Introduction –

Campfire have very quickly achieved mass popularity on account of their exceptional flagship earphones and unique designs realised through flawless manufacturing; something that extends even to their most affordable Orion. And like so many others, I hold their Andromeda and Vega in high regard, both are incredibly well-executed flagship earphones with distinct tonalities. However, Campfire’s midrange models aren’t quite so discussed and it brings me greater joy as a reviewer to evaluate these less coveted offerings that get overshadowed by the all alluring flagships and widely accessible budget models. The Lyra II perhaps best suits this description, at the time of writing, there are just 4 photos of the Lyra on Instagram and a mere handful of full reviews on the net. However, though sitting at the base of Campfire’s 3 dynamic driver offerings, the Lyra II is still not to be underestimated and its $699 USD asking price justifies Campfire’s confidence in its performance relative to the greater market. Let’s see how the Lyra II performs.

Disclaimer –

I would like to thank JD from Campfire Audio very much for his quick communication and for providing me with the Lyra II for the purpose of review. All words are my own and there is no monetary incentive for a positive review. Despite receiving the earphones free of cost, I will attempt to be as objective as possible in my evaluation.

Accessories –

The Lyra II comes packaged within a bold red box that contrasts to the blue boxes of their balanced armature based models. Upon opening the box, users are greeted by Campfire’s terrific zippered leather case with faux shearling interior that is both protective and luxurious.

Just inside lies the earphones themselves individually draped to prevent scratches during transit. Campfire include 3 pairs of foam tips, 3 pairs of silicone tips and 3 pairs of authentic spinfits with every earphone. They also provide some warranty papers and a decorative pin.

It’s a nice package that offers buyers plenty of fit flexibility and Campfire’s signature case remains one of the best solutions on the market. I would like to see some Comply foam tips in future though the included tips are all of pleasing quality.

Design –

It doesn’t take long to appreciate the meticulous detail that went into the production of the Lyra II. The experience will be very familiar to Dorado or Vega users and smaller eared listeners will find a more agreeable experience here than with Campfire’s BA earphones.

The Lyra II is very compact and smoothly formed, promoting an ergonomic fit. Utilizing liquid alloy, the housings feel almost impervious to any kind of stress and the finish is excellent with perfectly joined halves and a tasteful satin purple colour scheme that doesn’t draw attention in public. The plastic nozzles form a continuation of the protruding housings lending them towards a deep fit depth and a small ridge reliably holds tips.

During wear, the earphones continue to impress, their small housings enabling minimal ear contact and excellent long-term comfort during my 2 months of testing. Due to their smaller size, they don’t lock into the ear quite like the BA Campfires but achieve excellent stability through fit depth and an over-ear fit. The Lyra II stay put perfectly during a recent 6km run and posed no issues during daily commute. Some driver flex was present but it is far less prevalent than on the Polaris and hasn’t caused any noticeable degradation.

The earphones do have a small top-mounted vent but isolation remains very impressive with minimal wind noise when outside. Combined with their fit depth and when equipped with a pair of Comply foams, the Lyra II isolates almost as much as Campfire’s sealed armature earphones, putting them among the most attenuating earphones on the market. This makes them perfect for travel and public transport.

The Lyra II utilizes a removable MMCX cable with custom beryllium copper connectors that promise to vastly increase longevity. In use, the connectors are solid with even tension and devoid of intermittency or wobble. Campfire’s silver plated Litz cable is also excellent, easily among the best manufacturer included units on the market. The cable has a typical round 4-conductor braid with smooth, supple sheathing that makes the wire both tangle resistant and super compliant. All terminations are well relieved, especially the beefy right angle jack, this is a fantastic cable.

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