My expectations were high for the Volume S. I haven’t heard a bad set from Softears (RSV, Twilight, Studio4), and almost all of the initial reviews for Volume S were positive. To my ears, it’s a very well tuned set that easily competes with or betters the competition in the price range. I much preferred the low impedance setting, and that’s tuning used for this review
What I like: Vocals really sound great. There’s enough warmth to give some weight and body to male and female vocals. Detail retrieval is excellent. Stage size is also a cut above sets at this price. It’s a very fun tuning.
My favorite set that I own in the $300 to $400 range is the Hype 4. These sets compliment each other very well. The hype 4 has better treble extension and imaging, but vocals and stage are better on the Volume S. The hype 4 and Volume S differ in low end tuning. The hype 4 has more and tighter bass due to the bass tuck. The Volume S has more midbass, but the low end is still tight with minimal bleed into the mids. Both bass guitar and kick drums sound full with good weight. I have a pretty wide range of music in my library and with the addition of the Volume S my library is fully covered. The Volume S is an easy recommendation.
