RunWithOne
Head-Fier
I was finally able to complete my review of the Penon Dome. You are welcome to read it.
The PENON official thread
- Thread starter Dsnuts
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Dsnuts
Headphoneus Supremus
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The Penon flaghship shootout! This is the portion that I have been working on to add to my review. It will be on the reader if you need to see it but I will just post it here.
I know a lot of folks will want a comparison to the OG Volts so here it is. This comparison is a Penon flagship shootout all using their stock cables in balanced.
Vs. Volts
Penon Volt for $799 represents the first tribrid for Penon and the IEM that brings what their house sound is all about. Folks that owned the Sphere, Orbs, Globes will find the top of that particular sound in the Volt. The Volt is all about the mids performance and the bass and trebles playing a crucial supportive role in the tuning. Musical and dynamic sounding the Volts is what put Penon on the map. It is hard to argue where these IEMs lies in the hierarchy of Penon sound with their large and in charge sound performance even by today's standards. As mentioned before the voltage uses two Sonion BAs for its trebles and uses the 4x EST drivers just for the upper trebles. This makes a difference in how much more complete the Voltage sounds for trebles, especially noticed with the treble switch in the up position. Where the Voltage sound signature becomes a bit similar to the old Volts is when you have that switch down. In this mode the trebles are smoother yet is not devoid of the reason why these are using 6 total drivers for trebles. Smoother trebles but still sound remarkably balanced. Where the Volt still has a bit of the upper hand from the Voltage I would say is its mids which is slightly more forward with decidedly richer tonal character. The Voltage sounds just a touch broader in the way it sounds, the OG Volt sounds just a bit deeper and with greater density of note. Otherwise they are trading punches for performance between each other. Where the Voltage is an upgrade in sound performance has to do with the way it can morph into a more bass infused sound, Is a bit more technical in that it does have better sound separation, imaging and detail elements vs the Volts. Voltage bass end is also an upgrade on the Volts single 10mm bass. It has better speed, sounds a bit tighter and has better definition and texture vs the Volts bass.
Vs the Legends.
The Legends has the widest stage out of all of Penon made IEMs if your a stage head these are a set to look into if you prefer your sound to be wider than most IEMs. The all BA IEM. The Legend uses 13BAs per housing with a 4way crossover design. These were the first Penon IEM to use tuning switches. Its tuning angle is more of a w shaped signature with enhancements in the 3 regions of sound that represents the Legend. It's a highly technical yet exemplifies how Penon can tune for higher end sonics utilizing so many drivers. This 13 BA set is definitely one of my all-time favorite all BA sets in existence and compared to others that charge a lot for similar specs the Legends clearly stand on their own for sound. This is where these share some technical aspects to the new Voltage. Its imaging and sound separation are both exemplary and here is where your not missing out on the EST drivers of the Voltage. Unless you did a head to head comparison the trebles is fully fleshed out and is just right on the Legends. It uses 4 Sonion BAs for bass vs the Voltage two dynamics and I find their mids performance to trade blows for detail and imaging the clear distinction as you could have guessed has to do with the Voltage Bass end which has a decided leg up on the Legends bass which is not exactly a weak spot for the Legends. BA bass as good as it has gotten over the years still does not have the same physical nature as a moving dynamic. Woofer bass will win every time here. This being said the cohesion level of the Legends being an all BA design is ideal for a broad sound. The Voltage for cohesion is superb for being a tribrid but if you actually listen for timbre aspects in the 3 regions of sound, You can tell they are using 3 different types of drivers.
Impacts.
The Impacts are the newest TOTL flagship. 4EST with 10BAs. In many ways the upgraded Legends are what the Impacts are. That silky fluid EST implementation for upper trebles is the difference. The Impacts represent some of the best mids in the industry. It has some amazingly articulate full bodied, holographic mids performance and is the star of what the Impacts are about. The BA bass implementation gets a bit more punchy vs the Legends but it simply does not have the same type of physical bass the Voltage has. Voltage stage is a touch wider vs the impacts but if you take a premium for mids performance the Impacts cost as much as they do for a nicely done higher end mids, sparkly extended treble end, punchy BA based bass with an accurate timbre, with that classic Penon richer tonal character. The Voltage sounds more dynamic in performance and has the better bass quality out of the two and does lose out to the impacts in its mids presentation. Doesn’t sound as dimensional as the impacts as the impacts has better texture and body to its mids presentation. Voltage sounds a touch more dryer in comparison and is not as rich sounding but sounds equally airy for its mids presentation.
Voltage trebles has more presence especially with the 2 treble switch on which the dual treble BAs are more engaged. Impacts has a bit more upper trebles where the 4 Sonion ESTs are more engaged in the trebles. Sounds a touch cleaner tonal character vs impacts overall full-bodied tonal character. As I posted above in the review about the Obsidian cable as both these IEMs use a variant of this cable. I feel it is the Voltage that benefits even more so using this cable vs the Impacts. It certainly synergizes better. The white Obsidian cable on the Impacts focuses a bit too much on its mids and bass character and not enough in the trebles, hence many were searching for a cable that can enhance the treble aspects while maintaining its mids performance. Since the Voltage has more bass and trebles it definitely jives better with the Voltage. This is a case however where if you never owned or heard the Impacts full bodied dimensional mids presentation. There is not much lacking for the mids performance on the Voltage, in fact it is quite excellent and has all the hallmarks of a Penon designed mids performance. However, there is a reason why the Impacts have the superior mids presentation and that is because the Impacts uses 4 Sonion BAs just for the mid bands while the Voltage uses 2. The focus of the Impacts much like the Volt before it was its mids. The Voltage gives you the ability to enhance the treble and enhance the bass the Impacts cannot do. However if you want the mids to be at the forefront of the tuning, lowering both switches does just this. I would say it is more balanced at this point and this in turn is the Voltage version of a more mid focused sound. The fact that the Voltage will be sold for much less vs the Impacts with the ability to engage its dual 8mm dynamics and 2BA+ 4EST for greater effect on top of an outstanding mids presentation makes the Voltage one of the best values for what they will be sold at.
I know a lot of folks will want a comparison to the OG Volts so here it is. This comparison is a Penon flagship shootout all using their stock cables in balanced.
Vs. Volts
Penon Volt for $799 represents the first tribrid for Penon and the IEM that brings what their house sound is all about. Folks that owned the Sphere, Orbs, Globes will find the top of that particular sound in the Volt. The Volt is all about the mids performance and the bass and trebles playing a crucial supportive role in the tuning. Musical and dynamic sounding the Volts is what put Penon on the map. It is hard to argue where these IEMs lies in the hierarchy of Penon sound with their large and in charge sound performance even by today's standards. As mentioned before the voltage uses two Sonion BAs for its trebles and uses the 4x EST drivers just for the upper trebles. This makes a difference in how much more complete the Voltage sounds for trebles, especially noticed with the treble switch in the up position. Where the Voltage sound signature becomes a bit similar to the old Volts is when you have that switch down. In this mode the trebles are smoother yet is not devoid of the reason why these are using 6 total drivers for trebles. Smoother trebles but still sound remarkably balanced. Where the Volt still has a bit of the upper hand from the Voltage I would say is its mids which is slightly more forward with decidedly richer tonal character. The Voltage sounds just a touch broader in the way it sounds, the OG Volt sounds just a bit deeper and with greater density of note. Otherwise they are trading punches for performance between each other. Where the Voltage is an upgrade in sound performance has to do with the way it can morph into a more bass infused sound, Is a bit more technical in that it does have better sound separation, imaging and detail elements vs the Volts. Voltage bass end is also an upgrade on the Volts single 10mm bass. It has better speed, sounds a bit tighter and has better definition and texture vs the Volts bass.
Vs the Legends.
The Legends has the widest stage out of all of Penon made IEMs if your a stage head these are a set to look into if you prefer your sound to be wider than most IEMs. The all BA IEM. The Legend uses 13BAs per housing with a 4way crossover design. These were the first Penon IEM to use tuning switches. Its tuning angle is more of a w shaped signature with enhancements in the 3 regions of sound that represents the Legend. It's a highly technical yet exemplifies how Penon can tune for higher end sonics utilizing so many drivers. This 13 BA set is definitely one of my all-time favorite all BA sets in existence and compared to others that charge a lot for similar specs the Legends clearly stand on their own for sound. This is where these share some technical aspects to the new Voltage. Its imaging and sound separation are both exemplary and here is where your not missing out on the EST drivers of the Voltage. Unless you did a head to head comparison the trebles is fully fleshed out and is just right on the Legends. It uses 4 Sonion BAs for bass vs the Voltage two dynamics and I find their mids performance to trade blows for detail and imaging the clear distinction as you could have guessed has to do with the Voltage Bass end which has a decided leg up on the Legends bass which is not exactly a weak spot for the Legends. BA bass as good as it has gotten over the years still does not have the same physical nature as a moving dynamic. Woofer bass will win every time here. This being said the cohesion level of the Legends being an all BA design is ideal for a broad sound. The Voltage for cohesion is superb for being a tribrid but if you actually listen for timbre aspects in the 3 regions of sound, You can tell they are using 3 different types of drivers.
Impacts.
The Impacts are the newest TOTL flagship. 4EST with 10BAs. In many ways the upgraded Legends are what the Impacts are. That silky fluid EST implementation for upper trebles is the difference. The Impacts represent some of the best mids in the industry. It has some amazingly articulate full bodied, holographic mids performance and is the star of what the Impacts are about. The BA bass implementation gets a bit more punchy vs the Legends but it simply does not have the same type of physical bass the Voltage has. Voltage stage is a touch wider vs the impacts but if you take a premium for mids performance the Impacts cost as much as they do for a nicely done higher end mids, sparkly extended treble end, punchy BA based bass with an accurate timbre, with that classic Penon richer tonal character. The Voltage sounds more dynamic in performance and has the better bass quality out of the two and does lose out to the impacts in its mids presentation. Doesn’t sound as dimensional as the impacts as the impacts has better texture and body to its mids presentation. Voltage sounds a touch more dryer in comparison and is not as rich sounding but sounds equally airy for its mids presentation.
Voltage trebles has more presence especially with the 2 treble switch on which the dual treble BAs are more engaged. Impacts has a bit more upper trebles where the 4 Sonion ESTs are more engaged in the trebles. Sounds a touch cleaner tonal character vs impacts overall full-bodied tonal character. As I posted above in the review about the Obsidian cable as both these IEMs use a variant of this cable. I feel it is the Voltage that benefits even more so using this cable vs the Impacts. It certainly synergizes better. The white Obsidian cable on the Impacts focuses a bit too much on its mids and bass character and not enough in the trebles, hence many were searching for a cable that can enhance the treble aspects while maintaining its mids performance. Since the Voltage has more bass and trebles it definitely jives better with the Voltage. This is a case however where if you never owned or heard the Impacts full bodied dimensional mids presentation. There is not much lacking for the mids performance on the Voltage, in fact it is quite excellent and has all the hallmarks of a Penon designed mids performance. However, there is a reason why the Impacts have the superior mids presentation and that is because the Impacts uses 4 Sonion BAs just for the mid bands while the Voltage uses 2. The focus of the Impacts much like the Volt before it was its mids. The Voltage gives you the ability to enhance the treble and enhance the bass the Impacts cannot do. However if you want the mids to be at the forefront of the tuning, lowering both switches does just this. I would say it is more balanced at this point and this in turn is the Voltage version of a more mid focused sound. The fact that the Voltage will be sold for much less vs the Impacts with the ability to engage its dual 8mm dynamics and 2BA+ 4EST for greater effect on top of an outstanding mids presentation makes the Voltage one of the best values for what they will be sold at.
Last edited:
PixelSquish
Previously known as idiotekniques
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I probably have just over 20 hours on the quattro. It's a nice IEM that does some great things. But to me the stage is very intimate and lacks depth and height. Its something to get used to and see what happens with more burn in or turn around and sell them.
Those ain't just iems...The Penon flaghship shootout! This is the portion that I have been working on to add to my review. It will be on the reader if you need to see it but I will just post it here.
I know a lot of folks will want a comparison to the OG Volts so here it is. This comparison is a Penon flagship shootout all using their stock cables in balanced.
Vs. Volts
Penon Volt for $799 represents the first tribrid for Penon and the IEM that brings what their house sound is all about. Folks that owned the Sphere, Orbs, Globes will find the top of that particular sound in the Volt. The Volt is all about the mids performance and the bass and trebles playing a crucial supportive role in the tuning. Musical and dynamic sounding the Volts is what put Penon on the map. It is hard to argue where these IEMs lies in the hierarchy of Penon sound with their large and in charge sound performance even by today's standards. As mentioned before the voltage uses two Sonion BAs for its trebles and uses the 4x EST drivers just for the upper trebles. This makes a difference in how much more complete the Voltage sounds for trebles, especially noticed with the treble switch in the up position. Where the Voltage sound signature becomes a bit similar to the old Volts is when you have that switch down. In this mode the trebles are smoother yet is not devoid of the reason why these are using 6 total drivers for trebles. Smoother trebles but still sound remarkably balanced. Where the Volt still has a bit of the upper hand from the Voltage I would say is its mids which is slightly more forward with decidedly richer tonal character. The Voltage sounds just a touch broader in the way it sounds, the OG Volt sounds just a bit deeper and with greater density of note. Otherwise they are trading punches for performance between each other. Where the Voltage is an upgrade in sound performance has to do with the way it can morph into a more bass infused sound, Is a bit more technical in that it does have better sound separation, imaging and detail elements vs the Volts. Voltage bass end is also an upgrade on the Volts single 10mm bass. It has better speed, sounds a bit tighter and has better definition and texture vs the Volts bass.
Vs the Legends.
The Legends has the widest stage out of all of Penon made IEMs if your a stage head these are a set to look into if you prefer your sound to be wider than most IEMs. The all BA IEM. The Legend uses 13BAs per housing with a 4way crossover design. These were the first Penon IEM to use tuning switches. Its tuning angle is more of a w shaped signature with enhancements in the 3 regions of sound that represents the Legend. It's a highly technical yet exemplifies how Penon can tune for higher end sonics utilizing so many drivers. This 13 BA set is definitely one of my all-time favorite all BA sets in existence and compared to others that charge a lot for similar specs the Legends clearly stand on their own for sound. This is where these share some technical aspects to the new Voltage. Its imaging and sound separation are both exemplary and here is where your not missing out on the EST drivers of the Voltage. Unless you did a head to head comparison the trebles is fully fleshed out and is just right on the Legends. It uses 4 Sonion BAs for bass vs the Voltage two dynamics and I find their mids performance to trade blows for detail and imaging the clear distinction as you could have guessed has to do with the Voltage Bass end which has a decided leg up on the Legends bass which is not exactly a weak spot for the Legends. BA bass as good as it has gotten over the years still does not have the same physical nature as a moving dynamic. Woofer bass will win every time here. This being said the cohesion level of the Legends being an all BA design is ideal for a broad sound. The Voltage for cohesion is superb for being a tribrid but if you actually listen for timbre aspects in the 3 regions of sound, You can tell they are using 3 different types of drivers.
Impacts.
The Impacts are the newest TOTL flagship. 4EST with 10BAs. In many ways the upgraded Legends are what the Impacts are. That silky fluid EST implementation for upper trebles is the difference. The Impacts represent some of the best mids in the industry. It has some amazingly articulate full bodied, holographic mids performance and is the star of what the Impacts are about. The BA bass implementation gets a bit more punchy vs the Legends but it simply does not have the same type of physical bass the Voltage has. Voltage stage is a touch wider vs the impacts but if you take a premium for mids performance the Impacts cost as much as they do for a nicely done higher end mids, sparkly extended treble end, punchy BA based bass with an accurate timbre, with that classic Penon richer tonal character. The Voltage sounds more dynamic in performance and has the better bass quality out of the two and does lose out to the impacts in its mids presentation. Doesn’t sound as dimensional as the impacts as the impacts has better texture and body to its mids presentation. Voltage sounds a touch more dryer in comparison and is not as rich sounding but sounds equally airy for its mids presentation.
Voltage trebles has more presence especially with the 2 treble switch on which the dual treble BAs are more engaged. Impacts has a bit more upper trebles where the 4 Sonion ESTs are more engaged in the trebles. Sounds a touch cleaner tonal character vs impacts overall full-bodied tonal character. As I posted above in the review about the Obsidian cable as both these IEMs use a variant of this cable. I feel it is the Voltage that benefits even more so using this cable vs the Impacts. It certainly synergizes better. The white Obsidian cable on the Impacts focuses a bit too much on its mids and bass character and not enough in the trebles, hence many were searching for a cable that can enhance the treble aspects while maintaining its mids performance. Since the Voltage has more bass and trebles it definitely jives better with the Voltage. This is a case however where if you never owned or heard the Impacts full bodied dimensional mids presentation. There is not much lacking for the mids performance on the Voltage, in fact it is quite excellent and has all the hallmarks of a Penon designed mids performance. However, there is a reason why the Impacts have the superior mids presentation and that is because the Impacts uses 4 Sonion BAs just for the mid bands while the Voltage uses 2. The focus of the Impacts much like the Volt before it was its mids. The Voltage gives you the ability to enhance the treble and enhance the bass the Impacts cannot do. However if you want the mids to be at the forefront of the tuning, lowering both switches does just this. I would say it is more balanced at this point and this in turn is the Voltage version of a more mid focused sound. The fact that the Voltage will be sold for much less vs the Impacts with the ability to engage its dual 8mm dynamics and 2BA+ 4EST for greater effect on top of an outstanding mids presentation makes the Voltage one of the best values for what they will be sold at.
They're Penon Infinity Stones
!✌
Modular vs Fixed 4.4mm plugs - which camp are you in?
I just completed an interesting case study, comparing the fixed-plug Penon ASOS+ cable with the modular-plug ASOS. You can learn my findings in the review here.
Thanks! I enjoyed your review. I notice that you speak very highly of the NiceHCK BlackSoul cable and if I compare it with my CS02 from ISN Audio, I see that the cable looks the same except for the connectors, of course. What do you think?
Modular vs Fixed 4.4mm plugs - which camp are you in?
(...)
In a few days I will receive a healthy discharge from Voltage, I cannot give details but I think that the selling price of Voltage is very correct given the current times, the excellent choice of drivers and quality construction at Penon I think will be worth it, I am impatient 
weexisttocease
Headphoneus Supremus
I agree. The VOLTAGE has a very competitive price.In a few days I will receive a healthy discharge from Voltage, I cannot give details but I think that the selling price of Voltage is very correct given the current times, the excellent choice of drivers and quality construction at Penon I think will be worth it, I am impatient
PixelSquish
Previously known as idiotekniques
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The black liquer tips are the best tips I've used for the Quattro. Just tried them today.
You have had the option to try and compare with the EPRO EP00?
iscorpio71
100+ Head-Fier
If it's close to the IO offering, even or lower than the Volt, then yes.In a few days I will receive a healthy discharge from Voltage, I cannot give details but I think that the selling price of Voltage is very correct given the current times, the excellent choice of drivers and quality construction at Penon I think will be worth it, I am impatient
BlackSoul is a decent cable, but unfortunately does roll off treble quite a bit. That can be useful for IEMs which are a touch too bright, but I feel it's a cable that warrants careful pairing.
I haven't tried the CS02 cable, so I don't know how alike they are. Cables can often look fairly similar but sound substantially different however, as the outer jacket may appear alike but inside the wire geometry can be substantially different and even the connectors or choice of solder can affect what we end up hearing.
Dsnuts
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Jun 20, 2011
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I dont know if you guys saw recently but Penon has started to sell TGXear buds on Penon site. Any of you guys into earbuds. These are some of the absolute best in the industry. Highly recommend giving them a go. I bet you will be surprised at the the level of polish and sound you get with our buddy TGX buds.
I always thought EST is overrated.EST fans are real. I'm one of those.
from my experience, their no single doubt more EST = more snap, sparkle, air and brilliance goodness as well as amount of clean fine micro details....but, it depend of how its implemented too, for ex, Kinera Urd is darker less crisp sounding of them all. its all about the air around highest pitch sound that feel cleaner and more vast, as well as this extra attack sharpness that metallic string like harpsichord, guitar, percussions, need to get this proper accent intensity crispness...
with Urd i struggle to perceive background instrument like clavichord in classical orchestra while its effortless with Letshuoer EJ09-EJ07-Conductor as well as BGVP DM9, Hiby Zeta and well sure UM Mest MK3 but its over the top since its tribrid + wide range bone conduction....
ive never heard a tribrid or hybrid with 8EST, TSMR RGB is one of those...
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