Penon Totem Ultra.
So Penon is flexing their muscles and coming up with some new cables and the recent trend for Penon is that they are doubling up the core count for established cables to bring a more substantial cable in the ASOS+X and the newer Pyramid VI and VIII and now we have the Totem Ultra. First let's dive into the make up of what the cable is about and then I will get into how the materials translate to what has become Penons flagship IEM cable. The Totem Ultra.
Totem is made of what is essentially 3 different types of cables in one. Single crystal copper Litz 6 in silver plating. Palladium plated pure silver. Single crystal copper plated in pure gold then finished off with a stage enhancing OFC copper plated in silver for plugs and connectors.
The mish mash of material blend here adds some substantial effects to a well balanced IEM and when you double the core count. This only enhances the sound to a greater degree.
The new look is different here as well. Totem ultra is looking the part of an uber premium cable with its new shiny onyx black PVC sleeving with metallic red flakes and its liberal use of red coloring on the black hardware of the cable finishes a black and red theme, bringing an entirely new look for the Totem cable family. Doubling the material count from its standard 2 core variant now brings an increase in weight and bulk. It is by default only a 4 core cable but they happen to be 4 thicker substantial cores that are equivalent to the thickness of either the ASOS+X or the Pyramid VIII wired version. With the weight of the cable being very similar to the Pyramid VIII. It is made of a lot of premium materials. This is one cable you absolutely have to have ear guides for as it will be impossible to keep the wires wrapped around the ear due to material bulk otherwise.
Adding double the core count now makes the cable by default more stiffer but to my surprise they are not something like Code23 by Effect Audio stiff. Its relative looser weave helps to have some flex. I would say pliability is only moderate and it is a bit heavy over the ears which does not bother me. It might be for some folks however. If you're wanting a more flexible version of how I describe the sound enhancing characteristics for the Totem Ultra. I would take a serious look at the standard Totem. And by the way, there are clear differences between the standard Totem vs the Ultra version which might sway you one way or the other if you're curious about what these cables do.
The good there is that it is now the Ultra version of the Totem. Which brings a new sound profile. The bad being that it is a big beefy cable which increases the cost of the standard Totem from $699 to $999. Not exactly double the cost but it is a good $300 over what is already an established cable from Penon. So will it be worth punting for the extra cost? I will get into the reason why and perhaps why not. As the cost associated with these cables increases. I know it will be a commitment for either version of these cables but especially the Ultra. In any case. Here are my findings.
So this report is more for folks that buy into the idea that cables do affect the end sound for IEMs. My best advice for folks that get a good cable to pair with your favorite IEMs is that having a few higher end cables is not a bad idea especially if you are neck deep into the hobby and want the absolute best sound coming out of your IEMs. I will describe what the Totem Ultra does for your IEM sound and if you feel it is something you might be interested in. I can say the effects of the Totem Ultra and the standard Totem for that matter are not subtle like most IEM cables. You will clearly know you have this cable attached to your IEMs. On the Ultra you will feel the weight for certain but more importantly you will clearly hear an enhancement of the sound from your IEMs.
Pic shown with 2 color variants of the Totem.
Just because the old Totem has been doubled does not mean it is now obsolete. Far from it, the old Totem is still a very substantial cable, I will even go as far as to say it is the more practical version of the Totem family vs the new Ultra version and here is why I say this.
Sometimes a tonal enhancing cable is not a good thing and sometimes you want to add a bit of character to a sound for better musicality, a richer tonal character and maybe to help with its lack of technicalities. The Ultra here is a colored/ sound shaping/ enhancing cable meaning it is almost the opposite of what pure silver does in how pure silver has the most transparency for cables when it comes to sound output from your IEMs. I find the standard Totem colors a sound to a lesser degree vs the Ultra. I blame that on the Ultra now using double the gold plating for its central cores. Gold is the culprit for shaping a sound to enhance richness while all the copper elements add to the body of note for the IEMs. So while the idea of doubling a Totem on paper sounds great and it is, the Ultra can be a bit much for IEMs that are already warm sounding. See Ultra pairing with ISN EBC80 below for what I am talking about.
How I am assessing the Totem Ultra has to do with how they enhance a sound profile of your well heard IEMs from a neutral standpoint. Meaning, if you asked yourself what would this cable do to change a neutral sound with neutral balancing using a neutral source. So when I say it adds a richer tonal character. It will be even more evident for neutrally balanced IEMs vs something that is already rich sounding or an IEM with a warm bassy profile for example. It will enhance a warm character but I find the Ultra version of the Totem introduces a clear Rich full bodied dimensional character to an IEM based sound profile and that is just the beginning of how I would describe them.
There are some cables that color a neutral leaning sound to where a coloring sound enhancing cable like the Totems will help a lot to bring some better contrast and enhance that neutrality to where it will be much more musical and substantial sounding vs sounding thinner and analytical with a dry tonal character. It will be these types of IEM sound profiles that will absolutely benefit the best with the Totems.
Best synergies from an IEM signatures with a cable combo comes from opposites. What I mean is, unless you are a glutton for punishment. You do not want to throw on something like a pure silver cable on a neutral bright highly detailed IEM. That's like throwing cold water on a sheet of ice. It should actually be the opposite meaning a well designed copper based cable would actually enhance that neutrally bright IEM. On the opposite side of the sound tonal character. You should never use a warm copper cable for example on a warm sounding IEM. That's like wearing a thick wool jacket on a hot summer day. Can’t do it. Now if you use that pure silver on a warmer sounding IEM. OK now we are talking. This basic synergy synopsis for cable pairings just based on my own experiences with proper cable pairings for IEMs. I call it the rule of opposites. The Chinese were onto how wholeness comes about with opposites or the idea of Yin and yang. This clearly applies to cable synergies for IEMs pairing.
I noticed because the Ultra has much more cores made with copper, the foundational sound enhancing formula for the Totem is that it now leans more copper based on its sound signature vs pure silver. There is just enough pure silver in the mix here to enhance the detail and technical aspects but not enough to make the Totem a brighter sounding cable, either the standard version and especially the Ultra version does not lean toward silver properties. Add to that we now have double the cores with gold plating which is known to darken a sound and you have a cable that clearly colors a sound profile.
These are the sound changes observed through using a variety of IEMs for the Ultra and what I have noticed thus far
Pros
Enhances for a richer tonal character.- You will clearly know why Penon charges for this level of richer cable enhancing.
Enhances for a bigger broader stage.- This is even evident on a small totem pigtail let alone the entire cable now doubled.
Enhances stage and dimensional qualities for every IEM pairing. Any IEM that has good layering to the mid bands, this cable encourages a sound separation, imaging and dimensional qualities.
Due to the qualities mentioned above. Enhances BC driver effects. MOAR dimensions.
Enhances dynamics for IEMS. body of note and bass presence with excellent texture is your thing. Due to the healthy amount of copper infusion. Bass is exalted and texture introduced to the stock bass profile, while mids get a nice thicker full density of note.
Synergizes better with more neutral balanced less colored IEMs. I feel the stock Totem is a bit more versatile in that regard as the Ultra brings a bit more warmth vs the stock Totem cable. Due to much more copper cores and double the gold plating.
Cons
Heavy- big bulky using a lot of heavy metal. Unless you're not into your heavy metal not all will like.
Will sound a bit warm and my rules of opposites means it will not synergize as well with already warm sounding IEMs.
Will cost a lot of money to find out if it will synergize well with whatever IEM you own. But that is the nature of any IEM cable in the $500- 1K range.
With that out of the way. This is what it has done for Penons own greatest hits.
First we got the
Penon Rival.
The Penon Rival already comes with a standard totem cable that is modular and has a newer Rhodium plug that I like quite a bit on the Totem sound. The new Ultra is different which introduces a touch more warmth and body vs the stock Totem but now the stage is enhanced to even greater effect. The Rival already has a crazy dimensional sound going on and the Ultra enhances that feature to the 9th degree. The sound is the true definition of encompassing. You are surrounded by high end audio with the Rival and the Ultra is a clear level over stock cable which was the standard Totem. Since the Totem material is a part of the Rival make up. Naturally if you end up getting one of the Totem variants the IEM will tilt a bit toward the Rival tonality. The EBC80 for example ends up sounding like a cousin version of the Rival when using the Ultra especially.
Here is where a bit of comparison of the 2 core Totem comes into play. Basically for current owners of the standard Totem, if you can imagine even greater spacious presentation. Deeper more grander sounding, even more separation, bass and fullness of sound from your IEMs using the Totems that is basically what you're getting with the Ultras. I would say the standard Totem is roughly 80% of what the Ultra is. I know paying $300 more for %20 more sound enhancement is clearly a diminishing returns type of thing. Double the cores here does not mean double the effects. The one negative aspect of the Ultra is that it now has double the gold plating which if you don’t know. You don't need a lot of the gold plating, especially on copper material for how it works. This in turn warms and enriches a sound even more so for the Ultra vs the standard 2 core Totem. I would say if you're happy with your Totem do you need the Ultra? That depends, if you're a huge fan of the material and make a good income. Why not? But for the rest of the folks. You're getting more of the same in the case of the Totem, which s not a bad thing.
Penon Voltage
Absolutely superb pairing on the Voltage. The other IEMs I am writing about both use Sonion bone conduction for an enhanced stage element so the effects of the Totem Ultra is even more noticed on the Voltage here which does not have that BC driver to enhance its stage. By traditional IEM standards the Voltage has a big spacious sound which is clearly enhanced even further using the Ultra. There is no comparison going from its stock Obsidian cable to a TOTL level IEM cable like the Ultra. The Voltage is clearly knocking at the doors of TOTL level for sound using the Ultra. The Ultra makes everything folks love about the Voltage balanced sound signature and takes it into the next level. Having the Ultra connected to the Voltage clearly shows just how much the Voltage deserves a nice quality higher end cable. Even over the Rival and the ISN EBC80 the Voltage benefits the most using the Ultra. Going back to my post about how the Ultra is the most effective toward more neutrality. The Voltage does not have any BC drivers like the other two but more importantly it is the more neutrally balanced and tuned IEM. What the Ultra does with the Voltage pairing for vocals is astounding. It is what you would expect a 1K level IEM cable pairing will do and it clearly shows on the Voltage. My absolute favorite pairing out of the 3. The Rival is a close second with the ISN EBC80 while enhancing its sound is a clear 3rd in line for synergy.
ISN EBC80
I was so very much excited to try the EBC80 with the Ultras and it does make them sound stupendous but I can tell sound wise it is not the best pairing out of the 3 and here is why. The EBC80 already has an underlying full bodied sound and tonal character especially for its lower mids. The Ultra here highlights that area, its bass, its stage, its imaging aspect but tonally the sound has become a bit too rich, almost dark in tonal qualities for its mids. Ultra in a nutshell is a bit much for the Sonic tonal qualities for the EBC80. It will be the Penon Pyramid either the VI or the VIII that synergizes better on the EBC80. This is a case where warm + warm = darker. I actually like the standard Totem better on the EBC80 for better synergy as it does all the positive aspects of the Totem but does not overly color the sound profile. Hence this is the reason why the older standard Totem should not be overlooked. So my thoughts on the synergistic aspect of the Ultra is that when it works it is mind blowing. It does enhance the EBC80 with all of what I included in the pros section of the descriptor but this is a case where the base sound profile is already rich and has that expansive stage using BC drivers. In other words you don't need to spend a 1K worth of Totem just to reach peak ISN EBC80 is my point. The sound is ethereal using the Ultra the other cables I mentioned does not quite do but it is very close especially the stock Totem and the Pyramid VIII. Don’t get me wrong it will be very impressive to hear the EBC80 connected to the Ultra but from a sheer synergistic standpoint I do like this cable on the Voltage over the EBC80 just because the other cables won’t enhance the Voltage at the level the Ultra does.
In closing.
We are getting some outstanding cables out of Penon land but this is a case where doubling the cores brings the absolute peak Totem cable for the masses. Connected to a well balanced sounding IEM the pay off is huge. It's unmistakable just how much this cable enhances for a richer, more bodied and nuanced sound. Stage elements in all directions get a jump as well as its imaging. The silver plated in Palladium elements within its cores balances the sound profile and lives up to its TOTL billing as Penons best cable. Penon house sound is clearly represented in both the standard and now even better with the Totem Ultra. If you're asking yourself if you need a cable like this for your IEMs? Well that all depends. If you feel your IEM can use a bit more stage, more density, more dimensions, adding a richer sound profile. Like your bass big bold and beautiful. Mids full bodied and nuanced.Trebles with all the ability of them EST infusions? The Totem Ultra will deliver in spades
And the colors are excellent, cable and hardware! This will boost not only Penons, but other Sonion BCD sets as well! Not only looks the part, but also sounds it with Forte Ears Macbeth!!!