Great choice when you want to reinforce the pros of the Andromeda, but since the top end is recessed in both it can get unexciting in some songs. We’ll talk more on externals shortly, but for now the outer shells are the angular design that has been Campfire’s trademark for years with flat surfaces, rounded edges, and three screws on the face to hold the faceplate to the inner shell. And, as many have reiterated over the years, despite not tracing any conventional curve, the voicing on the Andro just works. Maybe it’s just the power of persuasion, from having online reviews and impressions, but I wondered if I was hearing a slightly more v-shaped sound signature to the MW10.

Maybe I should mention the stunning vocals of Rebecca Pidgeon on In the Spanish Harlem… It’s probably my favorite midrange in IEMs, ever. Rather, it’s just another variant (albeit a very good variant), with its own pluses and minuses, in the (legendary?The Andromeda 2020, therefore, retains the fun, lively and tactile bass performance of the original while introducing noticeably greater technical ability. The Andromeda 2000 (Andro2020 from here out) shares the same outer shell dimensions and shape with the original Andromeda, but internally has been updated substantially. The Andromeda has always been an all balanced armature model and the 2020 continues that with two bass armatures, a single mid armature and a pair of treble armatures.

While the outer looks of Andromeda 2020 appear exactly the same as the original, there is one small and easy difference that we could tell which is the nozzle. It also is a bit more revealing as the upper-midrange has been brought forward slightly by proportion to the surrounding frequencies. It’s up to you to serve the readers here by helping them to uncover whatever the conspiracy might be. The Andromeda’s confident imaging allows to be exceptionally spacious while still having notes be clearly defined.If manufacturers think that gifting the product might result in better reviews, and readers (at least this one) think that is what happen, how long will the reviewers be the only camp that maintains that gifted product has absolutely no impact whatsoever on reviews. This driver-to-driver interaction is crucial to eliminating points of potential phase cancellation and creating the intangibles that don’t show on a frequency response curve; imaging, separation, resolution, and soundstage. It’s something that balanced armatures do very well, and combined with the timbre it will send shivers down your spine.

At the end of the day, the MW10 definitely seems to have improved on many of the OG’s technical capabilities. Another thing about influence, and this has been covered extensively in Stereophile, is that undue influence is extremely easy to spot.This means that, though the bass and lower-treble are slightly more commanding than before, neither are overly prominent in the overall mix, so the presentation remains subjectively very balanced. At the moment, I’ve got my iPhone 4s set to a volume of 3 (out of 16) and am in my quiet office listening to folk music. As a result of the increased upper mids balance, the low mids don’t sound as bloated either, despite the bass crossing straight into the mids.