- The internal monitors of the active volcano are now available
- Triple driver IEM with 3.5 mm, 4.5 mm and USB-C connections
- $ 80 / £ 99 / About AU $ 127
If you are looking for high specification monitors with a low price, Astell & Kern would like to help, or rather, their lifestyle sub-march act would. After launching its fantastic audio player of HI-RES of Assets P1 and previously impressive active who previously, the brand has announced a third member of the family: the active volcano. And they are a price fraction that I would pay for Q1.
The official price of Q1 headphones is $ 349 / £ 299 / around AU $ 600. But the new IEM volcans cost only $ 80 / £ 99 / around AU $ 127, and we suspect that they will be an addition of incredible value to the world of the best cable headphones.
Volcano value
I am intrigued by these new IEM because I checked and still used the Q1, to which I gave four and a half stars in my active review Q1. The most obvious difference is how IEM volcano are seen: they don’t have large brass housings and Q1 steel nozzles, and there is also a different conductor inside. Here you are obtaining a triple driver configuration that includes a dynamic controller of 8 mm and two 6 mm.
The frequency response is the same as Q1 to 20-20,000Hz, and the sensitivity is 100DB/MW. The impedance is 16 ohms. The cable is a seven-wire silver copper wire hybrid and five threads without oxygen with two pins connectors at one end and an option of 3.5 mm, 4.4 mm and USB-C connectors in the other.
The package includes the tips of the mandatory ears: three memory foam and three silicone. And although the weight has not been detailed, the IEM are much less thick than the Q1; It is not a big problem for me, but some reviews have suggested that Q1 was too hoarse in some cases.
At this price, the volcano undermined several impressive rivals, including the powerful Sennheiser, that is, 200 headphones. Its only dynamic controller covers a broader frequency range – 6Hz – 26 kHz up to 20Hz – 20 kHz of the volcano – but the volcano is considerably cheaper: Sennheisers are currently sold for around $ 119 / £ 125.
