The PENON official thread
Jan 13, 2023 at 9:50 PM Post #7,006 of 11,225
Penon Impact. Excuse the poor lighting. Will take some better pictures tomorrow and will post them. The Impact is all clear glass like resin with a pearl white face plate. The cable is a modified version of the Obsidian which works exceedingly well with BA based IEMs. Not to mention specifically designed for the Impact in all white sleeving Looks fantastic in person. Classy.
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Well, what can I say. I got them last night and connected them to my K9 pro and started to listen to them. I was like a kid waking up early on Christmas morning. Lol.

First thing that hit me was its ability to mimic a live stage. You can hear the ambience of the venue perhaps better than anything I have heard. The Legend comes close but these things!

Vocals! Vocals! Andrea Bocelli I use his vocals for testing out male vocals, I mean how can you not. His live recording of Perfidia. Was the first track I listened to. When he starts to sing. Instant shiver!

Oh man this track I have heard so many times but the way the Impact captures the ambience the air of the venue here is mind blowing. It sounds like I am sitting there in the audience listening to him sing. It is shocking.

Dimensional like you wouldn't believe. Big holographic stage that represents what you are hearing. Using so many premium drivers in a compact housing with 4 bores will get you dimensional in the truest sense. Well mastered Jazz is amazeballs with the Impact.


What separates these vs your standard IEM presentation is the layers and layers of sound you're hearing. And then Imagine Penon mids cranked up to 11. These things are playing with TOTL level sonics. These have to be some of the best mids presentation for IEMs I have ever heard. More than just musically rich and with details coming at you at all angles.

Tonal character, extremely natural rich meaty with surprising timbre for what is basically an all Sonion BA based set. No surprise I prefer the tonality and timbre of the Sonion BAs and you get a whole heaping loving of Sonion BAs. You can even say the Impact is a Sonion BA lovers poster child. No Knowles to be found on these.

Details. Its trebles are handled by 2 Sonion BAs and 4 Sonion ESTs for the ultra highs. Crystalline details, smooth clean silky sparkly and very dimensional. Treble fans will love how details for treble plays in the air out of nowhere. Well extended and you can hear the integration of the EST air injection with superb highlights for trebles. Trebles are airy and has very good presence. There is no single plane of sound on these at all. These are how you can tell there are limitations on your treble presence on lesser IEMs. Details and transients for trebles are a given but has an addictive shimmer and sparkle and you know Penon tuned treble means no added fatigue. Excellent well optimized treble. I have a feeling the treble notes will fill in to a greater extent after some burn in but if the out of the box experience is something to go by. These are gonna impress even treble enthusiasts.
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Bass. So why do you guys think these are called IMPACT? Cus that is exactly what these do for bass. These will be impactful not just for its presentation but for its bass. Punchy and defined just like the rest of the signature. What is interesting here is I don't know if these are Sonion Acupass BAs but there is no venting for the bass unless it is using some sort of venting from the nozzle. There is no vent bass hole anywhere I can see.

I also noticed the bass end digging a bit more so than your traditional well implemented BA bass. Has surprising texture. Agile, tonally accurate and of course BA speed, bass tracks actually have some authority. I would say it has at least 8dbs of mid bass to sub bass which is actually how much bass I feel is necessary for a versatile bass amount for IEMs in general. I think Penon took to heart how they tuned the bass end for BA based IEMs and tried a new trick. A BA set with authority? How can that be? It is an improvement from the Legend bass presence.
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It's got better attack and seems to have a slower more realistic decay of bass notes for its sub bass.. A touch punchier than the Legend bass end. From how I understand it. Two of the bass BAs does upper to mid bass, two of them handle the rumble. Bass notes don't have the texture of a dynamic but these have to have some of the best texture for sub bass I have heard for BA bass. I noticed bass ability for the Impact is dynamic in how it performs. Meaning it adapts exceedingly well for bass types and emphasis depending on the track. Hip hop sounds like hip hop including some deep hitting rumble.

Natural bass notes sound unsurprisingly fantastic on these but is not weak in the sub bass emphasis. I couldnt ask for much better BA bass representation on the Impact.
Ultimately this all BA + EST design gives a fluid cohesive all Sonion sound that represents some of the brands best hardware in the Impact.

Dont have to worry about speed for these things either. Metal tracks sound amazing on these.

Passive Isolation.
Fantastic. These are an ode to the Penon Orbs clean clear design. The all clear Resin is like melted poured glass with no vent holes I can see. You want to talk about perfect for out and about immersion.. Also a nice ice breaker for sound geeks. Check out all the drivers homey!
You can show your friends all the BA/ speakers in the shell and look at that artwork for that immediate jealous look. Lol.
 
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Jan 13, 2023 at 11:12 PM Post #7,007 of 11,225
Intrigued.
 
Jan 13, 2023 at 11:56 PM Post #7,008 of 11,225
Looking forward to your impression when the NDA is lifted.
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Outside of NDA, we can speculate:
Bass - Detailed, layered, excellent depth, most probably better sub than any release. IMPACTful Bass per se
Treble - We ALL love the Fan2 treble detail, extension and output. This is better, being EST (a la Volt)
Mids - As usual, expect the detailed, fantastic, fluid, superlative mids
Technicalities:
More efficient, hopefully our phones will be enough to light 'em up
Large sound field, layered staging, excellent separation. Despite multi BA receivers and a pair 4 units of ests per side we can expect very good coherence
Easy holographic imaging, due to efficiency

All of the above can be had, as per lessons learned from each release.
There was nothing wrong with each release though. Each have their own distinct character, the Impact is simply another release on another flavour...
 
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Jan 13, 2023 at 11:59 PM Post #7,009 of 11,225
I am wondering if the no vent design was done on purpose to give greater note weight to the bass. You know like how when you close a bass vent and you get a bass end that is much more beefy? They look like acupass BAs to me.

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This is a pic of Sonion Acupass bass BA. The two dual BAs look just like it in the Impact. But with no vent on any part of the shell.
 
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Jan 14, 2023 at 12:01 AM Post #7,010 of 11,225
I rather want DD bass. Then something like a Tribrid.
We can give them a chance. My previous ALL BAs the reason for sending them off wasn't the BA bass, but rather something else.
1 pair - the mids was so recessed - more recessed than my Fan 2 and they're usd. 1,399.
The other pair, though extremely detailed, the sound field was really small, also they have to go.
I kept my W50 - a Basshead Legend during its time. Still is...
 
Jan 14, 2023 at 12:03 AM Post #7,011 of 11,225
I am wondering if the no vent design was done on purpose to give greater note weight to the bass. You know like how when you close a bass vent and you get a bass end that is much more beefy? They look like acupass BAs to me.
True!
Smart move @Penon . Hack not required...
 
Jan 14, 2023 at 12:11 AM Post #7,012 of 11,225
I am wondering if the no vent design was done on purpose to give greater note weight to the bass. You know like how when you close a bass vent and you get a bass end that is much more beefy? They look like acupass BAs to me.

s-l1600.jpg

This is a pic of Sonion Acupass bass BA. The two dual BAs look just like it in the Impact. But with no vent on any part of the shell.
Any pressure build up? As this caused many to sell The Bird due to it not being vented also. It never bothered me however.
 
Jan 14, 2023 at 12:31 AM Post #7,014 of 11,225
None on my end at all. Been trying out a bunch of tips for it. These seem to like a wider bored tip. Narrow bored tips boosts the bass end. Wider more balanced with the best overall sound presentation for the Impact.
Same with Traillii! Stoked to hear this IMPACT!

Side note: I love your avatar, one of my Favorite bands of all time.
 
Jan 14, 2023 at 12:44 AM Post #7,016 of 11,225
Impact has me intrigued, the measurement does seem very smooth with perfect extension in the low end and treble.

How big is the shell compared to some other models? With all those BA it must be sticking quite far out.
 
Jan 14, 2023 at 1:02 AM Post #7,018 of 11,225
Nice thanks, I still say it they look classy and clean. Like the look.
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in my average sized ear, it sits pretty flush.
 
Jan 14, 2023 at 2:24 AM Post #7,019 of 11,225

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