[ruffandruff]

- accidental post

 

[drewbadour]

Long shot but anyone compare Dark Magician 1 and Vortex yet?

 

[ssantan2]

Gotta give a shout out to Penon for a great set of buds! I love the portability of this setup but I think they would be better paired with the UTWS5 for some extra power

 

[cn11]

That's such a cool portable setup!!

 

[LCMusicLover]

That's such a cool portable setup!!

Love my Volts (and my IT07s) with UTWS5s. Wish they were both mmcx or 2-pin -- the little mmcx-to-2pin adapters hurt the ergonomics with the Volts a little. Certainly not enough of an issue to make me spring for another whole set of UTWS5s. Just slightly annoying.

 

[Acuno]

Long shot but anyone compare Dark Magician 1 and Vortex yet?

From memory: DM1 is tuned closer towards neutral or warm-neutral whereas Vortex has probably +2-3 db to trebles in comparison. I thought the Vortex was more interesting to listen to even though I liked the overall signature less. Vocals are better on the Vortex. Better midbass punch/texture on DM1. Technicals on both are as expected for single DDs (exceedingly average). If they were the same price I would choose the DM however I think the Vortex is priced much much more competitively. It will mostly come down to signature preference, but hard to recommend a $600 single DD like the DM. Also DM has a funky shell and gave me fit issues.

Edit: mids on Vortex were a bit more 'recessed' than the DM1, as expected from the treble boost

 

[cn11]

From memory: DM1 is tuned closer towards neutral or warm-neutral whereas Vortex has probably +2-3 db to trebles in comparison. I thought the Vortex was more interesting to listen to even though I liked the overall signature less. Vocals are better on the Vortex. Better midbass punch/texture on DM1. Technicals on both are as expected for single DDs (exceedingly average). If they were the same price I would choose the DM however I think the Vortex is priced much much more competitively. DM has a funky shell and gave me fit issues.

How does the low end compare between the Vortex and the Legend (noticed in your sig that you have it)?

 

[Acuno]

How does the low end compare between the Vortex and the Legend (noticed in your sig that you have it)?

Legend is BA bass and it sounds pretty soft. Definitely the weak point of the IEM, I wish it had a DD on the low end. Pretty good bass resolution but it's a bit too mid-bassy for me on 020 or with the bass switch on. I listen exclusively 000 where there is minimal issue. Legend is an IEM for MIDS.

I don't have the Vortex anymore but I though it was pretty much normal DD bass. The bass was present and supported the rest of the signature, but not a focus like most Penon IEMs. Not a lot of sub-bass there though.

 

[cn11]

Cool, thank you for the comparison. I do like a good bass foundation so I would say the Legend is not for me. Vortex bass is pretty close to just right... Wish it has maybe a hair more ultra low extension. Penon sure does mids well though!

 

[ssantan2]

So I did a thing...

I wanted to try my hand at some (reversible) modding to pull more bass out so I removed the vent filter and it worked very well! I think it might have worked too well as Im getting quite a lot of bass compared to before so I still need to listen more before I decide if I want to put the filter back

 

[BobJS]

So I did a thing...



I wanted to try my hand at some (reversible) modding to pull more bass out so I removed the vent filter and it worked very well! I think it might have worked too well as Im getting quite a lot of bass compared to before so I still need to listen more before I decide if I want to put the filter back

Any hints on what tool or method to use to safely and reversibly remove the filter?

 

[ssantan2]

Any hints on what tool or method to use to safely and reversibly remove the filter?

I used a little sowing pin and worked the edges of the filter to scoop it out and then I put it on a plastic sheet with other filters so if I want to go back I can. I'm gonna tip roll some today with it off. If I put it back on I'll send a pic so you can see what it looks like

 

[ssantan2]

So after doing some tip rolling and A/Bing I can say the following statements compared to the Serial:
1) With the filter off, The Vortex makes the Serial sound anemic in the sub-bass. Jack Harlow - I'd Do Anything To Make You Smile has a sub bass drop at 0:26 which is almost too boomy with the Vortex while on the Serial it feels present but uneventful
2) Strings and upper frequencies definitely seem unaffected: Monchy & Alexandra - Hoja En Blanco is a great "modern" bachata song that can get a bit piercy in the upper mids but the Vortex still replays as well as it did before the filter was removed (the replay is excellent). The Serial is a tad muted with this track which is my main qualm with the Serial
3) There is enough bass energy on the Vortex now that I start to hear low rumbles in tracks that weren't there before (For example the track above). I honestly think there is a bit too much bass now without the filter and this is one example where the bass evens up having _too_ much energy

Overall it was a pleasant experiment and I think I will continue keeping it this way although eventually I will try to find a filter I can apply that is a density 20-30% that of the original filter.
Its worth noting that:
1) I was 100% content with the stock tuning of the Vortex, so much so that I put up my Serial's for sale even though I found the bass lacking compared to them. I am just a tinkerer at heart so if I an tweak stuff I will.
2) I was comparing the to the Serial with ePro horn tips which attenuate the bass compared to other tips and is probably not an accurate representation of what the stock Serial can do. The reason I didn't switch tips is because other tips remove far too much upper frequency energy for me and I need all the upper mids I can get with the Serial so even if the bass would have gone up it wouldn't have had an overall negative impact on the FR of the Serial for me.

 

[cn11]

Awesome to read about the filter removal mod for the Vortex. Do you notice any impact at all to the rest of the frequency range (either positive or negative)?

 

[rattlingblanketwoman]

So after doing some tip rolling and A/Bing I can say the following statements compared to the Serial:
1) With the filter off, The Vortex makes the Serial sound anemic in the sub-bass. Jack Harlow - I'd Do Anything To Make You Smile has a sub bass drop at 0:26 which is almost too boomy with the Vortex while on the Serial it feels present but uneventful
2) Strings and upper frequencies definitely seem unaffected: Monchy & Alexandra - Hoja En Blanco is a great "modern" bachata song that can get a bit piercy in the upper mids but the Vortex still replays as well as it did before the filter was removed (the replay is excellent). The Serial is a tad muted with this track which is my main qualm with the Serial
3) There is enough bass energy on the Vortex now that I start to hear low rumbles in tracks that weren't there before (For example the track above). I honestly think there is a bit too much bass now without the filter and this is one example where the bass evens up having _too_ much energy

Overall it was a pleasant experiment and I think I will continue keeping it this way although eventually I will try to find a filter I can apply that is a density 20-30% that of the original filter.
Its worth noting that:
1) I was 100% content with the stock tuning of the Vortex, so much so that I put up my Serial's for sale even though I found the bass lacking compared to them. I am just a tinkerer at heart so if I an tweak stuff I will.
2) I was comparing the to the Serial with ePro horn tips which attenuate the bass compared to other tips and is probably not an accurate representation of what the stock Serial can do. The reason I didn't switch tips is because other tips remove far too much upper frequency energy for me and I need all the upper mids I can get with the Serial so even if the bass would have gone up it wouldn't have had an overall negative impact on the FR of the Serial for me.

Loved the Serial on Final E tips today - sure I tried that before, maybe with too small of a size though. Sounded very balanced really.