These are pretty terrible, IMO... WAY too much bass, poor balance. Very silly, strangely tuned IEMs
Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
CT007
rattlingblanketwoman
Hi @CT007 I hated them at first too, so much so that I made a pretty massive post in the Penon thread about it. There aren't many negative experiences documented there so I felt like I had to say something.
What changed my opinion dramatically was having very wide bore tips on them. They still remained only an occasionally pleasure, the amount of bass could be fatiguing over time, and they weren't a set I could turn up and up because there is treble/upper mids present. Between giving them time, and the right wide bore tips, you might find your opinion changes, I pretty much U-turned on these... and actually bought a second pair (to replace the ones I sold) a couple of days ago. Of course your opinion on them might not change at all, we're all different! It is also one of the few cases where I think a higher power source (even just balanced 2.5mm on a Qudelix 5K @ high gain) changes the performance of them. Their timbre and coherence is great for classical music too.
What changed my opinion dramatically was having very wide bore tips on them. They still remained only an occasionally pleasure, the amount of bass could be fatiguing over time, and they weren't a set I could turn up and up because there is treble/upper mids present. Between giving them time, and the right wide bore tips, you might find your opinion changes, I pretty much U-turned on these... and actually bought a second pair (to replace the ones I sold) a couple of days ago. Of course your opinion on them might not change at all, we're all different! It is also one of the few cases where I think a higher power source (even just balanced 2.5mm on a Qudelix 5K @ high gain) changes the performance of them. Their timbre and coherence is great for classical music too.
rattlingblanketwoman
Still @CT007 Value wise I think they're a little steep at full price, but as their name suggests, they were always intended to be offered as a cut price to "fans", and I find that price reasonable for the fun niche these cover.
Just some tips on what might help if you want to give them a second chance, if you're done with them I can understand.
A modding suggestion I haven't tried, but might "for science" when my set arrives - these have huge ports on the back for venting the DD, the more air that gets in there the bigger the bass - I wonder what would happen if have the vent were to be covered, or micropore tape was applied over the top of it? Taming the bass might led the mids and other technicalities (it's a solid DD) shine brighter. Curious what Moondrop Spring tips would do for these too.
Just some tips on what might help if you want to give them a second chance, if you're done with them I can understand.
A modding suggestion I haven't tried, but might "for science" when my set arrives - these have huge ports on the back for venting the DD, the more air that gets in there the bigger the bass - I wonder what would happen if have the vent were to be covered, or micropore tape was applied over the top of it? Taming the bass might led the mids and other technicalities (it's a solid DD) shine brighter. Curious what Moondrop Spring tips would do for these too.
