HeadphonesNov 5, 2026
Ten people, one workshop, $7,500 earphones: inside campfire audio's portland lab
Official homepage: https://campfireaudio.com Campfire Audio operates out of a small workshop in Portland, Oregon, with a team of about ten people who design, tune, and hand-assemble every earphone the company sells. Founder Ken Ball built the business on an unusual path from plant pathologist to basement cable maker to self-taught acoustic engineer and on an even more unusual philosophy: earphones should be tuned by ear, not by spreadsheet. The result is a cult brand whose emerald-green Andromeda became one of the most influential in-ear monitors of the past decade, and whose 2026 flagship, the $7,500 Chimera, competes at the absolute top of the audiophile market. From Plant Pathology to a Basement Cable Lab Ball's first career had nothing to do …