Penon were kind enough to recently send me a pair of their
Globe IEMs to review, so after burning them in for a couple of days I'm now A/Bing them against their 10th Anniversary IEMs and some ISN EST50s at work.
As a $329 2BA/1DD hybrid the Globes have been quite a surprise. What immediately jumps out at me (other than the flash glistening faceplates) is their flawless coherency which may be the best of any Penon IEM I've tried.
Every Penon & ISN IEM I've tried has been extremely well tuned - to the extent I now take it for granted, but it leaves me wondering why other manufacturers have trouble following suit. As an audiophile of many years I've long accepted the midrange is where most of the music lies, making it fundamental to achieving a pleasing sonic signature. Penon obviously understand that by prioritising midrange performance and even their more v-shaped IEMs like the 10th Anniversary & EST50s especially still manage to produce a very full, rich midrange experience that's never thin, dry or hollow.
So it's no surprise the Globes' midrange has impressed me. However these IEMs are tuned with a definite L-shaped curve so there is
plenty of DD-fueled bass here, thankfully not the sluggish kind - I mentioned coherency earlier which suggests this DD is having no trouble keeping up with those BAs.
As for the treble it is satisfyingly prominent, though edging close to my preferred limit of spiciness. I've not heard it tip over that edge, again suggesting a well-tuned IEM at least for my preferences. Where treble suffers in comparison with with the EST50s and particularly the 10th Anniversary is the lack of EST drivers yields a somewhat more simplified rendering that lacks the effortless detail, slightly enhanced resolution (and probably superior imaging as a result) those more expensive IEMs deliver.
Having said that the Globes do have a pleasingly wide stage which may even stretch a tad wider than the EST50s, though it does lack depth I would have to say. Listening to the Globes now with both classical & EDM tracks through my trusty N8ii, neither technical performance nor resolution is leaving me wanting. In fact it must be the coherency of the Globes or some trick of their tuning that I'm finding them extremely musical - something makes me want to just sit back and listen to the music, rather than focus on every tiny little detail of the sound - which if you write reviews can become a habit. These will be perfect for work when I don't want something that'll rip away all of my attention, yet aren't lacking in any particular area either.
So the Globes are proving to be a refreshing palate cleanser. The EST50s will thump harder and the 10th Anniversaries are more refined, but both are larger & more expensive. As someone who formerly refused to use anything larger than single-DDs, I have an acknowledged bias towards smaller IEMs and these are delightfully petit.
Haven't had time to cable roll much yet, but I did just throw the Penon Vocal cable on the Globes and am immediately noticing a VERY substantial improvement - bass immediately feels tighter, dynamics are improved and note weight seems better, in fact even stage depth has improved. Easy to tell at this early stage these will benefit from a cable upgrade quite a bit.
I'll review the Globes properly when time permits, but for now these are helping make a dreary winter Wednesday at work pass that little bit easier.
. Couldn't find them anywhere else. Binto box is such a bonus 
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