Campfire Audio Orbit True Wireless

[MSRP $249.99, purchased at full price in May from Campfire.com)]

[Tl;dr: These are fanstastic headphones. Period. For me, their use case is a little more limited but that’s more a function of how unexpectedly great the AirPods Pro 2 is, and the number of niche headphones I have for specific use cases. I commend these to the attention of anyone looking for a premium pair of true wireless ear buds, especially if they’re not already locked into the Apple ecosystem.]

Scores:

Cost-agnostic: 9 out of 10 Denalis

Cost-sensitive: 8 out of 10 Denalis

 

Intro. I’ve been intrigued by Campfire Audio for a long time. They’re a Portland-based manufacturer that is best known for pretty universally-acclaimed wired in-ear monitors (IEMs). I’ve never owned a pair, mostly because I’m not the biggest fan of IEMs for most of my use cases (preferring open-backed cans or speakers where usable, and preferring the convenience of wireless where not). When I heard that Campfire was releasing a true wireless system, I decided it was worth picking up a pair at retail. I have not been disappointed, mostly.

 

Sound. The sound quality is so good! They sound fantastic and give really good, accurate reproduction of a variety of musical genres.  The soundstage is really wide, if not super deep, and you get really great separation between instruments on tracks like Daft Punk’s “Face to Face”, including between the two different guitar riff samples that make up the main theme. The storm on “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors starts far out to the left and gradually transitions across the soundstage over the course of the track. Great dynamics and punch, without being overpowering or off-putting. The balance is also very well done; on “Clair De Lune” by Flight Facilities, the transition at the beginning from rain to the cello (synth cello?) to Christine Hoberg’s ethereal and dreamy vocals are beautifully done and perfectly balanced, and some other headphones make the transition slightly jarring.

 

Treble: Maybe the one criticism I’d offer of the Orbit is that the treble can be a little muted, albeit still quite clear and crisp (and that slight muting makes tracks like Vampire Weekend’s “2021” arguably sound better). For purposes of this review I didn’t spend much time playing with the EQ in the Campfire app, and it may be possible to tune around this.

 

That all said, the trumpet on Brasstracks’ “Intro” comes through bright and brassy but not painfully so, which is really all I need from treble.

 

Midrange: This is probably the strength of the Orbit. Vocals are clear and rich and forward without being overpowered. Jill Scott’s voice soars on “Calls” (by Robert Glasper), and you can feel Amelia Meath (of Sylvan Esso)’s quaver and control on “Coffee.”

 

Bass: This is the best, most consistent base I’ve heard from an earbud in quite a long time. It’s clear, nimble, and punchy where it needs to be without being distracting. Janet Jackson’s “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” is the yardstick against which I measure the bass on all speakers, and these knock it out of the park. Clear, crisp, separated notes, without any slop or roll-off.

 

Spatial Audio. Nope!

 

Noise canceling. No active noise canceling, but pretty decent passive isolation if you can get a good fit. One of the criticisms I’ve seen in reviews of the Orbit has been difficulty in getting a good fit with the included array of foam and silicon ear tips, but for me it was pretty easy to get a good, consistent fit. I think you’re probably better off with something like an AirPods Pro 2 or a pair of active noise canceling cans like the Bose 700 if you’re in a really loud environment, but even on a plane over the weekend the Orbit did a good job of mellowing out background sound and letting me hear even pretty quiet dialog in movies or TV shows.

 

That said, I’ve gotten pretty used to being able to turn on transparency mode in order to remain aware of my surroundings, particularly when I’m out and about, and that’s just not an option with these. For better or worse, when they’re in, you’re not going to hear much that’s going on around you.

 

Controls. Pause/play, skip, etc., controlled by tapping the outside of the earbuds, and adjustable through the Campfire app. This is maybe my least favorite part of the experience with the Orbit; the touch sensitivity is both too high and too low, somehow. Using the touchpads can mean pushing the earbuds uncomfortably fair into your ears, and trying to adjust the fit while music is playing can inadvertently result in stopping or skipping tracks. Personally, I think I will end up turning off all of the touch controls and using my watch or phone to control playback.

 

Connectivity. Bluetooth only. For all of the devices I connected, I had to download the Campfire App, which is not optimal when traveling. I’d prefer headphones to be able to connect automatically, with the app only required for additional functionality like EQ and updates.  That said, this is a new product and I’m not sure if the app is required because most devices don’t have the required drivers.

 

Other people have had difficulty with connections dropping or not being made when initially putting them on. For me, I’ve had occasional issues when taking one earbud out, but it’s always been solvable by putting both earbuds back into the case, closing the case, and starting over.

 

Comfort. They’re really comfortable, at least with the silicon tips. I’ve not experimented much with the foam tips, because I haven’t needed to. I have worn these earbuds for a few hours at a time while hanging out at the Denver airport, and they never felt uncomfortable.

 

Construction. They’re surprisingly light, and constructed primarily of plastic. I like the flip top case, though the buds can be a little difficult to get out of the case because of the way the lid folds back. I’d put this on par with the AirPods Pro 2.

 

Also, god bless USB-C charging.

 

Appearance. I wish they came in colors other than beige, but they’re … fine. I mean, most of Campfire’s products are genuinely beautiful and well designed, so I’ll be curious to see if they upgrade the appearance over time.

 

But seriously, y’all. The packaging. Top tier. Beautiful, and the unboxing was a really fun experience.

 

Value. This is a premium product at a premium price. They’re roughly comparable to the AirPods Pro 2 in price, and cheaper than the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless at MSRP (though both the AirPods and the Sennheiser are frequently on sale, and as a new product, the Orbit isn’t).  

 

Would I love them a lot more at $150? Sure. But I’m not mad about paying $250.

 

Comparisons. Here’s where Campfire is going to have a problem with market adoption. There’s a pretty big field of premium true wireless headsets out there, and many of them are either 1) true startups willing to charge less and burn through Series A – B funding or 2) backed by major corporations that can get economies of scale (and who have large lines to integrate into, or large engineering teams that can churn out updates). Campfire is relatively small, and they only make headphones.

 

The sort of obvious comparisons in my collection are the Apple AirPods (Pro 2 and Gen 3), the Beats Studio Buds, and the Jabra Active 65t. For me, the sound quality is clearly and substantially better than any of those except maybe the Pro 2. I probably even like the sound of the Orbits better than the Pro 2, but I’m pretty sure I’m mostly going to keep reaching for the AirPods, and here’s why: it’s a better fit for my primary use cases. I mostly use earbuds in my office (when I want to be able to hear my coworkers/someone walking up behind me), walking around the street (where I want to be able to hear traffic), or during focus time. The Pro2 transparency mode is perfect for the first two, and the noise-canceling setting pretty near perfect for the third. If I was going to be in focus mode for a few hours, I might grab the Orbits out of my bag, but I think ultimately they’re going to be a victim of how surprisingly and effortlessly good the Pro 2 are. Plus, as an Apple fanboi, they just play well with almost all of my devices, in and out of the office.

Overall.  The Orbits are a fantastic product that may be hampered by a crowded marketspace dominated by big players with a huge share of the rest of the consumer electronics space. That said, I think they’re the best sounding earbuds I’ve ever had, and they’ll definitely be living in my bag for the foreseeable future. I’ll be curious to see over the next few months how often I reach for them for a slightly richer, fuller sound. I’m tempted to try them out at the gym (they are IXP5 rated, after all).

 

#reviews #headphones #apple #anc #bluetooth #spatialaudio #earbuds #beats