Looking forward to your findings Ian and promise to chime in with more amateurish comparative impressions too...
The PENON official thread
- Thread starter Dsnuts
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Have ordered a Gladiator too and look forward to it like you do...
That Fusion 1 looks very tempting though tbh - hope reason beats greed
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Dsnuts
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Thats the thing they aren't really like too many other cables I own. Very unique in what they do. They do sound separation and imaging something silly. It is like each instrument and vocals associated with the music is separated cleanly from one another better than any other cable I have used and this is beyond the usual tropes of what higher end cables do. That very idea of a cable that does this is pretty crazy but. I want to say the Totems do that to a certain extent. There is a grandure sense of space to the Totem cables that are easily playing at a higher level but these EA cables do some crazy geometry wise for these cables that somehow translates to how they affect sound. Wait till you see what the cable is made of too. I suppose if all you do for your business is to come up with crazy ways materials can affect a sound and how that translates to their offerings. This cable here is clear evidence that these guys are playing on a different levels for cables but they also charge accordingly as well.
-rowan-
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Turbo gear!
As usual, no firm sound impressions until they settle in a bit, but I’m digging these rather more than I thought I would. Everyone’s talking about the bass and I will be saying more as well, but these also have better than expected treble presence. Reminds me of the nice surprise I got when hearing the Vortex for the first time, but more technical.
They’re super comfortable and from a purely practical perspective, Penon nailed the connectors with this one. Regardless of whether you roll cables, you generally want them to stay attached to the shells. Some in the past were loose. And I don’t know if someone overcompensated but some of the recent ones have been very, very tight. On the Turbo, cable pins go in and out firmly and smoothly. The Sphere still has the best connectors but this comes a close second.
PS Found a web site suggesting a retail price for the EA Fusion 1 of roundabout 999 Euro
Butastur has arrived and is ergonomically and sonically all I hoped it would be. Shell is perfect for my ears.
Running through my test tracks that are largely instrumental/ECM label stuff it's very resolving, exquisitely natural and totally coherent across the board.
Stage is spacious and layering is as clear as day. Last time I heard an IEM as distinctly layered was Traillii.
Unwanted resonance is nonexistent, it's just buttery smooth clarity.
I've yet to play with the switches but I'm very happy with stock tuning.
Isolation is very odd with this one. High Hz sound seems to get through easily so i put this down to the air pressure relief system creating a link to the outside. Canal pressure build up is a non issue.
Absolute blinder of an IEM at the price.
Running through my test tracks that are largely instrumental/ECM label stuff it's very resolving, exquisitely natural and totally coherent across the board.
Stage is spacious and layering is as clear as day. Last time I heard an IEM as distinctly layered was Traillii.
Unwanted resonance is nonexistent, it's just buttery smooth clarity.
I've yet to play with the switches but I'm very happy with stock tuning.
Isolation is very odd with this one. High Hz sound seems to get through easily so i put this down to the air pressure relief system creating a link to the outside. Canal pressure build up is a non issue.
Absolute blinder of an IEM at the price.
dharmasteve
Headphoneus Supremus
OK...Penon have come up with a V.I.P. offer on the ISN Neo 5. I have the ISN H40, how much of an upgrade is the Neo 5 over the wonderful H40 (the H40 is Superb!!!)
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Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
It is an upgrade, especially now with the S4. The H40 is truly special, though I don’t know if you know the very first editions of the H40 were tuned slightly different. But later ones are as you know became legendary, and your personal H40 experiences will continue to grow as you find new cables to add to them. The Penon Vocal Cable is a match made in heaven for the H40. The difference is everything is upfront with the H40, as it has a funny way of pushing everything up close, yet big in size. Where the Neo 5 has a stage where stuff is basically more natural and the way many IEMs are. Also the lows and lower midrange of the Neo 5 are dramatically enhanced where the H40 is more sub-bass in stance. So vocals get a nice more forward tune to them, compared to the H40. But it’s really really hard to compare, due to the legendary status of the H40? Hard to knock down the king. Though fit should be better, and really the Neo 5 is almost an experimentally tuned ear monitor, due to how they raised up the 6 kHz peak to balance out the lows. Funny too, that they included a nice midrange all the while including a lower midrange........that grabs hold of acoustic guitars (and harmonics) and gives singer songwriter stuff a magic vocal blend. The H40 does that too expect you have never heard a tune like the Neo 5 before. So it’s a great departure and a thrilling new experience that at first may seem wildly different, but once it’s understood, it’s great! This traditional Neo 5 imaging has spacious placement of constituents, filling the stage with interesting detail positioning, and all that much better as far as separation with the S4 addition! Cheers!
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Selling my Serial, in the classifieds here. Also my ISN EST50....thinning the collection.
-rowan-
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Sounds very promising! Looking forward to more impressions. Any comparisons e.g. with Neon Pro* or Aure, or any Penon/ISN IEMs would be appreciated as well, I’m sure.
* Especially NP. 10 BAs with switches and costing at least $100 less? Fight!
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I will have NP back in the coming days so will publish those thoughts when I can. All I can say is the 0-0 is my ideal tuning crystallised. Balanced neutral with an organic weight and spacious techs. Aure vocals are more forward and it generally leans slightly brighter. Aure has more bass and dynamic kick as expected of a DD. Technically Butastur has a wider and deeper stage with better imaging ability. Effects of switches are noticeable, obviously not in the realm of NP's bass switch, but 1-1 is definitely more dynamic.
@ian91 could you compare them, by any chance, to Mest MKII?
I parted long ago with the Mest MKII, unfortunately. All I can say with confidence is that tonally this is more 'natural' (in my opinion). I always felt UM played with the FR too much for the sake of enhancing stage.
In terms of details, how does it perform ?
