[-rowan-]

New ISN for 2024! Looks solid? Or semi-solid, wild?

ISN NEO3

5.8mm planar driver for high frequency
6mm DD for middle frequency
6mm DD for Low frequency

Take that, Szalayi

I’m listening. Impressions as soon as either of you can, please.

 

[iscorpio71]

ISN NEO3

5.8mm planar driver for high frequency
6mm DD for middle frequency
6mm DD for Low frequency

Oh Boy! Here we go again, again...

 

[Dsnuts]

Take that, Szalayi

I’m listening. Impressions as soon as either of you can, please.

I have them in my ears, opened the box this morning.

These are very good. I dont expect them to be at the Quattro price. I am gonna get a good burn in on them before making any impressions but. Yes these are brothers from the same mother. Very musical sounding, full bodied sound as expected from an ISN IEM. These are fire from what I am hearing. An alternative to the Serial and the Quattro? Didn't see this one coming.

I remember I made a comment on my review of the Dunu Talos which is an all planar IEM with an added BA to enhance the bit of the treble end of the Talos. Which imo was not needed. Can't recall a planar IEM that can't hit them high notes with aplomb. Intriguing that ISN is using a micro planar driver for highs. It sounds great. Treble tweeter. Much like the quattro out of the box there was a bit of a disjointment but after a full days of burn in. Cohesion is not an issue. They sound fantastic. Will get into it much more but want to give them a full burn in cycle before taking any notes.

 

[BrokenHill]

ISN NEO3

5.8mm planar driver for high frequency
6mm DD for middle frequency
6mm DD for Low frequency

I have them in my ears, opened the box this morning.

These are very good. I dont expect them to be at the Quattro price. I am gonna get a good burn in on them before making any impressions but. Yes these are brothers from the same mother. Very musical sounding, full bodied sound as expected from an ISN IEM. These are fire from what I am hearing. An alternative to the Serial and the Quattro? Didn't see this one coming.

I remember I made a comment on my review of the Dunu Talos which is an all planar IEM with an added BA to enhance the bit of the treble end of the Talos. Which imo was not needed. Can't recall a planar IEM that can't hit them high notes with aplomb. Intriguing that ISN is using a micro planar driver for highs. It sounds great. Treble tweeter. Much like the quattro out of the box there was a bit of a disjointment but after a full days of burn in. Cohesion is not an issue. They sound fantastic. Will get into it much more but want to give them a full burn in cycle before taking any notes.

On short walks, while I'm walking quickly from one place to another, I sacrifice quality in favor of comfort and have been using Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2 for a year, which have an 11mm DD and a micro-planar for the treble. I am very happy with them, and I had been wondering for a while why there weren't more IEMs on the market that used them.

 

[Dsnuts]

It seems Penon has been focusing on the treble aspect of their designs as of late. 6mm micro dynamic tweeter on the Quattro. Now using a 5.8mm planar for the highs. Treble is fast tight and agile. Using a planar for the highs makes a whole bunch of sense. But then this new ISN NEO3 is tuned for muciality.

Rich,tasty mids, bold rounded bass, and a nicely detailed treble end to round off that sound. Its sounds like I said.

 

[Redcarmoose]

ISN NEO3

5.8mm planar driver for high frequency
6mm DD for middle frequency
6mm DD for Low frequency

I have them in my ears, opened the box this morning.

These are very good. I dont expect them to be at the Quattro price. I am gonna get a good burn in on them before making any impressions but. Yes these are brothers from the same mother. Very musical sounding, full bodied sound as expected from an ISN IEM. These are fire from what I am hearing. An alternative to the Serial and the Quattro? Didn't see this one coming.

I remember I made a comment on my review of the Dunu Talos which is an all planar IEM with an added BA to enhance the bit of the treble end of the Talos. Which imo was not needed. Can't recall a planar IEM that can't hit them high notes with aplomb. Intriguing that ISN is using a micro planar driver for highs. It sounds great. Treble tweeter. Much like the quattro out of the box there was a bit of a disjointment but after a full days of burn in. Cohesion is not an issue. They sound fantastic. Will get into it much more but want to give them a full burn in cycle before taking any notes.

It seems Penon has been focusing on the treble aspect of their designs as of late. 6mm micro dynamic tweeter on the Quattro. Now using a 5.8mm planar for the highs. Treble is fast tight and agile. Using a planar for the highs makes a whole bunch of sense. But then this new ISN NEO3 is tuned for muciality.

Rich,tasty mids, bold rounded bass, and a nicely detailed treble end to round off that sound. Its sounds like I said.

The MAN with the answers!

 

[Bosk]

ISN NEO3

5.8mm planar driver for high frequency
6mm DD for middle frequency
6mm DD for Low frequency

I'm excited to see manufacturers making more use of planar drivers. Many of us expected to see an increasing prevalence of hybrids using planar drivers after all the hype surrounding CFA's Supermoon, which came on the back of the 7hz Timeless and number of other budget planars which grabbed a lot of attention the year before last.

Although none of the planar IEMs I've heard so far have a satisfyingly natural tonality, but there's no doubting the incredible speed & impressive bass of planar drivers and a lot of us are hoping the driver technology improves or manufacturers develop more expertise at implementing them, or both.

What would really get me excited is a Penon IEM with a BCD driver. Like ESTs I don't believe BCDs are required for absolute top-tier technical performance (as evidenced recently by Aroma's Fei Wan) but they definitely have a unique effect on imaging which is a really nice trait to have.

 

[iscorpio71]

Just hearing the Quattro. Queen sounds Amazing! The kick drum, guitars, and Freddy! The Quattro is fantastic, and most definitely plays better for male vocals than females.

I'll be back with further impressions. This set is way better than the Dome, and gladly so, because it makes me very happy to keep it.

I've been listening to several albums, especially classic rock.

Don't know just yet if it's the Quattro, the newer K9 AKM, or their combination. As I've not tried other iems to compare, they sound spectacular, more so with the remastered versions of the Beatles, breathtaking.

I should go get a drink

 

[Ahmad313]

New ISN for 2024! Looks solid? Or semi-solid, wild?

Looks so cool ,
Maybe this one my first iem from ISN if the mids/vocals sound excellent and slightly forward in the mix

 

[Redcarmoose]

Looks so cool ,
Maybe this one my first iem from ISN if the mids/vocals sound excellent and slightly forward in the mix

Well, it’s fun to see them experiment with driver technology, but at the same time we will also (probably) get the Penon/ISN house sound which never ceases to amaze. It is maybe another cool interesting variation that came about through new driver methodology? Cheers!

 

[Dsnuts]

Looks so cool ,
Maybe this one my first iem from ISN if the mids/vocals sound excellent and slightly forward in the mix

Yes

 

[helloh3adfi]

With cables, bear in mind that a lot of the cables recommended in this thread colour the sound. The Xinhs palladium cable you mention is wonderful, but adds brightness to the sound. We all have our preferences, so make sure you say what (if any) changes you want to the IEM’s sound signature when asking for cable recommendations.

Which Xinhs cable are you talking about? The cheaper one with 2 strings? The expensive one is several hundreds $.

 

[SweetCans928]

Got the Penon Space cable. Decided to take a chance on it after feeling like I could hear a slight difference with the Penon Vocal cable. Using it with my MEST MK3. And I'm back to not noticing a difference haha. It IS a nice cable - maybe a bit too microphonic though...

 

[Redcarmoose]

Got the Penon Space cable. Decided to take a chance on it after feeling like I could hear a slight difference with the Penon Vocal cable. Using it with my MEST MK3. And I'm back to not noticing a difference haha. It IS a nice cable - maybe a bit too microphonic though...

You should notice a stage increase in every direction, as the Space is 2X the material of the OS133. Yes, some microphonic properties, but that is one cable that totally changes the Serial. IMO

 

[Dsnuts]

Got the Penon Space cable. Decided to take a chance on it after feeling like I could hear a slight difference with the Penon Vocal cable. Using it with my MEST MK3. And I'm back to not noticing a difference haha. It IS a nice cable - maybe a bit too microphonic though...

This might sound strange but the Space cable actually might not be an upgrade for your MK3 from the included cable on the MEST MK3. Reason I know this is because UM usually throws in a premium cable with their IEMs. I have the fist MEST and it came with a cable that cost something like $425.

Space is a great cable but UM usually will throw in sometype of higher end product to make their IEM sound as good as they can put out there for the price. Which is another reason why they charge the prices they do. This being said as crazy as it might seem but you will have to get something like a Penon TOTEM or something of that quality for an actual upgrade. This might be a reason why your not hearing much of a difference. Might say something about the included cable more so than the Space actually.