[rawbine]

Musical Nirvana

The Flow has an unassuming characteristic being likened to copper instead of silver and its a literal firehose for audio signal transfer with some very pleasant and surprising coloration.

• When paired, overall note weight are noticeably thicker, timbre more realistic and analog, tonality warmer, euphonic
• More than adequate low-end performance in both quantity and quality - loudness, weight, slam, definition - definitely not bass light, though attack and decay doesn’t seemed to be as speedy
• Mids are slightly more to the forefront, especially vocals, improved transparency and clarity
• Tamed treble energy yet still airy, no marked improvement on sparkles
• Less of a neutral bright profile but skew towards U signature, soundstage is larger in all directions (atmospheric), more rounded yet polished notes, better space between instruments and separation, imaging, extension on both ends

The Flow does cost more than Vortex but hey why not!

Spoiler: “Click Here"

For @ehjie

 

[BrokenHill]

I’m looking (hard) at the 10th Anniversary, but the 9Ω has me concerned. My current desktop is the Monolith THX 788; which is 16Ω, 1960mW.

What’s everyone using to drive their 10th’s ?

I have the same concern of iem which is 5Ω and an amp which its range is 8Ω-600Ω..

Normally the unwritten rule is that the output impedance of the amplifier is at least 8 times lower than that of the IEM. It is not always that simple, but it is a way to ensure it. If the recommendation of the manufacturer of the amplifier is that you put loads from 8 to 600 ohms, it means that it has 1 ohm output, which is quite common. It must be taken into account that, as some balanced solutions are implemented, they usually have twice the impedance of the SE, so it would be necessary to see in the amplifier specifications if it has 0.5 ohm on the SE output, and 1 ohm in the balanced. If the range of impedances supported is from 16 ohms, it is usually that they have 2 ohms in the balanced output (and possibly 1 in the SE, but it would be necessary to make sure). It is not that the amplifier is better or worse for having more or less output impedance, it is simply that it is not designed for low impedance IEMs. These are some of the cases where an IEM may sound better on SE output than balanced.

However, I seem to have read a correction by Penon about the impedance of the 10th AE, in which he stated a higher impedance.

 

[dharmasteve]

I’m also sensitive to the upper mids. I can’t listen to Odin for more than 5 minutes.
My first Penon IEM is Fan 2 should arrive in a few days. All recent Penon IEMs should be tuned with safe and lead-back upper mids. At least, that is what I see on the graph, where are dips in 6khz regions. I will post my first impressions when I get my Fan 2. I hope I will not be disappointed.

Penon Fan 2 takes a while for the bass to open up on the little 6mm crystal plated drivers, but when it does it will surprise you. A very well conceived IEM that is very happy making.

 

[BrokenHill]

However, I seem to have read a correction by Penon about the impedance of the 10th AE, in which he stated a higher impedance.

This was the FCB comment where I had read it.

 

[rawbine]

This was the FCB comment where I had read it.

Team Chi Kong/Penon also updated their 10th AE listing @website with the new rating :

Impedance: 9ohm±10%

 

[shez.]

Penon Fan 2 takes a while for the bass to open up on the little 6mm crystal plated drivers, but when it does it will surprise you. A very well conceived IEM that is very happy making.

Thanks for the warning. I did not find information about the burn-in on the Penon site. Do you remember how long it takes to burn-in for the bass to open?

 

[dharmasteve]

Thanks for the warning. I did not find information about the burn-in on the Penon site. Do you remember how long it takes to burn-in for the bass to open?

At first the bass did not impress me and I actually commented that way. It was quite gradual, but very noticeable from about 50/80 hours onward. I have some fairly enjoyable IEMs and the Penon Fan 2 and the Penon Serial compete with all of them.

 

[vikinguy]

Words!

I count myself fortunate as I can crossed out all BA sets due to their often ventless design that causes me massive discomfort. Likewise, pure DD is my preferred kind of transducer followed by EST and since last year I’ve been very content with my setup.

There’s also Vortex for consideration! Its technical, musical and petite all-in-one, a real hidden gem for those who value simplicity. Not least there’s the 10th to complete the setup with its tribrid goodness like you mentioned.

Yes, I do have Vortex and enjoy it very very much!

 

[vikinguy]

I’m looking (hard) at the 10th Anniversary, but the 9Ω has me concerned. My current desktop is the Monolith THX 788; which is 16Ω, 1960mW.

What’s everyone using to drive their 10th’s ?

It's incredible paired with the ifi gold or gobar.

 

[ehjie]

Musical Nirvana

The Flow has an unassuming characteristic being likened to copper instead of silver and its a literal firehose for audio signal transfer with some very pleasant and surprising coloration.
THE Unsilver Silver Mark 2

• When paired, overall note weight are noticeably thicker, timbre more realistic and analog, tonality warmer, euphonic
• More than adequate low-end performance in both quantity and quality - loudness, weight, slam, definition - definitely not bass light, though attack and
• decay doesn’t seemed to be as speedy - I like it like this. The sensation of lingering is a good thing
• Mids are slightly more to the forefront, especially vocals, improved transparency and clarity - The Space can push it out further down in the centre middle
• Tamed treble energy yet still airy, no marked improvement on sparkles
• Less of a neutral bright profile but skew towards U signature, soundstage is larger in all directions (atmospheric), more rounded yet polished notes, better space between instruments and separation, imaging, extension on both ends

The Flow does cost more than Vortex but hey why not! - and the traditional norm of portioning accessories by a certain fraction say 25-40%, gone out the window here
The Supercharged Totem doing weathering duties for the 10th nowadays is unconventional. But they sound great though, and that's all that matters...

Spoiler: “Click Here"

For @ehjie

 

[ehjie]

-

 

[laegoiste]

The bass quality on the Penon 10th is simply sublime. So much so that I have only used the SR8 once since the 10th arrived last week... And I bit the bullet and ordered the Penon Bass cable too. Excited to see how it pairs.

 

[Click]

The bass quality on the Penon 10th is simply sublime. So much so that I have only used the SR8 once since the 10th arrived last week... And I bit the bullet and ordered the Penon Bass cable too. Excited to see how it pairs.

Oh it rumbles and slams so nicely. Only when called for and no muddiness.

But somehow doesn't bleed into the other frequency ranges. Every time I use my other IEMs and headphones, I want to go back to 10th AE for that sweet BASS.

I'll never doubt Penon for using smaller dynamic drivers again. They did something special with the 10th AE.

 

[anyone007]

So, I just received my 10th AE. Okay, fine. I'm gonna join the ride, it is really good out of the box. I lowered my expectation since again, I'm not a fan of V-shaped IEMs and I had bad history with them. lol

I was expecting a "distant" vocals since majority of the so called v-shaped is almost always like the vocalist seems to be a couple of rows away from the listeners, almost in the back end of the stage. But I've never been so happy to be proven wrong, since it isn't the case with the 10th AE. I would even dare say that it is W-shaped, and a lot similar to iBasso IT07's tuning but a lot more musical!

After listening to Orb, Serial and Volt, by now, I can probably blind test an IEM and easily identify if it's a Penon IEM. lol The Penon house sound—a musical, incredibly natural timbre, an exceptional full sounding midrange and smooth, yet refined and detailed treble.

The 10th AE obviously has all of it, plus an incredible bass. I always praise how good IT07's bass since it is my ideal bass sound, and 10th AE is almost identical (I'm unable to do an a/b, however, I can pretty much discern right away what I'm looking for in terms of sub and mid bass).

To be fair, the midrange and upper treble seems a bit grainy out of the box (I only listened a few minutes) when compared to Volt. I guess I got too pampered with Volt's refined sound. lol

But as always and knowing Penon's tuning, gotta wait for the burn-in to hear the full capacity of the 10th. I guess I'll see you guys around after 500 hours.

Happy listening!

 

[rawbine]

The Flow has an unassuming characteristic being likened to copper instead of silver and its a literal firehose for audio signal transfer with some very pleasant and surprising coloration.
THE Unsilver Silver Mark 2

• When paired, overall note weight are noticeably thicker, timbre more realistic and analog, tonality warmer, euphonic
• More than adequate low-end performance in both quantity and quality - loudness, weight, slam, definition - definitely not bass light, though attack and
• decay doesn’t seemed to be as speedy - I like it like this. The sensation of lingering is a good thing
• Mids are slightly more to the forefront, especially vocals, improved transparency and clarity - The Space can push it out further down in the centre middle
• Tamed treble energy yet still airy, no marked improvement on sparkles
• Less of a neutral bright profile but skew towards U signature, soundstage is larger in all directions (atmospheric), more rounded yet polished notes, better space between instruments and separation, imaging, extension on both ends

The Flow does cost more than Vortex but hey why not! - and the traditional norm of portioning accessories by a certain fraction say 25-40%, gone out the window here
The Supercharged Totem doing weathering duties for the 10th nowadays is unconventional. But they sound great though, and that's all that matters...

For the past year I had it glued to a upocc. Solid synergy with excellent speed and control, highly transparent, resolving and detailed, still neutral and bright true to its original tuning. Pretty much an uncolored combo before I switched over to Flow recently that transformed it almost entirely! Such is the eccentricity of Flow!

I can only remotely relate to Space and Totem (still have both OS133 & Totem pigtail) and I bet both won‘t disappoint whichever monitors it is mated to. Sticking to a certain percentage is pragmatic until a special cable comes along. LoL