Night Oblivion Butastur Universal IEM
Redcarmoose Labs May 12th, 2024
Build:
10BA per side
-Sonion AcuPass Vented Woofer (2BA)
-Knowles HODTEC (2BA)
-Knowles GR31653 x 2 (4BA)
-Knowles TWFK (2BA)
Basic Spec:
107db 30ohms
10BA per side
https://penonaudio.com/Night-Oblivion-Butastur.html
$599.00
Butastur
Yep it’s 10BAs a side, oh..and they are all name brand. But a few other brands offer 10BA a side IEMs for less money, but they are not all name brand drivers and they haven’t been tuned and orchestrated by a master craftsman. Actually two masters are involved with this project, one Jinny Tan and one Head-fi member AmericanSpirt. Where AmericanSpirt came up with tuning ideas and Jinny Tan made such things a reality. Yet we can’t forget Penon too, as they are the ones who put up the money which in fact brought this whole project to fruition!
You see I have been following the Night Oblivion Butastur closely since even before it was released. More out of pure curiosity, I never actually thought that I would get a chance to hear it, but here we are!
Results: TOTL Performance at a mid range price!
I hate to say this, but I could be with this single IEM and get give away or sell the rest of my stuff, yep I identify with the sound that much! Plus I have heard my share of IEMs! It is all down to creating evenness, completeness and correctness. Sure there are other TOTL IEMs that may exaggerate some part of the frequency response, but that was not their goal here. Quite simply they wanted to offer something that never existed before in the IEM world, an IEM that was easy to drive and offered Flagship performance at a value price bracket. I mean I would call the frequency response almost exactly perfect. While in technicalities, sure I have heard the stage be a little bigger, but the way the Butastur does imaging far exceeds any need for a larger stage. The stage is medium large.
Now some (other folks) have questioned the bass authority for genres like Rock or EDM? You see this tune is so incredibly careful, but more than that the Butastur is one, if not the most transparent transducer to source personality I have ever heard, ever. Part of this bass personality is in regards to bass creation. Sure DDs put out the physicality of bass well, but they leave out the inner details. BAs will do the opposite, meaning you want to hear the inside realm of the bass notes, the actual inner texture and close-by reverberations, and the BAs will give you that. On the other hand DDs push air and illustrate the outer reverberations, sounds that actually cover-up some details as a trade-off for (maybe) a more real bass texture? Yet, everyone knows this, hence the introduction of 2X isobaric DDs in unison, trying to increase the speed of DD bass response and achieve the power of a 16mm driver with 2X 8mm……holding the added 2X surface area. Regardless of IEM construction BA bass is its own deal, its own style of bass and will never be replicated by DDs in any combo, at least in the foreseeable future.
So what I learned was that due to this Butastur source transparency I could (with-out EQ) control this offered bass character. Yep, from the midrange focused WM1A to the heavy bass physicality of the WM1Z. And you know I waited, and played with the Butastur, only later unleashing the amazing combo of WM1Z and Butastur. You see, the cleanliness and the pace response of the Butastur is really my preferred way to go......the extra BAs and the way those BAs perform treble and midrange itemizations. And finally the correct placement of instruments into the stage. Yep, probably one of the most important things about the response, that with 10 BAs in action and all BAs in action together, we don’t find the segmented or dissociated DD bass wandering outside into the stage. Nope. Here is a facet of replay I never ever talk about, mainly because I overlook it and it is not all that important to me personally. Yet maybe to you it holds an extreme value as in placement of objects in the stage, is a major technicality held by some IEMs. I mean typically I regard Hybrids as my favorite, yet they are (none of them) never as cohesive as the Butastur is on a daily basis.
Yet the initial 10 Butasturs (shipped 07/25/23) had a sonic surprise in-store for listeners. Sure those few early adopters may have read about the theory of low-frequency control, but there is nothing like hearing it in action for the first time.
The Butastur BRAS System is real.
As such it takes up one of the 4 nozzle openings (holes) seen in pictures here. It also adds a level of safety by maintaining a balanced sound level only up to 110dB.
1) Prevents resonance from high frequencies
2) Discharges certain frequencies
3) Eliminates chance of high frequency ear-damage
4) Long-term wear without pressure build-up
5) Enhances lower mids and bass response though air pressure reserve
Reality:
As such we see the completion of a dream. A dream to offer the masses a TOTL performing IEM that can deliver the goods at 1/2 or 1/4 of the cost. Does this mean the Butastur is close to perfect? Answer, yes and no. No IEM is perfect, also some still feel the Butastur is better at certain music genres than others. Now the bass heavy genres are actually my favorite, so in order to kind-of defend the Butastur, I will go ahead with music demonstrations. Also for some who tried the Butastur I will go so far to say, they may have not found the optimal source or cable, as again it can’t be understated that this Butastur IEM goes forward to delineate exactly what you feed it from file quality, to source……to cable……and finally the exact ear-tip chosen. With each component here holding its own level of character and control over the end tone. You see IEMs come in many forms of well-roundedness and the Butastur is still one of them. The Butastur is well rounded because even if your set-up is close to perfect for you, it is still a wildly entertaining IEM. Then once your set-up is dialed-in the Butastur moves forward to exclaim its dominance over any and all music genres……….it just doesn’t deliver them the best out of every device you have on hand. IMO
Music Tests:
Here I’m using the Sony WM1Z with the Penon OSG cable and Tangzu Tang Sancai Wide Bore ear-tips.
Here I’m not trying to find bass heavy music, it is just the music I know and like, so I’m using it because it’s enjoyable! Now the crazy part is that after 5 days of listening I went through the small task of music to demonstrate the Butastur’s strong points and weaknesses. But in the end, I could really choose any album and it would come-out really good. This one thing, may be the most important sentence in the review? The maybe second most important thing I write could very well be this next paragraph.
Yello
Point
The Vanishing Of Peter Strong
48kHz - 24bit
The amazing thing is I could have chosen any Yello song. In fact this review took way, way longer than it should have. I have 13 different Yello albums on my Sony WM1Z…….and all of them sound fresh and new with the Butastur. I want to tell you about many of them………but that would be crazy right? No wrong, that would not be crazy, it would actually be what this whole Head-Fi journey is about. The details……….and the finding of them like seashells on the seashore. So this song will have to do for now, for the sake of saving space. And it is as good as any to do justification and tell the tale about what is before us here. At 00:00 the bass kicks in………only due to BA detail we right away learn of a new form of musicality here. Where if it is fully deep enough our mind then wanders off, learning about song ideas and creative structure. You see this bass is a cyclical rhythm finding the end attached to the beginning. That in fact they are using at least two synths to proclaim an outside circle and a mono inside expression of bass tones. The outside first, then the bass question answered by the inside. At around 00:06 another kind of sample accent is introduced farther outside the stage. The fact that this is all so clear is beautiful and what Yello is about. They are about new sonics and the discovery of sounds. I will disclose my relationship with Yello starting in 1983.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Gotta_Say_Yes_to_Another_Excess
Really the band never went mainstream until “Oh Yeah” which became famous after being showcased in the movie Ferris Buller’s Day Off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_Bueller%27s_Day_Off
And in so very many ways Yello represents the 1980s audiophile sound. Gone for many were the floor-stander speakers, replaced by faster smaller bookshelf transducers. This fast and accurate treble made its way even into how songs were mixed. Lending this tone to inspire the very first CD pressings. You see, analogue was out of fashion and this new faster digital “tone” was the in-thing. As listeners we can almost figure out what musical era is represented by some tonal mixes. Many of us kept an entry level turntable for years, until we were able to afford a nice turntable, only to discover the Eurythmics sounded no better with our new turntable, being the bass was never there in the first place.
Lucky things have changed for the better and the album Point being Yello’s latest adventure. That said, the album is an audiophile's (wet) dream, full of every tonal idea imagined and many found for the first time.
“Oh Yeah”
A recommendation:
The way this decision to recommend the Butastur happened was I kept going back, like the Butastur kept luring me back to electronic………so you discover old favorites and continue to become enlightened by your old favorites, until you realize, this IEM is really very good! And better than good, great in the end!
So to recommend another Yello song is simply par for the course here.
Par
What is normal or expected in any given circumstances.
Yello
Pocket Universe
Monolith
44.1kHz - 16bit
The timestamps only relevant to the digital file, not the video.
Now you may be questioning why I didn’t go further into the last song? It may be because of the style (of audiophile) many of us are, that you have all this power of immersion in your hands………..it’s actually scary. So you scan onto another file, a file that will become so entrancing that you listen to the whole file……..you know when you get the chills. I’m sorry I get emotional about music, then my dogs come to visit to wonder what is up! Here the deep background synth takes the mood at 00:08. Yet very quickly there is the introduction into the stage of midrange additives. This 00:11 device……….which turns into a flute at 00:13. This whole time there are abstract drums channeled into a festival on both sides of right and left…..panning. Boris Blank is always up to something, recording and reversing normal drum sound then reversing them again to make backwards reverbs. Here it is safe to say Yello is always alert to the sonic canvas they are painting on, making the results never too dark, or too bright. We are at once with what sounds like a juxtaposition of Protestant Choir and something middle eastern? Then the flute makes its main entrance. Right at this point in time (if you asked) I would tell you the Butastur has one of the biggest soundstages I have ever laid hands on?
At 02:11 the Timpani hits, and somehow my dogs are back with me? They don’t hear the drum-hit, they only feel my emotion fall-off here. You see I don’t necessarily have favorite IEMs, what I have are favorite IEM experiences, where it all comes together……….and this is one of them.
The Fifth Element OST (ESCA 6748)
Eric Serra
44.1kHz - 16bit
Look I probably don’t have to tell anyone reading this that BAs do fabulous strings…….right? At 16:00 it is all but a string wonderland into when those woody warm passages of sound take place. Just the fact that all the positioning and those low cello notes that you were not expecting come about like gifts from above. I will say it again…………..if you are into stings and want all that $599.00 can bring you, so far in my journey I have not found better. Just any soundtrack recorded will be a gift here. This happy feeling segues into drums around 20:20. When science fiction takes hold of reality, and distorts it. I’m pretty sure this is the part of the movie when they visit Bruce in his apartment pod.
Anyways the point is you can watch this movie a number of times, but the OST you can listen to for the rest of your life, and especially with the Butastur doing its thing. At 40:21 the Timpani (Kettle Drum) is adding those lows that are just moving, I mean when I say this is the only IEM I need, I’m dead serious, it is. Probably (as you know) it probably does OSTs slightly better than even electronic (and not because of the way the low are) because of how well it does stings and other instruments happened to found alive inside OSTs?
They call this luster I guess, but the OST drums are fast and showing detail left-out by DDs. At 41:08 there is a saxophone and we are encompassed by atmosphere. They are using a Roland R8 “Human Rhythm Composer” which came out in 1989. And the funny thing is I always wonder if some of these drum effects are thought of as real sounding back in 97 when this movie came out……..they are about as synthetic as drums can be, which is actually cool sounding now. Going back there is the part where the “Diva Dance” scene takes place. Where the singing progresses into the dance beat at 35:40. Yet before that we are witness to great female vocals and strings, if you have seen the movie I think most do not expect a beat to be added which takes the whole movie scene to the next level. To describe this beat, it is fast and holding the transient response we have come to know from BAs. That while no it doesn’t contain the pure physicality offered by DDs……..there is this beautiful warm woody character to the strings, and a spacial reverberation which DDs never do, that lets you understand string placement. The lows are still there, and just enough to enable the Butastur to still complete the song in all of its satisfying glory. Though the total charm is the beginning before the drums start…….if that makes any sense. Then the atmosphere and stings to follow inside the next song. The deepness that the cellos bring and the striations of warmth and different levels of detail. Where there is a blossoming which is at its core becomes the soul of the music, those ebbs and flows that only a good BA set-up can do. The Timpani at 39:34 takes the cake here……just the speed and clean transient response, making a show that has you ask yourself……what more would I even want? And of course that was AmericanSprit’s and Jinny Tan’s dream, to offer Flagship level TOTL performance at a mid-price-cost-value. And I must confess hearing is believing, because anyone can brag about their IEMs performance, but to have it really happen, well that’s something to write about, and that is why you’re reading this.
Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch
Blade Runner 2049 OST
Wallace
44.1kHz - 16bit
Look, this is better recorded and more vibrant than the last whole album. Maybe recording technology advanced, but whatever it is I have purposely positioned this album into a sequence of order. It makes a point that while the 5th Element OST was good, and still enjoyable, the stage and instruments inside that stage are like 30% bigger with the song “Wallace” and the Butastur knows this. Part of the magic to this review has been the sequence of events leading up to this final music section. You can play with cables and different DAPs all day long, and the Butastur still entertaining and rewarding………..but get it something (for it) to chew on, and prepare to be literally blown away. Bigger ambiance, bigger synths, broader effects and panning farther out into the stage……….bigger bass drops…….the works.
Wow, chills again…….I don’t think I have ever had three sets of the chills in a review before? I don’t need to explain myself anymore, you get the idea, get the Butastur the file, the source and the cable and be prepared to be entertained……..there is no other word for the experience.
Oh, again……the soundstage is huge right now, bigger than I ever thought was possible from this little IEM?
Wait……..you want ROCK? Metal?
OK, one more.
Inter Arma
New Heaven
Endless Grey
48kHz - 24Bit
Reminds you a little of Brian May huh? There is nothing like dueling leads to end a music section. And in ending here this whole album was a treat with the Butastur. The atmosphere that this crazy band puts out. Where they can be almost psychedelic at times, they defy genre pigeonholing. Here we are given a background atmosphere at the very start, in addition to the basic drums. The drums are heavy and full of that………a…….drum sound?
The difference here is we are hearing inside of the drum hit, and nothing is ever over blown with DD textures. The drums while holding enough (deepness of) tone, are also fast and imaged well. The added spice is the opening snare hit right at 00:00 seemingly coming out of nowhere and falling off into the outskirts of the stage. At 00:12 the twin guitars take over, after a slight multi note accent. And what is the beautiful thing here? It is the fact that we can easily dissect the fact that way off to the right is one guitar, way off to the left is another………with a clean bass riding out in the middle, just above the drum beats. The realization that in reality the bass transforms into a dirty character…….yep taking us hostage with its filth. But yet, that is OK, we expected to get soiled during this venture. That in fact the very wind-up at the start most likely had bass too? Ahhhhh perfect. At times each instrument is doing its own job, and as the song progresses the bass becomes that of a virtuoso player……..imagine that bass player taking all the attention? But in the end it works, it works for me anyways?
Construction:
Where the Butastur comes into its own is size. Most 10BA IEMs are not this small. Really I find it to be the perfect balance of weight and size. At only 5 grams a piece the Bustastur sports some of the best IEM feeling to boot. The use of DREVE paint takes the comfort to the next level. Owning a 3-way crossover, you also have the option of activation of the two DIP-Switches. While sporting 3 nozzle holes, the fourth nozzle opening is the BRAS pressure equalization system. As such once or twice I accidentally had the volume way too loud and I fully guesstimate I could hear the BRAS system in action, making the tones not so loud and an overused volume and not so contrasty? The two vents in unison make the air-system performance unique to the Butastur. Such included regular side vent becomes seen as allowing air-pressure to become relived, as well as injunction with the single nozzle vent.
DIP-Swiches and ear-tips:
The Butastur comes with both switches in the off (down) position. This could be looked at as a suggested balanced tone. The number one switch when switched-up adds bass, and the number two switch pushed up adds treble. Where I spent 5 days listening with both switches off, then tried a handful of ear-tip choices with the switches in the sequence of 1 up then 2 up and finally both 1 and 2 up. Somehow this subject leads me to an ear-tip explanation. Meaning yes (just like the graphs read, there were small yet adequate changes) and I tried to dial the changes further in by changing ear-tips. This may sound confusing, yet I had already tried many ear-tips and it was of good results (especially) to try the donut wide-bore tips (my biggest soundstage and least bass) with the extra bass setting. Another super surprising feature were the DIVINUS VELVET ear-tip results. The Velvets seemed to expand the treble in the nicest of ways, and seemed to promote bass authority. In all I tried 9 pairs of ear-tips and surprisingly found none of them needed to put out any fires……same as the DIP-Switches, that in ways the treble was more drastic than what could be accomplished by ear-tips……none of the switches were ever needed to correct any style of off tone…….as every Dip-Switch and every ear-tip were acceptable. Though I returned to one of my regular wide-bore tips and flipped the DIP-Switches back off, as it is a mid-range paradise here, a paradise I didn’t want to mess with. Maybe I used the Butastur too long before going to the switches, maybe not? I can say somehow it looks like AmericanSpirt likes the mids too (by the graph naming) and is offering the switches just for added flexibility? I mean this IEM has addictive treble and (enough) bass, but it is a revelation in midrange, and somehow the switch added bass or added treble seemed unnatural to me?
Typically I will use the generic purple center wide-bore silicone ear-tips. Though the new (red) 7Hz wide-bores are nice. As well as the (blue) Tangzu Tang Sancai Wide Bore! The long silicone wide-bore I will use as back-up for a few IEMs, namely the Encore to help with fitment.
Included Cable:
The cable is truly nice and can be purchased separately for $49.90 here.
https://penonaudio.com/Night-Oblivion-Butastur-IEM-Cable
Night Oblivion Butastur 2Pin 0.78mm 4 Shares OCC HiFi Audiophile IEMs Cable wth 3-in-1 Modular Plugs
Description
Materials: 6N single crystal copper Litz cable
Core: 4 strands , single strand is 36* 0.05 *7
Wire diameter:1.55mm
Interface: 2Pin 0.78mm with earhook
Plug: 3-in-1 3.5mm audio/2.5mm balanced /4.4mm balanced modular straight plug
Length: 1.20m-1.25m
Probably besides the sound the redeeming factor here was just how stable the 3-in-1 system worked. Where once the plug slides into place, the friction keeps it on forever until ample force is used to release the plug, I liked that. There are also a number of little details which show nice……like a laser engraved symbol on the cable splitter.
The ear hooks are very fluid and never uncomfortable in use. The 2Pins are color coded, and the ergonomics are wonderful, coiling and going where you want it. Another extra feature to the cable is exactly how they sculpted the plug. Whereupon first investigating this feature may seem trivial but it’s not, where the separation point sits at the rear of the plug and remains parallel and almost hidden from touch feeling. This means the plug ends like not a regular 3-in-1 modular plug, but becomes a fixed plug in daily use. That and the fact that it seriously doesn’t come off easily, makes it super nice in daily use.
Cable rolls:
After using my Sony WM1A for the first few days with various cables, I then switched to the Sony WM1Z. As such the 1Z physicality of the bass was unarguable…..and it remained in place for the rest of the review process. Though I did at times go back to other devices, resulting from paranoia to wondering if what I was hearing was truly so good. Mid review I rotated the HiBy R3 II and while even using the Penon OSG cable, it was a world of difference, differences in the wrong direction. Don’t get me wrong, many songs were good with the R3, it was just the Butastur has this uncanny ability to reveal all of your source personality, and after a few days of the 1Z you become used to the tone. Where the R3 was M shaped in response which offered a thinner and less lush midrange and stage expansion, with less bass and less treble stage interplay. There are many ways I parallel the included cable output to the same tone. Meaning while the included cable is great, it offered a brighter but almost tinny sounding replay as in comparison to the lushness of the Penon OSG. Though bass from the included cable was the most profound out of the three cables I tested.
Below Penon OSG Cable
Included cable
1) Included cable in 4.4mm
2) Penon OSG cable in 4.4mm
3) ISN Solar cable in 4.4mm
ISN Solar cable
So you would think the ISN Solar would be the winner here? And while it may be some peoples favorites, I should have probably tested it with the Sony WM1A as I’m sure it would have been a better match. Though you have to realize, this review is convoluted and long enough, I can’t test everything, even though curiosity calls for it. SO to try and keep this simple, the Solar and OSG were both better cables than the included cable. Yet for most there was nothing strange or out of the ordinary in what the included cable did. It was just that the Solar added this lush lower midrange stage expansion, yet the Butastur was transparent enough to also allow the 1Z treble push though…….yep, it was too bright, the Solar was too intense with this combo. And that my friends allowed me to get to the Penon OSG secret sauce! The OSG allowed its inherent Graphene to somehow expand the midrange, it smoothed it out and the mids were found even larger. This smoothing added note-weight to the treble and midrange, counteracting any natural BA character. The bass was left still boosted (due to the 1Z) but this (new) sculpturing was adding detail and 3D dimension, clarity to the low-end. There comes a time when you seem to have it all, and I was not even curious as to the effects of other cables. Of course before I tried numerous cables including the ASOS+ which was great but not as great as the OSG. It is probably this rare density that just seemed to work with the OSG and Butastur, that the OSG was going and including this smoothed out yet dense and separated tone in the end………..more inviting and thicker, bigger staged and better sculpted.
Left to right:
7Hz Aurora, Night Oblivion Butastur and Noble Audio K-10 Encore
Side-by-sides:
Here I’m still using the set-up of OSG, Sony WM1Z and the various other IEMs placed into rotation. The only difference is the longer wide-bore tips which allow better fitment with the Noble Encore. Regular wide-bore donuts are used for the 7Hz Aurora and Butastur. You may be wondering why I chose these three to become side-by-sides? The answer is the three share some of the three tonal characteristics. So much in-fact that they go in memory to remind me of each other. When that happens side-by-sides will further delineate the true differences and contrasting abilities, because the three are both birds-of-a-feather and different. Some folks may ask why I’m using the OSG cable on all three……..and my answer is due to all three having a portion of the same personality…….it works.
Noble Audio K-10 Encore v Butastur:
Look, the Encore is not as easily accessible (to the masses) as the Butastur. Nope, the Encore has extensions starting at 5kHz and ending at 8kHz. This noticeable shelf…….even if the measurements are blurred by the 8kHz testing resonance, confirm a way more intense listen. This combined with the relatively flat Encore midrange and neutral bass, means the balance of mental focus is shifted to focus on the 5kHz to 8kHz treble shelf. Coincidentally both the Encore K-10 and Butastur are 10 BA devices. Yet this Butastur lower bass activity both balances the Butastur better and adds thickness. You could say both the Butastur and the K-10 are upper mid-range masters, and I like that……as that is where a good portion of the musical information lies.
Encore V Butastur:
The Encore is noticeably way way louder at the same volume. This volume increase only goes to emphasize the stage positioning and forward aspects of the tune, even (after) when the volume is equalized. Vocals are more forward, imaging is bigger and little birds are chirping farther out scattering among the many more layers. The vibrancy of the Encore is real and impossible to fight against. Is this fair? Well the Encore was $1850.00 when it was introduced at the end of 2016. On the used market they fetch exactly $599.00. I mean if anything this battle showed me why I keep the Encore around. The OSG does the same imaging magic trick with the Encore as the Butastur, only a bigger stage means farther out Encore fireworks. This is insane….really…the Encore showing its vibrancy in response. But there is a crack in the reality here………….yep, the dimensional clarity has a small fissure……it has to do with BA timbre and tone. This spectacle of Encore imaging has its issues too, mainly because stuff is even clearer and more itemized in the stage........so more closely examined for quality!
Number one the Butastur doesn’t ever produce that air of off timbre the Encore seems to capitalize on? And while amazingly bass is very equal.........there is a Butastur lower midrange thickness that is both soft and inviting like a bed blanket…….this character then travels up into the warmer midrange and at that point merges with a more mainstream accessible treble.
Where vocals being airy and vibrant have been a center of the Butastur sound goals from the start. We came face to face with these vocal abilities in the music test section with Diva Plavalaguna singing the Diva Dance!
The issue is the Encore is over the top, it is out-to-lunch crazy…….and not for every set of ears, or every listening run. Sure both IEMs can exist in a collection and offer different ideas into which we interpret sound. Where even though bass is the same between the two, that Encore 5kHz to 8kHz makes that same bass less noticeable. And finally the Butastur comes off softer, more inviting and smoother, enabling longer listens at louder volumes. Sure I will take the Encore to the grave, but that doesn’t mean there is not room for a more accessible and friendly style of entertainment? Oh, and by the way, the Butastur is 2X more comfortable to wear. The Encore has never been exactly friendly in fitment, and the Butastur is the most friendly in how it feels. Nothing was more noticeable than switching between the two, as when the Butastur made it in there was a profound pleasure to fitment.
The 7Hz Aurora v the Butastur:
Look, I get a lot of IEMs in the mail, half the time they are good and some are way better than just good. Yet nothing is perfect, nothing……and some IEMs show that imperfection more than others…..in being boring or uneven listens.........also the ones missing technicalities.
Here the Aurora is offering a bigger stage and amazingly has some of that vibrancy like the Encore. As such that vibrancy is coated slightly with Planar timbre, yet this is totally lovable and fun.
There is this bigger than life Aurora imaging taking place, yet once again, it is not quite as coherent as what the Butastur does on a daily basis. Farther out imaging and with the slight planar timbre in an airiness........and a tad bit of thinness that the Butastur goes and fills in. Also the Butastur becomes more cohesive with the effect of all BAs at once. Where the 7Hz Aurora is the quintessential Hybrid, and due to such separations and scattering of images becomes slightly both bigger in entertainment and less real……almost surrealistic.
The missing added warmth the Butastur contains, if (that warmth) was added to the 7Hz……well then we would really have something.
The surprising thing was I would have never guessed the Encore and 7Hz Aurora would share the same big stage image positioning? Yet neither the 7Hz Aurora or the Encore provide that down-home and down-to-earth warm-friendly feeling that the Butastur just naturally offers…….all the time. It is this Butastur smoothness and maturity of tone that I always knew existed inside what the Butastur offers, yet during these side-by-sides became even more vivid and pure. I can tell you I will be matching the 7hz with more cables and changing DAPs to continue to find a way in…..as the 7Hz Aurora is incredible for what it is.
Packaging:
Conclusion:
Well there you have it, another one in the books. When I exclaimed that the Butastur could be my only IEM, I meant it. Why? The Night Oblivion Butastur is well-rounded that’s why. Yes, you need to match it to a more bass heavy source......as if you only offer it thinness going in, a slight style of thinness is what (will) come out. Yet again all this is with-in reason. Reasonable is probably the very best word I have to describe the Butastur.
Reasonable
This occurs as a reality due to the Butastur evenness, the completeness and finally the correctness encountered with every DAP, every cable, every ear-tip and every genre of music. With that said maybe, just maybe the The Night Oblivion Butastur does OSTs better than ROCK? I mean really it could go either way……..except those darn violins, those cellos and that stand-up bass replay……oh and the transients and reverbs associated with them!
Call me smitten, but the way the Butastur does OSTs had me rifle though a larger section of my OST collection than any IEM in here at Redcarmoose Labs. And when this review is over, you can bet your sweet behind I will continue the investigation of OSTs……..mainly just because it is so much fun. Fun is a strange word to use, but that’s all we really want here, we like to somehow take this whole process apart like a car, so it can’t run any longer….we do that….to figure out what parts the car is made of. But the reality is when an IEM like the Butastur is in your ears you're more preoccupied by the beautiful hidden bass creations, these sounds which startle you with excitement. That and because the Butastur sounds real...........we are more emotionally involved with the file played. Just ask my dogs, as I was emotional during this review, they will verify such reactions from the legendary Butastur.
"Really all BA IEMs, they still try to make those?"
The Butastur is a classic and one IEM that will never go out of style, as realism never fails to produce reactions. This project is a dream of a few……..one AmericanSpirit, one Jinny Tan and the financial support and retail procurement by Penon Audio. There is always a risk that when new IEM ideas are built upon that the results may be just average, that is the laws of chance. Yet here the results are true and real, just as real as the sound playback………the fact that (they did) somehow arrange to make a TOTL Flagship sounding IEM that not only sounds the part but bucks the system already in place. This system is occupied by retail IEMs from old seasoned manufactures that don’t want to see this new invention creep into their profit centers. Yet the Butastur lives and it is not going away anytime soon……..nope it is here to stay. The Night Oblivion is expensive, sure to use all name brand BAs and to include 20 of the suckers in a purchase cost money. And sure anyone can put together an IEM, but few have the understanding of what they want to accomplish...........and the methods at hand to pull-it-off. I know part of AmericanSpirit’s inspiration came from the qdc Anole VX. And in fact I have heard the VX, and even though it was a while ago, I truly think qdc could learn a few things by studying this particular Butastur tune. No disrespect given, it is just that in the IEM business ideas are always improved upon. IEMs made later in production will often move one step further into an area of perfection. There is better timbre than what the qdc VX accomplished, the Butastur is really the opposite of steely. And while both IEMs offer 10 BAs, the Butastur is tuned better than the VX, and a fraction of the price. It is what it is! We are all truly lucky that times change (technology moves forward) thus we get a taste of a world we would normally never get a chance to afford/inhabit.
$599.00
https://penonaudio.com/Night-Oblivion-Butastur.html
Disclaimer:
I want to thank Penon Audio for the love and for the Night Oblivion Butastur review sample.
Disclaimer:
These are one person's ideas and concepts, your results may vary.
Equipment Used:
Sony WM1A Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm balanced
Sony WM1Z Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm balanced
Sony TA-ZH1ES DAC/AMP Firmware 1.03 4.4mm balanced
Electra Glide Audio Reference Glide-Reference Standard "Fatboy" Power Cord
Sony Walkman Cradle BCR-NWH10
AudioQuest Carbon USB
HiBy R3 II DAP 4.4mm balanced
ifi GO bar Dongle in 4.4mm balanced
Samsung Phone 3.5mm
Wait hold your horses, the darn review isn’t over yet, as if you thought it wasn't already long enough?
Phone use:
Curiosity skinned the cat. No wait, that isn’t how it goes, cursory killed the cat, and there are more ways than one to skin-a-cat. That to me means that maybe you can drive the Butastur due to it being insanely easy to drive in the end?
Phone use:
Hooked-up to the included cable with 3.5mm modular plug I simply attached it to my regular 3.5mm Samsung phone. I always travel with a list of about 32GB of my latest favorite songs to play, though often that means attached to Dongles or Bluetooth. Here we just want to know how well they can sound off the regular phone amplifier.
Wow!
What a way to end this review. I mean this is way, way better than expected the Butastur to sound? Where right off the guitars holds harmonics and the fullness of the stage. Deep thorough expansions of harmonic details? There are little embellishments of cymbal strikes and nice reverberations. I hate to say this...........but there is a way with the included cable (and a phone) that sounds even more correct. Smooth yet clear woody nature with authority in the bass. In fact.........I’m even hearing the bass better separated and deeper here? Of course the overall size is just slightly smaller, but way less of a difference from DAP playback than I was expecting?
Well, whatever……this is a full and satisfying phone playback that is great! You have to hear it to believe it. All this means is there is way more potential to the Butastur, that to try this IEM with even more source combinations means more chances for success. The deepness of the bass and the sculpturing of bass detail has me amazed, you will see!
Penon Solar Cable use with the Sony WM1A and Butastur!
OK, so I’m obsessive and curious, a combination that warrants research and script to back-up and document that research. Does anyone really care? Sure these results are subjective, and subject to change of opinion, but it is all we really have. So far there are no machines or AI that can quantify these faint results……..so it is onward to testing. Does anyone really care? If you have the Solar cable you care as that was a chunk of change, and the WM1A is many a favorite DAP, even all these years later.
The results:
Oh Gawd!
I mean of course you knew that if you take good ingredients they often go together. And while pickles and ice-cream don’t always go together, they do go together if your wife is pregnant……something about rare nutrients needed during pregnancy. And that’s the thing…….instincts are real. I had an instinct that even though the treble was too bright with the laser etching of the WM1Z...........the WM1A with its slightly more down to earth treble could be a choice. And the results..........perrrrrrefect. Yep, these lower midrange thrusters I was talking about earlier with the Solar cable became a spectacle of added thickness to the Butastur! Then the stage size, really this is all I need, really all I want. And once again that elusive stage size has me perplexed, as it is really dependent on a number of things? Starting with the way the file was recorded, then transferred to the source, then modified and enhanced or non-enhanced by the cable to the Butastur. I’m supposed to get a grip on reality as to the Butastur, yet as far as stage size……..well it is always big, but at times the Butastur stage size is as big as I have almost ever heard with an IEM, like right now? Go figure?
But man-o-man if you could witness this try out……it’s the bee's knees! The total soul of what the Butastur has on offer………simply amazing!
ISN Solar cable
Redcarmoose Labs May 12th, 2024
Build:
10BA per side
-Sonion AcuPass Vented Woofer (2BA)
-Knowles HODTEC (2BA)
-Knowles GR31653 x 2 (4BA)
-Knowles TWFK (2BA)
Basic Spec:
107db 30ohms
10BA per side
https://penonaudio.com/Night-Oblivion-Butastur.html
$599.00
Butastur
Yep it’s 10BAs a side, oh..and they are all name brand. But a few other brands offer 10BA a side IEMs for less money, but they are not all name brand drivers and they haven’t been tuned and orchestrated by a master craftsman. Actually two masters are involved with this project, one Jinny Tan and one Head-fi member AmericanSpirt. Where AmericanSpirt came up with tuning ideas and Jinny Tan made such things a reality. Yet we can’t forget Penon too, as they are the ones who put up the money which in fact brought this whole project to fruition!
You see I have been following the Night Oblivion Butastur closely since even before it was released. More out of pure curiosity, I never actually thought that I would get a chance to hear it, but here we are!
Results: TOTL Performance at a mid range price!
I hate to say this, but I could be with this single IEM and get give away or sell the rest of my stuff, yep I identify with the sound that much! Plus I have heard my share of IEMs! It is all down to creating evenness, completeness and correctness. Sure there are other TOTL IEMs that may exaggerate some part of the frequency response, but that was not their goal here. Quite simply they wanted to offer something that never existed before in the IEM world, an IEM that was easy to drive and offered Flagship performance at a value price bracket. I mean I would call the frequency response almost exactly perfect. While in technicalities, sure I have heard the stage be a little bigger, but the way the Butastur does imaging far exceeds any need for a larger stage. The stage is medium large.
Now some (other folks) have questioned the bass authority for genres like Rock or EDM? You see this tune is so incredibly careful, but more than that the Butastur is one, if not the most transparent transducer to source personality I have ever heard, ever. Part of this bass personality is in regards to bass creation. Sure DDs put out the physicality of bass well, but they leave out the inner details. BAs will do the opposite, meaning you want to hear the inside realm of the bass notes, the actual inner texture and close-by reverberations, and the BAs will give you that. On the other hand DDs push air and illustrate the outer reverberations, sounds that actually cover-up some details as a trade-off for (maybe) a more real bass texture? Yet, everyone knows this, hence the introduction of 2X isobaric DDs in unison, trying to increase the speed of DD bass response and achieve the power of a 16mm driver with 2X 8mm……holding the added 2X surface area. Regardless of IEM construction BA bass is its own deal, its own style of bass and will never be replicated by DDs in any combo, at least in the foreseeable future.
So what I learned was that due to this Butastur source transparency I could (with-out EQ) control this offered bass character. Yep, from the midrange focused WM1A to the heavy bass physicality of the WM1Z. And you know I waited, and played with the Butastur, only later unleashing the amazing combo of WM1Z and Butastur. You see, the cleanliness and the pace response of the Butastur is really my preferred way to go......the extra BAs and the way those BAs perform treble and midrange itemizations. And finally the correct placement of instruments into the stage. Yep, probably one of the most important things about the response, that with 10 BAs in action and all BAs in action together, we don’t find the segmented or dissociated DD bass wandering outside into the stage. Nope. Here is a facet of replay I never ever talk about, mainly because I overlook it and it is not all that important to me personally. Yet maybe to you it holds an extreme value as in placement of objects in the stage, is a major technicality held by some IEMs. I mean typically I regard Hybrids as my favorite, yet they are (none of them) never as cohesive as the Butastur is on a daily basis.
Yet the initial 10 Butasturs (shipped 07/25/23) had a sonic surprise in-store for listeners. Sure those few early adopters may have read about the theory of low-frequency control, but there is nothing like hearing it in action for the first time.
The Butastur BRAS System is real.
As such it takes up one of the 4 nozzle openings (holes) seen in pictures here. It also adds a level of safety by maintaining a balanced sound level only up to 110dB.
1) Prevents resonance from high frequencies
2) Discharges certain frequencies
3) Eliminates chance of high frequency ear-damage
4) Long-term wear without pressure build-up
5) Enhances lower mids and bass response though air pressure reserve
Reality:
As such we see the completion of a dream. A dream to offer the masses a TOTL performing IEM that can deliver the goods at 1/2 or 1/4 of the cost. Does this mean the Butastur is close to perfect? Answer, yes and no. No IEM is perfect, also some still feel the Butastur is better at certain music genres than others. Now the bass heavy genres are actually my favorite, so in order to kind-of defend the Butastur, I will go ahead with music demonstrations. Also for some who tried the Butastur I will go so far to say, they may have not found the optimal source or cable, as again it can’t be understated that this Butastur IEM goes forward to delineate exactly what you feed it from file quality, to source……to cable……and finally the exact ear-tip chosen. With each component here holding its own level of character and control over the end tone. You see IEMs come in many forms of well-roundedness and the Butastur is still one of them. The Butastur is well rounded because even if your set-up is close to perfect for you, it is still a wildly entertaining IEM. Then once your set-up is dialed-in the Butastur moves forward to exclaim its dominance over any and all music genres……….it just doesn’t deliver them the best out of every device you have on hand. IMO
Music Tests:
Here I’m using the Sony WM1Z with the Penon OSG cable and Tangzu Tang Sancai Wide Bore ear-tips.
Here I’m not trying to find bass heavy music, it is just the music I know and like, so I’m using it because it’s enjoyable! Now the crazy part is that after 5 days of listening I went through the small task of music to demonstrate the Butastur’s strong points and weaknesses. But in the end, I could really choose any album and it would come-out really good. This one thing, may be the most important sentence in the review? The maybe second most important thing I write could very well be this next paragraph.
Yello
Point
The Vanishing Of Peter Strong
48kHz - 24bit
The amazing thing is I could have chosen any Yello song. In fact this review took way, way longer than it should have. I have 13 different Yello albums on my Sony WM1Z…….and all of them sound fresh and new with the Butastur. I want to tell you about many of them………but that would be crazy right? No wrong, that would not be crazy, it would actually be what this whole Head-Fi journey is about. The details……….and the finding of them like seashells on the seashore. So this song will have to do for now, for the sake of saving space. And it is as good as any to do justification and tell the tale about what is before us here. At 00:00 the bass kicks in………only due to BA detail we right away learn of a new form of musicality here. Where if it is fully deep enough our mind then wanders off, learning about song ideas and creative structure. You see this bass is a cyclical rhythm finding the end attached to the beginning. That in fact they are using at least two synths to proclaim an outside circle and a mono inside expression of bass tones. The outside first, then the bass question answered by the inside. At around 00:06 another kind of sample accent is introduced farther outside the stage. The fact that this is all so clear is beautiful and what Yello is about. They are about new sonics and the discovery of sounds. I will disclose my relationship with Yello starting in 1983.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Gotta_Say_Yes_to_Another_Excess
Really the band never went mainstream until “Oh Yeah” which became famous after being showcased in the movie Ferris Buller’s Day Off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_Bueller%27s_Day_Off
And in so very many ways Yello represents the 1980s audiophile sound. Gone for many were the floor-stander speakers, replaced by faster smaller bookshelf transducers. This fast and accurate treble made its way even into how songs were mixed. Lending this tone to inspire the very first CD pressings. You see, analogue was out of fashion and this new faster digital “tone” was the in-thing. As listeners we can almost figure out what musical era is represented by some tonal mixes. Many of us kept an entry level turntable for years, until we were able to afford a nice turntable, only to discover the Eurythmics sounded no better with our new turntable, being the bass was never there in the first place.
Lucky things have changed for the better and the album Point being Yello’s latest adventure. That said, the album is an audiophile's (wet) dream, full of every tonal idea imagined and many found for the first time.
“Oh Yeah”
- Dieter Meier – lead and background vocals
- Boris Blank – Fairlight CMI, ARP Odyssey, background vocals
A recommendation:
The way this decision to recommend the Butastur happened was I kept going back, like the Butastur kept luring me back to electronic………so you discover old favorites and continue to become enlightened by your old favorites, until you realize, this IEM is really very good! And better than good, great in the end!
So to recommend another Yello song is simply par for the course here.
Par
What is normal or expected in any given circumstances.
Yello
Pocket Universe
Monolith
44.1kHz - 16bit
The timestamps only relevant to the digital file, not the video.
Now you may be questioning why I didn’t go further into the last song? It may be because of the style (of audiophile) many of us are, that you have all this power of immersion in your hands………..it’s actually scary. So you scan onto another file, a file that will become so entrancing that you listen to the whole file……..you know when you get the chills. I’m sorry I get emotional about music, then my dogs come to visit to wonder what is up! Here the deep background synth takes the mood at 00:08. Yet very quickly there is the introduction into the stage of midrange additives. This 00:11 device……….which turns into a flute at 00:13. This whole time there are abstract drums channeled into a festival on both sides of right and left…..panning. Boris Blank is always up to something, recording and reversing normal drum sound then reversing them again to make backwards reverbs. Here it is safe to say Yello is always alert to the sonic canvas they are painting on, making the results never too dark, or too bright. We are at once with what sounds like a juxtaposition of Protestant Choir and something middle eastern? Then the flute makes its main entrance. Right at this point in time (if you asked) I would tell you the Butastur has one of the biggest soundstages I have ever laid hands on?
At 02:11 the Timpani hits, and somehow my dogs are back with me? They don’t hear the drum-hit, they only feel my emotion fall-off here. You see I don’t necessarily have favorite IEMs, what I have are favorite IEM experiences, where it all comes together……….and this is one of them.
The Fifth Element OST (ESCA 6748)
Eric Serra
44.1kHz - 16bit
Look I probably don’t have to tell anyone reading this that BAs do fabulous strings…….right? At 16:00 it is all but a string wonderland into when those woody warm passages of sound take place. Just the fact that all the positioning and those low cello notes that you were not expecting come about like gifts from above. I will say it again…………..if you are into stings and want all that $599.00 can bring you, so far in my journey I have not found better. Just any soundtrack recorded will be a gift here. This happy feeling segues into drums around 20:20. When science fiction takes hold of reality, and distorts it. I’m pretty sure this is the part of the movie when they visit Bruce in his apartment pod.
Anyways the point is you can watch this movie a number of times, but the OST you can listen to for the rest of your life, and especially with the Butastur doing its thing. At 40:21 the Timpani (Kettle Drum) is adding those lows that are just moving, I mean when I say this is the only IEM I need, I’m dead serious, it is. Probably (as you know) it probably does OSTs slightly better than even electronic (and not because of the way the low are) because of how well it does stings and other instruments happened to found alive inside OSTs?
They call this luster I guess, but the OST drums are fast and showing detail left-out by DDs. At 41:08 there is a saxophone and we are encompassed by atmosphere. They are using a Roland R8 “Human Rhythm Composer” which came out in 1989. And the funny thing is I always wonder if some of these drum effects are thought of as real sounding back in 97 when this movie came out……..they are about as synthetic as drums can be, which is actually cool sounding now. Going back there is the part where the “Diva Dance” scene takes place. Where the singing progresses into the dance beat at 35:40. Yet before that we are witness to great female vocals and strings, if you have seen the movie I think most do not expect a beat to be added which takes the whole movie scene to the next level. To describe this beat, it is fast and holding the transient response we have come to know from BAs. That while no it doesn’t contain the pure physicality offered by DDs……..there is this beautiful warm woody character to the strings, and a spacial reverberation which DDs never do, that lets you understand string placement. The lows are still there, and just enough to enable the Butastur to still complete the song in all of its satisfying glory. Though the total charm is the beginning before the drums start…….if that makes any sense. Then the atmosphere and stings to follow inside the next song. The deepness that the cellos bring and the striations of warmth and different levels of detail. Where there is a blossoming which is at its core becomes the soul of the music, those ebbs and flows that only a good BA set-up can do. The Timpani at 39:34 takes the cake here……just the speed and clean transient response, making a show that has you ask yourself……what more would I even want? And of course that was AmericanSprit’s and Jinny Tan’s dream, to offer Flagship level TOTL performance at a mid-price-cost-value. And I must confess hearing is believing, because anyone can brag about their IEMs performance, but to have it really happen, well that’s something to write about, and that is why you’re reading this.
Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch
Blade Runner 2049 OST
Wallace
44.1kHz - 16bit
Look, this is better recorded and more vibrant than the last whole album. Maybe recording technology advanced, but whatever it is I have purposely positioned this album into a sequence of order. It makes a point that while the 5th Element OST was good, and still enjoyable, the stage and instruments inside that stage are like 30% bigger with the song “Wallace” and the Butastur knows this. Part of the magic to this review has been the sequence of events leading up to this final music section. You can play with cables and different DAPs all day long, and the Butastur still entertaining and rewarding………..but get it something (for it) to chew on, and prepare to be literally blown away. Bigger ambiance, bigger synths, broader effects and panning farther out into the stage……….bigger bass drops…….the works.
Wow, chills again…….I don’t think I have ever had three sets of the chills in a review before? I don’t need to explain myself anymore, you get the idea, get the Butastur the file, the source and the cable and be prepared to be entertained……..there is no other word for the experience.
Oh, again……the soundstage is huge right now, bigger than I ever thought was possible from this little IEM?
Wait……..you want ROCK? Metal?
OK, one more.
Inter Arma
New Heaven
Endless Grey
48kHz - 24Bit
Reminds you a little of Brian May huh? There is nothing like dueling leads to end a music section. And in ending here this whole album was a treat with the Butastur. The atmosphere that this crazy band puts out. Where they can be almost psychedelic at times, they defy genre pigeonholing. Here we are given a background atmosphere at the very start, in addition to the basic drums. The drums are heavy and full of that………a…….drum sound?
The difference here is we are hearing inside of the drum hit, and nothing is ever over blown with DD textures. The drums while holding enough (deepness of) tone, are also fast and imaged well. The added spice is the opening snare hit right at 00:00 seemingly coming out of nowhere and falling off into the outskirts of the stage. At 00:12 the twin guitars take over, after a slight multi note accent. And what is the beautiful thing here? It is the fact that we can easily dissect the fact that way off to the right is one guitar, way off to the left is another………with a clean bass riding out in the middle, just above the drum beats. The realization that in reality the bass transforms into a dirty character…….yep taking us hostage with its filth. But yet, that is OK, we expected to get soiled during this venture. That in fact the very wind-up at the start most likely had bass too? Ahhhhh perfect. At times each instrument is doing its own job, and as the song progresses the bass becomes that of a virtuoso player……..imagine that bass player taking all the attention? But in the end it works, it works for me anyways?
Construction:
Where the Butastur comes into its own is size. Most 10BA IEMs are not this small. Really I find it to be the perfect balance of weight and size. At only 5 grams a piece the Bustastur sports some of the best IEM feeling to boot. The use of DREVE paint takes the comfort to the next level. Owning a 3-way crossover, you also have the option of activation of the two DIP-Switches. While sporting 3 nozzle holes, the fourth nozzle opening is the BRAS pressure equalization system. As such once or twice I accidentally had the volume way too loud and I fully guesstimate I could hear the BRAS system in action, making the tones not so loud and an overused volume and not so contrasty? The two vents in unison make the air-system performance unique to the Butastur. Such included regular side vent becomes seen as allowing air-pressure to become relived, as well as injunction with the single nozzle vent.
DIP-Swiches and ear-tips:
The Butastur comes with both switches in the off (down) position. This could be looked at as a suggested balanced tone. The number one switch when switched-up adds bass, and the number two switch pushed up adds treble. Where I spent 5 days listening with both switches off, then tried a handful of ear-tip choices with the switches in the sequence of 1 up then 2 up and finally both 1 and 2 up. Somehow this subject leads me to an ear-tip explanation. Meaning yes (just like the graphs read, there were small yet adequate changes) and I tried to dial the changes further in by changing ear-tips. This may sound confusing, yet I had already tried many ear-tips and it was of good results (especially) to try the donut wide-bore tips (my biggest soundstage and least bass) with the extra bass setting. Another super surprising feature were the DIVINUS VELVET ear-tip results. The Velvets seemed to expand the treble in the nicest of ways, and seemed to promote bass authority. In all I tried 9 pairs of ear-tips and surprisingly found none of them needed to put out any fires……same as the DIP-Switches, that in ways the treble was more drastic than what could be accomplished by ear-tips……none of the switches were ever needed to correct any style of off tone…….as every Dip-Switch and every ear-tip were acceptable. Though I returned to one of my regular wide-bore tips and flipped the DIP-Switches back off, as it is a mid-range paradise here, a paradise I didn’t want to mess with. Maybe I used the Butastur too long before going to the switches, maybe not? I can say somehow it looks like AmericanSpirt likes the mids too (by the graph naming) and is offering the switches just for added flexibility? I mean this IEM has addictive treble and (enough) bass, but it is a revelation in midrange, and somehow the switch added bass or added treble seemed unnatural to me?
Typically I will use the generic purple center wide-bore silicone ear-tips. Though the new (red) 7Hz wide-bores are nice. As well as the (blue) Tangzu Tang Sancai Wide Bore! The long silicone wide-bore I will use as back-up for a few IEMs, namely the Encore to help with fitment.
Included Cable:
The cable is truly nice and can be purchased separately for $49.90 here.
https://penonaudio.com/Night-Oblivion-Butastur-IEM-Cable
Night Oblivion Butastur 2Pin 0.78mm 4 Shares OCC HiFi Audiophile IEMs Cable wth 3-in-1 Modular Plugs
Description
Materials: 6N single crystal copper Litz cable
Core: 4 strands , single strand is 36* 0.05 *7
Wire diameter:1.55mm
Interface: 2Pin 0.78mm with earhook
Plug: 3-in-1 3.5mm audio/2.5mm balanced /4.4mm balanced modular straight plug
Length: 1.20m-1.25m
Probably besides the sound the redeeming factor here was just how stable the 3-in-1 system worked. Where once the plug slides into place, the friction keeps it on forever until ample force is used to release the plug, I liked that. There are also a number of little details which show nice……like a laser engraved symbol on the cable splitter.
The ear hooks are very fluid and never uncomfortable in use. The 2Pins are color coded, and the ergonomics are wonderful, coiling and going where you want it. Another extra feature to the cable is exactly how they sculpted the plug. Whereupon first investigating this feature may seem trivial but it’s not, where the separation point sits at the rear of the plug and remains parallel and almost hidden from touch feeling. This means the plug ends like not a regular 3-in-1 modular plug, but becomes a fixed plug in daily use. That and the fact that it seriously doesn’t come off easily, makes it super nice in daily use.
Cable rolls:
After using my Sony WM1A for the first few days with various cables, I then switched to the Sony WM1Z. As such the 1Z physicality of the bass was unarguable…..and it remained in place for the rest of the review process. Though I did at times go back to other devices, resulting from paranoia to wondering if what I was hearing was truly so good. Mid review I rotated the HiBy R3 II and while even using the Penon OSG cable, it was a world of difference, differences in the wrong direction. Don’t get me wrong, many songs were good with the R3, it was just the Butastur has this uncanny ability to reveal all of your source personality, and after a few days of the 1Z you become used to the tone. Where the R3 was M shaped in response which offered a thinner and less lush midrange and stage expansion, with less bass and less treble stage interplay. There are many ways I parallel the included cable output to the same tone. Meaning while the included cable is great, it offered a brighter but almost tinny sounding replay as in comparison to the lushness of the Penon OSG. Though bass from the included cable was the most profound out of the three cables I tested.
Below Penon OSG Cable
Included cable
1) Included cable in 4.4mm
2) Penon OSG cable in 4.4mm
3) ISN Solar cable in 4.4mm
ISN Solar cable
So you would think the ISN Solar would be the winner here? And while it may be some peoples favorites, I should have probably tested it with the Sony WM1A as I’m sure it would have been a better match. Though you have to realize, this review is convoluted and long enough, I can’t test everything, even though curiosity calls for it. SO to try and keep this simple, the Solar and OSG were both better cables than the included cable. Yet for most there was nothing strange or out of the ordinary in what the included cable did. It was just that the Solar added this lush lower midrange stage expansion, yet the Butastur was transparent enough to also allow the 1Z treble push though…….yep, it was too bright, the Solar was too intense with this combo. And that my friends allowed me to get to the Penon OSG secret sauce! The OSG allowed its inherent Graphene to somehow expand the midrange, it smoothed it out and the mids were found even larger. This smoothing added note-weight to the treble and midrange, counteracting any natural BA character. The bass was left still boosted (due to the 1Z) but this (new) sculpturing was adding detail and 3D dimension, clarity to the low-end. There comes a time when you seem to have it all, and I was not even curious as to the effects of other cables. Of course before I tried numerous cables including the ASOS+ which was great but not as great as the OSG. It is probably this rare density that just seemed to work with the OSG and Butastur, that the OSG was going and including this smoothed out yet dense and separated tone in the end………..more inviting and thicker, bigger staged and better sculpted.
Left to right:
7Hz Aurora, Night Oblivion Butastur and Noble Audio K-10 Encore
Side-by-sides:
Here I’m still using the set-up of OSG, Sony WM1Z and the various other IEMs placed into rotation. The only difference is the longer wide-bore tips which allow better fitment with the Noble Encore. Regular wide-bore donuts are used for the 7Hz Aurora and Butastur. You may be wondering why I chose these three to become side-by-sides? The answer is the three share some of the three tonal characteristics. So much in-fact that they go in memory to remind me of each other. When that happens side-by-sides will further delineate the true differences and contrasting abilities, because the three are both birds-of-a-feather and different. Some folks may ask why I’m using the OSG cable on all three……..and my answer is due to all three having a portion of the same personality…….it works.
Noble Audio K-10 Encore v Butastur:
Look, the Encore is not as easily accessible (to the masses) as the Butastur. Nope, the Encore has extensions starting at 5kHz and ending at 8kHz. This noticeable shelf…….even if the measurements are blurred by the 8kHz testing resonance, confirm a way more intense listen. This combined with the relatively flat Encore midrange and neutral bass, means the balance of mental focus is shifted to focus on the 5kHz to 8kHz treble shelf. Coincidentally both the Encore K-10 and Butastur are 10 BA devices. Yet this Butastur lower bass activity both balances the Butastur better and adds thickness. You could say both the Butastur and the K-10 are upper mid-range masters, and I like that……as that is where a good portion of the musical information lies.
Encore V Butastur:
The Encore is noticeably way way louder at the same volume. This volume increase only goes to emphasize the stage positioning and forward aspects of the tune, even (after) when the volume is equalized. Vocals are more forward, imaging is bigger and little birds are chirping farther out scattering among the many more layers. The vibrancy of the Encore is real and impossible to fight against. Is this fair? Well the Encore was $1850.00 when it was introduced at the end of 2016. On the used market they fetch exactly $599.00. I mean if anything this battle showed me why I keep the Encore around. The OSG does the same imaging magic trick with the Encore as the Butastur, only a bigger stage means farther out Encore fireworks. This is insane….really…the Encore showing its vibrancy in response. But there is a crack in the reality here………….yep, the dimensional clarity has a small fissure……it has to do with BA timbre and tone. This spectacle of Encore imaging has its issues too, mainly because stuff is even clearer and more itemized in the stage........so more closely examined for quality!
Number one the Butastur doesn’t ever produce that air of off timbre the Encore seems to capitalize on? And while amazingly bass is very equal.........there is a Butastur lower midrange thickness that is both soft and inviting like a bed blanket…….this character then travels up into the warmer midrange and at that point merges with a more mainstream accessible treble.
Where vocals being airy and vibrant have been a center of the Butastur sound goals from the start. We came face to face with these vocal abilities in the music test section with Diva Plavalaguna singing the Diva Dance!
The issue is the Encore is over the top, it is out-to-lunch crazy…….and not for every set of ears, or every listening run. Sure both IEMs can exist in a collection and offer different ideas into which we interpret sound. Where even though bass is the same between the two, that Encore 5kHz to 8kHz makes that same bass less noticeable. And finally the Butastur comes off softer, more inviting and smoother, enabling longer listens at louder volumes. Sure I will take the Encore to the grave, but that doesn’t mean there is not room for a more accessible and friendly style of entertainment? Oh, and by the way, the Butastur is 2X more comfortable to wear. The Encore has never been exactly friendly in fitment, and the Butastur is the most friendly in how it feels. Nothing was more noticeable than switching between the two, as when the Butastur made it in there was a profound pleasure to fitment.
The 7Hz Aurora v the Butastur:
Look, I get a lot of IEMs in the mail, half the time they are good and some are way better than just good. Yet nothing is perfect, nothing……and some IEMs show that imperfection more than others…..in being boring or uneven listens.........also the ones missing technicalities.
Here the Aurora is offering a bigger stage and amazingly has some of that vibrancy like the Encore. As such that vibrancy is coated slightly with Planar timbre, yet this is totally lovable and fun.
There is this bigger than life Aurora imaging taking place, yet once again, it is not quite as coherent as what the Butastur does on a daily basis. Farther out imaging and with the slight planar timbre in an airiness........and a tad bit of thinness that the Butastur goes and fills in. Also the Butastur becomes more cohesive with the effect of all BAs at once. Where the 7Hz Aurora is the quintessential Hybrid, and due to such separations and scattering of images becomes slightly both bigger in entertainment and less real……almost surrealistic.
The missing added warmth the Butastur contains, if (that warmth) was added to the 7Hz……well then we would really have something.
The surprising thing was I would have never guessed the Encore and 7Hz Aurora would share the same big stage image positioning? Yet neither the 7Hz Aurora or the Encore provide that down-home and down-to-earth warm-friendly feeling that the Butastur just naturally offers…….all the time. It is this Butastur smoothness and maturity of tone that I always knew existed inside what the Butastur offers, yet during these side-by-sides became even more vivid and pure. I can tell you I will be matching the 7hz with more cables and changing DAPs to continue to find a way in…..as the 7Hz Aurora is incredible for what it is.
Packaging:
Conclusion:
Well there you have it, another one in the books. When I exclaimed that the Butastur could be my only IEM, I meant it. Why? The Night Oblivion Butastur is well-rounded that’s why. Yes, you need to match it to a more bass heavy source......as if you only offer it thinness going in, a slight style of thinness is what (will) come out. Yet again all this is with-in reason. Reasonable is probably the very best word I have to describe the Butastur.
Reasonable
This occurs as a reality due to the Butastur evenness, the completeness and finally the correctness encountered with every DAP, every cable, every ear-tip and every genre of music. With that said maybe, just maybe the The Night Oblivion Butastur does OSTs better than ROCK? I mean really it could go either way……..except those darn violins, those cellos and that stand-up bass replay……oh and the transients and reverbs associated with them!
Call me smitten, but the way the Butastur does OSTs had me rifle though a larger section of my OST collection than any IEM in here at Redcarmoose Labs. And when this review is over, you can bet your sweet behind I will continue the investigation of OSTs……..mainly just because it is so much fun. Fun is a strange word to use, but that’s all we really want here, we like to somehow take this whole process apart like a car, so it can’t run any longer….we do that….to figure out what parts the car is made of. But the reality is when an IEM like the Butastur is in your ears you're more preoccupied by the beautiful hidden bass creations, these sounds which startle you with excitement. That and because the Butastur sounds real...........we are more emotionally involved with the file played. Just ask my dogs, as I was emotional during this review, they will verify such reactions from the legendary Butastur.
"Really all BA IEMs, they still try to make those?"
The Butastur is a classic and one IEM that will never go out of style, as realism never fails to produce reactions. This project is a dream of a few……..one AmericanSpirit, one Jinny Tan and the financial support and retail procurement by Penon Audio. There is always a risk that when new IEM ideas are built upon that the results may be just average, that is the laws of chance. Yet here the results are true and real, just as real as the sound playback………the fact that (they did) somehow arrange to make a TOTL Flagship sounding IEM that not only sounds the part but bucks the system already in place. This system is occupied by retail IEMs from old seasoned manufactures that don’t want to see this new invention creep into their profit centers. Yet the Butastur lives and it is not going away anytime soon……..nope it is here to stay. The Night Oblivion is expensive, sure to use all name brand BAs and to include 20 of the suckers in a purchase cost money. And sure anyone can put together an IEM, but few have the understanding of what they want to accomplish...........and the methods at hand to pull-it-off. I know part of AmericanSpirit’s inspiration came from the qdc Anole VX. And in fact I have heard the VX, and even though it was a while ago, I truly think qdc could learn a few things by studying this particular Butastur tune. No disrespect given, it is just that in the IEM business ideas are always improved upon. IEMs made later in production will often move one step further into an area of perfection. There is better timbre than what the qdc VX accomplished, the Butastur is really the opposite of steely. And while both IEMs offer 10 BAs, the Butastur is tuned better than the VX, and a fraction of the price. It is what it is! We are all truly lucky that times change (technology moves forward) thus we get a taste of a world we would normally never get a chance to afford/inhabit.
$599.00
https://penonaudio.com/Night-Oblivion-Butastur.html
Disclaimer:
I want to thank Penon Audio for the love and for the Night Oblivion Butastur review sample.
Disclaimer:
These are one person's ideas and concepts, your results may vary.
Equipment Used:
Sony WM1A Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm balanced
Sony WM1Z Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm balanced
Sony TA-ZH1ES DAC/AMP Firmware 1.03 4.4mm balanced
Electra Glide Audio Reference Glide-Reference Standard "Fatboy" Power Cord
Sony Walkman Cradle BCR-NWH10
AudioQuest Carbon USB
HiBy R3 II DAP 4.4mm balanced
ifi GO bar Dongle in 4.4mm balanced
Samsung Phone 3.5mm
Wait hold your horses, the darn review isn’t over yet, as if you thought it wasn't already long enough?
Phone use:
Curiosity skinned the cat. No wait, that isn’t how it goes, cursory killed the cat, and there are more ways than one to skin-a-cat. That to me means that maybe you can drive the Butastur due to it being insanely easy to drive in the end?
Phone use:
Hooked-up to the included cable with 3.5mm modular plug I simply attached it to my regular 3.5mm Samsung phone. I always travel with a list of about 32GB of my latest favorite songs to play, though often that means attached to Dongles or Bluetooth. Here we just want to know how well they can sound off the regular phone amplifier.
Wow!
What a way to end this review. I mean this is way, way better than expected the Butastur to sound? Where right off the guitars holds harmonics and the fullness of the stage. Deep thorough expansions of harmonic details? There are little embellishments of cymbal strikes and nice reverberations. I hate to say this...........but there is a way with the included cable (and a phone) that sounds even more correct. Smooth yet clear woody nature with authority in the bass. In fact.........I’m even hearing the bass better separated and deeper here? Of course the overall size is just slightly smaller, but way less of a difference from DAP playback than I was expecting?
Well, whatever……this is a full and satisfying phone playback that is great! You have to hear it to believe it. All this means is there is way more potential to the Butastur, that to try this IEM with even more source combinations means more chances for success. The deepness of the bass and the sculpturing of bass detail has me amazed, you will see!
Penon Solar Cable use with the Sony WM1A and Butastur!
OK, so I’m obsessive and curious, a combination that warrants research and script to back-up and document that research. Does anyone really care? Sure these results are subjective, and subject to change of opinion, but it is all we really have. So far there are no machines or AI that can quantify these faint results……..so it is onward to testing. Does anyone really care? If you have the Solar cable you care as that was a chunk of change, and the WM1A is many a favorite DAP, even all these years later.
The results:
Oh Gawd!
I mean of course you knew that if you take good ingredients they often go together. And while pickles and ice-cream don’t always go together, they do go together if your wife is pregnant……something about rare nutrients needed during pregnancy. And that’s the thing…….instincts are real. I had an instinct that even though the treble was too bright with the laser etching of the WM1Z...........the WM1A with its slightly more down to earth treble could be a choice. And the results..........perrrrrrefect. Yep, these lower midrange thrusters I was talking about earlier with the Solar cable became a spectacle of added thickness to the Butastur! Then the stage size, really this is all I need, really all I want. And once again that elusive stage size has me perplexed, as it is really dependent on a number of things? Starting with the way the file was recorded, then transferred to the source, then modified and enhanced or non-enhanced by the cable to the Butastur. I’m supposed to get a grip on reality as to the Butastur, yet as far as stage size……..well it is always big, but at times the Butastur stage size is as big as I have almost ever heard with an IEM, like right now? Go figure?
But man-o-man if you could witness this try out……it’s the bee's knees! The total soul of what the Butastur has on offer………simply amazing!
I need more experiments with cables and eartips to find more subbass and more airy treble for my Butastur.
Overall Butastur is my best IEM I guess, I just haven't enough time for it