SOFTEARS STUDIO 4: Nearly Uncoloured And Unsullied One

"Music is one of the purest forms of poetry where a man can convey its feelings and expression."

In choosing a professional-grade in ear monitor specifically for an audio and studio engineer or a professional musician. Being meticulous and observant are one of the attributes of an audio and music professional who looks for a set that is suitable for its working tool on recording studio and its specific preference for improving its work rate and the quality of tracks that they mixed, recorded and produced. And as for professional musicians, they want an IEM for stage and studio usage. As we all know that these professional-grade IEMs are quite pricey and it has a limited scope of usage.

This is where the SoftEars enter the scene, they are offering a reference studio-level set that is way affordable compared to some other contemporary products with same functionality  and yet has an exceeding tonal performance that can impress some audio and music professionals. Even some of the most experienced audiophiles can appreciate this kind of tuning as they believe that this kind of neutrality is the closest thing for a faithful sound reproduction of all tracks.

The brand SoftEars is quite a familiar name for portable audio connoisseurs as they produce some of the best All-BAs, Hybrids and even single DD IEM sets in the market. They are also known to be a sister company of Moondrop but it caters primarily on the premium flagship segment. I've tested some of their products like RS10, Cerberus, Turii Ti and the Twilight, which became my top recommendation on a TOTL flagship single dynamic driver IEM. And this is actually my first full review product from them and I hope that you will enjoy reading my subjective composition about this product.

This is SoftEars STUDIO 4 and it has an all-balanced armature drivers set-up. This is probably the most affordable set coming from SoftEars as they are priced around US$400/£300. It has four (4) balanced armatures which are sourced (possibly from premium audio solutions like Knowles and Sonion) and customised specifically for SoftEars' quality standard. All these drivers are connected in a passive three-way crossover design with its own acoustic tube for a consistent sonic performance to all types of sources with undeviating resistance curve.

The drivers and other internal components encapsulated in a 3D-printed imported medical-grade resin shell which is a skin-friendly material and also offers a consistent comfortable fitting due to its optimisation of its contours and design moulds based on the datas that SoftEars gathered from the users of their RS series. The shape of STUDIO 4 has a UIEM-type of shell to give a semi-custom fitting and it has a rather plain design particularly on its faceplate as it has silver engraving prints at the lower part side of both channels, The printed "STUDIO 4" at left part and the SoftEars logo at the right part. It also has an unvented shell design like most CIEM and some IEM that I have tested since its all-BA that an implementation of a vent hole is rather an optional one. It uses a 0.78mm, 2-pin connector as its interchangeable mechanism due to its verifiable connection stability and a proven and tested structure for interlocking mechanism.

As aforementioned for its fitting and comfort, STUDIO 4 gives an excellent wearability just like I've tested the RS10 and Cerberus as they have the best fitting that they have this tailor-made exact fit into my lugholes. I don't feel any discomfort and or even an ear fatigue for a long listening session.

SoftEars STUDIO 4 has a high quality braided black-coloured stock cable made of 4-core, oxygen-free copper wirings insulated in polyurethane-like material. It uses a 3.5mm single ended plug as its primary termination. It is quite interesting that SoftEars included a cable extension adapter with a 6.5mm adapter plug for interface consoles on studio and stage works.

The product packaging of SoftEars STUDIO 4 is rather rudimentary yet it has a decent amount of inclusions that you find inside the box.

.Here are the following contents included inside from the box:

● a pair of SoftEars STUDIO 4 IEMs.

● Black-coloured stock cable.

● Extension cable adapter.

● 6.5mm adapter plug.

● Cleaning tool

● Cleaning cloth

● Pelican-like IEM container case

● three (3) pairs of balanced-bored, dark grey-coloured ear tips in different standard sizes.

● Instruction manual.

With a sensitivity of 123dB and a low impedance rating, this set is easy to amplify as it scales well on most sources even with a decent power output like smartphones. Even at medium amplitude scale level, it will deliver a full frequency range sound with a solid dynamics.

As for tonality, since this is a reference-studio set that will be used as a tool and aid for professional use. The SoftEars STUDIO 4 has this neutrality that is almost unsullied and nearly uncoloured tonality that is well-balanced, good presence to all parts of the frequency range and tonally accurate.

(This graph was provided by Neil Nino Clark a.k.a. Practiphile, Credits to him)

LOWS/BASS:

The essence of the low frequencies on STUDIO 4 has a sufficient accentuate response just to deliver a precise, punchy and sufficient slam while it retains a well-balanced distribution on both sub-bass and mid-bass to have clean and a good segregation of each part of the bass region. So don't expect too much that it has more depth and zestful response like from a dynamic driver.

For a woofer balanced armature driver, it exhibits a good amount of reverberations as I was able to feel those rumbling sounds coming from sub bass-focus instruments like synthesisers, low toned bass guitars, octabass and drum machines. Mid-bass has an ample texture to give a note presence on some bass rhythm sections like bass guitars and bass kick drums on modern music, the cellos, double bass, tubas and bass clarinets on the classical/orchestral set-up and last is bass-baritone vocals. Both bass guitars and double bass have very similar sound quality as they have this ample weight, resonant and sustaining characteristics, bass kick drums have this rumbling and sonorous sound on them, bass clarinets have a dark to sonorous sound depending on low note register while tubas have robust and rounded sound. Then on bass-baritones, it has a sufficient depth and detail to give a gravelly and orotund vocal qualities on singers like Andrew Eldritch, Barry White and Peter Steele.

MIDRANGE:

For a neutral tuning set, it has an ample texture with excellent transparency and well-delineated that both vocals and instruments are well-presented and practically have a correct and accurate timbre. Both male and female vocals have its own natural characteristics that STUDIO 4 was able to portray.

On female vocal types, Contraltos like Tracy Chapman and Annie Lennox have a dark, rich and husky tone from their low chesty modulation. Mezzo-sopranos have a velvety to musky characteristic as I listen to Stevie Nicks, Andrea Corr and Madonna that it captivates and enthrals me with their sweet and provocative vocals. Even on sopranos from dramatic to coloratura, STUDIO 4 effortless to render their tone qualities of their vocals as they sound energetic, crisp and voluminous as they have a silky to gleaming voices as I hear it from the singers like Alison Krauss, Mariah Carey and Diana Damrau (try her rendition of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte as you will clearly feel her expressiveness, vocal control and her belting to reach highest note). Regarding male vocals, all male vocals types sound so natural and well-modulated that you will be able to hear that this set is a tool for tonal accuracy. Baritones have these velvety, warm and lush vocals as I able to feel the strength and robustness from the voices of Eddie Vedder and Lenny Kravitz. Sopranos have those bright to brassy qualities as listen to "Three Tenors"(Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras) on classical and Robert Plant, Justin Bieber and Paul McCartney on modern music. Then on countertenors, they have this agility and versatility as they sound intense and vibrant that gives me that euphoric-feel. Andreas Scholl, Robert Gift and King Diamond are examples of countertenor vocalists.

As for instruments, no doubt that again they sound natural, vivid and detailed as I analyse every type of instrument on either percussive or rhythmic. On brass instruments, trumpets sound substantial, magnificent and bright, while trombones have a powerful and eruptive sound from them and then, horns have resound and intensity has little presence of shrillness when hitting the upper register. Meanwhile on woodwind instruments, flutes have a graceful, silvery and airy sound, then on clarinet they have a rather a melodic, lustrous and bright characteristics on how they will correspond well with instruments and bassoons have warm rounded eand sonorous sound on them. I even almost forgot to mention saxophones that they have a substantial, lively and reedy tone.  Strings like guitars have crisp, scintillating and linger sound as clearly hear those plucks on the strings while violins sounds vibrant, full and sensuous. When it comes to percussives, Snares drums have hard, bright and shrilll sounds from, and then on tom drums have a bright and resonant sound. Timpanis have deep, velvety and resonant sound of them while field drums have full, hard and venerable sound from them especially I listen to them orchestra, marching band or simply drum lines like the fame Swiss drum ensemble, Top Secret Drum Corps. Chordophones like pianos and celestas are quite versatile as they can sound depends on notation or tuning, the former can sound warm, lustrous and vibrant while latter instrument seems to have soft, lustrous and ethereal depends on amplitude scale based on the touch response on keys.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble has mild elevation on upper mids part just to give a sense of clarity, detail and energy on some female vocals and some instruments both rhythmic and percussive. Overall it retains a balanced, well-polished and satiny response that it devoids from sibilance and stridency which might be a problematic to treble-sensitive listeners out there although the treble air is rather a modest one when it comes to range and extension but as tool for studio mix and stage monitoring use, it will be sufficient enough as it has enough sparkle with decent harmonics.

Cymbals have ample shimmer, lustrous and sizzling that gives that evocative feel with same life-like tonality of a hi hats to have that particular shortened buzz sound.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

As we all aware that professional sets should have an accurate frequency response and excellent stereo imaging and STUDIO 4 able to deliver those aspects.

Don't expect cavernous and cathedral-like sound/speaker staging as professional sets don't really need those, instead it is on a balanced side, not too wide or very narrow to perceived, just able to track and monitor some frequency responses for audio effects, compression of dynamic range and mixing. The STUDIO 4 has an above-average width dimensions but it has good height reach and excellent depth from front to rear.

It has a 3D-like imaging presentation in which I was able to locate the placements of instruments and vocals in a very precise and accurate manner. It has a spacing and gaps of each element; they have their own tonal layer that is well-defined and delineated as they arrange in an organised way in a sonic canvas. Playing some multi-instrumental tracks on this set will be effortless and well-executed.

It has an excellent resolution on macro-dynamics and micro-details have good contrast with each other. A solid and homogenous character of macro-dynamics and impressive extracting of some nuances, subtleties and details from a track. The drivers have a remarkable cohesive performance that delivers fast transients without any hint of distortion or out of phase issues.

On a side of tonality, this is probably one of the most natural, well-rendered and tonally precise that I have experienced as it redefines my standard in regards to what an all-BA set should sound like.

PEER COMPARISON:

DUNU SA6

■ Like STUDIO 4, it has an all balanced armature drivers but it has more on quantity as it has an added 2 more drivers. It is also made of high quality, medical-grade imported resin but it has a more appealing face plate design. DUNU also implemented a toggle switch for atmospheric effect by adding and decreasing bass output. The stock cable of this one is a modular one for versatility on output sources.

■ Both of them are somewhat similar when it comes to the tonal sound profile as they are both neutral sounding. Although SA6 has a bit more texture compared to STUDIO 4 especially if you activate the atmospheric mode to add more weight on the low frequencies. On transparency, STUDIO 4 has an edge over SA6. And the  treble response on SA6 is a tad smoother and has a similar treble air with STUDIO 4 but it has a tad less sparkle.

■ On the technical aspect, they have similar performance and projection. From parallel sound field dimensions and imaging projection with both excellent separation and layering capabilities. Resolution capabilities, SA6 has more rounded macro-dynamics.

DUNU SA6 MK.II

■ Like her predecessor, it takes the same aspect that SA6 has, from implementation of drivers, quality of its shell chassis and added some new accessories like newer type of ear tips. It still has a modular cable but it has more thicker and more solid one.

■ As for tonality, compared to the STUDIO 4, it has an added emphasis on other parts of frequencies particularly on high mids to brilliance part of the treble region to have a slight colouration. it has a slight boost on upper mids to presence treble to give a tad energetic, more sparkle and better airy extension.

■ They have almost similar technical performance but there is a particular facet that STUDIO 4 and SA6 MK.II differentiates from one another, it's the sound/speaker stage size as the latter has wider lateral to give a more atmospheric-feel.

As I end this assessment, like all SoftEars products, STUDIO 4 leaves me with an impression on how they deliver on such a product that has an excellent sound quality for its price as this is their first product to have a price mark at around US$400/£315. For sure that this type of tuning will not be pleasing to the ears of some listeners who want a more coloured sound profile as they might perceive it as boring and bland on their liking.

SoftEars STUDIO 4 is definitely marketed for studio engineers and professional musicians to be used for stage monitoring, studio recording and mixing a track. With its accurate and high definition of audio playback that this set has, it has an almost flat frequency response and full frequency range spectrum for high fidelity that even audiophiles will also enjoy these qualities that are beneficial for their critical listening to enjoy a nearly faithful reproduction of track that was supposedly intended by audio engineers.

SoftEars STUDIO 4 is now available at both HIFIGO and SoftEars official online store, you can check it out both in the non-affiliated links below:

★★SOFTEARS STUDIO 4 - HIFIGO★★

★★SOFTEARS STUDIO 4 - OFFICIAL★★

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: SOFTEARS STUDIO 4

IMPEDANCE: 12Ω

SENSITIVITY: 123dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 5Hz – 40KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.25M

PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 3.5MM

DRIVER UNIT(S):  4 BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS

CONS:

△ Currently, the most affordable SoftEars product available in the market

△ It has a lightweight yet good build quality of its resin shells. 

△ Commendably good ergonomic design of its UIEM-style shell chassis as it has one of the best that I have experience so far on both fitting and comfort.

△ Good quality stock cable

△ It has an included extension cable adapter for studio and monitoring use

△ An almost flat and neutral tuning which good for producing, mixing and even instrument monitoring.

△ Punchy and precise bass response

△ Neutral, transparent and vivid midrange

△ Smooth treble response with sufficient sparkle.

△ Adequate clarity, crisp and detailed treble quality

△ Overall impressive technical performance

△ Exemplary tonal colour accuracy in the midrange segment.

CONS:

▽ This is not for listeners who wants a more coloured tuning.

▽ As an audio enthusiast who wants a more cavernous sound/speaker stage, I still wishing for more spacious and atmospheric feel but this set wasn't intended for that application as this is a tool for professional studio use and stage monitoring.

▽ Only one type of ear tips included which was too meagre for a midrange set in my opinion.

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*

Type O Negative - Black No.1 *

Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **

P.S.

I am not affiliated to HIFIGO or SOFTEARS nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to Mr. Neil Nino Clark a.k.a [USER=553763]@koyawmohabal[/USER] for lending his review unit to me. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.