[dharmasteve]

I recommend this cable for the 10th Anniversary. Very inexpensive but excellent. A real cable.

8 Cores Pure Silver And Single Crystal Copper Mixed Braid Headphone Upgrade Cable For SE846 SE535 UE900S ED12 TRN V80 V20
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EuKB54B

Very substantial cable but great sound

 

[MickBenjamins]

The more I read about the Serial, the more I want them...

Does Penon make any super supple cables? I prefer supple and nicely flowing cables over the thicker ones that have cable memory. Or any recommendations from other brands?

 

[dharmasteve]

The more I read about the Serial, the more I want them...

Does Penon make any super supple cables? I prefer supple and nicely flowing cables over the thicker ones that have cable memory. Or any recommendations from other brands?

The Penon Serial is indeed a great IEM, but compared to the Penon 10th Anniversary IEM, it is just OK. The 10th is a very special IEM. So listenable.

 

[MickBenjamins]

The Penon Serial is indeed a great IEM, but compared to the Penon 10th Anniversary IEM, it is just OK. The 10th is a very special IEM. So listenable.

From reading the reviews, the "vintage hifi" sound signature/feeling is what draws me so much to the Serial. I dont need the most resolving IEM, with crazy detail, I'm looking for something that is engaging and puts a smile on my face

 

[zikarus]

If you are looking for an IEM matching your Leo Plus get a Night Oblivion Butastur (has it's own thtead here)...

 

[emdeevee]

If you are looking for an IEM matching your Leo Plus get a Night Oblivion Butastur (has it's own thtead here)...

Can you contrast it with the NP? Where else do you like Leo Plus?

 

[zikarus]

Leo Plus also matched the Neon Pro well imo but not so the 10th eg. So it seems as if it enhances all BA sets but might not work as well with Hybrids or Tribrids...

As for Butastur vs NP I need more time - might give an update in the Butastur thread the upcoming weekend...

 

[Mikerules]

My very subjective impressions of Penon 10th:
- great full sounding iem, nothing's missing, big soundstage, a bit mellow and warm, relaxing but very engaging
- great for metal music, even makes thinner and harsher sounding stuff more pleasent
- despite of being a big iem, the fit is very very good, here I have to mention ease of insertion, fit stability and isolation - all are top in my book
- most complete offering from PENON (had Orb, Volt, Vortex) and really just all round great offer
- um mest mk2 is superior, have better sub bass, stage, details is faster and more agressive in your face, all in all better for short listening sessions but not as cozy as the 10th

Now having both mest mk2 and Penon 10th with great portable options like shozy 1.4(great for Penon lovers) and hifiboy osv3 I feel like I got what I wanted. For me personally more would be empty consumerism and greed.
NOW hopefully I can focus on the music
Thanks for the good times and have a nice day!
Will do my best to avoid this lovely thread but cannot promise anything

 

[shez.]

So far, ISN Audio EST50 is the only Chi-Fi IEM that I have liked a lot. I don't think I miss any frequency when listening to them. Usually, there are always missing parts on mids, especially on lower mids. I recently got Sony IER-M9, and I don't know why people call them a reference IEM. It is somewhat V-shaped to me. With M9, I need to listen at an uncomfortable, very high volume to listen to all mids I like.
Can anyone recommend a direct upgrade to EST50? At the TOTAL rank? Currently, I have only one candidate, and it is FatFreq Grand Maestro.

 

[carlosedp]

My Serial arrived... And it's amazing. At first I thought it looked kinda "boring" but in the bright light it shows all it's colors!

The sound is engaging and fantastically balanced... For my tastes it has everything I want... Present bass, very clear mids and present treble but not enought that makes you blink when the cymbals are hit.

Going thru my library and not regretting it at all... I'd say it's a go for people over the fence.

 

[Redcarmoose]

So far, ISN Audio EST50 is the only Chi-Fi IEM that I have liked a lot. I don't think I miss any frequency when listening to them. Usually, there are always missing parts on mids, especially on lower mids. I recently got Sony IER-M9, and I don't know why people call them a reference IEM. It is somewhat V-shaped to me. With M9, I need to listen at an uncomfortable, very high volume to listen to all mids I like.
Can anyone recommend a direct upgrade to EST50? At the TOTAL rank? Currently, I have only one candidate, and it is FatFreq Grand Maestro.

This may sound funny, but the 10th Anniversary is an upgrade from the EST50. Yes, they are different, but at the same time......I’m an example of someone who could sequence over to the 10th from the EST50. So if I could do it, maybe others could too? The way they are different is the 10th has a tighter low end....but a big low end, there are slightly more mids, yet (still) the mids are not the strong point. Still they are there and do their duty. Both have ESTs for the treble but the 10th to me has a better treble. Also to me the 10th has this magic fit, it just feels right. And in fact to me the 10th is the closest Penon has come to the Sony sound? Really in a few ways it’s like the IER-Z1R. Not as big of stage, and missing some of the detailed treble, also some realism that’s hard to find anywhere else but the IER-Z1R. But the 10th will in the end fit more people and be found to be comfortable by more people than the IER-Z1R. But in general the 10th has this authority thing going on. It really does super with rock/metal, and OSTs, which are my two main musical genres.

Hope this helps?

 

[carlosedp]

From reading the reviews, the "vintage hifi" sound signature/feeling is what draws me so much to the Serial. I dont need the most resolving IEM, with crazy detail, I'm looking for something that is engaging and puts a smile on my face

I think you will love it... just got mine (2 posts above) and it sounds lovely... it's not the resolution beast like the Andromeda but that's why it's amazing...
And think about it as a very goot set of speakers... not vintage in the lo-fi sense... but in a fully-sounding one that doesn't exaggerates in anything but has it all...

 

[Dsnuts]

My Serial arrived... And it's amazing. At first I thought it looked kinda "boring" but in the bright light it shows all it's colors!



The sound is engaging and fantastically balanced... For my tastes it has everything I want... Present bass, very clear mids and present treble but not enought that makes you blink when the cymbals are hit.

Going thru my library and not regretting it at all... I'd say it's a go for people over the fence.

Gonna give a recommendation to burn them in if you haven't yet. Meaning they get better as the drivers loosen up believe it or not. Out of all of Penon IEMs it is the Serial that need the burn in the most. Glad your liking them.

 

[carlosedp]

Gonna give a recommendation to burn them in if you haven't yet. Meaning they get better as the drivers loosen up believe it or not. Out of all of Penon IEMs it is the Serial that need the burn in the most. Glad your liking them.

Ah yes... I've been listening to them since yesterday and really believe in burn-in, specially with DD.

Do you guys put the IEM away plugged to something playing for X amount of hours for burn-in or just listen to it and it "burns-in" in the process? I usually do the latter...

 

[MickBenjamins]

I think you will love it... just got mine (2 posts above) and it sounds lovely... it's not the resolution beast like the Andromeda but that's why it's amazing...
And think about it as a very goot set of speakers... not vintage in the lo-fi sense... but in a fully-sounding one that doesn't exaggerates in anything but has it all...

Okay fine, I just placed my order.

I hate you guys, you're all a bunch of enablers