Happy New Year everyone.
2024's just around the corner, literally. Let's share what we have learned so far...
Disclaimer: I have been a Penon patron since the summer of 2016. All sets featured in my post are bought by me. There is no demo unit, no review unit. I regularly receive offers in the form of discounts, via mail by which I use them. Anyone can register in this campaign.
A little about me: I’m a qualified Electronics Technician, from principles of audio equipment in the entire chain, how they work, I can build some if I want to. But nowadays, I am a licensed to practice Architect, currently BIM Manager and not affiliated in any capacity with M/S Penon Audiophile including their subsidiaries. This is my impression and no one had obligated this post. Sharing is caring...
Bias: Massive holographic staging, Bass head, Mids head, Detail head, Treble head in this order. I’m a Vinyl head, more Analogue than Digital, but I am equally amused by the detail retrieval capabilities coming out from wood encased Japanese cartridges. Simply amazing, detailed, dynamic but smooth delivery.
For a fresh impression of each set in this lot I used Penon’s New Black Tips and Obsidian cable. Sources include the Asus N550JV x The Tail Dongle, iphone 13 with The Tail, Ibasso DX229 (tube amp) dap
The Specials; they all are, the value for money, the legendary Mids, reliability and after sales reliability are the raison d’etre of this ecosystem.
★★★★★ The Darling of this thread and in the Penon fb page, it’s the Analogue forever –
the Serial
+ Small shells, most assuring a lot of ears will step into audio bliss in no time, no complaints of fit
+ Triple dynamic treat for Coherence, natural decays, nuance, extension, texture and all other good attributes coming from dynamic driver speakers.
+ Timbre correct for naturally tuned instruments and voices. Level of fidelity is excellent for its price range. Above average separation and layering
+ One of the most natural midrange tuning in any price range
+ Articulate, textured, excellently extended, superb sub and middle bass, zero bleed going to the lower mid-range.
+ “Correct” treble amplitude in order to qualify for an analogue tuned set
+ Covers ALL genres with ease including your classics
+ At medium efficiency, this will produce and a fairly large scale of imaging, holographic depth, wide and decently tall staging
+ If I would price this set, USD 900 easy, for sonic qualities alone. USD300 seems a steal from a 360° view
- Being Medium efficient, this will not generate excellent staging results direct from a phone
- Detail heads, this is not your bff. Not the last word, etc., etc. Tuned for fatigue free long listening hours though
- No exaggerated treble here
- Only for vinyl heads or patrons of the format
- Shell Design can be an acquired taste (Oh my, here comes the nitpicking…)
- The Stock cable can be better (but this is Nitpicking already!)
- I have to use aftermarket Ear tips (Again, Nitpicking!)
- There is No unboxing experience (Egad! Shame upon me! Shame!!!)
★★★★ The underdog despite excellent tuning parameters – the Globe
+ Small shells, most assuring a lot of ears will step into audio bliss in no time, no complaints of fit
+ An excellent dynamic driver Bass speaker tuned for optimum mid bass qualities and a louder output. Mid bass is better here than on the Serial, as well as lower mid-range.
+ The legendary midrange is on board, can adapt to pace and speed with ease
+ Treble resolution is better here especially the upper ranges in perceived details, extension and sparkle
+ Above average separation, decent layering, and excellent resolution
+ Fantastic Musician’s style head stage, doesn’t require a power plant to fire up those engines
- When push comes to shove, this set may not be forgiving on some bad recordings, you’ll hear it as distortion, sibilance, crackle even
- Despite a less than medium efficient set, a quality source is most required in order to achieve the pros mentioned above
- That musician’s style monitor sound stage means less of that holo imaging courtesy of the Serial
- To seasoned veteran ears, ba receiver timbre on the treble can be heard
- This set has tried its best to sound bright but not piercing, the tradeoff is some minute loss in lower treble resolving power
★★★★★ the gateway drug to the Penon universe – the ORB
+ Penon’s original, premiere bass head dd set. Big, loud, clear. Till this day my fav Ambient, EDM set
+ Excellent bass articulation, decay, extension and rumble and fantastic amplitude
+ The first analogue tuned set from Penon and done right
+ Epic Mid-range for clarity, details, nuance
+ Crisp treble, decent extension, sparkle. Nice 3d effects
+ Full size headphone like scale of imaging
+ Till this day, One of the Loveliest, sexiest shells in the entire In Ear Headphone Multiverse, Clear German Resin filled shells for the win – non yellowing properties!
+ Hope Sandoval’s “Fade into You” (Mazzy Star 1993) is the perfect track for this set. Perfect Bass, perfect Mid-range, perfect tambourine, fantastic fidelity
- Overall level of clarity (mostly bass and treble) can be better
- It can be perceived that on some sets, there may be some bleed through
- Detail retrieval is the same as the first con
- Separation and layering likewise as the first two instances
- Nowadays, even from within the Penon camp, the sound stage has been left smaller
★★★★★ Back to the Future Single BA Receiver Full Range
– The Sphere
+ Small shells, most assuring a lot of ears will step into audio bliss in no time, no complaints of fit
+ Penon’s CV Resume’ for Balance Armature Receiver Bass resolution, even more challenging here being a single full range ba receiver speaker for each shell. Excellent resolving power for the Money!
+ Analogue tuned set done right
+ Excellent ba Bass for decay, extension, rumble and texture (I’m playing TCB’s 2023 24 bit For that Beautiful feeling!)
+ Penon’s CV Resume’ for Balance Armature Receiver Mid-range. High level of engagement (the opposite of dry), detailed, excellent 3d effects. Excellent mid-range resolving power for the money.
+ Good treble detail, extension and sparkle. Creamy! Not piercing bright, tuned for long listening sessions
+ Approaching the level of sonic qualities from that Japanese hearing aid In ear headphone maker
+ On par (if not better than) with that famous Vietnamese In ear headphone BA receiver speaker maker
- Needs a dap to holograph, medium efficient coming from a single speaker per side
- Enough cons, it’s a less than USD200 set that sounds like a USD400 a pair set
★★★★★ Overlooked that mustn’t have been – The Vortex
+ Small shells, most assuring a lot of ears will step into audio bliss in no time, no complaints of fit
+ The smallest Penon shell, beats the Spheres for size
+ Despite its physical size, large staging, especially width, good height
+ Penon’s CV Resume’ for a Single Dynamic Driver, neutral tuned. Excellent bass, extended treble
+ Rock and Roll in a small package, Excellent 3d effects
+ Excellent resolving power, including coherence, separation, and layering
+ Tasty, detailed, extended neutral Bass
+ Fantastic Mid-range qualities, the legendary Penon Mid-range is on board including clarity, level of engagement, level of fidelity – which is quite high for a USD200 set. Play Sixpence’s version of “Dancing Queen”. Big, clear sound coming out from such a small compartment. It’s a complete, satisfying performance!
+ Treble that can’t be complained about. Clean, clear, extended, good sparkle – cymbal crash is awesome
- Despite all of the above qualities, negative feedback was the price. Some offering from other makers are priced lower. And yet, I’m still putting my money here, for product reliability, after sales service and support
★★★★ A celebration of sorts, Fans of the Mid-range spectrum rejoice– The Fan Original
+ USD69 gives you an Angelic vocal quality.
+ Even with the full amount of almost USD150, still a bargain for that mid-range frequency qualities
+ Excellent mid-range detail retrieval and separation
+ True high fidelity Mid-range
+ Clean, Crisp, fairly detailed top end
+ Decent Bass qualities
- This set is a heavy load, high current but don’t turn on that high gain switch yet
- The Bass quality and resolution is not the best for edm, despite a fantastic sub bass extension, rumble and texture
- Large shells
★★★★ A celebration of sorts, Fans of the Mid-range spectrum rejoice, again – The Fan 2
+ Excellent mid-range detail retrieval and separation
+ True high fidelity Mid-range, more “bite” and more natural compared to the 1st Fan
+ Cleaner, Crisper, more detailed and more extended top end compared to the 1st Fan. Not necessarily brighter
+ Better Bass resolution for clarity, extension, rumble and texture albeit neutral.
+ Overall presentation lush Neutral, detailed
- Staging dimensions remained the same, some of the best intimate, Musician’s style monitor staging
- Fit issues due to shell profile. Deep insertion is required to bring out the best as what was mentioned above
★★★★★ A First from Penon – the Reference Class Tuned Volt, a True Flagship Tuning
+ True high fidelity Mid-range not heard of from any of the previous offerings
+ Timbre correct Mid-range for natural tuning, outdoor concert like feel from every listening session
+ The Vocals are to die for here, Not so much forward, Not Dry like the competition during its release
+ Detailed and smooth Mid-range delivery
+ Creamy top end, despite a lower amplitude treble is realistic, extended, detailed
+ This is Flagship Rock and Roll
+ Top class coherence albeit Tribrid mode
+ Full size headphone like scale of imaging
+ Will play Any Genre. If its edm Bass will out, in a big way. If it’s Voices, they’ll sing for you. If it’s Orchestra, get ready to be exhilarated.
+ Perceived value, USD1,900 easy, for sonic qualities alone. USD800 seems a price steal from a 360° view
+/- This set will holograph provided that you have high current source. A similar spec dap such as the DX300 will suffice. It’s shoulder wide, extremely deep and fairly high stage presentation
- Nope, No unboxing experience, still
- (Cons, really?) When we go high up in the food chain, it’s a matter of preference and taste. Living with this set for more than (2) years simply justifies all of the above impressions and thus nothing, nothing at all warrants writing here…
★★★★★ The 10th Year Anniversary Edition – Not just an amazing Mid-range, but amazing everything
+ Fantastic Value for money, a genuine Anniversary release from the makers of One of the Best Mid-range tuners in the Portable Audio Multiverse
+ True high fidelity Mid-range not heard of from any of the previous offerings, bar the Volt
+ The Vocals are to die for, Not Dry like some of the competition
+ Good 3d effects
+ Clear, articulate, well extended, textured Bass, both sub and middle bass, No bleed through
+ Clear, detailed, extended, sparkly treble – it breathes, excellent decay and nuance
+ This is Flagship Rock and Roll regardless of price range, consider this set a blow out from Penon
+ Will play Any Genre. This is semi-reference tuned, but better Bass and treble amplitude (compared to the Volt)
+ Excellent prat / adsr. Clarity and order over chaos
+/- This set will holograph provided that you have high current source. A similar spec dap such as the DX300
- Large shells
- Shell Colour is a matter of taste
- By now, most are familiar with the differing Penon font type branding, which is part of the shell design. And yet some may not appreciate the style…
Cheers everyone and thank you for reading...
