[Dsnuts]

Price?

Penon don't price things right away. They ponder on what a fine line of sound value and a competitive price for everything they make. Including EBC80. I am sure they have a ballpark of what they expect them to sell but then there is the reality of competition. The whole VIP thing I know a lot of you guys don't like that not-so-secret way of giving a better deal to patrons of Penon but that's their way of showing some appreciation to folks that are supportive of their products. I think its their goal with every single release they make to try to outdo their competition at the price points. So whatever Penon decides to price the EBC80. It will be competitive and nothing that will be over the top. I will reveal the RP when they are ready to tell me.

That is all good and well, and most everyone expected them to be better than the H60, but you did not answer the question everyone is thinking....BUT HOW DO THEY COMPARE TO THE SHOCK?! *ahem*

I feel they are a higher end sound vs the Shock. Shocks appeal is their tuning ability but the set tuning on the EBC80 is a much higher end H60 in every way possible. The Shocks serve a different purpose, its audiophile bass IEM with a legit ability to tune the sound to your liking and not some gimmicky tuning switch but actually tune them to your liking. The only thing really missing on the Shock was EST implementation. I think for its price, its a very competitive offering. The EBC80 on the other hand are by far their most refined ISN IEM to date. I feel they easily compete with the likes of the Voltage, and prior flagships the Volts rich tonal character, the Legends crazy wide stage sounding even more dimensional than all of them. It's got elements of a lot of their prior offerings including their former flagships. The mids don't quite reach the level of the Impacts but the sheer holography of the sound is crazy. I will have a lot more to say about them after their weekend burn in but for now. I can clearly recognize just how good these things are. Penon is killing it with their use of the Sonion BC drivers.

 

[Erkil]

I wonder what ever happened to the Timeless II?

Apparently right around the corner according to Joyce’s Reviews. She showed the final tuned version in one of her videos. Mark Ryan heard it also if I remember correctly

 

[Dsnuts]

Dear esteemed friends, I would like to announce that I will be leaving the audio hobby for some time. It's been a great pleasure learning and discussing with the community here, and I've build many friendships, especially at the Discovery thread. I will clear some tour/review units under obligation, then will be taking a break thereafter.

I've been using IEMs for stage monitoring for the good part of 1.5 decades, and been reviewing for the past 5 - 6 years. Lately most of the gear coming out are mostly sidegrades with not much value add, but I'm quite happy that the price-to-performance ratio for IEMs in particular are greatly improving year on year. Just 5 years back, a single driver from Westone/Shure would set you back $100 (multi drivers at $300ish) and they sounded bad compared to some sub $50 IEMs in 2024. Yeah most releases are actually good or above average now, great times now.

Perhaps it is quite a burn-out to review more sidegrades, I spend about 6 - 10 hours per review, burning nights and weekends to get one done, and it is painful to spend time on a meh review. I've been banned by > 20 companies for previous lukewarm reviews (let alone negative), but I get by via auditioning IEMs at shops, or maybe buying second hand ones which are cheaper to test those. Lately, there's some bad blood from a local manufacturer (won't mention names), previously there were bots and fake accounts on the attack for negative reviews. In general, the hobby seems to be getting more and more commercialized and manufacturers are fighting tooth and nail for every customer by hook or by crook.

Just last week, one CHIFI company actually emailed to offer to pay me a certain amount per positive review, and I flat out told them NO and broke contact. It is quite a sad state that the hobby is as such, but on the other hand the price-to-performance of IEMs is in the golden age. Yeah we just discussed above how the flow of IEMs has gone crazy in recent months!

Anyways, thanks once again for all the friendships and advise garnered from the forums! Keep in touch and remember it's about the music!

That is very interesting that you got a message from a Chi Fi company about becoming some type of partnership. I am ignoring the same company. You're right these companies are trying every way possible to have an edge over their competition. It's not good enough to make good sounding IEMs anymore.

I went through a burn out period a few years back myself. I had to say no to all the folks I did reviews for. Except a few hand picked folks I have a respect for. I think I would go insane if I said yes to everyone. Life comes first so taking some time off from the hobby is not a bad thing. Your contributions to this thread will be missed. I would say. Keep an eye on the thread and jump in to let us know how you're doing periodically. Take your time my friend. Good luck to you.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

@FreeWheelinAudioLuv2 You over the Elixir? From what I’ve gathered it does sound a bit different from the Allure, which had a mid treble peak that my ears didn’t quite agree with of course lol.

I sold the Elixir as the tentpole IEM in one of those lots last month. I had to pick something of strong value, and the Elixir was it. Elixir didn't have any peaks, but it was quite balanced. One of the most balanced single DD I've heard. That Bery bass was very resolving, but lacked mid bass warmth and wasn't impactful. I loved the tonality though. Itwas immaculately natural in timbre, with excellent treble extension and lots of air, but I guess, that's the single DD trade off isn't it? Rarely is it solidly extended on both ends.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

No noise floor that I can detect. It’s quite remarkable. Really solid pick up. Prefer it to my Q15 and CMA18 I recently let go of.

Dang! Better than your CMA? That is saying something bold! I, of course, don't need it since I already have the N3U and B4-X, but definitely tempting.

 

[DynamicEars]

are in for a serious treat. These things are by far the best sounding ISN IEM I have ever heard. It is a TOTL level ISN, like literally the best of the best aspects of every ISN IEM they have ever made but leveled up using BC drivers. These are not just a small upgrade to the H60. I am go

Can you kindly take photo on the BC opening holes?

The Shock is great, and I don't find any major flaws at all especially after simple mods, I reach them more than my Mest recently. I really can't go back to IEMs without BC and lose the soundstage-imaging special sauce from the BCD.

Dear esteemed friends, I would like to announce that I will be leaving the audio hobby for some time. It's been a great pleasure learning and discussing with the community here, and I've build many friendships, especially at the Discovery thread. I will clear some tour/review units under obligation, then will be taking a break thereafter.

I've been using IEMs for stage monitoring for the good part of 1.5 decades, and been reviewing for the past 5 - 6 years. Lately most of the gear coming out are mostly sidegrades with not much value add, but I'm quite happy that the price-to-performance ratio for IEMs in particular are greatly improving year on year. Just 5 years back, a single driver from Westone/Shure would set you back $100 (multi drivers at $300ish) and they sounded bad compared to some sub $50 IEMs in 2024. Yeah most releases are actually good or above average now, great times now.

Perhaps it is quite a burn-out to review more sidegrades, I spend about 6 - 10 hours per review, burning nights and weekends to get one done, and it is painful to spend time on a meh review. I've been banned by > 20 companies for previous lukewarm reviews (let alone negative), but I get by via auditioning IEMs at shops, or maybe buying second hand ones which are cheaper to test those. Lately, there's some bad blood from a local manufacturer (won't mention names), previously there were bots and fake accounts on the attack for negative reviews. In general, the hobby seems to be getting more and more commercialized and manufacturers are fighting tooth and nail for every customer by hook or by crook.

Just last week, one CHIFI company actually emailed to offer to pay me a certain amount per positive review, and I flat out told them NO and broke contact. It is quite a sad state that the hobby is as such, but on the other hand the price-to-performance of IEMs is in the golden age. Yeah we just discussed above how the flow of IEMs has gone crazy in recent months!

Anyways, thanks once again for all the friendships and advise garnered from the forums! Keep in touch and remember it's about the music!

I open this thread just to discover this sad news
Damn.. You're like my long lasting friend here and One of the best brother in this hobby. Can't imagine how is the audio talks without you, but I respect and wish you all the best for your decision. Good luck and hopefully we still can keep in touch. All the best to you. Sincerely.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Can you kindly take photo on the BC opening holes?

The Shock is great, and I don't find any major flaws at all especially after simple mods, I reach them more than my Mest recently. I really can't go back to IEMs without BC and lose the soundstage-imaging special sauce from the BCD.




I open this thread just to discover this sad news
Damn.. You're like my long lasting friend here and One of the best brother in this hobby. Can't imagine how is the audio talks without you, but I respect and wish you all the best for your decision. Good luck and hopefully we still can keep in touch. All the best to you. Sincerely.

You're awesome and invaluable too, so don't go anywhere. ya hear?

 

[Redcarmoose]

@FreeWheelinAudioLuv2 You over the Elixir? From what I’ve gathered it does sound a bit different from the Allure, which had a mid treble peak that my ears didn’t quite agree with of course lol.

The two IEMs under the different naming scheme Allure and Elixir sound identical, remember if you see they show up differently in graphs that is due to measurement values.

Penon don't price things right away. They ponder on what a fine line of sound value and a competitive price for everything they make. Including EBC80. I am sure they have a ballpark of what they expect them to sell but then there is the reality of competition. The whole VIP thing I know a lot of you guys don't like that not-so-secret way of giving a better deal to patrons of Penon but that's their way of showing some appreciation to folks that are supportive of their products. I think its their goal with every single release they make to try to outdo their competition at the price points. So whatever Penon decides to price the EBC80. It will be competitive and nothing that will be over the top. I will reveal the RP when they are ready to tell me.



I feel they are a higher end sound vs the Shock. Shocks appeal is their tuning ability but the set tuning on the EBC80 is a much higher end H60 in every way possible. The Shocks serve a different purpose, its audiophile bass IEM with a legit ability to tune the sound to your liking and not some gimmicky tuning switch but actually tune them to your liking. The only thing really missing on the Shock was EST implementation. I think for its price, its a very competitive offering. The EBC80 on the other hand are by far their most refined ISN IEM to date. I feel they easily compete with the likes of the Voltage, and prior flagships the Volts rich tonal character, the Legends crazy wide stage sounding even more dimensional than all of them. It's got elements of a lot of their prior offerings including their former flagships. The mids don't quite reach the level of the Impacts but the sheer holography of the sound is crazy. I will have a lot more to say about them after their weekend burn in but for now. I can clearly recognize just how good these things are. Penon is killing it with their use of the Sonion BC drivers.

So cool!

Apparently right around the corner according to Joyce’s Reviews. She showed the final tuned version in one of her videos. Mark Ryan heard it also if I remember correctly

WOW!

 

[Ace Bee]

We’re just the dummies trying to drink from the fire hose while also dissecting the finer points of each individual drop of water.

Brilliant analogy! Couldn't be more perfect!

 

[Jmop]

I sold the Elixir as the tentpole IEM in one of those lots last month. I had to pick something of strong value, and the Elixir was it. Elixir didn't have any peaks, but it was quite balanced. One of the most balanced single DD I've heard. That Bery bass was very resolving, but lacked mid bass warmth and wasn't impactful. I loved the tonality though. Itwas immaculately natural in timbre, with excellent treble extension and lots of air, but I guess, that's the single DD trade off isn't it? Rarely is it solidly extended on both ends.

Not bad, knowing how you like your sub bass I’m not too worried about the low end. It’ll be on my short list!

 

[Redcarmoose]

Dear esteemed friends, I would like to announce that I will be leaving the audio hobby for some time. It's been a great pleasure learning and discussing with the community here, and I've build many friendships, especially at the Discovery thread. I will clear some tour/review units under obligation, then will be taking a break thereafter.

I've been using IEMs for stage monitoring for the good part of 1.5 decades, and been reviewing for the past 5 - 6 years. Lately most of the gear coming out are mostly sidegrades with not much value add, but I'm quite happy that the price-to-performance ratio for IEMs in particular are greatly improving year on year. Just 5 years back, a single driver from Westone/Shure would set you back $100 (multi drivers at $300ish) and they sounded bad compared to some sub $50 IEMs in 2024. Yeah most releases are actually good or above average now, great times now.

Perhaps it is quite a burn-out to review more sidegrades, I spend about 6 - 10 hours per review, burning nights and weekends to get one done, and it is painful to spend time on a meh review. I've been banned by > 20 companies for previous lukewarm reviews (let alone negative), but I get by via auditioning IEMs at shops, or maybe buying second hand ones which are cheaper to test those. Lately, there's some bad blood from a local manufacturer (won't mention names), previously there were bots and fake accounts on the attack for negative reviews. In general, the hobby seems to be getting more and more commercialized and manufacturers are fighting tooth and nail for every customer by hook or by crook.

Just last week, one CHIFI company actually emailed to offer to pay me a certain amount per positive review, and I flat out told them NO and broke contact. It is quite a sad state that the hobby is as such, but on the other hand the price-to-performance of IEMs is in the golden age. Yeah we just discussed above how the flow of IEMs has gone crazy in recent months!

Anyways, thanks once again for all the friendships and advise garnered from the forums! Keep in touch and remember it's about the music!

I have just recently turned down 8 IEMs. A few because I didn't think I would interface well enough to give a positive or factual review, and two (with IEMs in hand) because (after they arrived) the manufacture wanted me to send them my reviews first before publication, for inspection. HAHA. I dropped that IEM manufacture like a hot potato, plus they were not the greatest anyways. If any retail outlets are reading this or manufactures are having second thoughts about me reviewing their products, so be it. I want to be able to write my reviews my very best, and quantity does not always mean quality. I have written 73 reviews since the start of the year.

 

[Okcerg]

Dear esteemed friends, I would like to announce that I will be leaving the audio hobby for some time. It's been a great pleasure learning and discussing with the community here, and I've build many friendships, especially at the Discovery thread. I will clear some tour/review units under obligation, then will be taking a break thereafter.

I've been using IEMs for stage monitoring for the good part of 1.5 decades, and been reviewing for the past 5 - 6 years. Lately most of the gear coming out are mostly sidegrades with not much value add, but I'm quite happy that the price-to-performance ratio for IEMs in particular are greatly improving year on year. Just 5 years back, a single driver from Westone/Shure would set you back $100 (multi drivers at $300ish) and they sounded bad compared to some sub $50 IEMs in 2024. Yeah most releases are actually good or above average now, great times now.

Perhaps it is quite a burn-out to review more sidegrades, I spend about 6 - 10 hours per review, burning nights and weekends to get one done, and it is painful to spend time on a meh review. I've been banned by > 20 companies for previous lukewarm reviews (let alone negative), but I get by via auditioning IEMs at shops, or maybe buying second hand ones which are cheaper to test those. Lately, there's some bad blood from a local manufacturer (won't mention names), previously there were bots and fake accounts on the attack for negative reviews. In general, the hobby seems to be getting more and more commercialized and manufacturers are fighting tooth and nail for every customer by hook or by crook.

Just last week, one CHIFI company actually emailed to offer to pay me a certain amount per positive review, and I flat out told them NO and broke contact. It is quite a sad state that the hobby is as such, but on the other hand the price-to-performance of IEMs is in the golden age. Yeah we just discussed above how the flow of IEMs has gone crazy in recent months!

Anyways, thanks once again for all the friendships and advise garnered from the forums! Keep in touch and remember it's about the music!

Oh, that's some sad news for us discothreaders. I just want to say thanks for all your hard work. For me you're THE top contributor with your endless flow of new discoveries and new product updates. But life goes first, enjoy your break and hope you'll come back some day.

 

[Syan25]

Dear esteemed friends, I would like to announce that I will be leaving the audio hobby for some time. It's been a great pleasure learning and discussing with the community here, and I've build many friendships, especially at the Discovery thread. I will clear some tour/review units under obligation, then will be taking a break thereafter.

I've been using IEMs for stage monitoring for the good part of 1.5 decades, and been reviewing for the past 5 - 6 years. Lately most of the gear coming out are mostly sidegrades with not much value add, but I'm quite happy that the price-to-performance ratio for IEMs in particular are greatly improving year on year. Just 5 years back, a single driver from Westone/Shure would set you back $100 (multi drivers at $300ish) and they sounded bad compared to some sub $50 IEMs in 2024. Yeah most releases are actually good or above average now, great times now.

Perhaps it is quite a burn-out to review more sidegrades, I spend about 6 - 10 hours per review, burning nights and weekends to get one done, and it is painful to spend time on a meh review. I've been banned by > 20 companies for previous lukewarm reviews (let alone negative), but I get by via auditioning IEMs at shops, or maybe buying second hand ones which are cheaper to test those. Lately, there's some bad blood from a local manufacturer (won't mention names), previously there were bots and fake accounts on the attack for negative reviews. In general, the hobby seems to be getting more and more commercialized and manufacturers are fighting tooth and nail for every customer by hook or by crook.

Just last week, one CHIFI company actually emailed to offer to pay me a certain amount per positive review, and I flat out told them NO and broke contact. It is quite a sad state that the hobby is as such, but on the other hand the price-to-performance of IEMs is in the golden age. Yeah we just discussed above how the flow of IEMs has gone crazy in recent months!

Anyways, thanks once again for all the friendships and advise garnered from the forums! Keep in touch and remember it's about the music!

You are a gem of wisdom and thank you so much for your efforts over these years. You have a great many friends here.

Look after yourself and your loved ones.

 

[MakeItWain]

Dear esteemed friends, I would like to announce that I will be leaving the audio hobby for some time. It's been a great pleasure learning and discussing with the community here, and I've build many friendships, especially at the Discovery thread. I will clear some tour/review units under obligation, then will be taking a break thereafter.

I've been using IEMs for stage monitoring for the good part of 1.5 decades, and been reviewing for the past 5 - 6 years. Lately most of the gear coming out are mostly sidegrades with not much value add, but I'm quite happy that the price-to-performance ratio for IEMs in particular are greatly improving year on year. Just 5 years back, a single driver from Westone/Shure would set you back $100 (multi drivers at $300ish) and they sounded bad compared to some sub $50 IEMs in 2024. Yeah most releases are actually good or above average now, great times now.

Perhaps it is quite a burn-out to review more sidegrades, I spend about 6 - 10 hours per review, burning nights and weekends to get one done, and it is painful to spend time on a meh review. I've been banned by > 20 companies for previous lukewarm reviews (let alone negative), but I get by via auditioning IEMs at shops, or maybe buying second hand ones which are cheaper to test those. Lately, there's some bad blood from a local manufacturer (won't mention names), previously there were bots and fake accounts on the attack for negative reviews. In general, the hobby seems to be getting more and more commercialized and manufacturers are fighting tooth and nail for every customer by hook or by crook.

Just last week, one CHIFI company actually emailed to offer to pay me a certain amount per positive review, and I flat out told them NO and broke contact. It is quite a sad state that the hobby is as such, but on the other hand the price-to-performance of IEMs is in the golden age. Yeah we just discussed above how the flow of IEMs has gone crazy in recent months!

Anyways, thanks once again for all the friendships and advise garnered from the forums! Keep in touch and remember it's about the music!

It's all about your own mental health and avoiding the burn out which is totally understandable. That sucks with all that bad blood and the email you received.

Your reviews were something I remember reading when I was first getting back into the Head-fi forum and you've provided a lot of amazing insights in absolutely some of the most easily digestible reviews. Appreciate you and your time, sir!

 

[gadgetgod]

Dear esteemed friends, I would like to announce that I will be leaving the audio hobby for some time. It's been a great pleasure learning and discussing with the community here, and I've build many friendships, especially at the Discovery thread. I will clear some tour/review units under obligation, then will be taking a break thereafter.

I've been using IEMs for stage monitoring for the good part of 1.5 decades, and been reviewing for the past 5 - 6 years. Lately most of the gear coming out are mostly sidegrades with not much value add, but I'm quite happy that the price-to-performance ratio for IEMs in particular are greatly improving year on year. Just 5 years back, a single driver from Westone/Shure would set you back $100 (multi drivers at $300ish) and they sounded bad compared to some sub $50 IEMs in 2024. Yeah most releases are actually good or above average now, great times now.

Perhaps it is quite a burn-out to review more sidegrades, I spend about 6 - 10 hours per review, burning nights and weekends to get one done, and it is painful to spend time on a meh review. I've been banned by > 20 companies for previous lukewarm reviews (let alone negative), but I get by via auditioning IEMs at shops, or maybe buying second hand ones which are cheaper to test those. Lately, there's some bad blood from a local manufacturer (won't mention names), previously there were bots and fake accounts on the attack for negative reviews. In general, the hobby seems to be getting more and more commercialized and manufacturers are fighting tooth and nail for every customer by hook or by crook.

Just last week, one CHIFI company actually emailed to offer to pay me a certain amount per positive review, and I flat out told them NO and broke contact. It is quite a sad state that the hobby is as such, but on the other hand the price-to-performance of IEMs is in the golden age. Yeah we just discussed above how the flow of IEMs has gone crazy in recent months!

Anyways, thanks once again for all the friendships and advise garnered from the forums! Keep in touch and remember it's about the music!

Man reading your post makes me sad. The burn-out is real and I also experience it from time to time. I also happen to take a break and that makes me quite inactive on the threads.

Sad to see some brands trying to offer you money for positive review, that would be the last thing we would need in this hobby, it would be the end of it for us as consumers as well as reviewers. Yes you said it right, the market has become very competitive now, even $50 products offer good sound which was not possible a few years back.

Hope to see you back soon.