Closer Examination

At first glance I thought the SOGNO comes with the same, excellent 8-strand cable we saw with the VOLARE. But we do get a slightly cut-down, less expensive 4-strand version here, and the sheathing material goes for a more glossy finish too. Otherwise everything else is the same, down to the modular terminations. We get a choice of 2.5/4.4 mm balanced connector plugs or a (pre-installed) 3.5 mm single-ended connection, although we don't get a 6.35 mm (1/4") adapter included with the SOGNO if that's relevant to you. These three plugs are housed in aluminium hardware given a glossy black finish and are relatively low in profile compared to typical such modular connectors. Looking at the cable and these plugs up close, we see it relies on a friction fit with a guide pin, but there are also threads on the outside that another metal piece on the cable screws into for a secure connection. This results in a neat black and gold aesthetic that I am a big fan of personally. There is internal strain relief leading to four strands of silver-plated 99.9999% pure oxygen-free copper wiring inside. The cable is easily manageable and highly flexible, does not display any memory retention or kinking, and has no microphonics in use. The splitter is low profile too with I\O branding and the chin slider is functional in that it remains in place where you leave it. This leads to pre-formed ear hooks on the IEM side where the opaque black sheathing does feel uglier than the rest of the cable. The cable uses standard 0.78 mm 2-pin connectors on housings that are very similar to the splitter on purpose, have I and O printed on them for branding, and a red ring helps identify the right channel. The metal plugs on either end are gold-plated for oxidation resistance.


The SOGNO shells are made for I\OAudio by Heygears, a 3D printing design and manufacturing company that has worked with more established brands including MOONDROP, FiiO, and Truthear when it comes to resin shell IEMs. Heygears uses DLP (digital light processing) 3D printing of various different resins to get the same detailed prints that SLA printing offers but at a much faster rate, enabling true mass volume production. We've seen their work before with the VOLARE, and now is probably the best time to say that the SOGNO looks too similar from a quick glance. While I appreciate the opaque black resin with glitter powder aesthetic for the shells, these look identical to the VOLARE shells. The faceplates are the only differentiator, besides the product name on the side, but even those are not different enough to where I\OAudio might run into an identity crisis if the next product follows a similar design scheme.


The faceplates are monochrome too, and this time the patterns are more filled out compared to what we see on the VOLARE—more branches of that same tree, if you will. Branding comes in the form of I and O on the two faceplates applied in a fairly subtle manner—you will notice it mostly when light catches the faceplates at an angle. The same can be said about the glittery shells too as well as the SOGNO writing on the top. There is a large vent on the side next to the slightly recessed 2-pin connectors, and you need to be aware these shells are relatively large, albeit ergonomically designed. The nozzle is printed as part of the resin shells, and is again on the larger side with a 6.6 mm diameter at the very end—the main body is "only" 5.6 mm wide. The provided ear tips fit well over the nozzle and remain in place with the built-in notch and defined end point. There is no metal filter on the end of the nozzle where we see four sound bores, two of which contain acoustic dampers as part of the tuning system.


Do try the various ear tips provided and see what works best for you from a comfort and seal perspective, it's the least we can do when I\O is so generous on this front. The next step is to attach the provided cable to the shells, which fits easily into the recessed 2-pin connectors as seen above and remains there with a friction fit. The end result is a predominantly black set, including the ear tips, which has some bling to it if you get up close.