Penon OS849 Upgrade Cable Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penon OS849 Upgrade Cable Review

 

About Penon Co.:

Penon Co. is a Hong Kong based Company specialized in production of IEM’s, earbuds and cables for the audiophile community.

 

Disclaimer:

This OS849 was provided to me by Penon Co. for the purpose of an honest review. I am not affiliated with Penon Co. or any third person beyond this review and all these words reflect my true and unaltered, opinions about the product.

 

 

The Price:

The price for the Penon OS849 with standard 3.5mm TRS headphone jack is $119 USD, while the 2.5mm Balanced (TRRS) variant costs $129 USD.

The purchase link for the OS849 upgrade cable is bellow;

https://penon-official.com/product/penon-cs819/

 

 

 

Package and Accessories:

The Penon OS849 upgrade cable is coming in a cardboard box in Blue (top) / Bordeaux (sides) color and sports the company’s logo and brand name on the top.

This box is containing the following items;

  • 1 pcs x Penon OS849 Upgrade Cable
  • 1 pcs x Wood Case
  • 1 pcs x Velevt Pouch
  • 1 pcs x Shirt Clip
  • 1 pcs x Cable wrap
  • 3 pairs x Velvet Fabrics

The wooden box which is included to the standard package is very useful and has a very stylish appearance.

There is a velvet pouch with Penon barding which is a nice addition.

The cable is extra protected from scratches with velvet fabrics, which can be found inside the wooden case.

There is also a metal shirt clip and a cable wrapper with Penon logo, which are a nice addition.

 

 

Design and Build Quality:

The Penon OS849 is made of high purity 6N single crystal cooper silver plated (contains 8% silver) wire material, which has 8 cores with 49 strands per core that is explaining the model number (8 core and 49 strands = OS849).

The Penon OS849 has two connector options, which are the 0.78mm 2 Pin and the MMCX (Micro Miniature Coaxial) variants.

The braided cable wire is protected with a transparent plastic coating, feels nice in your hand and is showing a very low amount of microphonic effect.

The MMCX / 2-Pin connectors have a metal housing in black color with Left & Right (blue for left and red for right) indicators.

The cable sports a circular metal chin slider and a Y-Splitter in black color with carbon fiber patterns and OS849 model printing.

The 3.5mm headphone jack (also available in 2.5mm TRSS variant) is containing 68% copper and has a straight profiled metal housing with carbon fiber patterns and Penon branding which looks pretty nice.


 

Technical Specifications:

  • 6n single crystal copper silver-plated cable
  • Contained 8% silver, the thickness is 10μm,
  • 8 Cores, single core is 49 strands, a total of 8 × 49.
  • The plug contains 68% copper
  • The solder joints is silver –contained tin
  • Carbon fiber metal splitter and CNC integrated slider
  • Sound field is very big and very natural
  • Cable length: 1.2M

 

 

Equipments used for this review:

Cable  : Penon OS849, iBasso IT04 Stock Cable, iBasso IT01S Stock Cable, iBasso IT01 Stock cable

IEM’s  : iBasso IT04, iBasso IT01s, iBasso IT01

 

 

The Sound:

The PENON OS849 upgrade cable is adding the source in general a touch more warmth, while it is increasing the depth and quantity of the bass, making the midrange softer and musical and adding control to the highs without to decrease its sparkle.

PS: I have tested the PENON OS849 in general with IEM’s such like the iBasso IT04, IT01S and the IT01 that are quite sensitive to cable rolling. This review is written after a burn-in period of approx. 100 hours.

 

Penon OS849 versus iBasso IT01 Stock Cable

The bass of the IT01 with the stock cable is showing an average speed, good depth and intensity, while the OS849 is adding a bit more speed and tightness to the bass. The bass sounds also cleaner and shows a slightly brighter totality, with a small amount of increase in the bass quantity.

The midrange on the other hand is sounding noticeable more transparent and airy compared to the stock cable of the IT01.

When it comes to the treble range the first noticeable difference is the additional sparkle that was added by the Penon OS849. The treble extension has been increased by a margin.

 

 

Penon OS849 versus iBasso IT01s Stock Cable

The bass of the iBasso IT01s with its stock cable has a fairly linear bass character (maybe a tad more) that shows good speed with average depth and intensity.

The bass of the iBasso IT01s with the Penon OS849 cable shows better depth and an increase of quantity and intensity, while they’re no noticeable chances in terms of the speed.

The midrange sounds warmer and more emotional with the OS849. The level of airiness with female vocals still nearly identical, while male vocals showing a slightly increase in fullness and have now better depth.

The instruments have a noticeably better separation and clarity than the stock cable.

When it comes to the upper midrange and treble, I can say that the IT01s with OS849 cable sounds slightly more controlled, while the small amount of sharpness in the upper midrange is gone was gone. The upper midrange sounds now softer, while the OS489 has added additional fullness/volume to the treble region.

 

 

Penon OS849 versus iBasso IT04 Stock Cable

The stock cable of the iBasso IT04 has a linear bass character with an average depth. The subbass and midbass intensity is on a moderate level.

The Penon OS849 caused radical changes to the linear bass structure of the IT04 with its stock cable. The intensity, depth and quantity have been increased in a very noticeably.

The bass sounds warmer, has more volume and softness compared to the stock cable, while the speed is nearly identical.

The midrange of the iBasso IT04 is slightly recessed due to the V shaped sound signature, while it shows a neutral and transparent tonality. The Penon OS849 have been added additional body, warmth and musicality, especially female vocals are now more emotional in presentation.

The upper midrange and treble range sounds more controlled and shows fuller notes compared to the stock cable, while the treble quantity has been decreased by a small margin. All this changes have made the iBasso IT04 to a more balanced and controlled IEM compared with the stock cable.

 

Conclusion:

If you are looking for a cable with great build quality, nice appearance, lots of beautiful accessories and noticeable improvements in the sound quality, the PENON OS849 will fulfill all this tags for a pretty reasonable price.

 

Pros and Cons:

  • + Overall build quality
  • + Lots of beautiful accessories (wooden case, pouch etc.)
  • + Noticeable changes and improvements of the sound
  • + Increase in detail and musicality

 

  • – None

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