Expensive and Worth Every Penny – Geek Review

At first glance, you can confuse Campfire Audio Solstice ear monitors with headphones. They are not. In-Ear Monitors (IEM) are what headphones want to be when they grow up. And if you can swallow a high price, Solstice will embarrass every other handset.

Over the last few years, I’ve reviewed some excellent headphones and earplugs, which have been supplemented with models costing up to $ 600. But to be honest, I’m not that big of a headphone fan, although I’ve also tested some that offer great sound. That was before Campfire Audio offered me a pair of customized Solstice monitors. These suction cups will make a significant hole in your wallet, their price is $ 1,499. This is not the price range of headphones. But if you have a large enough wallet, be prepared to open it wide – Solstice IEM is worth it.

What is the difference?

There are some very significant differences between headphones and In-Ear monitors. One of them is the price. For the most part, in-ear “headphones” are designed for use on a monitor, whether on stage or in a recording studio. Some examples are Audeze Euclid and Sennheiser IE 900. Even high-end headphones typically reach $ 600 to $ 700. Another significant difference is the transducer technology used to produce the sound. Higher end monitors tend to have more sophisticated drivers and extended frequency response.

Finally, it’s rare to find a wireless IEM because the most common wireless headphone technology uses Bluetooth, which has a slightly detrimental effect on sound quality, something you don’t want when you store megabucky for almost perfect sound. And when you see an artist with in-ear monitors move around the stage, he’s almost certainly wearing a wireless receiver that works on radio frequencies, not Bluetooth frequencies.

Solstice IEM: Put them in your ears

While Campfire Audio has a number of IEMs, the star of the show is the Solstice phones. These are made to measure and I had to have molds made from my ear canal. This required the services of a local audiologist and is essentially the same process as making a set of custom hearing aids. Campfire Audio has a list of audiologists who can make molds, but most local hearing aid centers will do so for a fee – $ 60 in my case.

The trial involved an audiologist who mixed silicone paste and stuffed it into my ear. The most unpleasant part of the process was biting into a plastic block (which places the ear canal) for about 10 minutes as the mucus solidifies. The audiologist took them out of my ear, examined them to make sure they were what they needed, and put them in a box that I had mailed to Campfire Audio (they provided a postage label). A few weeks later, I received a package with my own Solstice monitors. Since each pair of these IEMs is handmade, it doesn’t seem like a week or two would be too demanding.

Small headphones and especially in-ear monitors use dynamic transducers, transducers with a balanced armature or a combination (hybrid transducers) of these sound-generating elements. This model contains five balanced valve changers and a 3D printed inner cover modeled by TAEC (Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber) from Campfire Audio. Basically, the company owns a 3D print inside the monitor to increase the performance of the five drivers.

As part of my testing, I compared the sound quality between Solstice and a pair of IEM Andromeda 2020 Campfire Audios, which are almost identical except for the Solstice adaptation and cost $ 1,099. I also did a comparative listening between Solstice and quality Meze Classic 99 headphones.

I will be honest. Even switching back and forth between Andromeda and Solstice in the same listening session, I didn’t hear much difference when playing the same setlist with each IEM. The most significant difference I noticed was the degree of sound insulation between the universal Andromeda and the customized Solstice. That’s what you pay about $ 400 more than what similar models cost. In addition, the IEM Solstice had only a little more bass, which is a consequence of the sound connection due to the tighter adaptation of their own phones.

As I tested

To help test Solstice’s performance, I relied on AudioCheck, which provides a number of tests to determine the response of headphones, plugs, and even speakers in a room. It’s not perfectly scientific, because it relies on the reactions of your ears when making final decisions. But it makes a good test field.

I used lossless music from Amazon Music HD Ultra and AudioCheck test tones for testing. I also listened to the same song on Spotify (which is not lossless), on YouTube, where it is available (which is even worse on many songs than Spotify), and on Amazon Music HD Ultra, which significantly improved the bandwidth.

Although many of the CDs they own are not lossless, there was a noticeable difference in the quality of listening to the same songs when using a pair of high-quality Meze 99 Classic and Solstice in-ear headphones. Solstice provides a sharper listening experience even on standard definition songs. The specific in-ear headphones I used provided rich sound with a noticeably greater bass response. Nevertheless, compared to the flat response of the Solstice, it has colored reproduction somewhat.

Keep in mind that high-quality IEMs deserve the same quality music sources. This is especially important when trying to match the specified frequency response of a music source with the IEM. Campfire Audio features a Solstice response ranging from 8 Hz to 20 kHz, so you should get great sound resolution with almost any music source. But if you plan to spend so much money on an IEM, you should also spend on the streaming services you use to get lossless audio.

Bottom Line

Bottom line, Solstice in-ear monitors sounded fantastic on almost every track I’ve listened to, whether it’s CDs and lossless streaming audio on the Amazon Music Ultra HD audio streaming service or AudioCheck performance. Solstice has a virtually flat response from low bass to high treble. According to Campfire Audio, they report a slight decline at a low to mid-level, but this was not something I could find during testing.

This flat response is especially evident in the traces of live performances, even those recorded years ago. IEMs also provide excellent spatial capabilities, allowing you to audibly place where the artist’s instrument is on the virtual stage while listening to some live performances (depending, of course, on the quality of the original recording).

The most significant difference between the IEM Solstice and similar IEM Campfire Audios with the same driver and tuned cabinet configuration is the level of comfort and sound insulation that Solstice provides. You need to get used to custom Solstice; They are firmly shaped into the shape of your ear canal.

And even if the audiophile cut doesn’t protrude as far into the ear canal as the artist fits, the customized cut provides more detachment from the sounds around you. I found that it took me a while to get used to it was the cable routing that goes up through the ear and in the back of the ear. This is almost ubiquitous in IEM for stage performances and I found it a little annoying when I wire in the back of my ear for the first few minutes I used IEM. After that brief moment, I forgot.

The bottom line is that these IEMs sound great. Still one caveat. Before you spend so much money on in-ear monitors, make sure your music source is good enough to take advantage of the incredible range that these phones offer. But if you are an audio purist or have a production studio in your home, these beautiful IEMs will suit you. And if you wear IEM for hours or need soundproofing for gaming or production, the additional cost of customizing Solstice pays off.