[Robinjwa]

I’m trying to make my beloved Andromeda 2020s play nicely with my beloved Rega Brio, because my turntable, cd player, and best DAC are all fed into the latter.

Based on the spec and/or your personal experiences, do you think this pair is doomed to fail?

Andromeda 2020
94 dB SPL @ 1kHz: 7.01 mVrms
12.8 Ω @ 1kHz Impedance

Rega Brio (headphone output)
32Ω = 1.8V
54Ω = 2.6V
300Ω = 5.9V
Source impedance = 109Ω
50Watts RMS both channels driven into the rated load of 8Ω

Clearly the ratio between the two impedances is not complementary on paper and in practice it does indeed negatively affect the FR, with a very weak bass response (though other areas like treble, soundstage, and dynamics sound superb). I have tried including an iFi IEMatch on ‘Ultra’ to bring the output impedence of the Brio down to 1Ω. Whilst this somewhat imrpoves the bass response it is still a long way from where I know the Andromeda’s bass can be if using other sources that have a similar OI. So clearly the reason is more complex than simply impedence matching and therefore beyond my current knowledge.

Are there any other tricks that one could try, or do you think I’ve come to the end of the road and should stick to other more obvious sources?

Thanks in advance for your opinions and insights.

Robin

 

[Stevko]

It needs 7V in 12,8ohm= Doomed

edit
sorry: mVrms . milliVolt. yes, it should work

 

[Stevko]

Source impedance = 109Ω
=
Not good with iems. so maybe Doomed.

 

[Robinjwa]

It needs 7V in 12,8ohm= Doomed

edit
sorry: mVrms . milliVolt. yes, it should work

Thanks Stevko. So do you mean if the amp did 7MilliVolts into 12ohms then it would work? But of course it doesn't, so....

 

[Stevko]

7millivolt isn`t so much. so don`t think that will be a problem.
more worried about the high outputimpedance

 

[Stevko]

but no low gain? can be too much power.

an iphone and an apple dongel can be a cheap start until you find someting you wanna buy

 

[baskingshark]

I’m trying to make my beloved Andromeda 2020s play nicely with my beloved Rega Brio, because my turntable, cd player, and best DAC are all fed into the latter.

Based on the spec and/or your personal experiences, do you think this pair is doomed to fail?

Andromeda 2020
94 dB SPL @ 1kHz: 7.01 mVrms
12.8 Ω @ 1kHz Impedance

Rega Brio (headphone output)
32Ω = 1.8V
54Ω = 2.6V
300Ω = 5.9V
Source impedance = 109Ω
50Watts RMS both channels driven into the rated load of 8Ω

Clearly the ratio between the two impedances is not complementary on paper and in practice it does indeed negatively affect the FR, with a very weak bass response (though other areas like treble, soundstage, and dynamics sound superb). I have tried including an iFi IEMatch on ‘Ultra’ to bring the output impedence of the Brio down to 1Ω. Whilst this somewhat imrpoves the bass response it is still a long way from where I know the Andromeda’s bass can be if using other sources that have a similar OI. So clearly the reason is more complex than simply impedence matching and therefore beyond my current knowledge.

Are there any other tricks that one could try, or do you think I’ve come to the end of the road and should stick to other more obvious sources?

Thanks in advance for your opinions and insights.

Robin

The Campfire Andromeda is one very fussy IEM when it comes to source pairing.

The low impedance of 12.8 ohms means that it pairs with sources with < 1.6 ohm output impedance, based on the rules of eights (https://www.headphonesty.com/2019/04/headphone-impedance-demystified/). Pairing the Andromeda with sources with much higher output impedance will skew the FR.

Secondly, some sources with poor noise floor may hiss with the Andromeda 2020, I haven't used the Rega Brio before, so can't comment on the hiss component for this amp. But the high output impedance of the Rega Brio is not a good pairing with the Andromeda IMHO. You can perhaps find a cheap dongle eg Tempotec Sonata HD Pro (I bought mine at $27 USD), it has low output impedance and doesn't hiss with sensitive IEMs too.

 

[Robinjwa]

Thanks for your feedback @baskingshark and @Stevko. I already own portable sources with <1 ohm OI (such as DFCobalt and Chord Mojo) that produce a balanced FR with the Andromeda, so I'm not really looking for source suggestions but more trying to work out whether there's a way of making the Brio an appropriate source, beyond using the IEMatch. Appreciate your thoughts.