The PENON official thread

[Bosk]

I was just discussing this with someone else, whether it makes sense to get Archangel in addition to having either or both Shock and EBC80. If you do not have either of those, I do think this is the more mature and probably more forward looking tuning of all three. And that's not even mentioning Voltage which this is certainly evolved from.

This is also the first sub $1,000 Penon that came with an excellent stock cable, and I do not find it more microphonic than other similar cables. But it certainly sounds better with Archangel than the stock cables that were loaded with Voltage, EBC80, and Shock.

Tbh, it seems to me like this would be the perfect time to be entering the hobby and trying the Penon sound, starting with Archangel. I could imagine it having been my first Penon and then perhaps trying out something like Quattro. And my love for Penon solidifying in a completely different universe than it did!

I was quite impressed with TSMR SHOCK's stock cable given its' relatively modest $599 price. One of the few times I've cable rolled an IEM under $1000 and not heard significant benefits from an aftermarket cable worth several hundred or less - it required the $799 Code 24 to demonstrate pronounced improvements.

 

[xrhk]

Wow, synergy hits when you least expect it...but when it hits, it's one of those things that brings on a ! While my Archangel burns in, I got bored and wanted to see what would make the FlipEars Legion exceed its stock performance. Also wanting some aesthetically pleasing combo, after a couple of others, I went to the Penon Pyramid VIII cable.

And I got lucky finding a crazy great matchup. This cable makes the Legion sound like a couple of kilobucks! Feeds the Legion's BCDs and they are firing on all cylinders!

Very happy right now!

Would love to hear more about this pairing from you (I just got my Legion, and wanted to know if there’s any cables be unlocking the potential of this iem)

 

[vandung2510]

Except the bass is tuned differently with the EBC80, as the H60 bass is more balanced and punchy, while the EBC80 bass is mid bassy and pillowy. It lacks the punch and resolve of the H60. Might be the influence of the BCD?

I think it's more due to the tuning. Specifically the pinna gain. The higher the pinna, the less you will perceive the bass. But this is just graph sniffing, we can only know through irl listening lol. You'd know more than me since you listened to both

 

[FishTownFunk]

Indeed. The Archangel is playing in the Kilobuck class, with things like the Maris, Apostle, Terra, Odin, Solaris, Incognita, and Roxanne, the IEMs in that range I've heard personally. It's way above the X class. Or even the EBC80 or Legion.

A bargain, when you take in consideration it's punching with the kilobucks, and you get the Penon OS133 3.5mm/4.4mm adapter thrown in! This is the best IEM I've purchased since the H60, and the most satisfied I'd been OOTB with an IEM since the H60.


You don't want any cable with materials to add any note weight to the Archangel, as the Archangel already excels in note weight. So much so, that it makes the EBC80, in a side by side, almost sound anemic, so you want to avoid cables with too much copper and gold and go with silver, graphene, palladium, and monocrystalline coppers.


I can agree with almost everything you said, except for the unboxing experience. It's sparce at best, but that's the point of these particular sets, Nothing to write home about. The set itself, is writing home worthy and some.


Ooops. Penon doesn't like folks sharing discounts publicly, Just a friendly heads up. But yeah, the deal was FANTASTIC!


I've never heard the Shock, because nobody but @DynamicEars was ever any good at describing the sound of the Shock other than getting OCD on the dials, and describing how it affected the sound, vs the characteristics of the sound, so that was a hard pass for me, so can't comment on that, but the Archangel is on a whole different level than the EBC80, and seeing that several folks claimed that the EBC80 was better than the Shock, well....


You are correct. The Noir and the EBC80 are very close in technicalities, just not in tonality. The EBC80 has better treble extension and air, with a wispier texture, while the Noir has more note resolving bass and maybe a bit more sub bass, while the treble is more crisp and weighty while on the reserved side. But as the owner of both the EBC80 and the Archangel, you made the right choice. It's a clear step up from the EBC80, and has bass that resolving like the Noir, but with a heavier sub bass footprint and mid bass presence and energy.


You have to reach out directly to Penon and inquire about an early bird special.




You're welcome and looking forward to your impressions. This is such a good IEM. It's going to be a gatekeeper for it's price range.

Thanks for the heads up on that, edited to just the word discount. . Yeah dude, I was pretty sure I made the right call with also owning the Noir. I just sold a bunch of side grades and don’t need any more cluttering my collection. Thanks for this, you have been more than helpful. I just got word it will ship today. Should be here in two weeks and the ebc80 will get returned to Amazon today. I’d love to try the ebc80 but don’t want to complicate the return more then I have to and after your description of the ebc80 vs. noir I have less desire to hear it. Very cool man! I can’t wait. It’s my 3rd actual Penon including the fan 2 and 3. In he fitment of the fan2 wasn’t great so I sold it off pretty fast. Fan 3 is here to stay and I love that set as my daily carry. The Archangels will spread it wings soon! I think this purchase is the most exciting set I’ve bought so far next to my IMR Enigma so I’m ecstatic!

 

[DrewVz]

I was quite impressed with TSMR SHOCK's stock cable given its' relatively modest $599 price. One of the few times I've cable rolled an IEM under $1000 and not heard significant benefits from an aftermarket cable worth several hundred or less - it required the $799 Code 24 to demonstrate pronounced improvements.

TOTALLY agree! I actually just finished rolling a few more cables with the Shock and I ended up returning to the stock cable. It just suits its performance perfectly. Honestly I even didn't like the Pyramid nearly as much as the stock cable.

 

[FishTownFunk]

Knowing how you don't like the H60 as much as i do (we did exchange this a while back on fb comments, that's how i know) and how you like the TSMR X > H60, i think going with the Archangel for you is the right choice. It has smiliarities with the TSMR X, TSMR Shock after all
Me personally? I'll still get the EBC80 since the EBC80 and H60 has the same bass driver (at least i think it is, from spec and from graph) and the H60 has my personal favorite bass amount and texture, upgrading from H60 to EBC80 just makes sense.

I remember that conversation quite well. The bass of the H60 was a hit and miss for me at times and could sound like a kick drum peddle hitting a wet cardboard box. When the H60 sounded good it was euphoric but when it sounded bad it was unlistenable for me. It was just too recording dependent to me is all. I do miss my H60 at times but then reality settles in and remember how wet and sloppy the bass could sound with certain recordings. When the H60 was clicking just right for me I don’t think you could beat it for its price and style of tuning with that driver configuration. I own the Penon 10th which I forgot to mention and it was a better set to me so the H60 was sold off to fund my IMR Enigma. I will post my Penon 10th an. for sale soon after I do a comparison with the Archangel. As much as I love the 10th vocals can be a bit shrill to me at times. I think vocals on the 10th is it’s Achilles heel and keep me from enjoying it as much as I should. I also prefer my TSMR X over the 10th and H60. The X has this mid range texture that just sounds so correct to me and I’ve yet to find a set that does it so well and realistically as the X does. The X is also never too bright in the highs or upper mids which can be an issue to me at times. The X just sounds perfect in timbre to my 42 year old ears.

 

[vandung2510]

I remember that conversation quite well. The bass of the H60 was a hit and miss for me at times and could sound like a kick drum peddle hitting a wet cardboard box. When the H60 sounded good it was euphoric but when it sounded bad it was unlistenable for me. It was just too recording dependent to me is all. I do miss my H60 at times but then reality settles in and remember how wet and sloppy the bass could sound with certain recordings. When the H60 was clicking just right for me I don’t think you could beat it for its price and style of tuning with that driver configuration. I own the Penon 10th which I forgot to mention and it was a better set to me so the H60 was sold off to fund my IMR Enigma. I will post my Penon 10th an. for sale soon after I do a comparison with the Archangel. As much as I love the 10th vocals can be a bit shrill to me at times. I think vocals on the 10th is it’s Achilles heel and keep me from enjoying it as much as I should. I also prefer my TSMR X over the 10th and H60. The X has this mid range texture that just sounds so correct to me and I’ve yet to find a set that does it so well and realistically as the X does. The X is also never too bright in the highs or upper mids which can be an issue to me at times. The X just sounds perfect in timbre to my 42 year old ears.

Do you remember the tracks that you don't want to listen with the H60? I wanna give it a try.
Also, have you heard the Penon Turbo yet? I have a friend from Malaysia, who likes the Turbo more. His audio friends also like it more.

 

[FishTownFunk]

Do you remember the tracks that you don't want to listen with the H60? I wanna give it a try.
Also, have you heard the Penon Turbo yet? I have a friend from Malaysia, who likes the Turbo more. His audio friends also like it more.

I do not remember the tracks. It wasn’t many I ran into. I should have wrote them down. I was always older recordings. The H60 does so well with newer recordings. It’s 70’s rock I remember it could struggle with at times. Usually older and poor recordings. The new Pearl Jam album I remember sounding not so hot but I’m not a fan of how that album was recorded anyway. The Penon 10 can suffer from the same fate so it could just be how I hear things and not necessarily the IEM. I’m a Millwright by trade and work with on and around loud equipment all day so my hearing is a bit beat up if you catch my drift. Could just be me but I know Eric Lab was not a fan of the bass at times either. He’s the only other person I’ve talked to that felt the same way. I think it’s just more of a preference thing over the actual tuning of the H60. I have not heard the turbo but have read great things. I’m just not so sure I’m all that into an all ba set and they usually cause pressure issues for me.

 

[caryking]

Penon Fan3 with a workout this morning…

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

Thanks for the heads up on that, edited to just the word discount. . Yeah dude, I was pretty sure I made the right call with also owning the Noir. I just sold a bunch of side grades and don’t need any more cluttering my collection. Thanks for this, you have been more than helpful. I just got word it will ship today. Should be here in two weeks and the ebc80 will get returned to Amazon today. I’d love to try the ebc80 but don’t want to complicate the return more then I have to and after your description of the ebc80 vs. noir I have less desire to hear it. Very cool man! I can’t wait. It’s my 3rd actual Penon including the fan 2 and 3. In he fitment of the fan2 wasn’t great so I sold it off pretty fast. Fan 3 is here to stay and I love that set as my daily carry. The Archangels will spread it wings soon! I think this purchase is the most exciting set I’ve bought so far next to my IMR Enigma so I’m ecstatic!

I think the EBC80 will be on the chopping block soon? I'm gonna wait though, until my most recent cable purchases (the last until these tariff issues are resolved) arrive, then I'll do some side by sides, because right now, next to the Archangel's full and refined sound, the EBC80 can come off as rather bush league, and I do enjoy the EBC80, so it doesn't come from a place of hate, but it just sounds undefined, intimate, and thin in comparison.

I'm also a fan of the Fan 3. I love everything about it but the unrefined bass, but it's good enough that I tend to overlook it. The midrange is so sweet and incisive, as is the very natural and airy treble, plus the stage and spatial cues are natural and well behaved, and not exaggerated like so many BCD IEMs. Much like how the Archangel is well behaved and natural with the BCD.

 

[caryking]

I think the EBC80 will be on the chopping block soon? I'm gonna wait though, until my most recent cable purchases (the last until these tariff issues are resolved) arrive, then I'll do some side by sides, because right now, next to the Archangel's full and refined sound, the EBC80 can come off as rather bush league, and I do enjoy the EBC80, so it doesn't come from a place of hate, but it just sounds undefined, intimate, and thin in comparison.

I'm also a fan of the Fan 3. I love everything about it but the unrefined bass, but it's good enough that I tend to overlook it. The midrange is so sweet and incisive, as is the very natural and airy treble, plus the stage and spatial cues are natural and well behaved, and not exaggerated like so many BCD IEMs. Much like how the Archangel is well behaved and natural with the BCD.

I’d love to hear your impressions of the EBC80 vs the FAN3. I had an opportunity to listen to the EBC80; however, it was only briefly…

 

[FalseProphet]

I will trust @Redcarmoose only since I am not sure if folks were able to master EBC80 properly, mastering EBC80 can be hit or miss

 

[emdeevee]

I’d love to hear your impressions of the EBC80 vs the FAN3. I had an opportunity to listen to the EBC80; however, it was only briefly…

EBC80 is way more out of the head than Fan 3. Fan 3 is in your face where EBC80 is like sitting back and watching an orchestra.

 

[caryking]

EBC80 is way more out of the head than Fan 3. Fan 3 is in your face where EBC80 is like sitting back and watching an orchestra.

When I did get a chance to hear the EBC80, the one thing I noticed was a disappearance of a slight edge in one of my test tracks. That’s been remedied by a cable change with my IEM’s. I guess the in your face presentation is why I like the Fan 3 so much. I really like that type of presentation. A little less refined, but slightly more boutique (jazz) club sound, especially with artist like Diane Krall and Melody Gardot.

What’s interesting is that I get slightly more air by placing these (the mini version) underneath my amp and dap…

https://isoacoustics.com/pro-audio-isolation-products/iso-puck-series/

 

[Kordonrules]

If you love the EST50, but are on the fence about the EBC80, then you need to pick up the ISN H60, because that would be the logical intermediary. If you like the H60 and the H50, then the EBC80 will suit you just fine. I personally like the H60 more than the EBC80, but that's just me.

That stock cable was a waste of time. Complete schitt. But hey, if you like it, then that's what's important, because ultimately, it comes down to individual perception, but my experience, with hundreds of cables and IEMs, points to the stock ISN EBC80 cable being sold with this excellent IEM is almost criminal, and not in a good way.

Did you find a better cable for your RBC80?