Sound Impressions: Bass
The bass is one of the most crucial elements for Pendragon, if not the most important. Once you listen to Pendragon, the first sound that greets you is the warm, holographic bass approaching with great depth and dynamics. The bass is daringly large, wide, and thick; large waves of bass that are thickly condensed with mature texture and color. Many IEMs would sound lean or watered down if you switch away from listening to Pendragon. The twist is that Pendragon doesn’t smother your face with bass quantity, nor for the upper frequencies. Pendragon maximizes in creating ultra-bold bass grooves and roominess, yet they are well controlled in timbre and reverbs; the low-end control is impressive considering how powerful Pendragon approaches the bass.
The strikes are elastic and quick, with slower roll-off. If you’re used to listening to snappy bass, the bass response may feel duller. However, Pendragon isn’t an IEM that is meant for monitoring and analyzing as if working on an exam. It’s an IEM that you should focus on the music itself and view the wider picture instead of pinpointing the focus on the micro pieces. Of course, that doesn’t mean Pendragon neglects technical abilities (apex technicality is a basic grounding for this IEM). What I mean is to try focusing on the way the bass comes and goes – I’m sure this is where it’d really captivate many, as the bass sounds just so flavorful and atmospheric. The slower roll-off sounds closer to a huge speaker and feels much more natural than other IEMs. Dynamic, thick bass breathing and spreading neatly across the field, and then decaying naturally and gradually. The bass tone is one of the most lush I’ve heard from TOTL IEMs.
Sound Impressions: Vocals
If it’s your first time listening to Pendragon, as the bass did, the vocals also require a few minutes of practicing what I call the “mind burn-in”, or adjusting your ears to the new type of sound to understand what’s going on. The wide and thick manner continues in the mid-range. Vocals are seamlessly and continuously connected with the bass to create a homogenous sound flow. However, vocals are nonetheless nicely organized to make them distinct from the bass. Pendragon’s vocal timbre is also very special. The tone and texture are warm and smooth, yet the vocals also show tight crispness and breezy airiness. Predominantly warm tone that contains clear transparency and shine. The result is a sound that is butter-smooth, that is also revealing shine, and penetrating in textural detail.
Pendragon desires a thoroughly phasing-accurate presentation, so rather than artificially pulling the vocals forward, vocals are more like on top of the bass, a type of sound where both lows and mids show dominance in sound, without having the sub-bass leak into the mids. Pendragon paints the vocals thick in sound and size, though with micro strands of details all preserved. Definitely an opposite approach to IEMs like Nostalgia Tesseract or AME Raven (which have leaner vocals), though that doesn’t lead Pendragon to fall any behind in female vocals – they’ll instead sound fuller in size, and deeper and soulful. Vocals keep an extremely consistent and organic timbre, and smoothly continue their bold extension across the mid-range without any noticeable spikes or dips. Outstanding vocal control and stability, I’d say.
Sound Impressions: Trebles / Soundstage
If lows and mids were to get all the fullness, vastness, warmth, and thickness, the trebles are where you could enjoy the more feminine, delicate side of the music. Highs are a bit more relaxed in power and approach more gently and refined. I’d consider trebles playing more of an auxiliary role for enriching the music rather than taking over the stage, though trebles aren’t always reserved, as they do stand out boldly and clearly when necessary. The treble brightness and quantities are slightly lower than the trebles. The refined, crisp, and beautifully layered trebles are incredibly pleasing to listen to. Pendragon’s trebles are surprisingly refined and revealing, yet the silky smooth timbre and texture finish prevent the trebles from sounding dry or rough.
In case you ever wondered if the trebles wouldn’t sound too contrasting in thickness or timbre with the lower frequencies, that isn’t the case at all. While trebles are leaner, gentler, and more analytical, that’s only relatively speaking; Pendragon’s trebles are still considered very full-bodied and rich in tone, keeping upper-end headroom both full and prominent. The coherence maintains across the entire spectrum, which makes Pendragon such a pleasing IEM. As for the soundstage, Pendragon has one of the grandest, deepest, and holographic headrooms. The low-mid expansion and holographic depth, in particular, are perhaps within the top three among the TOTL IEMs I’ve heard or own so far. If you like that loudspeaker-like size and fullness, it’ll be difficult to find anything better than what Pendragon offers. The upper-end expansion isn’t as aggressive as some TOTL IEMs (Canpur CP752B, Aroma Core, etc.), which means Pendragon’s stage presentation may be too low-mid focused if that’s your jam, though if you prefer the sound foundation to be the lower sides, Pendragon’s offerings would suit you darn well.
Next Page: Compared to PMG Apx SE & NA Camelot / Verdicts