Thank-you for this refreshing and honest review of one of the best and most unique IEMs on the market. No, it will not be for everyone-- this is true of everyting that takes some chances. For those who prefer bland and soul-less Harman inspired tuning there are legions of IEMs out there to choose from. I am personally grateful that there are companies like CFA (as well as Fir Audio, Vision Ears, Oriolus and a few others) trying new things and defying convention. This hobby would be much less interesting and inspiring without them. Anyway cheers, my friend, you are one of the few RUclips reviewers out there really worth listening to.
I’ve been working my way through your videos over the past few weeks and you are quickly becoming one of my favorite reviewers. One large issue I have with most is their grasp on psychoacoustics and how speakers etc. actually work is limited. Which is fine until they start talking about such things like they think they know what they’re talking about. Which is incredibly problematic given how little information, especially scientific, is available directly related to IEMs. It is very refreshing to watch someone who is intelligent (or at least humble) enough to actually know what they do and do not properly know and understand. I especially appreciate this in regard to the Harmon Target. I will never understand why anyone would ever have thought that it was anything close to a Munson-Fletcher curve for IEMs. There are literally videos (from a few years ago) by a particular “professional” reviewer on one of the largest corporate review sites claiming it is. With subsequent videos digging into that stance after being repeatedly called out on that, defending the Harmon Target as a literal Monsun-Fletcher curve for IEMs. This is unacceptable by any standards, especially given that he’s paid by a company as a supposed “expert”. Who can’t even google the Harmon curve and figure out that it was NEVER meant to be anything close to a serious study. Let alone the Munson-Fletcher study. Which they VERY easily could have done. And given how popular IEMs are for audiophiles I do not understand why no one has. Even if the conclusion was that there would never be even a one size fits most neutral curve
I imagine you were just winging it, but a 10mm diameter driver has an area of ~78.54 mm² which means three 10mm diameter drivers have a combined area of ~235.6 mm² vs one 30mm driver which has an area of ~706.9 mm². So the 30mm driver actually has ~3 times the area of three 10mm drivers. And I'm glad you keep up the conversation of how poorly designed and interpreted the Harmon study was. Good on you for keeping up the good fight on that one!
Yup the area and not the diameter! Thanks for the correction. That was indeed an oversight stemming from reading other opinions. I’ll do a separate one on how we get math wrong in this hobby 😅
I’ve seen mostly hate for the trifecta as well. Besides the Andromeda and Solaris Campfire hasn’t had a whole lot of love from the community. Nice to hear a different take.
Nope. You just haven’t frequented the right places. Ask here: www.head-fi.org/threads/the-watercooler-impressions-philosophical-discussion-and-general-banter-index-on-first-page-all-welcome.957426/page-4354 or check out the reviews I have posted in the description. They are by more legit IEM reviewers than most you’ll run into.
These Trifecta sound as wide as my open back Audeze LCDi3 IEMs which camecwith DSP cable now that the Trifecta is in the house I can finally get rid of these LCDi3 IEMs The soundstage is very wide you know listening to epic music like Interstellar and Dune OST you get that big sound like in a theater bit in your ears they indeed sound like surround speakers and combine it Dolby Atmos you get a more holographic presentation. I do this when watching movies in my phone where I plug in like a Vision Pro it feels like I'm in the theater Now the resolution/detail retrieval is not as good as the EE Odin but that's a good thing for me because it doesn't highlight the flaws of the track as much such as compression artifacts in some songs were i have no looseless copy of so it is a good balance between soundstage, tuning and detail retrieval
Nice review Sajid! A little late to the game here … how does the bass compare to the Fatfreq Maestro Mini? Which one punches harder? I have heard the Xenon 6 and its in my bucket list to own someday. In general, I appreciate quirky, colored, and bassy IEMs.
Does it have proper ear canal pressure venting? The new Solaris has really strange, very poorly designed venting that only vents one side of the driver, meaning not only is there constant ear canal pressure, but that pressure actually changes the "rest" position of the driver and makes it extremely susceptible to distortion and cut-outs :(
What are the differences between the sound provided by the Campfire Audio Atlas and the Trifecta? I'm a basshead and I have the Atlas, are the Trifecta much better than the Atlas? Or are they just a little bit better, not enough to make it worth switching to the Trifecta?
The Trifecta destroys the Atlas in all areas. It's really in a different league. Try a Dorado, a set ahead of the Atlas. Sony Z1R and Empire Ears Evo are good options too.
I can afford IEMs at this price point, but I would not purchase it without hearing it. How am I supposed to do this? And of course I would like to hear the competing IEMs. Do many of you just buy based on trusted reviews?
@@gerritfridericksohn4627 The costliest purchase for me was ie600, and I did that after trying it out at an expo. Other than that reviews n knowing sound signature you prefer os the way to go
@@gerritfridericksohn4627 Unless you stay near an audio store that house iems for listening you can't, (outside of working for an audio based company or building enough of an audio based following that companies would be willing to send you review units) best case scenario you buy it, hate it, send it back if they accept returns
They dont have a crossover and that is what I believe you are hearing as a difference. I have two Campfire Audio iem's the Dorado 2020 and the Andromeda Gold niether of which have crossovers and I love them both. None of my other iem's sound like them and I love what they do.
Can’t even lie when I went to audio show I tried d a few campfire audio iems. Tried their wireless, andromeda, ….., and then the trifecta last. By far the wireless and the trifecta were my least favorite and if I’m being honest I genuinely think I preferred my AirPods Pro’s 2 over pretty all their stuff except the andromeda those were good fun
That’s fine. That was my impression the first time I heard it as well. Tips and sources make a huge difference believe it or not. Check out the HeadFi discussions and you’ll see many have come around and not just come around, they love the Tri now.
Just fyi a 10mm driver has a surface area of 78.54mm. 78.54 x 3 is 235.62mm2. A 30mm driver has a surface area of 706.9mm2. Three 10mm drivers is equivalent surface area wise to a single 17.5ish mm driver.
I actually very recently heard the trifecta for quite a while. With all due respect to your opinion mate it sounded bloddy awful to me. 😅 I would take my much cheaper 7hz timeless ae over these. And later i looked up and it was nice to know i wasnt an idiot, because many others had the same opinion too. But then again to each to is own eh? 😅 Btw i did try many tips and a good source too.
Drivers are more akin to 2D circles (where 10mm refers to the circle diameter) than 1D line segments that are 10mm long. 3 x 10mm circle = 235.62 sqr mm surface 1 x 30mm circle = 706.86 sqr mm 3 times more. The phrase "the resulting effect of 30mm dynamic driver" can mean many things. I am quite sure about just one of these meanings: false marketing.
Hey This is Steven I have watched a lot of your reviews and I like them. Appreciate your great reviews! 👍 I’m considering getting DMP-Z1 with Hs800s, how do you like matching sound? I listen to a lot of classical music and I own SONY NW-WM1ZM1 and SONY NW-WM1ZM2, My current headphones are UTOPIA, MDRZ1R, AWKT, HD800S, HD600 ( IEM: IE900, XELENTO remote 2) I like the warm , thick , analog , sound from SONY NW-WM1ZM1 and SONY NW-WM1ZM2, ,they sound like a tube amp. I listen to a lot of classical music, jazz , and instrumental instruments. I’m wondering if DMP-Z1 is powerful enough to show the real potential of HD800s. I currently use the Sony Dap with HD800:. I don’t have much experience with desk top headphone amplifiers. Will you recommend this combo if I like the SONY NW-WM1ZM1 , NW-WM1ZM2 And HD800S The DMP-Z1 is a lot of money, so I want to make sure I make the right move I like to buy everything brand new and I don’t sell my gears at all, I like them to aged with me. And if I purchase SONY DMP-Z1 , it will be my only desk amplifier for home use for all of my headphones. Your thoughts and opinions will be very helpful for my final decision. Thank you
This is probably the most ridiculed IEM ever. It is hard to explain why so many see it as extremely overpriced junk and some very, very few seem to love it. Makes it a very confusing product. What for sure is not a good sign is the stunt of 333 sets, creating this „get yours now“ hype and then releasing unlimited other sets, only different in color.
Thank-you for this refreshing and honest review of one of the best and most unique IEMs on the market. No, it will not be for everyone-- this is true of everyting that takes some chances. For those who prefer bland and soul-less Harman inspired tuning there are legions of IEMs out there to choose from. I am personally grateful that there are companies like CFA (as well as Fir Audio, Vision Ears, Oriolus and a few others) trying new things and defying convention. This hobby would be much less interesting and inspiring without them. Anyway cheers, my friend, you are one of the few RUclips reviewers out there really worth listening to.
I’ve been working my way through your videos over the past few weeks and you are quickly becoming one of my favorite reviewers. One large issue I have with most is their grasp on psychoacoustics and how speakers etc. actually work is limited. Which is fine until they start talking about such things like they think they know what they’re talking about. Which is incredibly problematic given how little information, especially scientific, is available directly related to IEMs.
It is very refreshing to watch someone who is intelligent (or at least humble) enough to actually know what they do and do not properly know and understand. I especially appreciate this in regard to the Harmon Target. I will never understand why anyone would ever have thought that it was anything close to a Munson-Fletcher curve for IEMs. There are literally videos (from a few years ago) by a particular “professional” reviewer on one of the largest corporate review sites claiming it is. With subsequent videos digging into that stance after being repeatedly called out on that, defending the Harmon Target as a literal Monsun-Fletcher curve for IEMs. This is unacceptable by any standards, especially given that he’s paid by a company as a supposed “expert”. Who can’t even google the Harmon curve and figure out that it was NEVER meant to be anything close to a serious study. Let alone the Munson-Fletcher study. Which they VERY easily could have done. And given how popular IEMs are for audiophiles I do not understand why no one has. Even if the conclusion was that there would never be even a one size fits most neutral curve
I imagine you were just winging it, but a 10mm diameter driver has an area of ~78.54 mm² which means three 10mm diameter drivers have a combined area of ~235.6 mm² vs one 30mm driver which has an area of ~706.9 mm². So the 30mm driver actually has ~3 times the area of three 10mm drivers.
And I'm glad you keep up the conversation of how poorly designed and interpreted the Harmon study was. Good on you for keeping up the good fight on that one!
Yup the area and not the diameter! Thanks for the correction. That was indeed an oversight stemming from reading other opinions. I’ll do a separate one on how we get math wrong in this hobby 😅
The learnings from car stereo subwoofers😅
I’ve seen mostly hate for the trifecta as well. Besides the Andromeda and Solaris Campfire hasn’t had a whole lot of love from the community. Nice to hear a different take.
I haven't seen anu hate for them
Most people who listen to them seem to love or at least respect them for what they offer.
I think Trifecta is beautiful, I look forward to being able to try it some day.
Interesting take, I've seen mostly hate on the trifecta, goes to show how subjective the audio hobby can be
Check out the reviews I have posted in the description and those on HeadFi’s showcase.
Been waiting for this one 😮🔥
You’re the first person I’ve heard say anything nice about these.
Nope. You just haven’t frequented the right places. Ask here: www.head-fi.org/threads/the-watercooler-impressions-philosophical-discussion-and-general-banter-index-on-first-page-all-welcome.957426/page-4354 or check out the reviews I have posted in the description. They are by more legit IEM reviewers than most you’ll run into.
@@amplifyaudioreviewstheres no way you just referenced head-fi as a place with "legit" iem reviewers
These Trifecta sound as wide as my open back Audeze LCDi3 IEMs which camecwith DSP cable now that the Trifecta is in the house I can finally get rid of these LCDi3 IEMs
The soundstage is very wide you know listening to epic music like Interstellar and Dune OST you get that big sound like in a theater bit in your ears they indeed sound like surround speakers and combine it Dolby Atmos you get a more holographic presentation. I do this when watching movies in my phone where I plug in like a Vision Pro it feels like I'm in the theater
Now the resolution/detail retrieval is not as good as the EE Odin but that's a good thing for me because it doesn't highlight the flaws of the track as much such as compression artifacts in some songs were i have no looseless copy of so it is a good balance between soundstage, tuning and detail retrieval
Nice review Sajid! A little late to the game here … how does the bass compare to the Fatfreq Maestro Mini? Which one punches harder? I have heard the Xenon 6 and its in my bucket list to own someday. In general, I appreciate quirky, colored, and bassy IEMs.
Does it have proper ear canal pressure venting? The new Solaris has really strange, very poorly designed venting that only vents one side of the driver, meaning not only is there constant ear canal pressure, but that pressure actually changes the "rest" position of the driver and makes it extremely susceptible to distortion and cut-outs :(
What are the differences between the sound provided by the Campfire Audio Atlas and the Trifecta? I'm a basshead and I have the Atlas, are the Trifecta much better than the Atlas? Or are they just a little bit better, not enough to make it worth switching to the Trifecta?
The Trifecta destroys the Atlas in all areas. It's really in a different league. Try a Dorado, a set ahead of the Atlas. Sony Z1R and Empire Ears Evo are good options too.
I’m holding onto my Xe6 but damn you’re tempting me to trade for a trifecta especially since I have the Sony zm2 dap as well 😮💨
You should do a video on the IEM's your keeping.
For the price tag it should be much better imo. Lots of poor reviews on this.
Where i haven't seen a single poor review for this
which iem do you recommend for very treble sensitive ? The Trailli?
Yup
none
ah pardon i read it wrongly, jhaudio jh7
the price tag!!!
I can afford IEMs at this price point, but I would not purchase it without hearing it. How am I supposed to do this? And of course I would like to hear the competing IEMs. Do many of you just buy based on trusted reviews?
@@gerritfridericksohn4627 The costliest purchase for me was ie600, and I did that after trying it out at an expo. Other than that reviews n knowing sound signature you prefer os the way to go
@@gerritfridericksohn4627 Unless you stay near an audio store that house iems for listening you can't, (outside of working for an audio based company or building enough of an audio based following that companies would be willing to send you review units) best case scenario you buy it, hate it, send it back if they accept returns
The sound of IEMs depends significantly on individual ear anatomy. Especially higher frequencies tend to be very subjective @@gerritfridericksohn4627
They dont have a crossover and that is what I believe you are hearing as a difference. I have two Campfire Audio iem's the Dorado 2020 and the Andromeda Gold niether of which have crossovers and I love them both. None of my other iem's sound like them and I love what they do.
Can’t even lie when I went to audio show I tried d a few campfire audio iems. Tried their wireless, andromeda, ….., and then the trifecta last. By far the wireless and the trifecta were my least favorite and if I’m being honest I genuinely think I preferred my AirPods Pro’s 2 over pretty all their stuff except the andromeda those were good fun
That’s fine. That was my impression the first time I heard it as well. Tips and sources make a huge difference believe it or not. Check out the HeadFi discussions and you’ll see many have come around and not just come around, they love the Tri now.
This is my aspirationak iem price wise out of my reach but one day ebay permitting I will get one. Great review
Would you say that the Trifecta has a bigger soundstage or the 64 Audio Tia Fourte?
Thanks
Just fyi a 10mm driver has a surface area of 78.54mm. 78.54 x 3 is 235.62mm2. A 30mm driver has a surface area of 706.9mm2.
Three 10mm drivers is equivalent surface area wise to a single 17.5ish mm driver.
I actually very recently heard the trifecta for quite a while. With all due respect to your opinion mate it sounded bloddy awful to me. 😅
I would take my much cheaper 7hz timeless ae over these.
And later i looked up and it was nice to know i wasnt an idiot, because many others had the same opinion too. But then again to each to is own eh? 😅
Btw i did try many tips and a good source too.
Drivers are more akin to 2D circles (where 10mm refers to the circle diameter) than 1D line segments that are 10mm long.
3 x 10mm circle = 235.62 sqr mm surface
1 x 30mm circle = 706.86 sqr mm
3 times more.
The phrase "the resulting effect of 30mm dynamic driver" can mean many things.
I am quite sure about just one of these meanings: false marketing.
Yes yes area not diameter - missed it when I was winging it :)
Ughhh❤
I have chance to try this iem last month and for me this Campfire Audio Trifecta is a ball sack look a like iem that sound muddy as hell!!
He said, " interregnum". 😂.
Hey
This is Steven
I have watched a lot of your reviews and I like them.
Appreciate your great reviews! 👍
I’m considering getting DMP-Z1 with Hs800s, how do you like matching sound?
I listen to a lot of classical music and I own SONY NW-WM1ZM1 and SONY NW-WM1ZM2,
My current headphones are UTOPIA, MDRZ1R, AWKT, HD800S, HD600
( IEM: IE900, XELENTO remote 2)
I like the warm , thick , analog , sound from SONY NW-WM1ZM1 and SONY NW-WM1ZM2, ,they sound like a tube amp.
I listen to a lot of classical music, jazz , and instrumental instruments.
I’m wondering if DMP-Z1 is powerful enough to show the real potential of HD800s.
I currently use the Sony Dap with HD800:.
I don’t have much experience with desk top headphone amplifiers.
Will you recommend this combo if I like the SONY NW-WM1ZM1 , NW-WM1ZM2 And HD800S
The DMP-Z1 is a lot of money, so I want to make sure I make the right move
I like to buy everything brand new and I don’t sell my gears at all, I like them to aged with me.
And if I purchase SONY DMP-Z1 , it will be my only desk amplifier for home use for all of my headphones.
Your thoughts and opinions will be very helpful for my final decision.
Thank you
This is probably the most ridiculed IEM ever. It is hard to explain why so many see it as extremely overpriced junk and some very, very few seem to love it. Makes it a very confusing product.
What for sure is not a good sign is the stunt of 333 sets, creating this „get yours now“ hype and then releasing unlimited other sets, only different in color.
where is the hand. they didnt sent you one... hahahah
That treble graph looks awful. I value clarity and resolution highly. I like the sound of analog, but I hate the lack of detail.