Penon - Archangel

The Archangel is phenomenal

I've only tried the Archangel and I'm definitely not an expert, but I would call it full, rich, energetic and clear. I have a sensitivity to shouty mids and harsh treble. That issue is non-existent on the archangel.

The kids and treble are just about perfect for my ear. Bass is definitely boomy, especially with the bass switch on. One of my favorite things about them is how well they take EQ.

If you like rich bass, this set is going to make you rethink every other IEM.

Just butting in, but as a fellow Archangel owner I'd say that the treble detail and sparkle is more than plenty for me. You get a good amount of it, with cymbals and hi-hats retaining a good amount of extension and bite when needed, while not really feeling harsh or too artificial. For reference I find the Tea Pro's upper treble feels a bit more forced and not really smooth compared to the Archangel. There's tuning switches, too, if you prefer to have more treble or bass. Btw if you plan on buying it, the set really benefits from a deep and flush fit so the BCDs get good contact and the treble doesn't become harsh. You may or may not need to tip roll and cable roll for ergonomics and fit.

Oh yeah, this is definitely a problem I wrestled with as well, u/higherdotedu can attest. I think the vent is for the rear of the dual DDs so there's no direct full venting. Penon has offered to fix it if I send it back to them, but I haven't taken them up on the offer yet. Give them a contact and see if they'll allow it. Outside of that there's a few things you can do. For trying other tips, I'd recommend Tanchjim T-APB tips and Tanzu Sonic HE as well if you haven't tried them yet. I was also recommended Eletech Baroque by another Archangel user, but I've yet to invest that much into 1 pair of eartips. The biggest thing that helped me was actually swapping cables to a lighter one. Turns out the Cadmus II cable was putting an odd weight on the IEM and made it hard to insert fully without feeling a ton of ear pressure. I swapped to a more plasticky NiceHCK cable and it made insertion much easier. Pressure over time didn't build up as much either.

No problem! The Archangel definitely will still have a bit of pressure even after getting a flush fit, so don't worry too much about it. The only issue is if they have a suction cup effect on deep insertion or if the bass sounds imbalanced, which can be mitigated with insertion technique. Btw how are you seating your eartips on the Archangel's nozzle? I found that pressure didn't really build up too much if I pulled it down enough to cover the cylindrical shaft entirely. You want the nozzle tip to sit a couple millimeters from the eartip's outlet though.

Oh man I have the archangels. For the price can't be beat. Their my cheap take everywhere set. Couldn't be more happy. You'd love them.

Penon archangel is amazing

I had the same issue. Try the Penon Archangels. To me the only area the Monarch IV's do better is the smoothness of the treble. The Archangels are 400 cheaper. And are like a 3 dimensional version of the Monarchs. Amazing bass, also has a bass switch. And a treble switch. And the most amazing instrument separation due to the Bone conduction effects.

I was between this and the archangel and ended up going with the archangel cause it graphed similarly to a 4.5k dollar IEM I heard at canjam at a fraction of the price. But man do I love the way the gold specks on the face plate look on the armor, I want to buy it just cause of how visually appealing they are. Glad you found a great set, I hear nothing but good things about them!

Add the Penon Archangel to your list if it's not already on there. Another dual full range Sonion BCD set that's superbly executed *chef's kiss*. https://preview.redd.it/pwdepvzw4a4g1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=805731a71a96d015dd6c30e4834fe4b5425e76d3

Ayeee what's up my fellow Archangel bro, we finally meet in the wild! My take on the Archangel aligns with u/Borkoe take. IMO it's truly a great set and this is setting aside my purchasing bias as I've bought other mid fi basshead sets that doesn't Garner any praise from me.

We meet again u/lukelin08, in another thread you convinced me I didn't need the armor as it would be a side grade to my Archangel but the 11.11 sales was too good to pass up and I'm a sucker for bass 😂 The Archangel is an amazing set that straddles the fine line between musicality and technicality. Even with its bass forward tendencies I found it to be a well balanced and refined listening experience. The bass never comes at the sacrifice of detail and the treble has plenty of air and sparkle without being fatiguing. I think we chatted about the Dawn X and how it was akin to a reference sound and unengaging for my preferences and you said that's how you felt about the Mega5bass. The Archangel is the antithesis of how I feel about the Dawn X.

Gotcha so you are experiencing pressure issues with the Archangel too huh? My anticipation for them is a bassy set with slightly laid back treble compared to the Archangel. For when I want to crank the volume with F it amounts of bass 😎🤘 I've had the Archangel for months now so definitely over the honeymoon phase but still daily it. It really is an amazing all rounder for my basshead needs.

Amazing to see a sub $300 set keep up with an almost $600 set. Which one has more mid bass punch? I would love to add an EST set to my collection and the Armor and Mega5bass are both amazing looking sets! I got the chance to demo the Dawn X at Can jam cause the driver config piqued my interest. I found the tuning very safe and reserved a if their intention was to put out a reference sounding IEM, they succeeded at that. I'm bass head through and through, I need good punch and rumble to feel engaged with my music, and the Dawn X didn't do that for me. I blind purchased the Archangel after Can Jam. It's got dual Sonion full range BCD, that's to say its not the BCD that rattles like in other BCD sets. What it's doing to the sound I have no idea, but it sounds amazing so I'm not going to question it haha!

You guys aren't missing anything. I went from Armor to the Archangel and the Armor was way better. My Archangel sits on the shelf and I use my Mega7 primarily. Need to sell my Archangel but not many people into this hobby where I live (New Zealand) Got it listed for only $400 usd

The sound is good but nothing special for the price. Should be half the price. Armor has better bass (sub and mid) the Mega7 has way better treble, air, detail and layering. Archangel does have good soundstage, it quite wide, but it's not really a truly natural sound more like a bit of a gimmick with the way it presents the sound using the BCD to try add 3d sounding details, which is a bit artificial, and those sounds themselves are not detailed or accurate. For example, it might give a cool holographic 3d effect of a bell or cymbal but it's not an accurate representation of the sound you would hear just listening to it normally through say the Mega7

I would if I could, but it was the Dawn-X and the Penon Archangel.

The bass is pretty strong even with the switch off so I wouldn’t say it can be neutral but you can tune the treble up to compensate or just go full V with both switches up. I guess if you’re all about bass you can go only bass switch on but to be honest I’m not enough of a basshead so I haven’t even tried that.

Anecdotal evidence but this is from my recent collection thread. How I describe it having owned everything listed in OP and a quite a few not listed I’ve tried around somewhere between 40-50 IEMs in the last 6 months: https://www.reddit.com/r/iems/s/QyDKlUhD82 Someone who responded to my comment owns the Softears Twilight and loves the Kima 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/iems/s/dRWxhXNKbH I have owned both the explorer and the defiant. I sold the explorer a couple of days ago and the defiant like 2 months ago. Both were good, but Kima 2 wins in pure musicality for me. Tea Pro was my second favorite until I got the Dawn-X and Archangel (Neither is as musical but both are incredible). Kima 2 is still my daily driver if I’m not at my desk.

For pure musicality Kima 2 > Archangel = Dawn-X For pure technicalities Dawn-X > Archangel > Kima 2

Yeah, thought as much. Its a shame though, as others may not even be aware that these brands exist.  ISN H60, EBC80, EST80.  Penon Archangel, Voltage, Fan 3 Sound Rhyme DTE900, DTE264, SR10.  Earacoustic vsa pm crown.  All the above are fantastic iems from those brands, it's a shame that a of people aren't aware of them - as Penon and its sister companies probably give the best bang for buck out of most iem manufacturers (as a whole) excluding the likes of bgvp perhaps.  I used to follow Jay a lot, until I saw one Facebook post where he said thst the Unique Melody Maven II wasn't an alrounder... I've personally owned the Maven II in the past, and couldn't understand this at all - every other single review regarding those iems also praised them for their versatility. You got one person saying they're not an alrounder vs at least 30 who say they are 😅 it's going to raise some doubts..  The other was his take on the Annihilator, where he talked down to someone for being a "serious audiophile" basically just wasting their money. Funnily though, I also own the anni 23, and have yet to become across an iem that can deliver treble in such a smooth way as the anni can 😅 I'd love a cheaper iem, but no one to this day has recommended me a cheaper iem that can do what the anni does (yet it being ancient in the iem world)  Anyways, enough ranting - I hope people stumble across those brands that aren't talked about as much big the big reviewers.