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.

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.

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!

I can confirm the Cadmus II cable sucks ass. The weaving is loose and same with the 4.4mm connector. Had to get mine shipped and replaced with the Penon ASOS+ cable and that cable is a major improvement in terms of looks and build quality. I'm very disappointed on Penon and Effect Audio for letting this happen. But I'm lucky that the Archangel IEM is well built due to Penon's history of inconsistent QC regardless of price.

Ah ok, that's fair. I remember asking them on Taobao about the impedance of the Cadmus II cable cuz it wasn't explicitly stated. Then they got defensive saying that it's unnecessary and I should drop the subject. Very weird and unprofessional from them since other brands such as xinhs, ivipq, etc. explicitly stated the impedance of their cables without any fuss.

way better than the ebc80, no doubt. archangel has way better bass in terms of quantity, texture and impact. mids are more neutral and balanced but not lifeless so it scales better with volume. treble is smooth, detailed but has better sparkle and air than the ebc80. a great basshead IEM, sell your ebc80 and get the archangel instead. you won't regret it, seriously. the archangel makes the ebc80 look like a chump. but beware, the cadmus 2 cable isn't good at least the one I got. I had to get that replaced due to the weaving being loose and same goes for the connector. quite insulting for a $250 cable.

Nice, I also have the Archangel. Great basshead set and sounds fun, clean yet technical surprisingly. Quite impressed for its price and my first ever Penon set. Glad I went in blind, the risk paid off 😆

I A/B the penon archangel against the monarch mk4. Bass def goes to archangel as it has better texture with great kick and hits hard. Midrange is a toss up: monarch mk4 if you like forward midrange sound, whereas archangel sounds balanced and neutral to my ears. Treble on the mk4 is a bit too smooth for my liking, so I prefer the archangel as it has more bite and ironically not having EST drivers I found the archangel to be slightly more airy than the mk4. https://preview.redd.it/xi6f2yy6vonf1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f21762a9bcb1ecbccb492f90959e6d7ce086f4f

https://preview.redd.it/xxk6k36rronf1.png?width=1440&format=png&auto=webp&s=97a74f4129ce65709ed30aaad715087e6b3907e0 Penon Archangel, a versatile set due to the switches ranging from an U, L or V shape sound signature. The bone conduction driver is implemented passively which is interesting. It's meant to enhance the soundstage afaik but my ears haven't picked that up yet. Regardless of driver config, the tuning has been great and plays well with Pop, EDM, R&B and Rap.

Bone conductor IEMs have a unique ability to enhance positional audio which makes them the best tool for gaming. I have tested the IEM that is considered the best for gaming, the 64 audio Volür with fps games like COD and battlefield but it actually falls short of the isn ebc80 because of that extra dimension of soundstage and headspace. It adds a bit of sound layering which makes it easier to pick out individual sounds like footsteps within a busy battlefield with vehicles, explosions, gunfire, etc. The bone conductors are located on the side of the shell, behind the eartip so that the sound is sent around the ear canal and straight to the inner ear. This bypasses the eardrum, giving you better directional audio that isn't competing for the eardrum with other audio queues. This soundstage and imaging is on another level. Avoid piezo (PZT) bone conductors because they're located on the inside of the shell and tend to be geared towards low-end enhancement rather than the more useful mid-upper frequencies and technicalities that you get with sonion BCDs. Use tri clairion eartips which will boost sound separation and imaging capabilities of the isn ebc80. Another good option is the Penon liqueur black eartips that I personally use quite often. Both eartips are widebore. The divinus velvet wide bore tips are the comfiest and good all-rounder eartips. I can listen with these iems all day with either one of those equipped, not that I'm proud to admit that I have done it Since I first started using this IEM, I've been playing with a 2.45 K/D average on my fps games because I know where every single enemy player is within 50-100 (virtual) yards! When I'm clearing buildings, I can tell what floor an enemy is on thanks to those bone conductors. There does not appear to be a better/more expensive IEM that uses full-frequency bone conductors aside from the penon archangel but I hear it isn't good for long sessions due to fatiguing upper midrange and treble. If you're intent on spending within that budget of yours, the volür is the one recommended most.

You will want to try the Penon archangel or ISN EBC80. They are great value because they have the technicalities that are better than or compete with $1000+ IEMs. They are worth every penny and I can't say the same for any other IEMs I've tried in that price range. They excell in creating an out of your head soundstage that cannot be replicated by other IEMs or even headphones because of the full-frequency bone conductors that they use. Now, that's not to say that headphones have a smaller soundstage than these iems. It really feels like a different dimension in comparison, which is kind of an exaggeration but it's the best way that I can explain it.

It's worth every penny and has a soundstage that I would consider to be above average, but layering and separation is average when compared to other IEMs in that price range nowadays. Great bass on that set

They're both gonna have a 3D soundstage that is holographic. They both have good subbass rumble but the EBC80 has more Midbass than the archangel's subdued Midbass. The ebc80 therefore has an energetic lower midrange while the archangel has a natural, uncolored low midrange. The ebc has more treble extension and detail thanks to the electrostatic drivers but the BA treble coming out the archangel is no slouch. As for upper midrange, they're both fun but the archangel is more refined. EBC80 is tuned to be more musical in comparison. They're both on sale for $120 off on ali express. EBC80 can be had for $515USD, Archangel is ~$600USD with the coupon. The archangel is more expensive because of the nicer cable from what I can tell (it's an effect audio cable, so top shelf quality)

I think that the EBC80 is the riskier set if you're sensitive to fatigue when using them for long periods of time at volumes loud enough to pick out the sound of footsteps in a gunfight. It's not vocal-focused or even vocal-forward, but it does have emphasis just because of how there's a lot of energy across all frequencies. It's a W-shape tune, after all. You might be better off with the archangel's reference style tune. It's analytical with bass boost so there's great imaging and soundstage, giving it a bit of an edge over the EBC80 when it comes to gaming. As for the treble sparkle, the ebc80 does have a bit more of that. There isn't any sibilance but it can very possibly become fatiguing depending on how sensitive you are to upper midrange frequencies.

https://preview.redd.it/q1anfzg26lnf1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8d39cd46af35ce5e650aa899c61451a49026c32 The Penon Archangel, good as a versatile all-rounder with tuning switches that can turn it into a subbass cannon or technical beast. Fun fact: the midrange and treble graph almost identical to the thieaudio monarch mk4 but with more bass rumble.

Ive spent quite a bit on iems this year: Valhalla, P5+2, Deuce,Etude... But it's the PENON ARCHANGEL that really hit the spot for me. Fantastic IEM if you're looking for a highly competent ,technical and versatile bass head IEM under 1k.

Yu9 Que - shockingly good for the price. If youre looking for the best iem at $400-500, this is it IMO Truthear Pure - warm tilted jm1 but very well balanced. If you like Hexa but found bass to be a turn off, pure has much, much better bass quality. Penon Archangel - best mild -V iem Ive heard to date. And incredibly fun to listen to. NiceHCK Rockies - megafest but less dull with tighter bass, faster, clearer transients. A bit bright but not overly so Haven't heard it but from what I can tell from feedback/impressions, Hercules Noah is also shaping up to be one of the best releases this year.

The differences are likely going to come down to tuning preferences and frequency response. I was blown away by the Mest2 when I first tried them a couple years ago and I still think it's a great IEM today. And I now own a Penon Archangel, which has become one of my favorite sets. I'm not sure if it's the BC but both Mest2 are very, very engaging and exciting IEMs with a lot of texture and punch.

It was my first penon as well! No regrets whatsoever.