Penon Rival
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Disclaimer:
I want to thank AudioGeek for including me in the tour of the Penon Rival. The impressions shared here are based on my experience with the IEM over a few days. There has been no influence on me to write anything positive or negative about this IEM.
Introduction:
The Penon Rival is Penon’s flagship offering, priced at a whopping 3999 USD. The IEM is packed with 2 DDs, 2 BCDs, 4 BAs, and 4 ESTs, that’s an impressive 12 drivers packed with a 5-way crossover. With an impedance of 11 ohms and sensitivity of 102dB, the Penon Rival is relatively easy to drive, but yeah, the IEM scales significantly with power. Moreover, IMO, anyone buying this IEM is probably not looking to run it off a basic dongle.
The IEM itself isn’t too heavy, especially considering what it packs inside. That being said, the IEM is quite large, and the chunky earpieces may not be comfortable for small ears. I’m blessed/cursed with large ears, hence didn’t have any issues in terms of fit / comfort. Before getting into the sound impressions, I’d like to explain something about the Rival works, because that’ll probably help me explain how the sound can be tweaked to an individual’s taste.
The Rival has 2 filters that can be used on each side along with a bass tuning knob. This makes it highly customizable, and one can quite literally tweak the signature of this IEM to their liking using these 3 options. The 2 filters are for tuning the mids and highs, with the filters being interchangeable across the 2 slots.
As shown in the graph below, one can change these filters to influence the mids and the highs. The challenge here is that Penon provides just 1 pair each of these filters; hence, if you want a configuration that uses, let’s say, white in both mids and highs, then you’ll need to get additional filters on your own. The good news is that these are generic Knowles filters available for cheap on AliExpress. The way this works is, grey is the weakest filter and yellow is the strongest. As you increase the filter strength, so is the impact on the respective section, aka mids and highs. Hence, if you want minimal highs (making it sound warmish), go for the yellow filter and vice versa.
Now the bass knob has its own rules, but basically if you think of it as a clock, then you can increase the bass going counter clock wise from 5’o clock to 12’o clock (12’o clock being the reference point) then back from 12’o clock to 7’o clock. Hence, 5 o'clock is the weakest bass and 7 o’clock is the heaviest. One cannot rotate the knob the entire 360 degrees, as in the knob is inactive between 5’o clock and 7’o clock.
For this review, I set the bass knob close to the highest level (not exactly 7’o clock, somewhere between 7’o clock and 9’o clock) and the mids were set to brown filter (default) and highs to white filter (default). While I did try other filter combinations, I felt it would be too cumbersome to write about each combination in detail. In general, I’d suggest playing around with each filter and the tuning knob, to understand the IEM’s capability and then choose something that suits your taste (or genre of music).
Gear Used:
Source: FiiO M23
DAC: XD05 Pro (ROHM and AKM cards with Sparkos SS3602 opamps)
AMP: Aroma A100TB (with 2x Burson v5i-D opamps [1st stage] and 2x Sparkos SS3602 opamps [2nd stage])
Cable: Penon Totem Ultra
Ear tips: Azla Xelastec 2 (also tried Penon liqueur tips but preferred the Azla ones)
Sound Impressions:
The Rival delivers deep, woofer-like bass with good slam. The Rival’s bass response is very well controlled and has good resolution. This is one of those rare IEMs that get the bass right, both in terms of quality (texture, resolution) and quantity (depth, weight). The bass response is clean and provides a robust foundation without overwhelming the mids and highs. The good thing is that there is no bass bleed, even when the bass knob is cranked up to the maximum. There is a good amount of rumble, especially when the bass knob is set between 7’o clock and 12’o clock. Penon recommends keeping the knob at the 10’o clock position for a balanced presentation. I’d say anything between 10 and 1 can be passed off as balanced sound. After 1 o'clock (1 to 5 o'clock basically), the bass was too lean for my taste. Airheads, though, may prefer dialling down the bass, and in all honesty, that’s where the Rival shines. I mean, it can charm anyone. From the biggest of bass heads to the biggest of airheads, from the V shape lovers to those who love mid-forward presentation, that bass knob and those 2 filters has everyone covered.
The mids are a standout feature, offering a natural and airy presentation. Vocals and instruments are rendered with clarity and warmth, providing an immersive listening experience. With the default configuration (brown filter for mids and white filter for highs), the Rival offers a lush and detailed midrange and conveys emotion with panache. Every nuance in the vocals is presented with clarity and warmth. Instruments have good note weight, and the timbre in the male vocals is to die for. Just listen to “Aadat” from Kalyug on the Rival. As we move towards the end of the song, the rising score, coupled with Atif Aslam’s painful voice, is sure to give you goosebumps.
https://music.apple.com/in/song/aadat-from-kalyug/1742154110
The highs are very well controlled on the Rival. Regardless of how much the treble opens up, the Rival is never harsh or shouty, which is mighty impressive IMO. With the default configuration, the Rival delivers excellent detail in the highs. The treble is extended and airy, enhancing the sense of space without introducing harshness or sibilance.
The Penon Rival's soundstage is massive, both wide and deep, providing a holographic listening experience that goes beyond the confines of the listener’s head. The imaging is precise, and the layering and separation are excellent. In terms of resolution, the Rival rivals any TOTL IEM out there, bringing out the smallest of details in a track. Dynamics are great, provided it is fed sufficient power.
Conclusion:
While at first glance, the asking price of close to 4000 USD might sound crazy, the Rival is more than just a single IEM. What Penon has pulled off with that bass knob and those 2 filters is mind boggling. I haven’t come across any other IEM that supports this level of tinkering and sound customization. If you’re an enthusiast who loves exploring sound and playing around with filters and is looking to buy a TOTL IEM, I’d recommend the Penon Rival. If you can afford it, I’d recommend spending another 999 USD for the Totem Ultra cable as well. With its vast variety of filters, the Rival will surely keep you hooked for a long time.
I want to thank AudioGeek for including me in the tour of the Penon Rival. The impressions shared here are based on my experience with the IEM over a few days. There has been no influence on me to write anything positive or negative about this IEM.
Introduction:
The Penon Rival is Penon’s flagship offering, priced at a whopping 3999 USD. The IEM is packed with 2 DDs, 2 BCDs, 4 BAs, and 4 ESTs, that’s an impressive 12 drivers packed with a 5-way crossover. With an impedance of 11 ohms and sensitivity of 102dB, the Penon Rival is relatively easy to drive, but yeah, the IEM scales significantly with power. Moreover, IMO, anyone buying this IEM is probably not looking to run it off a basic dongle.
The IEM itself isn’t too heavy, especially considering what it packs inside. That being said, the IEM is quite large, and the chunky earpieces may not be comfortable for small ears. I’m blessed/cursed with large ears, hence didn’t have any issues in terms of fit / comfort. Before getting into the sound impressions, I’d like to explain something about the Rival works, because that’ll probably help me explain how the sound can be tweaked to an individual’s taste.
The Rival has 2 filters that can be used on each side along with a bass tuning knob. This makes it highly customizable, and one can quite literally tweak the signature of this IEM to their liking using these 3 options. The 2 filters are for tuning the mids and highs, with the filters being interchangeable across the 2 slots.
As shown in the graph below, one can change these filters to influence the mids and the highs. The challenge here is that Penon provides just 1 pair each of these filters; hence, if you want a configuration that uses, let’s say, white in both mids and highs, then you’ll need to get additional filters on your own. The good news is that these are generic Knowles filters available for cheap on AliExpress. The way this works is, grey is the weakest filter and yellow is the strongest. As you increase the filter strength, so is the impact on the respective section, aka mids and highs. Hence, if you want minimal highs (making it sound warmish), go for the yellow filter and vice versa.
Now the bass knob has its own rules, but basically if you think of it as a clock, then you can increase the bass going counter clock wise from 5’o clock to 12’o clock (12’o clock being the reference point) then back from 12’o clock to 7’o clock. Hence, 5 o'clock is the weakest bass and 7 o’clock is the heaviest. One cannot rotate the knob the entire 360 degrees, as in the knob is inactive between 5’o clock and 7’o clock.
For this review, I set the bass knob close to the highest level (not exactly 7’o clock, somewhere between 7’o clock and 9’o clock) and the mids were set to brown filter (default) and highs to white filter (default). While I did try other filter combinations, I felt it would be too cumbersome to write about each combination in detail. In general, I’d suggest playing around with each filter and the tuning knob, to understand the IEM’s capability and then choose something that suits your taste (or genre of music).
Gear Used:
Source: FiiO M23
DAC: XD05 Pro (ROHM and AKM cards with Sparkos SS3602 opamps)
AMP: Aroma A100TB (with 2x Burson v5i-D opamps [1st stage] and 2x Sparkos SS3602 opamps [2nd stage])
Cable: Penon Totem Ultra
Ear tips: Azla Xelastec 2 (also tried Penon liqueur tips but preferred the Azla ones)
Sound Impressions:
The Rival delivers deep, woofer-like bass with good slam. The Rival’s bass response is very well controlled and has good resolution. This is one of those rare IEMs that get the bass right, both in terms of quality (texture, resolution) and quantity (depth, weight). The bass response is clean and provides a robust foundation without overwhelming the mids and highs. The good thing is that there is no bass bleed, even when the bass knob is cranked up to the maximum. There is a good amount of rumble, especially when the bass knob is set between 7’o clock and 12’o clock. Penon recommends keeping the knob at the 10’o clock position for a balanced presentation. I’d say anything between 10 and 1 can be passed off as balanced sound. After 1 o'clock (1 to 5 o'clock basically), the bass was too lean for my taste. Airheads, though, may prefer dialling down the bass, and in all honesty, that’s where the Rival shines. I mean, it can charm anyone. From the biggest of bass heads to the biggest of airheads, from the V shape lovers to those who love mid-forward presentation, that bass knob and those 2 filters has everyone covered.
The mids are a standout feature, offering a natural and airy presentation. Vocals and instruments are rendered with clarity and warmth, providing an immersive listening experience. With the default configuration (brown filter for mids and white filter for highs), the Rival offers a lush and detailed midrange and conveys emotion with panache. Every nuance in the vocals is presented with clarity and warmth. Instruments have good note weight, and the timbre in the male vocals is to die for. Just listen to “Aadat” from Kalyug on the Rival. As we move towards the end of the song, the rising score, coupled with Atif Aslam’s painful voice, is sure to give you goosebumps.
https://music.apple.com/in/song/aadat-from-kalyug/1742154110
The highs are very well controlled on the Rival. Regardless of how much the treble opens up, the Rival is never harsh or shouty, which is mighty impressive IMO. With the default configuration, the Rival delivers excellent detail in the highs. The treble is extended and airy, enhancing the sense of space without introducing harshness or sibilance.
The Penon Rival's soundstage is massive, both wide and deep, providing a holographic listening experience that goes beyond the confines of the listener’s head. The imaging is precise, and the layering and separation are excellent. In terms of resolution, the Rival rivals any TOTL IEM out there, bringing out the smallest of details in a track. Dynamics are great, provided it is fed sufficient power.
Conclusion:
While at first glance, the asking price of close to 4000 USD might sound crazy, the Rival is more than just a single IEM. What Penon has pulled off with that bass knob and those 2 filters is mind boggling. I haven’t come across any other IEM that supports this level of tinkering and sound customization. If you’re an enthusiast who loves exploring sound and playing around with filters and is looking to buy a TOTL IEM, I’d recommend the Penon Rival. If you can afford it, I’d recommend spending another 999 USD for the Totem Ultra cable as well. With its vast variety of filters, the Rival will surely keep you hooked for a long time.
Introduction
Established in 2013, Penon Audio has become a household name in the audiophile community, known for its exceptional craftsmanship and dedication to musicality. Originally a retailer, the brand transitioned into manufacturing its own range of in-ear monitors (IEMs), cables, and audio accessories, earning accolades for their superior quality and value.
The Penon Rival stands as a flagship model in their lineup. Featuring a sophisticated hybrid driver configuration and a price point to match, the Rival offers a warm, immersive, and highly customizable sound signature.
PENON RIVAL Configuration: 2DD + 2BCD + 4BA + 4EST TOTL Flagship AIEM with a Tuning Knob and Interchangeable Acoustic Dampers
Driver Configuration
The Rival boasts an ambitious 12-driver setup, featuring:
* Low frequencies: 2 x 8.2mm coaxial dynamic drivers
* Mid frequencies: 2 x Knowles balanced armature drivers
* High frequencies: 2 x Sonion balanced armature drivers
* Ultra-high frequencies: 4 x Sonion electrostatic drivers
* Bone conduction: 2 Sonion drivers
This configuration allows for a highly dynamic and layered sound, adaptable to various preferences.
Acoustic Dampers for Tonal Fine-Tuning:
The interchangeable dampers allow users to customize the mid and high frequencies. The stock setup uses brown dampers for mids and white dampers for highs. For a brighter or more subdued experience, users can experiment with different damper colors, arranged in increasing strength: Gray < White < Brown < Green.
Adjustable Low-Frequency Knob:
An innovative bass-tuning knob adjusts the bass response:
* Maximum Bass (Fully Counterclockwise): Ideal for bass-heavy genres, adding depth and impact to sub-bass and mid-bass frequencies.
* Balanced & Airy (Clockwise): Tightens bass for clarity, better suited for acoustic, jazz, and classical music.
PENON Totem Flagship Cable
Complementing the Rival is the PENON Totem Cable, crafted from a luxurious combination of gold, silver, copper, and palladium elements. This high-quality coaxial cable features a transparent PVC exterior and 4.4mm balanced termination.
Cable Material:
Single crystal copper silver-plated Litz type-6
Palladium-plated pure silver
Single crystal copper plated with pure gold
2 shares, 334 cores per share
Transparent PVC skin
Carbon fiber metal splitter and CNC integrated slider
Outer diameter: 2.8mm
Plug: 3-in-1 modular (3.5/2.5/4.4mm gold-plated copper plug, 3.5/4.4mm rhodium-plated plug)
Price $3999
Disclaimer:
This review reflects my personal and subjective listening experience with the mentioned audio gear product. I would like to thank Penon Audio, Mr Chi and Audio Geek Brotherhood of Audiophiles for organising this review tour in my country and allowing me to share my thoughts on the product. This review is not influenced in any form and I have not been compensated. Before I start, I would like to mention that most of my impressions of the gear are based on the sources and test tracks mentioned, so your mileage may vary.
Sources: Earmen Angel, Cayin RU7 and ibasso DX320
Unboxing and Accessories
The Penon Rival’s unboxing experience is as refined as the product itself. The package includes:
* Penon Rival earphones
* Penon Totem Cable with 3 modular plugs
* Genuine leather storage box (UV- and oxidation-resistant)
* Assorted silicone ear tips (Black, Green, Yellow - S/M/L sizes)
* Interchangeable tuning dampers (Gray, White, Brown, Green, etc.)
* Low-frequency tuning tool
* IEM protective pouch and sheepskin cleaning cloth
I used Penon black liqueur tips ensured a perfect seal, maximising comfort and sound performance.
Design and Build Quality
The Penon Rival impresses with its 3D-printed resin shell, combining lightweight comfort with durability. Its intricate, handcrafted faceplates shimmer beautifully under light, exuding premium aesthetics. The ergonomic design ensures a snug, fatigue-free fit.
However, due to the resin’s reflective nature, capturing its true beauty in photographs can be challenging (a sentiment any photography novice might share). Despite being crafted from resin, the Rival carries a noticeable heft, attributed to its complex internal driver architecture.
The angled nozzle and precise length contribute to secure placement and excellent passive noise isolation.
Sound Signature & Performance
Before I start with this section, I would like to mention that this is my first encounter with a Penon iem, I have always heard about the brand and its exceptional price to performance products and also the fact that Penon tunes their iem focused on musicality rather than making it analytical.
When I heard Penon Rival the first time, I understood what everyone has been mentioning and all the hype about it, this is not an iem you hear every day, this sounded special from the moment you start listening to it. Yes, I maybe sounding exaggerating some aspect but before I even start mentioning about its sound, we have to be mindful of the fact that none of the mentioned sonical aspect is fixed and would sound the same to the other person as everything on this set is tuneable, from bass to mids to highs, you would now wonder that I am only talking about the tonality of the iem, but hear me out, the tonal changes also changes the technical perception, as the increased mids bothers the stage and increased treble will again play with your upper mids and bass. In its stock form Rival is tuned to sound natural, engaging, and slightly warm tonality, it should have been named versatile instead of Rival but I get to understand why Penon would have chosen this name, to Rival all the TOTL iems in the market as it suits a variety of genres and you can make it sound as you wish to, so no completion iem is spared.
Let’s talk about the first thing anyone will notice in Rival and that is its Bass – Oh my word, the bass goes deep, with serious impact and you would go woah with all the tracks that you have heard in the past, each bass line has got physicality and texture unrivalled, the low end of the Rival is extremely resolving, well defined, the transient is fast. The sub-bass extends deep, providing a rumbling presence. The mid-bass is slightly elevated giving you that thump but remains tight and punchy, allowing bass guitars, kick drums, and electronic basslines to shine without hampering the mids.
Adjustable Bass Tuning Plug
On the shell of the Rival, there’s a small knob that modifies the bass response. I understand that this knob system functions similarly to vented dynamic driver adjustments, controlling the amount of air passing through the bass chamber.
• Knob kept to full (Maximum Bass Response) – With the plug fully closed, the bass becomes fuller and more prominent, delivering deeper sub-bass rumble and more mid-bass impact. This setting is ideal for bass-heavy genres like EDM, hip-hop, or cinematic soundtracks. I however, kept the knob at 2 O clock position because for me that is the ideal and adequate bass response without sacrificing any of the other sonic characteristics
• Knob kept below 10 o clock position (Balanced & Airy Sound) – When the knob is kept around 3 O clock, the bass tightens up, becoming more controlled and less dominant. This allows for better clarity in the mids and a more open soundstage, but takes the life out of the enthralling bass response, this position is ideal for enjoying acoustic, jazz, and classical music.
How about the Midrange then, you ask, Lush is the word, the vocals sound so juicy, both male and female vocals are so lush and lively as if it is a stage show and you are listening to them live.Vocals and instruments are presented with a natural, organic timbre. Male vocals have a rich, full-bodied presence, while female vocals soar with clarity and refinement. Acoustic guitars, pianos, and string instruments sound lifelike, capturing micro-details without becoming overly analytical. There’s a hint of warmth in the mids, which enhances musicality of the Rival while maintaining excellent resolution. Tracks involving echos and chorus sound so resolving that you would hear each aspect of the mids instruments still keeping the essence of the singers.
My least liked aspect of the Penon Rival? Treble region, see don’t get me wrong, it is not bad but it is not excellent or brilliant as in the case of bass and mids, it is airy, smooth and extended. The treble response of the Rival is airy, extended, and detailed. It offers great clarity, but lacks sharpness or sibilancy, I would have loved a bit glare as I wanted this to be a no compromise set but hey my most top rated set is Nostalgia Audio Camelot and the treble on Rival is head to head there. Even more so it is tunable to increase it, I didnt wanted to play much with the tuning acoustic filters, I changed the filters from white to brown, though it increased the perceived details but took some life of the mids which I liked more. High hats, cymbals, and violins have a natural decay, making them sound realistic rather than artificially boosted. The stock tuning ensures zero harshness, which then makes it ideal for long listening sessions.
Soundstage & Imaging – Spacious and Immersive
The soundstage is expansive, providing a holographic presentation that makes you feel as if you’re in a live performance in the first few rows. Instrument separation is top-notch, with a strong sense of depth and layering. Imaging is precise. Orchestral music, live recordings, and cinematic soundtracks sounds exceptionally good on Rival.
Technical Performance
• Detail Retrieval – Excellent, with subtle nuances in recordings being clearly audible.
• Dynamics – Engaging and lively, with an energetic yet smooth presentation.
• Timbre – Natural and realistic, with an organic flow to instruments and vocals.
• Speed & Transients – Fast, making it suitable for complex tracks with multiple instruments.
Pairing & Source Synergy
The Penon Rival scales well with different sources and amplifiers. I was unable to drive it efficiently from RU7 for some reason as it started to clip, it truly shines when paired with a Earmen Angel and Ibasso DX320. I even tried it on my Cayin IHA6, it scales crazily. In my experience, sources with a slightly neutral or analytical tuning complement the Rival’s warm and musical signature beautifully.
Another hack
Penon Ultra 8W cable - Mid of the review, I was informed that I am getting to try Penon Ultra 8W cable along with Rival, as if the stock cable (Penon Totem) wasn’t good enough, honestly the stock cable is really good, the Ultra 8W is a high end cable and sounds like one, trying Rival with Ultra brought about so much definition and texture to the lower mids and bass section that it was surprising as it literally scaled but I did go back to the stock cable for majority of my listening as Penon Totem provided more clarity in high and a sense of open ness which I found missing in Ultra 8W cable, I believe it is meant to be used when you are plugging Rival in desktop setups, but I was unable to try it with my Cayin IHA6.
Final Thoughts
The Penon Rival’s bass knob and acoustic filter system makes it a versatile IEM, appealing to a wide range of listeners. Whether you prefer warm and lush, neutral and balanced, or bright and detailed, the Rival can adapt to your preferences with simple adjustments. This level of customisation is a significant selling point, making the Rival stand out in its category.
I don’t like comparisons honestly but given the price bracket and the iems I have had the opportunity to listen to, I can draw some comparisons with my favourite iem till date the Nostalgia Audio Camelot.
Penon Rival
The Penon Rival sounds natural, engaging, and has a slightly warm sound signature. The Rival offers adjustable low-frequency tuning via a knob, allowing users to customise the bass response. Its expansive soundstage and precise imaging provide an immersive listening experience. The bass texture and impact on Rival is much better in comparison.
Nostalgia Audio Camelot
The Nostalgia Audio Camelot is a perfect balance between brilliance and smoothness. The treble is agile, detailed, and non-fatiguing, offering a natural decay and crispness. The midrange is neutral with a touch of warmth, providing a spacious and engaging sound. The bass is tight and accurate, with deep sub-bass extension. The Camelot’s soundstage is wide and airy, with excellent extension on both frequency ends. It lacks the knob system and other acoustic filter but it sounds exceptional in its own right especially with the Lancelot cable.
The Penon Rival is an exceptional IEM as it strikes a beautiful balance between technical prowess and musical enjoyment. It delivers very rich, natural, and immersive sound that is engaging as well as smooth. The glossy designed resin shells, universal shell design providing comfort, and outstanding sonic performance makes it a real deal. It is costly, no doubts about that but the level of customisation and the sonic character even in its stock form is unRIVALed.
ILuvAudio
Nope, it would’ve crossed 100 hours approx
Doug2507
Cool. Wonder how it'll flesh out after a good run in / treble.
Really enjoyed your review btw, thanks!
Really enjoyed your review btw, thanks!
PeacockObscura
Great review! A real aspiration iem a summit fi iem that actually look worth it with all the available configurations.
Penon Rival Review
Disclaimer
Penon Rival is provided to me by Audio Geek, India for review purposes. All the impressions of mine are purely subjective to my listening capabilities and the gears used. I thank them for the opportunity to experience such a marvelous IEM.
About
Penon has been a very well known brand across audiophiles. They had been excellent store to get many different products across the world. They had ventured into producing IEMs off late and Rival is their flagship, priced at 3999 USD. It’s driver configuration: 2 dynamic drivers, 2 bone conduction drivers, 4 balanced armatures and 4 EST drivers. It has tuning knob and replacement tuning damper. Shell is made of 3D printed resin shell with wonderful 3D design on its face plate. Its fit and finish are top notch and very comfortable to use. It has a tuning knob, position of which gives you amount of bass you need, Standard setting is at 10’o clock position, which I found to have adequate bass for any kind of music. But, you can rotate this knob counterclockwise to get more bass out of it and clockwise to decrease bass. Both earpieces should be at same position. I kept it at standard position all through my audition time and never bothered to change it. It also has interchangeable acoustic damper fine-tuning design for mid-frequency and high-frequencies. The standard mode uses white for high frequency and brown for mid frequencies. Different combinations of colors produce different effects, the order from weak to strong is: gray<white<brown<green. If you want to increase high frequencies, prefer gray and brown damper to decrease high frequencies. Mid-frequency damper adjustment effect(From high to low, the damper colors are: gray, white, brown, green). Rival is provided with Penon’s flagship IEM cable, Totem to accompany with. Totem is made of single crystal copper silver-plated litz type-6, palladium-plated pure silver, single crystal copper plated with pure gold in a transparent PVC skin. Easy to say, a perfect companion for Rival. Rival’s box has ample accessories, apart from ample eartips, one will get the kit to change tuning knob and dampers, one small magnifying glass. I kept everything in standard mode, didn’t change anything.
Sources Used
I used my iBasso DX260 DAP, iBasso D16 Taipan DACAMP and iBasso PB5 Osprey Portable Tube Amplifier for the review purposes.
Sound Impressions
w/ iBasso DX260:
Bass sounds tight and punchy. Sub bass has good rumble, but midbass punch is where Rival shines being very punchy and enjoyable. Sub bass rumble has decent depth. Bass decay is faster. Overall, bass is well tuned and well controlled.
Mids are very natural, with good note width, very resolving and quite engaging. Mids are slightly recessed though. Male vocals sound natural and clean. Female vocals carry same natural presentation with very good energy and extensions. Overall, Rival’s mids have very good emotion to them and are very realistic and engaging. Mids are clearly the star of the show here, the way they sound natural and realistic is just mesmerizing.
Treble has very good extensions with very good details and texture. Treble is sparkly and yet non-fatiguing kind of presentation that helps you to listen to Rival for hours and hours. Technicalities are excellent. Detail retrieval capabilities are very good and so is the dynamic range. Rival is very dynamic with excellent reproduction of highs and lows in music effortlessly. Soundstage has decent width and depth. Instrument separation is excellent with ample space between each instrument involved and no congestion found even in busier music. Imaging is very accurate and precise.
w/iBasso D16 Taipan:
Adding D16 Taipan to DX260, immediately made Rival sound airy and spacious. Mids sound more open and natural with even better engaging factor. Female vocals sound more energetic and have excellent extensions.
Bass, now has better sub bass rumble that goes deeper than what it is with DX260 alone. Bass texture is excellent and is very well controlled without any bleed. Mid bass carries forward its excellent punchy nature as heard with DX260. Overall, Rival’s bass is very engaging and addictive. It’s not basshead level, but more than sufficient bass to make music enjoyable and foot tapping.
Mids too got an improvement with D16 from an already impressive presentation. Mids, now more engaging and dynamic than before. Mids sound natural, airy, and upper mids have great extensions and have excellent sparkle. Mids sound spacious, detailed, and have great definition. Mids don’t sound recessed with D16 as was the case with DX260 and are highly resolving.
Soundstage too got an all around improvement with D16, Rival now sounds more three dimensional. Rival sounds very open and airy now, with clear space between each element in music having their own defined space with no congestion whatsoever. Imaging is precise and pin point accurate.
Treble is more natural with D16 in the chain. Treble is very well extended and has very good energy up top without sounding harsh. Detail retrieval capabilities are top notch with excellent dynamic range. Rival maintains excellent resolution all through the spectrum.
D16 Taipan adds all round improvements to the table. Rival on D16 sounds very natural, spacious, airy, dynamic, and more engaging, while maintaining top notch resolution and technicalities. D16, turned out to be one of the best sources for Rival.
w/iBasso D16 + PB5 Osprey:
Adding PB5 Osprey portable tube amplifier into the mix, brought even more warmth to the Rival’s sound signature. PB5 makes Rival warmer and loose some of its natural sheen and present forward a very musical sound. I didn’t like that much warmth, no it’s not muddy, but like a warm rug covering all the frequencies. Not the best pairing in my opinion.
Comparisons
vs FiR Audio Radon 6:
Penon Rival is a step above RN6 in both price wise and performance. Rival sounds more expansive and more natural, especially on D16. Bass of both IEMs differ in their approach, whereas RN6’s sub bass gives you a sub-woofer kind of feel with deeper reach and reverberance, where Rival excels in midbass punch along with very good sub bass rumble(when paired with D16). Both do bass excellently in their own way, but the kinetic bass of RN6 will be more addictive for some. Neither of them carry bass into mids, with both of them having very smooth transition from bass to Mids. Mids, clearly belongs to Rival in this comparison, with more natural and slightly thicker presentation. Whereas RN6 has slightly thinner mids and sound less natural. RN6, though has better upper mids extension and is more energetic in this area. And same goes with treble, RN6’s treble is more energetic and brighter where Rival sounds natural and well extended. Technically, they both are on par with each other. Soundstage again goes for Rival, which has much better width and depth compared to RN6 on its stock cable, but changing cable to Effect Audio Fusion 1 improves its staging capabilities but still falls short of Rival. RN6, on its own is an excellent IEM, but when compared against Rival, it simply can’t match Rival’s natural and realistic presentation.
vs Rhapsodio Supreme 3:
Comparing Rival to Rhapsodio Supreme V3, Supreme V3 sounds even more open, natural and spacious. I found Rival’s bass presentation to be better with better subbass rumble and midbass punch. Supreme V3’s bass is faster than Rival, but quantity and quality wise, I found Rival to be better and more addictive and engaging. Coming to mids, Supreme V3 takes the cake here, with better resolving, more natural and forward mids section. I found Rival’s mids to be slightly recessed compared to Supreme V3. Technicalities are slightly better on Supreme V3. Supreme V3 has wider and deeper stage with pin point and precise imaging and better instrument separation and better detail retrieval capabilities. Treble is slightly more extended on Supreme V3. Other than the bass, Rival falls short of Supreme V3 in other areas, but still is crazy good at what it does and with the price difference between these two and Supreme V3 just 5% better over Rival, I feel Rival is more preferable while saving some bucks that can buy a D16. But, that’s just my take. Both are really excellent offerings from their respective brands and they’re just an experience one has to have.
Conclusion
This is my first time listening to a Penon IEM, and that too straight up their top dog, Rival to try. This has been a really wonderful listening experience I had with Rival. Definitely one of the best IEMs, I have ever tried. It impressed me so much so that, I had to give my ears some adjustment time to get down to my personal top dog, FiR RN6. Rival is an excellent IEM all around, impressing you with its big, open, airy, spacious and natural sound. Especially that mesmerizing mids section it has. It performs exceptionally well in other areas too, perhaps a little more sparkle up top would have been perfect. But nothing is perfect in this world, but Rival does manage to give you a surreal experience whenever you listen to it, with its realistic, natural and airy presentation. Highly recommended.
Disclaimer
Penon Rival is provided to me by Audio Geek, India for review purposes. All the impressions of mine are purely subjective to my listening capabilities and the gears used. I thank them for the opportunity to experience such a marvelous IEM.
About
Penon has been a very well known brand across audiophiles. They had been excellent store to get many different products across the world. They had ventured into producing IEMs off late and Rival is their flagship, priced at 3999 USD. It’s driver configuration: 2 dynamic drivers, 2 bone conduction drivers, 4 balanced armatures and 4 EST drivers. It has tuning knob and replacement tuning damper. Shell is made of 3D printed resin shell with wonderful 3D design on its face plate. Its fit and finish are top notch and very comfortable to use. It has a tuning knob, position of which gives you amount of bass you need, Standard setting is at 10’o clock position, which I found to have adequate bass for any kind of music. But, you can rotate this knob counterclockwise to get more bass out of it and clockwise to decrease bass. Both earpieces should be at same position. I kept it at standard position all through my audition time and never bothered to change it. It also has interchangeable acoustic damper fine-tuning design for mid-frequency and high-frequencies. The standard mode uses white for high frequency and brown for mid frequencies. Different combinations of colors produce different effects, the order from weak to strong is: gray<white<brown<green. If you want to increase high frequencies, prefer gray and brown damper to decrease high frequencies. Mid-frequency damper adjustment effect(From high to low, the damper colors are: gray, white, brown, green). Rival is provided with Penon’s flagship IEM cable, Totem to accompany with. Totem is made of single crystal copper silver-plated litz type-6, palladium-plated pure silver, single crystal copper plated with pure gold in a transparent PVC skin. Easy to say, a perfect companion for Rival. Rival’s box has ample accessories, apart from ample eartips, one will get the kit to change tuning knob and dampers, one small magnifying glass. I kept everything in standard mode, didn’t change anything.
Sources Used
I used my iBasso DX260 DAP, iBasso D16 Taipan DACAMP and iBasso PB5 Osprey Portable Tube Amplifier for the review purposes.
Sound Impressions
w/ iBasso DX260:
Bass sounds tight and punchy. Sub bass has good rumble, but midbass punch is where Rival shines being very punchy and enjoyable. Sub bass rumble has decent depth. Bass decay is faster. Overall, bass is well tuned and well controlled.
Mids are very natural, with good note width, very resolving and quite engaging. Mids are slightly recessed though. Male vocals sound natural and clean. Female vocals carry same natural presentation with very good energy and extensions. Overall, Rival’s mids have very good emotion to them and are very realistic and engaging. Mids are clearly the star of the show here, the way they sound natural and realistic is just mesmerizing.
Treble has very good extensions with very good details and texture. Treble is sparkly and yet non-fatiguing kind of presentation that helps you to listen to Rival for hours and hours. Technicalities are excellent. Detail retrieval capabilities are very good and so is the dynamic range. Rival is very dynamic with excellent reproduction of highs and lows in music effortlessly. Soundstage has decent width and depth. Instrument separation is excellent with ample space between each instrument involved and no congestion found even in busier music. Imaging is very accurate and precise.
w/iBasso D16 Taipan:
Adding D16 Taipan to DX260, immediately made Rival sound airy and spacious. Mids sound more open and natural with even better engaging factor. Female vocals sound more energetic and have excellent extensions.
Bass, now has better sub bass rumble that goes deeper than what it is with DX260 alone. Bass texture is excellent and is very well controlled without any bleed. Mid bass carries forward its excellent punchy nature as heard with DX260. Overall, Rival’s bass is very engaging and addictive. It’s not basshead level, but more than sufficient bass to make music enjoyable and foot tapping.
Mids too got an improvement with D16 from an already impressive presentation. Mids, now more engaging and dynamic than before. Mids sound natural, airy, and upper mids have great extensions and have excellent sparkle. Mids sound spacious, detailed, and have great definition. Mids don’t sound recessed with D16 as was the case with DX260 and are highly resolving.
Soundstage too got an all around improvement with D16, Rival now sounds more three dimensional. Rival sounds very open and airy now, with clear space between each element in music having their own defined space with no congestion whatsoever. Imaging is precise and pin point accurate.
Treble is more natural with D16 in the chain. Treble is very well extended and has very good energy up top without sounding harsh. Detail retrieval capabilities are top notch with excellent dynamic range. Rival maintains excellent resolution all through the spectrum.
D16 Taipan adds all round improvements to the table. Rival on D16 sounds very natural, spacious, airy, dynamic, and more engaging, while maintaining top notch resolution and technicalities. D16, turned out to be one of the best sources for Rival.
w/iBasso D16 + PB5 Osprey:
Adding PB5 Osprey portable tube amplifier into the mix, brought even more warmth to the Rival’s sound signature. PB5 makes Rival warmer and loose some of its natural sheen and present forward a very musical sound. I didn’t like that much warmth, no it’s not muddy, but like a warm rug covering all the frequencies. Not the best pairing in my opinion.
Comparisons
vs FiR Audio Radon 6:
Penon Rival is a step above RN6 in both price wise and performance. Rival sounds more expansive and more natural, especially on D16. Bass of both IEMs differ in their approach, whereas RN6’s sub bass gives you a sub-woofer kind of feel with deeper reach and reverberance, where Rival excels in midbass punch along with very good sub bass rumble(when paired with D16). Both do bass excellently in their own way, but the kinetic bass of RN6 will be more addictive for some. Neither of them carry bass into mids, with both of them having very smooth transition from bass to Mids. Mids, clearly belongs to Rival in this comparison, with more natural and slightly thicker presentation. Whereas RN6 has slightly thinner mids and sound less natural. RN6, though has better upper mids extension and is more energetic in this area. And same goes with treble, RN6’s treble is more energetic and brighter where Rival sounds natural and well extended. Technically, they both are on par with each other. Soundstage again goes for Rival, which has much better width and depth compared to RN6 on its stock cable, but changing cable to Effect Audio Fusion 1 improves its staging capabilities but still falls short of Rival. RN6, on its own is an excellent IEM, but when compared against Rival, it simply can’t match Rival’s natural and realistic presentation.
vs Rhapsodio Supreme 3:
Comparing Rival to Rhapsodio Supreme V3, Supreme V3 sounds even more open, natural and spacious. I found Rival’s bass presentation to be better with better subbass rumble and midbass punch. Supreme V3’s bass is faster than Rival, but quantity and quality wise, I found Rival to be better and more addictive and engaging. Coming to mids, Supreme V3 takes the cake here, with better resolving, more natural and forward mids section. I found Rival’s mids to be slightly recessed compared to Supreme V3. Technicalities are slightly better on Supreme V3. Supreme V3 has wider and deeper stage with pin point and precise imaging and better instrument separation and better detail retrieval capabilities. Treble is slightly more extended on Supreme V3. Other than the bass, Rival falls short of Supreme V3 in other areas, but still is crazy good at what it does and with the price difference between these two and Supreme V3 just 5% better over Rival, I feel Rival is more preferable while saving some bucks that can buy a D16. But, that’s just my take. Both are really excellent offerings from their respective brands and they’re just an experience one has to have.
Conclusion
This is my first time listening to a Penon IEM, and that too straight up their top dog, Rival to try. This has been a really wonderful listening experience I had with Rival. Definitely one of the best IEMs, I have ever tried. It impressed me so much so that, I had to give my ears some adjustment time to get down to my personal top dog, FiR RN6. Rival is an excellent IEM all around, impressing you with its big, open, airy, spacious and natural sound. Especially that mesmerizing mids section it has. It performs exceptionally well in other areas too, perhaps a little more sparkle up top would have been perfect. But nothing is perfect in this world, but Rival does manage to give you a surreal experience whenever you listen to it, with its realistic, natural and airy presentation. Highly recommended.
Attachments
Was looking for a flagship that combined the latest tech with great sound and was keen on being able to tweak the tuning. Based on the feedback from a few reviewers at Canjams Socal and I little bit of research I decided on the Penon Rival.
The customer service was excellent while I was researching the product and all my questions were satisfactorily answered. The shipping from Hong Kong went well once we decided on Fedex to South Africa.
The retail package is good and they also threw in a batch of extra eartips which is handy.
The build quality is much better in the flesh than in pics but they could have done a lot better here considering the price. The matching black cable with the same red glitter as the faceplates is a nice touch.
Now the main thing is that they sound absolutely fantastic. Epic soundstage which is way beyond my head with great imaging as well.
The stock tuning has a good amount of sub bass but is more focused on very tight mid bass with lots of texture and slam.
The mids are very special for voice and instruments like lead guitars and pianos. Listening to thr album Nothing But The Truth from The Pineapple Thief has never sounded so good and even when it gets all grungy and busy every instrument is clear in the mix and the kick drums and guitars are the star of the show.
The treble is impressive in extension buy a bit sharp so I'll tame it a bit with a filter. Definition and layering is top notch.
I've got the 64 Audio A18t and EA Odin which are both very good but the Rival is next level so I'm very impressed and a happy chappy.
Regards
The customer service was excellent while I was researching the product and all my questions were satisfactorily answered. The shipping from Hong Kong went well once we decided on Fedex to South Africa.
The retail package is good and they also threw in a batch of extra eartips which is handy.
The build quality is much better in the flesh than in pics but they could have done a lot better here considering the price. The matching black cable with the same red glitter as the faceplates is a nice touch.
Now the main thing is that they sound absolutely fantastic. Epic soundstage which is way beyond my head with great imaging as well.
The stock tuning has a good amount of sub bass but is more focused on very tight mid bass with lots of texture and slam.
The mids are very special for voice and instruments like lead guitars and pianos. Listening to thr album Nothing But The Truth from The Pineapple Thief has never sounded so good and even when it gets all grungy and busy every instrument is clear in the mix and the kick drums and guitars are the star of the show.
The treble is impressive in extension buy a bit sharp so I'll tame it a bit with a filter. Definition and layering is top notch.
I've got the 64 Audio A18t and EA Odin which are both very good but the Rival is next level so I'm very impressed and a happy chappy.
Regards
Attachments
Penon Rival
RIVAL
“a person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity.”
I know a lot of folks are surprised to see a new TOTL IEM from Penon fairly close to the release of the Voltage. While Voltage was marketed as a flagship product. The actual TOTL or Top Of The Line IEM Penon makes up till now is the new Rival. I am fairly certain they planned its release and every facet of its design the way they have. With the inevitable release of the Rival the jump in performance from prior flagships are represented by the jump in the price tag. The new Rival will be in the market for the very premium level price of 4K us dollars.
So what makes the PENON Rival their top-of-the-line IEM? Penon does not price a product to be where it is for no reason. There are some included accessories that make the IEM what it is. The Rival includes one of Penon's absolute best cables to date in the Totem. IEMs may change over time but the great cable stays and here is the same flagship cable that was used on the old Volts to go with that IEM. No denying just how good the Penon Totems are. So good that Penon has made numerous pigtails, dongles and interconnects using the Totem material. Anyone that has experienced the Totem for themselves will know just how substantial this cable is.
New for Rival Totem all clear sleeving. Old Totem AKA the hose on the right
The Rival now comes with an all-white Totem, its included material make up includes silver plated crystal copper, palladium plated pure silver, pure gold-plated single crystal copper, 2 thicker cores of it. The colors might change but the material is the same. Also with a small addition to the Totem worth noting. The new Totem will now have Penons newest modular screw on plugs. You will get a complete set. A standard 3.5mm, 2.5mm balanced, 4.4mm balanced plugs but then there are the addition of two extra plugs. A 3.5mm and a 4.4mm Rhodium plated plug.
So Penon is going all out, a newer Rhodium plated plug will slightly tighten and alter the overall sound experience for better details and definition especially for its upper registers of sound and so it is the one metal that the Totem natively does not have so adding it for good measure is not a bad thing. In a way, the inclusion of these plugs makes it a specialized Totem, not to mention the all clear sleeving, which again is a first for the Totem cable in looks. Current Totem is an all black nylon covering you can buy on Penonaudio.com.
The IEMs package also includes 2 handy but small instruction booklets that will give some directions on how to adjust the Rival to one's liking. Unlike the standard instruction reader you get with other IEMs that you toss out in the trash bin. It is highly advisable you take a good read as it will show you what you're getting into. I do wish Penon would have used some bigger print here as its included graphs and instruction I can guarantee you will take out your magnifying glasses. Magnifying glasses you're gonna need not just to read the instructions but also to do the damper swaps. Penon includes one actually, no kidding. So therein lies something that a lot of TOTLs IEMs are missing or do not really dive into. My theory of this is that folks that make higher end IEMs usually make one tuning for that IEM and will come out with an adjusted version in the future and the idea there is that if you want the latest and greatest tuning adjustments, then you have to fork up an increased price tag for folks to buy the MK2 or Mark III version of the same IEM again and again. I mean why have one IEM that can make all those adjustments when you feel the need right? But that is in fact what the Rival is all about.
There are 3 sound tuning adjusters on the hardware level that make the Rival more versatile than any IEM let alone a TOTL IEM you have ever heard and here is why. First it comes with a bass dial. With a twist of a tiny 2 inch flathead screwdriver you can adjust the powerful coaxial bass to your liking. Adjustment is easy enough. Left turn counter clockwise for more, right turn clockwise for less. The recent Tansio Mirai Shocks uses a very similar method of increasing or decreasing the bass end and it is by far the most effective method of personalizing just how much of the rumble you want. Cuz we all know your good buddy Dave wants a lot of bass, you can do stupid high quality basshead levels on these easily. But then your other buddy Jack is bass sensitive as he doesn't want that boom stick, only needs a moderate amount of bass as he wants to hear the floaty air surrounding them vocals and instruments. Well you can have that as well. Yes I am talking about this on the same IEM. It is a level of hardware bass adjustment that you will not see too often for IEMs for the exact reason I posted above. You have to have a reason to buy yet another IEM right?
Then there are the two groups of BA dampers/ filters to use on the nozzle holes of the BAs representing the mids and trebles for the Rival. You get 14 pairs extra on top of what you got inside the stock Rival. That means you get 7 levels of adjustments for what essentially will be the upper mids and lower trebles, also 7 levels of adjustments just for the trebles. And if you do the math on that. The combination thereof is quite astounding. Good luck actually nailing down the exact amount of sound combos.
So this allows one to custom tune their own TOTL. What a novel ideal! However not all is green with this particular way of customizing tunings for your liking. The included tools and the dampers themselves are all made for small children and with perfect vision. Tiny is the word I would like to use when describing this process. I am a middle aged average sized male, and I can only imagine a large bigger human being struggling with the dampers and tools. Sausage fingers are not gonna work well with these is what I am saying. So you have to be ok with trying out something you're not accustomed to. And that is taking out a tiny damper using an equally tiny screw tool, then proceeding to replace that damper with an equally tiny damper of a different color representing greater or lesser resistance the damper represents. This in turn effectively tunes the IEM to exactly how you like to hear your Rivals.
This entire process is a lot like that nicer Ice cream shop, you can sprinkle as much peanut butter and chocolate chips as you want. And what is the likelihood the next guy will like as much peanut butter and chocolate chips as you do? This is essentially the idea behind the design here.
The sheer amount of sound variations from the Rival is mind numbing. I know a lot of you are looking at something like this with a. “I want a single tuning that is done extremely well.” Well how's about a minimum of 30 different TOTL level tunings that are done extremely well? This is literally the one IEM you will never ever get bored with. Cus it will become completely new, a Rival II or Rival MKIII with every single damper and bass adjustment you try. I know many of you guys are a set it and leave it type of guys when it comes to onboard hardware adjustments on an IEM. Nope, I am willing to bet that you will be messing with the dampers and bass dials. Because once you hear just how airy, spacious and dimensional, powerful and full bored the sound is. Oh yes you will mess around, I guarantee it. Why would Penon include tools and dampers for you not to? Once you try it. It becomes much easier to adjust the sound to your liking than you might imagine.
So let's talk about the default out of the box experience. Why is this important you might ask? Well that's because out of all the IEMs I have ever owned and heard. I will say the Rivals need a solid break in period. I mean solid! I highly recommend some drum n bass music played at listening volumes vs colored noise at a conservative number of at least 150 hours. My set has easily over 200. Reason for that is because of all the drivers that are not all BAs for example; ESTs and BCs, especially due to the dual dynamics and even the TOTEM cable if you believe in burning in cables. All of it is fresh. I found out through trial and error and over time burning in the Rival that it clearly changes in tonal character and ability after the longer run in period.
In an ideal planet, it would be fantastic if Penon did a minimum of a 100 hours of burn in at least before sending them to you but reality is when you get this rather spendy package. They are not going to be the way I am explaining things on this reader. They sounded decidedly un TOTL like with a syrupy dark bass, a bit too warm sounding with somewhat of a reserved treble end out of the box which was not what I was expecting let me put it that way. All that changes with burn in. It is simple, if you're not a burn in believer for IEMs. I will not recommend the Rival to you at all. I have 2 weeks of notes that can back up my claim. The sound shapes up like you will not believe. IMO the instructions should include that they need a longer burn in period. Here is the number one reason why you want these to be firing off at 100% capacity.
The last thing you want is to make a damper adjustment, which while not too difficult to do is a bit nerve racking, especially the first time you try it, only to find out the stock damper is what should be on there in the first place. Which is exactly what happened to me.
Damper replacement is a bit more surgical vs the adjustment switch or the tuning dial. It does require a steady hand. If you ever played the game operation. If you can win at that game you should be just fine trying out the damper replacement.
Rivals foundational sound.
Is relatively safe balancing for the bass mids and the trebles, It's not that the quality of these aspects including its adjustable bass is not up to par for a TOTL after burn in. It's just that every time you adjust something on the tuning here your overall sound balancing will be affected. So starting out with a more balanced safe tuning out of the box makes a lot of sense. Once you discover the sound adjustment you are looking for from that balanced tuning. That is where the Rival starts to take some very interesting shapes in its sound.
Refined balancing.
The parts that make up the Rival is a who's who of the best drivers in the industry, all masterfully crafted with a know-how that ends up with something more than just special. It is literally the absolute top end sounding Penon IEM, fully realized. I mean I can tell what sound they were going for with each adjustment. The prior flagship the Penon Impacts, current Impact owners, can you guys imagine what a higher end coaxial bass can do for something like the Impacts sound and then adding in some extra higher end dual bone conduction drivers with the Totem cable for good measure? Also, the addition of the ability to increase trebles for more presence shimmer and air? The musical angle of the old Volts. Can current Volts owners imagine a much higher degree for its rich mids tonal character with an equally rich stupid high level of bass and shimmery more present trebles to go with the foundational mids of the Volts also done with bone conduction drivers and the Totem cable? Penon seems to have taken every part of what they do well, ramped it up and put all that inside the Rivals. Including a new benchmark for Penon bass for IEMs.
There is literally no part of the sound that plays a supportive role here. All of it is featured and that is the exact reason that separates the Rival from anything Penon has made in the past. There is not a part of its sound you can point to and say. Well, this is not as good as this part or it doesn't quite have enough, bass impact, extremely textured rumble, a broad holographic surround like stage, crazy depth or expansive imaging, vocal forwardness, superior sound separation, accurate timbre, a natural rich tonal character, immaculate dimensional treble shimmer and extension. I hear no weakness or supportive role for a part of the sound balancing that applies to your Rival, as it has all of that in spades. You would expect that from a TOTL but the one real trump card that separates the Rival from anything else you have owned on this level, is the ability to adjust to your specifications how much or little of that balancing you want.
It's not a matter of just how good each portion of the sound really is. It's about adjusting the quantity of those parts to how you like it. You like a lot of that EST airy treble shimmer for your TOTL experience? Ok you can have that. You're a basshead!? But not just a basshead, I mean you require actual subs in your IEM presentation? A finicky bass head you are? Ok you can have that as well. But no way you're gonna let treble and bass be in the way of your glorious dimensional mids? Ya you can have that as well. Or how's about all 3 aspects included in your Rival sound? Imagine all these sound aspects coming together for a sound that you are not likely to hear on a daily basis from your other IEMs.
Once again here is where burn in the Rival plays a very crucial role in the end ability of the Rival. Because you can tweak the emphasis for each of the regions as much as you would like. It makes a whole lot of sense to get the sound to be in its’ fully burned in state. Especially when dealing with two carbon hybrid coaxial dynamics that are handling the bass.
Build quality
The Rival is an all Resin build and while it is an average sized large all Resin IEM it's not as big as it could have been considering what it houses. The sheer number of larger drivers that are included. It's not all BAs in there, it is also housing dual coaxial 8mm dynamics, 2 Bone conduction+4EST drivers, with 5 crossovers and 4 sound channels all inside a compact shell. Each single Rival is hand built by the Penon team and if you are into your artistry when it comes to IEMs. These are the very definition of an art form. Its standard .78mm 2 pin form means you can cable roll to your heart's content but I have to say the Totem matches and enhances what the Rival is doing perfectly. Penon did you a huge favor by including the best matching cable from the get-go. I got word that they have tried several of their higher end cables but none quite reached the sound peak of the Totem and the Rival, I highly advise the Rhodium plugs here as well. With so many parts inside a solid Resin build.
These are superior for passive isolation. So good I am gonna guess at least 30dbs of passive isolation. So not only can you adjust that subwoofer bass but you can use the Rivals on the go and it does a splendid job blocking out the noise. However there is some report that the dual Sonion bone conduction vents will let out a bit of music chatter so it isn’t perfectly silent. Personal passive isolation is what I am talking about here.
Trebles
I have to say the quality of the treble presentation of the Rival is a new benchmark for Penon. Its definition is not only on point but its the solid weighty type of treble note your hearing. Every single treble note with any effect going on for the trebles are easily heard. Its transients are top notch, crisp, clean, extremely detailed, airy, subtle and or blunt if it has it in the recording. ESTs while handing the upper regions for the treble note brings that air and a quality that is an absolute blast to listen to when implemented masterfully and Penon are seasoned vets at tuning the EST infused treble. With each newer iteration of the EST treble design they have improved their treble tunings and as you can guess the top of the crop trebles come from the Rival. Its extension and floaty, airy treble note is extremely addictive. It is now my litmus test for trebles and oh wait.
I can crank up these super high quality refined trebles? Love how dimensional and complete the treble note comes from the Rival. Early on in my damper trial and error. I replaced the included white damper with the gray ones which bring the trebles a bit more forward in the mix. To be honest I was very close to keeping that gray damper but in the end changing out the mids damper got me to go back to the stock white treble damper. To my ears this sounds perfectly balanced with the mids presentation and it has been there ever since.
The Trebles ability to be ghostly and pin point in its transients and even one step further. I can actually hear the ambience of the room from the particular tracks the trebles that are portrayed. How's that for treble detail? The treble ability and how it portrays the treble note in full is actually about as perfect to my ears as it gets. Its detail level is at an all time high with zero ear fatigue. A refined treble note means it has to have the right amount of sparkle, note weight and shimmer when called for, has to have exact precision and this goes without saying on the Rival trebles. If you're a high quality treble fan, I can write an entire review just based on how good the trebles are here but I will just leave it at that. It is easily my new bench for trebles.
Mids
Penonized is the new word in describing their mids. Thanks to fellow headfier @dharmasteve who came up with this word. I have yet to hear an IEM or bud Penon made that are weak in the mids department. It is very much a foundational part of their house sound. It's not a question just how fantastic the mids are on the Rival. What is interesting here is that it's not all parts of the mids that are adjusted with the mids damper, it is more so the upper mids/ lower trebles. Which brings a different level of clarity and presence to the mid bands. Its standard tuning with the brown damper for the upper mids is a mild pinna gain, again very safe which lends to the tonal character to be slightly warmer with an overlying richness I appreciate about the Penon sound. In its default tuning it will be more a matter of how much upper mids and lower trebles you are wanting out of the Rivals but for me I wanted just a hair more upper mids to offset the warm full on rich bass notes. Plus I feel it needed just a touch more clarity for strings and female vocals. So I changed up the damper to the white one or the one level lesser in resistance in the upper mids from the stock brown damper. Long story short it is in this form that I found my sound nirvana for the mids.
Mids with any of the dampers are extremely dimensional, there is nothing flat to the sound of the Rival, it is the very definition of dimensions and layering. What puts the Rival mids over the top has to do with its layering in space with precise imaging of every instrument with vocals in whatever part of the sound field that was recorded. Instruments are on a different playing field where they are represented in that hearing space and this effect is much more pronounced due to the dual Sonion Bone conduction. But then the Rivals design is more than that. I am willing to bet the sound will be dimensional regardless of the bone conduction drivers but then they enhanced this even further by adding a Totem cable which helps with its stage enhancing, sound separation, imaging, richness in tonal character, and its body of sound with added texture.
So you can only imagine what was already a dimensional balanced tuning for the Rival + dual bone conduction with a cable that enhances and adds to all of it? The mids of the Rival are the best I have heard not just from Penon but it is literally the best full on dimensional sound I have ever heard from a headphone format. There are other cables out there that I am sure will add an equal amount of colorization that will enhance, a bit differently with the Rival experience but there is absolutely no need to try a different cable on the Rival. I feel it is already pushing max high quality sonics to your ears in every way possible.
The dual Sonion bone conduction is for real my friends. This is my 2nd go around with this particular set of bone conduction drivers by the esteemed BA manufacturer Sonion from Denmark. It was also used for Tansio Mirais Shocks. Much like how it worked on those IEMs it does the same for the Rival but since each part of the Rival is reference grade. You can only imagine what these do for the overall sound of a super high end TOTL. The sound becomes ethereal in the truest sense of the word.
These are the IEMs you use when you want to hear just how good a recording is because these will let you hear the environment where the track was recorded. Studio or live sets, its imaging is on another level. The actual dimensions and ambience of the sound is heard. Its definitions in all dimensions of the stage presentation is more of a surround sound experience more than anything I have heard in an IEM format. It sounds like you got speakers firing off from all directions. Way in front of you, intimate up close and way behind you, far left and right. It is quite the virtual sound experience.
Mids have more than just substantial body, timberally perfect, tonally rich, a weighty sound with a roundness to every note. Every single reverb, after effects from instruments and vocals that are in the recording, the ambience of the air in the studio or venue that is inside of an amphitheater you can gauge just how large or intimate the venue is by listening to it with the Rivals. All this with the added effect of some of the best sound separation I have ever heard in an IEM format. Little nuances; the distance the vocalist is to the microphone, the vibrancy and emphasis of the strings to the whisper accented drums to how much emphasis the drummer has. There is nothing that overlaps or is unheard on the Rival. Its detail element is not just on one plane of sound, it is all around you. You can hear the distinction and dynamism of notes from every recording be it more forward, central or way behind your head, a true surround experience. Up till now, the best mids from Penon were the Impacts and not taking anything away from them. The Rival takes the level of the impact mids presentation but then takes it one step further into another realm altogether. Fine tuned with some of the most involved rich full ranged, full bodied, well balanced, immaculately spacious broad sounding mids w pin point accuracy. It is simply the very best Penonized mids they have ever done and if that's not enough reason to admire the Rival experience, then there is the bass.
BASS.
My prior benchmark for high quality bass playback from an IEM would be my IER-Z1R. This IEM amped is one for the ages. Sony has made a name for themselves with the landmark IEM in the IER-Z1R and just about anyone that owns a set will tell you they have some of the all time best bass presentations on the planet. For an IEM that was introduced in 2018, it has a staying power that other IEMs only wished it had. I can’t really recall any other IEMs that still get new buyers even today from the time. How surprised was I when I finally found an IEM that not only surpasses the greatness of the Z1R bass but leaps every other bass infused IEM I have ever heard.
Never in my wildest dreams was I prepared for the Rival bass. It was actually a huge point of concern for me on open listen. And this would be the number one reason why you want to do a nice long break in period for your Rival. It is the bass end that shapes up like a rough cut dull looking diamond meticulously transformed into its shiny sparkly crystalline final form in the end. Just know what you hear out of the box from the bass is not its final form at all. Be prepared for a wild road trip of a break in for these and it has everything to do with the bass of the Rivals.
The bass here uses similar tech that Penon has been involved with past IEMS and when I asked what material they are using. They are keeping a tighter lip on this one. To my ears they sound a bit like silicone dynamic bass but I was told it is a carbon hybrid they call it. So it is made of several materials that they aren’t exactly saying outright what it is and I kinda don’t blame them. Because I tell you what, they are definitely onto a winner with its bass presentation. Whatever it is. It's got a bass character that you would never expect from an IEM format.
What they actually end up sounding like are powered high end subwoofers in your ears. IER-Z1R as good as its bass end is, it is still IEM bass and done right I might add but the Rival bass is easily a good tier above that bass presentation. The amount of bass impact and presence you want for your Rivals will be as easy as messing with that dial on the backside of the shells. The amount is how you like it but it wouldn't be a TOTL IEM without what Penon brings for their absolute best bass effort in the form of quality.
Bass quality.
Coaxial bass is both 8mm carbon hybrid dynamics working in unison to bring out the power of both dynamics in a push pull array. So it would behoove Penon to bring out their absolute best effort for bass and my goodness did they deliver. The bass definition is one of the absolute best I have ever heard. Its texture is on a level you can only hear from actual subwoofers and this might be the reason why I mention actual subs but that is exactly how these sound like in your ears. It's got it all from bass tightness, agility, tactility in spades. Bass transients here is something to behold as these might be the very first IEM I have ever heard where the attack and decay of the bass notes are extremely variable and transformative to every single bass note and emphasis represented accurately with not just a few of my tracks but all of them. I have yet to hear a bass note that these can’t handle with ballz. I have plenty of IEMs that dig deep but these things dig deep with power not too different from the dedicated powered subwoofer from your 5.1or 7.1 channel sound.
I mentioned its agility which is a standout feature of the coaxial bass format, when combined with a highly effectively defined characteristics of all things bass. The accuracy for bass playback in the Rivals is at an all time high point for IEM sound. Slower decaying sub notes have some of the best texture from an IEM presentation I have ever heard. Sub bass notes have a certain power and a texture level that is among the very best for IEMs. Tight, speedy, supremely defined and Impactful. The bass end of the Rival is really 2nd to none in its ability and definition.
Bass tonal character of the Rival kind of reminds me of all IEMs, ISNs EST50s silicone bass rich tonal character but with the texture level of a carbon dynamic. A refinement level for the bass end I have never heard before on a Penon made IEM. They have had plenty of excellent bass infused IEMs if you count Tansio Mirai and ISN IEMs but the Rival bass surpasses all of them and has no equal among any of the current Penon produced IEMs. It has a wicked cameleon-like adaptability to all genres of music. Much like how the mids are portrayed. The Rivals bass presentation is a supremely rich bass experience. Bass notes capture everything from subtle bass notes to full on impact of 80s 808s with nearly a struggle. Even when turning down the bass knob it maintains this level of refinement throughout. What is even more impressive is when you crank up the bass and the Rivals bass stays well in control. A big beefy slab of Wagyu or a delicate filet mignon in true buffet style as much or as little as you want. What am I getting at? The bass presentation here is as special as the mids and its treble and that is what makes the Rival so damn good sounding. So complete, so soulful, so masterful. The sheer ability for this high end quality bass to be adjusted easily via adjustable knob. I can feel my manhood leaking out of my eyes a bit just thinking about it. It is way more awesome than you would imagine. Especially if you're a fan of super high quality bass presentations from speakers and headphones. You will most certainly appreciate what Penon has done for the bass end for the Rivals
In the end
The Rival is the culmination of years of knowhow and tuning expertise from the group that is known for their musical angle for their house sound. It was only a matter of time until they brought out an IEM that reaches for absolute peak performance of all their hard work. Make no bones about this one my friends. These are not just good, they are mind blowing. Even more so due to just how much customization it has in store for the true finicky enthusiast that wants their cake and eat it too. If you get a set of these and are complaining about not having enough rumbly bass, or the “ I am not a fan of harmon tuned IEMs due to too much upper mids” Or the “ these don’t have enough treble sparkle for my taste.” COMMENTs!. I will go over to where you live and swifty kick you in the shins. You are missing the point. You can tweak these to what you want. Sure I can see the complaint about how small the dampers are or how you might have lost one of the dampers due to your sausage fingers but. If I see something like, “ The bass end is a bit gentle for my taste.” Yes I will come over and egg your house because you deserve it!
This is the one IEM that will literally morph into whatever sound signature you please, more importantly done with a very high degree of refinements at all parts of its sound with a variability and adjustment level I have yet to see on a hardware level for any IEM. It would be one thing if the variance in the tunings sound completely off or incoherent but that is not the case. Truth is, it didn't take much of an effort for me to find the exact sound balancing I prefer as I had plenty of time to mess with the dampers and its bass dials. Once you get that sound just right for you. It is game over. I know there is no such thing as a perfect sounding IEM but the Rival has now become my litmus test. All other IEMs are lacking in comparison. I know folks are gawking about the price point but once you realize the sheer numbers of sound signature tweaks the Rival can do, with its unbelievable ethereal surround sound presentation. Yes it's game over. This is the level of IEM that I am certain most high end boutique manufacturers strive for but the reality is, it is usually one signature and that is it. Then you have to wait for another iteration or the “upgrade” to the newer version of the unobtanium TOTL that tweaks that sound so you can then spend a good chunk of your savings yet once again. You want more of that airy treble? You want more forward vocal presence? You want more rumbly subs to rattle your jaw? How about letting you choose that? It's a crazy idea but I do think Penon has achieved a peak performing IEM. Personal IEM sound just does not get much better.
PERFECTION
the action or process of improving something until it is faultless or as faultless as possible.
RIVAL
“a person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity.”
I know a lot of folks are surprised to see a new TOTL IEM from Penon fairly close to the release of the Voltage. While Voltage was marketed as a flagship product. The actual TOTL or Top Of The Line IEM Penon makes up till now is the new Rival. I am fairly certain they planned its release and every facet of its design the way they have. With the inevitable release of the Rival the jump in performance from prior flagships are represented by the jump in the price tag. The new Rival will be in the market for the very premium level price of 4K us dollars.
So what makes the PENON Rival their top-of-the-line IEM? Penon does not price a product to be where it is for no reason. There are some included accessories that make the IEM what it is. The Rival includes one of Penon's absolute best cables to date in the Totem. IEMs may change over time but the great cable stays and here is the same flagship cable that was used on the old Volts to go with that IEM. No denying just how good the Penon Totems are. So good that Penon has made numerous pigtails, dongles and interconnects using the Totem material. Anyone that has experienced the Totem for themselves will know just how substantial this cable is.
New for Rival Totem all clear sleeving. Old Totem AKA the hose on the right
The Rival now comes with an all-white Totem, its included material make up includes silver plated crystal copper, palladium plated pure silver, pure gold-plated single crystal copper, 2 thicker cores of it. The colors might change but the material is the same. Also with a small addition to the Totem worth noting. The new Totem will now have Penons newest modular screw on plugs. You will get a complete set. A standard 3.5mm, 2.5mm balanced, 4.4mm balanced plugs but then there are the addition of two extra plugs. A 3.5mm and a 4.4mm Rhodium plated plug.
So Penon is going all out, a newer Rhodium plated plug will slightly tighten and alter the overall sound experience for better details and definition especially for its upper registers of sound and so it is the one metal that the Totem natively does not have so adding it for good measure is not a bad thing. In a way, the inclusion of these plugs makes it a specialized Totem, not to mention the all clear sleeving, which again is a first for the Totem cable in looks. Current Totem is an all black nylon covering you can buy on Penonaudio.com.
The IEMs package also includes 2 handy but small instruction booklets that will give some directions on how to adjust the Rival to one's liking. Unlike the standard instruction reader you get with other IEMs that you toss out in the trash bin. It is highly advisable you take a good read as it will show you what you're getting into. I do wish Penon would have used some bigger print here as its included graphs and instruction I can guarantee you will take out your magnifying glasses. Magnifying glasses you're gonna need not just to read the instructions but also to do the damper swaps. Penon includes one actually, no kidding. So therein lies something that a lot of TOTLs IEMs are missing or do not really dive into. My theory of this is that folks that make higher end IEMs usually make one tuning for that IEM and will come out with an adjusted version in the future and the idea there is that if you want the latest and greatest tuning adjustments, then you have to fork up an increased price tag for folks to buy the MK2 or Mark III version of the same IEM again and again. I mean why have one IEM that can make all those adjustments when you feel the need right? But that is in fact what the Rival is all about.
There are 3 sound tuning adjusters on the hardware level that make the Rival more versatile than any IEM let alone a TOTL IEM you have ever heard and here is why. First it comes with a bass dial. With a twist of a tiny 2 inch flathead screwdriver you can adjust the powerful coaxial bass to your liking. Adjustment is easy enough. Left turn counter clockwise for more, right turn clockwise for less. The recent Tansio Mirai Shocks uses a very similar method of increasing or decreasing the bass end and it is by far the most effective method of personalizing just how much of the rumble you want. Cuz we all know your good buddy Dave wants a lot of bass, you can do stupid high quality basshead levels on these easily. But then your other buddy Jack is bass sensitive as he doesn't want that boom stick, only needs a moderate amount of bass as he wants to hear the floaty air surrounding them vocals and instruments. Well you can have that as well. Yes I am talking about this on the same IEM. It is a level of hardware bass adjustment that you will not see too often for IEMs for the exact reason I posted above. You have to have a reason to buy yet another IEM right?
Then there are the two groups of BA dampers/ filters to use on the nozzle holes of the BAs representing the mids and trebles for the Rival. You get 14 pairs extra on top of what you got inside the stock Rival. That means you get 7 levels of adjustments for what essentially will be the upper mids and lower trebles, also 7 levels of adjustments just for the trebles. And if you do the math on that. The combination thereof is quite astounding. Good luck actually nailing down the exact amount of sound combos.
So this allows one to custom tune their own TOTL. What a novel ideal! However not all is green with this particular way of customizing tunings for your liking. The included tools and the dampers themselves are all made for small children and with perfect vision. Tiny is the word I would like to use when describing this process. I am a middle aged average sized male, and I can only imagine a large bigger human being struggling with the dampers and tools. Sausage fingers are not gonna work well with these is what I am saying. So you have to be ok with trying out something you're not accustomed to. And that is taking out a tiny damper using an equally tiny screw tool, then proceeding to replace that damper with an equally tiny damper of a different color representing greater or lesser resistance the damper represents. This in turn effectively tunes the IEM to exactly how you like to hear your Rivals.
This entire process is a lot like that nicer Ice cream shop, you can sprinkle as much peanut butter and chocolate chips as you want. And what is the likelihood the next guy will like as much peanut butter and chocolate chips as you do? This is essentially the idea behind the design here.
The sheer amount of sound variations from the Rival is mind numbing. I know a lot of you are looking at something like this with a. “I want a single tuning that is done extremely well.” Well how's about a minimum of 30 different TOTL level tunings that are done extremely well? This is literally the one IEM you will never ever get bored with. Cus it will become completely new, a Rival II or Rival MKIII with every single damper and bass adjustment you try. I know many of you guys are a set it and leave it type of guys when it comes to onboard hardware adjustments on an IEM. Nope, I am willing to bet that you will be messing with the dampers and bass dials. Because once you hear just how airy, spacious and dimensional, powerful and full bored the sound is. Oh yes you will mess around, I guarantee it. Why would Penon include tools and dampers for you not to? Once you try it. It becomes much easier to adjust the sound to your liking than you might imagine.
So let's talk about the default out of the box experience. Why is this important you might ask? Well that's because out of all the IEMs I have ever owned and heard. I will say the Rivals need a solid break in period. I mean solid! I highly recommend some drum n bass music played at listening volumes vs colored noise at a conservative number of at least 150 hours. My set has easily over 200. Reason for that is because of all the drivers that are not all BAs for example; ESTs and BCs, especially due to the dual dynamics and even the TOTEM cable if you believe in burning in cables. All of it is fresh. I found out through trial and error and over time burning in the Rival that it clearly changes in tonal character and ability after the longer run in period.
In an ideal planet, it would be fantastic if Penon did a minimum of a 100 hours of burn in at least before sending them to you but reality is when you get this rather spendy package. They are not going to be the way I am explaining things on this reader. They sounded decidedly un TOTL like with a syrupy dark bass, a bit too warm sounding with somewhat of a reserved treble end out of the box which was not what I was expecting let me put it that way. All that changes with burn in. It is simple, if you're not a burn in believer for IEMs. I will not recommend the Rival to you at all. I have 2 weeks of notes that can back up my claim. The sound shapes up like you will not believe. IMO the instructions should include that they need a longer burn in period. Here is the number one reason why you want these to be firing off at 100% capacity.
The last thing you want is to make a damper adjustment, which while not too difficult to do is a bit nerve racking, especially the first time you try it, only to find out the stock damper is what should be on there in the first place. Which is exactly what happened to me.
Damper replacement is a bit more surgical vs the adjustment switch or the tuning dial. It does require a steady hand. If you ever played the game operation. If you can win at that game you should be just fine trying out the damper replacement.
Rivals foundational sound.
Is relatively safe balancing for the bass mids and the trebles, It's not that the quality of these aspects including its adjustable bass is not up to par for a TOTL after burn in. It's just that every time you adjust something on the tuning here your overall sound balancing will be affected. So starting out with a more balanced safe tuning out of the box makes a lot of sense. Once you discover the sound adjustment you are looking for from that balanced tuning. That is where the Rival starts to take some very interesting shapes in its sound.
Refined balancing.
The parts that make up the Rival is a who's who of the best drivers in the industry, all masterfully crafted with a know-how that ends up with something more than just special. It is literally the absolute top end sounding Penon IEM, fully realized. I mean I can tell what sound they were going for with each adjustment. The prior flagship the Penon Impacts, current Impact owners, can you guys imagine what a higher end coaxial bass can do for something like the Impacts sound and then adding in some extra higher end dual bone conduction drivers with the Totem cable for good measure? Also, the addition of the ability to increase trebles for more presence shimmer and air? The musical angle of the old Volts. Can current Volts owners imagine a much higher degree for its rich mids tonal character with an equally rich stupid high level of bass and shimmery more present trebles to go with the foundational mids of the Volts also done with bone conduction drivers and the Totem cable? Penon seems to have taken every part of what they do well, ramped it up and put all that inside the Rivals. Including a new benchmark for Penon bass for IEMs.
There is literally no part of the sound that plays a supportive role here. All of it is featured and that is the exact reason that separates the Rival from anything Penon has made in the past. There is not a part of its sound you can point to and say. Well, this is not as good as this part or it doesn't quite have enough, bass impact, extremely textured rumble, a broad holographic surround like stage, crazy depth or expansive imaging, vocal forwardness, superior sound separation, accurate timbre, a natural rich tonal character, immaculate dimensional treble shimmer and extension. I hear no weakness or supportive role for a part of the sound balancing that applies to your Rival, as it has all of that in spades. You would expect that from a TOTL but the one real trump card that separates the Rival from anything else you have owned on this level, is the ability to adjust to your specifications how much or little of that balancing you want.
It's not a matter of just how good each portion of the sound really is. It's about adjusting the quantity of those parts to how you like it. You like a lot of that EST airy treble shimmer for your TOTL experience? Ok you can have that. You're a basshead!? But not just a basshead, I mean you require actual subs in your IEM presentation? A finicky bass head you are? Ok you can have that as well. But no way you're gonna let treble and bass be in the way of your glorious dimensional mids? Ya you can have that as well. Or how's about all 3 aspects included in your Rival sound? Imagine all these sound aspects coming together for a sound that you are not likely to hear on a daily basis from your other IEMs.
Once again here is where burn in the Rival plays a very crucial role in the end ability of the Rival. Because you can tweak the emphasis for each of the regions as much as you would like. It makes a whole lot of sense to get the sound to be in its’ fully burned in state. Especially when dealing with two carbon hybrid coaxial dynamics that are handling the bass.
Build quality
The Rival is an all Resin build and while it is an average sized large all Resin IEM it's not as big as it could have been considering what it houses. The sheer number of larger drivers that are included. It's not all BAs in there, it is also housing dual coaxial 8mm dynamics, 2 Bone conduction+4EST drivers, with 5 crossovers and 4 sound channels all inside a compact shell. Each single Rival is hand built by the Penon team and if you are into your artistry when it comes to IEMs. These are the very definition of an art form. Its standard .78mm 2 pin form means you can cable roll to your heart's content but I have to say the Totem matches and enhances what the Rival is doing perfectly. Penon did you a huge favor by including the best matching cable from the get-go. I got word that they have tried several of their higher end cables but none quite reached the sound peak of the Totem and the Rival, I highly advise the Rhodium plugs here as well. With so many parts inside a solid Resin build.
These are superior for passive isolation. So good I am gonna guess at least 30dbs of passive isolation. So not only can you adjust that subwoofer bass but you can use the Rivals on the go and it does a splendid job blocking out the noise. However there is some report that the dual Sonion bone conduction vents will let out a bit of music chatter so it isn’t perfectly silent. Personal passive isolation is what I am talking about here.
Trebles
I have to say the quality of the treble presentation of the Rival is a new benchmark for Penon. Its definition is not only on point but its the solid weighty type of treble note your hearing. Every single treble note with any effect going on for the trebles are easily heard. Its transients are top notch, crisp, clean, extremely detailed, airy, subtle and or blunt if it has it in the recording. ESTs while handing the upper regions for the treble note brings that air and a quality that is an absolute blast to listen to when implemented masterfully and Penon are seasoned vets at tuning the EST infused treble. With each newer iteration of the EST treble design they have improved their treble tunings and as you can guess the top of the crop trebles come from the Rival. Its extension and floaty, airy treble note is extremely addictive. It is now my litmus test for trebles and oh wait.
I can crank up these super high quality refined trebles? Love how dimensional and complete the treble note comes from the Rival. Early on in my damper trial and error. I replaced the included white damper with the gray ones which bring the trebles a bit more forward in the mix. To be honest I was very close to keeping that gray damper but in the end changing out the mids damper got me to go back to the stock white treble damper. To my ears this sounds perfectly balanced with the mids presentation and it has been there ever since.
The Trebles ability to be ghostly and pin point in its transients and even one step further. I can actually hear the ambience of the room from the particular tracks the trebles that are portrayed. How's that for treble detail? The treble ability and how it portrays the treble note in full is actually about as perfect to my ears as it gets. Its detail level is at an all time high with zero ear fatigue. A refined treble note means it has to have the right amount of sparkle, note weight and shimmer when called for, has to have exact precision and this goes without saying on the Rival trebles. If you're a high quality treble fan, I can write an entire review just based on how good the trebles are here but I will just leave it at that. It is easily my new bench for trebles.
Mids
Penonized is the new word in describing their mids. Thanks to fellow headfier @dharmasteve who came up with this word. I have yet to hear an IEM or bud Penon made that are weak in the mids department. It is very much a foundational part of their house sound. It's not a question just how fantastic the mids are on the Rival. What is interesting here is that it's not all parts of the mids that are adjusted with the mids damper, it is more so the upper mids/ lower trebles. Which brings a different level of clarity and presence to the mid bands. Its standard tuning with the brown damper for the upper mids is a mild pinna gain, again very safe which lends to the tonal character to be slightly warmer with an overlying richness I appreciate about the Penon sound. In its default tuning it will be more a matter of how much upper mids and lower trebles you are wanting out of the Rivals but for me I wanted just a hair more upper mids to offset the warm full on rich bass notes. Plus I feel it needed just a touch more clarity for strings and female vocals. So I changed up the damper to the white one or the one level lesser in resistance in the upper mids from the stock brown damper. Long story short it is in this form that I found my sound nirvana for the mids.
Mids with any of the dampers are extremely dimensional, there is nothing flat to the sound of the Rival, it is the very definition of dimensions and layering. What puts the Rival mids over the top has to do with its layering in space with precise imaging of every instrument with vocals in whatever part of the sound field that was recorded. Instruments are on a different playing field where they are represented in that hearing space and this effect is much more pronounced due to the dual Sonion Bone conduction. But then the Rivals design is more than that. I am willing to bet the sound will be dimensional regardless of the bone conduction drivers but then they enhanced this even further by adding a Totem cable which helps with its stage enhancing, sound separation, imaging, richness in tonal character, and its body of sound with added texture.
So you can only imagine what was already a dimensional balanced tuning for the Rival + dual bone conduction with a cable that enhances and adds to all of it? The mids of the Rival are the best I have heard not just from Penon but it is literally the best full on dimensional sound I have ever heard from a headphone format. There are other cables out there that I am sure will add an equal amount of colorization that will enhance, a bit differently with the Rival experience but there is absolutely no need to try a different cable on the Rival. I feel it is already pushing max high quality sonics to your ears in every way possible.
The dual Sonion bone conduction is for real my friends. This is my 2nd go around with this particular set of bone conduction drivers by the esteemed BA manufacturer Sonion from Denmark. It was also used for Tansio Mirais Shocks. Much like how it worked on those IEMs it does the same for the Rival but since each part of the Rival is reference grade. You can only imagine what these do for the overall sound of a super high end TOTL. The sound becomes ethereal in the truest sense of the word.
These are the IEMs you use when you want to hear just how good a recording is because these will let you hear the environment where the track was recorded. Studio or live sets, its imaging is on another level. The actual dimensions and ambience of the sound is heard. Its definitions in all dimensions of the stage presentation is more of a surround sound experience more than anything I have heard in an IEM format. It sounds like you got speakers firing off from all directions. Way in front of you, intimate up close and way behind you, far left and right. It is quite the virtual sound experience.
Mids have more than just substantial body, timberally perfect, tonally rich, a weighty sound with a roundness to every note. Every single reverb, after effects from instruments and vocals that are in the recording, the ambience of the air in the studio or venue that is inside of an amphitheater you can gauge just how large or intimate the venue is by listening to it with the Rivals. All this with the added effect of some of the best sound separation I have ever heard in an IEM format. Little nuances; the distance the vocalist is to the microphone, the vibrancy and emphasis of the strings to the whisper accented drums to how much emphasis the drummer has. There is nothing that overlaps or is unheard on the Rival. Its detail element is not just on one plane of sound, it is all around you. You can hear the distinction and dynamism of notes from every recording be it more forward, central or way behind your head, a true surround experience. Up till now, the best mids from Penon were the Impacts and not taking anything away from them. The Rival takes the level of the impact mids presentation but then takes it one step further into another realm altogether. Fine tuned with some of the most involved rich full ranged, full bodied, well balanced, immaculately spacious broad sounding mids w pin point accuracy. It is simply the very best Penonized mids they have ever done and if that's not enough reason to admire the Rival experience, then there is the bass.
BASS.
My prior benchmark for high quality bass playback from an IEM would be my IER-Z1R. This IEM amped is one for the ages. Sony has made a name for themselves with the landmark IEM in the IER-Z1R and just about anyone that owns a set will tell you they have some of the all time best bass presentations on the planet. For an IEM that was introduced in 2018, it has a staying power that other IEMs only wished it had. I can’t really recall any other IEMs that still get new buyers even today from the time. How surprised was I when I finally found an IEM that not only surpasses the greatness of the Z1R bass but leaps every other bass infused IEM I have ever heard.
Never in my wildest dreams was I prepared for the Rival bass. It was actually a huge point of concern for me on open listen. And this would be the number one reason why you want to do a nice long break in period for your Rival. It is the bass end that shapes up like a rough cut dull looking diamond meticulously transformed into its shiny sparkly crystalline final form in the end. Just know what you hear out of the box from the bass is not its final form at all. Be prepared for a wild road trip of a break in for these and it has everything to do with the bass of the Rivals.
The bass here uses similar tech that Penon has been involved with past IEMS and when I asked what material they are using. They are keeping a tighter lip on this one. To my ears they sound a bit like silicone dynamic bass but I was told it is a carbon hybrid they call it. So it is made of several materials that they aren’t exactly saying outright what it is and I kinda don’t blame them. Because I tell you what, they are definitely onto a winner with its bass presentation. Whatever it is. It's got a bass character that you would never expect from an IEM format.
What they actually end up sounding like are powered high end subwoofers in your ears. IER-Z1R as good as its bass end is, it is still IEM bass and done right I might add but the Rival bass is easily a good tier above that bass presentation. The amount of bass impact and presence you want for your Rivals will be as easy as messing with that dial on the backside of the shells. The amount is how you like it but it wouldn't be a TOTL IEM without what Penon brings for their absolute best bass effort in the form of quality.
Bass quality.
Coaxial bass is both 8mm carbon hybrid dynamics working in unison to bring out the power of both dynamics in a push pull array. So it would behoove Penon to bring out their absolute best effort for bass and my goodness did they deliver. The bass definition is one of the absolute best I have ever heard. Its texture is on a level you can only hear from actual subwoofers and this might be the reason why I mention actual subs but that is exactly how these sound like in your ears. It's got it all from bass tightness, agility, tactility in spades. Bass transients here is something to behold as these might be the very first IEM I have ever heard where the attack and decay of the bass notes are extremely variable and transformative to every single bass note and emphasis represented accurately with not just a few of my tracks but all of them. I have yet to hear a bass note that these can’t handle with ballz. I have plenty of IEMs that dig deep but these things dig deep with power not too different from the dedicated powered subwoofer from your 5.1or 7.1 channel sound.
I mentioned its agility which is a standout feature of the coaxial bass format, when combined with a highly effectively defined characteristics of all things bass. The accuracy for bass playback in the Rivals is at an all time high point for IEM sound. Slower decaying sub notes have some of the best texture from an IEM presentation I have ever heard. Sub bass notes have a certain power and a texture level that is among the very best for IEMs. Tight, speedy, supremely defined and Impactful. The bass end of the Rival is really 2nd to none in its ability and definition.
Bass tonal character of the Rival kind of reminds me of all IEMs, ISNs EST50s silicone bass rich tonal character but with the texture level of a carbon dynamic. A refinement level for the bass end I have never heard before on a Penon made IEM. They have had plenty of excellent bass infused IEMs if you count Tansio Mirai and ISN IEMs but the Rival bass surpasses all of them and has no equal among any of the current Penon produced IEMs. It has a wicked cameleon-like adaptability to all genres of music. Much like how the mids are portrayed. The Rivals bass presentation is a supremely rich bass experience. Bass notes capture everything from subtle bass notes to full on impact of 80s 808s with nearly a struggle. Even when turning down the bass knob it maintains this level of refinement throughout. What is even more impressive is when you crank up the bass and the Rivals bass stays well in control. A big beefy slab of Wagyu or a delicate filet mignon in true buffet style as much or as little as you want. What am I getting at? The bass presentation here is as special as the mids and its treble and that is what makes the Rival so damn good sounding. So complete, so soulful, so masterful. The sheer ability for this high end quality bass to be adjusted easily via adjustable knob. I can feel my manhood leaking out of my eyes a bit just thinking about it. It is way more awesome than you would imagine. Especially if you're a fan of super high quality bass presentations from speakers and headphones. You will most certainly appreciate what Penon has done for the bass end for the Rivals
In the end
The Rival is the culmination of years of knowhow and tuning expertise from the group that is known for their musical angle for their house sound. It was only a matter of time until they brought out an IEM that reaches for absolute peak performance of all their hard work. Make no bones about this one my friends. These are not just good, they are mind blowing. Even more so due to just how much customization it has in store for the true finicky enthusiast that wants their cake and eat it too. If you get a set of these and are complaining about not having enough rumbly bass, or the “ I am not a fan of harmon tuned IEMs due to too much upper mids” Or the “ these don’t have enough treble sparkle for my taste.” COMMENTs!. I will go over to where you live and swifty kick you in the shins. You are missing the point. You can tweak these to what you want. Sure I can see the complaint about how small the dampers are or how you might have lost one of the dampers due to your sausage fingers but. If I see something like, “ The bass end is a bit gentle for my taste.” Yes I will come over and egg your house because you deserve it!
This is the one IEM that will literally morph into whatever sound signature you please, more importantly done with a very high degree of refinements at all parts of its sound with a variability and adjustment level I have yet to see on a hardware level for any IEM. It would be one thing if the variance in the tunings sound completely off or incoherent but that is not the case. Truth is, it didn't take much of an effort for me to find the exact sound balancing I prefer as I had plenty of time to mess with the dampers and its bass dials. Once you get that sound just right for you. It is game over. I know there is no such thing as a perfect sounding IEM but the Rival has now become my litmus test. All other IEMs are lacking in comparison. I know folks are gawking about the price point but once you realize the sheer numbers of sound signature tweaks the Rival can do, with its unbelievable ethereal surround sound presentation. Yes it's game over. This is the level of IEM that I am certain most high end boutique manufacturers strive for but the reality is, it is usually one signature and that is it. Then you have to wait for another iteration or the “upgrade” to the newer version of the unobtanium TOTL that tweaks that sound so you can then spend a good chunk of your savings yet once again. You want more of that airy treble? You want more forward vocal presence? You want more rumbly subs to rattle your jaw? How about letting you choose that? It's a crazy idea but I do think Penon has achieved a peak performing IEM. Personal IEM sound just does not get much better.
PERFECTION
the action or process of improving something until it is faultless or as faultless as possible.
Attachments
CenzoTheEnzo
Well this is a very different take with tuning! looking forward to give this one a try.
bithalver
That review, bro ! You know how to make an appetite, right ? Biiig thank you !
Edit: absolutely deserved to be on the front page !
Edit: absolutely deserved to be on the front page !
ehjie
I got fairly large indexes, does it require a dental loupe whilst changing?
I'm far sighted, good for driving, no longer good for small articles.
Excellent review...
I'm far sighted, good for driving, no longer good for small articles.
Excellent review...
The Penon Rival has arrived! The venerable Hong Kong audio house, Penon’s big step into the TOTL wars duking it out with everyone else who sells iems at the price of used automobiles! At the outset, let’s slap a big disclaimer on this review: I am an avowed Penon fanboy owning at least 4 Penons already, so analysis of Rival will have some bias. I’m not a reviewer, just a very rabid and exacting customer like the rest of us looking for the ultimate in our personal audio. I would like to thank Penon for giving me the opportunity to buy a pre-release set of the Rival, which should be available this month, September 2024.
Rival is the newest flagship of the Penon line, by a longshot coming in at a wallet-killing $3999 (previous flagship, Impact, was $2499); Penon has never ventured into this price stratosphere, long being known more as a value brand. I purchased Rival with my own funds, with an earlybird discount, and have no affiliation with Penon other than my fanboy status previously mentioned. Rival is a technical Penon first - harnessing 12 drivers per side, including double DDs, 4 BAs, 4 ESTs, and 2 Sonion bone conduction drivers. But that configuration, as good as it sounds, is not the selling point here. In Rival, Penon has attempted to create a TOTL level iem that can be personally fine-tuned (without EQ) to a very high degree through the use of a bass dial on each shell and a small collection of mid and upper frequency dampers (arranged by color in descending order of strength) that will slightly or radically tweak the stock tuning to your satisfaction in each part of the FR. This theoretically allows you to EQ the Rival physically, outside of software, so that it will play on every device without needing EQ. Obviously, tips and cables can assist with that task, but these adjustments are claimed to make finer, more precise and measurable differences on the FR than cables and tips, and below, I’ll confirm that the process works quite well. Check out the graphs that are included in the User Manual (yes, it has one) to see what bass dial adjustments and damper replacements can do to the stock tuning! There are small tools included for turning the bass switch (which can be done with a small screwdriver, too) and changing in/out the tiny dampers which are placed within 2 slots in the nozzles; again, one for mids and one for uppers. The dampers are color-coded and what each one does is explained in the manual; the same colors apply for both mid and upper damper.
With all of that inside, the shell of Rival is large-ish (just slightly larger than Penon’s recent Voltage), but not as large as you’d think or as others I’ve tried (thinking of you, Grand Maestro, and even the Empire Ears/Astell&Kern Novus I’m currently demoing, more on this one later). Rival is incredibly light, being housed in a dark, smoky resin with black translucent faceplates with red sparkle buried inside. It’s understated and the normal Penon branding is on the side instead of faceplate making these particularly nice to look out without logos or names on the faceplate, wish more would do this. While Rival is nice and premium feeling, it’s not physically as striking as the aforementioned Novus, whose faceplates look like Audemars Piguet Royal Oak cufflinks. As a pre-release unit, my Rival did not come with the final packaging, only the contents, so I cannot fully report on the unboxing experience, though it will be a more luxe experience than the usual Penon (as it should be for this price). I have seen photos of the final packaging and it looks great, and big step up for Penon, with a nice leather box designed to hold everything including your damper kit and tools. Still, you don’t buy Rival (or any Penon) for the packaging or marketing (Penon are blissfully happy to save in those areas, obviously), you buy it for the iem inside, and in this case also for its stock cable!
Final box pictures from Penon
Starting with the stock cable, Penon pulled no punches and included a custom version of its famed Totem flagship cable containing an exotic mix of copper, gold, silver and palladium. Finally, a stock cable that befits the iem it’s sold with and one that I will roll onto other iems if I ever feel like taking it off Rival!!! The Totem cable is an excellent complement to the Rival’s sound, was tuned by Penon with it, and there’s really no need for a change, IMHO. What’s custom about it? This Totem looks different as it is a white translucent (retail version is black nylon which looks less ergo friendly), pliant and easy to manage 2-wire cable with a rhodium-plated plug included along with the stock gold-plated. The changeable plugs have been updated to make them easy to attach and screwlock in place. It can be used walking around (though the chin slider is a little too slippery) and is very ergo friendly. Really, the Totem cable is a nice bonus in this package, and the addition of the rhodium plugs is a great, extra touch that actually provides enhancements to the sound – after a quick a/b, the rhodium plug has stayed permanently affixed to Rival. I’ve always wanted to order a Totem, so now I don’t need to; though previously I have ordered and zealously use a Totem IC connector for my ibasso PB5 tube amp.
Rival arrived with the bass dial set to the 10 o’clock/4 o’clock position (from this setting, you have 3 steps of increase, and 6 of decrease in the bass), the brown damper for mids and white damper for uppers pre-installed as the stock tuning. I burned in Rival for over 200 hours, however, I also listened out of the box and in bits and pieces throughout to hear the predictable coalescing of drivers. If you’ve had other Penons (especially with DDs), you probably know these drivers need some time to open up, move some air and jive together in perfect unison. Well, Rival has taken the cake in Penons that need long burn in with a solid 200 hours until everything, including the complex bass/bcd dance, gelled in the way they were designed. What I heard out of the box was beyond intriguing, and throughout the burn, particularly at around the 100-hour mark, the true capabilities of Rival began to show themselves, though it would take the entire 200 hours (and maybe actually more) to truly shine and astound from both ends and the middle.
From my vantage point, bone conduction drivers in iems have become all the rage recently – once something normally only found in the Unique Melody Mest iems, BCDs have seemingly become available to all iem manufacturers, and the pricing has now gone from primarily high-end to the budget level as well. With iems like Penon’s own new phenomenal Fan 3, which in a stroke of genius included an on/off switch for the BCD so you could test for yourself the difference that driver can or will make, BCD iems are now available to everyone. One of the more recent additions here are the Sonion-branded dual bone conduction divers, yes 2 BCDs per side, which are used in the Rival. They are paired in double configurations – this is the case with Rival, as well as the previously mentioned Astell&Kern/Empire Ears collab, Novus, which has a similar driver configuration to Rival throwing in an additional BA for good measure.
Otherwise, my currently-in-rotation, high-end BCD iem has been the UM Indigo for awhile now, which presents a balanced, beautiful sound with amazing staging, something that is a hallmark of BCDs when properly integrated. I would say the BCD in Indigo, and most UMs, is tame and doesn’t announce its presence aggressively. While this has been changing with the more recent UMs (it’s been more aggressive since the Multiverse Mentor), most of the BCD sets I’ve tried in the past have been pretty polite and hard to pinpoint, with the exception of the Kinera Loki where it was more on steroids and almost distracting. Finding the right magic while including BCDs has been elusive, but this is changing, and Rival (and its low budget brother, Fan 3 at $349) is Penon’s 2024 statement on the technology while also harnessing best-in-class drivers, including 2 DDs, 4 BAs and 4 ESTs.
What do the Rival’s Sonion dual bone conduction drivers do? A lot of potential answers, depending on where you start. What is immediately noticeable are the DDs slamming bass hits which are precise, rumbly, deep and powerful. But even more intoxicating, the BCDs seem to also help to create a grand, immense soundstage with holographic sound in 360 degrees that seems to be coming from outside the ears rather than in the head – an almost headphone-like sound and sensation. Bass notes don’t just sound great, they feel great, with the DDs and BCDs working together to amazing effect. The sensation of movement of air is palpable with Rival. Here, the DDs are like symbionts with the BCDs, combining to give a very subwoofer-type sound and feeling. At the stock setting, the bass is thunderous and full, yet fast in attack and decay, while not intruding into the mids/upper mids. There is ample midbass so the sound has weight and meat to it. This bass quality is superb, Penon’s best, and I’m sure a basshead would be happy with it (especially if increased). At the stock position, the bass is just shy of a Grand Maestro with a black module, but if you change it 9 o’clock, beware basshead stuff overwhelming your senses.
I’ve never heard a Penon with bad timbre, incoherence, or weak, recessed mids, and Rival keeps all of these hallmarks while delivering a truly well-rounded, top-of-the-line sound performance. The tuning out of the box is on the safe-ish side but the least safe I’ve heard from Penon, with far deeper subbass than usual while still maintaining a true balance across the frequency response with phenomenal mids (I would learn later on how much you could “unsafe” that initial tuning). After the long burn-in, I listened in the stock configuration for the first several days. I was pretty blown away by the technical prowess of the entire sound and if there weren’t options to fiddle, I wouldn’t have needed to. And, to be fair, the switching of the small bass knob may be relatively easy, but changing in/out the dampers had me a little intimidated at the outset; it seemed like it was going to be similar to changing atom modules in my Fir Audio Xenon 6, but times two on each side (it turned out they’re a little easier to deal with than Fir atom modules)! After becoming familiar with the stock tuning, the nagging urge to experiment combined with some friendly encouragement that I could actually do what was required, pushed me to changed out my first damper - the mids damper went from brown to white which seemed to slightly brighten and increase the presence of the mids. I did this all at the suggestion of legendary Penoniac, @Dsnuts (thanks, bro!), who always is ahead of the curve on this stuff. The change was subtly significant and masterful, increasing the presence in the mids as advertised, but also having a nice effect from upper mids into treble, and now the tuning was even less safe, but even more enjoyable with super clear mids and treble.
While the double DD bass is indeed outstanding, it is matched by equally brilliant, smooth and extended, but not fatiguing, treble with loads of air all around. These ESTs are putting out some of the sweetest treble I’ve ever heard; somewhat like an Annihilator with more forward mids and certainly more impactful bass, both sub and mid (I really like Annihilator but I would choose Rival over it). The high frequencies can get intense (especially as you change dampers), but never sibilant. Both male and female vocals are natural and beautiful here, with excellent timbre. The layering of sound, separation of instruments, sheer detail resolution, and the melding of fast hits over slow decays are all top of the line and amazingly clear and beautifully presented. Also, the dynamics of Rival rival all the others in the TOTL, with that grand soundstage helping greatly to enhance the experience.
After settling on this configuration for the moment (eg, deciding to leave the white uppers damper alone), I started to play with the bass switch. As advertised, it can get up to 3 notches higher and 6 notches lower than stock tuning. This was pretty fun to actually play with, though I ultimately preferred both the “stock” 10/4 as well as the 11/5 position which is very balanced but still slams. Here are what I thought the different switch positions did to the tuning: 8 o'clock – full overload basshead; 9 o'clock - balanced basshead; 10 o’clock – stock elevated bass; 11 o'clock – balanced bass; 12 o'clock – too bass light for me (no need to do 1-5); and finally, saved for last, 7 o'clock – only for eccentric bassheads who’ve lost all joy in the upper frequencies. So, there’s a lot of wiggle room there based on your own preferences. I like the elevated bass of the 10 o’clock position, but I can imagine some folks wanting either 1-2 notches less bass, as well as a notch more. Beyond those extremes, it just gets strange without also significantly adjusting the dampers. I was very happy with the white dampers in both slots and bass at 10 or 11 o’clock to critically listen.
Evaluating the sound in this configuration, to me this was a neutral-to-warm U (or W) shape that has significant extension at both ends of the FR. Elevated bass and treble are matched by present, though not too forward, mids. The resolution of details with Rival are almost unrivaled in my experience. The Rival is absolutely stunning with details and dynamics, also meaning it is not forgiving of poor recordings, so know this going in. It’s huge stage and dynamics allow it to slam while also being able to hear the soft unnoticeable things in your music, always eye opening when this happens. If the recording has a whisper, throat clearing, steps on the studio floor, chatter, etc., you will hear it all with Rival. Even with such prominent bass at the 10 position, the mids sing off into copious amounts of treble rising above the bass. Cymbal hits, tambourines, and other higher treble sounds are precise and decay with pure realism. The envelopment of sound is both holographic, deep and wide, and is certainly among the grandest soundstages I have heard in an iem.
A lot of tech has been crammed into these shells!
With your eyes closed, the feeling becomes headphone-like with you becoming a spectator in a big hall with the music spreading all around you, even feeling from behind the head. This type of sound and performance is very uncommon in my experience; most iems, even with big soundstages, seem more in the head than Rival does. I began to wonder exactly how varied I could make Rival sound with those dampers. For instance, the mentioned EE/AK Novus has a slightly warmer touch, and I wanted to see if I could add more of that warmth to Rival through the use of dampers. Looking at the instructions, I decided to try and make a radical change by changing out both dampers and playing more with the bass. Changed out the mids to green from white (to warm them), took uppers to gray from white (to intensify treble), and switched bass to 11/5 to balance it (though after 4 songs, I switched back to 10 because the treble had now become very dominant and I felt it needed the deeper sub bass). Does it sound more like Novus? Sort of, it does! But I also increased the treble which seems to have turned this into a treblehead’s delight while still pounding in the bass. The end result here was that the dampers/bass changes are very effective – these small changes made the treble more intense, but no sibilance, mids warmed but were not recessed at all. I think I would just listen like this until I get bored or the itch comes to change up the dampers!!!
Green damper in mids slot, gray in the deeper uppers slot
Yes, those are some small dampers!
This is a fun way to listen and I’m just truly blown away at the changes that can be achieved here, they are very audible and seem to do what they are purported to do. Thankfully, none of the damper/bass changing has impacted the staging, coherence, timbre and envelopment; in each configuration, Rival maintains those traits. But un-safing the tuning is an absolute kick! Rival becomes capable of rivaling and exceeding its competition by adding these features. And even with my initial apprehension on the actual changing of those tiny dampers, it has become quite easy within 3 times of doing it – now takes me a couple of minutes. Ultimately, I’ve got a very versatile TOTL iem that absolutely loves my primarily rock library, but even the jazz and classical that I listened to sounded brilliant. I’ve got emotional relistening to many of my favorite tracks which are too many to name, but the Rival rivals my brain and let’s my emotion seep in through a long session. And to be clear, the comfort of Rival is terrific for me and I have listened for hours-long sessions without fatigue but with lots of goosebumps and a tear or two (Fleetwood Mac Rumours, highly recommended!).
So, as I warned at the beginning of this, I have become the happy, Penon fanboy owner of the best iem this Hong Kong based outfit has ever produced. Many thanks to Chi Kong Hui of Penon/ISN who let me buy this early – sorry, Mr. Chi, for the annoyance of dealing with me and my questions!
I have a lot of friends who will try this and many will be shocked, I think. It’s got an incredibly mature and captivating sound – but remember that it really did take a very long burn in, so be prepared for that. After you’ve put in that time, you will be rewarded. And if you can hack the damper changing (way better than diaper changing, I can attest to that), you will be further rewarded. It’s an expensive package, but worth every penny if you can afford it. It stands very tall next to any of my current iems, and it is a definite competitor to my oft-mentioned Novus demo. And the end beauty of this whole thing is that you don’t need anything more than is included in the package – no real need to cable roll, and if you’re going to, you’re best advised to stick with cables that metal-wise line up with the stock Totem cable. That said, I had to try for the sake of some completeness here…
The Rival’s final tuning was achieved with the use of the Totem cable, so it makes incredible sense for it to be the included stock cable. I wish more iem creators would do exactly this! That said, I had the opportunity to also try out a new Beat Audio Billow MkII ($2400; gold/silver cable) with the Rival and as it’s metallurgy was similar to Totem (but priced at 4x the Totem), it seemed like a logical choice. Well, this cable actually ended up outperforming the Totem in many respects, including tightened, elevated bass and treble, indicating that Rival could get even better with summit-fi cables. I also tried my “best” copper cable, the PWA Meet Agains Shielding which didn’t sound right at all as well as the Effect Audio Code 24, which was better, but still not as good as the Totem. I would very much like to try an Eletech Sonnet of Adam with Rival, and hopefully will get that chance at an upcoming CanJam. I also tested out the Penon Liqueur tips which were excellent, though I ultimately landed on the highly comfortable Divinus Velvet OG tips as my favorite choice for what I perceived as a punchier bass without meddling with the beautiful mids and treble and maybe more importantly, they are stubby/short tips so they allow for deep insertion to the get the BCD into the right position right against the cartilage in the back of the concha. I actually could perceive a slight increase in the effect if I slightly rotated the shell to rest solidly against the rear/back of the concha.
Finally, Rival was very good with all of my sources! The more power you can give it, the better, but it is not hard to drive. I loved it through my Hifiman EF400 desktop amp/dac and L&P P6Pro, both R2R, but it also sounded stunning through my modded Sony WM1Z. It scales up with more power and I often listened to it through my DAPs connected to my ibasso PB5 tube amp which increases the staging even more while adding just a touch more warmth to the sound. I also note that Rival has no driver flex to be found – not so with the Novus which is quite flexy almost to an annoying point (I found the Loki to be even worse in this respect). Penon must have found a way to avoid it here, which is impressive considering it’s carrying 2xDDs and 2xBCDs, and most others with the same have at least a little driver flex on insertion. None here. I’ve been chatting with a few of the other early Rival adopters, especially @Dsnuts and @deep2285, and I think we all feel very similarly about Rival and have gone through the learning curve of the long burn in and the changing of dampers. I think we’d all agree that once you’re a pro with your Rival, it becomes very hard to reach for anything else.
All told, Rival delivers on the promise; it rivals the other TOTL iems it has come to compete with and through a combination of technologies, can then be molded to your exacting preferences. And in any tuning configuration you come up with, Rival will shine with a brilliantly grand soundstage, out-of-the-head sound, deep woofer-like bass, clear, smooth and extended treble that hits the limits without breaking them, and mids that are just sublime and beautifully Penon. Penon have been on a serious run lately with releases across the price spectrum hitting exactly right, to wit, Fan 3 ($349), Voltage ($1199) and Quattro ($399)! This time, they batted for the fences and hit a grand slam with Rival! I am excited for others to start receiving and reviewing them as well!
Rival is the newest flagship of the Penon line, by a longshot coming in at a wallet-killing $3999 (previous flagship, Impact, was $2499); Penon has never ventured into this price stratosphere, long being known more as a value brand. I purchased Rival with my own funds, with an earlybird discount, and have no affiliation with Penon other than my fanboy status previously mentioned. Rival is a technical Penon first - harnessing 12 drivers per side, including double DDs, 4 BAs, 4 ESTs, and 2 Sonion bone conduction drivers. But that configuration, as good as it sounds, is not the selling point here. In Rival, Penon has attempted to create a TOTL level iem that can be personally fine-tuned (without EQ) to a very high degree through the use of a bass dial on each shell and a small collection of mid and upper frequency dampers (arranged by color in descending order of strength) that will slightly or radically tweak the stock tuning to your satisfaction in each part of the FR. This theoretically allows you to EQ the Rival physically, outside of software, so that it will play on every device without needing EQ. Obviously, tips and cables can assist with that task, but these adjustments are claimed to make finer, more precise and measurable differences on the FR than cables and tips, and below, I’ll confirm that the process works quite well. Check out the graphs that are included in the User Manual (yes, it has one) to see what bass dial adjustments and damper replacements can do to the stock tuning! There are small tools included for turning the bass switch (which can be done with a small screwdriver, too) and changing in/out the tiny dampers which are placed within 2 slots in the nozzles; again, one for mids and one for uppers. The dampers are color-coded and what each one does is explained in the manual; the same colors apply for both mid and upper damper.
With all of that inside, the shell of Rival is large-ish (just slightly larger than Penon’s recent Voltage), but not as large as you’d think or as others I’ve tried (thinking of you, Grand Maestro, and even the Empire Ears/Astell&Kern Novus I’m currently demoing, more on this one later). Rival is incredibly light, being housed in a dark, smoky resin with black translucent faceplates with red sparkle buried inside. It’s understated and the normal Penon branding is on the side instead of faceplate making these particularly nice to look out without logos or names on the faceplate, wish more would do this. While Rival is nice and premium feeling, it’s not physically as striking as the aforementioned Novus, whose faceplates look like Audemars Piguet Royal Oak cufflinks. As a pre-release unit, my Rival did not come with the final packaging, only the contents, so I cannot fully report on the unboxing experience, though it will be a more luxe experience than the usual Penon (as it should be for this price). I have seen photos of the final packaging and it looks great, and big step up for Penon, with a nice leather box designed to hold everything including your damper kit and tools. Still, you don’t buy Rival (or any Penon) for the packaging or marketing (Penon are blissfully happy to save in those areas, obviously), you buy it for the iem inside, and in this case also for its stock cable!
Final box pictures from Penon
Starting with the stock cable, Penon pulled no punches and included a custom version of its famed Totem flagship cable containing an exotic mix of copper, gold, silver and palladium. Finally, a stock cable that befits the iem it’s sold with and one that I will roll onto other iems if I ever feel like taking it off Rival!!! The Totem cable is an excellent complement to the Rival’s sound, was tuned by Penon with it, and there’s really no need for a change, IMHO. What’s custom about it? This Totem looks different as it is a white translucent (retail version is black nylon which looks less ergo friendly), pliant and easy to manage 2-wire cable with a rhodium-plated plug included along with the stock gold-plated. The changeable plugs have been updated to make them easy to attach and screwlock in place. It can be used walking around (though the chin slider is a little too slippery) and is very ergo friendly. Really, the Totem cable is a nice bonus in this package, and the addition of the rhodium plugs is a great, extra touch that actually provides enhancements to the sound – after a quick a/b, the rhodium plug has stayed permanently affixed to Rival. I’ve always wanted to order a Totem, so now I don’t need to; though previously I have ordered and zealously use a Totem IC connector for my ibasso PB5 tube amp.
Rival arrived with the bass dial set to the 10 o’clock/4 o’clock position (from this setting, you have 3 steps of increase, and 6 of decrease in the bass), the brown damper for mids and white damper for uppers pre-installed as the stock tuning. I burned in Rival for over 200 hours, however, I also listened out of the box and in bits and pieces throughout to hear the predictable coalescing of drivers. If you’ve had other Penons (especially with DDs), you probably know these drivers need some time to open up, move some air and jive together in perfect unison. Well, Rival has taken the cake in Penons that need long burn in with a solid 200 hours until everything, including the complex bass/bcd dance, gelled in the way they were designed. What I heard out of the box was beyond intriguing, and throughout the burn, particularly at around the 100-hour mark, the true capabilities of Rival began to show themselves, though it would take the entire 200 hours (and maybe actually more) to truly shine and astound from both ends and the middle.
From my vantage point, bone conduction drivers in iems have become all the rage recently – once something normally only found in the Unique Melody Mest iems, BCDs have seemingly become available to all iem manufacturers, and the pricing has now gone from primarily high-end to the budget level as well. With iems like Penon’s own new phenomenal Fan 3, which in a stroke of genius included an on/off switch for the BCD so you could test for yourself the difference that driver can or will make, BCD iems are now available to everyone. One of the more recent additions here are the Sonion-branded dual bone conduction divers, yes 2 BCDs per side, which are used in the Rival. They are paired in double configurations – this is the case with Rival, as well as the previously mentioned Astell&Kern/Empire Ears collab, Novus, which has a similar driver configuration to Rival throwing in an additional BA for good measure.
Otherwise, my currently-in-rotation, high-end BCD iem has been the UM Indigo for awhile now, which presents a balanced, beautiful sound with amazing staging, something that is a hallmark of BCDs when properly integrated. I would say the BCD in Indigo, and most UMs, is tame and doesn’t announce its presence aggressively. While this has been changing with the more recent UMs (it’s been more aggressive since the Multiverse Mentor), most of the BCD sets I’ve tried in the past have been pretty polite and hard to pinpoint, with the exception of the Kinera Loki where it was more on steroids and almost distracting. Finding the right magic while including BCDs has been elusive, but this is changing, and Rival (and its low budget brother, Fan 3 at $349) is Penon’s 2024 statement on the technology while also harnessing best-in-class drivers, including 2 DDs, 4 BAs and 4 ESTs.
What do the Rival’s Sonion dual bone conduction drivers do? A lot of potential answers, depending on where you start. What is immediately noticeable are the DDs slamming bass hits which are precise, rumbly, deep and powerful. But even more intoxicating, the BCDs seem to also help to create a grand, immense soundstage with holographic sound in 360 degrees that seems to be coming from outside the ears rather than in the head – an almost headphone-like sound and sensation. Bass notes don’t just sound great, they feel great, with the DDs and BCDs working together to amazing effect. The sensation of movement of air is palpable with Rival. Here, the DDs are like symbionts with the BCDs, combining to give a very subwoofer-type sound and feeling. At the stock setting, the bass is thunderous and full, yet fast in attack and decay, while not intruding into the mids/upper mids. There is ample midbass so the sound has weight and meat to it. This bass quality is superb, Penon’s best, and I’m sure a basshead would be happy with it (especially if increased). At the stock position, the bass is just shy of a Grand Maestro with a black module, but if you change it 9 o’clock, beware basshead stuff overwhelming your senses.
I’ve never heard a Penon with bad timbre, incoherence, or weak, recessed mids, and Rival keeps all of these hallmarks while delivering a truly well-rounded, top-of-the-line sound performance. The tuning out of the box is on the safe-ish side but the least safe I’ve heard from Penon, with far deeper subbass than usual while still maintaining a true balance across the frequency response with phenomenal mids (I would learn later on how much you could “unsafe” that initial tuning). After the long burn-in, I listened in the stock configuration for the first several days. I was pretty blown away by the technical prowess of the entire sound and if there weren’t options to fiddle, I wouldn’t have needed to. And, to be fair, the switching of the small bass knob may be relatively easy, but changing in/out the dampers had me a little intimidated at the outset; it seemed like it was going to be similar to changing atom modules in my Fir Audio Xenon 6, but times two on each side (it turned out they’re a little easier to deal with than Fir atom modules)! After becoming familiar with the stock tuning, the nagging urge to experiment combined with some friendly encouragement that I could actually do what was required, pushed me to changed out my first damper - the mids damper went from brown to white which seemed to slightly brighten and increase the presence of the mids. I did this all at the suggestion of legendary Penoniac, @Dsnuts (thanks, bro!), who always is ahead of the curve on this stuff. The change was subtly significant and masterful, increasing the presence in the mids as advertised, but also having a nice effect from upper mids into treble, and now the tuning was even less safe, but even more enjoyable with super clear mids and treble.
While the double DD bass is indeed outstanding, it is matched by equally brilliant, smooth and extended, but not fatiguing, treble with loads of air all around. These ESTs are putting out some of the sweetest treble I’ve ever heard; somewhat like an Annihilator with more forward mids and certainly more impactful bass, both sub and mid (I really like Annihilator but I would choose Rival over it). The high frequencies can get intense (especially as you change dampers), but never sibilant. Both male and female vocals are natural and beautiful here, with excellent timbre. The layering of sound, separation of instruments, sheer detail resolution, and the melding of fast hits over slow decays are all top of the line and amazingly clear and beautifully presented. Also, the dynamics of Rival rival all the others in the TOTL, with that grand soundstage helping greatly to enhance the experience.
After settling on this configuration for the moment (eg, deciding to leave the white uppers damper alone), I started to play with the bass switch. As advertised, it can get up to 3 notches higher and 6 notches lower than stock tuning. This was pretty fun to actually play with, though I ultimately preferred both the “stock” 10/4 as well as the 11/5 position which is very balanced but still slams. Here are what I thought the different switch positions did to the tuning: 8 o'clock – full overload basshead; 9 o'clock - balanced basshead; 10 o’clock – stock elevated bass; 11 o'clock – balanced bass; 12 o'clock – too bass light for me (no need to do 1-5); and finally, saved for last, 7 o'clock – only for eccentric bassheads who’ve lost all joy in the upper frequencies. So, there’s a lot of wiggle room there based on your own preferences. I like the elevated bass of the 10 o’clock position, but I can imagine some folks wanting either 1-2 notches less bass, as well as a notch more. Beyond those extremes, it just gets strange without also significantly adjusting the dampers. I was very happy with the white dampers in both slots and bass at 10 or 11 o’clock to critically listen.
Evaluating the sound in this configuration, to me this was a neutral-to-warm U (or W) shape that has significant extension at both ends of the FR. Elevated bass and treble are matched by present, though not too forward, mids. The resolution of details with Rival are almost unrivaled in my experience. The Rival is absolutely stunning with details and dynamics, also meaning it is not forgiving of poor recordings, so know this going in. It’s huge stage and dynamics allow it to slam while also being able to hear the soft unnoticeable things in your music, always eye opening when this happens. If the recording has a whisper, throat clearing, steps on the studio floor, chatter, etc., you will hear it all with Rival. Even with such prominent bass at the 10 position, the mids sing off into copious amounts of treble rising above the bass. Cymbal hits, tambourines, and other higher treble sounds are precise and decay with pure realism. The envelopment of sound is both holographic, deep and wide, and is certainly among the grandest soundstages I have heard in an iem.
A lot of tech has been crammed into these shells!
With your eyes closed, the feeling becomes headphone-like with you becoming a spectator in a big hall with the music spreading all around you, even feeling from behind the head. This type of sound and performance is very uncommon in my experience; most iems, even with big soundstages, seem more in the head than Rival does. I began to wonder exactly how varied I could make Rival sound with those dampers. For instance, the mentioned EE/AK Novus has a slightly warmer touch, and I wanted to see if I could add more of that warmth to Rival through the use of dampers. Looking at the instructions, I decided to try and make a radical change by changing out both dampers and playing more with the bass. Changed out the mids to green from white (to warm them), took uppers to gray from white (to intensify treble), and switched bass to 11/5 to balance it (though after 4 songs, I switched back to 10 because the treble had now become very dominant and I felt it needed the deeper sub bass). Does it sound more like Novus? Sort of, it does! But I also increased the treble which seems to have turned this into a treblehead’s delight while still pounding in the bass. The end result here was that the dampers/bass changes are very effective – these small changes made the treble more intense, but no sibilance, mids warmed but were not recessed at all. I think I would just listen like this until I get bored or the itch comes to change up the dampers!!!
Green damper in mids slot, gray in the deeper uppers slot
Yes, those are some small dampers!
This is a fun way to listen and I’m just truly blown away at the changes that can be achieved here, they are very audible and seem to do what they are purported to do. Thankfully, none of the damper/bass changing has impacted the staging, coherence, timbre and envelopment; in each configuration, Rival maintains those traits. But un-safing the tuning is an absolute kick! Rival becomes capable of rivaling and exceeding its competition by adding these features. And even with my initial apprehension on the actual changing of those tiny dampers, it has become quite easy within 3 times of doing it – now takes me a couple of minutes. Ultimately, I’ve got a very versatile TOTL iem that absolutely loves my primarily rock library, but even the jazz and classical that I listened to sounded brilliant. I’ve got emotional relistening to many of my favorite tracks which are too many to name, but the Rival rivals my brain and let’s my emotion seep in through a long session. And to be clear, the comfort of Rival is terrific for me and I have listened for hours-long sessions without fatigue but with lots of goosebumps and a tear or two (Fleetwood Mac Rumours, highly recommended!).
So, as I warned at the beginning of this, I have become the happy, Penon fanboy owner of the best iem this Hong Kong based outfit has ever produced. Many thanks to Chi Kong Hui of Penon/ISN who let me buy this early – sorry, Mr. Chi, for the annoyance of dealing with me and my questions!
I have a lot of friends who will try this and many will be shocked, I think. It’s got an incredibly mature and captivating sound – but remember that it really did take a very long burn in, so be prepared for that. After you’ve put in that time, you will be rewarded. And if you can hack the damper changing (way better than diaper changing, I can attest to that), you will be further rewarded. It’s an expensive package, but worth every penny if you can afford it. It stands very tall next to any of my current iems, and it is a definite competitor to my oft-mentioned Novus demo. And the end beauty of this whole thing is that you don’t need anything more than is included in the package – no real need to cable roll, and if you’re going to, you’re best advised to stick with cables that metal-wise line up with the stock Totem cable. That said, I had to try for the sake of some completeness here…
The Rival’s final tuning was achieved with the use of the Totem cable, so it makes incredible sense for it to be the included stock cable. I wish more iem creators would do exactly this! That said, I had the opportunity to also try out a new Beat Audio Billow MkII ($2400; gold/silver cable) with the Rival and as it’s metallurgy was similar to Totem (but priced at 4x the Totem), it seemed like a logical choice. Well, this cable actually ended up outperforming the Totem in many respects, including tightened, elevated bass and treble, indicating that Rival could get even better with summit-fi cables. I also tried my “best” copper cable, the PWA Meet Agains Shielding which didn’t sound right at all as well as the Effect Audio Code 24, which was better, but still not as good as the Totem. I would very much like to try an Eletech Sonnet of Adam with Rival, and hopefully will get that chance at an upcoming CanJam. I also tested out the Penon Liqueur tips which were excellent, though I ultimately landed on the highly comfortable Divinus Velvet OG tips as my favorite choice for what I perceived as a punchier bass without meddling with the beautiful mids and treble and maybe more importantly, they are stubby/short tips so they allow for deep insertion to the get the BCD into the right position right against the cartilage in the back of the concha. I actually could perceive a slight increase in the effect if I slightly rotated the shell to rest solidly against the rear/back of the concha.
Finally, Rival was very good with all of my sources! The more power you can give it, the better, but it is not hard to drive. I loved it through my Hifiman EF400 desktop amp/dac and L&P P6Pro, both R2R, but it also sounded stunning through my modded Sony WM1Z. It scales up with more power and I often listened to it through my DAPs connected to my ibasso PB5 tube amp which increases the staging even more while adding just a touch more warmth to the sound. I also note that Rival has no driver flex to be found – not so with the Novus which is quite flexy almost to an annoying point (I found the Loki to be even worse in this respect). Penon must have found a way to avoid it here, which is impressive considering it’s carrying 2xDDs and 2xBCDs, and most others with the same have at least a little driver flex on insertion. None here. I’ve been chatting with a few of the other early Rival adopters, especially @Dsnuts and @deep2285, and I think we all feel very similarly about Rival and have gone through the learning curve of the long burn in and the changing of dampers. I think we’d all agree that once you’re a pro with your Rival, it becomes very hard to reach for anything else.
All told, Rival delivers on the promise; it rivals the other TOTL iems it has come to compete with and through a combination of technologies, can then be molded to your exacting preferences. And in any tuning configuration you come up with, Rival will shine with a brilliantly grand soundstage, out-of-the-head sound, deep woofer-like bass, clear, smooth and extended treble that hits the limits without breaking them, and mids that are just sublime and beautifully Penon. Penon have been on a serious run lately with releases across the price spectrum hitting exactly right, to wit, Fan 3 ($349), Voltage ($1199) and Quattro ($399)! This time, they batted for the fences and hit a grand slam with Rival! I am excited for others to start receiving and reviewing them as well!
DavidSerig
Until I have a big day at the poker table, I'll stick with my Penon 3 and throw on the Conductor for some bass fun from time to time.
MakeItWain
Ayy, guess who made the front page?
lafeuill
You're going to have to update all your photos with the black Totem now 
Congrats on the front page!
Congrats on the front page!
