Campfire Satsuma

disclaimer:  The Campfire Satsuma was sent to me by The Contraptionist for review.   If you haven’t checked out the Contraptionist’s blog, be sure to check it out.  He’s got a ton of good content and a lot of models that complement what can be found here.  Well worth a look.     I have no financial interest in  Campfire Audio, nor have I received any advice or incentive for this review.  I returned the product at completion so had the Satsuma for a span of roughly 3 weeks.   For more information or to purchase a Satsuma, see Campfire’s site.

 

Unboxing / Packaging:

Campfire’s packaging on these is quite unique as it has an outer wrap over the box with the label on front showing the brand information and the earpieces and a foil seal on the reverse holding the wrap in place.  When removed the petals unfold to reveal a starburst pattern with the box at center.  The box itself uses Campfire’s star field pattern as we’ve seen in most of their packaging for quite some time now.   The soft case takes up most of the space and the earpieces themselves are shipped in a two pocket bag inside the case to prevent scratches in transit.    The Kit includes earpieces, cable, a soft zipper case, two of the two-pocket bags for earpieces and tips, a large assortment of 3 styles of tips (Silicons, Foams, and Final Audio E series), and a cleaning tool.   The requisite warranty card is also in the bottom of the package.   Overall, its a well thought out kit with plenty of protective packaging and tip options.

 

Build/Fit:

The Satsuma and Honeydew models represent Campfire’s first foray into 3D printing and while the external shape is similar to the familiar metal shell that the classic Campfire line-up uses, the basic shape is the only thing they have in common.  The bulk of the shell is a bright orange polymer, but the nozzle is stainless steel with a small lip and integral grill.   Nozzles have a slight forward and upward rake when seated in the ear and insertion depth is fairly deep.   The Satsuma sits comfortably in  the ear and I had no problem with comfort for extended wear.    With the lighter material used, isolation is only average.    Perhaps the biggest advantage to 3D printing shells is the ability to tune the inner chamber to a specific driver.  In the case of the Satsuma it uses a single ported balanced armature while the Honeydew uses a single 10mm dynamic driver.  The outside of the shells look nearly identical, but the inner chambers are a stark contrast as can be seen below in the internals sections.

 

Internals:

The Satsuma uses a single ported balanced armature driver in a custom tuned housing that Campfire refers to as a Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber (TAEC).   Nominal impedance is listed as 46Ω with a sensitivity listed as 94 dB/mV.   Remember dB/mV is not the same as dB/mW so this should not be compared directly to models using dB/mW measurements.   I found the Satsuma was fairly easy to drive and worked well when combined with a phone and dongle, but did scale some qualitatively with better sources.   High powered sources like the Kann Alpha do have some hiss and are best avoided or used on the lowest gain setting to avoid hearing the noise floor.   Vented balanced armatures are increasingly being used to extend the range of a single armature or tune the range of an armature in multi-set operations.

Cable:

The cable that ships with the Satsuma is a new model as well.  It is a litz cable with a 90º 3.5mm jack, a 4 wire twist up to the black aluminum splitter, a chin slider, and a looser 2 wire twist up to the earhooks and beryllium Copper mmcx connectors.     While outwardly appearing to the same as the previous models, internally the new cable is 4 silver plated copper strands.   Not only is silver plating a new item, the gauge of the wire is slightly smaller than the previous model as well which gives the new cable its nickname “smoky lite” in Campfire’s literature.

 

Sound:

Bass:

I wasn’t expecting miracles from a single balanced armature as bass is one thing even multi-ba designs struggle with and the Satsuma holds true to expectations.  While some sub-bass is present it is far from emphasized and it lacks that visceral thump of something like the Honeydew.   Mid-bass is much better represented in the mix and has good texture and clarity.   Overall, I think bass is improved over what we saw in the Comet with a bit more sub-bass presence but still is a very decidedly balanced armature bass with limited extension and dynamics but solid detail and textures. In many ways it is the antithesis of the Honeydew with its monster bass.  Here we have great control and less quantity.

 

Mids:

Lower mids are slightly recessed but still have good texture and their is no bleed to obscure what is there.   Male vocals have good timbre and enough weight to keep from sounding thin but sometimes have trouble cutting through busy mixes.  Strings have good tonality and enough energy to project well.  Female vocals are a bit more forward and have a bit more presence than their male counterparts.    Those looking for big mids in the budget segment will like what the Satsuma delivers as the mids are arguably its best feature.

 

Treble:

There is a lower treble push forward that helps with vocal presence but is kept in check where it doesn’t get harsh or strident.   Snare rattle is nice and crisp as well but cymbals can be a little splashy and metallic depending on the recording and source.   This may be partially due to a marked emphasis in the 7-9kHz range that gives the Satsuma a nice open top end but also can be prone to becoming harsh if not paired well.       Overall the treble is very smooth and a touch warm so the peaks are not particularly dominant features of the landscape but that makes the places the harshness does show up that much more noticeable.

 

Soundstage / Imaging:

Stage on the Satsuma is rather intimate with limited dimensions in height, width, and depth.   Instrument separation is good enough to keep things from sounding crowded but there is no denying that the Satsuma is more of a personal show than a concert hall sound.   Seating the orchestra does compact the positions quite a bit but does manage to maintain decent clarity despite the small dimensions.    Layering is good and imaging is reasonably good with sounds easily defined in space and movement easily tracked around the limited stage.   I didn’t find any compression but with the limited bass presentation I really didn’t expect I would.

 

Thoughts / Conclusion:

The Satsuma is an obvious successor to the Campfire Comet which as arguably the first budget model made by Campfire as it was the first to break the $200 barrier.    It may be somewhat questionable that the Satsuma bears the same price tag as the Comet when the material cost should be markedly lower, but the engineering and improvements in sound over the Comet do show that the Satsuma is more than just a repackaging of existing designs.   Fit is improved, signature is improved, and price has remained the same.  In that sense the Satsuma is a win.    Campfire has now dropped Comet from the catalog so they are certainly betting on Satsuma to fill its shoes.     The Satsuma bucks the current trend of deep V tuned in ears that aim to please those listening to popular genres and is better suited to jazz, ensemble pieces, and vocals.   Those looking for an in-ear for Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker” will be better served by the Honeydew while those more interested in Miles Davis’ “So what” or Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” will appreciate the Satsuma.