I just got an onslaught of IEMs to test. I purchased the Softears Volume S for myself. Vol S is a god damn banger of a set for a low price. (kinda). I adore them.
Having said that, Anomaly beats them for my tastes which is more 3D, wider, and fuller mids.
Still Vol S is likely my rec for 2025.
Graphs (anomaly in purple).
Can you graph your Anomaly against Twilight which is my one and only go-to for 1,5 year now without a break (basically leave-the-hobby IEM) also because of your review of it? 
Just found your computers suck channel and I’m loving it 
Thats my throw away channel. I own an IT business and sometimes I just need to make a video about how stupid something is. Sorry in advance.
I’ve done/do quite a few repairs, and worked the helpdesk at college. I had a great time watching the shorts
OK I got totally pissed off, broke some drivers. Need a break driving myself nuts.
I have a special planar tuning called Nobody. Like the movie. An unassuming S12 pro modded to the hilt. This has nothing in the bore tube, its open air, zero acoustic impedance. It has a rear chamber behind the driver controlling the lows.
graph:
Welp, I can’t seem to just leave this damn thing alone. I did a full front air volume → back air volume bypass vent. Took me fing forever to get it to fit into the shell and actually have it work 0.5mm pinhole.
Of course this just complicated tuning by some insane amount since anything I do to either the front of the shell or rear influences the other… FUN
Some graphs to see how things react:
Not bad not bad. More tuning to be done.
I got the chance to hear the ‘Nobody’ back in the day… it was sick.
Nice man. It could be my best iem tbh. I get stressed out just looking at planar drivers due to the variability. Only some of them can be a Nobody.
I’ve heard the variation in different planar drivers is kind of wild. For someone like you, a perfectionist, I can only imagine how that would drive you nuts haha
Dude I still have 6 pairs of s12s in boxes, they are all just plain bad and can’t be saved. Nevermind nobody, they peak hard in the upper treble and sound brittle and bad.
That’s right… you were buying S12s like no tomorrow to make the mods for people on order, right? I had forgotten about that. What a life… and damn Letshouer for having such variable QC lol
I tried twice to get Letshuoer official store on Amazon US to send me the S12 2024, both times I got the S08 and probably the same set. Waste of transportation.
You are likely aware but if a “recipe” is hard to replicate over and over consistently, it may not be worth it if you are selling it.
Yeah… I agree. Im not sure if this will be harder to replicate. It is a whole new tuning game though. Time will tell. I can say im using exactly one nozzle damper and thats it… so far. I have a 3D printed ‘damper’ for the back of the driver that is basically a 0.3mm pinhole and that is all. At least thats not a lot of variability in terms of dampers.
Nice! Was the main effect (objective) of the bypass vent to pull down the 4-5k?
One of my top prios as well right next to transparency.
A couple days ago I had some beautiful sessions with some of my older IMRs (yeah, yeah, …) that I haven’t heard in a good while. Both of those sets sport adjustable back vents (closed >> fully open) and boy … any of my other mid-fi sets I listened to right afterwards sounded downright narrow or closed in, even though I usually don’t perceive them that way at all. Even though each of those newer sets have a more natural timbre, cleaner tonality and transients than above oldies (even after some extended modding) I sorely missed the seemingly borderless, really airy experience, especially with classical and some electronic tracks so that at the end of the day I put those two oldies back into the rotation.
BTW … I more than welcomed the arrival of CNT/DLC drivers some years ago, especially in single DD sets but the 14mm Beryllium diaphragm of the OG Zenith has to be heard to be believed. Dunno how much sessions I’ve had just listening to some double-bass* solos (C.McBee, R.Carter, J.Patitucci, G.Peacock, …) … on that set those instruments sound like their breathing on top of and through the heavy fundamentals … simply deee-licious.
(* I’ve inherited a double-bass from my late dad, different story …).
The best of luck with your tuning, Michael. Good to know someone else likes some fresh air and space without limits.
