Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
Just finishing up the Penon 10th Anniversary Commemorative Model 2DD/2BA/2EST review. I should have it posted in the review section July 21st?
Here is an excerpt:
IEM side-by-side comparisons:
This is where we challenge personal memory, and often a new reality is discovered. Here to try and equalize everything I’m using the Sony WM1Z, the Penon OSG Cable and the same ear-tips (except the IER-Z1R) on my favorite IEMs. Left to right top row the Penon Volt, Nobel Audio K-10 Encore and the ISN EST50. Bottom row left to right is the Penon Globe, the 10th and the Sony IER-Z1R.
Penon Volt, 4 Electrostatic, 2BA and 1DD-$799.00
Nobel Audio Kaiser 10 Encore, 10BA-$1850.00
ISN EST50, 2 Electrostatic, 2BA and 1DD-$449.00
Penon Globe, 2BA and 1DD-329.00
Penon 10th Anniversary, 2BA, 2 Electrostatic and 2DD-$499.00
Sony IER-Z1R, 1BA and 2DD-$1698.00
The Penon Volt v the 10th Anniversary:
Starting out many may be on the fence (already having the Volt) and wondering just how different it is from the 10th Anniversary and if it is a valid purchase offering any differences? With the weight of the Volt being 6 grams and the 10th 4 grams there is little difference there. And while the Volt is a smidge wider, the 10th is taller. The nozzle-ends of the 10th are a hair larger in circumference. Part of this may be that you can see the actual sound tubes inside the 10th, where the slightly smaller Volt nozzle uses the resin for the very end of one of sound tubes, and filters making-up the other two. Also the nozzle ends of the 10th have a slightly larger tip holder, being thicker. The OSG Cable really dials in the Volt adding an unexpected additive to the bass, making it really good. While in so many ways the Volt is the opposite of the 10th, especially with how it does strings. Yep, midrange strings are more illustrated and worked-out with the Volt. I can even go ahead and call the strings more real. Volt vocals are also bigger and hold that aspect of real-life that the 10th can’t quite get too. The 10th bass is a little more forward and at the same time sculpted. 10th’s vocals are less detailed but the upper midrange/lower treble takes and adds clarity where that was always one lacking area of the Volt. The 10th is cleaner and while offering a more stripped down midrange approach, it has way more contrast in the end.
The Nobel Audio K-10 Encore v the 10th Anniversary:
The K-10 Encore goes ahead and also improves in the bass department with the Penon OSG cable. Blacker background and wider clarity on offer. Still the very different aspect would be the treble shelf of which Encore almost goes into the no-go-zone……..just right at the edge. Yet inside of that experience we are gifted with a giant soundstage, a bigger upper midrange event, than the 10th ever hoped to achieve. Still after spending a week with the 10th as my main focus, the Encore comes off steely and of a metallic tinge, not that that was something new to me, it’s just the better timbral accuracy of the Penon 10th shows once again a warmer more inviting style of brightness. In all truth the Encore does better with OCC cables, or a cable like the Obsidian, yet we can still judge both the IEMs together here.
The ISN EST50 v the 10th Anniversary:
The Penon OSG cable happens to be one of my most favorite cables with the EST50, if not the single all time favorite? And this is a rewarding comparison being just like the Volt, the EST50 shares some DNA with the 10th Anniversary. Where in many ways the 10th is a more complete tune with less marginal drawbacks (technically speaking) than the Volt……….still the moment you hear the Volts midrange you stop for a second, you stop to smell the roses. To bass heads the EST50s low end may do the same, to stop them dead in their tracks. As the EST50’s bass is just that much more, more in size yet slightly slower, but more forward. Now here is the confusing part, the OSG does a number to the ISN EST50 vocals making them more vivid, and really I can’t find any fault like I was planning to.
Still as far as midrange and treble the 10th comes off more brisk. A shade more vibrant and harmonically complex than the EST50, where I really think this was the goal for Penon designers, to find a wider form of entertainment in the midrange and treble from the EST50, and they succeeded. IMO
The Penon Globe v the 10th Anniversary:
For many the Globe just won’t go away. Meaning at the price and age of it you would think it would have been passed by or bettered by todays ideas of IEM playback. And I know this is getting old, but the OSG is again the best cable to hear with the Globe playback. IMO, I mean if cables make a change and breath new life into an IEM, why not use them. Here is almost perfect balance and vividness in playback, but not quite as large as what the 10th has going on. Less parts inside the little Globe. But less parts also means there is a chance of less congestion, a cleaner truer to life and calmer idea of playback. Obviously the bass doesn’t go as visceral and as showy as what we have daily with the 10th. The Globe is way smaller than the 10th, and while not quite as up-front with midrange and treble-textures and authority. Still the over-all stance is still commendable, as the Globe is simply doing what it does……..and I love it!
The IER-Z1R v the 10th Anniversary:
I had to change ear-tips to get fitment, yet all else is the same. Bigger bass than the 10th, more forward, wide and and tall, also slightly better details inside that. Yet when you start to compare price, well……..IER vocals are better in that they are more delineated and find themselves surrounded by more real instrumentation, but not as much as you would think by the price difference. Three drivers in the Sony compared to the six in the 10th, and this singular more focused playback of less drivers, shows a style of clarity and realness that’s difficult to fight with. Still once you take that away there are actually many traits the two hold in common, as the 10th is the closest Penon has ever come to replay of the Sony house sound.
Thanks for taking the time to read. Cheers!
Here is an excerpt:
IEM side-by-side comparisons:
This is where we challenge personal memory, and often a new reality is discovered. Here to try and equalize everything I’m using the Sony WM1Z, the Penon OSG Cable and the same ear-tips (except the IER-Z1R) on my favorite IEMs. Left to right top row the Penon Volt, Nobel Audio K-10 Encore and the ISN EST50. Bottom row left to right is the Penon Globe, the 10th and the Sony IER-Z1R.
Penon Volt, 4 Electrostatic, 2BA and 1DD-$799.00
Nobel Audio Kaiser 10 Encore, 10BA-$1850.00
ISN EST50, 2 Electrostatic, 2BA and 1DD-$449.00
Penon Globe, 2BA and 1DD-329.00
Penon 10th Anniversary, 2BA, 2 Electrostatic and 2DD-$499.00
Sony IER-Z1R, 1BA and 2DD-$1698.00
The Penon Volt v the 10th Anniversary:
Starting out many may be on the fence (already having the Volt) and wondering just how different it is from the 10th Anniversary and if it is a valid purchase offering any differences? With the weight of the Volt being 6 grams and the 10th 4 grams there is little difference there. And while the Volt is a smidge wider, the 10th is taller. The nozzle-ends of the 10th are a hair larger in circumference. Part of this may be that you can see the actual sound tubes inside the 10th, where the slightly smaller Volt nozzle uses the resin for the very end of one of sound tubes, and filters making-up the other two. Also the nozzle ends of the 10th have a slightly larger tip holder, being thicker. The OSG Cable really dials in the Volt adding an unexpected additive to the bass, making it really good. While in so many ways the Volt is the opposite of the 10th, especially with how it does strings. Yep, midrange strings are more illustrated and worked-out with the Volt. I can even go ahead and call the strings more real. Volt vocals are also bigger and hold that aspect of real-life that the 10th can’t quite get too. The 10th bass is a little more forward and at the same time sculpted. 10th’s vocals are less detailed but the upper midrange/lower treble takes and adds clarity where that was always one lacking area of the Volt. The 10th is cleaner and while offering a more stripped down midrange approach, it has way more contrast in the end.
The Nobel Audio K-10 Encore v the 10th Anniversary:
The K-10 Encore goes ahead and also improves in the bass department with the Penon OSG cable. Blacker background and wider clarity on offer. Still the very different aspect would be the treble shelf of which Encore almost goes into the no-go-zone……..just right at the edge. Yet inside of that experience we are gifted with a giant soundstage, a bigger upper midrange event, than the 10th ever hoped to achieve. Still after spending a week with the 10th as my main focus, the Encore comes off steely and of a metallic tinge, not that that was something new to me, it’s just the better timbral accuracy of the Penon 10th shows once again a warmer more inviting style of brightness. In all truth the Encore does better with OCC cables, or a cable like the Obsidian, yet we can still judge both the IEMs together here.
The ISN EST50 v the 10th Anniversary:
The Penon OSG cable happens to be one of my most favorite cables with the EST50, if not the single all time favorite? And this is a rewarding comparison being just like the Volt, the EST50 shares some DNA with the 10th Anniversary. Where in many ways the 10th is a more complete tune with less marginal drawbacks (technically speaking) than the Volt……….still the moment you hear the Volts midrange you stop for a second, you stop to smell the roses. To bass heads the EST50s low end may do the same, to stop them dead in their tracks. As the EST50’s bass is just that much more, more in size yet slightly slower, but more forward. Now here is the confusing part, the OSG does a number to the ISN EST50 vocals making them more vivid, and really I can’t find any fault like I was planning to.
Still as far as midrange and treble the 10th comes off more brisk. A shade more vibrant and harmonically complex than the EST50, where I really think this was the goal for Penon designers, to find a wider form of entertainment in the midrange and treble from the EST50, and they succeeded. IMOThe Penon Globe v the 10th Anniversary:
For many the Globe just won’t go away. Meaning at the price and age of it you would think it would have been passed by or bettered by todays ideas of IEM playback. And I know this is getting old, but the OSG is again the best cable to hear with the Globe playback. IMO, I mean if cables make a change and breath new life into an IEM, why not use them. Here is almost perfect balance and vividness in playback, but not quite as large as what the 10th has going on. Less parts inside the little Globe. But less parts also means there is a chance of less congestion, a cleaner truer to life and calmer idea of playback. Obviously the bass doesn’t go as visceral and as showy as what we have daily with the 10th. The Globe is way smaller than the 10th, and while not quite as up-front with midrange and treble-textures and authority. Still the over-all stance is still commendable, as the Globe is simply doing what it does……..and I love it!
The IER-Z1R v the 10th Anniversary:
I had to change ear-tips to get fitment, yet all else is the same. Bigger bass than the 10th, more forward, wide and and tall, also slightly better details inside that. Yet when you start to compare price, well……..IER vocals are better in that they are more delineated and find themselves surrounded by more real instrumentation, but not as much as you would think by the price difference. Three drivers in the Sony compared to the six in the 10th, and this singular more focused playback of less drivers, shows a style of clarity and realness that’s difficult to fight with. Still once you take that away there are actually many traits the two hold in common, as the 10th is the closest Penon has ever come to replay of the Sony house sound.
Thanks for taking the time to read. Cheers!
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