Sound Impressions
I used a Cayin N6III with C201 motherboard in hi-gain mode with multiple IEMs to test the Totem. Here’s the Tidal playlist I use to evaluate audio gear.
Totem is a flagship 2 wire cable with 334 conductors per wire, utilising an exotic mix of type 6 litz silver-plated copper, palladium-plated silver & gold-plated copper strands – there’s a bit of everything in there!
Bass
Totem is tonally slightly v-shaped, which means bass is boosted – but the amount of elevation you’ll notice is largely dependent on the IEM you pair it with.
It’s generally quite difficult to achieve major bass improvements with any cable, which tend to be more effective at enhancing technicalities & tweaking tonality. However Totem is decidedly thumpy especially in the sub bass region, both elevating & tightening bass more effectively than any Penon cable I’ve tried – right up there with many multi thousand-dollar flagship cables from other brands.
This is particularly nice for IEMs with BA bass that often lack a visceral bass decay, or ironically DD IEMs who’s decay is too sluggish & needs tightening. Both benefit from Totem’s substantial low end emphasis.
Midrange
Totem’s slightly v-shaped as it doesn’t infuse the lower midrange with much warmth & does emphasise upper mids slightly to improve midrange articulation, but this isn’t a cable to avoid if you love vocals.
Unlike many cables with strong soundstage expansion, Totem doesn’t accomplish that by pushing vocals back away from the listener – it does the reverse, bringing them further forward with most IEMs. That’s great if you love forward vocals (I do) but can be a downside if you crave a laidback listen as this can be fatiguing with poorly mastered material.
The second trick Totem accomplishes is to enhance midrange instruments in a numbers of ways, which I’ll discuss more in the Technical Performance section.
Treble
Totem’s downsides can be most felt in the treble, which can manifest as a minor lack of refinement.
Totem’s treble, particularly the upper treble is lifted slightly, and though I love the enhanced technical performance this engenders it isn’t going to give you that smooth, warm presence a pure copper cable with rolled-off treble would – as always in audio everything’s a tradeoff.
Treble is kept in check quite well, in fact there’s a terrific overall balance maintained between the three major frequencies and I’m not sure Totem’s awesome levels of technical performance could be accomplished without a small treble boost. Just be aware the occasional bright or brittle edge can be observed in treble notes, and as usual its poorly-recorded music that exhibits this most.
Technical Performance
If you’re wondering why you’d spend $649 on a cable this is where you’ll find the answer. Totem is magic black wire that makes your IEMs sound better. Quite a bit better in most cases.
Beginning with soundstage expansion, Totem doesn’t boast the absolute largest stage I’ve heard but it’s far from the largest & heaviest cable I’ve tried. Nonetheless staging is very large, keeping up with flagship cables worth thousands in many cases. Best of all Totem’s stage emphasises depth where it particularly shines, and height to a lesser yet still very impressive degree. Width isn’t exorbitant as it is with many pure silver cables, but the more cubed stage dimensions feel much more natural & well-proportioned.
Background blackness & imaging are even more impressive. Totem has the sharpest, most pinpoint imaging of any Penon cable & the blackest background between instruments, big reasons why Totem gifts almost any IEM a greater sense of precision & definition. This must be a very well-shielded cable.
Speaking of definition, this is also Penon’s highest resolution cable with virtually all frequencies gaining a strong uptick in detail retrieval, with tiny nuances popping out much more effortlessly. Dynamics are also superb, again right up there with some of the most expensive flagship cables I’ve heard.
Tuning Plugs
Totem’s 3-in-1 plug system has an additional advantage beyond swappable 2.5, 3.5 & 4.4mm options.
Penon also sells plugs constructed from and plated with different materials that impart varying effects on cable performance, allowing you to tune it to better match each IEM you pair it with.
Stock Totem Plug (silver & gold color)
The default plug is effectively an all-rounder, and will mate best with the largest array of IEMs possible.
There’s a small amount of midbass & lower midrange emphasis to add additional note weight, but imaging isn’t as sharp as it could be & notes smear together more than they do with the Rhodium plug.
Purple Copper Plug (gold color)
This plug has the warmest tonality of the three, being the most midrange-centric. Vocals are pushed forward even more, dynamics are very impressive, and the soundstage is the deepest of the three plugs.
Technical performance doesn’t feel any less competent than the stock plug, but tonality is more natural for my taste making this my favourite option.
Rhodium Plated Plug (silver color)
The Rhodium plug boasts a slightly wider stage, upper treble is a touch brighter, but vocals & overall tonality is a little thinner and note weight is slightly diminished.
The background feels slightly blacker & imaging marginally sharper, and perhaps there’s a slight amount of sub bass boost. A good choice for IEMs that require a bit more precision.
Page 1 – Introduction, Packaging, Ergonomics & Build Quality
Page 2 – Sound Impressions, Technical Performance & Tuning Plugs
Page 3 – IEM Comparisons
Page 4 – Cable Comparisons
Page 5 – Conclusion
Anybody who would pay thousands of dollars for a pair of interconnect audio cables of any type has more money than sense!!!!! A cable is not an active device so it will have no more action on an audio signal than a paperclip unless it is grossly deteriorated or you are trying to run really long runs with high impedance equipment. Wearing comfort is the only measurable property and that is totally subjective, People like you keep these modern “Snake Oil Salesmen” in business.
Total BS.
I made three RCA connector interconnect cables using RG6 coax one 4 feet long, one 6 feet long and one 8 feet long using 100% Belfoil shield. The 8 foot cable sounder more full with deeper bass than the 4 foot cable even though they all showed a good frequency sweep to over 500 Mhz.