The PENON official thread

[-rowan-]

I avoided commenting on the Bass cable’s sound earlier because I was struggling a bit to find synergy I liked. None of it was actually bad but sonically nothing felt like a particularly good match at first, at least not enough to override the obvious ergonomic challenges. 10th, Impact, Volt, F2 all went by… and then BAM, I landed on it.

GLOBE.

Penon at its unapologetically musical best. This is what they mean when they say something is built for pleasure, not for speed.

The Bass cable keeps the Globe’s sub bass intact, seamlessly leading to that lush mid bass which in turn rises into those rich, rich liquid mids. If you loved the Globe for its emotive vocals and mids in general, this cranks it up to 11. If anything, it makes the Globe more Globe.

The Bass cable doesn’t let you forget that you’re wearing it, but even so I had to check, because it sure seems like it’s doing Vocal duties as well.

A few words about my relationship with Globe. It still has a lot of fans here and it is still my daily bass monitor, but for those who don’t know, I struggled to like it at the very beginning. The DD bass that seemed half a step behind, the niggling coherency issues. The more obvious and conventional approach would be to pair it with a more “technical” cable to tighten it up.

The Bass cable takes the opposite tack and lets it loose. Seems counter-intuitive but it works. The Globe’s tuning is led by its lower mids and mid bass and the Bass leans hard into that, building up the supporting frequencies rather than trying to subtract anything.

It’s like the meeting of two friends with the same propensity for getting into trouble. You know they’re not going to do the “right” thing, but it sure is going to be fun

Happy weekend, everyone.

 

[vikinguy]

So, I continue to be blown away by the 10th. It truly is among the best items I’ve ever heard. I decided to plug it into the Topping DX 5 and it’s fabulous. The Serial also have great synergy with it.

The 10th is perhaps without fault to my ear.

 

[Redcarmoose]

I avoided commenting on the Bass cable’s sound earlier because I was struggling a bit to find synergy I liked. None of it was actually bad but sonically nothing felt like a particularly good match at first, at least not enough to override the obvious ergonomic challenges. 10th, Impact, Volt, F2 all went by… and then BAM, I landed on it.



GLOBE.

Penon at its unapologetically musical best. This is what they mean when they say something is built for pleasure, not for speed.

The Bass cable keeps the Globe’s sub bass intact, seamlessly leading to that lush mid bass which in turn rises into those rich, rich liquid mids. If you loved the Globe for its emotive vocals and mids in general, this cranks it up to 11. If anything, it makes the Globe more Globe.

The Bass cable doesn’t let you forget that you’re wearing it, but even so I had to check, because it sure seems like it’s doing Vocal duties as well.

A few words about my relationship with Globe. It still has a lot of fans here and it is still my daily bass monitor, but for those who don’t know, I struggled to like it at the very beginning. The DD bass that seemed half a step behind, the niggling coherency issues. The more obvious and conventional approach would be to pair it with a more “technical” cable to tighten it up.

The Bass cable takes the opposite tack and lets it loose. Seems counter-intuitive but it works. The Globe’s tuning is led by its lower mids and mid bass and the Bass leans hard into that, building up the supporting frequencies rather than trying to subtract anything.

It’s like the meeting of two friends with the same propensity for getting into trouble. You know they’re not going to do the “right” thing, but it sure is going to be fun

Happy weekend, everyone.

I was amazed how the vocals were seemingly upfront yet polished. And over all I agree the Penon Bass Cable and the Globe are a match made in heaven!

The Serials stage was gigantic and vocals were nice too!

 

[emdeevee]

You can ask for them??

You can always ask for anything, but who knows what you'll get!

 

[emdeevee]

Anyone got a Serial to sell me?

Yes, Penon does and they ship fast!

 

[anyone007]

A favour please. Not sure if I missed it but can somebody please make a comparison of Volt and Neon Pro? And probably in the future, 10th AE and Aurora? I'm considering Aur Audio as well. Thanks!

 

[-rowan-]

A favour please. Not sure if I missed it but can somebody please make a comparison of Volt and Neon Pro?

I own the Volt and have only heard the NP once some time ago so am not the best person for it, but they are totally different in terms of tuning and driver configuration so it really depends what you’re looking for. Volt is a midrange specialist with excellent vocal and instrument timbre supported by DD bass and EST highs; NP is more of an all-rounder with good extension and energy at both ends and very good bass for an all-BA set. Not sure who has both, but NP owners like @Leonarfd who have heard the Volt could probably weigh in as well.

And probably in the future, 10th AE and Aurora? I'm considering Aur Audio as well. Thanks!

There’s probably a better basis for comparing these two as both have 2 DDs handling the low end. 10th did it very successfully and I would like to see how Aurora matches that, although I expect it will smoke the 10th in the mids.

I’ve been lurking, waiting to pull trigger on 10ae until I noticed the graph was really similar to my Fh7s. I loved tracking acoustic bass with fan 2 and that experience has me looking at 10ae hard. Pretty interesting how similar fh7s and 10ae graph - vs tech and construction my curiosity kind of plateaued

Not heard the FH7S but graphs only describe one part of any iem’s sound really. That said, the 10th is more inclined towards sub bass than mid bass. Do you have some examples of the sort of tracks you have in mind? I might be able to suggest something else - possibly Vortex or Globe.

Cheers for the comparo.

Judging from your photo it does look pretty thick for just 2 wires. The stiffness and having to use the chin slider are also of concern, maybe it will soften up with use?

No idea but it has some ways to go and I wouldn’t hold my breath. Despite that, I’m enjoying it very much with the Globe.

 

[ehjie]

We're older around here, huh?

My first music system was akai, and yes, I also had several Sony Walkman models in the late 80's and early 90's. Portable CD players never really caught on.

I have the flagship model mid 90s. Assembled in (Sony) Malaysia. It was some of the last batch to roll out.
Chewing gum type battery pack. Pressed steel ftw.
As for portable cds, I have a Marantz portable w/ dsp switch (Philips inside) and a couple of Technics.

 

[Acts]

Hi I’m interested in getting the impact cable, was wondering how reliable is the modular system. Does it fail easily?

 

[ehjie]

Happy Father's Day everyone.
Enjoy your Music, this is what matters most...

 

[rawbine]

I avoided commenting on the Bass cable’s sound earlier because I was struggling a bit to find synergy I liked. None of it was actually bad but sonically nothing felt like a particularly good match at first, at least not enough to override the obvious ergonomic challenges. 10th, Impact, Volt, F2 all went by… and then BAM, I landed on it.



GLOBE.

Penon at its unapologetically musical best. This is what they mean when they say something is built for pleasure, not for speed.

The Bass cable keeps the Globe’s sub bass intact, seamlessly leading to that lush mid bass which in turn rises into those rich, rich liquid mids. If you loved the Globe for its emotive vocals and mids in general, this cranks it up to 11. If anything, it makes the Globe more Globe.

The Bass cable doesn’t let you forget that you’re wearing it, but even so I had to check, because it sure seems like it’s doing Vocal duties as well.

A few words about my relationship with Globe. It still has a lot of fans here and it is still my daily bass monitor, but for those who don’t know, I struggled to like it at the very beginning. The DD bass that seemed half a step behind, the niggling coherency issues. The more obvious and conventional approach would be to pair it with a more “technical” cable to tighten it up.

The Bass cable takes the opposite tack and lets it loose. Seems counter-intuitive but it works. The Globe’s tuning is led by its lower mids and mid bass and the Bass leans hard into that, building up the supporting frequencies rather than trying to subtract anything.

It’s like the meeting of two friends with the same propensity for getting into trouble. You know they’re not going to do the “right” thing, but it sure is going to be fun

Happy weekend, everyone.

No idea but it has some ways to go and I wouldn’t hold my breath. Despite that, I’m enjoying it very much with the Globe.

I’m quite surprised to see Globe coming into the picture of all monitors as I would intrinsically thought Vortex might be more well-suited? I really like your metaphor of “instead of tightening it up, why not let it all loose”! Quite an experiment! Fun!

I feel by now most folks here are aware of the beef we had (or still do) with our Globe, that is, if they scroll back far enough on this thread. (Lol) For different reasons of course but close enough me thinks. It has long took the top spot of my “least-favorite favorites“ and I think I’m untroubled enough for now to leave it as it is with the stock cable.

 

[Leonarfd]

I own the Volt and have only heard the NP once some time ago so am not the best person for it, but they are totally different in terms of tuning and driver configuration so it really depends what you’re looking for. Volt is a midrange specialist with excellent vocal and instrument timbre supported by DD bass and EST highs; NP is more of an all-rounder with good extension and energy at both ends and very good bass for an all-BA set. Not sure who has both, but NP owners like @Leonarfd who have heard the Volt could probably weigh in as well.

@anyone007

Way to long ago to do a good impression or comparison to Volt, from memory the Volt had excellent mids and treble. Bass was a let-down in quality, but at the same time I had tried the legendary Z1R bass.

Neon Pro is more a neutral sounding than Volt, leaner mids. Bass is great on NP to be BA, lack some of the natural decay that for example Serial have or the new Aurora from AüR . With switch down the bass, mids and treble is neutral with slight U shape(maybe more energetic treble than some like). With switch ON make it to a bass amount that is very good and fun with much more mid bass than I bet the Volt have. Both are very different set, which to choose come down to preference.

Still don't take my words on this, to long ago since I tried the Volt. I loved the Volt, one of the best vocal performers out there.

I am hoping for a Volt 2 and will jump on that

 

[Laleo]

Know this, that if you consider the Neon pro ("NP") , you can consider the sound rhyme SR8 (in the link - a comparison and differentiation with the NP) for more warm-neutral sound signature. It is also a all-rounder iem.
It is same price category.

 

[BrokenHill]

Happy Father's Day everyone.
Enjoy your Music, this is what matters most...

In Spain we celebrate it on March 19. We are that way . Me for now trying to get my three-year-old girl to hear some good music and not just nursery rhymes. Although there can also be good children's songs (Kimya Dawson for example). At least I have achieved that she no longer wants me to remove my music in the car to put hers!

 

[s2kphile]

A favour please. Not sure if I missed it but can somebody please make a comparison of Volt and Neon Pro? And probably in the future, 10th AE and Aurora? I'm considering Aur Audio as well. Thanks!

Aurora and 10th AE are very different sets. Simply put Aurora is a more neutral mid forward sound with really good treble extension, soundstage and natural timber. The 10th AE has slam and rumble that is energetic and fun. Its more musical with mids slightly taken back.

They compliment each other well and you cannot go wrong with either. It's dependant on your music taste and library.

One if the benefits of this hobby is companies like AüR, Penon, Sound Rhyme are out-competing the top tier mainstream brands. For the price of a Kilo-buck IEM, I can buy Aurora, 10th AE, SR7 and a DAP. And all 3 of these IEMs can play everyones music library optimally than 1 IEM can.

There isnt truly and "Endgame" iem in the upper echelons because just like PC gaming, this industry moves fast. Today's TOTL will be mid to budget tier tomorrow.