In this review, I’ll try to figure out whether the Softears Volume S is worth of the brand’s hi-end pedigree. The unit costs $319 USD.

Disclaimer: Shenzhen Audio is not related to Headfonia. They sent me the Softears Volume S free of charge to be featured on Headfonia.com.

Softears

Hailing from China, Softears have been working hard since 2017 to establish and hold their position as one of the staples in the high-end IEM segment. In early 2018 Softears launched themselves in the IEM scene with two formidable flagship models – the Cerberus and RS10. Both have “Headfonia Recommended” awards and their following models have been well-received as well.

Softears come from Chengdu and share some R&D and manufacturing resources with another chi-fi giant – Moondrop. Some of the IEMs from both brands share the same in-house designed balanced armature drivers. Softears consistently focuses on the upper echelons of the IEM market and has both multi-driver hybrid designs as well as high-performing single dynamic driver IEMs like the well-regarded Twilight.

Enter the Softears Volume S

As the name suggests, the Softears Volume S is the evolution of the Softears entry-level 3-way hybrid IEM – the Volume. Featuring only three drivers – a beryllium-plated DD and two BAs, the Volume embodies Softears design philosophy of quality over quantity when it comes to what’s inside the ear shell.

In his review back in 2022 Berkhan praised the Volume for its impressive technical capabilities however, the IEM tonal tuning was said to be rather genre-specific and likely cost Softears the “Headfonia Recommended” award. More midbass and overall fuller mids were Berkhan’s wish for improvements, so read on further to see whether Softears listened.

I haven’t been able to determine what the “S” stands for in the Volume S. Sport? Super? On paper Volume S improves upon the original in many avenues. Gone is the beryllium DD and instead, we have a titanium diaphragm helped out by a wool passive radiator. Well, color me curious! Another passive radiator-augmented IEM, the Simgot EA1000 was a crowd-favorite when it launched and still is dear to me.

The midrange is handled by an in-house developed double BA driver array with a single BA doing tweeter duty. The Volume S likely employs a 3-way electric crossover with the nozzle clearly showing three individual output tubes. Another innovation from the predecessor is a two-mode switch which allows for toggling between a low and high impedance mode.

Softears recommend the low impedance mode for pop music and the high impedance is advertised as more suitable for classical. I’m usually pretty skeptical of these genre-based tunings but let’s give Softears a chance to prove me wrong. Besides the tuning difference, both modes have about 10dB difference in voltage sensitivity, comparing both will require a change in the volume.

Another point of interest is Softears’ insistence on optimizing the Volume S to feature a flat acoustic phase curve. This means that all of the drivers are time-aligned and should in theory form a coherent wavefront. Some multi-way speakers strive for this goal and in my experience, reaching it delivers a uniquely realistic and coherent soundstage. Electrical impedance is also quite flat which means that the Volume S shouldn’t change too much in tonality with non-zero output impedance sources.

Features

• 10mm silicone diaphragm dynamic driver + 6mm wool paper diaphragm passive dynamic driver + 2 balanced armature drivers
• back-ported acoustic enclosure
• Impedance: 9.8ohm (low), 31.2ohm (high)
• Sensitivity: 124dB/V (low), 114dB/V (high)
• Connector: recessed-fit 0.78mm 2-pin
• Cable connector – 4-pin to 3.5mm and 4.4mm jacks
• Weight per IEM: 5g
• Frequency Response 20 – 20 000Hz

Design, Build & Haptics

Casing

The basic boxing solution for the Softears Volume S is nothing out of the ordinary – the hard cardboard box is encased in a very presentable sleeve. The sleeve comes off easily and the box can be opened by lifting the magnetically fastened flap. Inside we’re greeted by the IEMs sitting in a foam cutout and the pleather carrying case which houses a carry pouch, the cable, and the extra jack.

Under the IEM foam holder, there are two packages for the ear tips. Softears have opted to package in their translucent silicone UC tips and more generic feeling dark grey ones you’ve probably used a dozen times before. I found both types of tips work equally well for my ears with no worthwhile sonic differences between them.

Build Quality

The Volume S has a two-piece construction with the lower part made out of black 3D-printed acrylic and the upper part from a milled aluminum with a sand-blasted matte finish. The faceplate is a piece cut out from a sheet of carbon fiber with a hole where the sound mode switch sits. To access the switch we’re provided with a plastic slot-head screwdriver tool – turn all the way clockwise or back to toggle between the modes. Softears claim that this switch ought to have more durability than the usual tiny piano-looking DIP switches.

Curiously, Volume S doesn’t use a two-port acoustic design so the acrylic part is wholly solid all the way to the end of the nozzle. Initially, I wasn’t too thrilled about the nozzle design with no retaining lip but in use, the tips managed to stay on just fine. The nozzle is about 5.4mm thick and 8mm long. The lip-less nozzle also makes fitting the tips a bit tricky as there’s no stopper to tell you that they’re deep enough in the tip.

The cable we get with the Softears Volume S is 1.2m long with four conductors coming out of the jack in a paracord-style braid. As it usually is with 4-conductor cables, the strands after the Y-splitter use a twist braid which sometimes has to be babysat so as not to twist awkwardly. The chin cinch however is borderline useless as it doesn’t want to really slide over the L-R cables.

Comfort and Ergonomics

While not entirely capable of pulling off the disappearing act when worn, the Softears Volume S is reasonably comfortable. The ear shell size isn’t exactly petite but it’s not really a flagship-sized ear-dumpling as well. Only really small-eared folk can get into trouble with size and ought to try them on before buying. The 8mm long nozzle can do pretty deep insertion but it’s not needed as I found that the IEMs aren’t too sensitive to that.

The stock cable was a bit microphonic as it would transmit noise from brushing against objects. The question is whether it’s a fault of the cable itself or the design of the IEMs with recessed 2-pin receptacles. Not a deal-breaker in any way, just something to keep in mind. Swapping the cable out to my reference cords from ddHiFi and “a cable freak I know” didn’t remedy the microphonics issue but didn’t make a huge improvement in sound quality so, yay stock cable!

Isolation

Despite only using a single port, the Softears Volume S isolate mostly on par with other ported IEMs. With the music playing the outside noise is never a problem during commuting or working in an open office but dedicated ANC headphones or IEMs can do better. Of course, isolation champions like Etymotics IEMs will also seal you off from the world better but you have to be a special freak to enjoy the insertion depth.

Sound Signature and Technicalities

My main testing system for the Softears Volume S was the Topping x Holo Centaurus driving the Topping A50 III and two portable rigs – the tiny Softears S01 dongle and the cheerful Qudelix 5K.

Overall Tonality

The Volume S is my first tango with Softears, so understandably I was curious to hear their take on IEM tuning which in this case meant chasing the JM-1 or the “New Meta”. Or rather – I couldn’t wait what I was missing by listening from the cheap seats. With the low-impedance setting dialed in I plugged them into my ears and the audio output and was frankly taken aback. I’ve gotten used to being wowed by the super tight bass of the newest double-bass module or the most angelic of highs sung by 8 Sonion electret modules. Here I’m smitten by the mids! And let me tell you – if the mids aren’t good, in my book the rest doesn’t really matter.

Then there’s the high-impedance setting and I’d rather not talk about it. After auditioning, it seems like Softears included it so they can better highlight how much better is the other one. Tonality wise it’s quite top-end tilted and resembles a bright-ish Harman tuning. The marketing copy says that it’s more suited to classical music but my ears disagree – low-Z setting slays high-Z in every genre.

The part on sound continues on the second page. Click here or use the jumps below.