.
A community member
Nov 28, 2017
TomatomaterTerrible in what way? Curious...
Tomatomater
5
Nov 29, 2017
Makes the Andromeda overly bassy, like muddy bass that compromises the mids and highs. And the soundstage is almost nonexistent. To be fair it works well with other IEMs; the Andromeda is very source sensitive and so unfortunately doesn't pair up well with the iDea.
A community member
Nov 29, 2017
TomatomaterThanks for your input. I'll be trying out the Andromeda soon, and have an iDEA already. It will be interesting to learn if my impressions match with yours.
LostOne
20
Dec 8, 2017
TomatomaterThx for the input and further elaboration. Exactly the info I was looking for.
A community member
Dec 20, 2017
TomatomaterI disagree that the iDEA make the Andromeda sound bad in any way. IMO, the Andromeda is a great sounding earphone paired with this little dac/amp. However, the thickness of the Andro does cross the line (very slightly!) for some types of music with strong mid-bass components.
The thicker mid-bass is part of the signature of the headphone - that has nothing at all to do with the amplifier. The iDEA's 0.5 Ohm output impedance is low enough to avoid coloration of almost any headphone's sound.
Tomatomater
5
Dec 20, 2017
What other dac/amps have you tried the Andromeda with as reference? I'm not the only one with my opinion; I've a friend whom I sold my iDea to, he is satisfied using it with his CIEMs but also thought it sounded unacceptable with the Andromeda.
A community member
Dec 20, 2017
TomatomaterWhat amps do you use or recommend for use with the Andromeda?
I also tried them out of my iphone se (around 4 Ohms output impedance). This also sounded very good, with the mid-bass nicely attenuated. Unfortunately, the sub-bass through lower-mids were also equally attenuated which made the upper end of the spectrum sound a bit brighter too. Some people may really like that more neutral sound. I am just not one them.
The output impedance of the iphone se results in about a -6 dB attenuation from sub-bass through ~500 Hz, less after that range. IMO, what you're hearing as soundstage improvements is just mids/treble accentuation. Also, there is a bit of noise picked up from the iphone with the uber-sensitive andromeda (scrolling motions make an easily audible hiss). The iDEA is dead silent with the Andromeda, indicating a very low noise floor.
Points being, andromeda is a great sounding headphone, "sounds good" is entirely subjective, and the iDEA is objectively a good dac/amp. I would rather hear the signature of an earphone uncolored by impedance issues, that's all.
Tomatomater
5
Dec 20, 2017
Considering that you have already decided to sacrifice a good chunk money for good audio by the fact that you purchased the Andros, you owe it to yourself to try it with high-end Dac/amps. Not necessarily buy, just try them out so you have an idea of the Andro's full potential and then use it as a point of reference when testing other dac/Amps and headphones in general.
Portable DAC/amps you should check out are the Dragonfly Red, Oppo HA2SE, Chord Mojo, ifi iDsd Black Label and the mini version of the Black Label. Personal preference is one thing but, I assure you, there's no way you'd still think the iDea or your phone's built-in soundcard is acceptable to drive the Andros once you try out any of the ones I've mentioned above.
Also, there's no need to obsessing over impedance really. If hissing the issue, from my experience there are probably more portable DAC/amps that don't hiss with the Andros than those that do. If it's about sound, low or close to zero impedance doesn't necessarily equate to better sound either.
A community member
Dec 20, 2017
TomatomaterThis is not "obsessing over impedance". Amp output impedance is an important consideration when using iems with balanced armatures, same as noise floor, flat pass-band, dynamic range, etc.
I'm sure all the amp/dac you listed sound great with the Andros. Which specifically have you tried with the Andro?
Tomatomater
5
Dec 21, 2017
I've tried it with everything but the Mojo.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in Audiophile