[Dsnuts]

Agreed the tuning on the BA end is very complimentary of the bass end. I know folks might have some reservations of the driver count on the Orb but I can assure everyone your gonna get a complete sound. If you can tune a full range of sound on a single BA..Which is much more difficult to do vs using a single dynamic. Add the dynamic and your getting a much more richer experience.

I have them in my ears during lunch time at my work today. Vocals sounds absolutely superb on these as they did on the Spheres. I mentioned how good the coherency is between the dynamic and the full ranged BA used in these and I stand by that.

A bit of a discovery on these. So I got these Penon made cheapos.

Just for grins I threw on a set of these cables. $15. Since the Orb does not come with balanced cables. Throw one of these in there. These match up much better than you would expect on the Orb. I was pleasantly surprised how good the Orb sounded with these. In balanced of course. If you plan on going balanced with the Orb and don't want to spend much.. These are solid cables for not that much and matches sonically with the Orbs. https://penonaudio.com/accessories/earphone-cable/mmcx/mmcx-silver-plated-replacement-cable.html

So here is something new. These look like a newer basic cable but with a purchase of a new item you get a $10 discount. Nice.

Havent tried this cable but looks like even a better deal. And for cheaper if you get another item with it. Ends up being $10
https://penonaudio.com/6-strands-19-cores-silver-plated-iem-cable.html

 

[pumin]

I have a tube headphone amp that's designed for full-size can. Since its signal is quite hot, so when I use w/ IEM that's 16 Ohm, there is hiss and I have to use an IEMatch to get rid of the hiss. From IEmatch Specification, it is compatible w/ headphone impedance from 16 Ohm to 600 Ohm. (12.5 Ohm minimum impedance) Since this ORB has 10ohm impedance, it's not compatible (at least on paper) and I think there will be even more hiss w/my amp. , or I would just skip the amp for this iem totally. Anyway, I'm thinking about pulling a trigger for this so let's see how it will work out.

btw, is the cable that came with Orb a cheapo kind though? @Dsnuts From its general sonic, would it match better w/ a silver plated upgrade cable?

 

[Dsnuts]

Stock cable is not bad, it is much better than what you usually get from in ear monitors. 8 core SPC it looks like. It matches sonically well with the Orb. Soft and supple, ear guides aren't stiff. No chord noise as these are worn over the ears. They probably used this same cable when tuning the Orb. This being said, the only problem I have with it is that it is single ended. Everyone will be able to use the cable. I like to use all my earphones in balanced out of my sources.

If I was to put a price on it the cable looks like a $30ish 8 core SPC cable. Where your spending the money for the Orb is with the design and tuning.

Will these benefit from an upgraded cable? Absolutely. Especially if you use them in balanced like I am.

As per sensitivity. These are fairly sensitive. But I use a Shanling M6 pro and my Fiio M15 and both do very well with sensitive monitors. These aren't as hiss prone as the Solaris or Andromedas but they do need a fairly low I/O source.

The benefit there is these don't need much in the way of power to drive them to full potential. In fact I got the Micd version of the pack in cable to test out on my phone which I will do for my review. Idea there is these are easily driven from your phone and have conversations using them.

These would make for perfect Movie watching and or gaming actually due to the outstanding bass end of them and vocal clarity. Lol. I might have to try this using my laptop.

 

[audio123]

Agreed the tuning on the BA end is very complimentary of the bass end. I know folks might have some reservations of the driver count on the Orb but I can assure everyone your gonna get a complete sound. If you can tune a full range of sound on a single BA..Which is much more difficult to do vs using a single dynamic. Add the dynamic and your getting a much more richer experience.

I have them in my ears during lunch time at my work today. Vocals sounds absolutely superb on these as they did on the Spheres. I mentioned how good the coherency is between the dynamic and the full ranged BA used in these and I stand by that.

A bit of a discovery on these. So I got these Penon made cheapos.


Just for grins I threw on a set of these cables. $15. Since the Orb does not come with balanced cables. Throw one of these in there. These match up much better than you would expect on the Orb. I was pleasantly surprised how good the Orb sounded with these. In balanced of course. If you plan on going balanced with the Orb and don't want to spend much.. These are solid cables for not that much and matches sonically with the Orbs. https://penonaudio.com/accessories/earphone-cable/mmcx/mmcx-silver-plated-replacement-cable.html

So here is something new. These look like a newer basic cable but with a purchase of a new item you get a $10 discount. Nice.

Havent tried this cable but looks like even a better deal. And for cheaper if you get another item with it. Ends up being $10
https://penonaudio.com/6-strands-19-cores-silver-plated-iem-cable.html

Yea the vocals are really good. I think the Orb just goes to show that it is all about the sound despite boasting a simple driver configuration. Same as for the Sphere. So far, tuning for both Sphere and Orb is spot on .

 

[DannyBai]

Sphere is a pretty good detailed iem. They maxed out that single ba quite well.

 

[audio123]

Sphere is a pretty good detailed iem. They maxed out that single ba quite well.

Yea 1BA done right.

For those interested, here is a size comparison of the Orb & Sphere.

 

[HanselPA]

The Orb just got my atention!! I was almost ready to pull my wallet on the T800 in a few days since AE is having a discount, but I wasn’t 100% sure , T800 earpiece is huge and treble could be an issue( as per the reviewers ).
Thanks guys for all the impressions !!
Decisions, decisions...

 

[audio123]

The Orb just got my atention!! I was almost ready to pull my wallet on the T800 in a few days since AE is having a discount, but I wasn’t 100% sure , T800 earpiece is huge and treble could be an issue( as per the reviewers ).
Thanks guys for all the impressions !!
Decisions, decisions...

I have mentioned on another thread before that the T800 lacks soundstage albeit crisp & clear. Honestly, I think you will enjoy the Orb much better with its smoother and fuller-bodied presentation. Cheers!

 

[IEMusic]

I have mentioned on another thread before that the T800 lacks soundstage albeit crisp & clear. Honestly, I think you will enjoy the Orb much better with its smoother and fuller-bodied presentation. Cheers!

Have you by any chance heard the ThieAudio L3? I‘m very interested in the Orb, and right now, the L3 is kind of my benchmark.

 

[audio123]

Have you by any chance heard the ThieAudio L3? I‘m very interested in the Orb, and right now, the L3 is kind of my benchmark.

Unfortunately, I have not heard the L3 yet.

 

[DannyBai]

Yea 1BA done right.

For those interested, here is a size comparison of the Orb & Sphere.

Thanks for the pic. Sphere for me is one of the best isolating and perfect size/fit earphones I own.

 

[audio123]

Thanks for the pic. Sphere for me is one of the best isolating and perfect size/fit earphones I own.

Glad to be of help. Both the Orb & Sphere have very good fit.

 

[Dsnuts]

Treble sensitive guys would do much better with the Orbs. Love how the sonics are well undercontrol even the full end bass. It don't encroach and is well separated from the mids.

Been doing some cable rolling on the Orb and I got the new ISN GC4 on them this morning. As rich sounding as the Orb is. It got richer. Literally.

I keep typing about the outstanding bass end of the Orb and with these cables the bass quality goes into overdrive. Orb is quickly becoming a guilty pleasure for me. So easy to listen to and relax.

The Orb has made me realize just how important passive isolation is to enjoying earphones in an outdoor environment. I have a lot of hybrids that don't isolate as well as they should and SQ takes a dive when outdoors. Not so with the Orbs. You can hear that lush detail all day long outdoors. These might isolate a bit too well. Lol.

 

[audio123]

Treble sensitive guys would do much better with the Orbs. Love how the sonics are well undercontrol even the full end bass. It don't encroach and is well separated from the mids.

Been doing some cable rolling on the Orb and I got the new ISN GC4 on them this morning. As rich sounding as the Orb is. It got richer. Literally.

I keep typing about the outstanding bass end of the Orb and with these cables the bass quality goes into overdrive. Orb is quickly becoming a guilty pleasure for me. So easy to listen to and relax.

The Orb has made me realize just how important passive isolation is to enjoying earphones in an outdoor environment. I have a lot of hybrids that don't isolate as well as they should and SQ takes a dive when outdoors. Not so with the Orbs. You can hear that lush detail all day long outdoors. These might isolate a bit too well. Lol.

My Orb has clocked 100 hours already. There is an even tighter presentation. Honestly, this is just outstanding hands down.

 

[IEMusic]

@Dsnuts, I’m curious if you have or are well familiar with the JVC FDX1/FD01/FD02? If so, I would really appreciate a general comparison, to give me a better idea of what the Orb sounds like. Thanks.