The PENON official thread

[iscorpio71]

Actually, I couldn't make up my mind with so many new recently released IEMs on sale so I decided to pass on IEMs altogether. I was leaning towards the Letshuoer S08 since I don't have a planar IEM, but I decided to wait for the Fan3 since I haven't heard an IEM with BC drivers yet. Here's hoping Penon is really generous with the 'fan' discount code!

Same here, meaning waiting for the Fan3.

I do have Hidizs mp145.

 

[audionooby]

Here's hoping Penon is really generous with the 'fan' discount code!

How does one get these codes?

 

[kaeswiss]

How does one get these codes?

You just have to sign up for their newsletter. I think there's a pop-up that asks you to sign up or you can just scroll down to the bottom.

https://penonaudio.com/

 

[PixelSquish]

Penon is releasing another TOTL? So soon after the Voltage?

 

[Dsnuts]

@Dsnuts (and others):
Considering upgrade cable for Quattro. Wondering what composition of cable would be best to add air and enhance separation, e.g. silver, spc, copper. Exotic metals not so much curious. Also, not really interested in Penon cables for it. Seeking cable composition feedback. Thanks!

Definitely some silver, good idea to have some higher grade of copper in the mix, palladium plating or even a palladium plug which helps with imaging and sound separation.

Penon has been using alloy metals with some excellent results lately. Penon Renata, new Pyramid cable and even the ASOS+X.
You should study their makeup and see if you can find a similar type cable as all 3 of these would fit the bill for what you're looking for.

 

[Tanalasta]

Definitely some silver, good idea to have some higher grade of copper in the mix, palladium plating or even a palladium plug which helps with imaging and sound separation.

Penon has been using alloy metals with some excellent results lately. Penon Renata, new Pyramid cable and even the ASOS+X.
You should study their makeup and see if you can find a similar type cable as all 3 of these would fit the bill for what you're looking for.

Cables can be such an unpredictable fine tuning. Over the years, whilst there is 'some' generalisation with materials the overall effect sometimes there is a lot more to it. Whilst I could suggest a silver plated copper, sometimes silver changes the timbre to something less natural. So I'm going to suggest some copper cables that our little local group thought went with Quattro.

That said I would suggest Eletech Raphael if you wanted a cable you could pair with most IEM's as an 'upgrade'. Versa connectors mean you can switch from 2-pin or MMCX if you wished to do so. Not everyone wants to spend that much on a cable though.

We really enjoyed the Nice-HCK Black Cat. Timbre was lovely. It's not that expensive on sale. Though techs like staging, separation are not its strong point, the coherency was. So it may not meet your brief.

If money wasn't an object, the blue PWA Audio 1960's 4 wire, MkII could be a recommendation. Aesthetically would work very well. Or Nightjar's Blue Hour. These two are speculative and not ones we had on hand at our last meet.

To be honest, rather than cable roll - and cables <$500 from various AliExpress manufacturers can be an absolute roulette - you may be be better off considering investing that money in a more technically capable IEM. I've rarely been impressed there's a significant 'upgrade' without some imbalance or other compromise in that price point. For instance, a second hand Penon Voltage may cost less than Eletech Raphael.

And I did try the NightJar Symphony Sovereign with Quattro. And yes, it sounded magic but I usually do that to find out how well an IEM can scale with a monstrosity of a well tuned and designed cable.

 

[Dsnuts]

@Dsnuts could you compare Fan 3 against H60, please?

So I brought the H60 and the Fan3 to compare and I was correct in my initial thoughts about them. H60 reminds me a lot of the Voltage in the way it has been tuned. Its like the Voltages little brother. Its technical ability is what wins the day for the H60 but with excellent dynamics, musical desity and it also happens to have a nicely done big forward sound signature, very engaing and is the best tuned ISN IEM to date imo. Changing up to the Fan3. I have to adjust to the different sound profile as the mids are not as forward sounding which adds to the broad stage presentation of the Fan3 sound profile it sounds decidedly more u shaped in Sounds broader and wider but with an airy type presentation. Fan3s non BC driver on sounds a bit more closer to how the H60 sounds but they aren't exactly the same there either. There is something to having 2 BAs vs single BA for presentation be it mids and or trebles. The H60 dual BA implimentation for the mids and dual for the trebles is the difference. Sounds is more dense more grounded soudning. On the other hand the spacious element of the Fan3 is more airy and a bit lighter sounding a touch more laid back in its presentation.

Where the Fan3 really struts its stuff is with ambient type music where you already have floaty type music but then the BC driver engaged it really showcases its stage and dimensions when you hear them. Going back to the H60 music sounds more conventional bit more grounded and denser. Have to quickly adjust to the standard 2 channel sound of the H60. Its like when you hear an open back can which represents the Fan3 vs a close back can which represents the H60.

If you guys have ever heard Dolby surround. Fan3 is music with dolby surround and then when turned off its more H60. Its not that one magically sounds better than the other. But you can clearly hear the difference in how both these IEMs present music. Going from one to the other, you have to clearly adjust to the sound presentation and you swear one sounds better than the other but then when you get used to hearing music from it and then go to the other it sounds better. Lol. There is a reason why both of these IEMs are priced the same or at least their retail value at $350. H60 represents one of the best hybrids in the industry at the price point. The Fan3 is very unique and etherial in the way it sounds and in this hobby it is difficult to find uniqueness in the myriads of IEMs we have and that alone makes it worth a punt.

It is a great time to be in the hobby.

 

[Yefry]

Penon is releasing another TOTL? So soon after the Voltage?

Apparently Voltage is a tribird TOTL, the new TOTL with the addition of the Bone Conductor will join the quadbird group

Personally I knew there would be BC before even knowing the information about @weexisttocease Impact and Voltage they are tiny next to that much more substantial shell.

In my opinion, if Penon wants to succeed in the 3K range it needs a more daring tuning, the vast majority of TOTL have a bass boost of 10 db or higher so they will need the amount of bass of ISN EST50 but of higher quality, the resolution and layers of Impact, a soundstage as wide or wider than Voltage with its crazy images.

In that price range there are very strong rivals to beat, I trust that Penon will make a more daring tuning but at the same time natural and not tiring as they know

 

[weexisttocease]

Apparently Voltage is a tribird TOTL, the new TOTL with the addition of the Bone Conductor will join the quadbird group

Personally I knew there would be BC before even knowing the information about @weexisttocease Impact and Voltage they are tiny next to that much more substantial shell.

In my opinion, if Penon wants to succeed in the 3K range it needs a more daring tuning, the vast majority of TOTL have a bass boost of 10 db or higher so they will need the amount of bass of ISN EST50 but of higher quality, the resolution and layers of Impact, a soundstage as wide or wider than Voltage with its crazy images.

In that price range there are very strong rivals to beat, I trust that Penon will make a more daring tuning but at the same time natural and not tiring as they know

I told Penon if they want to succeed in that price range, they would need to build a perfect IEM. Kinera Loki is a direct competitor and this TOTL will have a similar driver configuration. They just asked me to trust them. By the way, the BC is full range according to Penon.

 

[audionooby]

In my opinion, if Penon wants to succeed in the 3K range

I am not the target audience but I feel like once you hit $3000 why wouldn’t you instead just buy a high end headphone from ZMF or whoever instead of an IEM?

 

[iscorpio71]

So I brought the H60 and the Fan3 to compare and I was correct in my initial thoughts about them. H60 reminds me a lot of the Voltage in the way it has been tuned. Its like the Voltages little brother. Its technical ability is what wins the day for the H60 but with excellent dynamics, musical desity and it also happens to have a nicely done big forward sound signature, very engaing and is the best tuned ISN IEM to date imo. Changing up to the Fan3. I have to adjust to the different sound profile as the mids are not as forward sounding which adds to the broad stage presentation of the Fan3 sound profile it sounds decidedly more u shaped in Sounds broader and wider but with an airy type presentation. Fan3s non BC driver on sounds a bit more closer to how the H60 sounds but they aren't exactly the same there either. There is something to having 2 BAs vs single BA for presentation be it mids and or trebles. The H60 dual BA implimentation for the mids and dual for the trebles is the difference. Sounds is more dense more grounded soudning. On the other hand the spacious element of the Fan3 is more airy and a bit lighter sounding a touch more laid back in its presentation.

Where the Fan3 really struts its stuff is with ambient type music where you already have floaty type music but then the BC driver engaged it really showcases its stage and dimensions when you hear them. Going back to the H60 music sounds more conventional bit more grounded and denser. Have to quickly adjust to the standard 2 channel sound of the H60. Its like when you hear an open back can which represents the Fan3 vs a close back can which represents the H60.

If you guys have ever heard Dolby surround. Fan3 is music with dolby surround and then when turned off its more H60. Its not that one magically sounds better than the other. But you can clearly hear the difference in how both these IEMs present music. Going from one to the other, you have to clearly adjust to the sound presentation and you swear one sounds better than the other but then when you get used to hearing music from it and then go to the other it sounds better. Lol. There is a reason why both of these IEMs are priced the same or at least their retail value at $350. H60 represents one of the best hybrids in the industry at the price point. The Fan3 is very unique and etherial in the way it sounds and in this hobby it is difficult to find uniqueness in the myriads of IEMs we have and that alone makes it worth a punt.

It is a great time to be in the hobby.

I can't wait to do this comparison

 

[Tanalasta]

Apparently Voltage is a tribird TOTL, the new TOTL with the addition of the Bone Conductor will join the quadbird group

Personally I knew there would be BC before even knowing the information about @weexisttocease Impact and Voltage they are tiny next to that much more substantial shell.

In my opinion, if Penon wants to succeed in the 3K range it needs a more daring tuning, the vast majority of TOTL have a bass boost of 10 db or higher so they will need the amount of bass of ISN EST50 but of higher quality, the resolution and layers of Impact, a soundstage as wide or wider than Voltage with its crazy images.

In that price range there are very strong rivals to beat, I trust that Penon will make a more daring tuning but at the same time natural and not tiring as they know

I'm going to disagree about the 10Db bass boost. There are a number of bass boosted IEM's either coming to market (e.g. Duality, perhaps APX-SE) or on market. Not everyone aligns with the bass-boost and it may turn "off" potential buyers. It would be important for Penon to analyse what their target market is and their tuning preferences. Who knows?

There are definitely strong rivals for quad-birds in the $3000+ price range. Canpur 622B and United Melody immediately come to mind. I would love to see "value". I don't need fancy polished wooden shells or spend money on cosmetic faceplates. But I do expect sturdy, TOTL build quality from internal components, soldering and wiring to a well considered cable pairing at that point. And perhaps an improvement on the basic Penon package and accessories to reflect the flagship status.

Would love a CIEM option also. Apart from FIR series (XE6) are there many other hybrid IEM's in that price point with quality bass that offer CIEM?

I am not the target audience but I feel like once you hit $3000 why wouldn’t you instead just buy a high end headphone from ZMF or whoever instead of an IEM?

Not necessarily. Many TOTL purchasers either already have a headphone collection or are pursuing the portable option for its strengths. Sure, a quality DAP +/- quality amp can drive some flagship headphones that don't require uber power. Headphones are less portable, some people don't like the head-band pressure and prefer in-ears or CIEM's as well as the isolation they offer. Nor do they like being tied down to a full-size system. Pros and Cons. A high end headphone may require another investment in high end desktop gear.

 

[wolfstar76]

I am not the target audience but I feel like once you hit $3000 why wouldn’t you instead just buy a high end headphone from ZMF or whoever instead of an IEM?

Besides the portability issue，you need significant investment in amp.

 

[morndewey]

Cables can be such an unpredictable fine tuning. Over the years, whilst there is 'some' generalisation with materials the overall effect sometimes there is a lot more to it. Whilst I could suggest a silver plated copper, sometimes silver changes the timbre to something less natural. So I'm going to suggest some copper cables that our little local group thought went with Quattro.

That said I would suggest Eletech Raphael if you wanted a cable you could pair with most IEM's as an 'upgrade'. Versa connectors mean you can switch from 2-pin or MMCX if you wished to do so. Not everyone wants to spend that much on a cable though.

We really enjoyed the Nice-HCK Black Cat. Timbre was lovely. It's not that expensive on sale. Though techs like staging, separation are not its strong point, the coherency was. So it may not meet your brief.

If money wasn't an object, the blue PWA Audio 1960's 4 wire, MkII could be a recommendation. Aesthetically would work very well. Or Nightjar's Blue Hour. These two are speculative and not ones we had on hand at our last meet.

To be honest, rather than cable roll - and cables <$500 from various AliExpress manufacturers can be an absolute roulette - you may be be better off considering investing that money in a more technically capable IEM. I've rarely been impressed there's a significant 'upgrade' without some imbalance or other compromise in that price point. For instance, a second hand Penon Voltage may cost less than Eletech Raphael.

And I did try the NightJar Symphony Sovereign with Quattro. And yes, it sounded magic but I usually do that to find out how well an IEM can scale with a monstrosity of a well tuned and designed cable.

I put Satin Audio Medusa II silver cable on Quattro and quite like the sonic changes, pretty much what I was looking for, eg more air, separation, better bass control.

 

[GroovyAudio]

@Dsnuts @Redcarmoose
Guys, I would like to buy the PENON ASOS+X cable to upgrade my H60. I can get it at $280 with a coupon. What do you guys think? Already have Penon OCC849.
I've already decided that H60 is my end game iem and I want to upgrade this iem to its fullest potential. Is ASOS+X the best considering I don't want to spend more than $300 on a cable? Please help