The PENON official thread

[DaveStarWalker]

"Warm profile", "fun, not full blown detail", yup, that sounds like the Serial alright

Exactly

 

[vandung2510]

Very much matches my thoughts on the Fan2.

You can compensate for some of the cons with your choice of cable. I used a NiceHCK Skyflag for a while, as it gave a little boost to mids and a thicker sound while slightly smoothing the upper mids. Now I use it with a NiceHCK SuperBlue for note-weight and slight bass boost.

Holy smokes those are expensive

 

[Echalon]

Holy smokes those are expensive

Not as bad as they look, you should always get NiceHCK cables on sale. The SuperBlue and Skyflag are often $40-50, rarely cheaper. Also the Cafeflag sounds very similar to the Skyflag and is often cheaper (I got a spare for under $30 a month ago).

I’m sure there are other cheaper cables that would have a similar effect too, just not in my collection.

 

[emdeevee]

There you go for my Penon Fan2 review.
I'm officialy a Penon Fan boi now!
Its really a roller coaster ride going from Serial to Vortex to these...since Penon haven't house sound sig it seem....yet, they always nail the balance to my ears.
To be noted that those are a bit sensitive, so pairing with low impedance source is suggested.

Pros:
-Crisp balanced W shape tonality (near neutral)
-mature and fun sounding
-good and clean resolution
-fast well rounded bass
-great technical performance
-transparent and open mid range
-deep soundstage
-excellent imaging-layering
-vivid dynamic
-smooth realist timbre
-fast snappy treble with appealing brilliance edge
-versatile for wide range of musica style
-very beautifull design
-generous accessories of good quality
-good sound value

Cons:
-not the thickest nor the most luscious mid range
-slightly roll off sub bass
-sensitive to high impedance source
-a bit light note weight
-not the widest tallest soundstage

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/penon-fan2.26145/reviews#review-30404

I see an Impact in your future!

 

[ehjie]

Simple answer: The Vortex is very good, worthy of the price tag. Like the Oxygen, Kato etc, they use one really good driver per side rather than lots of lesser drivers.

The Vortex has a great timbre, and fast detailed technicalities. The tonality is neutral-bright, a little unusual for Penon. I used the bass mod on mine (discovered on this thread) to give huge bass, making them more V-tuned but with the same great timbre. And I love them, they are the set that turned me into a Penon enthusiast.

As for why it costs so much more than the latest $10 KZ 1DD… quality of materials, research, quality control, customer service and just the premium for being an excellent product. They certainly are on a level with other good IEMs in their price range.

This article caught my eye. Maybe I'm missing something from other brand offerings with a lower price tag.
But for me this is very important.

As a consumer, opting for the lesser priced item, If it does break down within the earlier periods after purchase, and with poor track record of after sales support - this can be very disappointing.
This event can be very frustrating and I def. will feel like was short changed.
I'd rather choose, the slightly priced item and be done with it.
Since 2016, been buying from Penon, so far after sales support have been excellent.
Sure, I look around outside of the Penon sets. Check all over the web for any typical break downs, complaints, etc from owners.
Yet, I still come back to Penon.
The others can sound better, can buy cheaper, but checking out complaints from users and taking chances, hoping they don't happen on my set - Is Not worth the lower cost price tag, The extra cost I'm paying is for my peace of mind...

 

[ehjie]

Made a promise to myself this year, avoid all the entry IEMs on the Discovery thread. Save up cash for good releases from brands I trust Penon, ISN, AüR etc.

Most cheap IEMs disappoint when you have heard said tunings from better makers.

Sounds like a very good, practical plan...

 

[ehjie]

There you go for my Penon Fan2 review.
I'm officialy a Penon Fan boi now!
Its really a roller coaster ride going from Serial to Vortex to these...since Penon haven't house sound sig it seem....yet, they always nail the balance to my ears.
To be noted that those are a bit sensitive, so pairing with low impedance source is suggested.

Pros:
-Crisp balanced W shape tonality (near neutral)
-mature and fun sounding
-good and clean resolution
-fast well rounded bass
-great technical performance
-transparent and open mid range
-deep soundstage
-excellent imaging-layering
-vivid dynamic
-smooth realist timbre
-fast snappy treble with appealing brilliance edge
-versatile for wide range of musica style
-very beautifull design
-generous accessories of good quality
-good sound value

Cons:
-not the thickest nor the most luscious mid range
-slightly roll off sub bass
-sensitive to high impedance source
-a bit light note weight
-not the widest tallest soundstage

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/penon-fan2.26145/reviews#review-30404

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for you Not to like Penon's House sound, you're into vinyl.
Hope you can get your hands on a pair of Serials...

 

[peter1808]

Really loving the Serial paired with the Chord Mojo x PW no.5 copper cable. The Serial's vintage goodness + Mojo's rose-tinted touch + the sweetness of a nice copper cable = true audio bliss

 

[ehjie]

Hello everyone,

I am thinking of buying a new iem and had thought about the Penon Serial.

I'm looking for something with a warm profile that is tolerant of bad recordings. My favorite styles are punk/post-punk and their recordings are usually pretty "spontaneous".

Albeit this pair loves to chill - it does "Chop suey" amazingly very well...

From Penon I have both the H40 and H50 and I love them both. You could say I'm looking for fun, not full blown detail.

Thank you very much!!!!

Fantastic 3d Holo, great stage depth for the money...

 

[anyone007]

So... I got the Serial. I know that this is out of the box impression, but I have to say that it sounds incredible! I can only imagine how good this will be after 200+ hrs burn in then play with some cable and tip rolling to shape the sound further.

I finally understand why you guys always say "it's a good complement" to Volt and Impact users. It has a different tuning that you cannot go wrong either way, both are enjoyable.

But it's hard to argue that this is only priced at $299... I mean, I heard tons of more expensive IEMs and none of it sounds like these. Sure, it doesn't have the best resolution and imaging, but I think that's the beauty of it! It makes the tuning truly unique. The overall tuning and musicality is something I have not heard of with IEMs. I am so glad I made this "accidental" purchase. lol

 

[DaveStarWalker]

I hate this kind of (stupid) statement, but, "for the price" ....

..... It's a steal, a hold up

Really a GREAT product, of it's own.

And they are so cute

 

[drummguy26]

Listening to the Serials with the Earmen Angel. Holy goodness…. such amazing synergy! Serials sound punchy as can be and hits like a truck! I don’t know if it’s cos of the built in linear power supply or what, but man, it sounds sooooo GOOD! Match made in heaven

 

[Ichos]

Listening to the Serials with the Earmen Angel. Holy goodness…. such amazing synergy! Serials sound punchy as can be and hits like a truck! I don’t know if it’s cos of the built in linear power supply or what, but man, it sounds sooooo GOOD! Match made in heaven

It is a good DAC/amp!

 

[Leonarfd]

Serial is sublime with everything I have tried, its also one of the IEMs that has paired the best with my Feliks Audio Echo OTL amp. The sound gets even meatier and has an expanded soundstage with it.

 

[zorizori]

I was trying to find some pre owned mid range Kineras, though it's hard to find any. Now these penons are looking nice.

How do they stack up against each other?