Man that’s an amazing review… lots of time spent and the test tracks listed 
1 Like
Thanks bro I really enjoyed writing it a really special iem.
2 Likes
FIVE STARS 
Beautiful Nostalgia
Pros:
1, Authoritative Bass
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Natural timbre
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Smooth across the whole signature
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Holographic staging
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cohesive sound signature 5. Build quality 6. High quality cable
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Beautiful faceplates 9. Good accessories with nice case
Cons:
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Needs 200 hours burn in
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Not for neutral fans
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Might not be for you if want a uncoloured and “correct” sounding iem 4. Niche tuning
The Penon Quattro’s are a unique sounding iem with a warm luxurious signature I would describe them like a hug from a favourite friend, warm, welcoming full of emotion, too many iems released at the moment are almost carbon copies of each other chasing the Harmon target with only the shells being different. I’m tired of Harmon I want different.
Penon don’t follow trends they make them. All Penon iems have fantastic mids,the differences between models is how the bass and treble are presented. The Quattro with its 4Dynamic Drivers is, and have now doubt about this, a niche tuning, that’s not going to work with all genres, but when it does, boy! Its superb!
The Title of this review is “Beautiful Nostalgia” why you may ask well when I heard how this iem presented my 70s and 80s Classic Rock catalogue I was transported back to my days in heavy rock night clubs where the DJ’s had PA systems that they shared with the bands that performed live. I used to hit the dance floor with my air guitar and rock out, the bass bins literally blowing my hair back, an exhilarating experience. When I got home and played the same tunes on my hifi system I was always disappointed with the sound, where was the excitement, the note weight, the visceral thump of the drums! The Quattro is the sound of those clubs, big, thick, warm imbuing the dry productions of those decades with organic, emotion filled authority.
The Quattro is built to the usual high standard Penon is famous for coming in a small box packed with all the accessories needed no frills but not lacking in any area. The included cable not only colour matches the shells to perfection it synergizes really well with the iem. The inc zipped case is the perfect size to hold the iems, cable and selection of tips you could even fit a small portable dac in there.
I’d just like to say upfront I believe we are all biased when giving our subjective thoughts about IEMs be it a particular type of signature that works with our music library or how an IEM looks and feels in our ears. On the subject of ears everyone’s ear anatomy is different and this effects fit and seal which in turn effects the perception of bass response so I recommend finding the right ear tips that suit your ears to get the best of any IEM.
My review star ratings are linked to the price range of the iem eg a 5 star review of a $100 iem is not equal to one of a $500 iem.
I’m and audio enthusiast with a collection of over 200 iems, 30 different sources with a music collection that numbers over 100,000 tracks and 15 flathead buds I share my impressions as a way to share my enthusiasm for the hobby I approach from the premise of music first technology 2nd, what does this mean? For me the technicalities are not of prime importance but does the music move with this particular iem.
I’m a connoisseur of many different sound signatures. The only prerequisite is musicality I’m not a fan of analytical cold playback. My scale of success when it comes to evaluating iems is; do I get goosebumps when they playback my favourite tunes. There are many good iems but do they give me goosebumps? Unfortunately I have a draw full of just good iems.
I want the iem that I reach for without thinking because I instinctively know it will bring the thrill I’m seeking from my music. The Quattros’s bass, mids and sprinkling of treble coming from the Dynamic Drivers gave me goosebumps with my most loved genre of classic rock which I believe to be the last bastion of instrumental authenticity just bands playing together in the studio with a sound engineer capturing the magic on tape! The Quattro’s analogue signature matchws perfectly with these types of recordings.
I Have always favoured Dynamic Drivers for the tactility and organic natural playback they produce. The Quattro’s four Dynamic Drivers give good sub bass and great mid bass combining to give a really exciting bottom end that drives the music along. The mid bass does bleed in to the silky smooth mids, giving male vocals a gorgeous deep resonant presentation the mids while warm are relatively neutral, the warmth from the midbass reaches throughout the full range. This might been seen as a bad thing but for me it’s a refreshing change from the norm allowing the thickness to enhance the types of muisic that often sounds thin and wanting. There is detail, and layering the timbre is just wonderfully natural with both male and female voices having added note weight. The treble is not prominent but it is there the leading edge of cymbals are crisp and sound very natural. The upper range of the mids and lower treble do sound very effective especially when cutting through the heavy bass on songs with singers in the higher registers. The whole sound being rendered with extra warmth that reminds me of kicking back in front of a warm fire and floating away listening to my favourite tunes.
Now I know there are those who don’t believe in burn in of iems, all I’m going to say is, Penon requested I burn in the Quattro’s for 200 hours which I did. Penon also included the Penon Tail portable DAC/AMP in my sample as the Quattros need power to shine. Disclaimer Penon was kind enough me a sample of the Quattro and Penon tail dac/amp.
I am not affiliated with Penon and of course was not asked for any copy checking before publishing, they are seeing this the same time as you. All pictures taken be me. ALL opinions shared in this review are my subjective thoughts.
Make sure to research any iem before you buy! The Penon Quattro retails at $399 which for this configuration is extremely competitive and are available for purchase from the Penon website see the non affiliated link below
PENON QUATTRO (penonaudio.com)
Details from the Penon website
Penon QUATTRO 4 Dynamic Driver 2Pin 0.78mm HiFi Earphone Audiophile IEM
Needs to burn-in 200hrs.
Description
Handmade, the earphone shell is solid and more durable.
Using medical grade resin material, light and beautiful, comfortable to wear.
The QUATTRO uses an independent 3-way crossover and 3-independent conduit design for better layering performance.
The low frequency uses the latest horizontally opposed dual low frequency driver to further enhance the bass effect.
Middle frequency uses new generation of graphene materials, more rich details and listening.
The high-frequency uses new process makes the sound smoother and more delicate.
Specification
Model: QUATTRO
Driver：4 Dynamic driver
1 x 6mm custom dynamic driver for High frequency
1 x 8mm graphene diaphragm for Medium frequency
2 x 10mm composite diaphragm for Low frequency
Impedance: 16 Ohm
Sensitivity: 100dB
Frequency response: 5Hz-30kHz
Connector: 2pin 0.78mm
Cable lengthen: 1.2M
Package
Penon QUATTRO
9 pairs of silicone eartips (SML)
Earphone case
Pouch
Brush
Clip
Warranty
18 months warranty
The frequency graph for those who like to see such things
What do they sound like?
I have talked about what the Quattros’s sound like with my Classic rock library now I’m going to mention what the don’t really work with. For starters they really need power to perform at their best and also a relatively neutral source. They really don’t need any extra warmth! Some modern bass heavy tracks with with fast passages expose the speed of the drivers which have a longer than usual note decay this is not ideal for speed metal or hard dance tracks. I stated at the beginning of this review that they are a niche signature yet I give them a 5 star review, this is because what they do well they do really well. I choose which iem I’m going to use relative to the music I want to listen to. I mean it is fine having an all rounder that plays everything alright without any particular track standing out but I want to be have the wow! Experience when listening to my favourite tunes and I have very eclectic tastes so I have favourite iems for different genres. I use different iems when I want to listen to a playlist on shuffle.
I want to really enjoy my music. Something that releases the full scope of what the artist created in the studio. The Penon c does that with that special something with my classic rock and Americana library. The cohesion of the drivers ensuring to there’s no jarring transitions between the frequency range. The Quattro is a warm, lush, bass driven signature, bass is textured, dynamic and layered. The mids are slightly warm and colour the vocals there is extra body to males vocals and female alike the padding from the bass adding note weight but there is no effect on the natural timbre of the vocals . The vocals take half a step back, they are there front and centre with instruments placed exactly where they should be showing depth to the stage with natural unforced width. The Quattro’s 4 dynamic drivers sound very coherent no trace of uneven timbre just everything working together as one.
What do I mean by unforced width? Some IEMs give an impression of super wide stage which sounds unnatural throwing instrument placement off. With the Quattro the staging is reliant on the production of the music, if a song is intimate that’s how it is rendered if the song has wide deep and tall production values the Quattro is not the best at reproducing width and depth due to the prominent bass the staging is there its just slightly more intimate than other iems with airy signatures. .
The mids are natural and organic thick, warm with just enough edge to add excitement to vocals and guitars causing me to be drawn into the music, Pianos and Guitars are given a really even treatment with extra note weight sounding exactly as you would expect if you were in a concert hall. The Transition from upper mids to lower treble is boosted slightly but still sibilance free, even with songs that have sibilance bult into the recording. They are almost a dark iem but the little bump in this region just edges them into excitement in this area. To be totally honest the Quattro is very tip reliant I found with wide bore tips there was a much more pleasing treble and a more open sound in general with narrow bore tips the whole signature became too warm and an element of congestion was apparent. I settled on Divinis Velvet wide bore tips these gave me the perfect balance of warmth and treble extension I tried the tri Clarion tips but they took away too much of the warmth that makes the Quattro sound so special, On the subject of tips while Penon give a generous selection of tips I couldn’t get a good seal with any of them, I have very big ear canals.
The timbre and tactility of drums, strings, guitars and brass instruments is very natural all instruments find their own place. Vocals both male and female are reproduced authentically with emotion, every inflection, intonation is apparent as a singer climbs the scale to the crescendo it is presented well cutting through the thick bass, if a voice has gravel you feel it. The Quattro is quite forgiving of poorly produced music. The sound signature as a whole is of big bass with warm clear clean mids with a little edge in the treble, an overall satisfying feeling of immersion in the music When I’m evaluating IEMs I have a play list of roughly 100 songs of mixed genres. With the QuattorI again, I found myself listening to songs rather than analysing the different frequency ranges listening to albums in their entirety just loosing myself in the music. I found they worked across some genrres better than others always smooth and velvety . I don’t listen to much EDM but the Quattro played the Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” quite well but its real strength was with real instruments playing together as a unit.
Zodiac-Rebirth of fire – Grain of soul album sounded Immense with thunderous bass. The guitars grinding with a dense foreboding drone the drums huge with dynamic attack. The Ozzy Osbourne inspired vocals screaming cutting through the doom metal backing, ducking and diving through the mix bringing more depth to the vocals along with the searing guitar. This track nails you to the wall and the Quattro really brings that authentic Marshall stack power a very exciting experience. Lorde - Royals with its throbbing and droning subbass really digging deep into the depths with great effect, her higher range voice sibilance free this track really had good depth with her vocals more rounded and smoothwith the drone of the backing being visceral and prominent
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – Perfect Skin, this 80s indi pop classic with jangly guitar sounding detailed with the strings resonance reproduced well. Lioyds vocals can sound a bit edgy on lesser iems, not here the note weight and roundness to his lower register was very pleasing. At no point with the Quattro did I experience any form of veiling in the mids and treble the production style of this song is very spacious as if in a large empty room the extra warmth added to this really helped to add authority to the vocals the bass while big, dynamic and powerful just doesn’t encroach on this track. Steely Dan’s - Aja, one of the best produced albums in my opinion was played with a musical, smooth warmth that really suited the song , hi-hats and cymbals were natural with excellent decay staging was good with height, depth and width enabling me to pick out instruments in the mix, with a little added warmth this song still felt open with the layering of the instruments in a class above its price bracket very enjoyable.
Rolling Stones- Beast of Burden this is one of my favourites with its swinging bass line Charlie watts deft drumming starting the song, then Jaggers high vocals dancing around the backing there’s good air and space around the individual instruments a very holographic play back with extra note weight really enhancing the song
Led Zepplin – Since I’ve been loving you
The lead guitar intro is perfectly presented sweet and keening the drums with that slow heavy rhythm, then as the song builds, keyboards the cherry on the cake comes with Plants unmistakeable vocals reaching for the sky as the song builds in intensity to a cohesive whole with the wailing Plant cutting through like a hot knife in butter. The Quattro excels with possibly one of the best playbacks I’ve experienced in the hobby with Zepplin so much power with the vocals never overpowered it is just a triumph giving that feeling of being in the front row of the best concert ever.
Fugees-Killing me softly
Lauryn Hills pure vocals start the song with the electronic backing music and interjections from Wyclef Jean the subtleties of the interplay between vocals and instruments are played well, Lauryn’s voice warm and intoxicating. The spatial ques are very well executed with voices and beats interplaying the Quattro loves this type of production which can sound a bit dry on other lesser iems here it sounds rich and smooth.
Iron Maiden -Rhyme of the ancient Mariner –
The dynamics of this track are reproduced with accuracy the driving rhythms are dynamic and punchy , I did however feel there was a little congestion in the guitars, bass and drums they were reproduced well enough just a little crowded. Bruce’s vocals were on point and unveiled just good headbanging fun. The Quattro is a little exposed with faster tracks with instruments in the same frequency range and can get a little congested due to the slower decay rate of the low end. The Quattro is not easy to drive for an iem with 4 DDs I had no issues using them with Daps, Dongles in getting loud enough but the dynamics and more open sound with the texture and layering they are capable of wasn’t available unless they were driven by a more powerful source.
They sounded good with more neutral sources. This is an iem that needs a powerful source to scale impressively. I’m not a fan of analytical sounding IEMs that force details into your ears like a photograph with HDR and sharpening set at max a decidedly digital representation. I’m more Vinyl on a turntable, Leica manual focus, sumptuous colours on kodak colour gold film, kinda guy, where if you look really close all the details are there but it’s the whole image you appreciate rather than just how sharp it is.
Sources used:
IBasso dx170 Shanling H5 HiBy R6 111 HiBy R8
Penon tail dac /amp
Cayin N3 Ultra
Venture Electronics VE RunAbout RA 2B-FE 2BFE FIIO M15
When using my different sources I definitely favoured the more powerful ones the extra dynamics and layering were so different from the play back with less power’
Penon TAIL HiFi Portable Type-C to 3.5mm/4.4mm Headphone Amplifier with Gain Button
Description
Penon TAIL is a HiFi digital audio decoding PCBA solution USB dongle.
Built-in USB audio bridge chip and dual-channel low-power high-performance Dual CS43131 DAC decoding chip.
Up to support PCM 384 kHz/32Bit and DSD256 digital audio codec. Select ultra-low noise power supply and high precision femtosecond crystal oscillator to further improve the performance parameters and sound quality.
Integrated 4.4 mm all balanced differential output and 3.5 mm stereo output, load support 16Ω ~ 600Ω, the output two gain switch control, can be perfect fit all kinds of earphones.
Volume button and play/pause in-one button and three independent (Vol±, Play/Pause) button compatible design, easy to listen to music control; With PCM and DSD light effect.
Excellent compatibility of mobile phones, it has been verified to support PC, Android, iOS device.(Does not support mic cable)
Specification
Model: TAIL
Chip: dual CS43131
DAC: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256
Decoding rate: PCM 384KHZ/32bit and below
USB port: TYPE-C
USB protocol: UAC2.0 protocol, UAC1.0 protocol
Support Impedance: 16-600Ω
Output: 3.5mm audio + 4.4mm balanced
Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz
SNR: [email protected]/ 4Vrms,[email protected]/ 2Vrms
THD+N: [email protected] /4Vrms,[email protected]/ 2Vrms
Crosstalk suppression: -135dB@4. 4mm/ 4Vrms, [email protected]/ 2Vrms
High precision femtosecond crystal oscillator: 100fs
Output performance
3.5mm output(low gain) 32Ω @1kHz, connect with PC
Impedance: 32Ω @1kHz
Output level: minimum: 900mV, 25.3mW; typical: 1000mV, 31.25mW; maximum: 1200mV, 45mW
Frequency response: 20-20kHz
THD+N: minimum -105dB, typical -100dB, maximum -95dB
SNR: minimum 110dB, typical 120dB, maximum 130dB
DNR: minimum 110dB, typical 120dB, maximum 130dB
Crosstalk: minimum -65dB, typical -60dB, maximum -55dB
3.5mm output(high gain) 600Ω @1kHz, connect with PC
Impedance: 600Ω @1kHz
Output level: minimum: 1800mV, 5.4mW; typical: 2000mV, 6.67mW; maximum: 2200mV, 8.07mW
Frequency response: 20-20kHz
THD+N: minimum -105dB, typical -100dB, maximum -95dB
SNR: minimum 115dB, typical 125dB, maximum 135dB
DNR: minimum 115dB, typical 125dB, maximum 135dB
Crosstalk: minimum -95dB, typical -85dB, maximum -75dB
4.4mm balanced output(low gain) 32Ω @1kHz, connect with PC
Impedance: 32Ω @1kHz
Output level: minimum: 1800mV, 101.25mW; typical: 2000mV, 125mW; maximum: 2200mV, 151.25mW
Frequency response: 20-20kHz
THD+N: minimum -105dB, typical -103dB, maximum -100dB
SNR: minimum 120dB, typical 125dB, maximum 130dB
DNR: minimum 120dB, typical 125dB, maximum 130dB
Crosstalk: minimum -110dB, typical -105dB, maximum -100dB
4.4mm balanced output(high gain) 600Ω @1kHz, connect with PC
Impedance: 600Ω @1kHz
Output level: minimum: 3800mV, 24.07mW; typical: 4000mV, 26.67mW; maximum: 4200mV, 29.4mW
Frequency response: 20-20kHz
THD+N: minimum -105dB, typical -103dB, maximum -100dB
SNR: minimum 125dB, typical 130dB, maximum 135dB
DNR: minimum 125dB, typical 130dB, maximum 135dB
Crosstalk: minimum -140dB, typical -135dB, maximum -130dB
Package
Penon TAIL
At only $75 the Penon tail is a powerful budget option if you haven’t got aces to powerful source available on the Penon website follow unaffiliated link below
Penon TAIL (penonaudio.com)
The Penon tail on high gain offers enough to drive the Quattros for decent playback and the perfect form factor a portable dac/amp.
I used it with my Samsung Galaxy 24Ultra to power the Quattro’s. I will say that there is a quirk with the 24Ultra where it insists on setting the dongle to full volume on insertion so watch out for that. The Quattro’s sound good through the Penon Tail giving reasonable dynamics and opening up the layering. Definitely good enough for music on the go.
Hiby R8, R6 111 and FiiO M15 - with the Penon tail giving good playback these daps all gave great playback with punchy more snappy dynamics a level above the the small dac the extra power on tap really open the Quattro up.
Venture Electronics VE RunAbout RA 2B-FE 2BFE Amplifier Dac & amp
The real excitement came when I plugged into the VE stack with its 3000mW RMS per channel. The Quattro’s really started to sing the abundance of power really opened up the sound the dynamics were stellar with holographic staging and more extension in the treble.
Comparison
For comparison it was obvious that the best choice would be the Penon Serial the 3 dynamic driver that preceded the Quattro. The Serial is a superb iem with a very nice balanced signature that really plays well across all genres. The Quattro. When looking at the graphs below you can see the Serial has less midbass this impacts it’s signature leading to less bass bleed leaving the mids less coloured than the quattro with less note weight. This is both positive and negative depending on the type of music you are listening to. The Quattro has more bass, warmer mids and more definition in the treble.
The Quattro is an excellent companion to the Serial if I was to compare my iem collection to a tool box the Quattro is a specialised tool that does specific jobs better.
Conclusion
The up to $400 range is full of great sounding iems with more released it seems on a weekly basis the Quattro more than competes it’s an exceptional iem in its niche with very little competition and sets a new standard. It’s fun and exciting vintage sound signature when paired with the right music. The Quattro may not be the most technically adept iem I have experience in this price bracket but it is one of the most musical I would say you have to spend a lot more money to get better at this kind of unique signature. After all the CA Trifecta is over $3k .
2 Likes
5 Stars 
Multi Genre King
Pros:
1, Authoritative Bass
2. Natural timbre
3. Smooth across the whole signature
4. cohesive sound signature
5. Build quality
6. High quality cable
8. Beautiful faceplates
9. Good accessories with nice case
Cons:
- Zero at this price
Sound Rhyme are a new company to me I have read about their more expensive hybrids the SR7 and DTE900 so I was very interested to see what they could bring to the budget sector. When opening the box you are greeted with a pair of tiny machined aluminium iems with shortish nozzles I worried about fit but turns out they fit like a dream. The cable is of a very high quality at this price range it has great handling and aesthetically suites the iems. You also get a metal plate with tuning nozzles and a couple of set of eartips that look very similar to the ones Penon supply with their iems. The case is a screw top puck that holds the iems, cable and nozzles with ease.
The Sound Rhyme SP01 is categorically the new king of the castle when it comes to budget single dynamic driver iems and what’s most pleasing its neither Harmon or V shaped in its sound signature but rather a wonderfully balanced W. The SP01 follows the trend of tunning nozzles with three on offer. I found the balanced nozzles(the ones in place on delivery)to be best with the other either thickening the sound signature or making the treble too forward. This is a case of hitting the perfect balance in tunning then offering options to spoil the cake with alternative options. I would have preferred not to have the choice, your opinion may differ so try them out for yourself.
In the current market there seems to be a new best iem released every week. Simgot EA500 and then the EA500LM the Kefine Delci to name a few notable recent holders of the title. The SP01 enters the fray and surpasses them with ease. Fantastic build quality, very nice cable available in 3.5mm or 4.4mm, quality case and most important brilliantly tuned quality driver.
The Title of this review is “Multi Genre king” why you may ask well when I heard how this iem presented my entire music catalogue I was able to just kick back and enjoy the music without any glaring defects the SP01 just took everything in its stride confidently. The sound presented is warm, robust in body but not veiled the treble is extended but not peaky. If I was to choose an iem to be a gift to anyone outside the hobby this would be it.
I’d just like to say upfront I believe we are all biased when giving our subjective thoughts about IEMs be it a particular type of signature that works with our music library or how an IEM looks and feels in our ears. On the subject of ears everyone’s ear anatomy is different and this effects fit and seal which in turn effects the perception of bass response so I recommend finding the right ear tips that suit your ears to get the best of any IEM.
My review star ratings are linked to the price range of the iem eg a 5 star review of a $100 iem is not equal to one of a $500 iem.
I’m and audio enthusiast with a collection of over 200 iems, 30 different sources with a music collection that numbers over 100,000 tracks and 15 flathead buds I share my impressions as a way to share my enthusiasm for the hobby I approach from the premise of music first technology 2nd, what does this mean? For me the technicalities are not of prime importance but does the music move with this particular iem.
I’m a connoisseur of many different sound signatures. The only prerequisite is musicality I’m not a fan of analytical cold playback. My scale of success when it comes to evaluating iems is; do I get goosebumps when they playback my favourite tunes. There are many good iems but do they give me goosebumps? Unfortunately I have a draw full of just good iems.
I want the iem that I reach for without thinking because I instinctively know it will bring the thrill I’m seeking from my music. The Sound Rhyme SP01 bass, mids and sprinkling of treble coming from the Dynamic Driver gave me goosebumps with my most loved genre of classic rock which I believe to be the last bastion of instrumental authenticity just bands playing together in the studio with a sound engineer capturing the magic on tape! The SP01’s analogue signature matches just as perfectly with these types of recordings as with any others in my varied collection. I must mention I don’t listen to classical music so cant say how this is suited.
I have always favoured Dynamic Drivers for the tactility and organic natural playback they produce. The SP01’s Dynamic Driver give good sub bass and great mid bass combining to give a really exciting bottom end that drives the music along. The mid bass doesn’t bleed much into the mids, just a hint of thickness to male vocals, they are silky smooth and are relatively neutral, with a nice sense of air and layering. There is detail and the timbre is just wonderfully natural with both male and female voices having a touch of added note weight presenting slightly forward. The treble is not prominent but it is there. The leading edge of cymbals are crisp and sound very natural. The upper range of the mids and lower treble do sound very effective especially when cutting through the warmth of the lower mids with singers in the higher registers. The whole sound being rendered with a balanced warmth that I was able to enjoy for 5 or 6 hours straight without any fatigue, these are supremely comfortable iems.
Now I know there are those who don’t believe in burn in of iems, all I’m going to say is, |I burn in all my iems to be honest I noticed little to no change in the SP01 so they are ready to go straight out of the box.
Disclaimer
Penon was kind enough me a sample of the Sound Rhyme SP01. I am not affiliated with Penon and of course was not asked for any copy checking before publishing, they are seeing this the same time as you. All pictures taken be me or sourced from the Penon website . ALL opinions shared in this review are my subjective thoughts.
Make sure to research any iem before you buy!
The Sound Rhyme SP01 available in red or blue retails at $89 which is extremely competitive and are available for purchase from the Penon website see the non affiliated link below
Sound Rhyme SP01 (penonaudio.com)
Details from the Penon website
Sound Rhyme SP01
Description
Specification
Sound Rhyme SP01 10mm Dual Magnetic Dynamic Driver 2Pin 0.78mm HiFi In-ear Earphones IEMs
Description
10mm dual magnetic dynamic drier,which is Carbon nanotube + DLC composite.
Designed based on human ear data 3D big data, the perspective of science in the ear.
Combining the advantages of mainstream earphones, taking advantage of their strengths, create a high-quality voice.
Low frequency with dynamic elasticity, continuous diving.
The sweet mid-frequency voice hits the heart directly.
High frequency clear and bright, silky and smooth.
8 strands 7N crystal copper silver-plated with 2pin 0.78mm connectors.
Configure 3 pairs of interchangeable nozzles: Clear/Warm/Balanced
Specification
Model: SP01
Driver: 1 dynamic (Carbon nanotube + DLC composite)
Shell:Metal
Sensitivity: 110Db
Frequency response: 10Hz-70kHz
Impedance: 16Ω
Plug: 3.5mm/4.4mm
Cable length: 1.25m
The frequency graph for those who like to see such things
What do they sound like?
The SP01 are more subbass than midbass in focus not to say there isn’t any midbass snap and attack its there just not dominant. The mids are at the forefront with a touch of warmth but still have some brightness without sounding thin the upper mids have enough bite to give guitars a pleasing aggressive presence. The treble is crisp but not sibilant or fatiguing, cymbals sound natural with a nice decay placed right where they should be not artificially forward. They manage to have a decently wide staging while being bassy enough to make drums and bass guitar meaty. The impressive thing is these little wonders have great depth allowing for a far more realistic layering experience than expected at this level.
I want to really enjoy my music. Something that releases the full scope of what the artist created in the studio. The SP01 does that with cohesion ensuring to there’s no jarring transitions between the frequency range. The SP01 is a slightly warm, lush signature, bass is textured, dynamic and layered. The mids are slightly warm and don’t colour the vocals there is a little extra body to males vocals, female are realistic and sweet with a natural timbre. The vocals are front and centre with instruments placed exactly where they should be showing depth to the stage with natural unforced width. The SP01 dynamic driver sounds very coherent no trace of uneven timbre just everything working together as one.
What do I mean by unforced width? Some IEMs give an impression of super wide stage which sounds unnatural throwing instrument placement off. With the SP01 the staging is reliant on the production of the music, if a song is intimate that’s how it is rendered if the song has wide deep and tall production values the SP01 presents it that way which at this price point is rare.
The mids are natural and organic, with just enough edge to add excitement to vocals and guitars causing me to be drawn into the music, Pianos and Guitars are given a really even treatment with extra note weight sounding exactly as you would expect if you were in a concert hall.
The Transition from upper mids to lower treble is boosted slightly but still sibilance free, even with songs that have sibilance bult into the recording. The little bump in this region just edges them into excitement in this area. To be totally honest the SP01 is very tip reliant I found with wide bore tips there was a much more pleasing treble and a more open sound in general with narrow bore tips the whole signature became a bit warm and thickened up. I settled on large TangzuTangSanCai wide bore tips these gave me the perfect balance of warmth and treble extension I tried the tri Clarion tips but they took away too much of the bass that makes the SP01 sound so special, On the subject of tips while Sound Rhyme give a generous selection of tips I couldn’t get a good seal with any of them, I have very big ear canals.
The timbre and tactility of drums, strings, guitars and brass instruments is very natural all instruments find their own place. Vocals both male and female are reproduced authentically with emotion, every inflection, intonation is apparent as a singer climbs the scale to the crescendo it is presented well cutting through, if a voice has gravel you feel it. The SP01 is quite forgiving of poorly produced music.
The sound signature as a whole is of natural slightly boosted bass with clear clean mids with a little edge in the treble, giving an overall satisfying feeling of immersion in the music
When I’m evaluating IEMs I have a play list of roughly 100 songs of mixed genres. With the SP01 again, I found myself listening to songs rather than
analysing the different frequency ranges listening to albums in their entirety just loosing myself in the music. I found they worked across all the genres in my library always smooth and velvety . I don’t listen to much EDM but the SP01 played the Lordes’s “Royals” well its real strength was with the subbass digging down deep and Lordes vocals cutting through with an expansive sense of space and layering.
a-ha - Take on me sounded wonderfully full and clean with the crisp drums and lush keyboards . Morten Harket’s soaring tenor vocals sounding full and sweet with no thinness the layering in this 80s classic synth-pop song was produced with expert precision a really enjoyable listen
Adele – Hello, this torch song classic with moody piano intro and breathy vocals reproduce with just enough warmth and weight to draw you in slowly building to the big glide up the vocal register to the masterful high notes Adele is famous for the SP01 mages to keep up without any distortion infact they present the nuances in the notes being sung so effectively I let out a little squeal in appreciation. The staging is also brilliantly reproduced increasing the atmospherics greatly.
Steely Dan’s – Black Cow, one of the best produced albums in my opinion was played with a breathtaking expertise at this price range, drums, keyboards, vocals , hi-hats and cymbals were natural with excellent decay space and staging with good height, depth and width enabling me to pick out instruments in the mix, there was a little warmth in this song but it still felt open and airy with the layering of the instruments in a class above its price bracket very enjoyable.
Steven Tyler- My own worst enemy this is one starts with a sparce acoustic guitar and tambourine with Tylers gritty vocals and slowly builds with new instruments being introduced as this slow ballad builds Tylers elastic vocals stays front and centre as the song becomes a multilayered wall of sound the SP01 manages to keep the huge production in control avoiding any congestion, impressive.
Led Zepplin – Since I’ve been loving you
The lead guitar intro is perfectly presented sweet and keening the drums with that slow heavy rhythm, then as the song builds, keyboards the cherry on the cake comes with Plants unmistakeable vocals reaching for the sky as the song builds in intensity to a cohesive whole with the wailing Plant cutting through like a hot knife in butter. The SP01 excels presenting Zepplin vocals they are the star of the show never overpowered by the drums and guitar.
Steve Earle and the Dukes- The Hard Way
Crisp drumming introduces the song with piano and acoustic guitars as Steve Earles unmistakable vocals the production is big and airy with a solid bass flooring in the style of many Bruce Springsteen albums this can sound a bit dry on other lesser iems, here it sounds rich and smooth and layered. The layering is just astounding at this price point with each instrument being given enough space to be able to pick them out and follow them.
The Hu – This Mogul (with William DVall) –
The dynamics of this track are huge with drums guitars and Mongolian instruments, the Horsehead fiddle, Tovashuur, Tumar Khuur, Tsuurare and Mongol throat singing with a special guest William DuVall of Alice in Chains. The power of this dense, complex and rhythmic masterpiece is reproduced with accuracy and weight the driving rhythms are dynamic and punchy, I didn’t hear any congestion in the instrumentation despite the density of this track. The vocals of William DuVall stood out against the wall of instruments and were on point and unveiled just good headbanging fun. The SP01 didn’t feel exposed with faster tracks with instruments in the same frequency range still being given space to be heard with little to no congestion.
The SP01 is an easy to drive iem I had no issues using them with my phone, Daps, Dongles in getting loud enough, the dynamics and open sound was present with all sources the texture and layering they are capable of was available for all to some degree.
They sounded good with neutral or warm sources. This is an iem that doesn’t need a powerful source but it does scale impressively.
I’m not a fan of analytical sounding IEMs that force details into your ears like a photograph with HDR and sharpening set at max a decidedly digital representation. I’m more Vinyl on a turntable, Leica manual focus, sumptuous colours on kodak colour gold film, kinda guy, where if you look really close all the details are there but it’s the whole image you appreciate rather than just how sharp it is.
Sources used:
IBasso dx170
Shanling H5
HiBy R6 111
HiBy R8
Sony ZX707
Sony nw-a55
Sony Xperia V
Penon tail dac /amp
Cayin N3 Ultra
Venture Electronics VE RunAbout RA 2B-FE 2BFE
FIIO M15
When using my different sources I didn’t favour the more powerful ones the extra dynamics and layering and technical presentation was apparent but the overall musical presentation was the same.
Comparison
Simgot EA500LM
For comparison it was obvious that the best choice would be the Simgot EA500LM both these iems are tuned with a similar target in mind while the EA500LM is warmer with more bass bleed into the lower mids giving a slightly warmer thicker mids the SP01 has more texture in the bass and cleaner mids that present further forward the upper mids while elevated are less intense than the Simgot meaning a smoother less fatiguing listen overall. Don’t think this smoothness means a lack of detail though the SP01 is more detailed and has better technicalities. Put simply in my opinion, for my tastes the SP01 is an upgrade to the Simgot across the whole range.
Kefine Delci
The Kefine Delci was my favourite under $100 single DD iem till the SP01. In comparison to the SP01 the Delci seem less dynamic, with softer more boomy bass, thinner mids, with a sharper more fatiguing upper mids and treble. Even with this seemingly elevated treble there’s less detail to be heard. Q,uite frankly the SP01 is a level above while the differences with the Simgot EA500LM could be a matter of taste, the Delci is just inferior.
Conclusion
The up to $100 range is full of great sounding iems with more released it seems on a weekly basis the SP01 more than competes it’s an exceptional iem that redefines what’s possible at this price and sets a new standard. It’s fun and exciting sound signature that lets your music flow effortlessly. The SP01 is a technically adept iem that I have not experienced in this price bracket before. A single Dynamic Driver that even plays on a level with the $200 price bracket. One of the most enjoyably musical budget buys you can get for $89 I would say you have to spend a lot more money to get better a DD with this kind of signature. This iem has become my everyday carry. I fully recommend you check out the Sound Rhyme SP01 its my choice for best under $100 budget single DD of 2024!
5 Likes
Putting the new Dunu DTC 800 through its paces and have to say initial impressions are very positive using the Acoustune HS1650CU really good bass super clean mids and smooth treble. The staging of the DTC 800 is pretty special. Not too warm close to nuetral playback really brings the best out of the Acoustunes
1 Like
My first impressions of the Fidue Virgo A85 released in 2017 an age ago in iem terms
In these days of 2 week life spans of iems where an iem is released hyped then forgotten about. I received the FIDUE Virgo (A85) an iem released in 2017 that was $399. Now the build quality is fabulous even compared to today’s $400 offerings with a very professional packaging. What do they sound like, surely they can’t match up to today’s releases with all the advancement in technology? At first straight out of the box I felt they probably didn’t, but then when I started cable and tip rolling everything changed. The sound signature is a bright nuetral with mids and treble favoured of bass slam. Not my usual preferences a little bit thin sounding due to the lack of bass, then I had a what if moment! I put on my Penon Black Liquor eartips and a good quality copper cable, the Penon OCC849 and wow what a transformation.
The bass was now meaty and dynamic, the quality of that bass is superb full of details and texture. True there’s not a large quantity but there’s enough to balance out the signature. The mids are super clean and free of any bass bleed. Male vocals sound good with no extra colouration but female vocals sound amazing, pure soaring with no edge or sibilance just sweet and rounded treble it’s crystalline with no jagged edges just glorious. Cymbals sound natural with good decay guitars are detailed with every resonance clear and sweet. A perfect iem for jazz and acoustic music. Classical Orchestral music sounds wonderful with really impressive staging wider than I’m used so. So you could say I’m surprised but are they worth $400?
Probably not but here’s the good part, Penon have just reduced them to $149 Inc a a pair of their excellent Black Penon Liquor eartips as a free gift. I will be giving these a full review because they are worth it. In fact I think they are my new favourite nuetral set. Fidue are a brand I wasn’t aware of but the Virgo A85 really makes me want to dig deeper to see what other gems they have to offer. The lesson I have learned from this experience is just because it’s an older set doesn’t mean it’s not worth investigating and there’s a real possibility you’re going to strike gold.
Link to Penon store
https://penonaudio.com/fidue-virgo-a85.html
Description
FIDUE VIRGO A85 2BA+Dyanmic Driver Hybrid Audiophile MMCX In-ear Monitor
Description
Powerful·Touching Soul Reality of Vocals Spectacular Clarity of Instruments
Custom-made Premium Armature & Exclusive Dynamic Drivers
3-way Hybrid Driver Technology
Covered by3-way Hybrid Drivers, full-range frequency response makes you experience real voice of singers, as well as exquisite performance of melody.
Fidue elaborately customized the Dual-Balanced Armature for Virgo to present the full sound of beautiful vocals and distinct details of instruments.
By using polymer diaphragm with unique texture & permanent magnet in exclusive chamber, FIDUE developed an excellent Bass Dynamic driver for Virgo, which present natural & rich dynamic response in low-frequency.
Accurate Divide Design & 3D Acoustic Chamber
Due to the differences of acoustic performance between dynamic and armature, engineers from FUDE tuned the Virgo precisely by Electronic Divider & Acoustic Chamber, to make all drivers of Virgo as one.
FIDUE designed individual chamber for every driver by 3D analysis technique, to avoid acoustic interference between drivers.
FIDUE tuned the energy from three drivers by precise electronic frequency division technique, ensuring smooth transition between drivers.
Light & Robust Aluminum Jacket through CNC Technology
FIDUE carved the aluminum shell through high-precision CNC Technique to ensure the shell light and robust.
Silver-plated OFC Audiophile Cable for Full-range Balanced
Normally, voice of copper is plumper, while voice of silver is higher resolution. Virgo uses the audiophile lever silver-plated OFC music cable, combining the advantages of copper & silver, to ensure that the sound details are reproducing excellently.
Ultra-fit Wearing Experience with Ergonomic Curve Design
Over-ear waring style was originally used for personal monitoring system to guarantee the musicians always wearing earphones firmly on the stage. And now, over-ear wearing style can make you comfortable and concentrate on your favorite music, anytime, anywhere.
Specification
Model: FIDUE A85
Color: Silver
Drivers: Armature × 2 & Dynamic × 1
Frequency Range: 7-41000Hz
Impedance: 20Ω
Sensitivity: 107dB
Max Input Power: 50mW
Distortion: <1%
Plug: 3.5mm stereo gold-plated
Cable: 1.3m Silver-plated OFC Cable
Package
Fidue virgo
4 pair Silicone Tips
1 pair Comply T500 Foam Tips
Cleaning Tool
Storage Box
Airline Adaptor
3.5 to 6.3 Stereo Adaptor
2 Likes
Is it a Headphone is it an iem is it an ear bud… no its the Fidue Thunder a combination of the technology of all the above here are my first impressions of the Fidue Thunder.
An audiophile premium “hifi system for your ears” Inside the box you get 2 aluminium machined ear pieces a premium cable with locking interchangeable terminations and a very nice grey leather carry case.
The quality of the build is outstanding as you would expect for a product that retails at $399 so the $400 question that does it sound like? Refined, technical, full bodied with details galore!
I was taken aback at how every nuance of the music was easily picked put while still retaining the musicality. The sound signature is balanced nuetral with no extra colouration. There’s a decent amount of textured detailed bass but this is bass head experience it’s more refined more correct. While playing my library ir was equally adept at classic rock as it was with classical music. Pop, RnB and country was played back with great air, spatiality and superb wide soundstage. The bass hits were clean not bleeding into the mids that are super clean with added warmth . This isn’t to say the mids are thin they aren’t they are natural with good timbre vocal both make and female are well rendered there is a slight elevation in the upper mids that give guitars a nice bite but I didn’t find them in anyway fatiguing.
Treble extension is spectacular with no distortion or unevenness just a very mature spacious sound.
The design with a single DD and two ba drivers utilising unique structured acoustic wave guides set up which pipes the individual drivers sound directly to the ear with the results meshing inside your ear to provide a unified whole.
The fit of the Fidue Thunder is extremely comfortable with its apple Airpod like earpiece that sits in your ear securely. While being made of aluminium they don’t weigh down your ear but the fit is dependent on your earsize, with my large oversize ears I had to utilise some silicone sleeves that I bought off Amazon for a couple if £s I fitted a couple to each earpiece which perfected the fit which when perfect allows the bass to come alive.
Conclusion
I’m mightily impressed with the Fidue Thunder which to date is the best ear bud I’ve had the pleasure of using compared to the best earbuds in my collection like the LRey Aurora it’s hands down superior in every aspect and is genuinely worth the difference in cost. When compared to iems I was amazed at the staging and spacious details that were without compare amongst my large iem collection.
2 Likes
Here’s my review of the excellent Fidue Thunder an earbud that plays in the big league
Fidue Thunder 5Stars✨
TOTL EARBUDS
Pros: 1, Premium build
2. Natural timbre
3. Balanced reference tuning across the whole signature
4. cohesive sound signature
5. Hybrid configuration
6. High quality cable with changeable terminations 3.5mm and 4.4mm
8. Beautiful design
9. Good accessories with nice case
Cons: 1. Not for bass lovers
2. Not for treble sensitive
3. Fit is subjective
4.Expensive
Fidue an are an established company whose iems have garnered plaudits for their reference balanced monitor like iems so I was very interested to see what they could bring to the earbud market. When receiving the box you are greeted with a very premium unboxing experience a pair of beautifully machined aluminium earbuds with a high quality SPC 2pin cable that matches the look of the ear pieces. The Buds are shaped like Apple airpods rather than flat head with a resonance chamber on the back. I worried about fit but turns out they fit like a dream…
This what Fidue has to say about the Thunder
Fidue Thunder 1 Dynamic Driver & 2 Balanced Armature 3 Drivers Hybrid Audiophile 2Pin 0.78mm Flat Earbud with Modular Cable
Description
Brand new sound, the premium HiFi audio in ears.
Independently developed 15mm Dynamic Driver
High elasticity silica gel diaphragm
Customized high-frequency Balanced Armature
30 years ago, flat earbuds were unrivalled. IEM took place of flat earbuds gradually due to its better sound performance. While IEM also has its own problems, such as unnatural listening sensation or discomfort due to prolonged wearing.
To pursue natural, comfortable and perfect sound, “FIDUE” spent three years focusing on R&D of flat earbuds and tackled key technical problems under unremitting effort, effective method of improving flat earbuds sound was finally found out - “THUNDER” was born, which provides a totally new and fantastic music listening experience in order that music lovers would love flat earbuds and thus earbuds could remove its dust, return to the stage and shine again.
Acoustic Master Meticulous creation
Benny Tan, 3 years of polishing and carving based on 30 years of acoustic experience and toughening, taking the ultimate pursuit of sound, only for bringing incomparable supreme feedback to those who love music and giving them a surprise which is just like spring thunder after rain!
HiFi audio in ears - Patent No.: 2024209065570
Acoustic cavities of 3 drivers are separated and independent SO that the sounds do not mix and go directly into ears, which works in the similar way to that of audio. Under assist of both customized low & mid frequency DD and exclusive high-frequency BA of Fidue, the sound detail is revealed clearly, just like a mini HiFi audio in ears!
Sound multiply technology - Patent No.: 2024209065481
By applying repeatedly AI simulation of rear cavity acoustic wave, opposite its phase accurately and make full use of it afterwards, which makes sound wonderful and full of tension.
Flat-bud design Attack IEM key problems precisely
Open ear canal, No more covering ears, no more worry about ear hurt, no more safety concern, Release ears genuinely and let soul fly freely accompanying ultimate music.
Square top & round bottom, Combination of strength & flexibility
High precision 5-axle CNC process, the top shape is like shining gemstone, the bottom surface is smooth and skin friendly which ensures free putting on and taking off.
Wear with comfort
Double advantages of both exquisite design based on big data and ergonomics structure which ensures firm wear without ear tips; meanwhile, the surface is processed carefully to keep it fine and smooth to avoid tearing and hurting the auricle. “THUNDER” fits ears precisely and make wearing a king of enjoyment and fashion.
Topology weaving, non- destructive transmission
The topology weaving of 70 silver plated copper and 24 oxygen free copper achieves true non-destructive transmission.
Stable connection, easy disassembly
0.78mm 2pin 5U gold-plated durable and everlasting
Specification
Brand: Fidue
Model: Thunder
Driver: 15mm DD + 2 BA
Frequency response: 4-41000Hz
Impedance: 20ohm
Sensitivity: 103dB
Max input power: 30mW
THD: <1 %
Plugs: 4.4mm Balanced plug/3.5mm stereo plug
Cable: 2pin 0.78mm interchangeable cable
The Fidue Thunder is categorically the new king of the castle when it comes to earbud style earphones in my opinion with their reference style tuning and what’s most pleasing for me is its fit and detailed razor sharp clarity its reference style sound signature balanced with a W presentation . Now I have to say upfront my preferences would have a little more bass quantity the quality is outstanding just a few db short in quantity later I’ll be talking about how I was able to tune the thunder to my preferences
The configuration of the Thunder exotic in the fact that it uses a single 15mm DD and 2 ba drivers.
The Title of this review is “TOTL BUDS” why you may ask well with a price of $399 they are definitely not cheap but and it’s a big but they are by far the best bud style earphone with outstanding build quality that I’ve experienced.
I’d just like to say upfront I believe we are all biased when giving our subjective thoughts about IEMs and earbuds be it a particular type of signature that works with our music library or how they look and feel in our ears. On the subject of ears everyone’s ear anatomy is different and this effects fit and seal which in turn effects the perception of bass response so I recommend finding the right ear tips or foams that suit your ears to get the best of any earphone.
My review star ratings are linked to the price range of the iem eg a 5 star review of a $100 iem is not equal to one of a $500 iem.
I’m and audio enthusiast with a collection of over 200 iems, 30 different sources with a music collection that numbers over 100,000 tracks and 18 flathead buds I share my impressions as a way to share my enthusiasm for the hobby I approach from the premise of music first technology 2nd, what does this mean? For me the technicalities are not of prime importance but does the music move with this particular iem.
I’m a connoisseur of many different sound signatures. The only prerequisite is musicality I’m not a fan of analytical cold playback. My scale of success when it comes to evaluating earphones is; do I get goosebumps when they playback my favourite tunes. There are many good earphones but do they give me goosebumps? Unfortunately I have a draw full of just good earphones.
I want the earphone that I reach for without thinking because I instinctively know it will bring the thrill I’m seeking from my music. The Thunder has a bright reference sound signature with excellent technicalities and very natural presentation while being free of any unnatural tone or timbre colouration, the bass is there with great texture and detail just a little shy in quantity for my tastes. The standout quality is the zero amount of distortion or congestion even with fast speed prog metal. This ability combined with super comfortable fit (more on that later)had me reaching for the thunder more than any other earbud in my collection.
Now I know there are those who don’t believe in burn in of earphones, all I’m going to say is, I burn in all my earphones the Thunder really opened and up and smoothed out at the 200 hour mark.
Disclaimer
Penon was kind enough me a sample of the Fidue Thunder. I am not affiliated with Penon and of course was not asked for any copy checking before publishing, they are seeing this the same time as you. All pictures taken be me or sourced from the Penon website . ALL opinions shared in this review are my subjective thoughts.
Make sure to research any earphone before you buy!
The Fidue Thunder is available from the Penon website,
see the non affiliated link below
From https://penonaudio.com/Fidue-Thunder.html
What do they sound like?
Ive already covered the tuning above but I will add in more detail, the Thunder have more mid-bass than sub-bass as is the case with most earbuds the focus here is the mids and treble with the bass playing second fiddle not to say there isn’t any mid-bass snap and attack its there just not dominant. The mids are at the forefront with a clarity and detail Ive not experienced even with in ear iems they have some brightness without sounding thin the upper mids have enough bite to give guitars a pleasing aggressive presence. The treble is crisp but not sibilant or fatiguing, cymbals sound natural with a nice decay placed right where they should be not artificially forward. They manage to have a very wide staging while being bassy enough to make drums and bass guitar sound natural. The impressive thing is these little wonders have great depth allowing for a far more realistic layering experience than I expected.
I want to really enjoy my music. Something that releases the full scope of what the artist created in the studio. The Thunder does that with cohesion ensuring to there’s no jarring transitions between the frequency range. The Thunder is nota a warm lush signature, its not thin though it has an very open detailed signature bass is textured, dynamic and layered. The mids are free of any colouration and don’t colour the vocals there is a little extra body to males vocals, female are realistic and sweet with a natural timbre. The vocals are front and centre with instruments placed exactly where they should be showing depth to the stage with natural wide holographic presentation . The Thunder’s dynamic driver and double ba sounds very coherent no trace of uneven timbre just everything working together as one.
The mids are natural and organic, with just enough edge to add excitement to vocals and guitars causing me to be drawn into the music, Pianos and Guitars are given a really even treatment with good note weight sounding exactly as you would expect if you were in a concert hall.
The Transition from upper mids to lower treble is boosted slightly but still sibilance free, even with songs that have sibilance bult into the recording. The little bump in this region just edges them into excitement in this area. I have very big ears so to make the Thunder fit securely applied some Apple Airpod silicone sleeves which I bought off Amazon for a couple of dollars.
The timbre and tactility of drums, strings, guitars and brass instruments is very natural all instruments find their own place. Vocals both male and female are reproduced authentically with emotion, every inflection, intonation is apparent as a singer climbs the scale to the crescendo it is presented well cutting through, if a voice has gravel you hear it. The Thunder is not forgiving of poorly produced music.
When I’m evaluating earphones I have a play list of roughly 100 songs of mixed genres. With the Thunder I was analysing the different frequency ranges listening to albums in their entirety just loosing myself in the music. I found they I worked across all the genres in my library with exception of Hip hop where the bass is a little lacking for the big bass drops though always smooth and spacious and detailed .
Aerosmith - Hangman jury sounded wonderfully full and clean with the crisp drums and keyboards . Steve Tylers throaty gritty vocals sounding full and sweet with no thinness the layering in this 80s classic blues/rock song was produced with expert precision a really enjoyable listen
Marc Coen and the Alabama blind boys – Baby King, this multi-layered live vocal is a classic with moody piano intro and fabulous vocals reproduce with just enough weight to draw you in slowly building to the voal acrobatics of the Blind boys of Alabama. The staging is also brilliantly reproduced increasing the atmospherics greatly. The Thunder works incredibly well with live recordings putting you front and centre in the room with the artist.
Steely Dan’s – Black Cow, one of the best produced albums in my opinion was played with a breath-taking expertise at this price range, drums, keyboards, vocals , hi-hats and cymbals were natural with excellent decay space and staging with good height, depth and width enabling me to pick out instruments in the mix, this song felt open and airy with the layering of the instruments in a class above any earbud I’ve listened to.
Steven Tyler- My own worst enemy this is one starts with a sparce acoustic guitar and tambourine with Tyler’s gritty vocals and slowly builds with new instruments being introduced as this slow ballad builds Tyler’s elastic vocals stays front and centre as the song becomes a multi-layered wall of sound the Thunder manages to keep the huge production in control avoiding any congestion, impressive.
Led Zepplin – Since I’ve been loving you
The lead guitar intro is perfectly presented sweet and keening the drums with that slow heavy rhythm, then as the song builds, keyboards the cherry on the cake comes with Plants unmistakeable vocals reaching for the sky as the song builds in intensity to a cohesive whole with the wailing Plant cutting through like a hot knife in butter. The Thunder excels presenting Zepplin vocals they are the star of the show never overpowered by the drums and guitar.
The Hu – This Mogul (with William DVall) –
The dynamics of this track are huge with drums guitars and Mongolian instruments, the Horsehead fiddle, Tovashuur, Tumar Khuur, Tsuurare and Mongol throat singing with a special guest William DuVall of Alice in Chains. The power of this dense, complex and rhythmic masterpiece is reproduced with accuracy but does lack a little bass quantity though the driving rhythms are dynamic and punchy, I didn’t hear any congestion in the instrumentation despite the density of this track. The vocals of William DuVall stood out against the wall of instruments and were on point and unveiled. The Thunder didn’t feel exposed with faster tracks with instruments in the same frequency range still being given space to be heard with little to no congestion.
The Thunder is quite easy to drive earbud I had no issues using them with my , Daps, Dongles in getting loud enough, the dynamics and open sound was present with all sources the texture and layering they are capable of was available for all to some degree.
They sounded good with warm sources. This is an iem that doesn’t need a powerful source but it does scale impressively.
I’m not a fan of analytical sounding IEMs that force details into your ears like a photograph with HDR and sharpening set at max a decidedly digital representation. I’m more Vinyl on a turntable, Leica manual focus, sumptuous colours on kodak colour gold film, kinda guy, where if you look really close all the details are there but it’s the whole image you appreciate rather than just how sharp it is. Having said that the the Thunder is a very technical cooler sounding earbud with all the clarity and detail up front that grew to appreciate and really enjoy.
Sources used:
Onix XM5 Overture
Shaning M6 Ultra
Shanling H5
Cayin N3 Ultra
Cayin N7
When using my different sources I didn’t favour the more powerful ones the extra dynamics and layering and technical presentation was apparent but the overall musical presentation was the same.
Comparison
This is quite difficult as the thunder is multiple levels above all the earbuds in my collection.
LRay Aurora
The Aurora is far more bass dominant with elevated sub bass and midbass
This is the only frequency range that I find superior to the Thunder everything else is left in the dust with the levels of distortion free detail sever; levels above the Aurora.
Shozy Cygnus
The Cygnus is way less detailed, with inferior texture and timbre the bass while being greater in quantity is lacking in quality. Its almost comical how much the Thunder is superior in every aspect.
Tuning the Thunder to my preferences.
With all the iems and earbuds I have I experiment to see what I can do to enhance the experience. The thunder really reacts well to cable rolling the two best cables for me were the Penon OCC849 and OS849 these high quality cables that easily match the build quality and sound attributes of the Effect Audio Ares S 8W and Cadmus S 8W.
The absolute best combination was with the Penon OCC849 it brought a warmth and elevated the bass frequencies adding more body to the mids.
The OS849 elevated the bass without the touch of warmth the OCC849 gave it was more similar to the included cable with just that touch more bass.
The final piece of the puzzle was to use doughnut foams places over the earpiece to cover the rear vents which added a touch of warmth while not effecting the clarity and detail resolution.
Penon OCC849 (penonaudio.com)
Penon OCC849 Single Crystal Copper HiFi Audiophile IEMs Cable
Type-4 Litz configuration
Description
6n single crystal copper cable
8 strands, single strand is 49 cores, a total of 8 × 49.
The plug contains 68% copper
The solder joints is silver – contained tin
Carbon fiber metal splitter and CNC integrated slider
Cable length: 1.2M
Penon OS849 (penonaudio.com)
Penon OS849 Single Crystal Copper Silver-plated HiFi Audiophile IEMs Cable
Type-4 Litz configuration Description
6n single crystal copper silver-plated cable
Contained 8% silver, the thickness is 10μm,
8 strands, single strand is 49 cores, a total of 8 × 49.
The plug contains 68% copper
The solder joints is silver –contained tin
Carbon fiber metal splitter and CNC integrated slider
Sound field is very big and very natural
Cable length: 1.2M
The Fidue Thunder has been a revelation to me while on the surface an earbud that goes against my preferences of warm thick lush sound signatures with its razor sharp detail forward bright signature. The revelation was that once my brain adjusted it became a really enjoyable listen that I would reach for and listen to music for hours without fatigue.
Once I tuned it, it actually became one of my favourite earphones that I reach for on a regular basis so for me its worth every penny of its $399 asking price.
3 Likes
4 Stars
The Fidue Virgo A85 Still Relevant
Pros
- Superb Build Quality
- Great Mids Forward sound Signature
- Very Comfortable
- Affordable Price
- Treble heads dream
Cons
- Not for bass lovers
- Quite Bright not for treble phobic
- Works better with cable upgrade
Fidue an are an established company whose iems have garnered plaudits for their reference balanced monitor like iems of which the Virgo A85 was and is their mid priced offering.
In these days of two week life spans of iems where an iem is released hyped then forgotten about. I received the FIDUE Virgo (A85) an iem released in 2017 with one DD and two Ba that was $399. Now the build quality is fabulous even compared to today’s $400 offerings with a very professional packaging. Penon have reduced the asking price to £149.99
I’d just like to say upfront I believe we are all biased when giving our subjective thoughts about IEMs and earbuds be it a particular type of signature that works with our music library or how they look and feel in our ears. On the subject of ears everyone’s ear anatomy is different and this effects fit and seal which in turn effects the perception of bass response so I recommend finding the right ear tips or foams that suit your ears to get the best of any earphone.
My review star ratings are linked to the price range of the iem eg a 5 star review of a $100 iem is not equal to one of a $500 iem.I’m and audio enthusiast with a collection of over 200 iems, 30 different sources with a music collection that numbers over 100,000 tracks and 18 flathead buds I share my impressions as a way to share my enthusiasm for the hobby I approach from the premise of music first technology 2nd, what does this mean? For me the technicalities are not of prime importance but does the music move with this particular iem.
I’m a connoisseur of many different sound signatures. The only prerequisite is musicality I’m not a fan of analytical cold playback. My scale of success when it comes to evaluating earphones is; do I get goosebumps when they playback my favourite tunes. There are many good earphones but do they give me goosebumps?
Unfortunately I have a draw full of just good earphones.I want the earphone that I reach for without thinking because I instinctively know it will bring the thrill I’m seeking from my music. The Fidue Virgo A85 has a bright mid focused sound signature with excellent technicalities and very natural presentation while being free of any unnatural tone or timbre colouration, the bass is there with great texture and detail just a little shy in quantity for my tastes. The standout quality is the zero amount of distortion or congestion even with fast speed prog metal.
Now I know there are those who don’t believe in burn in of earphones, all I’m going to say is, I burn in all my earphones the Virgo’s bass response opened and up and smoothed out at the 70 hour mark.
DisclaimerPenon was kind enough to send me a sample of the Fidue Virgo(A85). I am not affiliated with Penon and of course was not asked for any copy checking before publishing, they are seeing this the same time as you. All pictures taken be me or sourced from the Penon website . ALL opinions shared in this review are my subjective thoughts.Make sure to research any earphone before you buy!
What do they sound like well they are a mids focused sound signature, surely they can’t match up to today’s releases with all the advancement in technology? At first straight out of the box I felt they probably didn’t, but then when I started cable and tip rolling everything changed. The sound signature is bright nuetral with mids and treble favoured of bass slam. Not my usual preferences a little bit thin sounding due to the lack of bass, then I had a what if moment! I put on my Penon Black Liquor eartips and a good quality copper cable, the Penon OCC849 and wow what a transformation.
The bass was now meaty and dynamic, the quality of that bass is superb full of details and texture. True there’s not a large quantity but there’s enough to balance out the signature. The mids are super clean and free of any bass bleed or ba timbre. Male vocals sound good with no extra colouration but female vocals sound amazing, pure soaring with no edge or sibilance just sweet and rounded treble it’s crystalline with no jagged edges just glorious. Cymbals sound natural with good decay, guitars are detailed with every resonance clear and sweet. A perfect iem for jazz and acoustic music. Classical Orchestral music sounds wonderful with really impressive staging wider than I’ve experienced with the $150 iems in my collection .
The timbre and tactility of drums, strings, guitars and brass instruments is very natural all instruments find their own place. Vocals both male and female are reproduced authentically with emotion, every inflection, intonation is apparent as a singer climbs the scales it is presented well cutting through, if a voice has gravel you hear it. The Virgo is not forgiving of poorly produced music.When I’m evaluating iems I have a play list of roughly 100 songs of mixed genres. With the Virgo I was analysing the different frequency ranges listening to albums in their entirety. I found they I worked across all the genres in my library with exception of Hip hop and EDM where the bass is a little lacking for the big bass drops though always smooth and spacious and detailed . They really excelled at acoustic singer songwriter music like Shawn Mullins, White Buffalo and Tori Amos
Here’s what Fidue have to say about the Virgo A85
Link to Penon store
https://penonaudio.com/fidue-virgo-a85.html
Description
FIDUE VIRGO A85 2BA+Dyanmic Driver Hybrid Audiophile MMCX In-ear Monitor
Description from Penon website
Powerful·Touching Soul Reality of Vocals Spectacular Clarity of Instruments
Custom-made Premium Armature & Exclusive Dynamic Drivers
3-way Hybrid Driver Technology
Covered by3-way Hybrid Drivers, full-range frequency response makes you experience real voice of singers, as well as exquisite performance of melody.
Fidue elaborately customized the Dual-Balanced Armature for Virgo to present the full sound of beautiful vocals and distinct details of instruments.
By using polymer diaphragm with unique texture & permanent magnet in exclusive chamber, FIDUE developed an excellent Bass Dynamic driver for Virgo, which present natural & rich dynamic response in low-frequency.
Accurate Divide Design & 3D Acoustic Chamber
Due to the differences of acoustic performance between dynamic and armature, engineers from FUDE tuned the Virgo precisely by Electronic Divider & Acoustic Chamber, to make all drivers of Virgo as one.
FIDUE designed individual chamber for every driver by 3D analysis technique, to avoid acoustic interference between drivers.
FIDUE tuned the energy from three drivers by precise electronic frequency division technique, ensuring smooth transition between drivers.
Light & Robust Aluminum Jacket through CNC Technology
FIDUE carved the aluminum shell through high-precision CNC Technique to ensure the shell light and robust.
Silver-plated OFC Audiophile Cable for Full-range Balanced
Normally, voice of copper is plumper, while voice of silver is higher resolution. Virgo uses the audiophile lever silver-plated OFC music cable, combining the advantages of copper & silver, to ensure that the sound details are reproducing excellently.
Ultra-fit Wearing Experience with Ergonomic Curve Design
Over-ear waring style was originally used for personal monitoring system to guarantee the musicians always wearing earphones firmly on the stage. And now, over-ear wearing style can make you comfortable and concentrate on your favorite music, anytime, anywhere.
Specification
Model: FIDUE A85
Color: Silver
Drivers: Armature × 2 & Dynamic × 1
Frequency Range: 7-41000Hz
Impedance: 20Ω
Sensitivity: 107dB
Max Input Power: 50mW
Distortion: <1%
Plug: 3.5mm stereo gold-plated
Cable: 1.3m Silver-plated OFC Cable
Package
Fidue virgo
4 pair Silicone Tips
1 pair Comply T500 Foam Tips
Cleaning Tool
Storage Box
Airline Adaptor
3.5 to 6.3 Stereo Adaptor
Some of yhe music Selections I evaluated the Virgo A85 with
Tori Amos–Silent All These Years
This track really shows what a fantastic upper mids and treble it has with Tori’s breathy crystalline vocals floating in space above the sombre piano you can almost feel the atmosphere as the songs airy production is excellent the tone and timbre of the piano is really correct with excellent decay on the single notes just a breathtaking rendition of a wonderful piano led classic.
Aerosmith - living on the edge
sounded wonderfully full and clean with the crisp drums and guitars . Steve Tylers throaty gritty vocals sounding full and sweet with no thinness the layering in this 80s classic rock song was produced with expert precision a really enjoyable listen
Marc Coen and the blind boys of Alabama – Silver Thunder Bird , this multi-layered live vocal is a classic with moody piano intro and fabulous vocals reproduce with just enough weight to draw you in slowly building to the vocal acrobatics of the Blind boys of Alabama. The staging is also brilliantly reproduced increasing the atmospherics greatly. The Virgo works incredibly well with live recordings putting you front and centre in a spacious room with the artist.
Steely Dan’s – Peg, one of the best produced albums in my opinion was played with a breath-taking expertise at this price range, drums, keyboards, vocals , hi-hats and cymbals were natural with excellent decay space and staging with good height, depth and width enabling me to pick out instruments in the mix, this song felt open and airy with the layering of the instruments
White Buffalo - The Woods -this is one starts with a lush strings with Jake Smiths rich baritone vocals and slowly builds with new instruments being introduced as this slow ballad builds Jake’s authorative vocals stays front and centre as the song becomes a multi-layered wall of sound the fidue manages to keep the big production in control avoiding any congestion, with every nuance present and correct, impressive.
Shawn Mullins – Anchored in You from the Souls Core Revival album
The brass section intro intro is perfectly presented sweet and detailed with great texture and the drums with that slow restrained rhythm anchor the song for Shawn’s emotive vocals which are the focus they are the star of the show never overpowered by the drums and guitar. This mid forward presentation is really great for vocal focused music.
The Hu – This Mogul (with William DVall) –The dynamics of this track are not as huge with drums guitars and Mongolian instruments, the Horsehead fiddle, Tovashuur, Tumar Khuur, Tsuurare and Mongol throat singing with a special guest William DuVall of Alice in Chains. The power of this dense, complex and rhythmic masterpiece is given more air and space than I’m used to hearing there is pin point accuracy but they do lack a little bass quantity though. The driving rhythms are dynamic and punchy, I didn’t hear any congestion in the instrumentation despite the density of this track. The vocals of William DuVall stood out against the wall of instruments and were on point and unveiled. The Virgo didn’t feel exposed with faster tracks with instruments in the same frequency range still being given space to be heard with little to no congestion or ba texture presnt.
The Virgo is quite easy to drive iem I had no issues using them with my , Daps, Dongles in getting loud enough, the dynamics and open sound was present with all sources the texture and layering they are capable of was available for all to some degree.They sounded good with warm sources. This is an iem that doesn’t need a powerful source but it does scale impressively.
I’m not a fan of analytical sounding IEMs/earphones that force details into your ears like a photograph with HDR and sharpening set at max a decidedly digital representation. I’m more Vinyl on a turntable, Leica manual focus, sumptuous colours on kodak colour gold film, kinda guy, where if you look really close all the details are there but it’s the whole image you appreciate rather than just how sharp it is. Having said that the the Vigo is a technical cooler sounding iem not quite as cool as the Fidue Thunder as the Virgo has more bass quantity it does have its own character with all the clarity and detail up front and a quality bass to make a sound signature that I grew to appreciate and really enjoy.
Sources used:
Onix XM5 OvertureShaning
M6 Ultra
Shanling H5
Cayin N3 Ultra
Cayin N7
When using my different sources I didn’t favour the more powerful ones the extra dynamics and layering and technical presentation was apparent but the overall musical presentation was the same.
Cable rolling
I’m a cable believer but if you are not then skip this bit.
While the Virgo comes with a decent 3.5mm cable I wanted to try them out with a balanced connection. The results of my experiments led me to the believe that the Virgo is a very cable dependant iem. When I paired with Penon OCC848 COPPER CABLE one of my favourite copper cables the bass became richer and fuller a touch of warmth was perceived in the mids while the treble remained sparkling and detailed the special power of this cable is that it adds a depth and warmth to the bass and mids without anyform of bloat or veiling
Penon OCC849 (penonaudio.com)Penon OCC849 Single Crystal Copper HiFi Audiophile IEMs CableType-4 Litz configurationDescription6n single crystal copper cable8 strands, single strand is 49 cores, a total of 8 × 49.The plug contains 68% copperThe solder joints is silver – contained tinCarbon fiber metal splitter and CNC integrated sliderCable length: 1.2M
An equally beautiful cable the OS849 is a silver plated copper cable while this cable also boosted the bass is wasn’t quite as warm plus that silver coating did its job a little too well for my tastes with the Virgo and seemed to elevate the lower, mid and upper treble which made everything just a touch too bright. On a darker iem this would be an excellent choice to open up the treble area. For the Virgo I preferred the OCC849.
Penon OS849 (penonaudio.com)Penon OS849 Single Crystal Copper Silver-plated HiFi Audiophile IEMs CableType-4 Litz configuration Description6n single crystal copper silver-plated cableContained 8% silver, the thickness is 10μm,8 strands, single strand is 49 cores, a total of 8 × 49.The plug contains 68% copperThe solder joints is silver –contained tinCarbon fiber metal splitter and CNC integrated sliderSound field is very big and very naturalCable length: 1.2M
Comparisons
I dont really have anything in my collection with this sound signature apart from the Fidue Thunder which is slightly less boosted in the bass (its an earbud so thats expected due to lack of isolation) in all the other frequencies you can tell they’re related but the Thunder is the big brother, more mature, assured just better performance all round. FIDUE obviously have a house sound, one that I would have expected to like but I do. It’s so well implemented that it stands out above the crowd in both the Virgo (A85) and the Thunder.
Conclusion
You could say I’m surprised by the Virgo but are they worth $400? Probably not compared to the latest crop of $400 iems but here’s the good part, Penon have reduced them to $149 Inc a a pair of their excellent Black Penon Liquor eartips as a free gift.
Compared to other $150 iems in my opinion they are easily competitive.
The Virgo are along with the newly released Fidue Thunder my new favourite mid focused nuetral sets. Fidue are a brand I wasn’t aware of before the Virgo A85 and Thunder and these two really make me want to dig deeper to see what other gems they have to offer. The house signature of detail and clarity focused tunings is very well executed. The lesson I have learned from this experience is just because it’s an older set doesn’t mean it’s not worth investigating and there’s a real possibility you’re going to strike gold.
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My first impressions of the groundbreaking Penon Conductor a first in the flathead earbud market coming with
3D printed medical resin shell
1x 14.2mm N55 Sapphire Diaphragm Dynamic driver
1x 11.2mm bone conduction driver
A dial to adjust bone conduction energy that really does have the most astounding tactile effect you can literally feel the energy transferred into your ears.
The Conductor is a very attractive earbud and comes with a terrific set of accessories including a nice zip up case. A plethora or doughnut foams, silicon rings, miniature screw driver for bone conduction adjustment via the dial on the body of the earbud and a shirt clip to secure the cable.
The shell of the Conductor is not large in diameter but it is quite thick while these fit my ears perfectly in the standard downward facing position they are very comfortable and effective worn over ear which will suit people with smaller ears.
The world of flatheads has got exciting all over again the way sound wraps around me outside my head made me giggle it was so unexpected. The ability to dial in the exact amount of bone conduction isn’t a gimmick when I turned them up to max conduction using the included miniature screws driver they were literally vibrating in my ears. My personal taste was to set them to 3/4 enough to give a specious 3d holographic sound but not so much that the vibration in my ears was a distraction.
The sound signature is solid, impactful bass more mid bass than sub bass the quality and texture of this bass is the best I’ve experienced in a flathead earbud equal to many inear iems
The mids have that Penon magic I’ve come to expect, warm, open with great body and timbre. Vocals in particular sound wonderful with both male and female sounding very natural with instruments placed perfectly around the centre point of the singer. The staging is wide, tall and deep. The treble is clean siblence free, non fatiguing, enough to complete the aural picture while not being particularly sparkling it’s a nice safe treble. Not an earbud for trebleheads.
The included red mmcx cable is nice and the above listening impressions are with it but if you’re willing to roll cables a good quality cable like the Penon OCS849 elevates the playback to even higher levels adding more sparkle to the top end and opening up the staging even more
These impressions are with zero burn in straight out of the box and I’m really excited to see how these develop over the next few weeks of use.
Source used is the Onix XM5 Overture through the KAEI TAP1
The Penon Conductor is available from the Penon store for $199
https://penonaudio.com/PENON-CONDUCTOR.html
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It’s arrived!! The Tap1 very excited to get this up and running
Edit
This is the new version with the CS43198which is a next generation, low power audio DAC that provides a superior system-level audio performance without draining battery life. This IC minimizes board space requirements while enabling performance and features to drive design differentiation. The CS43198 features a high impedance of 600 Ω, a 130 dBA dynamic range, a THD+N rating of -115 dB, and inter channel isolation of >110 dB.
Listening now with the Fidue Thunder in tube mode with the Hiby R8 line out. A glorious warm anologue sound the Thunder really benefits from the extra warmth and depth 
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First impressions of the LETECIEL MAGIRIS and new brand to me and what a fantastic first impression it is. Penon kindly sent the Magris to me to review. A single DD +1ba jewel of an iem.
The first thing I noticed was the wonderful balanced tuning with nothing pushing its self forward just very coherent musical presentation. The bass is controlled with an equally balanced sub bass and midbass attack with enough quality and quantity to keep most people happy (not bassheads) the mids are flat with lovely vocals for both male and females, instruments are placed in their own space not crowding the vocals. The treble is safe with enough detail to impress but no problematic peaks that could cause siblence or fatigue.
They are super easy to drive and sound great out of the Sony NW-A105 with plenty of headroom, or even a phone. I used my Sony Xperia 1mk iv to drive them plenty loud enough.
If I was going to buy an iem for someone not in the hobby the Leteciel Magris would be perfect with its effortless musical charms.
The shell is resin and tiny, perfect for small ears, the build quality is superb with a high quality colour matching 3.5mm termination cable and a pocketable denim effect carry case.
I will be writing a full review of the Magris but it’s already become my perfect everyday carry along with the Sony NW-A105 a bijou audiophile treat for out and about.
The LETECIEL MAGIRIS is available from the Penon website
Priced at $159
https://penonaudio.com/Leteciel-Magiris.html
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Upgraded the KAEI TAP1 with Burson Classic V7 Duel Op Amps super easy and cheap to do giving a desktop/transportable Tube/DAC/AMP that really oerfotms way above its price bracket.
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A new experience a five stars✨️
The Penon Conductor
Pros:
1, Premium build
2. Natural timbre
3. Balanced spacious tuning across the whole signature
4. cohesive sound signature
5. Hybrid configuration
6. High quality cable
8. Beautiful design
9. Good accessories with nice case
Cons:
- Very fit dependant
- Needs a cable with earhooks
- Not for bass or treble heads
Penon an are an established company who are not afraid to try new and exciting things when in comes to earphones of all types.
With the Penon Conductor they have come up with a new concept the leap is including a Bone Conduction driver along with a single DD the result is so successful it almost creates a new category of earphone not and iem, not a flathead or a Headphone but a combination of the attributes of all three.
From reading the intro you can probably see that I’m in full hype mode! For this I offer no apology as the Conductor has me totally enamoured with its incredible holographic presentation I’d call it 3D but it’s not its 4D because you can literally feel the music. The implementation of the Bone Conduction is thw most successful I have experienced in any format the earpiece vibrates in your ear giving a visceral aspect to the music drum strikes, guitar strums are felt as well as heard.
The Conductor is an unassuming looking earphone in red resin small in diameter but I’m quite thick in depth with a mmcx connection the cable is a colour coordinated average quality addition the drivers are 14.2 mm N55 Sapphire Diaphragm Dynamic Driver, a 11.2mm Bone Conduction Driver wih a screw to control the conduction vibration with included tiny screw driver.
This what Penon has to say about the Conductor
PENON Conductor 1 Bone Conduction Driver + 1 Dynamic Driver Hybrid Audiophile MMCX Earphone Earbud with BCD Knob
3D printed medical resin shell1x 14.2mm N55 Sapphire Diaphragm Dynamic driver 1x 11.2mm
bone conduction driverA knob to adjust BCD energy
Features:
N55 NdFeB magnets have high BHmax, high Hcj and good temperature stability, which makes the N55 dynamic driver have higher sensitivity and better dynamic response in sound performance.
Technical advantages
High magnetic flux: The high magnetic flux provided by the N55 magnet helps to improve the magnetic field strength of the dynamic driver, thereby enhancing the expressiveness and penetration of the sound.Low distortion:
Excellent magnetic circuit design and material selection help to reduce the distortion of the sound during transmission, making the sound purer and more natural.Easy to drive:
The high sensitivity makes the N55 dynamic driver easier to be driven by the front-end device, and it can perform well even at lower power.
Bone conduction DriverAluminum alloy shell, high-performance NdFeB magnetic field, inner magnetic circuit design, enhance the strongest magnetic field lines.Equipped with spring steel vibrator, it has high elasticity and high sensitivity, and the sound is fuller and more powerful. A knob to adjust the energy of BCD
The energy of the bone conduction driver is adjustable, designed a switch knob to adjust its energy output. Five scales are provided as reference points for adjustment, and fine-tuning can be easily done using the included screwdriver tool.
Specification:
CONDUCTOR
Driver: 1 Bone Conduction Driver + 1 Dynamic DriverImpedance : 16ohmFrequency response range : 20-20kHzSensitivity : 117dBConnector: MMCXCable material: silver-plated OCCPlug: 3.5mm audio /4.4mm balanced Gold-platedCable length:1.2m
Package
PENON CONDUCTOR
Carry case
Foam Eartips
A pair of rubber rings (The diameter of the Conductor shell is about 15.5mm, which is suitable for smaller ears. If you have larger ears, you can use silicone rings to increase it to about 16.3mm)Please do not cover the vent hole when using the silicone ring, please check when you put on the silicone ring.
I’d just like to say upfront I believe we are all biased when giving our subjective thoughts about IEMs and earbuds be it a particular type of signature that works with our music library or how they look and feel in our ears. On the subject of ears everyone’s ear anatomy is different and this effects fit and seal which in turn effects the perception of bass response so I recommend finding the right ear tips or foams that suit your ears to get the best of any earphone.
My review star ratings are linked to the price range of the iem eg a 5 star review of a $100 iem is not equal to one of a $500 iem.
I’m and audio enthusiast with a collection of over 200 iems, 30 different sources with a music collection that numbers over 100,000 tracks and 18 flathead buds I share my impressions as a way to share my enthusiasm for the hobby I approach from the premise of music first technology 2nd, what does this mean? For me the technicalities are not of prime importance but does the music move with this particular iem.
I’m a connoisseur of many different sound signatures. The only prerequisite is musicality I’m not a fan of analytical cold playback. My scale of success when it comes to evaluating earphones is; do I get goosebumps when they playback my favourite tunes. There are many good earphones but do they give me goosebumps? Unfortunately I have a draw full of just good earphones.
I want the earphone that I reach for without thinking because I instinctively know it will bring the thrill I’m seeking from my music.
The Conductor has a balanced slightly warm sound signature with excellent technicalities and very natural presentation while being free of any unnatural tone or timbre colouration, the bass is there with great texture and detail and enough quantity to satisfy my tastes. The standout quality is the holographic spacious staging with zero amount of distortion or congestion even with fast speed prog metal. This ability is very dependent on fit in the usual down fitting for flathead i was not able to get the exact position to get the best out of the Conductor it just kept moving out of position. After trying numerous cables I settled on a high quality SPC with earhooks.
Wearing the Conductor over ear by placing the Buds flush with my ear canal just resting not inserted rather like an over ear headphone the earhooks keeping the Buds on place. The true groundbreaking sound qualities of the Conductor are released.
Now I know there are those who don’t believe in burn in of earphones, all I’m going to say is, I burn in all my earphones the Conductor really opened and up and smoothed out at the 50 hour mark.
Disclaimer
Penon was kind enough me a sample of the Conductor. I am not affiliated with Penon and of course was not asked for any copy checking before publishing, they are seeing this the same time as you. All pictures taken be me or sourced from the Penon website . ALL opinions shared in this review are my subjective thoughts.
Make sure to research any earphone before you buy!
The Conductor is available from the Penon website,
see the non affiliated link below
https://penonaudio.com/PENON-CONDUCTOR.html
What do they sound like?
The Conductor have the Penon house sound smooth, musical with more midbass than subbass as is the case with most earbuds where the Conductor flips the game is the the way its cohesive signature incorporates midbass snap and attack with the rest of the frequencies. The mids are smooth at the forefront with a clarity and detail Ive not experinced even with in ear iems theyl have some brightness without sounding thin the upper mids have enough bite to give guitars a pleasing aggressive presence. The treble is crisp but not sibilant or fatiguing, cymbals sound natural with a nice decay placed right where they should be not artificially forward. They manage to have a very wide, tall and deep staging while being bassy enough to make drums and bass guitar sound natural. The impressive thing is these little wonders have an out of head layering that allows pinpoint allocation of instruments allowing for a far more realistic layering experience than I expected more akin to an expensive over ear headphone.
I want to really enjoy my music. Something that releases the full scope of what the artist created in the studio. The Conductor achieves that with cohesion ensuring to there’s no jarring transitions between the frequency range. The Conductor has a natural organic, anologue signature, its not thin though it has an very open detailed signature bass is textured, dynamic and layered. The mids are free of any colouration and don’t colour the vocals there is a little extra body to males vocals, female are realistic and sweet with a natural timbre. The vocals are front and centre with instruments placed exactly where they should be showing depth to the stage with natural wide holographic presentation . The Conductor’s dynamic driver and Bone Conduction drivers sound very coherent no trace of uneven timbre just everything working together as one.
The mids are natural and organic, with just enough edge to add excitement to vocals and guitars causing me to be drawn into the music, Pianos and Guitars are given a really even treatment with good note weight sounding exactly as you would expect if you were in a concert hall.
The Transition from upper mids to lower treble is smooth as butter and sibilance free, even with songs that have sibilance bult into the recording.
The timbre and tactility of drums, strings, guitars and brass instruments is very natural all instruments find their own place. Vocals both male and female are reproduced authentically with emotion, every inflection, intonation is apparent as a singer climbs the scale to the crescendo it is presented well cutting through, if a voice has gravel you hear it vocals have a very pleasing weight coming across very natural the Conductor however is not forgiving of poorly produced music.
When I’m evaluating earphones I have a play list of roughly 100 songs of mixed genres. With the Conductor I was analysing the different frequency ranges listening to albums in their entirety just loosing myself in the music. I found they I worked across all the genres in my library with including Hip hop where the bass is sufficient enough for the big bass drops always soundin smooth, spacious and detailed .
Michael Bolton - When a man loves a woman
Sounded wonderfully full and clean with the crisp drums and full bodied of guitars Bolton’s magical tenor vocals sounding full and sweet with no thinness the layering in this 80s classic AOR song was produced with expert precision full of atmospherics a really enjoyable listen
Alanis Morissette: You Oughta know , the angst ridden vocal is fabulous with just enough weight to draw you in slowly building with emotion the voal acrobatics are surrounded with the jagged instrumentation. The staging is brilliantly reproduced increasing the atmospherics greatly. The Conductor works incredibly well with studio and live recordings putting you front and centre in the room with the artist.
Steely Dan’s – Black Cow, one of the best produced albums in my opinion was played with a breathtaking expertise at this price range, drums, keyboards, vocals , hi-hats and cymbals were natural with excellent decay space and staging with good height, depth and width enabling me to pick out instruments in the mix, this song felt open and airy with the layering of the instruments in a class above any earbud or iem I’ve listened to at this price level.
Peter Gabriel- Solsbury hill the way the Conductor played back thus song was a real goosebumps moment Gabriel’s vocals were wonderfully separated allowing me to fully appreciate his fabulous voice the strum of the guitars separated from the complex percussion the individual parts of the song floating in the mix separate but together in a cohesive whole. The Conductor manages to keep production in control sounding dynamic and immersiive avoiding any congestion, impressive.
Earth Wind and Fire – Fantasy
This Funky masterpiece with its magnificent horns funky bass lines and outstanding vocals is played with effortless ease the holographic staging really drawing me into the music. This description from Wikipedia perfectly sums up the experience of listening with the Conductor"Voices and a light touch of strings suddenly appear over a choppy, propulsive track, swell and swoop, only to disappear at the snap of a finger and pop up moments later for an exciting, powerful finale. White also utilizes an odd instrumental mix that gives equal emphasis to percussion (except the bass drum, which is usually played down), bass, rhythm guitars and stabbing, staccato horn bursts. The result is light but substantial" simply a stunning track played back with impressive skill and finesse.
The Conductor is quite easy to drive earbud I had no issues using them with my , Daps, Dongles in getting loud enough, the dynamics and open sound was present with all sources the texture and layering they are capable of was available for all to some degree.
They sounded good with all sources. This is an iem that doesn’t need a powerful source but it does scale impressively.
I’m not a fan of analytical sounding IEMs that force details into your ears like a photograph with HDR and sharpening set at max a decidedly digital representation. I’m more Vinyl on a turntable, Leica manual focus, sumptuous colours on kodak colour gold film, kinda guy, where if you look really close all the details are there but it’s the whole image you appreciate rather than just how sharp it is.
Sources used:
Onix XM5 Overture
Shaning M6 Ultra
Shanling H5
Cayin N3 Ultra
KAEI TAP1 with Burson v7 OP AMPs
My Favourite source was without doubt the Onix Xm5 Overture with the KAEI TAP1 with this set up the Conductor was in my opinion without doubt the highest performing flat head earphone in my collection even outperforming some of my more expensive iems with its unique talents.
Comparison
This is quite difficult as the Conductor is multiple levels above all the earbuds in my collection.
LRay Aurora
The Aurora is far more bass dominant with elevated sub bass and midbass
This is the only frequency range that has more quantity but the quality of the bass is superior on the Conductor everything else is left in the dust with the levels of distortion free detail and staging is levels above the Aurora.
Shozy Cygnus
The Cygnus is way less detailed, with inferior texture and timbre the bass while being equal in quantity is lacking in quality. Its almost comical how much the Conductor is superior in every aspect.
I used the included doughnut foams placed over the earpiece for comfort this did not effecting the clarity and detail resolution. While my preference was for a cable with ear hooks I did experience good results while cable rolling with the following cables
Penon OCC849 (penonaudio.com)
Penon OCC849 Single Crystal Copper HiFi Audiophile IEMs Cable
Type-4 Litz configuration
Description
6n single crystal copper cable
8 strands, single strand is 49 cores, a total of 8 × 49.
The plug contains 68% copper
The solder joints is silver – contained tin
Carbon fiber metal splitter and CNC integrated slider
Cable length: 1.2M
Penon OS849 (penonaudio.com)
Penon OS849 Single Crystal Copper Silver-plated HiFi Audiophile IEMs Cable
Type-4 Litz configuration
Description
6n single crystal copper silver-plated cable
Contained 8% silver, the thickness is 10μm,
8 strands, single strand is 49 cores, a total of 8 × 49.
The plug contains 68% copper
The solder joints is silver –contained tin
Carbon fiber metal splitter and CNC integrated slider
Sound field is very big and very natural
Cable length: 1.2M
Conclusion
The Penon Conductor has been a revelation to me while on the surface an earbud with its natural anologue holographic playback it sounds more like a high quality headphone, if and it’s a decent sized if you can find a good fit and I can’t emphasise enough over ear is the best way to experience it’s charms. It’s an absolute recommendation from me!A new experience a five stars✨️
