[-rowan-]

I listen to mostly rap and pop so I don't need earth shattering bass

You should be ok with Vortex then!

So... any initial comparisons with the Orb? If I'm looking for a rich, thick, sort of a all-enveloping warm hug type sound with forward (or at least not recessed) mids in particular, should I still be going for the Orb?

Sounds kinda like how I'd describe the Globe

Globe and Vortex are really quite close in terms of tuning, with Globe being slightly thicker and warmer and Vortex having more holographic detail and texture. I’ll leave it to someone who actually has the Orb to do the comparison but I suspect it’s going to be even richer, warmer and huggier and that it’ll come down to how much treble you want.

Edit: That btw is the main reason why I never sprang for the Orb - love how the shells look but I know I’d have treble issues with it.

Edit again: They are all mid-forward to some degree. Serial and Fan have the “flattest” mids and even those might be considered forward by some standards. If it has recessed mids, it’s not a Penon.

 

[ian91]

You should be ok with Vortex then!




Globe and Vortex are really quite close in terms of tuning, with Globe being slightly thicker and warmer and Vortex having more holographic detail and texture. I’ll leave it to someone who actually has the Orb to do the comparison but I suspect it’s going to be even richer, warmer and huggier and that it’ll come down to how much treble you want. (That btw is the main reason why I never sprang for the Orb - love how the shells look but I know I’d have treble issues with it)

Globe is certainly warmer and 'huggier' (Iet's see if we can get that word in the audiophile lexicon!).

The Globe is what I consider romantic while the Vortex is technical and lively. I don't see the Vortex making the Globe redundant but it does make it more difficult to recommend the Globe, given its price, if you want the technical DNA and don't mind a more lively Penon sound.

Unfortunately I've not heard the Orb but the graphs suggest it's bassy and thick which is quite the opposite of what the Vortex is going for.

 

[arar]

Globe and Vortex are really quite close in terms of tuning, with Globe being slightly thicker and warmer and Vortex having more holographic detail and texture. I’ll leave it to someone who actually has the Orb to do the comparison but I suspect it’s going to be even richer, warmer and huggier and that it’ll come down to how much treble you want.

Yeah, I've asked before what the thickest-sounding Penon IEM is and Orb was the response I got, so I'm prioritizing that. I like a thiccc sound and, at the risk of sounding sociopathic, I Really Enjoy A Solid Hug Too, so might as well start there. If it's too much for me I'll just start moving towards the analytical end of the Penon sliding scale of romanticism and see if the Globe or something else would work better.

 

[-rowan-]

Yeah, I've asked before what the thickest-sounding Penon IEM is and Orb was the response I got, so I'm prioritizing that. I like a thiccc sound and, at the risk of sounding sociopathic, I Really Enjoy A Solid Hug Too, so might as well start there. If it's too much for me I'll just start moving towards the analytical end of the Penon sliding scale of romanticism and see if the Globe or something else would work better.

I recall you asking but don’t remember if there were enough impressions to help you decide. Where are all the Orb owners?! Heh.

Btw I notice there’s going to be a minor discount on the Globe when the Ali sale starts on Monday, if anyone is interested. Not very much but it might well be the only reduction until BF, if they even do one then.

Globe is certainly warmer and 'huggier' (Iet's see if we can get that word in the audiophile lexicon!).

The Globe is what I consider romantic while the Vortex is technical and lively. I don't see the Vortex making the Globe redundant but it does make it more difficult to recommend the Globe, given its price, if you want the technical DNA and don't mind a more lively Penon sound.

Unfortunately I've not heard the Orb but the graphs suggest it's bassy and thick which is quite the opposite of what the Vortex is going for.

Let’s do it!

Globe is richer and warmer enough to still have a small edge as my bass monitor so it’s keeping its job there, although the Vortex comes close.

 

[jghjkhfd]

Any comparison between Vortex and Olina? Would it be a significant upgrade? Thanks.

 

[ian91]

Still bowled over by the air and harmonic detail the Vortex brings out. I listen to alot of string instruments and you get every bit of texture, the string, the bow, the woody resonance of the body and the harmonic detail of the notes. A complete picture. I underestimated Penon and thought they wouldn't produce a set for the more analytical listener (and that isn't to say you can't enjoy this set if you're not that way inclined).

 

[rattlingblanketwoman]

Still bowled over by the air and harmonic detail the Vortex brings out. I listen to alot of string instruments and you get every bit of texture, the string, the bow, the woody resonance of the body and the harmonic detail of the notes. A complete picture. I underestimated Penon and thought they wouldn't produce a set for the more analytical listener (and that isn't to say you can't enjoy this set if you're not that way inclined).

I’ve never heard strings reproduced this well by an IEM. Every stroke, hum, rasp, harmonic...

And yet it kicks aspirin with Motörhead, The Who, Zeppelin, The Beatles, Judas Priest, Rammstein, etc. Not your average analytical tuning that’s for sure.

 

[KutuzovGambit]

OK so as I mentioned yesterday, out of box my only complaint was that the upper bass came across as a bit bloated on certain mixes. But when I got around to popping the ePro Horn tips on today, the problem cleared itself up very very nicely.

I believe I was the first to discover the remarkable synergy the ePro EP00 tips have with Penon IEMs when I tried them on the Globe last year (though it was our erstwhile friend @IEMusic who first turned me on to the ePros themselves), and noted increased soundstage, a more natural transition between the bass and the mids, and especially a richer, wetter instrumental timbre. Whereas now with the Vortex I don't notice as much soundstage improvement since the stage is already so good, but the more organic and better balanced segue between the bass and the mids is certainly present, as well as the enhancements to the timbre. The longer stems, often a problem for me on other IEMs, actually helped me with the fit of the Vortex quite a bit given the extremely small shell size.

Really loving the Vortex right now. It very well might be the most resolving single-DD I have ever heard (and I've heard many of the big hitters up to the $600 price point). I believe @Dsnuts said that the Serial was the closest Penon will likely get to a neutral tuning; for my part, I will say that the Vortex is probably the closest that Penon will get to an analytical tuning, and it's a testament to the Vortex' tonality that very few people will find any lack of musicality even so.

 

[Pete7]

I think it’s time to acknowledge the price of an IEM doesn’t necessarily reflect the sound quality but the hardware enclosed within, at least with Chi-fi anyway. I haven’t heard anything beyond $600 and that was a Westone W60 v2 and was easily destroyed by a $170 TFZ King Pro DD almost half a decade ago.

 

[ssantan2]

I got too much FOMO and pulled the trigger! Excited to hear what all the fuss is about!

 

[ChrisOc]

Globe is certainly warmer and 'huggier' (Iet's see if we can get that word in the audiophile lexicon!).

My vote is for "huggier" to take its rightful place in the Audiophile Lexicon.

 

[cn11]

I'm sitting here listening to some Flying Lotus mouth open at the speed with which this single DD keeps up on such dynamic and complex music. And the texture of everything, from the percussion, to bass, to cymbals, and synths.... Just amazing.

 

[ian91]

I'm sitting here listening to some Flying Lotus mouth open at the speed with which this single DD keeps up on such dynamic and complex music. And the texture of everything, from the percussion, to bass, to cymbals, and synths.... Just amazing.

How does the Vortex compare to the O2?

 

[cn11]

I wish I could compare it to the O2, but it's developed a really bad imbalance, with the right side dying I think (it's down about 50% on volume). I've had them way too long to get warranty repaired.

The NS5 MkII is eerily similar, and I actually liked it a tad better... so I can locate that pair and do a comparison (it's my wife's IEM when she needs a set at work). But I don't even need to listen to it to know that the Vortex will just slay it on sense of space, and layering.

 

[pr0b3r]

So... any initial comparisons with the Orb? If I'm looking for a rich, thick, sort of a all-enveloping warm hug type sound with forward (or at least not recessed) mids in particular, should I still be going for the Orb?

The lower price and the really pretty blue shells of the Vortex have me mighty intrigued, that's for sure, just not sure about the sound itself. That said, I'm not only open to EQ, I actually EQ almost all of my headphones and IEMs to taste by default, so that's not an issue.

Go for the Globe, brother. You'll get that warm hug you're looking for.