What's the Best Campfire Audio IEM for Me in 2023?

For 2023, Campfire Audio has refined their lineup a bit, offering four new universal IEMs: Trifecta ‘Astral Plane,’ Solaris ‘Stellar Horizon,’ Andromeda ‘Emerald Sea,’ and Orbit TWS.  Their lineup is very well differentiated with each earphone representing a different price point, driver configuration, and tuning.

Campfire Audio Distinctives

With their latest batch of IEMs, Campfire Audio isn’t just making IEMs that sound great, they’re aiming to craft a complete experience. The design and material quality for their packaging on their 2023 models is without a doubt the best in the business. The goal here is to create an experience that starts with the unboxing, continues as you go through things like the included short story and accessories, and culminates with the listening experience.

With this in mind, Andromeda Emerald Sea, Solaris Stellar Horizon, and Trifecta Astral Plane all share a box design and accessory package which includes snippets of a short story and 3 high quality cables in different terminations. Each box has a visual motif that’s related to the design of the IEM and the concept behind it. The boxes also transform into a display case for the IEM, adding another layer to the Campfire Audio experience. Orbit comes in a much simpler box, but maintains the general art and direction of the rest of the lineup. 

Trifecta Astral Plane - $3375

The original version of Trifecta was a limited edition IEM with only 333 units made, and the Astral Plane version gives you the same design and tuning with a slightly different finish. While the original was completely transparent, Astral Plane has a blue tint. The core of the IEM is three 10mm ALDC dynamic drivers all aimed directly at the center point of an equilateral triangle. It’s a truly unique design, with no real precedent, and the result is incredible.

Trifecta’s sound is powerful and meaty, with a hard hitting bass, and thick lower mids. The rest of the midrange is somewhat recessed, with somewhat of a warm V-shaped tuning adding some treble near the top, but without a lot of air and extension. Along with that you get a very over-ear headphone like soundstage, and a highly dynamic sound.

Solaris Stellar Horizon - $2670

Solaris Stellar Horizon carries on the long tradition of Campfire Audio’s Solaris designs, with a fresh look that’s clearly inspired by aspects of the previous versions while also offering something new. Like its predecessors, Stellar Horizon is a four-driver hybrid, with dual balanced armatures for the highs, one for the mids, and a dynamic driver for the bass and low mids. 

Solaris presents with deep linear bass and a natural, weighty presence through the mids. The resulting sound is more neutral, with a slight emphasis in the treble. That touch of extra treble helps develop a large soundstage and excellent imaging. Solaris Stellar Horizon is just on the edge between a more analytical reference sound, and a simply well balanced audiophile one.

Andromeda Emerald Sea - $1450

Andromeda Emerald Sea again takes the basics of the classic Andromeda design – from the angular green shell to the five balanced armature loadout – and updates it with a slightly sleeker look and a somewhat surprising tuning. If Solaris Stellar Horizon takes the classic, balanced Solaris sound, and pushes it a little further towards a reference tuning, Emerald Sea takes the classic Andromeda sound and goes the other way with it. Andromeda Emerald Sea emphasizes the bass, while pulling back the mids and top end a bit, creating a hard hitting, but slightly darker sound than Andromeda fans might be used to.

Orbit TWS - $249

While it’s not really in the same class or category as the rest of Campfire Audio’s lineup, Orbit offers a taste of Campfire Audio design and philosophy in a simple, but well executed TWS. Orbit uses a single 10mm LCP dynamic driver, similar – but not exactly the same – as the one used for Solaris Stellar Horizon’s low end.

Its DSP also allows for a wide range of sound configuration, and you can tune it to your preference using the official app. The standard tuning on the warm end of neutral, but using the app you can transform it into a more reference-like sound or go the other way and get a more v-shaped, “fun” sound out of it. Other than the DSP and EQ options, Orbit has a fairly slim feature set, being more focused on the experience of listening to music than on an ANC, transparency, or anything beyond a basic microphone implementation. 

The Bottom Line

For a budget friendly option, Orbit gives you a level of sound quality and performance that matches or exceeds the sound quality of previous Campfire Audio budget IEMs like the IO, Satsuma, and Honeydew, and does it with the benefits of TWS. Moving up to their Andromeda Emerald Sea offers a more fun, dynamic take on its classic sound, while Solaris Stellar Horizon goes, perhaps, a bit more serious. At the top, Trifecta Astral Plane remains a one of a kind design for incredible sound and performance. And what all of these IEMs have in common is Campfire Audio’s new vision of bringing together art, literature, and design as pieces of a complete immersive, listening experience.