About Campfire Audio
Campfire Audio founded in 2015 and based in Portland, Oregon, began as a passionate project by Ken Ball, known as the founder of ALO Audio. Driven by his vision to merge high quality craftsmanship with audiophile-grade performance. The progress and achievements of the brand are remarkable. When experiencing their products, it’s astonishing to realize they’ve achieved so much in just a decade.  

In today’s market, where outsourcing is the norm, Campfire audio specializes in exceptional handcrafted in-ear monitors. Each IEM is assembled at their Portland workshop. A dedicated team manages every detail; from the precise driver matching, housing assembly to the final tuning and quality control. This ensures that each product meets their exact high standards. Their choice to build everything in-house is truly admirable.

Campfire Audio makes use of hybrid and multi-driver technologies, combining balanced armature and dynamic drivers. They use innovations such as the tuned acoustic expansion chamber (T.A.E.C.) and the polarity tuned chamber. With there powerful brand identity, enforced by storytelling with product names like their famous Andromeda , Solaris or the Trifecta

Campfire Audio constantly explores new materials, new principles and tuning techniques to refine their products. Whether you’re a devoted audiophile or someone who just loves to listen to their favorite track. Their earphones connect you deeply to the music.

The Alien Brain is one of their new models. From the moment you see them, the productname makes sense. With their beautiful design, striking purple ‘brains’ and sleek black metal housing, they create high expectations for how they’ll sound.

• 1 × 10 mm dual-magnet dynamic driver (glass-PU diaphragm)
• 2 x custom midrange balanced armatures
• 2 x custom treble balanced armatures
• Frequency response 5 Hz – 20,000 Hz
• Impedance 7.8 Ω
• Sensitivity 8.97 mVrms / ~94 dB

In the box:

• Alien Brain IEM
• Time Stream Cables: 3.5mm & 4.4mm balanced
• USB-C DAC Dongle 32 bit / 384 kHz – 1 Vrms
• Leather Case
• Two-pocket mesh bag
• Eartips (S, M, L):
  • Foam
  • Silicone
  • High tr action silicone
  • Clear traction silicone
• IEM Cleaning Tool

Test equipment:

• Chord TT2 + Chord MScaler
• Mojo2 + Poly
• Shanling UA6
• Shanling M8T
• Included Campfire Audio Dongle

SOUND QUALITY

Treble
The treble is airy, open and refined. Campfire has wisely avoided pushing the highs too far. There’s sparkle when needed, detail when deserved, but never a hint of harshness or fatigue. The Alien Brain doesn’t sound artificial, it uncovers delicate upper harmonics and subtle textures that many IEMs gloss over in my experience.

Midrange
Midrange is full-bodied and organic, with vocals that come alive in a space of their own. Male voices have weight, female voices shimmer without edge. There’s a slight recession in the upper mids, which adds a sense of depth without making the sound hollow. Instruments like a grand piano, saxophone or trombone have a nice weight. It’s the kind of lovely midrange that doesn’t try to be noticed, but is there.

Bass
The bass is where the Alien Brain really surprises. It doesn’t slam for the sake of it, but digs deep with control and precision. Sub-bass reaches low, giving tracks that satisfying rumble. The mid-bass stays tight and quick and never bleeds into the mids. There’s texture here, not just volume. You hear; the shape of each note, the pull of a string, the pressure behind a kick drum, but nothing of it is overwhelming.

Soundstage
Perhaps most striking is the huge soundstage. It expands in all directions with real dimensionality and air. The imaging is pinpoint, with a convincing sense of space between instruments. There’s height, depth and perfect placement. Instruments occupy distinct positions within the soundstage, with clean separation that feels organic rather than forced.

PAIRING
The Campfire Audio Alien Brain is not your average IEM, an artistic rebellion wrapped in a sculptural shell. But what truly makes it shine is how it scales, adapts and transforms depending on what you feed it.

Paired with the Chord TT2 and M Scaler, the Alien Brain reveals an extraordinary sense of structure. The layering becomes architectural, as if you’re walking through a cathedral of sound, with reverb and decay flowing like light through stained glass. The treble gains refinement, the bass a ghostlike reach. Every transient is outlined with surgical precision, yet the musicality never feels clinical, that is the amazing part. This pairing is for those who want to hear everything and then some.

On the Mojo 2 + Poly, things become more intimate, but you feel the Chord signature shine through. Here, the Alien Brain leans towards the warmer side and is more textured. Vocals feel like they’re whispering in your ear, with a nice smoothness that flatters acoustic instruments. It’s less holographic than the TT2 chain, but more personal. It’s the difference between a grand concert hall and a velvet-draped jazz lounge.

The Shanling M8T brings out the IEM’s fluidity and richness, especially in tube triode mode and ultra lineair, the Alien Brain sings with more nuance and color then with the TT2. Timbres are tactile, bass has that lovely Shanling elasticity and the upper mids feel open and expansive. It’s the kind of setup that makes you forget about gear entirely and just sink into the music.

On the portable Shanling UA6, the Alien Brain refuses to compromise. Despite its smaller size, this pairing offers impressive clarity, tight low-end control and a musical flow which is rare for a dongle DAC. It won’t push the boundaries like the other options do, but it keeps the essence of the Alien Brain intact.

The included Campfire Audio dongle did sound better than expected. If you want to unlock the full potential of the Alien Brain, it’s more of a convenient solution than a performance-oriented one, which is fully understandable of course. 

LISTENING IMPRESSIONS
When it comes to reviewing a high-end IEM like the Alien Brain, the true measure lies in how well it conveys nuances, spatial depth and tonal balance. The following selection of music was chosen by me to explore a wide range of sonic attributes; from microdetail and imaging to rhythm and textures, offering a complete picture of what the Alien Brain has to offer. The music illustrates what I’ve tried to convey above. I listened with all devices, but based my final impressions on the TT2 + M Scaler to ensure there were no limitations at the source.

Jerry Goldsmith – Alien: Main Title
This cinematic opening is a slow-burn descent into deep space unease. From the first low string tremors, the Alien Brain rendered a vast and unsettling atmosphere with chilling precision. The layering of orchestral textures, muted horns and those eerie high-pitched dissonances were presented with perfect clarity. Every swell and shimmer unfolded with ghostly realism.
The headphones excelled in reproducing the vast spatial depth and haunting stillness of the track; you don’t just hear the void, you feel it! The Alien Brain was right at home here.

ZAZ – Paris: Paris sera toujours Paris
With its vintage charm and raw vocal energy, this track brims with personality. ZAZ’s voice had natural grit and warmth, while the backing band swinged with organic liveliness. The Alien Brain delivered the punchy accordion, upright bass and rhythm section with precision. 

Catherine Russell – bring it back: You got to swing and sway
A lively jazz track where timing is everything. The Alien Brain preserved the groove and vintage brass tones without smearing transients. The double bass was articulate and controlled. The piano sparkled and Russell’s voice was strong and playful. Listening to this tune with the Alien Brain was a real joy.

Triosence & Sara Gazarek – Where the time stands still: Like the wind
This track balances emotional intimacy with harmonic richness. The synergy between Gazarek’s smooth vocals and Triosence’s acoustic trio shined through. The Alien Brain rendered the piano’s warmth and the breathy finesse of the vocals beautifully, maintaining air and control even in more complex passages. The soundstage layering and vocal realism was stunning. I recommend listening to this album with the Alien Brain.

Karajan – Conducts Tchaikovsky:  Symphony No. 1 in G Minor (Op. 13 – I. Dreams of a Winter Journey)
An orchestral giant. From the softest string murmurs to the full crescendo of the ensemble, this piece stretches any IEM’s ability to resolve layers without congestion. There was stunning separation, in weight and bloom, especially in the strings and woodwinds. And throughout, it preserved the emotional tension Karajan masterfully builds with Berlin’s finest. The orchestral scale and resolution was played flawlessly. My compliments for Campfire Audio.

Eric Clapton – Me and Mr. Johnson: When You Got a Good Friend
Raw blues, Clapton’s slide guitar work and vocal delivery were exposed and intimate. The Alien Brain presented the grit and texture of his guitar with exceptional edge definition, while keeping the midrange lush. The bass was never overpowering, but there when it needed to be.

• Outstanding clarity, balance & detail
  The Alien Brain has an exceptional resolution and tonal balance across the whole frequency response, there are excellent macro- and microdynamics

• Tight, punchy bass
  The low end delivers with authority, well-controlled and textured without sounding bloated. The bass digs deep yet stays fast and agile

• Clean, natural mids & imaging
  The midrange strikes a beautiful balance between warmth and precision. Vocals feel organic and alive, while instruments are rendered with clarity and detail

• Premium Build & comprehensive accessories
  The design stands out, the stainless steel housing with a unique “alien brain” finish feels solid and artistic. The package includes balanced and single ended cables, an usb-c dac, a wide selection of ear tips and a leather case

• Impressively easy to drive
  With a low impedance around 7.8 ohms, the Alien Brain pairs easily with most portable gear, delivering solid performance even from smartphones and compact dac’s. That said, they scale remarkably well, as my tests clearly demonstrated

Cons

• Slightly forward soundstage
  The soundstage has a frontal character, spacious in width but sometimes lacking just a little in depth, this means imaging is very good but not laser-precise

• Treble texture can feel dry or restrained
  The treble leans toward the safe side. It’s smooth and non-intrusive, but may feel slightly rounded off or dry to those who prefer a more shimmering or sparkly top end

• Source-sensitive
  Due to its high sensitivity, the Alien Brain can reveal hiss or background noise when paired with high power sources, they perform best with clean, low-noise sources. I didn’t encounter any issues with my own setup, but its low impedance is definitely something to keep in mind

• Fit requires trial & error
  Though the shell is compact and ergonomically shaped, getting a perfect seal may take some experimenting. Tip rolling is essential to achieve both comfort and an optimal bass response 

Product page Campfire Audio Alien Brain