Pros
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Positive, informative and energetic sound -
Small, light and nicely made -
Good spec and compatibility
Cons
-
Constantly ‘upfront’ attitude can be fatiguing -
Rudimentary user interface -
Not short of (mostly more affordable) competition
Key Features
-
DAC
AKM 4493 SEQ DAC chipset -
File support
32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD playback -
Connections
Balanced and unbalanced outputs
Introduction
Making small audio products look, as well as sound, distinctive is something Campfire Audio of Portland, Oregon has been doing for over a decade now.
The Relay is its first foray into the world of portable USB-powered headphone amp/DACs, though… It’s not as distinctive in appearance as I’ve come to expect from Campfire Audio, that’s for sure – but does it sound any good?
Design
- 57 x 23 x 10mm (HWD)
- anodised aluminium casework
- controls for playback and filter modes
It must be a struggle for a company that’s been known to include a miniature brass hand as a cable support with its more expensive IEM designs to acknowledge that there’s not a lot of scope for design where a product like this one is concerned. Small and light = beautiful when it comes to truly portable headphone amp/DACs, after all…
So the Relay is a genuinely compact 57 x 23 x 10mm (HWD) and its mostly anodised aluminium casework (available only in black) helps keep weight to a bare minimum. The plastic of the rear panel features a window that affords a glimpse of the AKM DAC chip, while at the front Campfire Audio has been unable to resist the temptation to add just a little of its trademark angularity.
The front also features the stylised ‘CA’ logo, and it glows red when the Relay is operating – make changes to the filter or gain settings and it blinks in a different colour (a species of lilac) to confirm your action.
On one side there’s a Mode button that covers play/pause, skip forwards/backwards and allows you toggle between high gain and low gain. On the other there are a couple of buttons – the top one is volume up, the other is volume down. Press and hold them both together and you cycle through your half-a-dozen filter modes.
Oddly, Campfire Audio has a mode it recommends (super slow roll off) for optimal performance – which seems to imply the other five modes are inferior and not really to be used.
Features
- AKM 4493 SEQ DAC chipset
- 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD playback
- Balanced and unbalanced outputs
There’s a USB-C slot on the top of the Relay, and the company provides a mercifully short length of braided (and branded) USB-C / USB-C cable to connect the device to your laptop or smartphone. The Relay is compatible with Windows, Mac OS, Android and iOS devices, though Windows 7/8 will require a driver to be downloaded.
Incoming digital audio files are dealt with by an AKM 4493 SEQ DAC chipset that Campfire Audio has selected for its “incredible tonality and analogue warmth”. It’s capable of dealing with DSD and PCM content of up to 32-bit/768kHz resolution.
Once the AKM has done its thing, analogue signals are output via two low-noise, high-output drivers – one feeds an unbalanced 3.5mm socket, the other a 4.4mm balanced equivalent. These outputs are positioned on the bottom of the device.
Performance
- Positive, upfront sound
- Nice tonal balance
- Enthusiastic will eventually become tiring
Campfire Audio suggests the Relay performs at its best when the volume of the source device it’s connected to is set to Maximum. The Relay has a 60-step volume control, so it’s not difficult to get a level of output you’re comfortable with.
And once you’ve done so, there’s plenty to enjoy about the work the Relay does on your digital audio files.
Connected via USB-C to an Apple MacBook Pro at one end and a pair of Meze Audio 105 AER via a 3.5mm unbalanced connection at the other, and with a 24-bit/48kHz FLAC file of Field Medic’s Surrender Instead playing, the Campfire Audio device turns in a performance of positivity and no little enthusiasm. There’s a direct and upfront character to its sound that’s present, to a lesser or greater extent, in everything it does.
The tonal balance is, sure enough, very nicely judged and convincingly naturalistic. Frequency response, too, is even-handed and confident – the Relay digs deep at one end of the frequency range and extends a long way at the other, but at no point does it reveal any partiality. No area is understated, no area is overplayed – it’s a smooth and even transition from one end to the other.
Detail levels are high at every point. The Relay is attentive to the broad strokes of a recording, but keeps a close eye on transients and minor occurrences – and at every stage, it’s talented enough to give even the finest details the appropriate weighting.
Bass sounds are textured and varied, treble sounds have their fluctuations described just as readily as their substance or brilliance. And in between, the Relay describes voices with just as much attention paid to character and emotional state as to enunciation or technique. Here in the midrange is where the AKM DAC’s excellent tonality is most valuable.
The Campfire Audio unifies all of these aspects of a recording into something very much like a ‘performance’, too – there’s a singularity to the way it presents music that is a big part of its direct and upfront nature.
The soundstage it creates is wide and well defined, with elbow-room to spare even in a recording as relatively complex as Talking Heads’ I Zimbra. The same positive, forward character means that there’s not a huge amount of ‘front/back’ to the soundstage, though – every element in the recording seems to be engaged in a battle to muscle its way to the front.
Rhythmic expression is good, thanks to the amount of control over low-frequency attack the Relay exerts, and momentum is significant as a result. And there’s sufficient dynamic headroom available to make variations in volume or intensity pretty plain.
The Relay’s unwavering attitude of enthusiasm, its endlessly upfront and direct nature is the closest it has to an undoing, though. This kind of effervescence and sonic excitement is engaging with doubt – but its relentlessness eventually can become rather wearying, especially when the Campfire Audio attempts to bring this gusto to bear on recordings that aren’t supposed to have their eyes out on stalks.
Should you buy it?
You’re in need of some more ‘life’ with your music
You have a laptop or smartphone that needs an (only partially metaphorical) audio rocket up its behind
There’s such a thing as “too much”
There’s such a thing as “too much”
Forward and forceful don’t strike you as especially positive ways of describing sound
Final Thoughts
I’ve had a soft spot for Campfire Audio almost from the get-go – it’s hard not to admire its wilfulness and complete disregard for whatever any nominal rival is doing.
The Relay, though, is not the most Campfire Audio product I’ve ever heard – it seems to want to do the same thing, in the same way, as everybody else and look pretty much the same as everybody else as it does so.
And with its essential Campfire Audio-ness removed, there’s not a lot to differentiate it from a plethora of competing products.
Trusted Score
How We Test
I used the Campfire Audio Relay, on and off, for well over a week.
I connected to the USB-C output of my Apple MacBook Pro and the equivalent output of my FiiO M15S – this allowed me to use the Relay both indoors and outdoors, and it also allowed me to compare the quality of its decoding a) against a machine with absolutely rotten DAC abilities, and b) against a machine with very, very good decoding on board.
I listened to lots of different types of music, lots of different file types and lots of different resolutions, using both the 3.5mm and the 4.4mm outputs and a fair variety of IEMs and over-ear headphones.
- Tested for a week
- Tested with real world use
FAQs
How many finishes are available?
Just the one – the black finish in the photographs. Campfire Audio provides a microfibre cleaning cloth and a cushioned bag to keep it looking good
Campfire Audio suggests using an Apple Camera Adapter, because “Lightning connection features a power-limiting mechanism that restricts the performance of your Relay”
Full Specs
| Campfire Audio Relay Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £229 |
| USA RRP | $229 |
| EU RRP | €229 |
| CA RRP | CA$299 |
| AUD RRP | AU$399 |
| Manufacturer | Campfire Audio |
| Size (Dimensions) | 23 x 10 x 57 MM |
| ASIN | B0FG9ZT16B |
| DAC | AKM 4493 SEQ |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| Resolution | x |
| Connectivity | Wired |
| Audio Formats | PCM, DSD |
| Inputs | USB-C |
| Outputs | 3.5mm single-ended; 4.4mm balanced |
Trusted Score
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