Penon Apex
Oil-immersed single crystal copper + gold-plated copper + liquid nitrogen silver
8 strands ,106 cores per strand , 24AWG , single strand is 1.5mm .
OFC gold-plated 2pin connectors
Rhodium plated plug or
OFC gold-plated plug
cable length is 1.2m
Penon Apex is the newest cable creation by our friends at Penon. The new Apex is named as such due to how they define a sound from your favorite IEMs. The Apex is a hybrid type cable meaning it has more than one type of material that makes up its cores. What is interesting about the material choices for the Apex is that each strand that makes up a core was designed for a very specific sound frequency in mind. What I mean is that copper at its base provides the foundation for what it does but then adding elements like gold plating and with the addition of what's called a liquid nitrogen treated pure silver. How does that translate to its sound? Let's find out.
The Apex was provided by Penon audio for the purpose of a review. The Apex has gotten several week's worth of constant use and is now ready for evaluation. I naturally burn in everything before I evaluate anything related to audio, cables are no different.
Apex has a dark blue colored outer PVC finish. Cable is a substantial fairly thick 8 cores or Penon likes to describe it as a strand. Many folks relate a cable based on how many bundled cores the cable comes in hence I present my reviews the opposite of the way Penon describes their cables. 8 core cable vs 8 strand? Either way it is a thicker 24AWG cable but what is nice about it is that it's not a stiff cable. Thicker cables are ok as long as they are not stiff in my opinion. The Apex forms to shape easily when coiled doing the standard 3 finger roll up method. Does not have any memory or noodling effect due to stiffness. Has a tighter weave due to the softness of the cables and with minimum cord noise. Premium in how it looks and how it helps out a sound from your favorite IEMs.
I have noticed that connecting the Apex cable on various IEMs to be a consistent performing cable. Your IEMs will immediately get a nice upgrade when it comes to sound and how it looks. The uniform rope-like thickness gives off a very premium look to the cables itself and does have some weight to it. Nothing like the Pyramid VIII cables but a bit more closer to VI version. I used them on the Penon Impacts for my daily walks and it worked out great. I do like that its cable noise is at a minimum. Some slight thumping was heard but that is more normal than not with cables in general worn over the ears. I would put it at a bit below average when it comes to cable noise.
Apex much like other thicker cables, Penons own ASOS+ and X cables, Totem Ultra, Pyramid VI and VIII all share a common trait that happens when you use ample or extra amounts of material for an IEM cable. The sound gets a greater body of note. Meaning your music sounds thicker and more substantial and generally with a wider sense of stage in comparison to normal thickness for cables. This is no different than what the Apex is doing but it's more how this material makeup shapes your sound emanating from your IEMs to be more. More body, more stage, more punchier in the bass region, more richer sounding with a cleaner better defined treble note.
Apex was designed to enhance, clean up and define the detailed elements of the treble notes, hence the name APEX. However, I find it does much more than just focus its ability on trebles. It's definitely a balanced cable.
For example, in comparison on the Penon Impact and its included cable the gold-plated OCC cable in the Obsidian. I am doing a direct comparison to the Obsidian due to the tonal character for both these cables being somewhat similar. I feel the Apex is an evolution of the Obsidian cable due to the Apex also sharing some gold plated copper cores which brings a richer tonal character to music. But then 1/3rd of the shares are oil immersed single crystal copper giving a solid natural base to the sound shaping formula. I would say the bulk of the cables and how it performs is more copper based vs silver, however you can clearly tell the benefits of all 3 materials that are being used on the Apex. Copper, gold and silver to bring a much more advanced sound properties vs the Obsidian.
In comparison the stage gets an expansion with greater note weight. More body to a sound is one of the properties of the Apex. The only real similar aspect to the Obsidian is that they share similar tonal character traits especially when focusing on the mids. But that is about it. The Apex also advances a better sense of depth, layering and when it comes to how your trebles are portrayed. This is where the Apex really shines. Much more nuanced and with better imaging and definition of treble notes and it is due to that pure silver element of the Apex. There is no question the real upgrade on the Obsidian cable is the Apex. Still looking for a perfectly matching cable for your Impacts, if the Apex was around when Penon designed the Impacts I am certain they would have considered it vs the Obsidian.
A portion of the cable is made of what's called a liquid nitrogen treated pure silver adding a more transparent layering to the cables make up in how it performs. All parts of your music get a boost. Bass gets greater authority and a deeper rumble due to the bulk of the cables being copper based. Mids get a substantial body with the influence of gold plating. Showing a richer tonal character and finally the trebles gets an enhanced sense of transient precision, a noticeable uptick in quality. The treble clarity and its detail element helps a stage out as well, therefore the difference between using the Obsidian and the Apex is very clear. Everything on the Impacts are enhanced including the stage element of its presentation.
Adding something like the new Archangel to a musical detail enhancing Apex cable and its holographic sound becomes even more dimensional than how it already sounds vs the included Cadmus II cable. Cadmus II ends up sounding just a touch more flat a bit more neutral in tonal character in comparison and makes the Archangel sound drier, almost monitor like in comparison. Again due to the gold plating on the Apex, Archangel gets a slightly richer tonal flavoring. Bass mids and trebles sound a touch more vivid as a result.
I suppose you can say the Apex is a bit more w in balancing as it does enhance all 3 parts of a sound design. The Cadmus II to my ears is more like a U shaped design which enhances trebles and lower bass and therefore specializes in enhancing stage even greater than the Apex. The Apex is not far behind in that regard however. These two are just different flavors of cables here. I feel the Cadmus II matches the Archangel extremely well but this is a case where Penons own Apex actually matches to even a better degree with its own IEM. This is subjective by the way so some might prefer the more overall detailed nature of the Cadmus II over the Apex on the Archangel.
Apex used on the ISN EBC80 which also uses the same BC drivers that are on the Archangel. This comparison is where the more substantial body of note can clearly be heard. The included cable the ISN S2 is the most transparent out of the C2, H2, S2 line up of cables. Fairly simple cable in that it is a silver plated copper type cable but it is clearly outclassed by the Apex due to the higher levels of refinement of the Apex materials and its material bulk/ make up.
So this is a fine example of what “more material” does for cable properties. The S2 is a simple OCC copper cable plated in pure silver. It has some stiffness to it due to being 2 condensed cores of the material, fairly light and thinner in material bulk. There is no question which cable here has way more material to it. When you go from S2 to the Apex the sound gets an immediate fuller, more bodied, greater density to the sound which I feel adds to what the EBC80 is doing. More density for your music can make an average sounding IEM to something more immersive. I haven’t seen too many folks on the threads saying they prefer thinner sound. Well I suppose you have to like a thinner sound but for the most part most folks want more body fullness which leads to better immersion. The S2 cable for what it is, is not bad on the ISN EBC80 but it is clearly outclassed by the Apex cable. This is yet another IEM that benefits from what the Apex cable brings.
Lastly I tested out the Apex on the Tansio Mirai Shocks. The included cable is a bit like a cadmus cable in that it enhances treble notes while being mostly a neutral leaning IEM cable. Once again the increase in how your music is projected with greater stage density and a clean treble definition brings an optimized Shock. The mids of the Shocks gets a nice upgrade in tonal quality and density due to the Apex’s gold plated copper cores. No question that the Shocks synergized immediately after installing the Apex cable onto them. Shocks sound closer to the SQ of the Archangel now with this cable and this clearly shows just how much headroom the Shocks have when adding a more advanced cable in the mix. If any of you guys are looking for a well matching cable for the Shocks. I have to say I have yet to hear a cable enhance the Shocks quite like the Apex. Excellent match up.
In the end
If the idea of getting into a more advanced cable for your favorite IEMs to bring the sound to a higher level or the best optimized version of the IEM. Here is where I feel the Apex is doing your favorites some justice. The Apex enhances every IEM I have used on them on, which is a sign of solid versatility in a cable. Short of comparing them to Penon's own flagship level cable the Totem, I think they will clearly stand on their own as being one of Penon's very best efforts. Its looks are premium with a tighter clean weave. More material with a sound enhancing formula that brings a more balanced approach to how they magnify your sound enjoyment out of your favorite IEMs.
But wait, I just described the Apex with the Rhodium plated plugs. There is also a gold plated OFC option. The gold plated OFC option focus the cables strengths more for mids and bass with a slightly smoother treble note compared to that of the Rhodium plated plug. If you have an IEM that you don’t necessarily want to focus that extra bit of Rhodium plating for your trebles. The gold plated OFC option is for you. I still feel the cable is more balanced in what it is doing. It does color and enhance the IEM sound balancing but now with a touch less focus for trebles which brings then Apex in line with how Penon likes to tune IEMs.
I personally prefer the Rhodium plated plug but I can see me using the gold plated OFC one on more brighter tuned IEMs. The OFC option leans the cable to be even more copper based on sound shaping properties. The Rhodium plated copper plug is like supercharging what that liquid nitrogen treated silver does for the Apex sound. You really can’t go wrong with either one. To me it is simple, if you're not wanting a slight treble lift that the Rhodium plated plug brings. I would go with the gold plated OFC plug. If you're wanting the absolute peak clean performance for your trebles. Rhodium plugs all the way.
