Hello, I am Alexander, and today we will take a look at the brand new IO Audio Volare in-ear monitors. I/O is a new name in the hobby and while most new companies test the waters with more simple configurations, I/O took another route. Volare is a flagship tribrid IEM with 1DD, 4BAs, and 4EST. The Volare has beautiful gray resin shells, great quality de-attachable modular cable, a fantastic set of accessories, and a reference-grade sound signature.
Unboxing
The presentation of this IEM is top-notch. It arrived in a large, beautiful, and heavy carton box with a sleeve. When you remove the sleeve, there is a black box with magnetic lids.
When you open the lids, you are greeted with a velvet shelf with a deepening that holds the leather case containing the IEMs. Below this shelf, there are three drawers with magnetic locks.
In the first drawer, there is a modular cable with 2.5mm, 3.5mm, and 4.4 mm interchangeable connectors.
In the second drawer are 4 sets of silicone ear tips and 1 set of foam ear tips, making a total of 15 pairs.
And in the third drawer, there is a 3.5mm to 6.3 mm adapter, a QC certificate, a cleaning cloth, a user manual, a warranty card, and a VIP card with a serial number.
The unboxing experience was exceptional and the IEM presentation can easily rival those kilo-buck IEMs and beyond. Whoever designed these – well done!
🛒IO Audio Volare in-ear monitors on Amazon
Design & build
The IO Audio Volare shells are made out of medical-grade resin and look gorgeous. The shells have been created by Heygears, which is a leading company for mass-produced IEM shells. The shells are glossy, well polished, and feel premium. The shell color is gray with a glossy glitter effect, which reminds me of expensive car paint and the patterns on the faceplate look mesmerizing.
The shell shape is excellent and though there have been several IEMs with similar shapes, the Volare shells feel very premium in hand. The left earpiece says I, the right earpiece says O, and the model name is printed on the back of each shell. The shells also have one pressure vent on top of the shell near the connector.
We have a carefully selected driver configuration inside the shell – one custom dynamic driver, 4 custom balanced armatures, and four Sonion electrostatic (EST) drivers. This setup includes a four-way electronic crossover paired with a three-way passive crossover, effectively eliminating multi-driver distortion. Those familiar with such configurations know that usually, they come at a very premium price point, yet with Volare you are getting all of it for roughly half the price.
The nozzles of Volare are long and are made out of resin too. The nozzle diameter is 6mm and there is no metal mesh at the end of the nozzle. Instead, there are three sound bores, which means you need to be careful and clean your ear tips regularly. There is also a lip that helps to retain the ear tip. Overall, I like the Volare design & build. The IEM feels premium and it’s very pleasing aesthetically.
Modular cable system
The IO Audio Volare comes with a detachable 2-pin modular cable that is 1.2 meters long. The wire itself is an 8-core silver-plated 6N oxygen-free copper cable. On one end of the cable, there is a modular screw-on connection system that allows you to swap between 2.5, 3.5, and 4.4mm connectors. On the other end, there are two 0.78mm 2-pin connectors. The left connector has the letter I on it, while the right connector has the letter O, a creative way to define a left and right channel. In addition, there is a red ring on the right connector in case you prefer the old-school way.
The ear guides are soft but a bit bulky. The cable is soft and is low in microphonics, the pre-molded ear guides are soft too, and the modular design brings a lot of flexibility to the table.
But there are also some caveats. First, the slider is not very smooth and it was way too snug on my sample. And the second is the quality of the interchangeable connectors, especially the screw on part that feels cheap.
Ear tips
Volare comes with five sets of ear tips: four sets of silicone ear tips and one set of foam ear tips. Each set is available in three sizes, totaling 15 pairs. The silicone ear tips are soft, with variations in bore sizes. The separate drawer is great to display the variety of the tips, but extracting the tips from it is quite a quest.
Fit and comfort
The shells are hefty but have an ergonomic shape so they feel like a semi-custom IEM in my ears. As the earpieces are well-polished, there are no sharp edges here. The fit in my case was excellent, but if you have small ears, you may find it a bit uncomfortable due to the shell shape and size.
I had no issues with the stock ear tips, and I was able to secure a good fit & seal instantly which is a huge plus for me. While I believe a set of more expensive ear tips might fit this IEM better, the stock ear tips performed just great in my tests.
I’ve been using Volare for extended periods and I never experienced any discomfort. In terms of passive noise isolation, the IEM also performs well. It effectively blocks out most outside noise, so you can fully immerse yourself in your music without the need to turn the volume too high.
IO Audio Volare sound overview
Please note that all sound impressions that I am sharing on my channel are completely subjective so please take them with a grain of salt.
The Volare has a very low impedance – 4.8 Ohms which is quite uncommon among IEMs. Plus this pair needs power to open up and shine. And these two factors make it a very source-dependent IEM. When I tried Volare with my dongles, the results were mixed. Powering this IEM from the desktop stack provided noticeable improvements in the sound. Using this IEM with my DAP provided great results as well. While you may achieve good results with your portable source, the rule of thumb here is to match it with the powerful source that has low output impedance. This will allow you to fully utilize the potential of this IEM.
So how does Volare sound? In one word – stellar! The tuning is U-shaped with a boosted sub-bass that slightly bleeds into the midrange. The midrange is slightly warm, quite linear, and flat. The treble has an excellent extension, and sparkle making the overall presentation open and detailed.
Bass
Talking about bass, I didn’t expect such a performance from a single dynamic driver. The bass is fast, well-controlled, and textured. In addition, it’s tangible, which in my experience is a rare feature that I don’t come across in IEMs frequently. The sub-bass and mid-bass blend well together, though there is a bass bleed into mids.
The sub-bass has a lot of rumble, authority, and body. The EDM tracks in particular sound wonderful. The mid-bass impact is heavy, but not too tight, so with some tracks, I would describe the mid-bass as soft. The details of the bass are good, and despite the fact it’s not a very bass-heavy IEM by any means, it will still please both bass-heads and those who prefer some additional punch in their music.
Midrange
The midrange on IO Audio Volare is very interesting. It’s a bit recessed and warm due to the nature of the overall tuning and bass bleed. But at the same time, it has an open and natural midrange that I might call a reference one. The vocals and instruments are not too upfront, but the timbre is great, and the resolution is great as well. Despite the overall U-shaped signature, the midrange has a good body and definition. It sounds full and lush.
Lower mids sound dense, which is especially noticeable on male vocals, while the upper mids are rounded, yet detailed. On vocal tracks, I had a feeling that the artist was right in front of me. The electric guitars have a great bite and the instruments on busy musical pieces sound clear and well separated. The layering is good too and you can easily distinguish between the different parts and dimensions of the recording. Overall the midrange is very enjoyable, it sounds clear and detailed and Volare shines in the department.
Treble
Before we talk about treble I need to make an important point. From the moment I learned that this set has 4 EST, I eventually set my expectations regarding the treble quite high. During my initial tests, the treble extension wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.
Don’t get me wrong, the treble here is great and coherent. But I just expected it to have a bit more air. It is detailed and has a good amount of energy and texture. It was never grainy or harsh, no matter what music I was throwing at this IEM. And the micro details are excellent. The Volare treble also reminded me a bit of the treble on Moondrop Variations. But in comparison, the treble on Volare is way more natural. The upper treble extension is impressive too, and detail retrieval is exceptional. However, I missed an increased emphasis on the upper treble, particularly above 14 kHz, which I expected given the use of electrostatic drivers here.
Another aspect where IO Audio Volare shines is the sound stage width and depth, both of which are very good. Volare has an open and spacious presentation with a fantastic three-dimensional sonic landscape. The resolution is great, the macro and micro details are stellar and the instrument separation is class-leading.
I enjoyed Volare both listening to my music and playing games, and it rendered a gaming sound landscape with a lot of precision and an excellent sense of distance and direction.
Conclusions
I was skeptical when I started working on IO Audio Volare review. And for a few reasons. First, I never heard about this company. The second – Volare is their first IEM and it’s quite expensive. And third – it’s a tri-brid that is released in a very competitive price bracket.
At the time of making this review, I have put more than 100 hours into listening to Volare and I must admit, this pair is very addictive, and I found myself appreciating it more than anticipated.
While the overall tuning of this IEM is not something the market has never heard before, the whole presentation is very coherent and as a result this IEM sounds absolutely stellar.
So what do I like about this IEM?
- Excellent design and solid build
- Fantastic product presentation
- Excellent 9-driver configuration
- Outstanding fit and comfort
- Great sound coherency and a rich sound profile
- Very good bass response with good control
- Warm, yet full and detailed midrange
- Well-extended and detailed treble
- Excellent resolution and detail retrieval
- And excellent technical abilities
What I didn’t like?
- At times, the bass may sound slightly soft
- I also wish there was more air in the treble
- The connectors on modular cable system could be better
- The storage case is great, but the fact it doesn’t fit the cable makes it not very practical
- And the price can still be too steep for some
Overall IO Audio Volare offers a great introduction to the world of tribrid IEMs, excelling in numerous aspects right from the start: an attractive design, well-implemented 9-driver configuration, great build, top-tier packaging, detailed and controlled sound presentation, and a competitive price.
I also believe Volare has the potential to become one of the most groundbreaking IEM releases of 2024. Although the year is not yet over, Volare has established a new benchmark for price-to-performance ratio that other IEMs will now need to surpass.
And that concludes my review for today. If you’d like to see more content like this, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel for future updates. Thank you for joining me, and until next time, goodbye!
🛒IO Audio Volare in-ear monitors on Amazon
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