[Dsnuts]

The Legend - Folks who've been in this thread for a while know I'm a stickler for Massive Stage.
Maybe directly or indirectly, I am one of the critiques (constructive, of course) that always commented that there has to be a set that's great in the Mids and a huge stage at the same time. For me this is a must have set.
This set is in my bucket list...

I was shocked when I did a comparison from the Legends to the Impact just how wide the stage for the Legends were. Its wider than the Volts stage which as you know is already considered one of the wider stages for IEMs. I would say the Impacts and the volts share similar stages for width of sound. Out of all the IEMs for Penon. It is the Legends that come closer to an actual open back type acoustics due to its wide involved stage.

 

[Click]

Does anyone know if Penon or ISN makes UP-OCC cables?

I'm looking for a replacement for the stock Monarch MKIII graphine / SPC cable.

Thinking about the ISN G4 but the colors just doesn't match the Monarch and is too gaudy for me.

 

[Dsnuts]

Heres one I can recommend for you. Its the stock cable for the Yanyin Moonlights. Excellent cable as it is also a graphene infused SPC cable. This is one of the better included stock cables and don't cost too much.

https://penonaudio.com/yanyin-moonlight-iem-cable.html I would imagine these being more of a sidegrade vs an upgrade but if your looking for a cable that will not change the original inteneded sound too much I would imagine these to be very similar quality to the stock cable if not a bit better.

 

[ehjie]

Is 10th a big Huge improvement over Fan 2 in stage width,

Yes, including that staggering stage depth and height. The Fan 2 has an excellent musician's monitor style staging, whilst the 10th is Holographic.

imaging

Yes

and airiness?

Yes, again. Being est, Some albums I play with, I could mistake that I was playing with the Volt, to some degree, it has that realistic decay up top...

I also consider Yanyin Moonlight - is it still competitive in 2023 in used prices, around $400? I read a comparison of Moonlight with 10th here, I think by Dsnuts, but I've no idea how do Fan 2 compare to these two.

 

[BS5711]

……. All because of 1 guy making a fuss about it.

If reviewers or users want to make disclaimers, that's their own decision. I think it's silly and not necessary.

One guy didn’t make a fuss about it, one guy asked a very simple question.

Another guy read something into that question and then made a fuss about what he thought the first guy meant.

We all know what you think, myself and a few others think differently, nothing wrong with that.

 

[LeonidK]

@ehjie thanks for this comparison, damn, both 10th and Moonlight seem so appealing but it's hard to tell which more. I'd like to ask two more questions:
1. Which one is more comfortable to you? Fan 2 has this terribly long nozzle, strong seal and deep fit, but on the other hand 10th looks so big, probably even bigger than Blessing 2 which I had but appreciated its comfort a lot.
2. What do you think about 10th's timbre in classical music? What I dislike about Fan 2 is that they are overly sweet sounding and too smoothed to really show natural tone texture. Everything sounds the same on them, everything is always sweet, bass always has the same polite kind of attack and decay.

 

[F700]

One guy didn’t make a fuss about it, one guy asked a very simple question.

Another guy read something into that question and then made a fuss about what he thought the first guy meant.

We all know what you think, myself and a few others think differently, nothing wrong with that.

next post related to this topic, from yourself or anyone keeping this « fire » alive, I will go mods. Please stop that guys.

 

[BS5711]

In the light of the heated discussion, I am curious if there are Penon products that would not get a recommendation from the regulars here?

I am not a regular here but I am a regular Joe with a pair of functioning ears and a few other IEM for comparison, all which I bought blind based only on the comments of others on forums because I simply have no way to audition other than a handful of sets.

I would not recommend a blind buy of the Fan 2.

I find I have a use case for them but to me they are a niche set. They are a bit light on top end sparkle for my taste and that seems to give some female vocals a slightly unusual almost veiled tone. If the voice is quite high and perhaps a little piercing they do very well but on a female voice that is deeper and a bit darker they portray that in a slightly dulled off and blunt sort of way. Natalie Merchant is a good example of a voice that I don’t find them pleasant with.

They do bass very nicely for my taste which is a preference towards punchy mid bass. I like the bass to be natural and nuanced not over emphasised and the Fan 2 do nicely for me.

As I stated I bought them blind based on having read great comments about them in this very forum but I would not recommend a blind buy to others. They may or may not have a place in a person’s collection but I believe for sure there are other sets that would be universally better received from Penon and other brands.

 

[Dsnuts]

Does anyone know if Penon or ISN makes UP-OCC cables?

I'm looking for a replacement for the stock Monarch MKIII graphine / SPC cable.

Thinking about the ISN G4 but the colors just doesn't match the Monarch and is too gaudy for me.

What would you like to enhance or smooth out on the sound? Need more techncial enhancing or more warmth? Both? I can certainly point you in the right direction but I would like to know what you feel will help synergize with the Monarch MKIII better from a cable pairing.

 

[F700]

Rocking on the Turbo on this track. What a pace and nuances all across the FR!

 

[Click]

What would you like to enhance or smooth out on the sound? Need more techncial enhancing or more warmth? Both? I can certainly point you in the right direction but I would like to know what you feel will help synergize with the Monarch MKIII better from a cable pairing.

Honestly, the Monarch MKIII sounds great with the stock cable, but it's not braided and it's only twisted together, a bit loosely for my perference. The cable's color doesn't match IEMs either. Yes, I care about looks a lot, but obviously sound quality matters more to me.

I think I'd want to enhance both technicalities and warmth, even though the MM3 already has tons of both with the stock cable. It'd be interesting to hear if a cable upgrade could improve the already amazing IEM further.

I'm looking into UP-OCC cables right now. Maybe Effect Audio Cadmus or Eros S, but those are pretty thick cables and the Eros S is more money than I'd like to spend on a cable (that 1st anniversary Eros S is sexy though). I'm also thinking about the Null Audio Hakone MKIII, since I'm using the Arete MKV with the IE600 and like Null Audio's cable quality. But again, the Hakone is $300 and more than I'd like to spend on a cable.

Penon and ISN does make some very nice cables too but some of them are a bit outdated and overpriced, in my opinion. They also choose some funky colors for sleeves and connectors/plugs.

 

[jdan1457]

I was shocked when I did a comparison from the Legends to the Impact just how wide the stage for the Legends were. Its wider than the Volts stage which as you know is already considered one of the wider stages for IEMs. I would say the Impacts and the volts share similar stages for width of sound. Out of all the IEMs for Penon. It is the Legends that come closer to an actual open back type acoustics due to its wide involved stage.

How's the bass between the Legend and the Impact? I found the BA bass on the Impact to be pretty good, obviously not as good as DD but it was good quality.

The stage on the Impact was decent but if there was one complaint it would be the stage wasn't as big as some lower priced IEM's like the UM Mext or SoundRhyme SR8.

 

[Leonarfd]

Honestly, the Monarch MKIII sounds great with the stock cable, but it's not braided and it's only twisted together, a bit loosely for my perference. The cable's color doesn't match IEMs either. Yes, I care about looks a lot, but obviously sound quality matters more to me.



I think I'd want to enhance both technicalities and warmth, even though the MM3 already has tons of both with the stock cable. It'd be interesting to hear if a cable upgrade could improve the already amazing IEM further.

I'm looking into UP-OCC cables right now. Maybe Effect Audio Cadmus or Eros S, but those are pretty thick cables and the Eros S is more money than I'd like to spend on a cable (that 1st anniversary Eros S is sexy though). I'm also thinking about the Null Audio Hakone MKIII, since I'm using the Arete MKV with the IE600 and like Null Audio's cable quality. But again, the Hakone is $300 and more than I'd like to spend on a cable.

Penon and ISN does make some very nice cables too but some of them are a bit outdated and overpriced, in my opinion. They also choose some funky colors for sleeves and connectors/plugs.

Going to promote my cable maker Gladiator Cables from Italy, he can custom make a cable of your choice.
Nothing wrong with Penon cables either, but this give you more options. And I belive Antonio is to be trusted with materials in his cables.
For me he has been honest about pricing and such, with good craftmanship. A reason why I am now a customer coming back.

Highly resolving copper Astra Rame, the black one. Japanese pure copper, a little thick but still one of my most comfortable cables.
Can choose sleeving colors etc, or unsleeved. The copper hardware for the plug is really good.

https://gladiatorcables.com/caesar-line
https://gladiatorcables.com/caesar-line/p/astra-rame

Or just contact him to get something custom, the Astra Rame was my custom order. Ended up stock after.
The Silver one is Pure Silver with palladium coating, beautiful cable. Not starting any cable discussions war so stopping here with descriptions.

 

[BS5711]

Honestly, the Monarch MKIII sounds great with the stock cable, but it's not braided and it's only twisted together, a bit loosely for my perference. The cable's color doesn't match IEMs either. Yes, I care about looks a lot, but obviously sound quality matters more to me.



I think I'd want to enhance both technicalities and warmth, even though the MM3 already has tons of both with the stock cable. It'd be interesting to hear if a cable upgrade could improve the already amazing IEM further.

I'm looking into UP-OCC cables right now. Maybe Effect Audio Cadmus or Eros S, but those are pretty thick cables and the Eros S is more money than I'd like to spend on a cable (that 1st anniversary Eros S is sexy though). I'm also thinking about the Null Audio Hakone MKIII, since I'm using the Arete MKV with the IE600 and like Null Audio's cable quality. But again, the Hakone is $300 and more than I'd like to spend on a cable.

Penon and ISN does make some very nice cables too but some of them are a bit outdated and overpriced, in my opinion. They also choose some funky colors for sleeves and connectors/plugs.

About the loose twist.

I have two Kinera Dromi cables which are almost identical in terms of the visuals of the wire and they way they are twisted as the cable in your picture.

One of mine was twisted quite loosely which is quite easy to fix.

Hold the amplifier plug end of the cable in something so you have both hands free and the cable is held firmly. Twist the length of the cable tighter than it currently is and tighter than you want, it will relax a bit, then heat the whole length of the cable up with a hot hairdryer. DO NOT use a heat gun, way to hot and not needed. When you have the cable nice and warm put the hairdryer on cool air mode or get a damp towel and cool the cable off.

The cable sheathing will hold the tighter twist. I am pretty sure that application of heat is how they form the twist in the factory.

 

[Click]

Going to promote my cable maker Gladiator Cables from Italy, he can custom make a cable of your choice.
Nothing wrong with Penon cables either, but this give you more options. And I belive Antonio is to be trusted with materials in his cables.
For me he has been honest about pricing and such, with good craftmanship. A reason why I am now a customer coming back.

Highly resolving copper Astra Rame, the black one. Japanese pure copper, a little thick but still one of my most comfortable cables.
Can choose sleeving colors etc, or unsleeved. The copper hardware for the plug is really good.

https://gladiatorcables.com/caesar-line
https://gladiatorcables.com/caesar-line/p/astra-rame

Or just contact him to get something custom, the Astra Rame was my custom order. Ended up stock after.
The Silver one is Pure Silver with palladium coating, beautiful cable. Not starting any cable discussions war so stopping here with descriptions.

Thank you for the suggestion. They do look nice. I'll think about it and look into it.