~::I originally published this review on The Headphone List. Now I share it with my Head-Fi fellows.::~
::Disclaimer::
DUNU provided the DK3001 free of charge for the purpose of my honest review, for good or ill.
The DK3001 sells for $469.98 MSRP
DUNU-TopSound.com
DK3001 on Amazon
_______________________________________________________________
I could not avoid the DK3001, whether I wanted to or not. The goddamn thing came at me from all angles, like a swarm of Kamikaze fighter planes. I had to tell Nic I could not review it for him, since I’m already reviewing it for Joker. The tears he wept betrayed the reassuring utterances that he understood and would not hate me for long.
Oh, the pressures of being Pinky… how they weigh on a soul.
I consider the DK3001 a tremendous achievement. Seldom do I stumble upon a piece of gear I can love and loathe in more or less equal measure. These IEMs sound so good to my ears, all while actively trying to destroy them with razor-sharp edges. Finding a comfortable fit is like trying to seat a Shuriken in your ears; an agreeable orientation is one elusive bitch.
Without any of my usual hyperbole, understand that I’ve experienced pain. Real pain. That hardly ever happens. With all the IEMs I’ve tried, a little discomfort is usually the worst that might befall me, while fiddling with fit. But DUNU has made a nasty tool for torment here.
The number one rule of IEM design, as established by the Pinky Doctrine of 1766, states, “There must exist in the structural form of the monitor no sharp edges.”
DUNU broke the golden rule. The faceplate of the DK3001 is raised in relief by a steep slope, ending in a razor cut-off. Now, I know they imagined that was a safe place to put such a thing. It’s the faceplate, after all. Why would that touch any part of a person’s flesh?
Well, in Asia, I bet they never see this problem. But for larger Western ears, the IEM can fit deep enough into the canal the faceplate can rest at an angle DUNU did not foresee, and come in contact with a part of your ear. After about forty minutes, I’m in so much pain I can’t have ANYTHING in my ear for quite a while.
It took me a lot of trial and error, but I have found a trick that seems to work fairly well for me. First, I knew some satisfaction by using the biggest SpinFits included with the DK3001. But I also needed to add spacers, so the tips sat high on the nozzle of the IEM. While this did keep the shell far enough out of my ear to avoid touching that ridge, the sound was too hollow for my tastes. Clearly the seal was not the best, and there was leakage. But none of my other tips came close to giving me a painless experience, so I grudgingly accepted it.
However, weeks later, after ****ing around with them more, I gleaned some new insight. I had shaped the memory wire wrong. I know how to shape memory wire to make all IEMs fit their best. All, it seems, except the DK3001.
You see, most shells need to go in at a slight angle, because your ear canal is at an angle, and it fits in naturally that way. So I shape the memory wire at that angle in relation to the shell. That is wrong for the DK3001. You want this shell to go in PERFECTLY straight. The nozzle is at a strong enough angle to throw the sound down your ear in the right direction. But you want to keep that sharp ridge centered, and away from the edges of your ear.
I reshaped the memory wire to be flat with the shell, so the shell would go in flat with my ear. And vualá! I can even use my Large JVC Spiral Dots now, with no spacers!
This does not mean perfect comfort, though. There are enough problems with this design that true comfort is never going to be possible.
Another thing that’s crappy is the cable. But it’s not really crappy. Just a bit. That memory wire I talked an awful lot about is the longest you’ll ever find. It’s absurdly overdone. A good-size memory wire only needs to be half that, at the very most. The rubber sheath is heavy, and springy, and there is this foolish rubber cable-wrap permanently attached to the plug. For all that, still, it’s a decently comfortable cable, with little-to-no microphonics, that somehow avoids interfering with whatever clothes I decide to wear. Indeed I’d call this cable quite serviceable. Oh! And there’s a balanced version included! That’s a nice treat.
The DUNU DK3001 is a 4-way hybrid IEM, utilizing three Balanced Armatures for mids and treble, and a bad-ass 13mm Dynamic Driver for bass. It’s warm and smooth, with absolutely stellar air. I don’t mind telling you, I was nervous to test a DUNU, as I’d always read now bright their treble is. But the DK3001 is utterly natural, without a fatiguing note to its name.
That treble is masterfully peaked and raised over the other frequencies. Not to accentuate detail, and thus sharpness, but for air and light. The tuning is such that all this extra treble is smooth and natural, simply countering all that warmth from the lower frequencies. It’s needed to accomplish the remarkable balanced the DK3001 showcases.
Vocals possess a rich, warm fullness. But also more transparency than I expected, mingling with that treble air for a very open, clean presentation. DK3001 is not about high resolution, or aggressive details. I’m sure people will feel they lack in these areas. But sweet lord it makes up for it with the degree of naturalness… the rightness, of tone. Within the first hour of listening, straight out of the box, I was teary-eyed. I didn’t know what has happening… what part of the signature I was reacting to. I just knew I loved what I heard. Desperately loved it.
Much of that love is earned by the low-end. If you want to impress Pinky, there’s no quicker way than with killer bass. It might not be enough to sustain my enthusiasm—I do require more than that—but it’s an EXCELLENTplace to start. DUNU’s bass is breathtaking. It extends so bloody far, with monstrous impact and rumble. And yet it’s really not overshadowing anything. Nor does it seep much into the mids. That airiness is here also, giving the lows such breath and spaciousness. DK3001’s bass has a depth and maturity that sounds more like full-size open-back headphones. It’s so realistic, with a very organic decay.
Soundstage is better than average. I won’t say it’s enormous, but you certainly feel a great since of space, like listening in a large, acoustically warm hall. Height is good, but depth is difficult to determine. The reason for this is the layering and separation isn’t great. Nor is resolution very high. so instruments are a little hazy and undefined. Imaging is decent, but again, the sharpness of the elements could be better.
Comparing DUNU to the Campfire Audio Dorado ($999), and I hear much less air. The treble might sparkle more with Dorado, but there’s much less of it, making the whole presentation warmer. Light is also less, as is clarity. Dorado’s highs have a thick, sweet character I’ve come to associate with their TAEC design. It’s fun, and has its own beauty, but the DK3001 sounds airier, and more natural.
Dorado’s mids are its weakest asset. They are seriously warm, and lack clarity. A real sense of veil covers them. DK3001 is just as rich and full, but has more air and transparency. And certainly more clarity. On both IEMs the vocals come through strong, but DUNU simply gives you a cleaner render.
Bass is Dorado’s forte. It’s titanic. Until I got my hands on the DK3001, this was the best bass I’d heard. But now, I can hear how it lacks some of that air and realism that DUNU offers. Dorado’s bass is larger, and perhaps that’s its only fault here. It’s too big. DUNU holds it back just enough as to let it shine all the more. It balances everything so well that the whole signature sounds its best. Dorado doesn’t quite have that balance.
The DK3001 and Dorado share a lot in common. Soundstage width is about the same. DUNU owning greater height, and maybe a touch more depth. Imaging is more or less the same. Resolution isn’t great on either. Separation is good, but again, that resolution makes the elements a little hazy.
The greatest difference between these two, apart from the price, is ergonomics. Dorado is the most comfortable IEM I’ve ever tried, and DK3001 is the least.
Taking this over to the Noble Audio Sage ($599), and I immediately miss the dynamic driver bass of DUNU and Dorado… even though Sage has nearly the same quantity as DK3001. Now, Sage does some interesting crap with its low-frequency Balanced Armature. It has one of the most natural-sounding bass I’ve heard from a Balanced Armature, being full and deep, with slightly slower decay. But still, it’s no dynamic.
Sage’s treble is decent, but I feel it’s rolled off too early. DK3001 gives you better extension, greater air and light. Yet they share a lot in high-end tonality. Both IEMs have very clean, natural-sounding treble. Sage is not without air. In fact, it does quite well in that department. Better than Dorado. But DK3001 does beat them, handily.
Sage has very warm, smooth vocals, like DUNU. But they fall more on the side of Dorado, with a veiled, low-detail quality. DK3001 is clearer, possessing more air and transparency. They are both rich and weighty, producing lifelike timbre.
Soundstage is very much alike on all axes. As is imaging, separation and layering. These three IEMs are mediocre in resolution, and I couldn’t name a winner or loser. They’re each “meh” in this category.
Again, Sage is quite comfortable, especially with a good cable. Whereas DUNU is anything but.
Recently I came into possession of an in-ear monitor that shares DK3001’s driver configuration. Just like DUNU, it’s a 4-way, with three BA’s for the mids and highs, and a single dynamic for the lows. This earphone accomplishes all those things I love about DK3001, but also gives you world-class resolution and transparency, along with industry-leading soundstage, on all axes. And that would be the 64Audio tia Fourté. At over seven times the price, I don’t feel right about doing an in-depth comparison with DUNU. Suffice to say, it’s better at everything. That’s not a cop-out. It’s genuinely better at everything. With the exception of bass. I actually prefer the quantity of bass, particularly mid-bass, DUNU offers. Gives the music a warmer tone, which I love. Still, I thought it was interesting to see two IEMs share so much in common, and yet sit so vastly far apart in price and performance. How do they do it?!
I don’t imagine you’ll find a source that ***** with the DK3001 too much. Well-balanced tuning usually makes a monitor highly compatible with a wide variety of devices. Still, with all that treble, however smooth it may be, you could see some trouble if the source has too much upper-range energy. So be aware of that.
theBit’s Opus#2 is ever so slightly warm, with god-tier resolving power, and superb dynamics. Highs and lows are meaty and attack strong. Mids are the most natural and realistic I’ve ever heard. The DK3001 finds its soulmate here, in a DAP which exemplifies its own best virtues, and pushes it as far as it can go in those areas it struggles with, like detail-retrieval.
The Opus#1 is my favorite mid-tier DAP. It’s not as warm as #2, nor as full, but there’s more energy. Like a younger brother. Its treble, especially, owns some extra bite. But it’s not enough to turn the DK3001 from its awesomesauce ways. In fact, the Opus’ dynamic-neutral presentation gives DUNU a favorable tilt towards resolution.
Cayin i5 is not as solid a pairing for DK3001. Because this DAP renders very warm and smooth, it does nothing to aid in this IEM’s struggle with details and resolution. What Cayin does best is brute-force musicality, with super power in the bass department. The DK3001 really comes alive. It’s not the clearest or most accurate sound, but it’s a lot of fun.
If you’re on some dastardly-low budget and still want an i5-like powerhouse sound, Shanling’s M2s will gladly fulfill your needs. You lose a little refinement. A little depth. But tuning is spot on. The M2s is a tiny little player which excels at big and warm.
Well there it is. The DUNU DK3001. My ears may hate having them in, but they love what is heard when they are. Is this the masochist’s IEM? Or maybe a devious stratagem to train the populous to become masochists? But to what end? Is there a new wave of Punishment Porn on the horizon? How will this impact the economy?
I’ll need to ponder this further, and reexamine my own private appetites… see if I can’t stretch my personal boundaries.
Peace out.
-~::Pinky_Powers::~-