[-rowan-]

Flow in the house!

Of course it had to go on the Serial first. Noticeably more vivid, a bit louder than the Leo (had to take the volume 2-3 steps down on the N5ii and N3Pro) and the extra bit of extension and oomph it brings to the Serial bass driver is so much fun. Not your garden variety lean mean silver.

Wondering if it could use a bit of burn in though - not getting as much air from it as the Leo currently, for one. @rawbine and any other Flow owners, did you notice yours change much with burn in?

And this is really odd but… I’m hearing the exact opposite with the Spirals and Xelastecs as I did with the Leo - now with the Flow, it’s the Spirals that are producing the more musical, airy and complete treble… anyway I suppose it doesn’t matter so long as it plays well with something.

 

[feverfive]

Flow in the house!

Of course it had to go on the Serial first. Noticeably more vivid, a bit louder than the Leo (had to take the volume 2-3 steps down on the N5ii and N3Pro) and the extra bit of extension and oomph it brings to the Serial bass driver is so much fun. Not your garden variety lean mean silver.

Wondering if it could use a bit of burn in though - not getting as much air from it as the Leo currently, for one. @rawbine and any other Flow owners, did you notice yours change much with burn in?

And this is really odd but… I’m hearing the exact opposite with the Spirals and Xelastecs as I did with the Leo - now with the Flow, it’s the Spirals that are producing the more musical, airy and complete treble… anyway I suppose it doesn’t matter so long as it plays well with something.

I've been nosing around the Flow cable as well (potentially for use with my Thieaudio Monarch MKII), so I appreciate reading any impressions. I equivocated enough to miss out on Black Friday discount, but that's cool; better that than buy without having a good sense of what I'm getting. I need to spend time with the MKII to figure out what I want from a cable for this specific set.

 

[-rowan-]

Man, even the color matches! indulge me in the pairing if you don’t mind later on as I’m contemplating getting the Volt.

Definitely!

Btw the CEMA Au+Ag is another good pairing for the Volt although you don’t have that anymore.

Anyway leaving the Flow on the burn in rig overnight…

M3X battery life is insanely good but it's definitely a warmer, less detailed source in my opinion. It really depends what it's paired with. Works well with my Legends since they are already so resolving, but didn't go well with things like Serial/Aladdin. The M6 Pro 21 I had for a while was "cleaner" and tuned more towards neutral.

Thanks! I reckon I don’t need a warmer less detailed source. Seriously tempted by the M6 now (tho trying to ignore the presence of the Pro). If you don’t have the M6 Pro anymore, what else in your opinion would match well with Serial and other Penons?

I've been nosing around the Flow cable as well (potentially for use with my Thieaudio Monarch MKII), so I appreciate reading any impressions. I equivocated enough to miss out on Black Friday discount, but that's cool; better that than buy without having a good sense of what I'm getting. I need to spend time with the MKII to figure out what I want from a cable for this specific set.

Occasionally tempted by the Monarchs but haven’t got either versions, but apart from that I’m happy to help with any additional Flow impressions or comparisons where I can!

 

[Acuno]

Thanks! I reckon I don’t need a warmer less detailed source. Seriously tempted by the M6 now (tho trying to ignore the presence of the Pro). If you don’t have the M6 Pro anymore, what else in your opinion would match well with Serial and other Penons?

I ended up selling the M6 Pro 21 because it sounded similar enough to my E1DA 9038D dongle which is a lot cheaper. Now I just have a powerful neutral source, and a warm, smooth DAP for whenever I want to mix things up. Highly recommend the 9038D (or 9038S if you want balanced), unless you really need a DAP form factor. Paired well with the Serials, and can even drive full-sized cans.

 

[Xinlisupreme]

I ended up selling the M6 Pro 21 because it sounded similar enough to my E1DA 9038D dongle which is a lot cheaper. Now I just have a powerful neutral source, and a warm, smooth DAP for whenever I want to mix things up. Highly recommend the 9038D (or 9038S if you want balanced), unless you really need a DAP form factor. Paired well with the Serials, and can even drive full-sized cans.

Maybe you’d like iBasso DX240
@ehjie has it and could tell you how pairs with serial

 

[rawbine]

Flow in the house!

Of course it had to go on the Serial first. Noticeably more vivid, a bit louder than the Leo (had to take the volume 2-3 steps down on the N5ii and N3Pro) and the extra bit of extension and oomph it brings to the Serial bass driver is so much fun. Not your garden variety lean mean silver.

Wondering if it could use a bit of burn in though - not getting as much air from it as the Leo currently, for one. @rawbine and any other Flow owners, did you notice yours change much with burn in?

And this is really odd but… I’m hearing the exact opposite with the Spirals and Xelastecs as I did with the Leo - now with the Flow, it’s the Spirals that are producing the more musical, airy and complete treble… anyway I suppose it doesn’t matter so long as it plays well with something.

Finally!

Our impressions on the pairing are fairly consistent, vivid and extended while bass end retained. For comparison, Neo is bass light and bright but not on the Orb surprisingly. So much variables. Lolz.

With this pairing I’d say all traces of Penon’s DNA are pretty much intact, analog’ish, gorgeous vocals, bass done right, extended and pretty detailed/technical.

I don’t usually burn-in my cables, no issues with air from what I’ve been hearing though I’ve had the Flow for over a month now.

On ear-tips I think we can agree that Azlas, Spirals and ePros are all good for Serial/Penons!

Definitely!

Btw the CEMA Au+Ag is another good pairing for the Volt although you don’t have that anymore.

Anyway leaving the Flow on the burn in rig overnight…

Thanks! I reckon I don’t need a warmer less detailed source. Seriously tempted by the M6 now (tho trying to ignore the presence of the Pro). If you don’t have the M6 Pro anymore, what else in your opinion would match well with Serial and other Penons?

Good to know! I’ll keep my Mix on standby!

 

[ehjie]

Maybe you’d like iBasso DX240
@ehjie has it and could tell you how pairs with serial

#7 - It is consistent till this day.
But today, we get more clarity, better definition. The bass is tight, textured. Mids are superlative as ever and that treble definition, a new chapter in Penon.
Now we got the Penon house sound, with a brilliant, detailed top end - without any difficulty in hearing them...
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/penon-audio-thread-post-your-impressions-here.934523/post-16696875

 

[BobJS]

#7 - It is consistent till this day.
But today, we get more clarity, better definition. The bass is tight, textured. Mids are superlative as ever and that treble definition, a new chapter in Penon.
Now we got the Penon house sound, with a brilliant, detailed top end - without any difficulty in hearing them...
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/penon-audio-thread-post-your-impressions-here.934523/post-16696875

DX240 incoming today. Maybe I'll try to reproduce your picture. (though mine is black)

 

[ehjie]

DX240 incoming today. Maybe I'll try to reproduce your picture. (though mine is black)

Congrats! Another homerun from Ibasso.
It fires up all 3 dynamic drivers with consummate ease.
Gain: Med., V=50 concert level loud for me, the Serials sing remarkably well...

 

[ehjie]

This track was playing...
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 42px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer...bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" seamless><a href="">A Lovely Day Tomorrow EP (with The Ecstasy of St Theresa) by SEA POWER (Golden Chariot Records Releases)</a></iframe>

 

[-rowan-]

Finally!

Our impressions on the pairing are fairly consistent, vivid and extended while bass end retained. For comparison, Neo is bass light and bright but not on the Orb surprisingly. So much variables. Lolz.

Yep and to add to this, Leo isn’t short on bass, doesn’t make the music any leaner than it actually is, and injects a lot of air in the soundstage. It’s also very natural and musical - very extended treble, not sharp or forced at all.

I don’t usually burn-in my cables, no issues with air from what I’ve been hearing though I’ve had the Flow for over a month now.

I don’t usually burn in my cables either - they usually sound as they should out of the box but Flow was so different from Leo I thought it worth asking… or maybe it’s just not fair to compare a brand new cable with one that’s been working almost non-stop for 3+ years already…

Good to know! I’ll keep my Mix on standby!

I don’t have the Mix… do you know if it’s similar to the PAC480? That one was a pleasant surprise - hadn’t expected to like it so much that I bought another one.

I ended up selling the M6 Pro 21 because it sounded similar enough to my E1DA 9038D dongle which is a lot cheaper. Now I just have a powerful neutral source, and a warm, smooth DAP for whenever I want to mix things up. Highly recommend the 9038D (or 9038S if you want balanced), unless you really need a DAP form factor. Paired well with the Serials, and can even drive full-sized cans.

Do you know if the 9038D (or S, for the matter) works on iPhones now? The sound is really tempting and I was reading up about them at one point but getting it to work with an iPhone looked so complicated I got distracted…

The other thing is battery drain, which is also why I’m using my W2 a bit less than I thought and looking at DAPs again.

Maybe you’d like iBasso DX240
@ehjie has it and could tell you how pairs with serial

I’m absolutely sure I would

It’s also some ways over my budget and I’m not sure I could stretch to that so soon after my 11.11/BF spree…

 

[Acuno]

Do you know if the 9038D (or S, for the matter) works on iPhones now? The sound is really tempting and I was reading up about them at one point but getting it to work with an iPhone looked so complicated I got distracted…

Last I heard, I don't think it works for iPhones. Could be wrong though. The thread at ASR would have more info.

The other thing is battery drain, which is also why I’m using my W2 a bit less than I thought and looking at DAPs again.

Yeah lmao it can be an issue

 

[BobJS]

Congrats! Another homerun from Ibasso.
It fires up all 3 dynamic drivers with consummate ease.
Gain: Med., V=50 concert level loud for me, the Serials sing remarkably well...

I'm on medium gain. V=25 is comfortable for me. I can't get it over 35. Either your source material is recorded at a low volume, or you're well on your way to going deaf!

Be careful!!

 

[szore]

Brilliant, thank you. EST50 similar tribrid to MEST MKII which I'm not a fan of - do you know if they sound similar in as far as technical but less musicality/engagement? It was my love/hate for MEST that led me to a DD obsession!

What did you hate about the MEST?

 

[szore]

The big question: I have and love the 3DT, do I need the serial?