[drummguy26]

Christmas came early this year!! Ordered it Tuesday, wasn't supposed to come till next Wednesday, but here it is!!

Can't wait to crack this open and provide some impressions.

 

[wew01]

All the raves about Quattros got me thinking. Any comparison to EST50?

 

[drummguy26]

Finally cracked them open and man, are they gorgeous! I love how the right earpiece has a hint of yellowish orange at the corner. So beautiful.... Now onto listening! Haven't heard them yet. Lol... Doing that now.

 

[msing539]

Penon and I are besties

 

[-rowan-]

So anyone desperately trying to find Penon reviews where the reviewer wasn't sent the IEM for free before writing 2 pages of free verse and dishing out 5 stars,

Now is an exciting time to be in the Penon thread I gotta say - loads of posts coming in from folks who paid good money for their sets, and impressions developing as they burn in.

It’s quite funny how these very outdated, cheap looking iem boxes from Penon are so desirable this xmas

Because it’s what’s inside that counts, right?

Yes... It seems that they had changed for a much better case, but in the Quattro they have gone back to the original case.
By the way... I think I have a problem...

I love this - the evolution of Penon cases over the years.

I don’t think I could bear seeing all my Penon cases in one place

Well... I had this cable for sale. I wasn't using it, and hoped to recover some of it to finance the Quattro. After some first tests, I have just removed it from the classifieds. It has a very good synergy with the Quattro! I'll tell you more shortly.

Awesome! Too bad about the funds though. Waiting for more impressions. I’m sure it’s the light, but it does look a different colour here than in your listing.

Still in the early stage with maybe 20 hours of burn-in I dare to give some more first impressions:

For me it is already clear that I like the Quattro even better than the 10th AE. Reason for that is because the Quattro has the better bass - more weight, more precise, faster - by quite a margin.

Congrats! And totally agree. Quattro’s bass trounces it effortlessly.

To cut it short: The Quattro is on it's way to become my personal IEM of 2023. I bet you will have a hard time finding more bang for the buck atm... The ideal IEM to start with imo.

Same here.

Christmas came early this year!! Ordered it Tuesday, wasn't supposed to come till next Wednesday, but here it is!!

Can't wait to crack this open and provide some impressions.

I’m glad so many folk seem to be getting theirs earlier rather than later! What a fab Christmas present.

Any comparison to EST50?

I haven’t really compared them in detail but EST50 (as well as Turbo) have moar bass. But Quattro’s bass easily surpasses them in terms of quality, maintaining control and texture all the way down low.

 

[-rowan-]

I’m not in the business of moving Quattro units (not that they need help atm anyway) so this is just the POV of some internet rando who happens to have bought too many Penons.

I don’t see Quattro as a Serial mk2. Apart from having the same shell, similar faceplates and the same broad category of drivers, the Quattro is its own beast. Like many, I hadn’t been listening to Serial as much because there have been a number of newer, shinier toys. Like some, I started listening to Serial again while waiting for Quattro to arrive. And now that Quattro is here and mostly burned in, I will say that I can more readily tell them apart in my ears than on the bedstand in the dark.

Quattro’s drivers are way more technical - grippier and capable of expressing more texture and detail throughout, and it’s particularly noticeable in the bass, which is also more extended and gets a healthy bump all the way into the sub bass.

In the mids, Quattro also does a couple of favours for alto, baritone and bass voices that you would not hear in Serial. Serial and Fan 2 are just about the closest Penon ever got to ‘neutral’.

Serial’s treble is… shall we say subtle. I could have done with more. That was something that I commented on at the very start. Burn in (a little bit of drivers and likely mostly brain) seems to have taken care of that, but that’s not something I even have to think about with Quattro.

Quattro’s soundstage and imaging is likewise different. Serial’s stage can come across as a smaller, more intimate venue. It can be too small and intimate unless you’re listening to the kind of music that is played there. Quattro is a considerably larger room, not cavernous but undeniably much larger and its imaging is likewise sharper. Think of a camera snapping into focus and you get the idea moving from Serial to Quattro.

I don’t know what qualifies for other folks as a “big enough” step up from Serial. I suppose it depends on what one likes or didn’t like about Serial. But for me, these aspects made all the difference.

 

[Saigon13]

Those who ordered Quattro via e-mail. Did you get any discount?

 

[wew01]

I haven’t really compared them in detail but EST50 (as well as Turbo) have moar bass. But Quattro’s bass easily surpasses them in terms of quality, maintaining control and texture all the way down low.

While I'm not going to assume anything, does it mean that the mids and trebles are similar since you don't have much to say? Some people have viewed the EST50 is not a basshead set (and I can partially agree), so i can imagine it will not be a set you prefer if bass is your jam then?

 

[-rowan-]

Those who ordered Quattro via e-mail. Did you get any discount?

Yes, just the usual modest early bird discount that is typically offered to newsletter subscribers in the first weeks after each launch.

While I'm not going to assume anything, does it mean that the mids and trebles are similar since you don't have much to say? Some people have viewed the EST50 is not a basshead set (and I can partially agree), so i can imagine it will not be a set you prefer if bass is your jam then?

No they aren’t. I just haven’t had time to compare them in detail in between the other comparisons as well as real life. Personally, I play bass and Quattro (and Aurora) are much closer to my ideal bass in terms of how extended, textured and controlled they are and how low they are able to convey pitch, tonality and detail. But as with everything else, ymmv depending on your bass needs and what you listen to.

 

[alexandros a]

I found that two things the Penon Serial needs is a long burn, literally hundreds of hours, and then plenty of power. They drink power but respond with a beautiful analogue, musical festival of sound. Bass took a long time to fully open up on my copy. It is such a beautiful looking Penon IEM, that I will keep it as much to look at it's visual artistry. The best looking IEM ever.....to me.

Serial.... A thick/warm /analogue SOUND reproduction reminiscent of vinyl playback.... .
I surely confirm.... It really rook hundreds of burn in hours in order to improve the overall sound , on my pair enhanced big time the circulation of the air over the midrange, and the sense of space between the instruments...
So.... that extensive burn in procedure indeed paid off... in terms of imaging and space across the entire FR.

 

[anyone007]

Quattro vs Volt vs Aurora vs 10th

I’ve been a little busy with real life but Quattro has picked up about 130 hours on it in the meantime. Coming back to them after a short break, all I can say is Penon really know how to end the year with a bang.

So it’s time for some comparisons I owe. @anyone007 requested a comparo vs Volt vs Aurora but I may have gotten a bit carried away.

Treble

Quattro’s treble handling makes for superb timbral realism, harmonics and atmosphere.

Now I enjoy Aurora very much but have long lamented its treble rolloff - the fundamentals are all there but harmonics come across clipped at the highest registers. This becomes pretty obvious with the decay of hi-hats, cymbals and cowbells, and even more so once switching over to the Quattro.

Volt is famous for its relaxed lower treble and sounds darker up top than Quattro, but instrument harmonics likewise also sound incredibly rich and complete compared to Aurora.

So both Quattro and Volt feel more fully realised even though they handle treble very differently.

Quattro’s (and Volt’s) treble also feel more detailed, more resolving and better controlled than the 10th’s.

Mids

Quattro's mids are much more textured, detailed and persuasively natural than Volt’s or Aurora’s.

Compared to Quattro and Volt, Aurora's mids are noticeably drier, cleaner and thinner. Volt has the biggest, warmest mids of the three and they are very smooth, perhaps too smooth once you’ve listened to Quattro.

10th mids are tuned well but are let down by that graininess compared to Volt and Quattro.

Bass

When I first received Quattro, its bass made me think a little of Aurora.

For me, Aurora stands out for its incredible bass performance. It has the most bass of the three and it's very deep and able to convey pitch, tonality and texture all the way down to the lowest frequencies.

Quattro's bass is similar in character but its balancing is more in proportion with the rest of the frequency range. It also feels a little more controlled (not that the Aurora lacks in this department).

Volt's bass is clearly tuned more to support the mids - warmer, mid-bassier but less detailed and textured. Quattro and Aurora are simply light years ahead.

And comparing 2DD Penon bass with 2DD Penon bass, Quattro’s bass has considerably more impact, weight and texture than the 10th’s. The 10th can sound like it’s moving a lot of air, but I’m somehow left wanting more and deeper slam at the end of it. Quattro delivers that.

Another thing I noticed was how the Penon IEMs have better dynamics than the Aurora - soft or loud passages were properly soft or loud and were able to capture explosive dynamic swings in the music more comprehensively.

Impressions were done using Quattro with stock cable, Volt with Totem and the others with Rosenkranz Tinned Flex. And the same pair of Penon Liqueur orange tips for all of them.

I was looking forward to this! Thanks! Took me a while to backread due to my schedule. As expected the way you describe 10th, Volt, and Aurora is exactly what I hear as well. This makes me want to buy the Quattro even more. Oh, in terms of mid bass, how does it fair with Aurora? I find Aurora's mid bass lacking for my taste, not that there's something wrong with it, in fact, it blends invisibly (I don't know how to describe it) across the FR, but I was hoping for a bit more of a bump.

I’m not in the business of moving Quattro units (not that they need help atm anyway) so this is just the POV of some internet rando who happens to have bought too many Penons.

I don’t see Quattro as a Serial mk2. Apart from having the same shell, similar faceplates and the same broad category of drivers, the Quattro is its own beast. Like many, I hadn’t been listening to Serial as much because there have been a number of newer, shinier toys. Like some, I started listening to Serial again while waiting for Quattro to arrive. And now that Quattro is here and mostly burned in, I will say that I can more readily tell them apart in my ears than on the bedstand in the dark.



Quattro’s drivers are way more technical - grippier and capable of expressing more texture and detail throughout, and it’s particularly noticeable in the bass, which is also more extended and gets a healthy bump all the way into the sub bass.

In the mids, Quattro also does a couple of favours for alto, baritone and bass voices that you would not hear in Serial. Serial and Fan 2 are just about the closest Penon ever got to ‘neutral’.

Serial’s treble is… shall we say subtle. I could have done with more. That was something that I commented on at the very start. Burn in (a little bit of drivers and likely mostly brain) seems to have taken care of that, but that’s not something I even have to think about with Quattro.

Quattro’s soundstage and imaging is likewise different. Serial’s stage can come across as a smaller, more intimate venue. It can be too small and intimate unless you’re listening to the kind of music that is played there. Quattro is a considerably larger room, not cavernous but undeniably much larger and its imaging is likewise sharper. Think of a camera snapping into focus and you get the idea moving from Serial to Quattro.

I don’t know what qualifies for other folks as a “big enough” step up from Serial. I suppose it depends on what one likes or didn’t like about Serial. But for me, these aspects made all the difference.

More of a follow up question, since I think it was mentioned a few pages back that Quattro has more sub bass quantity than the Serial but it's an early impression. I find Serial has more sub bass quantity and hits way harder that Aurora's. Can you please corroborate this? Thanks!~

 

[drummguy26]

Ok, so after listening to the Quattro's for a couple hours straight, tip rolling, cable rolling and A/Bing it to the Serial, I can confidentially say that the Quattro is a substantial step up from a fully burned in Serial straight out of the box! I had some serious hours into the Serial. Something in the vicinity of 200hrs. Everything just sounds right on the Quattro. I'm a big believer in EQ and I genuinely had 0 desire to EQ these. The full spectrum is so satisfying! Everything is so precie and articulate, something I felt the Serial was lacking in.

Bass:
The biggest improvement over the Serial by a longshot IMHO. Sub bass is full and extended. Doesn't sound as "thick" as Serials bass, but it is definitely more refined, controlled and satisfying. Serial bass always sounded a little muddy to me even after burn in. But the bass here is spot on. Rumble wasn't too noticeable at first, but after I changed tips to the symbio mandarins, the bass showed up! And I liked it. A lot. Lol. Also something that was mentioned in other impressions was the note weight on the Quattro. It matters a lot in the bass department and coupled with it's punchy mid bass, everything in the bass just sounds so full and "complete". To me the bass is the star of the show on this set. It does everything right. Impact is there. Rumble is there. And most importantly, control and agility is there. It's so good.

Mids:
No surprise here. Mids are on point. Same quality as most other Penon IEMs but again, the precision, accuracy and technicalities in the mids make everything that much better. If it wasn't for this, I'd say that it sounds exactly the same as the Serial mids. But it doesn't. And that's what sets it apart IMO.

Highs:
Probably the most surprising of the bunch. Ill admit, I was a bit worried reading other impressions thinking that the highs were gonna be too much or over exaggerated, but far from it! There is much more spaciousness here compared to the Serial. For an all DD IEM, the treble extension is really quite amazing. There's a good amount of sparkle and realism here but nothing over exaggerated. I feel like it's just the amount that blends with the rest of the spectrum.

The only criticism I'll give it (for right now) is the coherency. The drivers need burn in. But I'm confident this will clear up as they did with the Serials. Also normally I'm a bit of a basshead, but with this set, I feel like more quantity isn't needed. Not saying that I wouldn't welcome it, because I would, but what's there and the quality of the bass is just so good that it makes me question much more expensive sets. Is this worth $400? No.... It's worth way more than that!

If you're on the fence with the Quattro's, just give it a shot. You won't be disappointed.

 

[cobrabucket]

Cross Post from The Discovery Thread.

Guys, just wanted to jump on to say Happy Holidays!

2023 has been a great year for IEMs and I will probably write a little something regarding my top picks, but I can confidently say that

Quattro is Bae...



...and never leaving my collection.

 

[-rowan-]

Oh, in terms of mid bass, how does it fair with Aurora? I find Aurora's mid bass lacking for my taste, not that there's something wrong with it, in fact, it blends invisibly (I don't know how to describe it) across the FR, but I was hoping for a bit more of a bump.

Aurora doesn’t lack mid bass to my ears; it’s fairly easy to follow bass guitars and other instruments in that register, and notes sound a good size to me.

More of a follow up question, since I think it was mentioned a few pages back that Quattro has more sub bass quantity than the Serial but it's an early impression. I find Serial has more sub bass quantity and hits way harder that Aurora's. Can you please corroborate this? Thanks!~

To my ears, Quattro and Aurora have more sub bass quantity than Serial. It’s possible that Serial hits harder than Aurora but not by that great a margin. I hear Aurora as having more mid bass and bloom as well as longer decay.

We all hear differently of course but I do think that source synergy may also have something to do with how they come across differently.

For example, Quattro and Aurora shine on the N7 with its textured and deep-reaching sub bass, whereas the Serial comes up a bit short in this area comparatively. On the other hand, this glorious sub bass is easy to get used to, and it can be noticeable moving to a source like R6P2 that has less extensive sub bass even if it has no lack of power or technical ability. But the R6P2’s sub bass is more evenly weighted with mid bass and I find that I enjoy the Serial more with the R6P2 warming up its mid bass nicely.

 

[bgillis]

I received this postcard yesterday morning in my letter box...

... handwritten !

What a sweet attention from Penon

No leather wallet for me but I look then forward to Penon Quattro at the beginning of 2024 for sure