[-rowan-]

Have the other folks who ordered the Conductor received theirs?

This wasn’t quite the post I thought I was going to make but I’m pretty struck by the Conductor’s abilities with this cable.

With NiceHCK Epicseeker - supposedly 6N pure silver, and the cable that I’ve been using with Voltage. Very transparent and natural with excellent resolution and a large stage and, far as I can tell, no apparent colouring of its own. For this reason I find it fascinating to test transducers with this cable.

Now I’m not asking anyone to go and buy this to pair with the Conductor, for obvious reasons. But I suggest that you bring your most resolving, transparent cable to the table and see what it does for the Conductor.

Because here is where I’m hearing how the Conductor scales up in detail, resolution and dimensional imaging when given free rein.

Here it also becomes very apparent that stock cable was the bottleneck to the bass. The lush mids and natural instrument and vocal timbre are a given. And the airy natural open highs get ample headroom in a way that makes it hard to go straight back to IEMs.

Ok so now that I’ve got that out of the way, here are a few more financially realistic pairings I enjoyed with Conductor, to add to my last cable rolling impressions. All of them are more coloured, less resolving, less detailed - but not necessarily less enjoyable if that’s what one is looking for. All impressions are with DC Elite.

Penon GS849 - compared with the stock cable, it fleshed out the Conductor’s lower mids and bass to the extent that double bass in jazz ensembles became actually quite enjoyable. Sure I could do with a bit more sub bass pressure but that’s what IEMs are for I suppose. (I liked GD849 more elsewhere but not with Conductor - messed too much with its tonality).

NiceHCK DeepFog - richer mids and bass than GS849. Cons: It’s heavier than GS849 (which itself is on the chonky side) and its fabric sleeve is slightly microphonic even though not the worst offender.

Penon Space - bit of an odd but interesting one in its synergy with the Conductor. For some reason, incredible for vocal purity. The flip side (or not, depending on your priorities) - it’s intensely focused on the vocal range and pushes everything else on the stage further back. Kind of the exact opposite of Shock, for those who are familiar with it.

(I’ve also gotten used to the form factor of the Conductor, if anyone was wondering.)

 

[Saraugie]

By the way there is a reason why I mention the Volts on my Rival *reader.

Hi, what is a Rival *reader?

 

[Erkil]

Hi, what is a Rival *reader?

He probably meant to write "review"

 

[fablestruck]

Yep that sounds correct, I found Mext the better overall in everything but I bought Fan 3 to see if the BC would perform as good as Mext which it didn't quite reach it. The rumble wasn't as good for me

It's a great set overall price wise and certainly a good rec for anyone starting out. It was never a fair fight between the two but I'll say the reason my Mext even got lost was because I didn't pay attention to it cause I was using Fan 3 more lol.

About the BC utilised in both MEXT & Fan 3, I believe it is a midrange related driver in both IEMs.. That is, it must not be the cause of Bass rumble.
I think Kinera has a DD-based BCD on their Loki and Veradni IEMs who is a bass enhancing driver.

 

[karaokeroanoke]

About the BC utilised in both MEXT & Fan 3, I believe it is a midrange related driver in both IEMs.. That is, it must not be the cause of Bass rumble.
I think Kinera has a DD-based BCD on their Loki and Veradni IEMs who is a bass enhancing driver.

If that is true then this makes the search for my top even harder, guess I'll have to make friends with trying them then :c

 

[DrewVz]

I interchanged MEXT and Fan 3 on a Fiio KA17 listening to the song you mention above.
I would say that for me it isn't the bass that differs that much. Fan 3 rumble is more than adequate to my ears and not really lacking.
But one thing that does stand out in the sound signature is that the treble sounds more controlled with MEXT. Overall the sound with mids and treble is more coherent and natural I might say. The upper mids and vocals more full and real.
Overall Fan 3 is a fantastic IEM and I guess with other genres there might even be an edge over MEXT. But the latter sounds here as a more 'grown-up's' IEM , if I may be allowed the term.

I think I agree with everything here. MEXT is definitely more "sophisticated" overall. However, I don't know for certain that the "rumble" is due to the BC elements, and there is no doubt that MEXT bass is at a slightly higher level, but at a higher cost. I find MEXT to be better all-around and more balanced, but I find Fan3 to be more interesting. Fan3 + Space cable offers more sense of space and I'm actually quite stunned that the 2 BAs can generate such detail, imaging, and separation without incorporating any ESTs. I wasn't quite so impressed with MEXT in this area. Still, Fan3 + Space cable keeps me interested simply due to the staging, crispness, and separation. It's a keeper for the price.

I sold MEXT once I got Szalayi, and I sold Szalayi once I got Voltage. For me, Voltage is better than any of these IEMs by a considerable margin, although MEXT bass ranks higher, just going by memory. That being said, EST50+GS849 trounces all of them with regard to bass, and my IMR Enigma+ buries them all anyway. So there it is, clear as mud.

That's why IEMs are like a Lay's potato chip - you can't have just one.

 

[fablestruck]

I also have an Enigma (non-EST).
Maybe the most special sounding IEM I had experienced, probably due to its CNT-DD / MEMS implementation. IMR's next one (if it ever comes out...) I think might address the treble issues that have some reported, by replacing the AMT with the 4 BAs.
In any case I agree. Different IEMs, different flavours, but the quality factor is always important.
And yes, since you mentioned that, Fan 3 maybe has an edge regarding stage and imaging over MEXT, especially with certain genres. Definitely a lovely IEM for the price.

 

[Redcarmoose]

I’m pretty sure I have found my endgame, at least for a while? And I don’t know why I didn’t figure out this combo before? It is the WM1Z with Penon ASOS+X cable, the Night Oblivion Butastur with switches 1 and 2 off. I found the L Penon Liqueur ear-tips and MrWalkman 1Z Walkman One Warm combined with MX3 to simply work wonders.

The journey has taken a while and I have been learning all the time. The first case of learning here was normally the 1Z has too much bass authority (for me normally) yet it blends with the Night Oblivion perfectly. The two kind-of shake-hands. The 1Z is adding any bass authority to the Night Oblivion BA bass drivers. Next the ASOS+X is adding even more stage and mood. The final thing is the Penon Liqueur ear-tips are creating a deep solid fitment.

Now why do I like it so much? For starters it plays everything from OSTs to Techno to Extreme Metal……It just does it all. Now the set-up here is also maximizing the reduction of any BA timbre. The Night Oblivion Butastur has very little off BA timbre anyways on its own, except the combo of WM1Z being darker and an authoritative V seems to lower it some, then the ASOS+X does the rest. The bass stage is so perfect, but more than that with this set-up the bass kicks……the bass is huge in Techno tracks. Yet it has the best of both worlds here where it has inner and outer detail, and is fast. The one time when this exact combo wins out over DDs in use. The main reason it wins out is the bass BAs now have the texture that they were normally missing which normally made DDs better, but not anymore. At least for awhile?

Part of all this happened due to realizing just how BA off-timbre is as a phenomenon. To where it may be maybe about 97% not there, I mean I can hear a slight tinge of it, but your mind also adapts later with prolonged listening sessions, to where it is really acceptable now, and of course it is not happening all the time. But my biggest realization in regards to discovering BA timbre is that I actually have a collection of test songs where most of the time it is really noticeable, mainly with electric guitar timbre. And with this set-up just the way it is I can travel through those files and realize every song does not have or has a super small amount of off-timbre.

This was the @AmericanSpirit dream and since the Night Oblivion Butastur is now sold-out at most retail locations, I sincerely hope he is working on Night Oblivion Butastur 2? Or they will at least put the original back into production, as it is truly a gift to the community! Still though the perfectionist he is maybe he will leave what work he has done as a final statement of progress? Actually two masters are involved with this project, one Jinny Tan and one Head-fi member AmericanSpirt. Where AmericanSpirt came up with tuning ideas and Jinny Tan made such things a reality. Yet we can’t forget Penon too, as they are the ones who put up the money which in fact brought this whole project to fruition!

I never in a million years would have thought adding this cable would do what it did, as the only thing in this combo I did not try before was the cable, because last May when I reviewed the Night Oblivion Butastur the ASOS+X had not been invented yet. The other crazy thing about this set-up is here we are in the sonic mix of three Head-Fi enthusiasts. Yep……..it took three locals to make this happen here.

1. @AmericanSpirit
2. Bosk (came to Penon) with the idea of adding 4 more strands to the original ASOS+ 8 strands to make a 12 strand monster.
3. @MrWalkman took the regular LINX firmware and made the WM1Z a very different animal in the end, and to him I am forever grateful.

And while the Sony IER-Z1R is probably truly number one, still the Night Oblivion Butastur is a whole different experience which creates value........and it is more well rounded than the IER-Z1R. Oh...........and while I often brag how well the IER-Z1R fits, you can't help but notice how small the Night Oblivion Butastur is in the end!

 

[LoryWiv]

I think I agree with everything here. MEXT is definitely more "sophisticated" overall. However, I don't know for certain that the "rumble" is due to the BC elements, and there is no doubt that MEXT bass is at a slightly higher level, but at a higher cost. I find MEXT to be better all-around and more balanced, but I find Fan3 to be more interesting. Fan3 + Space cable offers more sense of space and I'm actually quite stunned that the 2 BAs can generate such detail, imaging, and separation without incorporating any ESTs. I wasn't quite so impressed with MEXT in this area. Still, Fan3 + Space cable keeps me interested simply due to the staging, crispness, and separation. It's a keeper for the price.

I sold MEXT once I got Szalayi, and I sold Szalayi once I got Voltage. For me, Voltage is better than any of these IEMs by a considerable margin, although MEXT bass ranks higher, just going by memory. That being said, EST50+GS849 trounces all of them with regard to bass, and my IMR Enigma+ buries them all anyway. So there it is, clear as mud.

That's why IEMs are like a Lay's potato chip - you can't have just one.

I agree Fan 3 with Space cable is amazing value, but tonight rolled my Penon Mix cable onto Fan 3 and it is better. More treble extension and air, bass tightens up and the unique imaging and sound stage with BC on is preserved.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Where the Space walks a walk of even and correct fluid colorless transparency and brings the sound stage over the OS133 cable, the Mix Cable brings upper treble sparkles and energy. The Mix is also about contrast and a great cable to have on hand! Though I have not heard it with the Fan 3?

I agree Fan 3 with Space cable is amazing value, but tonight rolled my Penon Mix cable onto Fan 3 and it is better. More treble extension and air, bass tightens up and the unique imaging and sound stage with BC on is preserved.

 

[Kallbo]

I agree Fan 3 with Space cable is amazing value, but tonight rolled my Penon Mix cable onto Fan 3 and it is better. More treble extension and air, bass tightens up and the unique imaging and sound stage with BC on is preserved.

Same result for me when i use Xinhs HS004 and HS17.
Sorry to say, but the 60 Bucks for the Space was a BIG waste of money(for me).

 

[Tanalasta]

Just a little casual listening tonight. Paired to Hugo2 with the Orpheus 4.4mm adapter.

Impact - rich, detailed and luscious multi-BA and lovely for female vocals and a-capella/acoustic mix. Slightly forward on the vocal register. Well extended treble. It's fun. Not sure about the cable solder/join to the plug as I'm having a channel drop-out from it. But I quite enjoy Impact.

Rival - Immediate depth and scale from the dual BCD. I have a tenuous relationship with boners. They rely on a proper fit and contact which isn't difficult but if your IEM isn't aligned or rotated out of axis, the loss of the BCD is immediately noticeable. I have my "tuning dial" on 11 o'clock which is just warm of neutral and it seems to align with my preferences. The boners give it the presence that brings it closer to a full sized headphone than the average IEM. This is a rich, comforting IEM that seems paired well to the stock cable.

Drove Rival out of my Naim Headphone Edition and it seemed to really bring it out at about v40 (which is about what I would drive Utopia). This thing loves power.

 

[Nealz]

Hello all, so I've recently purchased a Penon 10th Anniversary Edition (and really loved it). Today I've had the chance to audition Penon Fan 3 as well. I found the Fan 3 to have a more mid centric tuning, while the 10th has more authorative bass and better details in the upper-highs. But overall both has the Penon sound (tuning), very lush and fun sounding.

Now I'm getting a good discount to purchase the Penon Fan 3 and space cable. And I'm wondering is it worth having both of should I consider investing in another brand since I already own the Penon 10th?

Looking forward to your thoughts, TIA.

 

[Bosk]

Hello all, so I've recently purchased a Penon 10th Anniversary Edition (and really loved it). Today I've had the chance to audition Penon Fan 3 as well. I found the Fan 3 to have a more mid centric tuning, while the 10th has more authorative bass and better details in the upper-highs. But overall both has the Penon sound (tuning), very lush and fun sounding.

Now I'm getting a good discount to purchase the Penon Fan 3 and space cable. And I'm wondering is it worth having both of should I consider investing in another brand since I already own the Penon 10th?

Looking forward to your thoughts, TIA.

The correct number of earphones is always n+1.

 

[helloh3adfi]

Reluctantly selling my Penon SERIAL, but I just don't listen much lately.