Astrotec Volans Review

In this article, we review the $329 USD Astrotec Volans In-Ear Monitors. It is currently selling for a discounted price of $279 USD over here.

Disclaimer: HifiGO sent us the Volans IEM for the purpose of this review, free of charge. I only covered customs & taxes. All thoughts and experiences with the product are naturally my own.

Intro

The Chi-Fi market is becoming more and more competitive each passing day and I have zero complaints about that. As a consumer first, I think that the competition between markets has benefited us immensely throughout history. 

The laws of diminishing returns make the market more competitive every day and we, as users, are quite happy with this. We are at such a point that devices have begun to be manufactured where we can get good performance without breaking the bank compared to the past. Let’s see if that is the case with the Volans.

Astrotec

Astrotec was founded in 2002 by several members with more than ten years of experience in the audio equipment industry. “Astrotec” consists of Astro (Astronomy) and Tec (Technology), meaning that Astrotec embodies technical exploration and pursuit. Their headquarters are located in the heart of Shenzhen, the Silicon Valley of China. They specialize in earphones and they design both wireless and wired products.

Volans

Thr Astrotec Volans are a part of Astrotec’s universal IEM line-up. They feature Astrotec’s first brass driver unit. The chambers of the Tesla magnetic driver units are made of brass and the diaphragm is made of multi-layer biological material. They come with a high purity OFC cable to provide the best listening experience. Let’s see how good they are, together.

Specifications & Technical Data

*Driver Unit: 10.5mm Tesla Dynamic Driver

*Impedance: 32 Ohm

*Sensitivity: 110 dB/1mW

*Frequency Response: 8Hz – 40000Hz

*Connector: MMCX

*Cable: High Purity OFC cable

*Cable Length: 1.2±0.03m

*Plug: 3.5mm

Looking at these specs we can see that the Volans with 32 Ohm impedance and 110dB sensitivity does not seem hard to drive. So on paper you don’t need a whole lot of power to feed them. However, I will be using my Gustard X16 & SMSL SP400 desktop rig as the testing bench.

Packaging & Accessories

The Astrotec Volans come in a beautifully designed cardboard box. The box has all the specifications listed on the backside. Upon sliding the cover with the beautiful artwork up, you see a black box that protects the goodies inside. Astrotec included a Pelican type of hard shell carrying case to offer better protection while transporting the IEMs. The case looks high-quality and durable. I think it is waterproof as well. It is big enough to hold both of your IEMs and a Bluetooth adapter like the Shaling UP4. The included cable is made of high purity OFC copper and it has a unique, green-tinted flexible jacket. The Volans come with three sizes of silicone tips and one pair of medium-sized foam tips. They also included a sticker and warranty card of sorts. The overall unboxing experience is good, however, I would appreciate a few more tips and I’ll get to that later.

Design & Fit

I really liked the design of the IEMs. Astrotec offers two color options: Blue and green. My unit is in Blue as you can see from the photos and it has a semi-matte anodized-looking metallic finish. The IEMs are not lightweight and they are made of aluminum. The nozzle part is made of brass because of its acoustic properties. I like the wavy faceplate design cues and overall I think it looks very elegant. The tone of the blue changes with the light and I had fun photographing it. The IEMs are not big and they sit quite well in my ears. However, I must say that the fit and isolation are heavily dependent on the tips that you choose to use. I will cover how the tips affect the sound of the IEMs in the sound chapter so be sure to read it. The isolation is quite good with the foam tips and the aftermarket Ortofon tips. I can listen to the IEM for long periods of time without any discomfort and that is nice.

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

Page 2: Sound Signature, Low, Mid, High, Technical Performance, EarTips, Last Words