Softears Studio4 is a brand new multi-BA driver IEM with four customized BA drivers enclosed in beautifully crafted 3D printed resin-material ear shells. Softears has tuned the Studio4 with a flat frequency response, it is designed especially for studio recordings, stage monitoring, and other situations when a pure, natural sound is expected!!
Softears has launched a studio series of in-ear monitors especially for professionals. It is an ideal pair for studio recording engineers, stage performers, and audio lovers who want a natural, accurate sound response. The pair has a wide frequency response range that produces a crisp high-resolution clarity suitable for studio monitoring.
Softears Studio4 is equipped with four customized balanced armature drivers on each side. Softears has experience with designing premium multi-BA IEMs, their RSV and RS10 are widely appreciated for their performance. The latest Studio4 is an ideal choice for professional musicians who want a natural and high-fidelity sound.
The four drivers in Studio4 are arranged together in a precisely designed 3-Way frequency crossover. The frequency division architecture is specially designed for the output characteristics of professional audio interfaces. It is easy to drive and achieves a clearly straight frequency curve. This helps in getting a consistent phase response among different frequency bands.
Studio4 has got high-precision 3D-printed ear cavities. The shells are made up of high-quality medical-grade resin material. They are made with excellent consistency and stability. The wearing experience is optimized based on the previous Softears RS series IEMs.
Softears bundle the Studio4 with a high-purity twisted braided oxygen-free copper cable. The cable adopts standard 0.78mm 2-pin connectors with 10um ultra-thick plug pins. It adopts standard 3.5mm termination.
I'm a recent newcomer to the audiophile scene but I've been lucky enough to listen and try some amazing gear thanks to a dear friend of mine. My first experience was the Sony WM1ZM2 paired with the Oriolus Traillii. This is a great way to be introduced into this world. Well as you can imagine I was immediately hooked. I couldn't afford my dap at first so I bought myself a nice L&P W4. Which is an amazing dongle paired with UM Fabled Sounds I was in a dream world. But I knew I wasn't getting the best I could. So I did some research and settled on the hiby r8 ii. Man, I thought the L&P was doing a decent job and it was. But the Hiby makes everything sing. Every sound is more expansive, clearer, and detailed. And while I liked the Sony, the hiby has a lot more powerful features. There is a lot more control. Also, Andrew really is the best. Now I must get back to listening to music.
Let's start off with CONS:
1) Oriolus only grace the world with only 199 sets.
2) Heavy. It's heavier than OG Traillii and UM AP combines.
3) Pricey.
Love the L shape terminal from new cable. Cable looks very familiar to the PW1960. New cable material consists of pure silver, gold-silver alloy, copper vs 1960 pure copper.
I thought Traillii was perfect. Oriolus somehow manage to improve the vocal and treble. Traillii TI sounds like an open back headphones...very airy.
Warm natural sounds when pairing with Sony M2.
Turn on Hyper and let the bird with titanium wings sings to you if you have Cayin N30LE.
Por el precio que tienen son insuperables y a decir verdad son mis IEMs favorito, no venia con la case Dygnis pero a decir verdad no es importante para ml
It’s been 5 weeks since CanJam NYC. My mission, try as many IEM’s
I left the Grand Maestro until the end of the day.
Sound Impressions:
BASS: Thick, Fast and Deep. The GM has what they call NOAH modules that can be swapped out to change the Bass frequency response, without impacting the upper frequencies, bringing the mids and treble appear to be more forward, through less bass (blue module). This impacts the sub-bass most and leaves the slam of the mid bass region intact. The black module, which comes stock, gives the most sub-bass. This is what many reviewers consider a “Basshead” sound. Having listened to the Scarlet Mini in comparison, I would say the Mini is a “Basshead” set. The GM is, however, not…just a Basshead set.
MIDS: I found midrange to be very well balanced, with both female and male vocals very clear and engaging. Giving the sound signature a slightly warm feel. But this is where Fatfreq has another trick up their sleeve. There’s a toggle switch just behind the 2pin connector. It sticks up about 1mm and allows the listener to turn the bass down on the fly and bring the midrange and treble slightly forward. My listening preference is always slightly warm, but for certain tracks and artists this setting is preferred.
TREBLE: The treble is crystal clear and very well extended, but never fatiguing.
TIMBRE: This is where the GM sets itself above all others I’d heard. The quality of the sound across the entire frequency range was best in class. Every instrument could be isolated with all the details present. 10/10
TONALITY: The balance of the instruments to the vocals is, again, the best I’ve ever heard. It’s like some little man (the crossover) inside working his soundboard, and making the IEM completely in control of the concert in my head. Getting the most out of every last bit of sound detail and making sure no part over powered another. 10/10
SOUNDSTAGE: Ok, this is some next level shit! We’re not talking about a soundstage that was ultra wide. Rather something I’d never experienced before and directly related to the timbre and tonality. Instead of having visualisation of the instruments playing on a stage, it feels like I’m sitting on the stage and Stevie Nicks is singing next to me, Mick Fleetwood is playing behind me and on my other side is Lindsey Buckingham playing his guitar with smooth precision.
SIBILANCE: I’m ultra sensitive to sibilance and have test tracks I use to see just how controlled an IEM is to lower it. Without a doubt the GM is the least sibilant of any IEM I’ve heard.
MASKING: This was probably the biggest and single most distinguishable difference between the GM and anything else I’ve heard on the market. Similar to the experience in soundstage, the instruments and isolated to themselves, making all the details present. On busy tracks that would normally sound like a bunch of different things happening on top of one another, but GM has a magical way of creating a space or protective zone around each musical element. If I could explain this another way, imagine hearing a track recorded in the late 60’s, with its hiss and imperfections, where it sounds like there’s a fog or layer of pollution present that makes everything sound just a bit layered into everything else. Now imagine you take the full stage in dip down into a pool that cleans all of that away, raise it back up and now you hear only the instruments as they were originally intended. The GM takes old tracks and “remasters” them. And takes remastered tracks and makes them even better! 10/10
BUILD QUALITY: Just look at the photos. I was also lucky enough to get the gold upgrade cable thrown into the deal for free! 10/10
CUSTOMER SERVICE: I had heard some stories about problems in the past, but after reaching out to Fatfreq post sales and asking for certain things that were missing from the sale, because it was a floor model and being contacted by Ben himself, I was very happy with how they handled everything. I used to live in Singapore and can tell you the people are amazing!!!
I think some of this has to do with just how much power these IEM’s really need. More than any that I’d tried on the day. Now remember I was driving these with a FiiO M17, a BEAST of a DAP that puts out round 1,500mW on the 4.4mm plug @32ohms. These IEM’s are power hungry! They take every bit of that and deliver it with surgical precision. I spoke with Ben, the CEO of Fatfreq and he told me the M17 is a great pairing for the GM and that they have a few at their HQ in Singapore. They also have a technology called Linear Impedance, which I believe levels the playing field for the different drivers in the set. I think the impedance of this set is 32ohms, but it sure seems like it takes more to drive it than other 32ohm sets I have. This higher impedance and power requirement also contributes to eliminating the background noise, giving a cleaner listening experience.
Tighter bass. Black background.
