After a decade of designing in-ear monitors for some of the most respected names in the industry, I reached a point where refinement alone was no longer enough. VOLK began as a decision to rebuild the process from the ground up, to create without limitation and to pursue sound with complete intent.

ÉTOILE emerged from that pursuit. It was based on a design I had used for years but never released. Its structure carried potential that demanded resolution. I modernized the system with a new balanced-armature array, a re-engineered crossover, and Sonion electrostatics. From that foundation came the M8 electrostatic driver and the architecture that allowed both systems to operate in parallel, an achievement that set a new reference point for us.

The sound carried emotion, yet I wanted to validate every aspect of its technical precision: tonal balance, phase integrity, spatial behavior. I reached out to Michael Graves, an engineer I had collaborated with nearly a decade earlier on an in-ear monitor designed specifically for his mastering work. That very monitor remains in use at his studio today and has been part of several Grammy-winning remastering projects.

That first collaboration defined how I understood sound and how I approached design. It established a method built on trust, discipline, and respect for the craft. Reconnecting with Michael for ÉTOILE felt like a natural continuation of that pursuit. I shared what I had been developing and asked if he would be open to exploring it together once more. He agreed without hesitation.

In 2024 I brought ÉTOILE to his OSIRIS Studio in Los Angeles. Watching him work reminded me why our philosophies align: patience, precision, and complete respect for the signal. What followed were months of listening sessions, some in the studio, others remote, each one focused on finding balance between two different listening environments and translating that experience into an in-ear format.

During each session, Michael would listen to the prototype and describe what he was hearing and what he felt needed to change. He would then adjust a reference track on his monitoring system, shaping it until the intention behind his words became audible. I would listen to those revisions and bring them back into my own system to interpret within the in-ear domain. His world allowed precise control within a defined bandwidth. Mine existed within a signal network where every driver and crossover affected the others. Translating his adjustments into my environment meant re-engineering those ideas so they behaved as naturally as they did in his.

Each exchange revealed new challenges. Psychoacoustics, driver interaction, electrical behavior, and the physical nature of materials all played their part. Minute changes in construction or component tolerance could shift the entire response. The sound evolved as the design evolved. Every refinement introduced something to learn. Over time, those conversations between studio and bench shaped not only ÉTOILE’s sound but also the way I understood collaboration itself.

By the end, ÉTOILE carried the accuracy of a mastering instrument and the emotion of performance. It was no longer a prototype. It had become the embodiment of VOLK’s standard.