[ehjie]

FAN OG is definitely worth the asking price, even more so when it was 50% off. I'm surprise how well the single DD is tuned. Better than some hybrids out there for sure. Penon sure does tune their IEMs well and different. I hope they don't fall into the common neutral tune that majority of makers are doing or they are going to lose what makes them special.

So far the Fan 2 has been Penon's take on Neutral, but we know it's not that neutral, a hint of lush, engaging mids, slight bump on mid bass, and a superlative extended treble.
Nothing in the spectrum sticks out as overpowering on the rest of the frequencies...

On another note, some literature to ponder on,
The Legend
Penon TOTL Trinity (by Ds)

 

[Leonarfd]

After 100 hours of brain burn-in lol , the Fan's highs and upper mids are same harsh metallic and just as unbearable as in the beginning ( penon house sound ) . I know : more 15000 hours of burn-in and the totem cable.

You might be sensitive to the 5k peak, the rest up is well extended without any big peaks.

Nothing wrong with that, upper mid/lower treble is a region that is very subjective on how we perceive it. The fan has no sibilance for me, it also aligns with the dip from 5k to 8k. The 5k energy is also something that is similar to the ISN H30, personally I like it for many music genres.

The Globe is very different having a much more relaxed upper mid section.

 

[rawbine]

After 100 hours of brain burn-in lol , the Fan's highs and upper mids are same harsh metallic and just as unbearable as in the beginning ( penon house sound ) . I know : more 15000 hours of burn-in and the totem cable.

I guess 99% of us are lucky that we liked our Fan, with our without Totem.

 

[-rowan-]

Is the impact bass flatter than fan 2 ? BA bass that isn’t ruler flat sounds “pillowy” to me.

I’m really sorry if my tone is off putting; writing isn’t one of my strong suits.

I don’t think pillowy is bad. For example, Trumpets are made out of different materials, lacquered differently and there are also various shapes and depths implemented to employ alternative sound characteristics. Drum kits have different head materials and depths as well and I don’t think a more blunted sound is better than a more resonant one.

a more pillowy characteristic might resonate a lot better for timpani or contra bassoon vs a tight, faster, punchier bass that suits kick drum or synth beats.

Not sure if pillowy is the right descriptor but some BA bass implementations - even the Diva’s, no less - do have that slight softness to their attack that make them a little bit less than realistic. Even timpanis are not spared - if you listen for the moment the mallet hits the drum head, the edge of the attack can be less than distinct so that the sound seems to just materialise out of nowhere instead of conveying the physical impact of the mallet striking the head.

In my listening so far, however, this characteristic of BA bass has been very well mitigated in the Impact.

I really appreciate your response some things I really enjoy, as more of a novelty, is more of a bite to upper midrange. I admit my guilty pleasure is an over stated amount. The volt has this really well. Planars were becoming increasingly popular and I was coming off the IMR rah and tinhifi p1. The micro details in the upper midrange were so pronounced it gave me an asmr effect. It looks like impact is more cutout in this area. I would imagine this might come off as more subdued otherwise more balanced overall. Any thoughts or impressions on this would be greatly appreciated!

My guess is that it’s the EST drivers that make it particularly good for ASMR, and that it’s the upper treble (air) that imparts the micro detail to the mids and triggers the tingles.

I mentioned before somewhere here that the Volt is unusually good with ASMR, along with the EST50 and Moonlight, above all my other IEMs. And now I’d place the Impact among them as well - and guess what they all have in common.

I don’t know if the ESTs in my Impact need further burning in at the moment (possibly, as the Volt’s continued to change after hundreds of hours). But right now, these micro details are already well and truly present for me.

I have zero doubt about Penon’s competences in that register. Otherwise, I would not have ordered one pair of Impact. I am a natural born basshead, but I do like a BA-bass well implemented (i.e. Oriveti O400, a real tour de force).

Dreaming about another flagship with a DD for the low-end is not forbidden, because Penon knows how to implement DD in realistically sized shells and make them sing

They did it with the Volt and I’m sure they’ll do it again before long

 

[ALIGHTINEARS]

Did anyone comapred the FAN 1 vs the Xinhs Erasmus. Even though the second one might be a bit hard to get

 

[gooberbm]

Did anyone comapred the FAN 1 vs the Xinhs Erasmus. Even though the second one might be a bit hard to get

They don’t really compare as they are doing two different sound signatures.

Fan is a v-shape set with a big sub-bass and secondary early-treble emphasis. Erasmus is a neutral-tuned set with upper-midrange and mid-treble emphasis.

 

[Echalon]

Did anyone comapred the FAN 1 vs the Xinhs Erasmus. Even though the second one might be a bit hard to get

Very much agree with Gooberbm. The fan has a full, rich sound while the Erasmus offers several flavours of elegantly detailed neutral. Both are lovely IEMs if you like what they are trying to do, but they are designed with very different goals.

 

[ALIGHTINEARS]

Thanks for the replies, just gonna get both anyways, Just wondering from where to start coming from neutral headphones and a Tangzu Z Wu. Those item's really do trigger my curiosity!

I’m a great listener of Classical and laid back jazz. So still trying to find my mid-high iem

Very much agree with Gooberbm. The fan has a full, rich sound while the Erasmus offers several flavours of elegantly detailed neutral. Both are lovely IEMs if you like what they are trying to do, but they are designed with very different goals.

Have you tried them both? Have you listened to classical and jazz on them eventually?

For my headphones I love them neutral, I’m a keen perfectionist, so love finding every part, all tiny notes present and full of life in a classical piece, or to feel the breath of João Gilberto when he sings. but I’m still trying to figure out what is my IEM taste.

I’m trying to contact Akros, but I guess it will be faster to order the Fans and get the Erasmus later( if available)

 

[gooberbm]

Have you tried them both? Have you listened to classical and jazz on them eventually?

For my headphones I love them neutral, I’m a keen perfectionist, so love finding every part, all tiny notes present and full of life in a classical piece, or to feel the breath of João Gilberto when he sings. but I’m still trying to figure out what is my IEM taste.

I’m trying to contact Akros, but I guess it will be faster to order the Fans and get the Erasmus later( if available)

Jazz and classical is NOT what I’d aim to listen to on Fan. If you’re gunning to get Erasmus, Fan 2 is a better compliment for those genres

 

[Echalon]

Thanks for the replies, just gonna get both anyways, Just wondering from where to start coming from neutral headphones and a Tangzu Z Wu. Those item's really do trigger my curiosity!

I’m a great listener of Classical and laid back jazz. So still trying to find my mid-high iem

You as might want to try a couple more cheaper IEMs to be sure what sound signature you like before buying a more expensive model. The Erasmus & Fan are fine IEMs (I have both), but there are many other great options too.

 

[gooberbm]

You as might want to try a couple more cheaper IEMs to be sure what sound signature you like before buying a more expensive model. The Erasmus & Fan are fine IEMs (I have both), but there are many other great options too.

This is very valid advice. Counterpoint: he knows he wants neutral-style and listens to jazz and classical. He can just get two sets and be out, rather than sinking money into cheap sets he won’t use when he upgrades eventually anyway.

 

[-rowan-]

For my headphones I love them neutral, I’m a keen perfectionist, so love finding every part, all tiny notes present and full of life in a classical piece, or to feel the breath of João Gilberto when he sings. but I’m still trying to figure out what is my IEM taste.

Might also want to consider the Vortex, which is on the neutral-bright side of Penon tuning and has great instrument texturing and detail especially for its price range.

 

[gooberbm]

Might also want to consider the Vortex, which is on the neutral-bright side of Penon tuning and has great instrument texturing and detail especially for its price range.

Vortex in place of Erasmus though, because they would be hitting redundancies, even with wildly different bass playbacks

 

[Redcarmoose]

So far the Fan 2 has been Penon's take on Neutral, but we know it's not that neutral, a hint of lush, engaging mids, slight bump on mid bass, and a superlative extended treble.
Nothing in the spectrum sticks out as overpowering on the rest of the frequencies...

On another note, some literature to ponder on,
The Legend
Penon TOTL Trinity (by Ds)

For me the Fan 2 was slightly tricky to find what it needed. Which were warmer accessories.....then the magic started. Finding the Fan 2 to be able to include the details, while still being slightly neutral in the end, somehow revealed more musical details?

The Fan original was instantaneous in demeanor, somehow doing just what it does out-of-the-box? You start to question how you could like both, then the Penon midrange takes reference.......that both have a magic in the mids!

 

[ALIGHTINEARS]

You as might want to try a couple more cheaper IEMs to be sure what sound signature you like before buying a more expensive model. The Erasmus & Fan are fine IEMs (I have both), but there are many other great options too.

I’ve actually bought an Edx Ultra (great bang for buck) and Blon 01 ( great after some upgrades) for commuting. Sold the Zetian Wu and will get the X HBB heyday soon. But, I feel there’s more to be found in that class of small production IEM that might give me the feeling of my HD 660s, or even more in a portable way.