Add astrotec ax60 to the list

http://www.inearmatters.net/2014/02/t-peos-new-flagship.html



T-PEOS just announced the H-300, which feature the same dual BA + single dynamic configuration as the H-200, but said to have 'covered flaw of H-200 and strengthened bass more'. You can pre-order it right now for US$270 shipped, linky.

http://www.inearspace.co.uk/inearspace/Dunu_DN-1000.html









Dunu DN-1000 - Moving up a Gear!

Home | Headphone | Earphones | Amplifiers | Sources | Miscellaneous | IEM Round Up | News


Dunu are one of my favourite cheap IEM brands mainly because the stupid amount of accessories they bundle with their earphones, the strong build quality, the laughs I get out of the awfully translated box and they normally sound pleasant as well, always a nice bonus. While the main bulk of their product line resides comfortable under 100 pounds (well under 70 pounds actually) they have recently decided to join the huge hybrid hype that everyone seems to be on and that means we are seeing the most expensive Dunu earphone so far at 120 pounds. It is a dual balanced armature and single dynamic configuration making it the cheapest three way hybrid out there to date, under cutting the T-Peos H-200 that I previously reviewed and going under a tenth of the price of the amazing Tralucent 1plus2. As well has making a hybrid they have also added one of their little signatures to it, the ability to slight tune it yourself and this time by giving you a supply of o-rings that you place on the nozzle to change the insertion depth and consequently changing the sound slightly.

The look of these is ugly, when I first saw they I found them to look huge and not something I would really want to put in my ear because of this, I surely could not find something this big and un-ergonomic comfortable. As far as I am concerned whether or not they are comfy a not, I think they should try and make the look comfy and a big metal housing does not encourage that, especially coming after the very ergonomic looking I3C-S and Tai Chi. However the confidence you do get from a large metal housing is that these will not be breaking very soon. They are solid metal, I am reminded of a tank when handling the housings and this is a huge positive. However the housings are heavy and this does make me feel like there should be a sturdier strain relief than a little extra plastic. The rest of the cable is well done as the other Dunu product I have had, meaning a nice y-split with cable cinch, the awesome 45 degrees angle connector. The cable feels strong and as usual with Dunu earphones the cable pleases me.

The accessory haul is amazing, I am not sure what you should get with an earphone but Dunu surely give you more than an enough. You get a velvet pouch and the most awesome IEM case too start with, the case im talking about is the metal crushproof one that the copied style of from an old Ultimate Ears case and it is so solid and compact with enough space in side. You then get some ear guides, airplane and ¼ inch adapters, shirt clip and cleaning cloth, which are all nice little touches and come in handy in their own way. Finally we have a HUGE range of tips and this the best part as tips have a big impact on how IEMs sound and Dunu know this so they give a huge range so customers have a huge chance of perfecting their seal. You get two sizes and 4 pairs of foam tips, some dual flange tips, some small bore tips and some large bore tips allowing for great tip rolling and really getting these earphones to their potential.

Comfort is how I once feared, a problem for me. No matter what insertion depth I have them on, I just find the housings to rub my ears and cause discomfort. I think they are just too big and also not well though out in terms of ergonomics. They are also very heavy and this takes a toll due to fatigue, whether you’re wearing them over the ear or straight down. I am sure some of you will be fine with them and even if you experiences are the same as me, you have about an hour before you really need a break with them.

Isolation also left me wanting a bit more, even with the included foam tips. I took these on my very thorough but unorthodox ride on lawn mower test as it really helps separate the men from the boys and these left you hearing a constant engine noise, easily audible above the earphones sound, which is, quite discerning when listening to an earphone. Now I know this would be classed as a more extreme environment an a lot of you wont be subject to this loud environments with the earphones and in traffic these do not have much problems but I should think airplanes may cause more problems, especially the smaller ones that prove extra loud.

The o-rings that are included allow for the earphone to have a deeper insertion and this will obviously change the sound. However I do not think the sound differences were enough to warrant separate sound reviews for each one but if you do get these and want a bit more bass then with a tip change and o-ring change this is very possible and the same for if you want to reduce some. I chose to use the blue o-rings as they sounded the best to my ears and that is what the sound quality review will be based on.

These seem to be the most bass driven hybrids that I have yet to come across, even more so that the warm and bassy T-PEOS H-200. These have a rather sizable helping of bass and unfortunately yes it does encroach in on the midrange performance. The coherency of this is certainly not a problem, something that plagued a lot of the early hybrids but you can certainly hear where the crossover is taking place and is far from flawless but not a glaring fault. The bass is deep with an added oomph in the mid-bass over the sub-bass and the lower mids. The sub-bass is not a visceral sound but can be felt slightly, just not going to shake you in the pits of your stomach. The mid-bass is done really well; it has enough decay to be musically warm and cozy but still gets the notes done quick enough to easily distinguish them for one another. It has a fairly strong impact and it is through and pleasing in what it does. Now people looking for a more neutral signature will probably want to look away as these do really have a bit of bass, not stupid big bass like Skullcandy but as far as more enthusiast earphones go, this is at the bassier end of things. As I have said the bass does seat above the midrange and because of this I find the lower midrange to sound just a little bit thin. However presence hardly suffers and I never feel like the bass shadows what you can hear, just thins them out a bit. The higher mids certainly have a bit more presence and I can hear a bit of strain in them. The timbre in the midrange continues the warm theme and is very easy going and musical and the overall midrange is pretty clear, and muddy and muffled are two words well away from the presentation. The treble is smooth easy and going and a bit under cooked. I think both extension and detail could be boosted but it is peak free and sibilance and pain free. Moving onto the soundstage and these have a huge one that envelopes you in the music, width is very impressive and depth improves on that with a fully three dimension soundstage that really helps you enjoy the music. These are far from a very transparent, super detailed, analytical earphone but are very musical, easy going, clear and have a big bottom end and I have to say they are the best Dunu have produced so far an very worthy to be their flagship. That being said the bassy signature certainly is not for me and I hope they can do something a bit more balanced sounding with a tight punchy bass and a super detailed midrange that is a bit fuller and more forward, and I guess a bit more lifelike and this is certainly to shrunken there. It is certainly on par in technicalities with the more expensive T-PEOS H-200, which was a huge hit with a lot of people and that is a big statement and I think if you want a more bassy earphone in around the 200 pounds price range then this will be the best place to go. Throw in the fact that you get accessories like no other company gives you and they have good RMA and I think Dunu have impressed once again with a solid product, if only it was a bit more ergonomic.

wkkm007

Hybrid Headphone:
Pandora 4, Pandora 8, Pandora 10

Hybrid IEM:
Dunu D-2000

https://www.facebook.com/obravoaudio/posts/719896438080284

A world first and only Planner Magnetics driver and Dynamic Neodymium driver Hybrid design over-ear headphone, HRIB-1, is now ready to production.

This post has been edited by wkkm007: Oct 30 2014, 05:48 PM

Man, do you guys really keep upgrading non stop?

http://www.head-fi.org/products/dunu-dn-20...e/reviews/11005

Pros: Incredibly addictive midrange and vocals, superb bass and treble, and excellent everything else
Cons: Non-rounded rear edges could be slightly uncomfortable depending on your ear size and shape





First of all, a big THANK YOU to @rockywu for providing the review unit. It is much appreciated, and my humble ears are feeling so incredibly honoured to be included as one of the first reviewers

This is the second triple hybrid IEM from Dunu (DN2k), and the third hybrid overall; the first one being the well-regarded, the legendary DN-1000 triple-hybrid (DN1k), and there’s also the mid-centric DN-900 dual-hybrid.

When I first heard about DN-2000, @rockywu boasted that this will be an improvement over the DN1k, and overall will be a better sounding unit. I was rather sceptical to be perfectly honest as I was not sure how to improve something that is already incredibly good-sounding IEM. As we all know (or at least those of us who’ve heard or owned DN1k) upon its release, DN1k ‘set’ the standard to hybrid IEM in terms of sound and value. In my humble opinion, it really did smashed many of its similarly priced competitor, as well as some of the higher-priced competitors

So, upon receiving the DN2k, my expectation is kind of high, and the most intriguing thing for me is finding out how this is tuned.

The components that I used for this review are as follows
iPod Classic (straight, and through C&C BH)
Sansa Clip+
Desktop (through Aune T1)
MacBook Air (straight out, and through Dragonfly)
320k MP3’s, 16/44 and 24/96 FLAC’s

Packaging and accessories

The packaging of DN2k is very well made, very well designed, and can easily be displayed in retail stores and shopping centres. The usual hard carton outer with book style opening, which reveals graphical information on the other side of the lid, and the right side displays the unit itself with a transparent plastic cover.








Tips wise, you literally get tons of them; the clear silicone ‘bass/liquid’ tips (S/M/L), the grey silicone ‘delicate/resolution’ tips (S/M/L), the dual-flanges silicone tips (S/M/L), and a pair of foam (M)
Further on, you also get few pairs of fins and wings, airline adaptor, large adaptor, 3 sizes of spacer rings (owner of DN1k and DN-900 will be familiar with these), a pair of ear guides, and a shirt clip













Last but not least, the silver carry box. It does feel solid, however, personally I still prefer the Pelican-esque yellow case that comes with DN-900

Build Quaility, Isolation, and Comfort

The body is barrel type, almost identical to DN1k. Feels incredibly solid and can withstand some rough treatments

In general, the weight is slightly lighter than DN1k, however, for some reason the rear outer ring body, where the Dunu logo is, DN1k feels smoother and rounder, whereas this feels a little rougher. As a result of this, it feels slightly more uncomfortable compared to DN1k, especially during long session. Thankfully, Dunu has included some fins and wings to add to comfort, as well as holding the earpieces in.










Isolation is on par with DN1k, and to some extend it can depends on the size and depth of your canal, for those whose canal is deeper and bigger, you can push this right in for deeper fit, and hence isolate slightly better to those who can only do shallow fit.

SOUND QUALITY

A quick note here before we go on to the sound, historically I like using large-bore tips whenever possible, mainly because of the bigger soundstage, and enhanced bass effect to some extent. The same applies here, for the purpose of this review, I am using the grey turbine style tips that came with DN1k, to me, this is one of the best silicone tips that I have ever used. I also use the UE single flange, and MEElec single flange, all of which are large bore

Bass

First and foremost, this is not for basshead, it has less impact and power compared to its sibling, DN1k. I would say that the bass is tuned in the middle between neutral and DN1k level, but the best thing is that it can really slams hard and leave you breathless when called upon, for example in tracks such as Estelle’s Make Her Say, and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ Cowboy Boots

The timbre and extension are just nothing short of superb, the way it renders the bass drum in Jack Johnson’s ‘Upside Down’, and ‘What You Thought You Need’ leave you wanting for more, just the perfect quantity. The bass extends way down to sub bass level and almost beyond, as I can hear the bass all the way down to 10hz without any problem whatsoever. H-300 and DN1k for example, I can only pick up the bass from around 15hz.

Hip hop and RnB lovers, I can understand that they might be hanging for more, as unlike H-300 and DN1k, there is almost no lingering decay. EDM lovers however, in my opinion this is perfect for it, in Pryda’s ‘F.A.T’ the bass hits deep, hard, and fast.

Midrange

This is the centre showcase of DN2k, the midrange is slightly forward, incredibly detailed, clear, and oh-so-sweet, and overall, it’s just absolutely addictive. Ever since I received my unit, and after the first listen, all I want to do is just to listen to vocal tracks, especially live, acoustics, jazz, or unplugged albums. In comparison to DN1k, the latter sounds warmer, slightly thicker, and a touch muddy. Have a listen to Natalie Cole’s track ‘Walkin’ My Baby Back Home’ and you will know exactly what I mean about how addictive the midrange and vocal are.

Vocals are renders beautifully and so sweetly, full of energy, and incredibly airy, especially female vocals, and it’s free from peaks and distortion, so much so, when listening to album such as Diana Krall’s Live in Paris, Peter Malick Group feat Norah Jones’ The Deluxe Collection, or Natalie Cole’s ‘Still Unforgettable’, after every tracks, it makes you just want to repeat the last song you played.

I can almost say that I almost can’t fault the midrange at all, however, there are some occasions where I picked up slight peaks when I turn the volume up too high to an almost unhealthy level., but then again, not many people would listen this loud

Treble

The treble is clear, has excellent extension, has the perfect amount of sparkle, brightness and warmth, and yet, it is clean from peaks and sibilance. It sits nicely just behind the midrange, a good example of this can be heard in Diana Krall’s ‘I Love Being Here With You’ from ‘Live in Paris’ album, the cymbals sit behind the guitar and vocal. In comparison, something like H-300 renders the cymbals pretty full on in your face

This is one area where the similarities to DN1k can be heard, though in the case of DN2k’s, it is a bit more detailed, and has slightly more sparkle
People who are sensitive to bright treble should not be concerned at all, as I can listen to this all day and night without getting fatigued. Also, just like the midrange, it is free of peaks and sibilance.

Soundstage, Transparency, Imaging, Timbre, and Amping

Soundstage is pretty big, wide, and has a decent depth. It’s not as deep as DN1k, H-300, nor AX60 however.
Transparency and Imaging, although they are excellent, they are slightly less refined compared to H-300, although I must say, I do think that the brightness and sparkle of H-300 are the reason why it sounds a bit more transparent

Timbre is also brilliant, tracks such as Jack Johnson’s “What You Thought You Need” and Maroon 5’s “Secret” sound unbelievable, as snare drum, and both bass and acoustic guitars are rendered superbly.

Amping, although is not necessary for DN2k, but it does help to some extent, especially in the bass department. By having a little bit more power pumped through its drivers, it certainly benefits the bass as it adds to the fullness of the bass.

COMPARISON TO OTHER HYBRIDS

T-PEOS H-300 (Triple Hybrid)

These 2 show how far hybrid IEM’s have become, and how good of a product you can get for around $300. With similar pricing, and released around the same time, there is no doubt that these 2 are competing for our hard earned money.

To start things of, in the bass department, there is one clear winner there, the H-300. With its big, thick, and deep bass, DN2k bass feels incredibly light and soft next to it. However, DN2k bass is tighter, quicker, and has much shorter decay, and therefore more suitable towards genre such as rock, metal, or even EDM. I also feel that DN2k’s bass has slightly better extension, and for a non-basshead, H-300’s may sounds a touch boomy.

Moving on to the midrange, DN2k trumps over H-300 with its clear, sweet, and detailed midrange. H-300 has this strangely tuned midrange that makes vocal feels constraints, and that annoying upper mid spike, which I was having some troubles with. Furthermore, vocals feel a lot sweeter and easier on the ear, and a lot less fatiguing, as there is no noticeable spikes anywhere in DN2k’s midrange.

To the treble, I think this is rather on par, depending on your treble preference, and your resistance towards bright treble. I love H-300’s treble with its amazing clarity and details, but at the same time, listening for a long session can cause fatigue. DN2k’s on the other hand, the treble cohesion with the midrange is just superb, it’s slightly bright too (though not as bright as H-300’s), has slightly better extension, and sits just slight behind the midrange. Despite the brightness, it is nowhere near as fatiguing as H-300, and I can absolutely listen to DN2k all day and all night without any fatigue whatsoever.

H-300 has slightly bigger and deeper soundstage compared to DN2k, imaging and transparency is just about on par with each other. I personally prefer DN2k, but I can see most bassheads would prefer H-300

Sony H3 (Triple Hybrid)

Another decent triple hybrid with its unique ‘Sony’s house sound’, first of the rank is the bass, compared to DN2k, H3’s sounds a little slow and boomy, though it has much bigger impact, and sub-bass is just about the same. H3’s bass is also warmer and slightly thicker

Moving on to the midrange, DN2k is yet again the clear winner here, as H3’s midrange sounds recessed, veiled, and grainier. The vocal of H3 also sounds distant and much less prominent compared to DN2k.

Treble wise, both of them have similar extension and detail level, though H3’s sounds slightly warmer and grainier, and on the other side of the coin, DN2k’s is brighter, and has better clarity.

AudioFly AF140 (Triple Hybrid)

I wasn’t going to do this comparison to be honest as I will be doing a full review of this very soon, but I thought since I have both review units with me at this moment, I thought what the hell, and decided to give AF140 a day dedication just for comparison purposes

Let’s start with bass, AF140 has bigger impact, though with its slightly boosted midbass, it sounds a little muddy compared to DN2k. It also has warmer and thicker bass, though DN2k wins in the sub-bass department and it also has better extension.

Midrange wise, DN2k is the clear winner here, AF140’s sounds a bit recessed, a little veiled, and the vocals sound a bit distant compared to DN2k, and DN2k is doing a much better job in rendering the vocals. Treble wise, AF140 has a warmer and darker treble compared to DN2k, and it also sounds mellower. Soundstage wise, width is similar, and DN2k has slightly better depth.

Rooth LSX5 (Five-drivers Hybrid. Universal)

One of my recent favourite, we compare the midrange to start of proceedings, which unfortunately sounds a little peaky and vocals sound a bit harsh compared to DN2k.

In the bass department, speed, extension, and depth are similar, though impact wise the LSX5 has the upper hand here, as well as having a warmer and thicker bass note.

Last but not least, LSX5’s treble also sounds a touch harsh and much more prone to sibilance, however, it does sound more refined.

Conclusion




How do you improve on excellence? The answer is DN2k. Dunu has done an excellent job here is the sound tuning of DN2k, as in my opinion, it is one step ahead of DN1k.

I honestly can’t fault this awesome unit, as I absolutely love everything about it, it I have to pick one fault, then it would have to be a non-rounded outer rear body, which can lead to uncomfortableness in over ear wearing, and straight down to some extent.

I can’t remember any other IEM that made me fall in love on first listen, except maybe Tralucent 1P2 (but let’s be fair here, this thing cost quadruple of DN2k’s), and perhaps UE TF10, which gave me an introduction to the world of multi-driver IEM.

Even at $315 MSRP, this certainly punches way above its price level, and leaves its similarly priced competitor on their wake, at this point of time, to be honest I prefer the sound of DN2k, even if compared to the more established and pricier 5-drivers hybrid competitors such as Rooth LSX5 and UM Merlin.

Well done Dunu, and I will surely be interested and intrigued on how are you going to improve the sound even further with DN-3000

This post has been edited by wkkm007: Sep 5 2014, 12:40 PM

http://www.head-fi.org/t/733404/sonys-new-...ship-iem-xba-z5

I'm still waiting for my ciem AAW A2H-V, which is a 1 DD + 1 BA custom.
At S$300 for A2H and S$350 for A2H-V (vocal-tuned), it's quite affordable for those who want to venture into ciem

Can add Rock Jaw Kommand into the hybrid IEM list.

Just pivked up my xba a3.. comparing the h3 snd a3 now..

Frankly, there isn't much improvement, if any over the H3. it is still very slow The Z5 is

http://www.inearmatters.net/2014/10/more-n...from-japan.html

http://www.head-fi.org/t/740305/the-world-...ch-dunu-alpha-1

Should add in the T-Peos Altone 200 and Fidue A83. Both are 1DD + 2BA

I currently own the T-Peos Altone 200. Amazing pair of IEMs, nice quick bass, excellent highs, female vocals sound wonderful on these.
But sadly im gonna sell them to buy the Fidues coz i think my ears are of an odd shape coz the shell hits part of my ear and is not comfortable for long durations. Apparently im the only one with this issue. But nonetheless it is an amazing pair of IEMs especially for its price, it hits way above its supposed to.

This post has been edited by lost123: Nov 2 2014, 10:25 AM

Ever since the headfi meet up at E1 - AKG's place last 3rd Nov, I've been putting the Rock Jaw Kommand on burn in almost non stop - almost being that it goes on and only interrupted for a few hours every several days and 2-3 cumulative days of listening on the go outside. If I were to estimate it would have been burned in for an average of 18 hours a day, about 234 hours in total. The suggestion to burn them in for a lot longer than how much I've burned them in prior to the meet up (about 30 hours~) so in total it has a 260+ hours of usage, plus minus actual listening to them maybe 270 hours of total play.

For the past 5 days it has been burned in with pink noise, prior to that only a mix of the music I've been listening to though I chose the more aggressive ones to maximize drivers' movement.

I have bad sonic memories as in how the sound signature is, but I remember distinctly how closed in and congested it sounded before. I liked it when I received it, mainly due to the new toy syndrome, and then started to resent it when I compared to the lesser JVC HA-S500, Goldring DR150, and the better Senn HD650.

Now I like it a lot, but I still think there are still a lot of room for improvements mainly how harsh/grainy it sounds. They're really bright, I don't know if its because of the BA driver or how they actually tuned it to sound like, and when high frequencies start to play they really take the stage by the balls. When more highs come in like the cymbals and electric guitars and more cymbals it sounds like they're all competing to steal the show. Vocals also sound a little.... I don't know how to describe it, its not sibilance, its something else. It's like when you sing and you exhale more air than you're supposed to, you hear the sound of the air brushing with your throat, that "hhhhhh" sound. And the vocals are really forward.

I compared it with the Hippo ProOne just now and the vocals on the ProOne is a lot sweeter, though the brightness of Kommand makes the ProOne sound a little veiled.

The soundstage has opened up following the burn in, it expanded wider but the depth feels pretty much the same. Previously the instruments sounded like they're blended together and compressed, perhaps compressed isn't the right word, maybe congested describes it better. After burning in, the instruments are now at their rightful places on the stage, I can pick out the instruments' locations, but the ProOne takes the cake for instrument separation. I can pick out every single instrument playing with the ProOne but I cannot do that as easily on the Kommand.

Perhaps I need to compare it with a hybrid to level the playing field. Perhaps E1 - AKG can help and lend me the Dunu DN-2000 to compare? I'm planning to do a lengthy review on this unit because its a pretty interesting little toy. And the ebony wood housing is sexy, real head-turner. Being one of the few early adopters it would help others who want to get one.

guys, i would like to upgrade my sony xba 3 to either xba-h3/a3.

I have tried to compare these products within sony site but can't really see the differences, e.g. xba-3 has triple balanced amateur, the same applies to h3 and a3 too...

So would like to know whether such upgrade is worth the money ? z5 is impossible as the price is just too expensive ...

XBA-3 = 3x BA

XBA-H3 / XBA-A3 / XBA-Z5 = 2x BA + 1x dynamic