Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
The Globe does exactly what I wanted it to and has earnt a position in my collection for the long haul. It sits closer to my heart than it does my head. It appeals to the part of me that wants to let go of the constant critiquing and fall into the experience of music itself. It gives me the detail but not with a digital sheen or grain. It reminds me that I’m as much a part of the music too. Additionally, my choice of IEM largely depends on a tuning & driver configuration that delivers a great/excellent midrange representation. One with sufficient body, detail and room to breathe. When I want to listen with my heart, I prefer something that is further away from the dry and cold side of the spectrum, even if that is at the expense of some detail. I want it organic and smooth with enough character to keep me engaged.
In this very impressive pairing, the Globes' stage is both wider and deeper with instruments given more room to breathe, and even midrage clarity seems to have improved with vocals sounding more natural - though not quite as impressive as the Penon Vocal cable in that regard. Globe surprisingly has the most pronounced treble out of three IEMs, it's also the most aggresive treble, both the three has nice extension with Insect Awaken should be the first one to roll-off I have to praise the Globe here for the most engaging presentation of ‘Infected Mushroom’ (electronica / psytrance) to date. The quality and quantity of the bass here is perfect. It excites and conveys dynamic swings well, never become fatiguing. Another strong suite is conveying the impact and authority of various families of drums, even reaching way down low to capture the resonance of the larger bass drum. It does it with great tonal accuracy to my ear and reasonably accurate decay. The JH Audio TriFi's are classics and that is why I keep them in my collection. They were left to me years ago and I don't know what happened then. I bought them third or fourth hand, not very expensive and when I had them I thought they were not what I had heard before... As a collector's item they are worth... But they don't stand up to a comparison with a model whose price is currently half of what the TriFi used to cost. What will happen to my headphone collection in 5 years?The Penon Globe is a mid-priced IEM with a big sound. Not only is the sound large, but it's inviting and somewhat romantic. Romance takes place due to (the sound) having a special listenability and charm. This sound is created by only only three drivers, yet those drivers are so well chosen, nothing is left out! Such a design results in the ultimate form-factor, neither big in size, or heavy in weight, the Globe goes about its business in the most pleasant and competent of ways! Bold, rich, smooth, dynamic, full bodied and euphoric is a good sound descriptor of the Globes sound. There are certainly other in ears that do detail with speedier transients and better timbral accuracy to a greater extent, however the trade off is one of the most engaging roomy sounds you will hear for earphones. A bit unique to the imaging of the Globes is that due to its larger dimensional sound presentation you get imaging that can float in mid air from the far left to the far right, behind or forward in space that seems outside of the headspace. That my friends is musical immersion. The sweet spot for me it's when both is equaly boosted and well layered, but I don't even think it's possible unless perhaps using 2DD for bass section and doing genius tuning work.
Penon has taken the conservative approach here. They didn't reinvent the wheel, they simply progressed it further. Polishing the basics, they improved the fundamentals. Making only three drivers sound like more, making a smaller midsized shell sound somehow grander in size? This IEM is so darn fun! Such a sway and swagger goes to show you the pace your music! The Globe plays everything well though there is no one single ability that you could say the Globe excels at. Take your thinnest file, it enhances it, take any genre of music and the Globe somehow finds the musicality present. Use any source bright, or dark and the Globe finds balance. I don't know the how's or why's but this is not always the case with other IEMs? The ‘Globe’ sits in the middle-of-the-road in terms of pricing, sporting a 10mm dynamic driver and two BA drivers. A Sonion BA handling the mids and a Knowles BA for the treble. Having heard Sonion mids before, I knew that if this was executed right, the Globe could be a hybrid right up my street. The TriFi's are not able to recreate the music as well as the Globe's and everything is smaller and more congested on them. The darkness of the JHs contributes to a smaller, more intimate soundstage.Highs: Although the Globe’s treble is the least jealous of our attention, nevertheless I believe that it is absolutely essential to Penon’s success with this IEM. There is plenty of sparkle, air and detail in the treble, and the upper treble in particular is perhaps just ever so slightly bright (though never harsh or peaky), thus providing much-needed counterbalance to the gravitational pull of the low end. Believe me....i'm a bit fatigue to be that much of a Penon fan boi...it's really not my type to be like this and well, at least my critical listening grumpyness was able to blossom a bit with the Fan and ISN H30, but not to the point of delivering a harsh review, well, I sincerly dislike H30, but do find good the Fan, which have nothing to do with immense appreciation I have for FAN2 (the real deal with the Serial). Now this is an interesting comparison. Blessing 2 has been well regarded among enthusiasts and have been popular here at headfi ever since their introduction. So much so it garnered a newer version with some sound tweaks in the dusk version. The one I have is the old B2. B2 has some really good stage for in ears but it should as the phones use one of the larger housings for hybrids that I own. It actually might be the largest housing for hybrids. No question comfort will go to the Globes. Globes don’t feel like your ears are being probed. It is tough to hear the B2 after using the Globes because you have to adjust to moondrops version of the Harmon tuning which is all bout the upper mids with treble emphasis a fairly linear smooth mid range and for the blessing 2 a very weak almost neutral bass end. This was supposedly fixed on the dusk version. Bass end of the B2 is not terrible; it does have some deep extension with decent rumble but is nowhere close to the authority of the Globes in the region. Mids is another aspect that you have to adjust to. Blessing 2 don't sound flat per se but after the Globes it don’t come near the dimensional layering of the Globes mid bands.To my ears the B2 has more upper mids emphasis and treble making it have a cool tonality overall. The Globe has more of a natural warmth with ample bass and more forward lower mids with less upper mid range in comparison. Instrument separation, detail is slightly better on the Blessing2 but that is due to the wide open mid bands of the B2 with not much bass coloration. As far as dynamism. Forgetabout it. B2 looses miserably there. B2 is more closer to a neural presentation and therefore it will come down to how you like your tunings. These two are actually complimentary sound signatures as they are completely different sounding. B2 also benefits from upgraded cables with higher end DAPs. I don't struggle to hear the snare, but some upper range percussions can feel a bit too distant which affect timing accuracy but at the same time will not distract you from main instruments or vocal of a song.
Great Deal 
New Comment