Volk Audio made a great first impression in 2025 with their first IEM, Etoilé, which combined a natural tuning with impressively lifelike imaging. Eager to build on the momentum from their first launch, Volk teamed up with Astell&Kern to create Stella, a quadbrid IEM that expands on the sonic ideas they explored with Etoilé. Priced at $3900, does Stella deliver the next step forward for the brand with a next level flagship IEM?

Build and Design

As their second IEM release, Stella helps to more clearly define Volk Audio’s style. The black shell with a metal frame seems to be a key shared element, though Stella features Astell&Kern’s more angular lines rather than the smooth outline of Etoilé. The included cable is a cloth-wrapped 4-core design, with copper, silver, and gold strands used in its construction. You can also expect the usual Astell&Kern packaging and accessories, with a premium case, eartips, and a luxurious unboxing experience.

Stella is surprisingly compact for a 12-driver quadbrid, but somehow they found the space for 1 dynamic driver, 5 balanced armatures, 2 planar drivers, and 4 ESTs, while preserving a clean fit. There’s a simplicity to the look, materials, and fit of Stella that’s somewhat unusual in this price bracket. The materials are clearly excellent, but it doesn’t look as flashy or gaudy as many other high-end IEMs. It’s also a much easier fit than the vast majority of quadbrids or $4000 IEMs I’ve tried. So if you fit it in your ears, are you going to like how it sounds?

Sound

Stella is hard to define as an IEM. It’s not quite v-shaped and not quite really a “Harmon” tuning. There’s a bass boost, but it’s not a basshead IEM. There’s great imaging and soundstage, but not at a level that it fully defines the sound. It’s at once natural and cohesive, while being highly technical and also fun and musical. Stella sounds like its own unique thing, but also retains a comfortable familiarity.

In the bass, Stella offers a great combination of texture and physical impact. There’s a definite elevation in the bass, but it’s not overly dramatic and doesn’t feel exaggerated. Fans of pop, rock, and hip hop will find plenty to love in the punch and rumble, while those who prefer jazz, folk, or classical will find that the bass remains natural, without overpowering the rest of the mix.

Stella’s midrange is more reserved, but the detail and quality of midrange elements is excellent. Vocals remain clear and well-positioned in the mix, and the presentation is clean and natural. In more complex pieces, the layering and separation offers strong insight into the individual instruments and performances.

The treble is nicely extended, with strong clarity, definition and air in the upper regions. Often IEMs with somewhat of a V-shape have sharp, fatiguing points in the treble, but Stella balances this very well, delivering clean extension and strong treble characteristics without harsh overtones or sibilance.

On “Everything is Everything” by Lauryn Hill, Stella demonstrates impressive resolution with its fast attack and smooth decay on the percussive musical hits that make up the main hook. The combination speed, dynamics, and ability to decipher the layers is subtle, but demonstrates just how technically strong Stella is. And on top of the technical aspects, the whole has an awesome physical slam to it. The vocals are well balanced, will multiple layers all coming off as lifelike and the main vocal presenting something very close to Etoilé’s “in the room” characteristics.

The opening clean guitar sounds on “My Curse” by Killswitch Engage are beautifully articulated, and Stella gives you a good taste of the character of the reverb. The dynamic shift hits hard, and the kick drum has serious impact that blends nicely with the depth and texture of the bass. The distorted guitars have an incendiary bite to the open chords and the palm muted riffs stack onto the impact coming up from the drums. There’s loads of detail in the vocals, from the throaty growls to the melodic baritone on the chorus.

Grover Washington Jr.’s “Let it Flow (For Dr. J)” is a great demonstration of Stella’s natural timbre, and the strong balance it presents in spite of the elevated bass. The bassline’s funky pop is smooth, but with a good pluck to it, while the electric guitar has a nice warmth in the tone. When the saxophone leads hit, they’re silky smooth, with great attention to the little details like the subtle breath and vibration of the reed. Put it all together and Stella lets you chill out in the groove while listening for the little details too.

Comparison: Volk Audio Etoilé, Noble Audio Kronos

Probably the first question you’ll need to ask about Stella is how it compares to Volk’s debut IEM, Etoilé, and while there are a number of flagship IEMs out there that could do with a comparison to Stella, another flagship IEM with a natural delivery, balanced tuning, and strong technical capabilities comes to mind: Noble Kronos.

In terms of the build and design, Kronos gets top marks for the materials and craftsmanship. Both in terms of feel and visuals, it feels the most like something that costs thousands of dollars. However, I’d rate Stella the highest for fit and comfort. It’s more lightweight than Kronos and the shape is more comfortable in your ears than Kronos or Etoilé.

In terms of the sound, Stella feels more “mainstream” in the tuning than Etoilé, pulling back the forward mids and adding more crowd-pleasing bass levels. At the same time, it loses the incredible intimacy to the imaging and some of the standout lifelike character to vocals and acoustics instruments. Compared with Kronos, Stella has a stronger elevation from the subbass into the low mids, and while the mids and treble are fairly similar, Stella has a bit more sparkle at the very top. This makes Kronos sound a bit more natural with genres like classical, folk, and classic jazz, while Stella seems better tuned for pop, rock, hip hop, and the like. Imaging characteristics are somewhat similar, though Stella has just a bit more weight to instruments than Kronos.

The Bottom Line

With Stella, Volk builds on what they started with Etoilé, creating something that delivers some of the best elements of their debut with a bigger, more dynamic sound that widens its appeal, for modern music genres. Stella’s tuning, imaging, and technical capabilities let it excel at genres from pop, rock, and hip hop to jazz, folk, and classical, providing a uniquely incredible flagship listening experience that anyone can get into.