A Star Is Born! Volk Audio Étoile In Ear Monitors Review

Taking the Étoile in-ear monitor out of the box was like unwrapping the best Christmas gift. The top of the box reveals the Étoile IEMs, displaying the company name in a matte black-on-black foam pad. I was surprised when I picked these up, as they were super lightweight to a point they felt like a plastic shell. With the gold details, I would have thought this IEM was going to be heavier, especially with the 10 driver arrangement inside.

The cable inside is a custom-built design specifically for the Étoile, and the 4.4mm termination means it can integrate well into any DAC, amp, or DAP that you want to use. I enjoyed using this with a lot of different devices, which you can read about later in this review.

The Étoile has a shell that is bulkier and quite thick, so putting it in your ear is definitely going to give you premium sound isolation. With the different eartips, you can choose your desired comfort level and in-ear seal. My ears are a bit smaller, so I found the bigger size to be a bit fatiguing for longer listening sessions. Still, I had to be impressed with the amount of noise isolation that you get passively. It put you right in the middle of your listening, not opening up any opportunity for background or ambient environmental distraction.

SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING

The Étoile soundstage speaks immediately. Right when I began listening, the first track displayed some impressive frontal imaging that was full of detail and clarity. The transparency is something that I could see being replicated with speakers, but everything just came so much more forward to be right in your face. I was a bit overwhelmed by that much frontal imaging, but the more the I listened, the more entranced by the Étoile I became. It was a fascinating and entertaining listening experience that I couldn't pull myself away from.

The frontal sound doesn't really have a lot of depth, which you could hear by how the frequencies and instrumentation expanded to the side and upwards as opposed to the back. It can make the Étoile's signature sound very thin in certain genres, but that body comes back with other textural elements.

The imaging is not very accurate, and instead sounds a bit blended all together. The overall signature is definitely more treble forward as opposed to fully balanced from bass to the treble, but you don't lose the bass completely in your listening. I really liked acoustic tracks with the Étoile, as the exceptional detail really made those recordings more intimate and personal.

BASS FREQUENCIES

The bass, shockingly, is lacking in the Étoile. There is some sub bass rumble and the lower frequencies do get attention, but they are very much taking a backseat compared to some other IEMs. That being said, the detail in this range is unmatched. You get pristine clarity with your percussion, baselines, and other deep strings that benefit from a little treble boost. If you're a basshead that wants a lot of booming bass in your listening, this earphone may not be for you; the Étoile doesn't have the same drive or slam that some other bassy IEMs have. With only one subwoofer to handle most of the bass frequencies, the Étoile lets the other frequency ranges do the talking in this sound signature.

I will applaud the textural detail that this range gets. The Étoile does a good job in making sure you get to hear the detail and color of every bass range. There is no muddiness or washiness that comes in this low register; instead, you get distinct sonic clarity that helps you identify the timbres of the different instruments.

MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES

The Étoile has a midrange that is super forward. As I mentioned in the initial impressions, I was almost overwhelmed by the level of clarity I got. The V-shape that comes out puts vocals at the very center, and it was like those singers were in the room with me. It was super rich in detail and no frequency was left unaccounted for in the mix. The sound reproduction was realistic and still tuned to be colorful and fun. Voices sounded hyper realistic, guitars wee up-close and personal, and other strings got raw, wooden hollowness that I was deeply immersed in.

In the imaging of this section, you can see how the frequencies don't really filter backwards. With some depth, this earphone would definitely be one to grab for audiophiles looking for reference sound. Instead, the Étoile gives you something that builds upwards and creates a wall of sound in front of you. Some listeners like this concept of a wall of sound; it lends itself to the loudness factor that this earphone has. The Étoile definitely finds its range in the stereo width, and with the height that the instruments can build up, you are in a little bubble of hi-fi sound.

TREBLE FREQUENCIES

Upon a first listen, I thought the Étoile's treble had some peakiness that I wasn't really a fan of. I was listening to some sibilant vocals and wincing at the sharpness that popped out in these instruments. However, after spending some more time with the Étoile, I found I was becoming a fan of the way the high frequencies faded backwards and created a huge, open space at the top end. A lot of IEMs tend to reach a shelf at the ultra-highs, causing them to cut off unnaturally and the overall signature sound a bit compressed. In the Étoile, you aren't faced with this problem; instead, the top is open and airy, allowing frequencies to dissipate upwards and outwards to create a natural sense of space.

The color of the instruments in the treble balance out nicely with the rest of the ranges. Just like the bass and midrange before, the Étoile's treble gets an insane amount of clarity that allows you to hear all the detail you could ever want and more. The coloration of these instruments make them sound natural and enticing, like large orchestras with their high string instruments and bright horns. Listening to classical music on the Étoile was a favorite, and the magnetostatic drivers give you an extra sense of space that makes those recordings much more exciting.