Thanks for the info. I am looking for something great sounding that wont cross 1k budget. I am very happy with Fiio FH9 and FiiO as a brand overall. I recently discovered Penon and I like what I read so far. Im considering Serial or Volt but migth end up with both of them. That tripple dynamic driver in Serial is a big tempt for me plus its price. The VOLT seems like perfect replacement for my Monarch mk2 plan.
Not saying it’s for everyone, but this was practically the story of my journey back to headfi. I had been on hiatus for some time and when I returned, the OG Monarch was what everyone was talking about. To be fair, I’ve still never heard them and am never likely to hear them unless I buy them, but they had been talked about and reviewed enough that I was able to form a reasonable impression of what they might sound like.
And then I came across the Volt. There were even fewer reviews or impressions of them than there are now, but I read each one carefully. To me, musicality, texture, timbre and tonal coherence are all major selling points, and they played a big part in the choice I made. Never looked back.
Thanks for the info. I am looking for something great sounding that wont cross 1k budget. I am very happy with Fiio FH9 and FiiO as a brand overall. I recently discovered Penon and I like what I read so far. Im considering Serial or Volt but migth end up with both of them. That tripple dynamic driver in Serial is a big tempt for me plus its price. The VOLT seems like perfect replacement for my Monarch mk2 plan.
I have tried both the Monarch MK2 and Volt. I had very high hopes for Monarch MKII and where visiting my friend to test it.
To say it short I was disappointed with Monarch MKII, clear and detailed sound but lacks soul and fun.
After that he asked me if I wanted to to try something else, I got to try Penon Volt and Globe. It was total romance immediately with both, especially Volt.
Maybe not as detailed as Monarch MKII but so much more musical, still as I had not been long into IEMs back then I could not use that much money on a IEM.
After the long road now testing so much stuff I wish I bought the Volt, but I have now learned what I like and do not like.
If it ever get on a good sale I will pick one up, or perhaps a version 2?
I know that a measurement is not a defining factor for sound, but can help as a rough estimate.
Not saying it’s for everyone, but this was practically the story of my journey back to headfi. I had been on hiatus for some time and when I returned, the OG Monarch was what everyone was talking about. To be fair, I’ve still never heard them and am never likely to hear them unless I buy them, but they had been talked about and reviewed enough that I was able to form a reasonable impression of what they might sound like.
And then I came across the Volt. There were even fewer reviews or impressions of them than there are now, but I read each one carefully. To me, musicality, texture, timbre and tonal coherence are all major selling points, and they played a big part in the choice I made. Never looked back.
I have tried both the Monarch MK2 and Volt. I had very high hopes for Monarch MKII and where visiting my friend to test it.
To say it short I was disappointed with Monarch MKII, clear and detailed sound but lacks soul and fun.
After that he asked me if I wanted to to try something else, I got to try Penon Volt and Globe. It was total romance immediately with both, especially Volt.
Maybe not as detailed as Monarch MKII but so much more musical, still as I had not been long into IEMs back then I could not use that much for a IEM.
After the long road now testing so much stuff I almost wish I bought the Volt, but I have now learned what I like and do not like.
If it ever get on a good sale I will pick one up, or perhaps a version 2?
I know that a measurement is not a defining factor for sound, but can help as a rough estimate.
Thank you for your compare info and the graph. On the graph the monarch seems to be very interesting (except the lack of mid-bass). I will prefer Volt as the reviews and also feedback from users are very positive indeed and I also heard many times that monarch lack of soul and fun. The price factor is also important plus my opinion is that the ThieAudio brand is a bit overhyped. Looks like I might end up with Volt and Serial for the price of one Monarch mk2
Head and shoulders above. Stock isn’t bad, to be fair. But Totem is way richer, more engaging, more dimensional. Yes it’s a considerable expense and it took me a long time to come round to it. Which is fine. Depending on how you want to shape your (future) Volt’s sound, there are a lot of other viable options in between stock and Totem. But now I would never want my Volt to be without its Totem.
Head and shoulders above. Stock isn’t bad, to be fair. But Totem is way richer, more engaging, more dimensional. Yes it’s a considerable expense and it took me a long time to come round to it. Which is fine. Depending on how you want to shape your (future) Volt’s sound, there are a lot of other viable options in between stock and Totem. But now I would never want my Volt to be without its Totem.
My third, and least expensive Penon cable has arrived, the Vocal. First impression, holy crap are you kidding with that bling, this cable is loud and I haven't even plugged it in yet!? It's funny cuz the order of price of my Penon cables also translates to order of crazy design. I'll leave a pic of Vocal here, but Space looks like a PW First Times and the Leo Plus, the most expensive of mine, is almost a normal looking cable!
Second impression is they came up with a weird but strangely apt name, Vocal, because to me, it does seem to somehow push the vocals forward! What alchemy is going on over at Penon!?
Listening now on single DD, Softears Tremolo where I had only listened to the stock cable before. This cable has expanded the stage a bit, tho it's already wide on this ciem. It has lessened the bass impact slightly in favor of the mids and the vocals are out front and center. Both male and female vocals are superb and breathy, with beautiful resolution.
I will definitely try this out with other iem's. Like I've found with my other Penon cables, there's something ethereal that I can't quite explain about Vocal, and at $70, it is a steal, glad I got it. Other than the crazy looking wires, it's supple, has no microphonics that I can detect, and is of similar build quality to the other more expensive cables.
So glad and so impressed that I've gone ahead and ordered a Serial! I mean, how many cables do I buy before trying one of their iems!? Can't wait to try it out with my 3 magic cables made under the same roof!
YES. Better clarity on top of the already clear output. Better separation. Brings out the best from the Volts, simply put.
Volts by default; Bass - Neutral reference, very slightly warm. Mids - Lush neutral. Highs - neutral, natural, not emphasised, but the extension sounds boundless, endless.
Plays all genres, No vocal bias, sweet strings. Very fit for EDM exercises.
Large scale of imaging, akin to very good Full size headphones. Excellent timbre. Excellent coherence for a tribrid set. Handles complex passages amazingly well.
Loves powerful sources.
One of the most hi-fi In ear Headphones out there...
My third, and least expensive Penon cable has arrived, the Vocal. First impression, holy crap are you kidding with that bling, this cable is loud and I haven't even plugged it in yet!? It's funny cuz the order of price of my Penon cables also translates to order of crazy design. I'll leave a pic of Vocal here, but Space looks like a PW First Times and the Leo Plus, the most expensive of mine, is almost a normal looking cable!
Second impression is they came up with a weird but strangely apt name, Vocal, because to me, it does seem to somehow push the vocals forward! What alchemy is going on over at Penon!?
Listening now on single DD, Softears Tremolo where I had only listened to the stock cable before. This cable has expanded the stage a bit, tho it's already wide on this ciem. It has lessened the bass impact slightly in favor of the mids and the vocals are out front and center. Both male and female vocals are superb and breathy, with beautiful resolution.
I will definitely try this out with other iem's. Like I've found with my other Penon cables, there's something ethereal that I can't quite explain about Vocal, and at $70, it is a steal, glad I got it. Other than the crazy looking wires, it's supple, has no microphonics that I can detect, and is of similar build quality to the other more expensive cables.
So glad and so impressed that I've gone ahead and ordered a Serial! I mean, how many cables do I buy before trying one of their iems!? Can't wait to try it out with my 3 magic cables made under the same roof!
Yeah it seems a good cheap cable. At the moment my most neutral cable and with no muddiness in the mids is the Space (I use it with vortex and used it with fan2), now that I'm waiting for Isn h50 I think I'll order another one Space mmcx for them (but meanwhile I've taken form Amazon a 0.78->mmcx adapters to test all my cables on h50), but I'm also curious about this vocal cause I'm not too much interested in bass quantities, any one of you could try for me the Vocal on h50? And G4?
Penon now is also selling dc04pro and I'm going to take it.
Ops another question: does it exist an hifi y cable all usb c in which one bring only the oth data from the phone, the other the power taken from a battery pack that fuse together in one usb c. It could be a good idea for an usb c->spdif converter sold by ddhifi.
My third, and least expensive Penon cable has arrived, the Vocal. First impression, holy crap are you kidding with that bling, this cable is loud and I haven't even plugged it in yet!? It's funny cuz the order of price of my Penon cables also translates to order of crazy design. I'll leave a pic of Vocal here, but Space looks like a PW First Times
I love what it does to the Serials. By default the Serials already possess an exceptionally huge sound field.
The Space increases that real estate more, further out of the head, all directions, whilst giving off better definition on everything.
Second impression is they came up with a weird but strangely apt name, Vocal, because to me, it does seem to somehow push the vocals forward! What alchemy is going on over at Penon!?
I will definitely try this out with other iem's. Like I've found with my other Penon cables, there's something ethereal that I can't quite explain about Vocal, and at $70, it is a steal, glad I got it. Other than the crazy looking wires, it's supple, has no microphonics that I can detect, and is of similar build quality to the other more expensive cables.
So glad and so impressed that I've gone ahead and ordered a Serial! I
As I always told you all I listen a lot of classical music, but also the rest of the music also jazz electronic rock etc.
I tune the iems (cable and tips) only with the classical music cause I know the real sound of them in life, I must listen to correct energy in the highs, ( but non too much) and details have to come but naturally not pushed or magnified ( like isn S2 does). Also for example the sound of vortex is perfect with classical music, it's the correct amount of highs information, it's a wonderful tuning, its normal that if you listen other genres you may find them a little bright but are not vortex are those tracks.
Space cable has the equilibrium of vortex all is presented naturally and well intellegibly also in the medium bass in which S2 didn't satisfied me. For what it costs is a keeper and will serve any good tuned iems, I for sure imagine how well it will be on Serial.
If penon could add only a little graphene it will have more resonant vibration on basses performance.
I imagine that the trio vortex h50 and serial could cover al the needs of everyone.
Let's wait for the h50.
(P.s What do you think of the geekwold gk100 penon is offering us)
(And just to share the most correct in Dynamic expression and correctness with out increasing any frequency cable for home hifi for me is ramm audio, I have them for power, loudspeakers,and interconnect)
Short answer: Yes. In fact, I was using the OSG with the Volt before I got the Totem.
Longer answer: The OSG shapes the Volt sound in a different direction. From memory, you get better separation than stock and overall it’s brighter and leaner than the Totem. The Totem makes notes bigger and lusher and somehow manages to throw open the soundstage as well, so that there’s enough space in between them so as not to crowd everything out.
I should also add that the Yanyin Moonlight stock cable (also sold by Penon) is a decent dupe of the OSG at a fraction of the price so if budget is an issue, you can try that first and see if you even like it to begin with.
But mostly, if you have about $1k or so to spend on Penon gear, I’d go with the Volt and Serial first, get them both burnt in, and decide on the upgrades only after that.
I love what it does to the Serials. By default the Serials already possess an exceptionally huge sound field.
The Space increases that real estate more, further out of the head, all directions, whilst giving off better definition on everything.
The Unsilver Silver may look like very ordinary. To be honest, this is a Detail head's with Bass inclination wet dream come true,
The Space makes the Serial almost something else, even though it's not affecting FR that much, the size of it all, and the smoothness......the smoothness of the Space.......................the exquisite effortlessness. My word for the day..........effortlessness!
My third, and least expensive Penon cable has arrived, the Vocal. First impression, holy crap are you kidding with that bling, this cable is loud and I haven't even plugged it in yet!? It's funny cuz the order of price of my Penon cables also translates to order of crazy design. I'll leave a pic of Vocal here, but Space looks like a PW First Times and the Leo Plus, the most expensive of mine, is almost a normal looking cable!
Second impression is they came up with a weird but strangely apt name, Vocal, because to me, it does seem to somehow push the vocals forward! What alchemy is going on over at Penon!?
Listening now on single DD, Softears Tremolo where I had only listened to the stock cable before. This cable has expanded the stage a bit, tho it's already wide on this ciem. It has lessened the bass impact slightly in favor of the mids and the vocals are out front and center. Both male and female vocals are superb and breathy, with beautiful resolution.
I will definitely try this out with other iem's. Like I've found with my other Penon cables, there's something ethereal that I can't quite explain about Vocal, and at $70, it is a steal, glad I got it. Other than the crazy looking wires, it's supple, has no microphonics that I can detect, and is of similar build quality to the other more expensive cables.
So glad and so impressed that I've gone ahead and ordered a Serial! I mean, how many cables do I buy before trying one of their iems!? Can't wait to try it out with my 3 magic cables made under the same roof!
Also I seemed to gel even more with the Vocal after some time? I know this is wild......but the Vocal actually got better and better with use? It's an amazing value!
The Space makes the Serial almost something else, even though it's not affecting FR that much, the size of it all, and the smoothness......the smoothness of the Space.......................the exquisite effortlessness. My word for the day..........effortlessness!
Also I seemed to gel even more with the Vocal after some time? I know this is wild......but the Vocal actually got better and better with use? It's an amazing value!
@Scuba Devils loved Hansound Nyx (i own) with Serial and i'm still drolling on Serial since was release...
I'm trying to decide between Serial and EST50, if latter is more similar to Volt i'd chose Serial
@Scuba Devils loved Hansound Nyx (i own) with Serial and i'm still drolling on Serial since was release...
I'm trying to decide between Serial and EST50, if latter is more similar to Volt i'd chose Serial
I have only two Hansound cables and not the Nyx. The ones I have are the Zen and ZENTOO. Actually they are OCC and warmer cables, as there is no silver plating. The Space is wild with the Serial as the Serial already has decent stage, but the Space improves it in every direction? Yet still keeps it warm. I have never heard the Volt, but the Serial is a progression into neutrality for ISN/Penon. That doesn't mean it's neutral at all........but ISN/Penon continued in the direction with the H30/Fan 2 and Vortex. With that said...........nothing can prepare you for the Serial as there is that X factor going on. Especially when you find out how many ways you can adjust the sound. I mean all of them are good and enjoyed by many..........but just here......you have one that likes the Penon Mix cable with the Serial, or another that likes the Space cable better.................so you can see there are many ways to interpret what way is best. The EST50 came way before, and offers a more dislocated approach, but even that one can be changed dramatically with your chosen cable add.
The EST50 is a technical beast, and has a cleanness above and beyond (what I am not referring to in the bass department). Meaning there is simply more sound, more realness into the stage, where the Serial is slightly laid back. With the EST50 even the bass has texture......more texture than the Serial. IMO I almost category stuff in which how the drivers align, where the Serial is just the sound of DDs, and the EST50 IS the quintessential Hybrid sound. What I'm trying to say is there are more contrasts to the EST50, that it holds a realism into which the actual timbre can be observed. There are details on-top of the elements which are 3D.......and most importantly "real". Remember too the Serial is going to offer a more natural approach where the 3 DDs kinda come together to almost make a single driver display into the stage. Where it is hard to tell which driver is which, and that is one of the magic things with the Serial, that and it sound real, also.
I think across the board here you will find people enchanted with the realness of Penon/ISN output?
Real is the best word for its timbre. Where the EST50 is bigger and carved where some parts of the stage elements are positioned to be there own gig.......and we want them to be their own, to have their own imaging and decay. The wild thing was I had the EST50 for awhile but never realized the cable dexterity in sound that it offered. I mean I did migrate over to the ISN SC4 cable, but then I found so many others that offered a totally new way to fully understand what the EST50 was about, and its potential to become something new. My latest favorite is the Vocal Cable............due to the Pinna Gain a section where there was nothing wrong with adding specific (forward) energy!
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