The discovery thread!

[Dsnuts]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-penon-official-thread.934523/post-18639323 read all about it.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

TRN ST7s are in the house! How da heck can these things sound so good for the price? ROTB good at that. Balance across the frequency spectrum is exemplary. Bass is tight and right, mids are musical and the highs are there but not killing me. I put on a pair of my own tips (KBears) and a better cable.

These things are righteous!!!! Another successful FWAL2 and TDM rec. This pair is staying in my ears and up on the top tier of the budget IEM stash for sure.

Edit: These things are insane!

Been in my top 5 overall best budget IEMs for over a year now. Bought them on a whim early last year based on the price and the dual DD bass, and I wasn't expecting much from TRN, but for hit over the head with one of the most balanced, warm, but clean IEMs sub $100.00, but also ultra comfortable, and some very airy but controlled BA treble. Very natural sounding for cheap BA's. Probably the biggest surprise, aside from these being one of the few IEMs that presents a truly orbital soundstage (not just price bracket, but period). Glad you like them. Stoked for you.

Ya. Unfortunately there is no Nuts collab. I am not so important in the scheme of things, I don't even have a fancy title saying founder of the discovery thread or anything like that. So you all know where I rank in the scheme of things. Not that important should be my custom title. Lol, but this new release is interesting as I never thought Penon did collabs. I will let you all know when I post about it soon.

As long as it's not HBB, I'm full on interested. If HBB has anything to do with this, my interest is rescinded.

Tangzu Wu Zetian Legend only works for me if I use deep insert eartips. Tri Clarion M tips and H570 M tips work very well for me.

I use bassy tips. AZLA Crystal 2 tips. Smooths the treble just a touch, and adds some mid bass presence. Great tips for the Legend.

it would be probably perfect for me, if the bass were a bit snappier. I have NOT directly compared the HS80 with any other IEMs really, but I can see it moving up to Fan 3 territory for me, because of the natural, smooth sound and better, tighter bass.

It might have an even more coherent, if less lush, sound than the TRN Shell... bass is NOT overly boosted or boomy. The CK2V, on the other hand, must contain a real sub-woofer haha. The HS80 is a subtle but immersive listening experience.
Shell's treble is a bit more emphasized, and the midbass is a bit more boomy or pronounced compared to the HS80. [I'm not kidding... the HS80's bass is KLEAN haha, and the more I listen to it, the more impressed I get.] Mind you, the Shell is still VERY impressive when you factor in price.

as far as being a "hit" or not, that seems more up to the manufacturer, if they send out review copies to the right people lol. I don't have the video equipment or honestly, the dedication to be a youtube reviewer, but I try to share my experiences here, always mindful that I'm still a "newb" audiophile, who might not be as picky about sound, or as analytical about an IEM's sound as the "pros" are.

I was listening to this stunning performance by Mdou Moctar, [on the Shell/HS80] and I looked it up on Amazon Music, listening though the Juzear Clear, and thought wow... the YouTube version sounds SO much better... well.. swapped out the Clear for the HS80 from AM/R4, and wow... sound quality went back up! Although I still think the youtube version still sounds better.'

TRN Shell is SO GOOD. Continues to surprise me, but speaking of surprises, the Fengru IEM's are superb. My favorite is the BP LCP, due to it's huge stage and spatial cues, and it's natural but really crisp and extended treble, but mine has very bad channel imbalance that goes in and out, which is highly disappointing. Gonna ask for a replacement and see how that goes? Next is the CF3 (3? It's a dual DD?!), which is also stellar! Very similar to the BP LCP, but just slightly more reserved treble air and extension, but still possessing natural timbre and excellent balance and bass response, with a very clean midrange. It's harder to drive than either the BP or the Spark, with slightly less stage, but it's nothing intimate or anything. Just not quite as immersive as the BP, and about the same as the Spark. I guess I have to try a couple more of these Fengru IEMs, because they are actually better and with a more natural tone than the KZ's in that range.

 

[Barndoor]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-penon-official-thread.934523/post-18639323 read all about it.

A surprise to me given Penon have their own cable business.
The picture above looked like it could be nice, then I saw the face plate. What were they thinking?!

 

[Ineras]

Xinhs HS80 graph:

It's like an ivipQ V12 that was dropped on its head when it was a baby.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

Xinhs HS80 graph:


It's like an ivipQ V12 that was dropped on its head when it was a baby.

Both of those look ugly on paper.

 

[Hypops]

A surprise to me given Penon have their own cable business.
The picture above looked like it could be nice, then I saw the face plate. What were they thinking?!

This is how I feel about 99% of IEM designs. Manufacturers keep acting as though everything that glitters is literally gold.

But you're right. This might be one of the most hideous offenders I've seen. Penon has never been great with visual design, but this one is exceptionally bad. Black with grey streaks and silver glitter on transluscent red shells. I don't even know where to begin handing out the awards for visual crimes against humanity. Maybe they were deliberately aiming for rotten, partially chewed strawberries?

EDIT: You know what, though? Penon doesn't get the credit they deserve for not including their name or a logo anywhere on their faceplates. I wish more manufacturers would do that. I'll give them a well-deserved +1 bonus point to counteract their -9999 style points.

 

[BS5711]

This is how I feel about 99% of IEM designs. Manufacturers keep acting as though everything that glitters is literally gold.

But you're right. This might be one of the most hideous offenders I've seen. Penon has never been great with visual design, but this one is exceptionally bad. Black with grey streaks and silver glitter on transluscent red shells. I don't even know where to begin handing out the awards for visual crimes against humanity.

Maybe they were deliberately aiming for rotten, partially chewed strawberries?

Agreed, maybe the agreement was that the cable had to be the visual star of the show.

Also, if making a colab using cable with a 2 pin connector for a recessed IEM how about make the IEM with a recess !

Of course I strongly dislike the Penon/Head Fi marketing model so I am not the most impartial of judges

 

[Redcarmoose]

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/earacoustic-audio-sta-hi-end-series.28080/reviews#review-37566

Brand new! Brand new review!

 

[o0genesis0o]

A surprise to me given Penon have their own cable business.
The picture above looked like it could be nice, then I saw the face plate. What were they thinking?!

It looks familiar maybe it resembles some versions of Traillii.

Edit2: kinda like this one https://shop.musicteck.com/products/oriolus-traillii-jp-new-generation-electrostatic-hybrid-iem-black-and-red-special-version

Edit: Cadmus II for a collab seems … stingy. Unless the IEM itself wouldn’t cost that much. I guess 1.2k

 

[nikbr]

I also got some very nice cables for a few of my IEMs, to try and maximize synergy and colorway matching.

Oh, you sure maximized that SP01

"

"

i think you would love the Phantom SE, you should try that one out sometime if possible

How awesome must that one be then if this basic offering of theirs is so well done ...

---

Only 85 pages from 10k!

 

[Leonarfd]

awesome review friend

Thanks, did put more time than usual into this one. Only negative it got a little to long

So they fixed the brightness issue, but what about the drivability issue? did they fix that legitimately, or did they "fix" it with some DSP trick?

What I will test this weekend is using it without the USB c cable, can then hear if it's fixed by DSP or tuning in the shell.

 

[PROblemdetected]

The Iem world is out of control

thats why I move to a new hobby

 

[o0genesis0o]

The Iem world is out of control

thats why I move to a new hobby

What's with the doom and gloom. IEMs are better than ever now

 

[Barndoor]

The Iem world is out of control

thats why I move to a new hobby

Driver wars? that is so 2020 - number of different driver types wars these days!

 

[GroovyAudio]

My ISN H20 tracking order has been stuck to: "BUD / Loading completed, sent to the transit center" since April 1st, I'm starting to feel worried that I'm not gonna receive my order. Has this happened to anybody else?