Campfire Audio - Polaris

Initial Impressions after using Polaris with iPhone XR

Some of the online reviews suggested that Polaris is an IEM for ‘Bassheads’ which was slightly worrisome as I do enjoy good bass but not to an extent that you can’t figure out anything else.. Thankfully, it’s NOT!

Polaris V2 (overall much better than V1) is a fun sounding IEM, certainly with elevated bass and treble but both very well tuned, I didn’t observe any muddiness in bass or sibilant treble. I found Mids on V2 more resolved and coherent than on the V1, and it’s not overpowered or recessed. I can say that Polaris V1 was more V Shaped with slightly recessed vocals, but the V2 is a clear improvement over V1 and I am enjoying the vocal clarity and overall instrument balance.

Its not as roomy and airy as Andromeda, but I found no shortage of it either for my taste. However, It may be possible (just my guess) that people who use Andro, find the bass punch on Polaris a little more than their taste and also not as wide sounding than Andro.

Overall performance of Polaris seems kinda genre specific, and also depends on the quality of audio files you feed it

Ear-Tips - Make a significant difference, I randomly tried different combos and it does affect the overall output.

It’s a powerful & fun sounding IEM overall, and I think it will also scale very well with better source

I have been using this for the past couple of days with a Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt and my first impression was great sound but clear yet recessed mids. There is good sound stage but not as good as a open pair like the Audeze iSine. They sound best when the song that you’re listening to is produced really well. I would recommend trying Deadmau5 or Skrillex to really feel the clarity and bass performance of this pair. Build wise these feel very delicate to me, especially the wire and I couldn’t find an exact replacement online so be careful with that. I hope headphone zone starts selling the ‘Smoky Jacket Litz Cable’ soon.

John Darko calls the Campfire Audio Polaris V2 as the IEM for pleasure seekers and not for truth seekers ! That view is spot on. Few quick points after >70hours of listening.
Pros: Bass bass and more thunderous & meaty bass, surprisingly grand & airy sound stage, great for modern music, pop, rock, R&B, comfortable to wear over long listening sessions, low impedance IEM that’s easy to drive and gets loud..really loud, female vocals shine & greatly benefit from the V shaped sound signature, great looking IEM comes with a classy leather pouch, lovely stock cable and a wide variety of tips.
Cons: Not the IEM for detailed & revealing sound, male vocals tend to get overpowered at times, source matching is important, pairs well with a warmer sounding and a low output impedance (<1 ohm) player, comes with wide variety of ear tips that are mostly useless, after endless hours of tip rolling I finally ended up with the stock Final E tips, let’s in copious amount of wind noise (not sure if it’s bcos of the large vented housing), not the last word in value-for-money sound.
PS: Even more robust sound after approx 50hours of burn in (dunno if that’s even a thing scientifically speaking).
Thanks HPZ for bringing us such a wide range of products to India esp niche, enthusiasts brands like Campfire Audio. Big kudos!
Gear used: Polaris V2 with stock 3.5mm single ended Litz cable, Fiio M11 & Shanling M0 DAP, iPhone 11 Pro with Ultrasone Naos.

These earphones are amazing for low end bass and good midrange(Electronic & Pop) . The detail is amazing. I would advise to use the smaller memory foam tips as the broad bore are too bright and the small bore muffles the bass details.
*Warning* - These Iems are very sensitive and really take on the quality/sound signature of your dac. If you have a bright dac the high pitch sound will pierce you ears and if the Dac is too dark/warm the it will muffle the music. I would suggest a neutral dac with low frequency response/floor noise or low Snr value. A little warm dac will also do as the bass in these are so good that the warm signature doesn't muffle the details and roll off the high pitch sounds. Again these are good earphones if you pair it with good DAC so the cost would go up. An alternative to these earphones are the Fiio Fh7 or Dunu 3001 pro

I've been using Campfire Vega from quite a while and never thought any other iem would be come close to its bass. Seems the Polaris did it, not only in bass but with a better soundstage.
John Darko describes the sound of these as a bastard child of Atlas & Andromeda. I do feel it in the sound, though sometimes the treble can get a bit harsh on high volume.
Worth every penny!