[kazinova]

Alright, I took the GK200 off the list for QC concerns, but now the Quintet and the Quattro are on the eventual buy list. I'd be more tempted to snag a Quattro if it wasn't some shady back-channel deal to get one. The Penon audio website is already sketchy enough, I don't need a black-market email transaction on top of that.

 

[FlacFan]

Alright, I took the GK200 off the list for QC concerns, but now the Quintet and the Quattro are on the eventual buy list. I'd be more tempted to snag a Quattro if it wasn't some shady back-channel deal to get one. The Penon audio website is already sketchy enough, I don't need a black-market email transaction on top of that.

Sketchy?
That means: Questionable, Fraudulent, Spoofing, not trust worthy....

Sorry, but I disagree. Never had any issue whatsoever with their web site nor with Penon.

My ISN D10 came with a cable, which was incorrectly soldered (left-right issue). It took two emails and they sent me a new cable without whining.

Cheers.

 

[Ferdinando1968]

Alright, I took the GK200 off the list for QC concerns, but now the Quintet and the Quattro are on the eventual buy list. I'd be more tempted to snag a Quattro if it wasn't some shady back-channel deal to get one. The Penon audio website is already sketchy enough, I don't need a black-market email transaction on top of that.

Of course I can only talk about my case, but, believe me, there was no shady deal.

It was frankly unexpected for me too.

After reading the news about the QUATTRO here on HF,
I simply emailed PENON asking about when it would be released.

No response for days, until they replied that they only had a few specimens available, and that since I had asked for information and shown interest, if I wanted I could purchase one of those few specimens as a preview.

I agreed, as I had planned to purchase it when it was released.

That's all, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Echalon]

Alright, I took the GK200 off the list for QC concerns, but now the Quintet and the Quattro are on the eventual buy list. I'd be more tempted to snag a Quattro if it wasn't some shady back-channel deal to get one. The Penon audio website is already sketchy enough, I don't need a black-market email transaction on top of that.

The Penon website may not look fancy, but they give excellent customer service. That’s part of the reason they have such enthusiastic fans.

 

[cobrabucket]

Alright, I took the GK200 off the list for QC concerns, but now the Quintet and the Quattro are on the eventual buy list. I'd be more tempted to snag a Quattro if it wasn't some shady back-channel deal to get one. The Penon audio website is already sketchy enough, I don't need a black-market email transaction on top of that.

Yeah. I returned my GK200 because it had a severe channel imbalance.
Does not give me confidence in their products going forward.
Unsure if I will reorder another one but strongly leaning towards not.

And re: Penon Quattro, exactly as @Ferdinando1968 said, they contacted me to ask if I wanted to buy one of the few that came in last week.

I've never had anything but exemplary service from their site and highly recommend them.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

@ everybody owning or having owned the Hifiman RE-400
How do they compare (@ $19) to their Chinese $19 counterparts? Is it worth the hassle to get them to ship to EU (adds quite a lot of shipping costs)? Just ordered the &hz Zero.

Bass light, and no mid bass, with sup par technicalities. My RE800 and RE00 both outpace the 400 in almost every way.

 

[nikbr]

I have been pondering on buying one of Aur iems. Either Aurora or Aure, what would you say is the main difference?
My Music Library is 70% EDM, rest is mixed.

Truthfully, among these 5, EDM is in my opinion best handled by Neon Pro or IE600. But between Aurora and Aure, Aurora wins. Its bass is very capable. It likes power too.

 

[nikbr]

I see you're using Dunu S&S on Butastur. AS did not like them on Butastur while I never tried those IEMs.

My reasoning is two fold. First, I liked their sound after trying lots and lots of tips. And secondly, S&S' length allows for a better fit cause Butastur's short nozzle and shell shape somewhat disagree with my ears otherwise.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Nice overview! I gifted my Zero 2 to my roommate, and later on she was telling me how she has never heard some of the sounds in her favorite music until this set. It’s such a great gift for people who have no idea about this realm.

I bought my son a pair for Christmas, as he is looking for a pair for work. I think he'll be pleasantly surprised as well?

 

[theintention]

I bought my son a pair for Christmas, as he is looking for a pair for work. I think he'll be pleasantly surprised as well?

I would be! One day my kids will ask about my cool headphones instead of asking for AirPods…

 

[o0genesis0o]

Any comparison between planars mp145 vs F1 pro ?

You should take this with a whole salt shaker because (1) I don't have the MP145 sample with me any more, (2) "shiny toy syndrome", and (3) I have already made up my mind that I like these F1 Pro. Anyhow, I'll compare the IEMs from memory by taking the complaints I noted in my MP145 review and testing them with the F1 Pro. I'll also throw some observations from listening to the Campfire Audio Supermoon (the latest revision in the chromatic series).

• Timbre: none of these planar IEMs cut it in a critical listening session. Noted that none sounds flat out wrong, but they are at best passable when it comes to the timbral correctness of string instruments and most vocals. Credit where credit dues, both MP145 and F1 Pro does the timbre a little bit better than the Supermoon.
• Tonality: Superficially, MP145 and F1 Pro are kind off similar with a warm-ish, thickish (but still close to the "neutral") tonality. However, I noted in the past that the MP145 in some rare cases sound a bit muffle because the bass shelf extends quite far into the midrange (in other words, quite a bit extra lower midrange energy) and the bass is higher than the ear gain in all configuration. I haven't got that muffling with F1 Pro. I'm sure we will see the difference objectively when I finally measure the F1 pro. The only time when I say F1 Pro is muffled is when I use the aftermarket cable that Nicehck packs with the IEM.
• Resolution: Both are good. I would give a slight edge to the F1 Pro and the Supermoon, though the differences are practically negligible. Similar instrument definition, decent but not breathtaking detail retrieval, clean presentation, etc.
• Bass and dynamic: Supermoon >= F1 Pro > MP145. If you have heard the "fast" (however you measure that) and detailed bass transient of the Sundara headphone, you can expect that snappy response with both Supermoon and F1 Pro. I didn't find that in my listening notes of MP145, suggesting that the dynamic did not stand out. To put in perspective, the snappiness of Supermoon and F1 Pro makes many IEMs from Monarch III / Hype2 to Campfire Bonnerville sound sluggish and blunted in A/B. Is that a good thing? Debatable. But I think snappy transient response is very fun. Maybe it's the side effect of the odd timbre of these planar drivers.
• Soundstage and imaging: practically similar (read: adequate / good, but not outstanding). Supermoon sounds wider due to the way it was tuned.

Other nitpicking: some old anime OSTs (think of Gundam Seed / Seed Destiny era) can sound sibilant with F1 Pro. Might or might not be deal breaker.

 

[Bosk]

Penon DOME IEMs arrived yesterday! After burning them in overnight I'm listening to them at work from the awesome little Xuelin Clear player, in preparation for a review.

They instantly remind me of the ISN Neo5s - my favourite IEMs under $500. Form factors are nearly identical, and driver configs are the same except for the Neo5s having an extra BA. I'm listening to Rüfüs Du Sol right now and although there's a fair amount of sonic overlap between them they diverge enough to be complimentary.

The Neo5s are tuned with massive bass quantity that really dominates but can occasionally be a little boomy. They're slightly dark in the treble, their midrange is fairly neutral, but they have a way of making instruments sound large and possess a surprisingly big soundstage for a modestly priced IEM. They're simply a ton of fun.

The DOMEs are more politely tuned, and at once I notice their gorgeously rich midrange tonality which grabs my attention. They almost remind me of a mini Penon Impact in this regard, with greater refinement than the Neo5s. Bass is also kept in line more, though quantity is still absolutely ample for electronic music with sub bass in particular going quite deep.

I've just swapped to the Penon Globes which are also mid-prominent, and boy do they suffer in comparison... the DOMEs are warmer with a much fuller sound and appreciably greater bass quantity, whereas the Globes come across as thinner with a distinct lack of note-weight, yet I don't think the Globe's technicalities are any more proficient as a tradeoff for that leaner sound. Yes there's still something special about that Globe midrange, but for my taste these DOMEs are almost a straight line upgrade for the electronic, classical & soundtrack albums I listen to. DOME & Globe use identical stock cables too, so that's not where any difference between them lies.

Perhaps it's a reflection of improvements in driver technology since the Globes were originally released a few years ago. In my time in the hobby I've definitely noticed less & less are we forced to choose between tonality & technicality, even at lower prices. These days if an IEM doesn't deliver both in spades I'm disappointed, and can only imagine how much more challenging the lives of those responsible for tuning earphones must be as a result. The market's so saturated with great products at every price that choosing becomes largely a question of the flavour you prefer rather than objectively "good" or "bad" choices.

 

[cobrabucket]

Penon DOME IEMs arrived yesterday! After burning them in overnight I'm listening to them at work from the awesome little Xuelin Clear player, in preparation for a review.

They instantly remind me of the ISN Neo5s - my favourite IEMs under $500. Form factors are nearly identical, and driver configs are the same except for the Neo5s having an extra BA. I'm listening to Rüfüs Du Sol right now and although there's a fair amount of sonic overlap between them they diverge enough to be complimentary.

The Neo5s are tuned with massive bass quantity that really dominates but can occasionally be a little boomy. They're slightly dark in the treble, their midrange is fairly neutral, but they have a way of making instruments sound large and possess a surprisingly big soundstage for a modestly priced IEM. They're simply a ton of fun.

The DOMEs are more politely tuned, and at once I notice their gorgeously rich midrange tonality which grabs my attention. They almost remind me of a mini Penon Impact in this regard, with greater refinement than the Neo5s. Bass is also kept in line more, though quantity is still absolutely ample for electronic music with sub bass in particular going quite deep.

I've just swapped to the Penon Globes which are also mid-prominent, and boy do they suffer in comparison... the DOMEs are warmer with a much fuller sound and appreciably greater bass quantity, whereas the Globes come across as thinner with a distinct lack of note-weight, yet I don't think the Globe's technicalities are any more proficient as a tradeoff for that leaner sound. Yes there's still something special about that Globe midrange, but for my taste these DOMEs are almost a straight line upgrade for the electronic, classical & soundtrack albums I listen to. DOME & Globe use identical stock cables too, so that's not where any difference between them lies.

Perhaps it's a reflection of improvements in driver technology since the Globes were originally released a few years ago. In my time in the hobby I've definitely noticed less & less are we forced to choose between tonality & technicality, even at lower prices. These days if an IEM doesn't deliver both in spades I'm disappointed, and can only imagine how much more challenging the lives of those responsible for tuning earphones must be as a result. The market's so saturated with great products at every price that choosing becomes largely a question of the flavour you prefer rather than objectively "good" or "bad" choices.

How does the Xuelin Clear compare with the Hiby R6 Pro II?

 

[Bosk]

How does the Xuelin Clear compare with the Hiby R6 Pro II?

I compared both on this page of my Xuelin Clear review.

 

[jsmiller58]

Alright, I took the GK200 off the list for QC concerns, but now the Quintet and the Quattro are on the eventual buy list. I'd be more tempted to snag a Quattro if it wasn't some shady back-channel deal to get one. The Penon audio website is already sketchy enough, I don't need a black-market email transaction on top of that.

This year I have purchased 3 IEMs and a cable from Penon and have been great to work with. You might want to consider if you are judging a book by its cover.