Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane Review
Campfire Audio Trifecta “Astral Plane” Review
Campfire Audio is well known US based company that is specialized in the development and production of portable audio equipments such like Custom (CIEM) and Universal (UIEM) In-Ear Monitors, TWS Earphones, Headphones and Cables.
Trifecta Astral Plane is the brand new Flagship Universal IEM of the Portland, Oregon based company that has been crated in mind to simulate a high-end 2-channel home audio system, which should fit in to your pocket. The Trifecta Astral Plane features a Trio of 10mm diameter ADLC Diaphragm Dynamic Drivers that are integrated in to a pretty classy and unique looking monitor housing made transparent molded nylon material.
Disclaimer:
I would like to thank Campfire Audio for providing the Trifecta Astral Plane as review sample. I am not affiliated with Campfire Audio or any third person beyond this review and all these words reflect my true, unaltered opinions about the product.
Price & Availability:
The actual MSRP price for the Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane is $3,375.00. More information’s can be found under the link below;
Package & Accessories:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane came inside a pretty large presentation box made from wood material, which shows a rectangular shape. This special presentation box has been created individually by Campfire Audio in their Portland Oregon Workshop. The box was wrapped with a cardboard that shows the illustration of the Trifecta Astral Plane and some product related brandings on its surface.
Inside the box of the Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane are the following items;
- 1 pair x Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane Monitors
- 1 x Campfire Audio Time Stream Cables with 3.5mm Headphone Plug
- 1 x Campfire Audio Time Stream Cables with 4.4mm Headphone Plug
- 1 x Campfire Audio Time Stream Cables with 2.5mm Headphone Plug
- 3 pairs x CA Silicon Ear Tips (small, medium, large)
- 3 pairs x Foam (Marshmallow) Ear Tips (small, medium, large)
- 1 x Campfire Audio Foldable Blue Dimensional Earphone Case
- 1 x Campfire Audio Cable Storage Bag
- 1 x IEM Storage Pouch
- 1 x Campfire Audio Pin
- 1 x Double Pocket Soft Pouch
- 1 x Cleaning Tool
- 1 x Print Material (Warranty Card, Final Audio Type E Instruction, User Manual)
The Trifecta Astral Plane comes with a very rich set of premium accessories that includes 6 pairs of ear tips, 2 storage cases, 1 storage pouch, 3 sets of cables and many more. Inside the box of the Trifecta Astral Plane are various types of ear tips such like 3 pairs of CA silicone ear tips with a wide opening and 3 pairs of Marshmallow (Foam) ear tips. A pretty unique addition that was found inside the box is a prosthetic hand in gold color, which you can insert to one of the two foldable shelves.
The so called Campfire Audio “Atmospheric Blue Dimensional” case is a foldable case with a premium look and design that is Made in Portugal. The foldable case has a Magnetic Closure and a carabineer that is a nice addition.
There is another storage pouch with Magnetic Closure in blue color in order to store the cables, which has he Campfire Audio logo on the top.
Features, Design and Build Quality:
The Trifecta Astral Plane is a Universal IEM with a pretty unique design that shows a triangular shape with rounded smooth corners. The housing is made from slightly blue-tinted highly transparent nylon material, which looks pretty robust. I personally like the housing material that is scratch resistant, lightweight and comfy.
What I also really like about the design of the Trifecta Astral Plane is that you can clearly see the three 10mm diameter ADLC Diaphragm Dynamic Driver Trio and all the high-purity copper and silver conductors inside the highly transparent housing.
On the front of the monitor shell is the CA (Campfire Audio) logo in gold color that is located right at the center of a triangular relief.
At the rear side of the monitor shell is the sound stainless steel nozzle with a PVD coating in gold color that adds the monitor a premium appearance. The sound nozzle has 7 small and 1 large opening at the center.
The Trifecta Astral Plane has a triangular formed driver setup without any complex crossover design; all the three 10mm ADLC Diaphragm Dynamic Drivers are focused on a single spot, which avoids any driver overlap. The soundwaves do flow directly to your ear from the sound nozzle.
On the top of each monitor shell is a custom Beryllium Copper MMCX (Micro Miniature Coaxial) connector that do offer a pretty tight connection.
The build quality of the housing is rock solid same like all other products I have tested before from Campfire Audio.
Campfire Audio Time Stream Cables:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane came with 3 detachable cables, which are the companies new Time Stream Cables.
I really like the fact that Campfire Audio sends 3 separate cables with different headphone plug terminations (3.5mm Single Ended, 2.5mm balanced and 4.4mm Balanced) instead to use the more common swappable adapter design.
Each Time Stream Cable is made from Silver Plated Cooper wire material that has a soft, flexible and durable transparent insulation with a flat profile.
The MMCX (Micro Miniature Coaxial) connectors are made of custom made beryllium copper material that provides a robust mating mechanism. The MMCX connectors do have metal housings in grey color that do sport L (Left) / R (Right) indicator.
Near the connectors are heat shrink ear guides that do provide a more comfortable over the ear wearing experience.
The Y splitter is made from metal material with a gold surface finish that sport the CA (Campfire Audio) brand logo on the top, while the chin slider is made from transparent plastic material.
The 3.5mm Single Ended, 2.5mm Balanced & 4.4mm Balanced cables do have the same straight profiled headphone housing design made from metal material with a silver finish.
Comfort & Isolation:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane has a relative large but pretty comfortable monitor shape that fits comfortable in to my average sized concha’s. When it comes to the passive noise isolation, I can say that it is on an efficient level for the use in relative noisy environments like a bus, metro or a train trip.
Drivability & Pairing:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane is a very easy to drive In-Ear Monitor thanks to its quite low impedance of just 6.3 Ohms @ 1kHz and sensitivity of approx 94 dB. These specs do proof that the Trifecta Astral Plane can easily be handled by relative weak sources such like Smartphone’s, Tablets or USB DAC/Amplifier dongle adaptors.
I do recommend you to pair it with a close to neutral source to enjoy the best from your Trifecta Astral Plane. A source with too much coloration and warmth will affect the balance of the unique sound signature of the Trifecta Astral Plane.
Technical Specifications:
- Driver Configuration : 10mm dia. Triple Dynamic Driver (1x Bass, 1x Mids & 1x Treble)
- Freq. Resp. : 5 Hz – 20 kHz
- Sensitivity : 94 dB SPL @ 1kHz: 16.91 mVrms
- Impedance : 6.3 Ohms @ 1kHz Impedance
- THD-N : less than 1%
- Connector : Beryllium Copper MMMC (Micro Miniature Coaxial Connector)
Equipment’s used for this review:
- In Ear Monitors : Campfire Trifecta Astral Plane
- Sources (DAP/DAC) : HiBy R6 Pro II, FiiO M11 Plus ESS, FiiO KA5
Albums & Tracks used for this review:
- Adele – My Little Love (TIDAL)
- Randy Crawford – On Day I Will Fly Away (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Hayley Westenra – Odyssey Album (Dezzer HiFi)
- Dionne Warwick – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sarah McLachlan – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Sertap Erener – Aşk (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
- Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Payer (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Sonya Yoncheva – (Giuseppe Verdi) II Trovatore, ActI (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- George Michael – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- David Bowie – Heroes (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Elton John – Rocket Man ((Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Barry White – Just The Way You Are (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sting – Englishman in New York – (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- King – Riding With The King (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Muse – Hysteria (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Rush – YYZ (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – Nobody Weird Like Me (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Bro Safari, UFO! – Drama (Deezer HiFi)
- Rok Nardin – Berserks (Spotify)
- Bear McCreary – Valkyries “God of War OST” (Deezer HiFi)
- Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Daft Punk – Doin’ it Right (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Jo Blankenburg – Meraki (Spotify)
- Lorde – Royals (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Toutant – Rebirth (Deezer HiFi)
- Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Gogo Penguin – Murmuration (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Alboran Trio’s – Cinque Lunghissimi Minuti (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
- Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Charly Antolini – Duwadjuwandadu (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Ferit Odman – Look, Stop & Listen (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Deezer HiFi)
- Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Lunatic Soul – The Passage (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove it) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Opeth – Windowpane (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Slayer – Angel of Death (Spotify)
- Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
- Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles (Spotify)
The Sound:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane is a highly musical sounding In-Ear Monitor with a relative warm tonality, which is pretty successful in terms of simulating a high-end 2-channel sound that you can listen on the go. The lows are powerful and controlled, while the midrange is produced in a pretty lush and musical manner. The treble range on the other hand is nicely pronounced, while it has a good level of authority and extension when needed. One of the main highlights of the Trifecta Astral Plane is a huge soundstage atmosphere that offers an excellent sense of depth, height and wideness.
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane review has been written after a burn-in period of approx 150. The 10mm Dynamic Driver Trio shows a very positive response in terms of burn-in since I have noticed a quite audible improvement in all three frequency regions.
My sound impressions below are based on my experiences with the stock Campfire Audio Time Stream cable/cables in combination with the stock CA Marshmallow (Foam) Ear tips that do offer a decent synergy. I have paired the Trifecta Astral Plane with sources like the HiBy R6 Pro II (DAP), FiiO M11 Plus ESS (DAP) and FiiO KA5 (USB Dongle).
Bass:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane shows a powerful lower frequency response, with focal point concentrated to the subbass area. The bass tuning of the Trifecta Astral Plane adds an impressive sense of dynamism and nice amount of warmth that doesn’t sounds overdone. The bass tuning of the Trifecta Astral Plane reminds me to the character of high-end 2-channel home audio speakers.
The subbass area of the Trifecta Astral Plane is more highlighted compared to midbass region. It is produced with an excellent sense of depth, intensity and extension. The decay of this area is pretty fast especially after a burn-in period of 100 hours. Songs like Bro Safari UFO! “Drama”, Daft Punk’s “Doin’ it Right” and Lorde’s “Royals” are produced with an impressive sense of depth and rumble.
The midbass region of the Trifecta Astral Plane is less pronounced compared to the subbass area. However, it is able to show a solid level of body and fullness, without to sound muddy, veiled or overdone. The speed, impact and authority of the midbass region are suitable for a wide variety of genres, including pop, electronic up to jazz and metal music. Instruments from bass guitars to percussions are produced in a pretty fast, textured and full bodied manner.
The lower frequency area of the Campfire Audio Astral Plane can be described as one of main highlights that is shows an excellent performance in terms of technicality, resolution and musicality, and shows also a nicely touch of old skool style HiFi sound.
Midrange:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane impressed me with its overall midrange tuning. The sound engineers of the company have adjusted one of the 10mm ADLC Diaphragm Dynamic Drivers so, that it is able to create a nicely warm midrange tonality, along with a pretty smooth, transparent, textured and airy atmosphere in this area.
The Trifecta Astral Plane shows an efficient sense of lower midrange depth and intensity Male voices for example such like Barry White to Dave Gahan are reproduced in a pretty deep and emotional manner. Instruments on the other hand such like violins are reproduced with an adequate grade bottom, while acoustic guitars or toms are shown with an adequate amount of body and fullness. The clarity and resolution around the 300Hz area is decent that doesn’t have any remarkable negative conditions such like unwanted muddiness.
The upper midrange of the Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane is able to produce an excellent grade of presence, extension and resolution. Female vocals are created with a decent level of transparency and clarity thanks to nicely adjusted tuning. The tonality of female vocals is in general fairly warm, silky smooth and emotional, without to show some negative situations like sibilance, over-sharpness or dryness, when I do listen to voices such like Adel, Edith Piaf, Diana Krall or Sertap Erener.
Treble:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane has a treble presentation that sounds in pretty vibrant and energetic. The tuning of this area creates a clear, airy and spacious presentation with an above average performance in terms of detail retrieval, definition and extension, while listen to both instruments and vocals.
The lower treble region shows a good grade of presence and is able to produce an efficient sense of clarity and definition. The transitions from towards the lower treble region are in most situations pretty controlled when instruments are played with high level of distortion. Instruments such like ride and crash cymbals are nicely pronounced and the sense of intensity and extension is on a quite decent. There are no remarkable interferences in moments when instrument like a piano accelerates.
The upper treble region of the Trifecta Astral Plane is able to produce a good level of brightness and air when I do listen to hi-hats, violins and vocals. Pianos on the other hand are reproduced in a smooth, detailed and controlled manner, while I listen to some complex passages such like GoGo Penguin’s “Raven”.
Soundstage & Imaging:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane is maybe one of the best IEM’s that I have listened when it comes to the soundstage performance. It offers a pretty holographic soundstage atmosphere with an impressive sense of depth, height and wideness. The stage of offers an excellent amount of air and space between vocals and instruments, and the separation and placement is in general quite precise.
Conclusion:
The Campfire Audio Trifecta Astral Plane is a pretty unique In-Ear Monitor, both in terms of design and overall sonic presentation. It offers a highly musical sound profile that is pretty close to simulate a high-end 2-channel sound profile. The well adjusted triple dynamic driver setup that is located in a fancy looking transparent casing offers a peerless sound experience. What I also really like about Trifecta Astral Plane is that Campfire Audio is sending a huge set of accessories that includes the brand new Time Stream cables with 3 different headphone plug termination. The result is an excellent TOTL IEM with a pretty unique sonic flavor that will definitely surprise you!
Pros & Cons:
- + Pretty Unique Overall Sound Profile
- + Impressive Bass Response (Speed, Impact, Extension, Resolution)
- + Highly Musical Midrange Presentation with a Original Flavor
- + Treble Extension and Resolution
- + Warm & Analog Timbre
- + Huge Set of accessories including 3 sets of Time Stream Cable
- + Attractive Design
- – Not for those who are looking for a uncolored type of sound profile
- – Only 6 pairs of Ear Tips (No Final E-Type included)
- – Pricy
Thank you for the Read!
