Penon BS1 Experience Ver. Earbud Review

Verdict –

DSC03586-7The BS1 is a noble first effort from Penon, it’s refinement is especially impressive given that some vastly larger and more experienced manufacturers can’t pull off the earbud form factor. Several small tweaks over the original Tomahawk make a world of difference in daily usage; the BS1 is a comfortable, very well constructed and refined sounding earbud at a very affordable price. I’m a particular fan of their revised housings and vastly improved cable which is easily one of the best I’ve handled around this price. I also admire Penon’s subdued styling choices which reflect similarly upon their more refined acoustic tuning. So while they do have some bass spill and perhaps an overly laid-back high-end back for some, for just $40 USD, Penon provide a stunning soundstage, fantastic bass definition and a super natural, analogue tonality.

Verdict – 8/10, The BS1 provides all day comfort, exceptional build and comfort combined with a smooth, natural tone. It also offers a sizable performance upgrade over cheaper models and competes favourably to similarly priced models of differing form factor. The BS1 is a surprisingly well-rounded and versatile performer that addresses essentially all of the complaints we had from models before.

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ABOUT AUTHOR

Ryan Soo

Ryan Soo

Avid writer, passionate photographer and sleep-deprived medical student, Ryan has an ongoing desire to bring quality products to the regular reader.

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7 Responses

  1. Hi Matt,

    Bit harder to find an earbud with a remote since most are designed for home use from an amplifier. The BS1 is a really solid option as far as sound and comfort go, I don’t think there’s much better until you get closer to $100 and their sound matches what you are looking for. The Ourart Ti7 is a consideration, it has a removable cable so you can swap out one with a remote. However, its midrange is veiled compared to the BS1 despite its higher price.

    Regards,
    Ryan.

  2. Hi Ryan,

    I love earbuds for work due to their minimalism and lack of noise blocking. Im coming from the VE Monk and am looking to take a step up to something a little more all round (perhaps less piercing treble and a touch more bass), for a price of around $50 (although im flexible really).

    Ideally id love a remote just so I can skip songs without touching my phone at work, but this isn’t a deal breaker.

    What do you think, sound wise are these the benchmark in the $50 price range?

  3. Dear Ryan

    Thanks again for this info. Sorry for the late response here, but I was awaiting a reply from “Dr Walkman” in Italy who has had my earphones for a long time without being able to find alternatives or even the time to repair them. The grilles are 15mm in diameter according to him i.e. slightly larger than the norm. Regards. Kevin

  4. You can try Aliexpress, a lot of earbuds use generic shells and some sellers sell individual parts for them. Otherwise, you might be able to buy an entire shell for the driver size and retrofit the drivers and cable from your JVC’s into them. I like the Yuin style shells and the MX500 is probably the most common, I believe they accept 14mm drivers.

  5. Thanks for acknowledging my comments, Ryan, as well as your guidance about the foams.

    Another topic – do you know any suppliers of replacement round metal mesh grilles for damaged ones in an old but good JVC earphone? I can provide a pic if thus helps. Regards Kevin

  6. Thanks for pointing that out Kevin, I will be sure to correct that! I didn’t feel that changing the foams here was any harder than other earbuds. Try and pinch the circumference of the foam, stretch and slide off perpendicular to the earbud. When installing, I pull one side apart, slot one side of the earbud in and stretch the other side on. The Heigi foams have quite a large opening so they go one quite easily. I think the problem may be pulling on the edge of the foams which can tear them, otherwise, they are surprisingly resilient.

  7. Sorry – a fundamental error in this review: the white dot marker denotes the LEFT earpiece, not the right. I queried this aspect directly with Penon, after feeling that the earpiece felt distinctly odd in my right ear, and ditto with the other, and their reply was unequivocally the reverse of the claim here.

    What would be useful to know is the method of changing the foams from stock to Hiegi donuts, as another review states this is very difficult. I can imagine a lot of shredded foams.

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