The PENON official thread

[-rowan-]

Can you help me pick 2 out of sub 300$ from ISN +Penon catalog? (Globe can be included). I only have the Tangzu Heyday as my highend iem and i want to try something different. My playlist is quite diverse, but mostly movie/anime soundtrack and pop/jpop. I'm thinking about ISN H50 and Fan 2 but i'm affraid the tuning is too weird/different

What part of their tuning are you potentially concerned about?

I don’t own the H50 but the Fan 2 has some of the most balanced, versatile tuning in the Penon house in addition to excellent technicalities. It also has a solid, well-chosen stock cable and no additional cable-rolling is required unless you want to.

The one caveat is probably potential fit issues with its longer nozzle. I’m currently using Tanchjim bass tips with my Fan 2, a full size smaller than usual, and get a good seal with deeper insertion. But not everyone manages to and it can affect tone and of course comfort.

 

[vandung2510]

Those 2 are both great IEMs, but are quite close in their tuning. Do you have preferences? Bright, detailed, thumping bass, warm tonality, easy listening, great vocals, etc? Hopefully we can guide you to 2 very different IEMs that both suit your tastes.

Well, i do know i'd like some quality bass, doesn't have to be basshead lvl, just some nice DD's timbre bass since i'm not satisfied with the Heyday's bass compare to my Olina SE. I'm quite easy going, but as long as it's not overly bright + not purely vocal-centric or too wacky then i'm good.

 

[vandung2510]

What part of their tuning are you potentially concerned about?

I don’t own the H50 but the Fan 2 has some of the most balanced, versatile tuning in the Penon house in addition to excellent technicalities. It also has a solid, well-chosen stock cable and no additional cable-rolling is required unless you want to.

The one caveat is probably potential fit issues with its longer nozzle. I’m currently using Tanchjim bass tips with my Fan 2, a full size smaller than usual, and get a good seal with deeper insertion. But not everyone manages to and it can affect tone and of course comfort.

Part of the H50 i'm worried about is the graph is just so unique: The bass shelf goes all the way to 800hz, late pinna at 3k and a dip at 10k; the Fan 2 has that weird shaped pinna and weird dip at 6k. Overall, i'm just too familiar with Harman/Moondrop-ish tuning and both of these are nothing like it, yet many people praise it. I want to try it, i just dont know if i'd like it

 

[Echalon]

Part of the H50 i'm worried about is the graph is just so unique: The bass shelf goes all the way to 800hz, late pinna at 3k and a dip at 10k; the Fan 2 has that weird shaped pinna and weird dip at 6k. Overall, i'm just too familiar with Harman/Moondrop-ish tuning and both of these are nothing like it, yet many people praise it. I want to try it, i just dont know if i'd like it

The Fan 2 can be a bit hot in the upper mids and the bass quantity can be a bit low, but for me both were fixed with the right cable, leaving a very fine sounding IEM. I’ve not tried the H50 so will let someone else comment on that, though there’s a reason it is very popular.

From your description of what you want, the Serial may be worth a look. A 3DD, it should be a great counterpoint to either the Fan 2 or H50, and is widely loved in this thread.

I look forward to hearing your impressions of whatever you choose!

PS: Look at the YouTube reviews by Akros for all these IEMs.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

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...

Oh well, for now it seem impossible indeed!
For Fan2, i would not say they remind me vinyl lush analog sound, but for Serial your right. I adore them to death.
they are my fav Penon IEM musicality wise. no1 IEM of 2022 in fact.
my review is on headfi too.
i should have give them 5stars.

 

[anyone007]

I need some help please. I'm not sure if the Penon Serial unit that I have has a driver issue or not, however, I noticed some audible distortion on most tracks and is more obvious on higher volume. I switched the cables just in case but it is still the same. Is it normal? Will it go away after 200 hrs burn in? I emailed Penon already but this the response:

It's normal that the distortion sound and much more audible on higher volumes. Strong musicality is also a kind of distortion, that's the taste what we listening to. pls just burn-in it to 200hrs and start to stabilize.

I'm quite concerned that my unit is damaged.

 

[ehjie]

I need some help please. I'm not sure if the Penon Serial unit that I have has a driver issue or not, however, I noticed some audible distortion on most tracks and is more obvious on higher volume. I switched the cables just in case but it is still the same. Is it normal? Will it go away after 200 hrs burn in? I emailed Penon already but this the response:

It's normal that the distortion sound and much more audible on higher volumes. Strong musicality is also a kind of distortion, that's the taste what we listening to. pls just burn-in it to 200hrs and start to stabilize.

I'm quite concerned that my unit is damaged.

Can I help?
Please can you share your music chain?
What was the track/tracks you were playing?
I know you were using the Impact, I still like to mirror / replicate your set up...

 

[vandung2510]

I need some help please. I'm not sure if the Penon Serial unit that I have has a driver issue or not, however, I noticed some audible distortion on most tracks and is more obvious on higher volume. I switched the cables just in case but it is still the same. Is it normal? Will it go away after 200 hrs burn in? I emailed Penon already but this the response:

It's normal that the distortion sound and much more audible on higher volumes. Strong musicality is also a kind of distortion, that's the taste what we listening to. pls just burn-in it to 200hrs and start to stabilize.

I'm quite concerned that my unit is damaged.

Is that the phase issue? Michael Bruce mentioned it in his video

 

[anyone007]

Can I help?
Please can you share your music chain?
What was the track/tracks you were playing?
I know you were using the Impact, I still like to mirror / replicate your set up...

I'm using Penon Serial, then for DAP, I rotate from Shanling M8, Questyle QP1r and Sony D100. As for the track, pretty much anything if the volume a high (only loud enough to hear, not very high). There would be like some sort of distortion that is very audible. It's basically something like on cheap earphones when volume is cranked up.

Is that the phase issue? Michael Bruce mentioned it in his video

Lemme watch the video then.

 

[Sunstealer]

Well @Penon make it so hard to resist! Pulled the trigger for the FAN 2.

 

[msing539]

Well @Penon make it so hard to resist! Pulled the trigger for the FAN 2.

I've been staring at it in my cart for 40 minutes.

 

[vandung2510]

I've been staring at it in my cart for 40 minutes.

Imma wait until next month, to see what are they gonna have for 10th year anniversary

 

[-rowan-]

Well, i do know i'd like some quality bass, doesn't have to be basshead lvl, just some nice DD's timbre bass since i'm not satisfied with the Heyday's bass compare to my Olina SE. I'm quite easy going, but as long as it's not overly bright + not purely vocal-centric or too wacky then i'm good.

Yup, sounds like the Serial. I don’t know the Heyday but I compared the Serial with the Timeless some time ago and the Serial’s DD bass brings a very different kind of physicality and impact than planar bass.

The Fan 2 can be a bit hot in the upper mids and the bass quantity can be a bit low, but for me both were fixed with the right cable, leaving a very fine sounding IEM.

Or, in my case, the right tips… I agree that when the Fan 2 first arrived it was a little economical on the low end. Not sure what happened in the meantime (not even brain burn-in because I wasn’t even listening to it much for a time) but I can honestly say I’m barely lacking any bass or sub bass on it now. I think it’s steadily moving the needle from being an iem I appreciate to one I love.

Also, a minor PSA:

Serial owners. It may or may not be within your budget but you owe it to the Serial to try it with the N7 just once if you can (and then good luck trying to forget what you just heard and stop thinking about it after that).

Medium gain, class AB is all you need. The Serial becomes a different beast.

Astonishing internal detail and control all the way down to the lowest sub bass frequencies. Mids that just send shivers down my spine. On vocal tracks I’ve heard many, many times before. Upper mids and highs all filled out - absolutely nothing wanting there. And then the N7 brings in a whole new addictive level of transparency, 3D presentation and imaging. All the while in keeping with the Serial’s character as a natural smooth analogue operator.

Why am I saying this here? Because, among all the IEMs I tried with the N7, the Serial turned out to be the biggest surprise for its amazing synergy and musicality.

My friends, Serial scales up like crazy. I’ve said that before several times here but apparently I didn’t know what I was talking about until now. Not everyone will ever get to hear this, but just know that they’re that good.

Noticed that the XINHS cable that I used in this post (and am still using with the Serial) is currently on sale at AE for less than I paid back in 2021, for anyone interested. It also does a good job bringing a bit of warmth to the Fan 2, although I’ve been using it with the Serial mainly.

 

[Leonarfd]

I have looked at this cable a few times, but never pulled the trigger. Might pull the trigger then, not sure which model I will pair it with yet But I have been interested in trying a cable with some gold added in.

Noticed that the XINHS cable that I used in this post (and am still using with the Serial) is currently on sale at AE for less than I paid back in 2021, for anyone interested. It also does a good job bringing a bit of warmth to the Fan 2, although I’ve been using it with the Serial mainly.

 

[Leonarfd]

Also a hype photo since there is some folks who want try the FAN 2, perhaps the Penon release that is most balanced. I do miss mine, I had problems with fit. With my current tips I could have probably lived with it with no problems.