Just after their release of the Honeydew and Satsuma, Campfire has already released two more IEMs, the Holocene and Mammoth. Both of these are paired with their new glow in the dark cables. The Mammoth is the cheaper of the two, at $549, alongside the $649 Holocene, both sitting in the middle of the manufactures’ luxury price range. It’s hard to know what to expect form any new Campfire IEM I get, as they all have very similar builds. Let’s dive into what the Mammoth has to offer. 

What’s in the Box

• Campfire Mammoth IEMs
• Carrying case 
• Extra ear tips (foam and rubber)
• Cleaning brush

Look and Feel

These sport Campfire’s go-to geometric, angular design, made to create a comfortable, secure, frictionless fit, which they definitely do in my experience. The metallic blue outer shell has a regal, dramatic look to it, and are a good no-frills statement.

Design

Within their 3D printed acoustic chamber, these use two custom balanced armature drivers, one for the highs and one for the mids, along with a custom 10mm bio-cellulose diaphragm dynamic driver. This dynamic driver is supposed to give an “old-school sound” to the low end. The cable on these has a glowing casing around its MMCX connectors and 3.5mm termination, using silver plated copper litz wire conductors. 

These have a frequency response of 5Hz - 20kHz and an impedance of 8.1 Ohms

Lows

The Mammoth’s punch may be their best characteristic, so if you want attack and thud, these deliver plenty. These also have a fairly deep bass response, very capable of hitting the sub-frequencies as much as the rest of the low end spectrum. The Mammoth keeps a pretty tight grip on the low end, and while we get a thorough representation, it's not booming or rumbling, instead hitting with a rounded point. Listening through the wide array of bass hums, rumbles, and thunderings on Lafawnduh’s album Ancestory Boy, the Mammoth doesn't seem overwhelmed by any of the challenges thrown at them. They offered an intense but controlled, mud-free presentation of the album, just as I'd hoped.  

Mids

These have a more resonant, extenuated mid range with an overall clean, purified sound. There’s some slight coloration throughout the mids, though it tapers off towards the low mids, which have a flatter, more neutral sound. Listening to Noname’s “Window,” the Mammoth’s pointed mids push the vocal out front and give some light warmth to the string arrangement underlying them. These mids may not be for everyone, but in the world of extenuated mids, this was one of the few IEMs to maintain a gentle feel on my fragile, delicate eardrums. 

Highs

The Mammoth errs on the darker side, though is not as intensely blunted as, for example, Campfire’s Honeydew, which has a portion of the high end essentially rolled off. While the highs on the Mammoth don’t feel rolled off, they're definitely cut. At times, this damper high end felt stuffy. However, the Mammoth’s extenuated high-mid makes the dulled edge of their high end feel like a more balanced decision, keeping them from sounding overly-subtractive. If you like a less intense high end, but don’t want a complete obliteration of all bright textures or details, the Mammoth could be up your alley, just do not expect any sort of shine or shimmer from it. 

Soundstage

The Mammoth’s darker, more bass heavy sound weighs down its soundstage a tad. It’s not going to be light and airy, unsurprisingly. This being said, Campfire’s IEMs are never small in terms of width, so even though it may not be their most light and breezy sound, there’s still a large, expanded feel to the Mammoth overall. Vocals get a good platform to dance around on and suspend themselves above any potentially dominating elements or timbres. Percussion feels blended enough to be cohesive, but still separated enough that intricacies can be individually appreciated. Overall, the Mammoth’s soundstage feels consistent with most of Campfire’s expansive sounding IEMs, but is just not served with the airiest of flavors. 

Overall

The Mammoth has a specific enough tuning to make it a satisfying buy for those with more niche taste. However, its sound is not so intensely modulated that it is off-limits from those looking for something versatile and relatively balanced. If you’re ok with a darker high end and crave a strong, but still extra tight bass response, these are definitely in your wheel house. 

Pros

• Deep low end
• Detailed mid range
• Lower price for Campfire

Cons

• Dark high end not for everyone
• Soundstage a bit weighed down
• Extended mid range may feel harsh at times 

You can purchase the Campfire Audio Mammoth here