Campfire Audio Orbit Review — Audiophile ON

Detail retrieval in the midrange was excellent, showing that despite delivering a hit, the stiffness of the diaphragm compensated well to keep pace even in fast-paced and complicated tracks. It really was a joy to listen to and jump between the many songs on my test playlist but one song in particular sold me on this earphone’s capabilities.

That track is Holm by Emel. This is a haunting song from a Turkish singer-songwriter, and it’s one a lot of earphones fail to portray accurately. It’s a song with gravitas and emotion and the Orbit made it shine in a way I haven’t heard on other true wireless earphones. Even my much loved Sony Linkbuds S, which I consider to be the best wireless IEMs on the market, come across as dry by comparison with the orbit.

The Counterpoint

The sound is fantastic, but it’s not something that will suit everyone’s tastes. The mid-bass with stock tuning is certainly prominent and can overwhelm. The treble is also smoothed out to the point that treble heads would be asking for more.

The good news is the app resolves the majority of these tuning points and the Orbit is to a point malleable enough that you can for lack of a better term “have it your way”.

A couple of notches off the 125hz band in the graphic equalizer subdued the quantity of the mid-bass that, made it more versatile for rock and jazz music. Yet this is a reduction in quantity and won’t make the mid-bass more textured or detail-rich. It does take away some of the in-the-face presentations.

The treble can equally be bumped. Playing with the sliders to tune it to your tolerance can work wonders depending on the music you listen to.

Where the Industry Should Go

At the time of writing, Campfire Audio sells nine wired earphones on their website in different price points, technologies, styles, and designs. They only sell one true wireless earbud. People expect true wireless earbuds to be a category that a company adds to its repertoire with one or perhaps two models (targeting different price points).

However, it should be thought that we would want audiophile companies to offer many different TWS earbuds with many configurations, drivers, budgets, and styles. Wired headphones are already seen as an audio niche at this point, with most consumers switching to wireless long ago.

I want to have options and multiple wireless sets and this is something I hope Campfire and others can try to achieve in the long run. Effectively replacing the variety they have in wired form with wireless options.

That’s where they can attack and gain their market share because it will only be in sound. To expect small companies reliant on out-of-house supply chains to take on Apple, Sony, and Sennheiser on features like ANC and software development is not realistic. Without focusing on sound as Campfire has done here, the hobby dies in the long term.

A Hope For The Future of Audiophile IEM’s