Nostalgia Audio Camelot – Review

Specifications  

For the nitpickers and nerdy ones here, I’m giving the specs and technical sheets. For all the others, you can just go to the next page to see how the Nostalgia Audio Camelot performs.

Dynamic drivers + Armature drivers + Electrostatic drivers

If I’m used to multi-drivers IEM – up to 12 drivers with my UM Maestro – manufacturers don’t mix more than two types of transducers usually, with dynamic ones for the lows and balanced ones for the mids/highs. But, with the Camelot, Nostalgia has gone bonkers, packing everything they could in their new flagship.

Inside, you find:

• 2x 10mm wide dynamic drivers for the lows, equipped with N52 Neodymium Magnet and Polyethylene naphthalate diaphragm. On paper that makes them easier to drive and provides quicker, deeper bass with a stunning performance
• 4x Balanced armatures dedicated for mid and high frequencies, combined with SFD system, “ designed to reduce losses from the tube curvature, presenting a smooth, sweet vocal also detailed highs and extensions”
• 4x Electrostatic drivers, designed for ultra-high frequencies that should, normally, provide detailed highs and airy sounding, like high-end speakers

Yes, you read that right, electrostatic drivers, the same one found on Stax headphones and Martin Logan speakers, but miniaturized. To implement them, Nostalgia audio installed a custom-designed voltage transformer, that allows the drivers to work simply powered by your usual DAP or DAC/Amp. Crazy!

Extreme Bass System + Spiral Flow design

I do like bass, but it seems like Nostalgia loves them even more; so much they implemented an Extreme Bass System, or XBS, to reach the lowest of the lows. To do so, the brand took two dynamic drivers and then blended them into one single brass chamber-o to reduce the Acoustic Resonance and maximize the bass performance. And, with a dual 10mm set, results should be… impressive to say the least.

In parallel, to create the perfect crossover, the Camelot also gets a helical formation, incorporated as a ridge, to induce a spiral pattern of flow, reducing loss caused by the curvature of the nozzle. Labeled the SFD or Spiral Flow Design, this nozzle, specially designed for enhancing the mids performance in Camelot, follows the same principle found on Empire Ears IEMs like the Odyssey. 

Add to that a hidden vent port, a 3D-printed internal chamber for the dynamic drivers, plus a four-bore output, and you’re good to go! Go big or go home!

Bundle

Inside the box

I’m a bit mixed regarding the Nostalgia audio Camelot. If the box design is simply gorgeous, with a custom-made etching displaying the fort of Camelot, the bundle itself is a tad dire. In the box, you get:

• the Nostalgia Audio Camelot
• a 2-pin cable with a nice braided sheath and 4.4mm rhodium-plated plug, named Avalon
• a leather case
• some Dekoni washable foam tips
• a set of Symbio W Memory Foam & Silicone Hybrid Ear Tips 

A basic bundle but… look at this cable! I know that for $2599 you’d expect the cable to be/look nice, but quite honestly, that isn’t always the case and some brands like EarSonics tend to offer less-than-adequate ones with their flagship…

Bonus point for that one!

Additional accessories

To be fair, the Camelot comes with everything you might need. So, the only thing that you could add, would be a good DAC or DAP. Personally, I chose the FiiO M17 as my main source and the ddHiFi TC44C on the go, but any audiophile source should make it work.

Full specs

• Model: Nostalgia Audio Camelot
• Type: IEM
• Style: tri-brid IEM with dynamic/armatures/electrostatic
• Drivers: 2x10mm DD + 4x BA + 4x Electrostatic
• Socket: 2-pin
• Cable: 4 Strands 22 AWG High Purity OFC and OCC copper
• Shell: 3D printed Acrylic
• Frequency Response: 15Hz- 40kHz
• Impedance: 13 ohms
• Sensitivity: 114dB
• Sound Isolation (up to): 30dB
• Cable length: 120cm
• Weight: 31g
• Price: $2599 USD

The review continues on Page Four, after the click HERE or by using the jump below.