Campfire Polaris Review
Disclaimer: This Polaris unit was graciously lent in by a friend who purchased the unit in full price for limited period of time. I am not affiliated with Campfire Audio and the review reflects my honest opinion on the Polaris.
Introduction: Not needed. Campfire Audio is a company that is already known throughout the audiophile community with many well-praised products and the recent hype for the Solaris. The Polaris, released back in 2017, seems to have been forgotten and apparently discontinued (out of stock) on the website. I have got a chance to demo a unit back in 2017 Canjam RMAF and, though for a short listen, was impressed with the tuning though I wished I could get more ear time with it.
Fit: Briefly, the Polaris fits better than the Andromeda to my ears due to longer nozzles – better isolation and more secure fit (with final audio e-type tips).
Overall: The impressions you are about to read are taken from the Polaris played directly from iphone X with stock cable. First thought that came in when I plugged these in was “Wow, these sound really raw”. To elaborate on that, the Polaris does not hold back its punches in any of the frequency regions. To my ears, it does not present the sound in V-shape manner – vocals still come through with dominance. V-shape with the upper-bass/lower-midrange at the bottom of the V perhaps.
Bass: Equipped with a dynamic driver, of course the Polaris delivers impressive bass. The bass, in the overall presentation, is not too dominant nor too forwardly placed – perhaps a little forward when compared directly to the midrange. There is no bass bloom to be seen anywhere – the lower region is undoubtedly sub-bass focused with relatively attenuated mid- and upper-bass. This might suggest the bass being on a drier side of the spectrum, which is true to a certain extent, however, the texture of the bass is very much indicative of dynamic driver – liquidy, smooth and punchy. This is the bass that you can ‘feel’ more than ‘hear’; don’t get me wrong here, you can still definitely hear it but the ‘head-banging’ factor is definitely there. I will note that, as with most dynamic drivers, the quantity of bass is very dependent on the track – if the bass is emphasized in the mix, the Polaris will not hold back. However, if the track is not bass-prominent (i.e. soft instrumental pop/rock), the bass will not be as present even though the bass will still be there though. In other words, this bass is NOT artificial as is the bass from most BA drivers. Lower-end extension is impressive.
Mids: The lower midrange is noticeably dipped, starting from the mid-bass going up the lower midrange, resulting in lack of warmth in vocals and midrange instruments. Male vocals, especially lower-pitched ones, lack the chesty quality – power and emotions do not get through very well. Upper midrange, in the other hand, is accentuated and this quality brings vocals forward, especially female vocals. What I am impressed the most by the Polaris’ midrange is its ability to present music in an ‘unfiltered’ way – the Polaris does not smooth things out too much; i.e, electric guitars retain their crunchy edges. The midrange does not sound ‘veiled’; the mids are clear with decent room between instruments. I do appreciate this tuning though; with the lower midrange sacrificed, it allows for upper midrange to be presented in such clean and ‘in your face’ manner. Vocals are easily separated, almost as an isolated line of notes with coherency still intact, from the mix. If they have the lower midrange pushed up, I do not think that the Polaris would retain this characteristic and coherency could have been lost. Still, with some poorly recorded tracks, the timbre of the mids can come off a little plasticky. Nevertheless, the Polaris’ upper midrange never comes across as sibilant – something that I have seen with IEMs that try to push the upper-midrange for extra clarity. In brief, this is not an organic nor the most natural midrange, but for where it stands, the Polaris executes midrange with authority.
Highs: Lower treble is prominent – cymbals and hi-hats are brought forward. The theme of ‘rawness’ continues here, where the highs are prominent and do demand your attention, but the Polaris does so NOT in an obnoxious manner. Most of the time, I don’t detect any sibilance here. The highs, despite their prominence in the mix, are not very bodied – high notes are forward but their sheer size (how much space each note occupies in the audiovisual landscape) is not very big. Again, this particular characteristic partially contributes to its timbre being a little plasticky at times. Extension is decent at best; I do not hear the highest of highs (like I do with the Zeus or W900) here but at this price point, the Polaris does not lack behind.
Technicalities: Decent for the price. The stage of the Polaris is reasonably expanded in both X and Y directions and height is just okay. There is generous amount of space between instruments resulting in great separation. Imaging, however, is just mediocre. Not terrible for the price, but definitely not at top of its class. I do not get the sense of exact location of each instrument on the stage and the construction of the stage is not very holographic (3D) – I do not hear the wall of sound enveloping the stage from all directions. Resolution is decent – not smoothed over nor blurry by any means but definitely not at the TOTL level. Macro details are pushed in front while micro details are not very apparent or present (Please don’t get me wrong, it is NOT BAD by any means as I will elaborate more on this in the comparison section – all things are relative).
Select (available) comparison:
Campfire Andromeda: I know this is not a fair comparison, but since the Andro is such a classic I figured a lot of people would get the idea of hoe the Polaris sounds with this comparison. Starting with the bass, I would say that the overall quantity is similar; the Polaris focuses more on sub-bass where the Andro has slightly more mid-bass. Extension is similar on both. However, the bass texture of the Polaris, thanks to its dynamic driver, takes the cake. It’s more liquid-y with higher dynamic range – all in all, a more engaging bass. The midrange of the Andro is more warmth-infused compare to the Polaris – lower midrange of the Andro is significantly more present, resulting in vocals and midrange instruments sounding much fuller, denser and more bodied. Male vocals sounds chesty, a quality that the Polaris simply lacks. However, coming directly from the Polaris, I feel as if the midrange of the Andro is alightly smoothed over and laid-back whereas the Polaris is more transparent and engaging even though the sheer resolution of the Andro is higher. Upper midrange of the Andro is more in-line with the rests of the frequencies on the Andro where the Polaris pushes the upper midrange forward and thus vocals on the Polaris are more separated from instruments. Moving up to the highs, the timbre definitely goes to the Andro – the highs sounds much more natural whereas the Polaris sounds metallic when compared directly. Extension is much better on the Andro. Staging-wise, the Andro is much more holographic and the stage expands in all three directions – a bigger and more complete stage with significantly more headroom compared to the Polaris. Imaging is better on the Andro where spatial cues are more distinguished and easier to pick out. In brief, Andro is a warmer and has a more complete and mature tuning while the Polaris is more engaging (younger at heart if you will). There are times, when sheer enjoyment, head banging experience, is desired, that I would pick the Polaris over the Andro.
CustomArt FIBAE 2: a more reasonable comparison. The F2 boasts more overall bass quantity than the Polaris. However, texture (again), quality and extension goes to the Polaris – even though I would consider the bass of the F2 to be very good for an all-BA setup, the Polaris has it beaten; DD bass simply is more engaging and there is more rumble and definition without losing control. The midrange is warmer on the F2 and is a more smoothed over. Again, the recessed lower midrange of the Polaris takes out the warmth in comparison to the F2. The highs of the F2 are more bodies and the timbre is better. Extension on both is similar – not very extended but not roll-off either. Resolution is slightly better on the Polaris and the stage is airier with more space between instruments. However, the F2 kills the Polaris when it comes to imaging – every note occupies an exact, definite space on the stage. Not that the Polaris has bad imaging ability, the F2 is just very good and this quality punches way above its price point. To summarize, the Polaris is more engaging with slightly brighter timbre and the F2 is more laid-back and warm with better imaging.
Summary: I don’t know if the Polaris has been discontinued but if it does, I really do regret not getting it while I got the chance. Technicality-wise, the Polaris does not stand out. However, if the fun factor is considered, Polaris is one of the best I have heard. It does not go into the bass-head territory but the sound is extremely dynamic and engaging thanks to the punchy but well-controlled bass, forward though slightly thin midrange, and dominant highs. A coherent amalgamation of these sonic qualities without being peaky nor sibilant – a campfire house sound indeed. Does it get my recommendation? Heck YES!
Disclaimer: This Polaris unit was graciously lent in by a friend who purchased the unit in full price for limited period of time. I am not affiliated with Campfire Audio and the review reflects my honest opinion on the Polaris.
Introduction: Not needed. Campfire Audio is a company that is already known throughout the audiophile community with many well-praised products and the recent hype for the Solaris. The Polaris, released back in 2017, seems to have been forgotten and apparently discontinued (out of stock) on the website. I have got a chance to demo a unit back in 2017 Canjam RMAF and, though for a short listen, was impressed with the tuning though I wished I could get more ear time with it.
Fit: Briefly, the Polaris fits better than the Andromeda to my ears due to longer nozzles – better isolation and more secure fit (with final audio e-type tips).
Overall: The impressions you are about to read are taken from the Polaris played directly from iphone X with stock cable. First thought that came in when I plugged these in was “Wow, these sound really raw”. To elaborate on that, the Polaris does not hold back its punches in any of the frequency regions. To my ears, it does not present the sound in V-shape manner – vocals still come through with dominance. V-shape with the upper-bass/lower-midrange at the bottom of the V perhaps.
Bass: Equipped with a dynamic driver, of course the Polaris delivers impressive bass. The bass, in the overall presentation, is not too dominant nor too forwardly placed – perhaps a little forward when compared directly to the midrange. There is no bass bloom to be seen anywhere – the lower region is undoubtedly sub-bass focused with relatively attenuated mid- and upper-bass. This might suggest the bass being on a drier side of the spectrum, which is true to a certain extent, however, the texture of the bass is very much indicative of dynamic driver – liquidy, smooth and punchy. This is the bass that you can ‘feel’ more than ‘hear’; don’t get me wrong here, you can still definitely hear it but the ‘head-banging’ factor is definitely there. I will note that, as with most dynamic drivers, the quantity of bass is very dependent on the track – if the bass is emphasized in the mix, the Polaris will not hold back. However, if the track is not bass-prominent (i.e. soft instrumental pop/rock), the bass will not be as present even though the bass will still be there though. In other words, this bass is NOT artificial as is the bass from most BA drivers. Lower-end extension is impressive.
Mids: The lower midrange is noticeably dipped, starting from the mid-bass going up the lower midrange, resulting in lack of warmth in vocals and midrange instruments. Male vocals, especially lower-pitched ones, lack the chesty quality – power and emotions do not get through very well. Upper midrange, in the other hand, is accentuated and this quality brings vocals forward, especially female vocals. What I am impressed the most by the Polaris’ midrange is its ability to present music in an ‘unfiltered’ way – the Polaris does not smooth things out too much; i.e, electric guitars retain their crunchy edges. The midrange does not sound ‘veiled’; the mids are clear with decent room between instruments. I do appreciate this tuning though; with the lower midrange sacrificed, it allows for upper midrange to be presented in such clean and ‘in your face’ manner. Vocals are easily separated, almost as an isolated line of notes with coherency still intact, from the mix. If they have the lower midrange pushed up, I do not think that the Polaris would retain this characteristic and coherency could have been lost. Still, with some poorly recorded tracks, the timbre of the mids can come off a little plasticky. Nevertheless, the Polaris’ upper midrange never comes across as sibilant – something that I have seen with IEMs that try to push the upper-midrange for extra clarity. In brief, this is not an organic nor the most natural midrange, but for where it stands, the Polaris executes midrange with authority.
Highs: Lower treble is prominent – cymbals and hi-hats are brought forward. The theme of ‘rawness’ continues here, where the highs are prominent and do demand your attention, but the Polaris does so NOT in an obnoxious manner. Most of the time, I don’t detect any sibilance here. The highs, despite their prominence in the mix, are not very bodied – high notes are forward but their sheer size (how much space each note occupies in the audiovisual landscape) is not very big. Again, this particular characteristic partially contributes to its timbre being a little plasticky at times. Extension is decent at best; I do not hear the highest of highs (like I do with the Zeus or W900) here but at this price point, the Polaris does not lack behind.
Technicalities: Decent for the price. The stage of the Polaris is reasonably expanded in both X and Y directions and height is just okay. There is generous amount of space between instruments resulting in great separation. Imaging, however, is just mediocre. Not terrible for the price, but definitely not at top of its class. I do not get the sense of exact location of each instrument on the stage and the construction of the stage is not very holographic (3D) – I do not hear the wall of sound enveloping the stage from all directions. Resolution is decent – not smoothed over nor blurry by any means but definitely not at the TOTL level. Macro details are pushed in front while micro details are not very apparent or present (Please don’t get me wrong, it is NOT BAD by any means as I will elaborate more on this in the comparison section – all things are relative).
Select (available) comparison:
Campfire Andromeda: I know this is not a fair comparison, but since the Andro is such a classic I figured a lot of people would get the idea of hoe the Polaris sounds with this comparison. Starting with the bass, I would say that the overall quantity is similar; the Polaris focuses more on sub-bass where the Andro has slightly more mid-bass. Extension is similar on both. However, the bass texture of the Polaris, thanks to its dynamic driver, takes the cake. It’s more liquid-y with higher dynamic range – all in all, a more engaging bass. The midrange of the Andro is more warmth-infused compare to the Polaris – lower midrange of the Andro is significantly more present, resulting in vocals and midrange instruments sounding much fuller, denser and more bodied. Male vocals sounds chesty, a quality that the Polaris simply lacks. However, coming directly from the Polaris, I feel as if the midrange of the Andro is alightly smoothed over and laid-back whereas the Polaris is more transparent and engaging even though the sheer resolution of the Andro is higher. Upper midrange of the Andro is more in-line with the rests of the frequencies on the Andro where the Polaris pushes the upper midrange forward and thus vocals on the Polaris are more separated from instruments. Moving up to the highs, the timbre definitely goes to the Andro – the highs sounds much more natural whereas the Polaris sounds metallic when compared directly. Extension is much better on the Andro. Staging-wise, the Andro is much more holographic and the stage expands in all three directions – a bigger and more complete stage with significantly more headroom compared to the Polaris. Imaging is better on the Andro where spatial cues are more distinguished and easier to pick out. In brief, Andro is a warmer and has a more complete and mature tuning while the Polaris is more engaging (younger at heart if you will). There are times, when sheer enjoyment, head banging experience, is desired, that I would pick the Polaris over the Andro.
CustomArt FIBAE 2: a more reasonable comparison. The F2 boasts more overall bass quantity than the Polaris. However, texture (again), quality and extension goes to the Polaris – even though I would consider the bass of the F2 to be very good for an all-BA setup, the Polaris has it beaten; DD bass simply is more engaging and there is more rumble and definition without losing control. The midrange is warmer on the F2 and is a more smoothed over. Again, the recessed lower midrange of the Polaris takes out the warmth in comparison to the F2. The highs of the F2 are more bodies and the timbre is better. Extension on both is similar – not very extended but not roll-off either. Resolution is slightly better on the Polaris and the stage is airier with more space between instruments. However, the F2 kills the Polaris when it comes to imaging – every note occupies an exact, definite space on the stage. Not that the Polaris has bad imaging ability, the F2 is just very good and this quality punches way above its price point. To summarize, the Polaris is more engaging with slightly brighter timbre and the F2 is more laid-back and warm with better imaging.
Summary: I don’t know if the Polaris has been discontinued but if it does, I really do regret not getting it while I got the chance. Technicality-wise, the Polaris does not stand out. However, if the fun factor is considered, Polaris is one of the best I have heard. It does not go into the bass-head territory but the sound is extremely dynamic and engaging thanks to the punchy but well-controlled bass, forward though slightly thin midrange, and dominant highs. A coherent amalgamation of these sonic qualities without being peaky nor sibilant – a campfire house sound indeed. Does it get my recommendation? Heck YES!