PENON QUATTRO - HUGELY FLAWED MASSIVELY MUSICAL 

Thank you for this video. Penon seriously needs more of this type of constructive criticism in reviews. Because of current status quo it looks like a small cult fueled by 3-5 regular reviewers gushing over their every new single release. It's hard to take it seriously, not be sceptical and not ask questions, especially when Penon is not the cheapest company around. I'm owner and enjoyer of few of their IEMs but current situation around this company is not doing anyone a favor. PS: I share some of your sentiment regarding Serial and it's low end but then I put on something like Yorushika - Burglar and I feel complete with no need to look for anything else 😅

What an excellent review, balanced and thoughtful. It's easy to hear and see the love - hate relationship here. I really need to think on this one. The concept for me of 4 DD's is intriguing but I'm not sure about purchasing it. As always keep up the amazing work

Appreciate your honest takes. I fell for that Penon hype way back when the original Fan came out and I actually despise that IEM. Will sometimes cable roll and give it a shot thinking that something is going to change on it. But nope, just a bad IEM that was getting hyped up in that thread by who knows whoever those posters are. Never gonna fall for it again haha.

Thanks for the great explanation of isobaric driver configuration. It truly is a gimmick unless implemented perfectly. Glad I passed on this one.

Great review Monk. Appreciate the clarification on isobaric setup. Good honest review, you didn’t bash it, but clearly differentiated between the positive and negative aspects of the Quattro.

I´m really glad to hear your impressions of this IEM. Since its release it was on the top of my wishlist because of its special configuration with 4 DDs. You explained very well, why this IEM is probably not my next purchase (Bass quality, missing stage qualities and separation,..) Thanks for that! Another interesting IEM to review (and the second on my wishlist) would be Thieaudio Hype 4, which has 2 DDs for the Bass as well, and is in the same price bracket. I´m looking forward to it;-) Keep it up and stay musical!

This was a very sobering review, but the review that needs to be heard. Thank you for this Monk. I wish this came out before I pulled the trigger on this set. I got caught up in the circle jerk of a certain website spewing praises for this set and the brand like this would be the second coming. There was a certain review on this website with a promise of sparkly highs, excellent imaging, wide stage and bass perfect for dynamic lovers, sounds like a load. Lesson learned, I'll just have to find a way to restrain myself for a little bit longer when the Hype is strong (lol Hype 4 please) and see what the Monk has to say. While I'd love to hear the redeeming qualities of the one thing this set does well, I don't think the cons are gonna convince me at $400 USD. I hope Penon is good about returns. Looking forward to the next video!

Thank you. "musicality vs technicalities" Different from other Penon (too apologetic, biased) 'reviewers' you sound Professional, personal, straight and honest. A rarity. This said here with Quattro I humbly perceive differently:, maybe because I like Fan2 and Serial for their wide differences. And Quattro sounds to me a 360° worth Serial upgrade. I, my Quattro, do not agree with some minuses you exposed (higs are airy and detailed for me, and Quattro not-sloppy subbass being another field I like) but I can get the logic and your experience behind such affirmations. I too have had some Penon downside, elsewhere, and I know they may sometimes be not 'perfect' iems builders all around. Thank you for this outspoken review.

ivipq make some good cables. I'm with you that cables matter. I have a similar treble enhancer cable on my Legato and it’s magic. So listen, I found you recently with your Scarlet Mini emotional review. Mine is still on the way. Since then I’ve really became a fan of your style. Your intro edits are nicely done and your detailed impressions are just the right length. And somehow you have managed to review an eclectic and interesting group of iems lately. Maybe the most surprising and unique iems of all the reviewers. Big props my friend. Now as for the Quattro, I don’t understand the clamshell driver implementation. Makes no sense to me. Totally agree with you - I think it would’ve sounded much better with just one 10mm driver for bass that doesn’t have its output essentially blocked. They’re trying things and I respect that. Penon should hire you as a consultant and get feedback before releases. I wanted a Penon Fan (OG) just as it went discontinued. It has prob the most bass of all Penon’s, maybe the Dome can compete. I need that bass Monk or it’s a deal breaker. So what I did and might’ve mentioned it in an earlier comment a few weeks ago - Penon makes a 4 inch cable adapter (get the female and male connectors) the OS133. There is also a OS133 cable so be careful. The adapter is $25 and adds warmth and fullness and stage/presence/ width. It’s subtle but apparent and I love it. I’m going to buy another as backup soon. I use it all the time, highly recommended. Shame about the Quattro having issues. They’ll be back with a winner. I want to see more bass as their close relatives ISN have put out a bunch of bangers. Have you reviewed an ISN? Try the ISN EST50. Hope to have one one day. One of the least expensive tribrids available and seems like a very good warm tuning with EST treble extension. Sorry for rambling. Love you Monky..you’re killing it.

I would love to listen to Coltrane on this set (on a stormy night says the romantic in me) , but I cannot justify paying 350 for it (with the coupon I received) when much better all rounders exist in similar or lower price points. Thanks TDM!

Really excellent review busting the hype I can see you struggle with your feelings wanting to love it but just not meeting your expectations

again monk, you saved me!

Quattro is a different IEM. I mean i love it for its musical, warm and smooth sound, but at the same time i hate it for its low detail retrieval.

Great review, and thanks for the hard hitting honesty. The message will be difficult to accept for the burgeoning Quattro fan club, but facts are facts.

I’ve been cable rolling with my Quattro. They sound great with Penon Orbit cable out of Topping G5.

I like the aq4 you hate so maybe if it has any common tone I like it.

You’re the man buddy . Straight shooter and very informative video .

Have you tried to EQ the bass to see if it's the drivers canceling (and/or just low quality drivers)? Or the Quattro just has a bad subbass/midbass tilt going for itself.... Like too tilted into a muddying subbass?

Having gone through most of the 800+ pages of the Penon thread on Head-fi, I am yet to buy a Penon or ISN iem. And I buy at least 5-6 iems every year. At this point it gives me great satisfaction in not buying anything from the Penon store and feels like a victory against the shillers/paid reviewers on there who are shamelessly calling every Penon release the greatest thing since sliced bread and attack anyone that doesn't agree. I might miss out on a half decent iem once in a while but thats ok. The 3 times I came close to pulling the trigger on a Penon iem was, 10th AE - Liked the idea of dual Sonion EST's at $499 but the shell is too big, so had to pass. Turbo - Really liked this one and still do. Was thinking of getting this instead of the Maestro Mini as the bass can be controlled with switches and the mids/highs should be better than the Mini. Well they increased the price by $50 for no reason. Not that its a big difference but not a good practice at all. This might be the Penon I buy if I do in the future. Quattro - Was really intrigued because of the quad DD configuration but the initial reviews on head-fi by genuine community members said exactly what you said about the bass. Ofcourse the Penontards took over and started calling it the iem to die for and stuff. No thanks. So yea sorry for the rant but thanks for your genuine take on these. I would like to experience the Penon mids someday but definitely not these and not at $399 for sure.

That intro bro !! Loved it

Almost reached ur target curve.. Congrat!...Compare it with old skol Variations.. For sure old moondrop wins.. Peace!

Was this a review unit ? Was thinking of buying it.

Glad that I dodged it and went for hype 4 instead.😅

You're killing me, Monk-san :) By the way, I noticed on squid.links that the frequency graphs of Penon Serial and Pula PA02 are very similar at lows and mids (Harpo). What do you think about that?