helloh3adfi
1000+ Head-Fier
How's the AG8 doing compared to ASOS when paired with Serial, 10th or Soundrhyme SR8?
The PENON official thread
- Thread starter Dsnuts
- Start date
24-Mar-24
Chain: HiBy R8 --> Effect Audio Ares S (8W) 4.4 mm --> Penon Quattro --> Spinfit W1 ear tips
Introduction: The Quattro and the Ares S 8W cable were loaned to me by my good friend Sandeep Agrawal. The Quattro is a 4DD set with 1 x 6mm custom dynamic driver for High frequency, 1 x 8mm graphene diaphragm for the Medium frequency, and 2 x 10mm composite diaphragm for the Low frequency.
Here are my brief listening impressions of them.
But first, a little about me- I prefer a balanced to warm sound for enjoying my music. I own sets like the 64 Audio Trio, Final A8000, and Thieaudio Monarch MKII. I dislike any one frequency overpowering or dominating all others, be it bass, mids, or the treble. Occasionally, I do also listen to reference/analytical sets with a flat sound signature. I very rarely prefer all-BA setups, no matter how high-end they are. Technicalities and capabilities aside, I always look for an IEM/HP that grabs my attention the moment it starts playing (trust me, IEMs/HPs that really connect with me always grab my attention the moment they start playing). It should sound clear, fun, musical, draw me into the song, and most importantly make me feel the emotions! If a Rs. 1,500/- (USD 18) IEM does this, I buy it too.
Design and Build Quality: This is a very well-made IEM that feels good in-hand. The earpieces look nice with their bright blue faceplates and the Quattro branding on them. No complaints.
Comfort, and fit: I found the Quattro to be medium-heavy with a deep in-ear fit. They are chunky boys and not the lightest. They did feel present in my ear most of the time. While they’re not uncomfortable by any means, they’re definitely not the most comfortable too. As always, YMMV here. The isolation with the W1 ear tips was nice. Nothing mind-blowing and nothing bad too here. It’s good and as expected.
Brief impressions on the sound quality: The first words that come to my mind are warm, musical, detailed, and analog-ish sound. Right from the first song, the music just grabbed my attention and drew me in. While listening to this chain, time and again I was hitting imaginary drums and strumming imaginary guitars in my hands. It was just so much fun! In energetic and pacy songs like Caroline by Patrick Droney, I was expecting the next drum hit and wow’ed when it came. Songs like Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore by Chris Stapleton were extremely emotive and had me lost in them with my eyes closed.
The Quattro’s bass is excellent. Thumpy and heavy, but executed very tastefully. Its vocals are excellent, as is its overall tonality. A very natural and musical sound that can be listened to with zero fatigue for hours. It has a full-bodied sound, which is detailed too. And the details are never sibilant. In fact, they’re very rounded and polished! On going through the Penon website, I see one of the reviews there say that the Quattro has a ‘dark treble’. Having heard it, I now know what this reviewer mean.
Overall, I’d say that the Quattro has an analog-ish sound that’s done extremely tastefully. It has a lovely wide soundstage with an airy sound. The layering and separation are nothing short of impressive! For example, the song Popular Monster by Falling in Reverse gets super-busy after the 2-mins mark. I have heard many IEMs stumble or make a jumbled mess of this song, but the Quattro handled it like a grandmaster! Never once did I find it struggling and it presented even this loud and busy song with a lovely musicality to it. My go to song for testing spicy treble is Into The New World by Girls’ Generation. Here the Quattro handled the sharpness very well and presented this song too with a very musical flavor.
Usually, I hear both these songs purely for testing. But I think this is the first time I actually enjoyed listening to both these songs while testing them! That’s saying a lot about the Quattro and this chain.
Quattro with its stock cable: I heard this for a bit but after listening to the Quattro with the Ares S 8W, I’d say that this chain still has all the elements and qualities mentioned above but to a lesser degree. With the stock cable, the sound became leaner and slightly less musical.
The Ares S 8W is simply way too superior and brings out the Quattro’s best. I highly recommend it to anyone owning/using the Quattro.
Conclusion: As I wrote in the beginning, the Quattro drew me in with its sound and connected me to the emotions in the music. Any IEM that does this and that too to such a high degree, I give it 12/10. Not gold, this IEM and chain deserve a platinum award.
Penon Quattro – brief sound impressions, by Sameer Tangri
Chain: HiBy R8 --> Effect Audio Ares S (8W) 4.4 mm --> Penon Quattro --> Spinfit W1 ear tips
Introduction: The Quattro and the Ares S 8W cable were loaned to me by my good friend Sandeep Agrawal. The Quattro is a 4DD set with 1 x 6mm custom dynamic driver for High frequency, 1 x 8mm graphene diaphragm for the Medium frequency, and 2 x 10mm composite diaphragm for the Low frequency.
Here are my brief listening impressions of them.
But first, a little about me- I prefer a balanced to warm sound for enjoying my music. I own sets like the 64 Audio Trio, Final A8000, and Thieaudio Monarch MKII. I dislike any one frequency overpowering or dominating all others, be it bass, mids, or the treble. Occasionally, I do also listen to reference/analytical sets with a flat sound signature. I very rarely prefer all-BA setups, no matter how high-end they are. Technicalities and capabilities aside, I always look for an IEM/HP that grabs my attention the moment it starts playing (trust me, IEMs/HPs that really connect with me always grab my attention the moment they start playing). It should sound clear, fun, musical, draw me into the song, and most importantly make me feel the emotions! If a Rs. 1,500/- (USD 18) IEM does this, I buy it too.
Design and Build Quality: This is a very well-made IEM that feels good in-hand. The earpieces look nice with their bright blue faceplates and the Quattro branding on them. No complaints.
Comfort, and fit: I found the Quattro to be medium-heavy with a deep in-ear fit. They are chunky boys and not the lightest. They did feel present in my ear most of the time. While they’re not uncomfortable by any means, they’re definitely not the most comfortable too. As always, YMMV here. The isolation with the W1 ear tips was nice. Nothing mind-blowing and nothing bad too here. It’s good and as expected.
Brief impressions on the sound quality: The first words that come to my mind are warm, musical, detailed, and analog-ish sound. Right from the first song, the music just grabbed my attention and drew me in. While listening to this chain, time and again I was hitting imaginary drums and strumming imaginary guitars in my hands. It was just so much fun! In energetic and pacy songs like Caroline by Patrick Droney, I was expecting the next drum hit and wow’ed when it came. Songs like Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore by Chris Stapleton were extremely emotive and had me lost in them with my eyes closed.
The Quattro’s bass is excellent. Thumpy and heavy, but executed very tastefully. Its vocals are excellent, as is its overall tonality. A very natural and musical sound that can be listened to with zero fatigue for hours. It has a full-bodied sound, which is detailed too. And the details are never sibilant. In fact, they’re very rounded and polished! On going through the Penon website, I see one of the reviews there say that the Quattro has a ‘dark treble’. Having heard it, I now know what this reviewer mean.
Overall, I’d say that the Quattro has an analog-ish sound that’s done extremely tastefully. It has a lovely wide soundstage with an airy sound. The layering and separation are nothing short of impressive! For example, the song Popular Monster by Falling in Reverse gets super-busy after the 2-mins mark. I have heard many IEMs stumble or make a jumbled mess of this song, but the Quattro handled it like a grandmaster! Never once did I find it struggling and it presented even this loud and busy song with a lovely musicality to it. My go to song for testing spicy treble is Into The New World by Girls’ Generation. Here the Quattro handled the sharpness very well and presented this song too with a very musical flavor.
Usually, I hear both these songs purely for testing. But I think this is the first time I actually enjoyed listening to both these songs while testing them! That’s saying a lot about the Quattro and this chain.
Quattro with its stock cable: I heard this for a bit but after listening to the Quattro with the Ares S 8W, I’d say that this chain still has all the elements and qualities mentioned above but to a lesser degree. With the stock cable, the sound became leaner and slightly less musical.
The Ares S 8W is simply way too superior and brings out the Quattro’s best. I highly recommend it to anyone owning/using the Quattro.
Conclusion: As I wrote in the beginning, the Quattro drew me in with its sound and connected me to the emotions in the music. Any IEM that does this and that too to such a high degree, I give it 12/10. Not gold, this IEM and chain deserve a platinum award.
Great review, and glad to see that Sandeep is getting the word out far and wide.
Quattro is a master class of Penon doing what they do best: making something that sounds freakin' great first, all other metrics are second!
PixelSquish
Previously known as idiotekniques
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
- Posts
- 2,687
- Likes
- 2,002
I thought it was very good. I could care less about the Elysian name because to me the Anni sound anemic, and I don't do BA bass so that disqualifies the Diva. To me the Anni make DD bass sound like a BA instead, so not impressed. I can't be impressed with the highs when the lows are so anemic. Perhaps if I listened to totally different music of course. So literally zero care for the Elysian name. After trying a bunch of stuff at Canjam, without a doubt to me the Pilgrim was the best bang for buck IEM I tried by far.
Unterstuffz
100+ Head-Fier
Hey ,
i got the Penoin 10th Anny and Adore Them Except for One thing they are Sometimes a Littlebit Sibilant and i am very Sensible to that ... Someone got a a tip for Tip (lol) that sound like the Stock tips but reduces Sibilance ?
Thanks in Advance.
i got the Penoin 10th Anny and Adore Them Except for One thing they are Sometimes a Littlebit Sibilant and i am very Sensible to that ... Someone got a a tip for Tip (lol) that sound like the Stock tips but reduces Sibilance ?
Thanks in Advance.
tombrisbane
500+ Head-Fier
My Quattro arrived today, very impressed on first listen. It’s now burning in 
It depends on your inner ear shape, but for me KB07 tips and Spiral Dot tips help against sibilance.
Try using foam tips, that can mellow the treble a bit.
Dsnuts
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2011
- Posts
- 15,588
- Likes
- 31,798
Things are a bit quiet on the Penon front. But that could mean the calm before the storm.
RunWithOne
Head-Fier
Do you know something about news?
Could it be that the Voltage is about to increase for a healthy discharge in our ears??
️
Dsnuts
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2011
- Posts
- 15,588
- Likes
- 31,798
I know a few things but all hush hush. Just know Penon is working on a few projects as they always are. I did get a look at the Voltage.
Is a damn good looking IEM. Don't know the final specs but one can speculate due to naming conventions. I know we all have been looking forward to a Volt follow up.
Can't wait.
Is a damn good looking IEM. Don't know the final specs but one can speculate due to naming conventions. I know we all have been looking forward to a Volt follow up.
Can't wait.
helloh3adfi
1000+ Head-Fier
Do they try to pimp Penon Volt?Could it be that the Voltage is about to increase for a healthy discharge in our ears??
iscorpio71
100+ Head-Fier
That's precisely what it means...
️ Voltage hopes it's priced aggressively.There's going to be tight and firm competition...
Last edited:
Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
Cables rolls TSMR-X
First things first I have to say I landed on the suggested switch setting. Meaning 100 was too bass laden and affected pace. Really the suggested setting of 020 was just right, and reassuring that I hear things the way TSMR hears stuff.
Cables
The ISN S4 4 strand 63 cores totaling 252 cores silver plated copper $55.00
The ISN GC4 Single Crystal Copper Gold Platted 4 stand 16 core $179.00
The Penon ASOS+ 8 wire, 24 AWG 99cores Silver Plated Copper with Litz structure and special Purple Plug $215.00
The Penon OSG Graphene infused Silver Plated Copper 4 stand 71 core Litz structure $299.00
The ISN S4:
What was wild is I have always had an itch to try the S4 cable on other stuff. While sure depending where you want to go the ISN Neo5 was released with the S8, only to be fully improved by the magic of the S4. Today the S4 is bringing its bass reductions and stage widening to the table. While not as vivid as the next three, it was still cool to hear. My bad, as I have yet to try it against the included TSMR cable?
The ISN GC4:
The ISN GC4 added an additional amount of thickness from the S4 and did a cool thing to where it cleaned up the low end and added details, a style of speed and texture. The GC4 is while slightly dark it also added great width into stage perception and slight itemizations found inside the midrange. Great and really a good combo if you want a cleaner bass than some cables with still the warmth and stage size offered with some cables. Clean bass is the word for the day.
The ASOS+:
The ASOS+ may have been my favorite cable, maybe? Just bigger than life, and a width, tallness and lowest point, plus front to back. Both midrange centered, yet opened up the treble into items and made the bass super clear and fast. We are talking size of output........
Penon OSG:
The Penon OSG:
Well well, Penon used Graphene for the very first time with this. The older and wiser more expensive brother of the ISN G4. Here was are given bass reduction too, but done in such a special way…….to where the mids were offering the biggest and smoothest today. A notch down in many ways from the over the top ASOS+. Yet this here was polite and offered a new level of class and sophistication, allowing that Graphene sound to be just that much more potent than the G4 ever thought of being. Big with a smooth midrange and a deepness of looking down into the stage that comes from clarity and element organization.
The ISN G4:
First things first I have to say I landed on the suggested switch setting. Meaning 100 was too bass laden and affected pace. Really the suggested setting of 020 was just right, and reassuring that I hear things the way TSMR hears stuff.
Cables
The ISN S4 4 strand 63 cores totaling 252 cores silver plated copper $55.00
The ISN GC4 Single Crystal Copper Gold Platted 4 stand 16 core $179.00
The Penon ASOS+ 8 wire, 24 AWG 99cores Silver Plated Copper with Litz structure and special Purple Plug $215.00
The Penon OSG Graphene infused Silver Plated Copper 4 stand 71 core Litz structure $299.00
The ISN S4:
What was wild is I have always had an itch to try the S4 cable on other stuff. While sure depending where you want to go the ISN Neo5 was released with the S8, only to be fully improved by the magic of the S4. Today the S4 is bringing its bass reductions and stage widening to the table. While not as vivid as the next three, it was still cool to hear. My bad, as I have yet to try it against the included TSMR cable?
The ISN GC4:
The ISN GC4 added an additional amount of thickness from the S4 and did a cool thing to where it cleaned up the low end and added details, a style of speed and texture. The GC4 is while slightly dark it also added great width into stage perception and slight itemizations found inside the midrange. Great and really a good combo if you want a cleaner bass than some cables with still the warmth and stage size offered with some cables. Clean bass is the word for the day.
The ASOS+:
The ASOS+ may have been my favorite cable, maybe? Just bigger than life, and a width, tallness and lowest point, plus front to back. Both midrange centered, yet opened up the treble into items and made the bass super clear and fast. We are talking size of output........
Penon OSG:
The Penon OSG:
Well well, Penon used Graphene for the very first time with this. The older and wiser more expensive brother of the ISN G4. Here was are given bass reduction too, but done in such a special way…….to where the mids were offering the biggest and smoothest today. A notch down in many ways from the over the top ASOS+. Yet this here was polite and offered a new level of class and sophistication, allowing that Graphene sound to be just that much more potent than the G4 ever thought of being. Big with a smooth midrange and a deepness of looking down into the stage that comes from clarity and element organization.
The ISN G4:
Last edited:
Users who are viewing this thread
