In this review we will check out the Pendragon, Nostalgia Audio’s latest 14-driver flagship universal IEM.
Disclaimer: Nostalgia Audio provided the Pendragon at no cost for this honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity and support!
Nostalgia Audio
Based in Hong Kong, Nostalgia Audio was established in 2020 by a group of audiophiles with a shared passion for music and a deep dissatisfaction with the products available in the market. This was their drive to produce their very own In Ear Monitors and cables.
In the past five years, Nostalgia has launched several products to the market. Their most acclaimed model was the Camelot, which Nano reviewed here over three years ago.
At the time of writing, Nostalgia Audio has four In Ear Monitors in their audiophile line-up. The Durandal marks their lowest tier model, the Camelot, the Tesseract and their new flagship IEM – the Pendragon. On top of that, Nostalgia also offers IEMs for professional use as well as a range of IEM cables.
For their fifth anniversary, Nostalgia has created the Pendragon.
Today, we will give it a good spin.
Pendragon
The Pendragon is a 14-driver, quad-brid universal In Ear Monitor. It uses two concentric 9.2mm dynamic drivers for lows, two Sonion dual diaphragm bone conduction drivers for lower mids, six balanced armatures for mids, treble and upper treble as well as four e-stat super tweeters. All of these drivers are arranged in a six-way crossover design.
Nostalgia implemented a few proprietary technologies in the Pendragon. They use something called the XBS II Extreme Bass System. This is a titanium housing into which the 9.2mm dynamic drivers directly fire the lows. In this housing is also a miniature filter, which optimizes airflow and enhances bass transient response.
Every driver in the Pendragon is covered by an electromagnetic shielding coating (ESC), to create an advanced barrier to ensure pure, interference free sound with clearer and more natural details. This shielding protects the drivers from electromagnetic pollution.
The Pendragon features an innovative SFD II (Spiral Flow Device II), a micro-nano 3D printed component that enhances mid-frequency performance. Its precisely engineered helical ridge structure creates a vortex effect within the acoustic chamber, reducing energy loss and minimizing phase distortion in the 3-5 kHz range. This results in clearer vocal details-such as lip and dental articulation-and greater dynamic headroom for throat resonance, achieving studio-grade vocal accuracy.
At an impedance of 19 ohms and a rated sensitivity of 115 decibels, the Pendragon is a fairly easy to drive IEM. Personally, I have not found any issues driving them with any of my sources.
Package
The Pendragon comes in a very nice box and package. On the back of the box, you will find a short excerpt of King Arthur’s story, which is a very nice touch to the product in my opinion. In the box itself, you will find your new IEMs, the Avalon OFC cable, a large, light-gray leather case and a 3D printed round-table styled box which holds three types of ear-tips.
The selection of ear-tips is especially worth noting in my opinion. Because for the first time I feel like they were put in for their specific sound profiles. You get two types of silicone tips: Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR) and XWB tips. The LSR tips provide a more balanced and natural sound, while the XWB refine treble and detail resolution. Also packed in are Symbio W tips, but in blue instead of orange. These offer a richer sound with enhanced bass. After playing with all of them, I settled on the XWB tips for their enhanced detail retrieval and sparklier treble.
On top of all that, you will also get protective pouches, some stickers and a metallic warranty card.
All in all, I think the Pendragon’s package is more than complete and certainly worthy of the price.
Build Quality
The Pendragon has quite a large shell, and it will definitely stick out of your ears like small satellites, but I have never had any issues with comfort or fit. So, the shape and build are certainly up to the highest standards.
Pendragon uses a 3D-printed shell, that resembles a dragon’s skin. I tried to capture it the best I can in the photos and hope you can spot that. Because I think it looks magnificent and very cool. The faceplate uses a CNC’d golden aluminum ring, that resembles dragon’s skin again. The faceplate itself features a multi-color inlay on carbon fiber. While the color inlays are not overly flashy, they come out in the right light. In the middle you will find the Pendragon’s logo in gold.
One thing I am missing from the Pendragon is a pressure exhaust for the dynamic drivers. The shells are fully sealed and closed. When inserting them, you will also hear a clear driver flex pop. Maybe an exhaust port would’ve fixed that, maybe not.
Personally, I find the Pendragon’s build quality to be exemplary. Although I prefer metal shells, the Pendragon’s 3D-printed design is really cool. Also, I believe, these are very robust and can withstand the challenges of everyday use with ease.
Sound
Over the course of the past months, I used the Pendragon exclusively with my Digital Audio Players.
My daily driver was the Astell & Kern SP3000M as well as the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch 2 and Lotoo PAW Gold Touch. The Pendragon was only used with its stock cable and the supplied ear-tips. My favorite tips were the XWB, which I also used to describe Pendragon’s sound below. I also used the Hugo TT2 on some occasions, but did not find the Pendragon to scale significantly with desktop gear, which usually is the case with e-stat implementations.
Overall, the Pendragon is a warm and full sounding IEM with top-levels of low-end drive, authority and body. It excels in energy and power, while the mids are full and lush, vocals have a tendency to sound nasal. In the treble, the Pendragon provides a rich and delicate tuning that should not cause any conflicts with treble sensitive listeners.
In the lows, Pendragon sounds full and dense, with good body and texture. It reaches well into the sub-bass region, and does so with good impact and drive. Bass generally is more forward positioned in the signature than any other frequency, although not to a high extend. It’s tuned in a way to give music a fuller touch and thicker sound overall, but these don’t classify as bass-head IEMs to me personally.
Bass is fast, articulate and organic sounding. It has good resolution and generally a thick and rich sound. It presents itself with good body and weight. The Pendragon is more mid and upper-bass focused to my ears, through which it transports excellent weight and tightness. Bass is very well controlled and comes with superb grip and shape.
Let’s take Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Under the Bridge for example. Here the bass line sits more forward than I am used to, which can distract from the other instruments a little. However, the bass sounds snappy and organic and the kick-drums also come in with good punch, speed and density.
If we’re taking something more synthetic like Aphex Twin’s Donkey Rhubarb or Nine Inch Nails’ Copy of A, we get excellent control and dynamics in the lows. Bass here has great resolution and speed to me. Pendragon’s bass especially shines in Copy of A in my opinion. The reach and drive are remarkable on it.
In the lower midrange, the Pendragon sports a full and warm sound with hefty notes and big body. Lower pitched vocals and instruments are nicely organic and rich in sound. Throughout the mids, the main theme is warmth and richness, where everything has a good dose of both in them.
Let’s take The Universal by Damon Albarn (Live at Union Chapel) for example. The keys and string instruments sound impressively rich and harmonic. Everything has wonderful warmth in it for a pleasing tuning. All the instruments come across with excellent body, size and weight. Even if the bass is standing out in the signature and could be toned down for my personal taste, the composition still sounds highly enjoyable.
However, mids sit a little behind bass and lower mids in the signature, which gives them a somewhat laid-back sound. Especially vocals to me could be positioned more forward with extra clarity, as especially female singers sometimes sound a little nasal.
Michael Jackson, for example, sounds a little laid-back, and almost veiled, in Billie Jean. While he undoubtedly sounds rich and organic, he could benefit from more vocal clarity through the upper mids and air surrounding his vocals.
Or the aforementioned track by Damon Albarn. His voice is sitting behind the lower pitched instruments so much that sometimes it feels like he’s struggling to shine through.
In terms of technicalities the Pendragon is achieving well. It has good resolution and offers very nice texturing. While the stage isn’t overly large, it presents itself in a very natural way. It spreads wide and deep in good dimensions. Every instrument finds its place on stage with good air around them, although there is room for improvement in my opinion.
Musicians could benefit from a little more air around them, to give them more space. The Pendragon images beautifully in my opinion, where musicians and instruments are placed carefully. Layering and instrumental positioning is good, but again, could be better in my opinion. Sometimes the Pendragon sounds a little closed in and narrow to me.
The treble is inoffensive. While it extends well into the top-end, it could do with more presence in the highest of registers. I found the Pendragon to be easy on the ears in the lower treble region. Where cymbal crashes are toned down a little to be easy on the ears. One of my favorite test-tracks here is Nina Simone’s Sinnerman.
In the cymbal intense section of the song, the Pendragon stays calm as a cucumber and won’t ever pierce any ears. For some, the Pendragon might miss some bite and energy in the treble, others will definitely find it perfect, especially if you’re a treble sensitive person. Highs again sound rich and warmed up for a pleasing sound. Pendragon’s treble is detailed, soft and has good richness in it in my opinion.
To me, the Pendragon’s best sparring partner genre wise would probably be somewhere in the electronica or Hip Hop scene. Plastikman, Aphex Twin, Kevin Saunderson, Moderator Kollektiv Turmstraße come to mind. All of which sound fantastic with the Pendragon. Saying the Pendragon only handles bass intense dance music wouldn’t do it justice though. Other genres would be Acoustic, Blues or even Jazz. As long as it needs soul, warmth and blood, the Pendragon is your choice.
Comparisons
Today’s market is flooded with flagship In Ear Monitors, where we see new kilobuck IEMs spawn almost daily. While I am sure, many people are craving to know how the Pendragon compares to them, I can only provide side-by-side comparisons to models I have access to and have extensively listened to. Keeping that in mind, I want to focus on some flagship models in my inventory. Hopefully these comparisons help you understand how the Pendragon sounds to me.
For this chapter I used the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch 2 as my main source. All IEMs have been used with their stock cables and tips, as this is what you’d get when buying them. It makes no sense comparing them with aftermarket cables or ear-tips.
Volk Audio Étoile
Volk Audio’s Étoile is a ten-driver quad-brid IEM that uses a ten millimeter dynamic bass driver, four BA’s for mids and treble, four e-stats for treble and upper treble as well as an eight millimeter magnetostatic (planar) driver for treble and upper treble.
For their fifth anniversary celebration Nostalgia has gone back to the drawing board and came out with a unique IEM. Pendragon combines excellent build quality, thoughtful accessories and excellent tuning.
It has a beautifully rich and lush signature, that made me fall for some of my favorite albums again. It delivers a powerful and exciting low-end, with great resolution and body. Pendragon’s biggest strength to me is in its warm character. It gives some genres a very pleasing sound that lets me kick back in awe.
While the Pendragon definitely convinces on many fronts and will have its following, it won’t be for everyone. Audiophiles who are after neutrality, a brighter sound or the utmost details should pass this one. But everyone looking for a pleasant, yet powerful sound with a full character will find something in Nostalgia’s Pendragon.
The Étoile and the Pendragon are two very different monitors from a tuning perspective. The Étoile values neutrality over everything, where the Pendragon provides a warmer and fuller sound with a more forward bass tuning.
In direct comparison, the Étoile provides a rounder low-end with higher textural accuracy. It has higher resolution than the Pendragon, while the latter is fuller and denser. The Pendragon has more impact and a tighter bass response to my ears. Nostalgia’s IEM has a warmer and almost darker signature in the upper bass and lower mids than the Étoile. It has more forward lower-mids than the Étoile, which gives it a generally heftier and weightier sound.
Volk’s flagship follows a natural-neutral tuning, and even if the Pendragon is more colored and lusher, the Étoile has nicer vocal clarity with a mildly mid-forward sound. Here, the vocals sit further back on the Pendragon. Both IEMs have good emotional character, but the Volk’s extra air makes vocal appear grander and bigger, giving them a more “room-filling” sound. The Étoile provides more upper midrange clarity, where the Pendragon turns the volume down on that region.
In terms of technicalities it is the Étoile who comes out as winner. It paints a higher resolved image, draws a wider and deeper stage with superior layering and places instruments with more air around them.
In direct comparison, the Pendragon has a softer and more approachable treble than the Étoile. The Volk has quite a unique top-end tuning, where it provides presence and volume throughout the entire high notes. The Pendragon on the other hand rolls off after the mid-treble region.
These monitors complement each other very well, if you want a neutral-natural set and a warm-analogue one for different kinds of music.
FIR Audio Radon 6
With FIR’s Atom venting system you can tune the bass response to your own preferences. My personal favorite is the red module, which offers the least bass and the most balanced signature. I used this one for the following comparison.
While I find the Radon to hit harder than the Pendragon, the Nostalgia IEM certainly has more body and weight. The FIR IEM, to me, has more visceral impact, which might also be due to the kinetic bass design, where you can actually feel the lows. Radon 6 also has higher resolution and nicer texture in the lows to me.
Both models have a higher density when it comes to lower mids, but the Radon 6 to me sounds a touch tighter here to me. Whereas the Pendragon is more analogue and richer in direct comparison. While mids on the Radon 6 are more scooped out, they sound airier than the Pendragon’s. Musicians sound lusher and more organic on the Pendragon to my ears.
Upper midrange is slightly more forward on the Pendragon than on the Radon 6. It also sounds richer and has better glow.
When it comes to technicalities, both IEMs are following a natural sized sound-stage. The Radon 6 is more holographic though. It also provides better imaging and layering. The resolution of both is very good and, to me, it’s a hard call to make which one would come out on top. The Radon, however, provides more air and glare for the instruments.
In the treble, the Radon has better extension with a more linear and direct sound. It also is noticeably brighter and sharper with more bite and energy. In comparison, the Pendragon is softer and more accessible for sensitive ears.
Conclusion
For their fifth anniversary celebration Nostalgia has gone back to the drawing board and came out with a unique IEM. Pendragon combines excellent build quality, thoughtful accessories and excellent tuning.
It has a beautifully rich and lush signature, that made me fall for some of my favorite albums again. It delivers a powerful and exciting low-end, with great resolution and body. Pendragon’s biggest strength to me is in its warm character. It gives some genres a very pleasing sound that lets me kick back in awe.
While the Pendragon definitely convinces on many fronts and will have its following, it won’t be for everyone. Audiophiles who are after neutrality, a brighter sound or the utmost details should pass this one. But everyone looking for a pleasant, yet powerful sound with a full character will find something in Nostalgia’s Pendragon.
