I spent the weekend letting the new Penon Voltage burn-in for 100 hrs (tho Penon suggests as much as 200) and figured it would be a good thing to report some first impressions on this soon-to-be-released "flagship" from Penon (it's not really the flagship, which is Impact, but it is the flagship tribrid in the Penon line, now). It has been awhile since Penon released an iem at over a kilobuck (aforementioned Impact, all BA/EST, was over $2000), but this one has arrived with an MSRP of $1199 (meaning those who are on the Penon email list, or those who ask Penon directly, will be offered a nice discount). I got an early shot at a set at the discounted price, which I'm not allowed to reveal, but let's say, you will not be disappointed by it!
Here, Penon tries and succeeds in stepping up to compete with their brethren by releasing Voltage, a new tribrid with 2xDD, 4xBA and 4xEST in this very crowded price category. I have not given this much listening time yet; I did check-in on it over the burn-in and heard the subtle changes occurring and I think there still are some happening, but it seems to have stabilized, so first impressions! It's a gorgeous, red with gold accented, resin shell that is light and pretty small for 10 drivers. Fit is easy and I find the Penon liqueur orange tips to have a good synergy, but will try others. It comes with a "Penon Obsidian" cable, a 4w Copper/Gold plated-copper cable that itself retails at $149. A very solid cable which I listened to for a couple hours before trying a little cable rolling. Actually, most cables I tried sounded great, and stock does not need to be switched, but I found a particularly good synergies with Penon Renata and EA Code 24c that got me pretty happy; but good on Penon for including a great stock cable!
The shocker for me arrived when I started really listening to Voltage having heard and owned several other Penons. I listened thru both my L&P P6Pro and Sony NW-WM1Z, and also with both DAPs amped by my ibassso PB5 whose stock interconnect cable I recently switched for a Penon Totem i/c (this produced a beautiful difference from stock, making PB5 sound more punchy and even deepening an already deep soundstage - inexpensive and much recommended for any PB5 owners!!). These sources tend to make a lot of good stuff sound great, some great stuff even epic, and the Voltage, just amazing!!!
Penon came to compete! This is by far the most mature sound and tuning I've heard from a Penon iem, outclassing every single other of theirs that I've tried as well as some other bigger names (for example, in a few hours, I could tell that I liked Voltage more than the similarly tuned FF MSE by a longshot and I liked MSE!). Now, tuning here is a bit of a moving target, which some of you will (like me) love and some will not (I see you, Todd!) because, yes, there are the dreaded tuning switches! Voltage has 2 switches and each does something specific, so there are 4 potential alterations to the stock (both switches down) tuning, which does remain prevalent throughout regardless of switch position. While I've not heard the Impacts, Voltage has, without question, the best mids I've heard in a Penon and maybe period. The mids seem least affected by the switches, remaining perhaps the star of the show, but actually, it's the overall balance, from deep sub-bass, to mid-bass, upper mids to trebles, everything matters and is the star with the stock switch (down) position offering the most W-shaped sound where switching them both up yields a slightly more U to V shape. Switch 1 increases or reduces bass, and switch 2 does the same for treble. I ran thru all of the switch positions and found that, while not basshead level, with switch 1 up/2 down, the Voltage has terrific, loud but still balanced bass. With the bass switch down and the treble up, you do get an amazing treblehead tuning that still includes nice, tasteful bass. I think I'm preferring the stock setting, but that could change.
In a nutshell, I'm hearing these 10 drivers come together with very impactful sub-bass, clear and forward mids, and massive, detailed, sparkly treble. I'm no treblehead, and bright, sharp treble can be the first thing to kill an iem for me, but here, Penon have executed upper mids and treble as well as I've ever heard it with details for days. It rivals Anni 23 treble to me, but it's overall tuning is more balanced and I prefer Voltage bass, as well. Note weight is thick and wet, but the soundstage is still huge and holographic with airy upper mids and treble again trying to steal the show. The sub-bass here reminds me of the Penon Quattro, but where Quattro has a very odd, but satisfying tuning, Voltage is a true all-arounder that should work with any kind of music. It's a very straightforward tuning that should offend no one and likely to surprise everyone.
We recently had a Watercooler poll that asked for under $2k favorites; this new Voltage would have taken either the Quattro or CFA Black Star off my list. It's uber competitive at its price and sounds like a lot of other TOTL on the market that cost double or triple this price. Nicely done,
@Penon, Voltage is your best iem yet, I think! I'm looking forward to digging in deeper with it over the coming weeks, and will be comparing it to Elysian's new Noir when I get that.
