Campfire Audio
Portland, Oregon, United States · founded 2015
Campfire Audio is one of the very few premium IEM makers that designs and hand-builds its products in the United States rather than outsourcing to Asia, and its 2016 Andromeda is widely regarded as a landmark that helped bring in-ear monitors into the mainstream audiophile world.
Campfire Audio is a boutique high-end audio company founded in 2015 in Portland, Oregon by Ken Ball, who had previously founded ALO Audio (a maker of high-end headphone cables and portable amplifiers). The company designs and hand-assembles in-ear monitors (IEMs), along with cables and accessories, entirely in Portland — a deliberate contrast to the premium-IEM market, which is manufactured almost entirely in Asia. It is a small operation of roughly 10-11 people, including a three-person engineering team (Ken Ball, Vali Seangly, and Ben Loeliger). Campfire Audio launched its first products in summer 2015 (the Orion, Jupiter, and Lyra) and has since produced over 70 different IEM models. In September 2025 it marked its 10th anniversary with the flagship Andromeda 10.
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At a glance
- Type
- Manufacturer
- Founder
- Ken Ball
- Founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- Portland, Oregon, United States
- Price range
- Premium
- Makes / sells
- in-ear monitors, iems, cables, audio accessories
- Known for
- balanced armature drivers, dynamic drivers, planar magnetic drivers, hybrid/multi-driver IEMs, hand-built in USA, TAEC (Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber)
- Website
- www.campfireaudio.com
Notable products
- Andromeda — Cult-classic multi-balanced-armature IEM launched in 2016; widely credited with helping shift IEMs from stage-monitor tools to mainstream audiophile gear
- Andromeda 10 — 10th-anniversary flagship of the Andromeda line, a 10-BA IEM launched September 2025 at ~$1,799
- Solaris — Long-running hybrid (dynamic + balanced armature) flagship line, refreshed over several generations
- Orion / Jupiter / Lyra — The company's first three earphones, launched summer 2015
- Astrolith — Planar-magnetic IEM in the modern lineup
Sources: Campfire Audio — About Us (official) · Campfire Audio — Hand-Built in Portland (official blog) · audioXpress — Campfire Audio Celebrates 10 Years with Flagship Andromeda 10 IEMs · Forbes — Campfire Audio Unveils Flagship Andromeda 10 Earphones To Celebrate 10th Anniversary · HiFiheadphones — Brand Story: Campfire Audio · Bloom Audio — Campfire Andromeda 10 Review (Andromeda history/2016)