The PENON official thread

[davidmolliere]

How does the Volt compare to the Fibae 7? Would love to hear thaf if possible please?

I'll do a full comparison in my review custom F7 to custom Volt

 

[Jerry-S]

Anyone tried the Volts with BTR5?
Does balanced out have enough juice to make them shine?

 

[docentore]

I would think the MEST and Z1R would sound amazing with the Cayin tubed DAP. After reading more impressions and graphs on the Volt, it seems like it would be a great complement to MEST, since the MEST has more of a bright analytical sound, whereas the Volt had a warm, lush, rich sound. Both in CIEM form would be amazing!

I've tried both with DX220/AMP9 and have to say neither of them likes tubes. Unless it's iBasso implementation but the sound was meh.
From my experience BAs don't like tubes.

 

[Ahmad313]

Hi guys, I just demoed the Volt, ISN H40 and the Mofasest Trio thanks to fellow head-fier @flu_fighter . Major thanks!

I will focus my impressions on the Volt since this is the Penon thread.

The Volt is exactly what folks have said: Thick, rich, intimate. It's easily mistaken for a less capable IEM and one that invites much longer listening to be properly evaluated.

Here's the deal: it's precisely an easy task to give the Volt the longer listen it deserves because it's buttery smooth. NOTHING I threw at it sounds fatiguing. From high energy violins in Ayasa anisong tracks to the aggressive belting of Kim Na Young that often sound shouty and piercing on other gear, it never ever gets there even when jacking up the volume.

Tonality is a continuation of the Penon Orb. It has a similar colour and heft. To those who interpret a leaner sound as more realistic and hi definition, both the Volt and the Orb will not satisfy. To folks who interpret thicker low mids (i.e. Shure se846, Empire Ears Phantom) as more true-to-life, it will likely hit the right notes with you, pun intended. By true-to-life, I mean: If I were to listen to a singer in real life, with them right in front of me, this is actually how they would sound without digital enhancements. I tend to prefer thicker sounding sets that I've heard because I feel they are "truer". Some gear is meant to reproduce the recording as it was meant to sound in the digital sense (i.e. Perhaps the Viento, Moondrop stuff, Tanchjim Oxygen, Thieaudio Monarch/Clairvoyance). Other gear is meant to reveal flaws in recordings (DK4001?). Yet other gear is meant to give true-to-life reproduction. I guess some will say I'm spewing nonsense, but this is really my attempt at making sense of why different listeners prefer some gear to others, and yet use universal language like "this one destroys that other one", without sufficient contextual elaboration.

So yes, the Volt has closer to true-to-life timbre to my ears than a leaner sounding monitor. However, while treble isn't cut off by any means, it's at best smoothened deftly, and at worst heavily de-emphasised. There's a lot of sonic information, but it isn't presented upfront like brighter sets do. E.g. with the Monarch, I can easily pick out what bits of sound are in what position. With the Volt, it's not so immediately apparent. You could look into the window, but it takes a while to spot where things are, even though you can see everything through it. The Monarch is kind of like looking through a giant hole in the wall without the window altogether so you can see everything immediately. Very clear, but overstimulating after a while.

I haven't spent enough time listening to the Volt to evaluate this fairly but it does seem that much of the sonic activity is presented in a focused bubble between your ears. While the tonality seems quite close to the Empire Ears Phantom in thickness, the Volt falls behind in layering, separation and staging, and quite significantly. It also lacks the bite and attack of the Phantom. The Volt is hence much less technical than the Phantom... Or it could be a statement of how underrated the Phantom really is given what it's trying to do. (It doesn't excuse the Phantom for being so exorbitantly priced though, but I digress)

Why do I appear so careful in saying this? Well, because, when I switched back to the Orb, I felt a whole chunk of sonic information in the mids just flat out disappeared. It was still all there in the Orb, but... If the Volt was like peering through the window, the Orb is kind of like peering through a smaller window. Or kinda like, an XL Whopper burger suddenly missing one and a half patties. I think the Thieaudio Clairvoyance is at the top of the game for sonic reproduction and info presentation, but even it sounded thinner and incomplete after switching back, and I've NEVER felt this way about the Clairvoyance despite listening to tons of other IEMs before. Maybe the Phantom being the only one other exception.

The Orb is also not as successful at being inoffensive like the Volt is. It's already pretty smooth and rich, but the shoutiest tracks will remain shouty, and the sharpest upper mids will remain piercing. People say the Meze Rai Penta is inoffensive and smooth. I disagree now. Not even the Rai Penta can match the smoothness of the Volt, but it is definitely far more textured, detailed and nuanced than the latter. The Volt is probably the most inoffensive technical set I've heard bar none. If you want something to lounge with for the entire day without hurting your eardrums - and I mean, the ENTIRE day, this is truly it.

So do I like the Volt? Well, at first listen, I felt it was unimpressive and unexciting. But as I left it in my ears, there was just something inviting about it. The rich and lush tones balanced with the uncoloured timbre, and enjoyable bass. Less like spectacular fireworks, and more like the gigantic one-pot meal your mum used to make which you miss every now and then. Having left the Volt behind, I kinda wish I could have brought it back with me, and that's usually a good sign.

Can you please share the link where you post your impressions on H40 , thanks ,

 

[HiFiJayJay]

Can you please share the link where you post your impressions on H40 , thanks ,

Sorry I haven't typed up any impressions of the ISN H40 or the Mofasest Trio yet. If I do, I'll likely only write impressions of the ISN H40; they impressed me more, though the Mofasest Trio is no slouch too.

You can pm me if you'd like to find out more of my impressions of the H40. But the short answer is, I'll probably buy one in the near future. They're sweet, punchy, fun, energetic, big-sounding and engaging. But they're not as rich, textured, or subbass-hitting as the Orb. So yes, quite similar to what @davidmolliere has written before.

 

[Qiuu]

Sorry I haven't typed up any impressions of the ISN H40 or the Mofasest Trio yet. If I do, I'll likely only write impressions of the ISN H40; they impressed me more, though the Mofasest Trio is no slouch too.

You can pm me if you'd like to find out more of my impressions of the H40. But the short answer is, I'll probably buy one in the near future. They're sweet, punchy, fun, energetic, big-sounding and engaging. But they're not as rich, textured, or subbass-hitting as the Orb. So yes, quite similar to what @davidmolliere has written before.

It sounds very close to Volt in way of reproduction of sound. I'd love to read some comparison between those 3

 

[SenorChang8]

Anyone tried the Volts with BTR5?
Does balanced out have enough juice to make them shine?

Yes it does, I use mine with BTR5 and Hiby R5. Whilst it sounds better on R5, I don’t find it lacking and still really enjoyable on the BTR5. The stock cable is already 2.5mm balanced, so a good match.

 

[Bartosz]

I'll do a full comparison in my review custom F7 to custom Volt

where can I find your Volt review and Fibae 7 comparison.

 

[davidmolliere]

where can I find your Volt review and Fibae 7 comparison.

It's in progress
I'll post a link when I am done

 

[Bartosz]

I'll post a link when I am done

I will be very grateful for the link

 

[HiFiJayJay]

I just got my Penon Sphere, and they're immediately more impressive off the bat than the Orb were.

It's not that the Orb were unimpressive by any means, but that the Sphere doesn't leave you wanting for any frequency. It is detailed, textured, casts a wide stage with decent imaging, and hits the bottom HARD.

On the other hand, the Orb needed some of the right genres to play to its greatest strengths. After a while, perhaps with mental and driver burn in, you start to appreciate the level of texture happening in the midrange, which is actually missing from the Sphere.

The mids of the Orb and Sphere may come across as very similar, but I find the Sphere is just sweeter and more pleasing off the bat. The Orbs are more neutral-tilted, but on the thicker side and more nuanced and full-bodied.

And of course, while the Sphere's bass could be mistaken for DD bass, it still doesn't hold a candle to the Orb for impact and nuance. It's quite a bit more one-notey than the Orb in that sense. But man, is it pleasing.

Sonic traits of both in summary:

- Sphere is sweeter and more pleasing. It is not completely smooth, with some bite in the upper mids to give its notes a sense of attack, but it is also not a very fatiguing monitor (the ISN H40 would be much more fatiguing). The sound is well-textured and refined for its price point of USD150. The soundstage is decently wide for its price as well. It falls behind in terms of sheer depth, layering and imaging capabilities, as well as a leaner, smaller "surface area" of note attacks. It sounds like a potential go-to for easy listening with enough kick that it doesn't fade into the background completely.

- Orb is lush, rich and full bodied. Its tonality is more neutral-tilted and brings a more even balance to presenting both male and female vocals. It has more air in its sound, and has sophisticated "forward" layering where notes seem to travel far out in front of the eyes. The midrange is very detailed even at its price point, and you can often pick out small details in the recording without too much effort. Bass impact, body and texture is top class, and not one-notey like most budget DD offerings. Soundstage, depth, layering (overall, not in the forward sense as earlier mentioned) and imaging are good in width and height, though not class-leading. It is fairly relaxing, and sounds like a potential go-to when craving a richer sound, with more texture and ambience, and a more emotive, impactful bass.

 

[HiFiJayJay]

Peekture time!

Sphere paired with stock green tips and the Effect Audio Maestro cable.

Orb paired with Spinfit CP100 tips and a custom Copper/SPC type 4 litz hybrid cable.

 

[BobJS]

Does anyone happen to have both the Sphere and Campfire Audio's Orion? I wonder how the two single-BA IEMs compare.

 

[Xinlisupreme]

I love Volt, and with time increase a lot highs that before 160hours are shy, day by day volt becomes better and near perfect tonal/timbre tuning.
Penon has released an amazing IEM!

 

[Xinlisupreme]

Anyway VOLT is my favorite IEM ever, the kind of product that you would never stop listening to and you just can't get out of your ears because VOLT connect you strongly with music.
My2cents