The PENON official thread

[Dsnuts]

What is the divot portion please?

This is the divot on 2 pin cables the other side is flat. The left and right side of the cables when attached to IEMs have to face outward on an IEM. If you face one side in and the other side out. That is when you get an out of phase sound that causes a murky non distinct sound for IEMs. You can also face the divot inward on both sides as well and that works but most IEM cable makers design these to be a marker to know your connecting them right or wrong. General rule is face these divots out and not in.

 

[Echalon]

If unsure about phase, there are YouTube videos that let you easily test whether or not it is correct.

 

[-rowan-]

Just your friendly weekend reminder to revisit your entire chain any time you add something new to it.

I thought the Volt was never going to work with the N3 Pro. Too warm. Enter Totem. It threw the stage open, made space for all that warmth, for all the notes to breathe. Tightened up note definition. Made everything more dynamic and vivid without changing the essential character of either the Volt or the N3 Pro. I literally never enjoyed this pairing before, but now it’s easily in contention for one of the most engaging, musical pairings I’ve had the pleasure of owning.

And then I added the Kaei Tap-1 to the chain, using the N3 Pro’s balanced 4.4mm LO, and that’s just like putting the N3 Pro on steroids.

I will be honest. The Volt on its own was never my first choice for piano. But here with the Totem, it nailed piano for the first time for me. Truly delicious note weight and attack with each note.

I generally can hear sound differences with cables (though not all) but still didn’t expect Totem to make this much difference.

Btw the new Totem sleeve doesn’t look bad at all… just that fabric sleeves are just not for me (Flow, I’m looking at you). Which was a big part of why I knew I had to pick up the Totem when I did, or probably never get one. Not to mention the original blue cable sheathing is mesmerizing.

Well, I've been burning in my Serials for around 200 hours now and the whole soundscape has relaxed and opened up. There is a warm, analogue but intense feel to the sound; the similarity that immediately came to mind was a pair of bookshelf Mission 731i speakers my friend used to have at university.

I was using the white wide bore silicones that came with the Serials but have switched to Spinfit CP100s. The difference is huge - improved vocal and treble, less muddy and confused mid and subbass. I also tried some TRI Clarions which gave a similar sound to the wide bores. I have some CP145s on the way which might give me a little more bass extension but happy with the CP100s for the moment. The DUNU S&S tips are too small for me.

With the tips sorted, my attention turned to cables.

Using a single reference track - Unity by Royksopp, I tried a homemade custom 8W balanced silver 4.4mm, TRN T3 8W silver 2.5mm with 3 different adaptors, XINHS 4W graphene SPC 4.4mm and the stock CS819 4.4mm.

The XINHS was a bit of a bust - beautifully made, soft and supple but a rather bland reference sound - flat and unexciting. The registers were all present but lacking that vital spark. I also noticed I had to max out the volume whereas all the other cables were around the 65-70 mark.

The CS819 was more energetic but there was a haziness in the vocal and midranges that made it harder to pick things out. A lift in the bass and treble registers with some increased definition but not the best fit for the Serial, I feel.

My homemade silver wire gave a more balanced sound with a little loss of warmth but an increase in definition and air.

The surprise was the TRN T3. I used 3 different adaptors - FDBRO 4.4-2.5, PENON 4.4-2.5 and iBasso 3.5-2.5. The balanced adaptors gave a visceral subbass, almost U shaped focus with reduction in midbass and some vocal recession but a really exciting sound overall. The FDBRO adaptor sounded more U shaped than the Penon - I can't explain that unless there is an impedance issue. Because I though it was the adaptors shaping the sound, I tried the iBasso single ended adaptor with similar results to the Penon, but slightly warmer - presumably because it was single ended. I can only assume that the cable itself was influencing the sound.

I have an ISN S2 on the way which I hope will bring results in line with the T3 but a little warmer. Until then the T3 is the winner. @Penon we need a pure silver cable in the *2 series. I think this would be a great match for the Serial. Or...a silver / SPC hybrid like the offspring of the Neo and Orbit cables.

Serial does love some pure silver! Mine is paired more or less permanently with the Flow, which is quite a firehose in how it lets everything through (and doesn’t thin out the mids). I did surprisingly enjoy the C2 with the Serial but the Flow is just several rungs above for definition and resolution. Might try the T3 if 12.12 brings any good deals.

Agree with your impressions on the stock cable and the XINHS. The XINHS one in particular is a very solid well-made cable (just pick it up when it’s on sale) but I just couldn’t hear it making a noticeable improvement to anything I tried it with.

A week ago I got my new Isn S2 cable. I tried it at first with vortex.
I was expecting a silver sound with a lot of Air but the sound is warm and it's a little muddy in the medium (and also in the high, the original cable is more dinamic and clear in the highs but also lazy on basses) frequencies so that disturb me little while listening to the piano playing in center of the keyboard. Moreover the scene have not gained in wideness as I was expecting, only the 30 dollars cable kbear hazy 6n dies the best job with the holographic reproduction and wideness.Now I'll test it on fan2, but which cable could do better job in you opinion with vortex, maybe the Isn g4. This is the track in which I listen the muddiness

Not tried the G4, but the Venture Electronics Vita is for me still the pairing to beat when it comes to the Vortex. The most dynamic, lively combination and almost as weightless as the Vortex. Paired with a small purist DAP like the RS2 or DTR 1+, it is easily the best most portable combo I’ve ever had.

 

[laleeee]

Anybody knows the accurate type of the Sonion BA's in the Isn h30 and the Fan2 ?

 

[Leonarfd]

Been cable rolling some on Serial and FAN 2.

FAN 2 favorite so far is silver plated copper, but I also like pure copper.
Serial I actually like the stock hybrid cable almost as much as pure silver.

ISN C2 on the way in custom length, almost wish I did go S2 after this testing. But I rather get myself a good pure silver cable.

Cables tried
NiceHCK BlackCat
NiceHCK LitzPS
ISN C16
ISN H16
ISN GD4
Penon CS819
Penon Neo (really liked this one, need to buy my own)
Tripowin C8

PS beware on NiceHCK cables ordered in 3.5mm jack as they are not the best fit. I rather would go Xinhs or one of ISN or Penon cables.

 

[lucanato]

I have the plugs properly plugged in. Only on classical music you can listen to the effects I have reported( with a rapid a-b test on a short passage), a bit less dynamic on violins and congested mids, as you can't listen to every single fingers in a piano chord in the middle of the keyboard using vortex. I thought s2 was a pure silver, the h2 silver plated and c2 pure copper.
I'll continue rolling them and let you know.

 

[morndewey]

Try Spinfit W1 tips when all others miss the mark. In US they can be had off Amazon. Much too expensive and no size choices but worth it (to me)

 

[Sunstealer]

Well colour me surprised - tried a custom homemade 4W 6N OCC copper cable with the Serials - what a beast! I thought the TRN T3 was giving me clarity and depth but this copper cable gives me a fuller bass, wider soundstage and a more euphonic sound. Notes have a touch smoother edge but this is a toe tapper.

I have never been a fan of pure copper cables so didn't include this in my initial cable rolling. Goes to show that I shouldn't make assumptions!

 

[Leonarfd]

Akros review of Penon Serial, talked together about the Serial the other day and vintage sound. So was looking forward to it, he's sound has improved alot on the last videos

 

[Redcarmoose]

Apologies, I had to edit this entire post because the tips aren’t what I thought they might be.

The short answer now is simply… I don’t know.

The core feels stiff enough that it might be an Azla Sednaearfit but the rest of it is too soft to be one… and the Sedna Light is a different colour.

All of us have unknown ear-tips I think. With a bunch of IEMs there comes a time when you forget the odd tip out there. When you may have remembered for a while, but time passes.....and you lose track. The only way might be to photo-document each pair then try and catalogue them somehow, but even then some may get confused for other tips.

But really a large selection seems to work for me on a variety of IEMs. I have started to get serious about wide-bore, so that’s pretty much all I use now, unless there are fit issues. That in and of itself has lowered my tip-choices by a ton.

 

[Dsnuts]

Listening to this using the Fan2 on my newly acquired Fiio K9pro.

 

[BrokenHill]

I have the plugs properly plugged in. Only on classical music you can listen to the effects I have reported( with a rapid a-b test on a short passage), a bit less dynamic on violins and congested mids, as you can't listen to every single fingers in a piano chord in the middle of the keyboard using vortex. I thought s2 was a pure silver, the h2 silver plated and c2 pure copper.
I'll continue rolling them and let you know.

After several tests in the Vortex I have left the Tri Wolfram (Pure silver cores with copper shielding) with which I have seen that it complements my other IEMs with my catalogue, which despite being very varied, I listen to little classical music.

 

[Redcarmoose]

One thing I noticed very fast is that the fit is different going from ISN H30 and Penon Serial(Both seal easy with most tips). FAN 2 have very similar form factor as H30 but the angle is different on the nozzle. Making me get some pinch over time, weird is that its on my right ear. Probably a defect in my right ear that's different from left one Best fit so far is to turn them face more forward with 1 smaller size tip than usually.

Anyone else who have had any issue?




They sound like a refined H30, I like the tonality more. So I hope I can find a tip that sits better, perhaps the new Dunu tips will help. Should arrive soon.

Been cable rolling some on Serial and FAN 2.

FAN 2 favorite so far is silver plated copper, but I also like pure copper.
Serial I actually like the stock hybrid cable almost as much as pure silver.

ISN C2 on the way in custom length, almost wish I did go S2 after this testing. But I rather get myself a good pure silver cable.

Cables tried
NiceHCK BlackCat
NiceHCK LitzPS
ISN C16
ISN H16
ISN GD4
Penon CS819
Penon Neo (really liked this one, need to buy my own)
Tripowin C8

PS beware on NiceHCK cables ordered in 3.5mm jack as they are not the best fit. I rather would go Xinhs or one of ISN or Penon cables.

The Fan 2 does have that slightly different angle of the nozzle. This post is slightly late, maybe you have addressed this fit issue already? The trick as mentioned before in this thread is to go down one step in size. Due to the unusually long nozzle and depth it reaches in your ear canal, the ear canal actually changes shape to become more narrow. I have also tilted the Fan 2 after putting on medium size tips. The new Softears Silicone Clear work as well as the newest TRN T tips in medium seem to work, for me. So really those are a new style of tip that I never use except for with the Fan 2. Don’t forget burn-in should really change them! After a full week they were a way different IEM, with smoothness and an added level of bass punch......... as well as increased head-room from treble and midrange.

Cables are funny things as I find my best time to review cables is in the AM after a fresh nights sleep. You will hate for me to suggest this except I can’t lie, the Totem is really something, and the ultimate “thing” to use with the Fan 2! Strangely I went through about 9 cables yesterday trying different unions with another brand IEM for a review, and the Totem was again a stand-out superior cable, but I realize it’s price inhibited.

The silver/copper hybrid like the ISN S4 will bring it too far from home and the Fan 2 will lose it’s wonderful warmth. Really after the OS133 included cable, it’s tough to beat, I feel, though there is a chance of another cable having the sonic qualities of the OS133, but better. After you spend a while with the burned-in Fan 2 and the right tips, you may rediscover Penon’s angle to choosing the OS133 cable?

Edit:
The ISN S2,H2,C2 come maybe today so I will test those with the Fan 2. And while the OS133 has it’s uses, you need to understand why Penon used the cable with the Fan 2 in the first place. It’s because it’s only a slight silver add.....just a sprinkle of silver dust to adjust the spacial treble imaging, where the bulk of the OS133 is the warmth into what the copper produces, which the Fan 2 really needs. But the Fan 2 also needs the top end to be slightly opened-up, which the silver add does.

 

[Surf Monkey]

The Fan 2 does have that slightly different angle of the nozzle. This post is slightly late, maybe you have addressed this fit issue already? The trick as mentioned before in this thread is to go down one step in size. Due to the unusually long nozzle and depth it reaches in your ear canal, the ear canal actually changes shape to become more narrow. I have also tilted the Fan 2 after putting on medium size tips. The new Softears Silicone Clear work as well as the newest TRN T tips in medium seem to work, for me. So really those are a new style of tip that I never use except for with the Fan 2. Don’t forget burn-in should really change them! After a full week they were a way different IEM, with smoothness and an added level of bass punch......... as well as increased head-room from treble and midrange.

Cables are funny things as I find my best time to review cables is in the AM after a fresh nights sleep. You will hate for me to suggest this except I can’t lie, the Totem is really something. And strangely I went through about 9 cables yesterday trying different unions with another brand IEM for a review, and the Totem was again a stand-out superior cable, but I realize it’s price inhibited.

The silver/copper hybrid like the ISN S4 will bring it too far from home and the Fan 2 will lose it’s wonderful warmth. Really after the OS133 included cable, it’s tough to beat, I feel, though there is a chance of another cable having the sonic qualities of the OS133, but better. After you spend a while with the burned-in Fan 2 and the right tips, you may rediscover Penon’s angle to choosing the OS133 cable?

Seconded. On the Fan 2 you want to try a size down tip-wise. They’re deep insertion so a larger tip will jam up your ear and fail to seal perfectly. Dropping a size results in a perfect fit.

 

[Scubadevils]

Listening to this using the Fan2 on my newly acquired Fiio K9pro.

The K9pro is excellent, I had an opportunity to try a few weeks ago and very tempted at some point as my first desktop.