These quintuple-driver wired earbuds just landed for only $80 – and I want to know how

• Activo Scoop are quintuple-driver IEMs for $80 (about £60 / AU$120)
• …although official availability hasn't yet been announced
• Why should you care? Activo is Astell & Kern's more affordable sub-brand

I know an absolute bargain when I see it – and Black Friday's long since gone. What's happened is that Astell & Kern's affordable (and increasingly popular) arm, Activo, has launched its third IEMs, with an $80 price tag.

The only catch in Activo's exciting new release is that the Astell & Kern sub-brand hasn't announced global pricing or availability for its brand new Scoop IEMs yet – so if like me you're thinking 'Great, that's one Christmas gift sorted!' I'm afraid we might have to be a bit more cautious.

But what we do know is that in the US they'll cost $80 when they hit online (and actual) retail shelves. And given how much we love the Activo P1 player they'd look beautiful with, and the more expensive dual-driver Activo Q1 they'll sit alongside, in Activo's earphone lineup, there's plenty to get excited about on paper.

First up: that driver array. Activo says Scoop includes "a refined combination of three dynamic drivers (1x 8mm, 2x 6mm) and two balanced armature drivers" in a new driver housing with no sharp edges that's designed to "represent the gentle, polished form of a pebble shaped by flowing water".

The overall aim? To deliver a "natural, resonant signature with real low-end authority and crisp upper-range detail". Woof!

Activo's new IEMs: the Scoop

See what I did there? (Sorry.) OK, so to ensure that the diverse sound signatures from all of those five drivers integrate well and blend seamlessly, Activo has also developed an all-new proprietary internal acoustic port structure.

Elsewhere, the cable terminal features an integrated, dedicated circuit in a bid to deliver an even more stable and clean sound. The cable itself is two-pin silver-plated copper and oxygen-free copper, and you get 3.5mm, 4.4mm and USB-C interchangeable connectors in the box.

We shouldn't get too excited just yet. Activo's Volcano IEMs, which are also $80 launched in March 2025, didn't wow us across the board, but those wired earbuds arrived with a triple-driver array; the 1x 8mm, 2x 6mm dynamic triple-driver setup, without the two BA drivers.

Activo lists a rated impedance of 10 ohms, a 20Hz – 20kHz frequency range and 105dB/mW sensitivity for Scoop, so I predict that the new five-driver array will make all the difference. Why? Because the P1 player these IEMs are clearly designed to be powered by is currently sitting pretty as the best MP3 player we've tested for the money – and because audiophile-curious listeners are ready to invest in corresponding IEMs that don't cost north of $100.

Will they join the ranks of the very best wired earbuds we've tested – where the pricier Activo Q1 also live (but the similarly-priced Volcano do not)? Time will tell. Given the impressive driver count though, I personally cannot wait to find out.

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