DUNU prototypes DK4001 & DK3001

Thanks to Avitron on HF, @thegunner100, I, and maybe a few of you had a chance to these along with the DN2002j.

The DN2002j has a lot written about it, I'm trying to get Avi to post his review of it here. Basically, I'm used to higher-end gear, so my take is more negative than it probably should be. It's probably good for the price, with the treble a bit peaky and the boosted bass a bit lacking in texture. Matching drivers types is always the issue with hybrid iems as the dynamic and armatures often sound like two different earphones playing at once.




Okay, the 4001 overall is a great improvement on the 2002j, with a more refined treble and bass. It has good brightness and the midrange balances the treble for a more even sound. The bass is toned down but still has good extension and presence. The 4001 actually has one of the better bass tunings in a hybrid that I've heard in terms of not mis-matching the tonality of the armatures. Not perfect, of course, but it does well, which puts it ahead of most other hybrids.

The 4001 still has few armature treble tonality issues and peakiness. It can't handle "wall-of-sound" metal without having things fritz together which something like the andromeda flies through. But, otherwise, pretty good. Think of this as DUNU's take on a more flat/treble tilted "audiophole sound".






The 3001 has a warmer sound with fuller mids and a more prominent vocal region. The treble has the edges taken down, which is welcome and the mids are nice. The bass is boosted and tipped toward the midbass. These are quite pleasant.

Treble extension is adequate, and bass extension is okay. The bass driver is likely the same as the 4001, but the 4001's tuning is better suited as the 3001's added midbass doesn't sound as textured, doesn't quite do as well in relation to the armatures and you miss the relative amount of subbass.


I feel like taking the bass of the 4001 and a marriage of the mids and treble of the 4001 and 3001 might lead to a really excellent midfi hybrid.

 

I'd like to hear the 4002. Has 2 DD and 2 ba. Someone at head-fi said the 4001 sounded better, with more bass. Still would like to hear it. Definitely hard when coming from TOTL IEMS and making comparisons, I try to keep it in perspective. Some of my favorites are more "mid-fi", my affinity for the Sonys prime example. I still prefer the EX800st over their TOTL Z5, so price isn't always a major consideration for sq when one is being honest.

 

Dude, I need a z5 review and you're just the cat for the job.

The ex1000 is really something.

Every double DD I've heard has been a bit of a failure.

 

Once I receive my other Sony IEMS I'll do one. I think both the ex1000 and the EX800st are better. Z5 just seems to miss it's target, and honestly doesn't really grab me. I want to listen to the other Sonys, especially the EX800st. Z5 I've barely touched.

 

The 3001 to me was the best sounding one. It just felt the most coherent to me out of all of them with the least issues. The 4001 and 2002 were too bassy for me with both my portable and home setup. How did you find the fit? DUNU definitely could have done better in that regard. There are so many tip rolling options provided but that makes it annoying to find the one that works the best.

 

Yes, there's a bit of confusion about what's what on my end. The demos came in labelled cases, but the 4001 case had the iem with an all-black housing, so I'm not sure. I could have it switched.
Anyway, we can all agree the fit was terrible!

 

The 2002 is supposed to be the bassiest, but according to people on head-fi the 4001 had more bass.

 

I put the labels on the cases and I'm pretty sure I had the correct ones in each box. Maybe Avi listened to them and moved them around? The all black one is the 3001 based off of the picture though.

 

Right, I went off the pictures, too.

The one that is more smooth amd warm in the midrange definitely sounds better on first listen, but over time I noticed the texture difference between the driver types more than in the other prototype.

Basically, with a hybrid, my take is that you need a great dynamic driver and it should be tilted toward the subbass, avoiding midbass and lower mid warmth to avoid having differences between the two driver types become apparant. The tralucent 1plus2 1.0 did well with this except the lower mids had such a dip that you had basically a gap between the driver types rather than a seemless merging.

 

Makes sense. I haven't had much experience with hybrid iems, but I tend to prefer the presentations of BAs. I'm too big of a uerm fan boy anyways.

 

Yeah, the andro is really something, in terms of ba iems.

 

Rechecking with some longer listening courtesy of Amtrak:

The 4001 (all silver colored housing) is the brighter of the two, the 3001(all black housing) is bassier and warmer, as I have in my OP.

Just getting our labelling right!

 

Interesting... do you think that I may have different impressions due to the fit? Oh btw the 3001 (or what I believe to be the 3001) had the left channel cutting out sometimes due to the cable probably. That should narrow things down if you had that problem as well.

 

Hey guys, is anyone interested in a tour of the finished DK-4001?

I'm asking on behalf of their CEO, as I just finished interviewing him and his chief audio engineer. He asked me to see if people I trust would be willing to take a listen to the 4001. Their main person taking care of overseas marketing, Vivian, has been having trouble climbing the great firewall, and they haven't been able to produce great quantities of the 4001, owing to difficulties in the production process of the housings, so they can't really employ the shotgun review tactic they've employed in the past, giving review units to all takers.

The DK-4001 has undergone huge changes since its prototype stage, and given what I'm hearing now, it's got a really enjoyable sound signature that's balanced (not DF neutral), somewhat mid-forward, and revealing, with nice sub-bass presence, scaling really nicely with better sources. Even though I think the 6-9k region could sound more even, it has come a long way since the days of the 2000J and is by far the least sibilant product from DUNU (which was previously the 3001). The mids are decently detailed and relatively wide, though not intensely holographic. Additionally, having worn the 4001 and 3001 one after another, the 4001 definitely isolates and wears better in the ears. I also think the modular plug cable is one of the best implemented designs. The quick release mechanism is easy to use, and while not as definitely secure as the screw-in mechanism of the Dita Awesome cable, it's really fast for interchanging heads.

Because I'm not in the US at the moment, I hope someone else can be an initial point of stewardship. As I'm closer to SGS, I approached him first, but anyone else can spearhead this tour. I believe DUNU is willing to cover shipping label costs, but I didn't go over details with him.

 

I'm keen on hearing comparisons against these models as well, especially as I've had extremely limited experience with CFA stuff (total 10 min. for 3 models). Will get the ball rolling.