For larger views of any of the photos (1200 x 800) - please click on the individual images ​

INTRODUCTION

Because I’ve been involved with some review samples with my Australian brethren in the last couple of years, I’ve had the chance to hear some IEMs I’ve been curious about in the last year or so, but haven’t been able to (or inclined to) purchase for myself. One of these has been the DUNU DN-2000 – and I’d like to take the opportunity to thank my Ozzie mate Vic for the loaner over the last 5 weeks. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity immensely.

For this review – I have abridged it slightly (compared to my normal reviews) mainly because the DN-2000 arrived just as an IEM, with the old case from a DN-1000, and no tips – so I can’t evaluate the packaging or accessories. Also – I have grabbed photos from Penon Audio (to cover for missing packaging and accessory shots). I thank them for having the photo available – and duly give credit at this time.

My introduction to DUNU Topsound (over a year ago) was with their triple hybrid DN-1000, which rapidly became a hit with Head-Fi buyers, and was one of the first triple hybrid IEMs to show that top quality could be achieved at an affordable price. Recently I also reviewed DUNU’s new excellent Titan IEM.

For those who aren’t aware, DUNU Topsound was established in 1994 originally as an OEM supplier to other companies. Since then they have developed their own branded line of high quality earphones, and gone from strength to strength with each release. They currently have their manufacturing plant in China and head office in Taiwan. They now have more than 100 employees, and market their product range all over the world.

The name DUNU is simply an acronym of the principle design points that the company strives to implement in their product range

Delicate UNique Utmost

I thought I’d quote this from their website, as it really does give an insight into what drives the company:

“With advanced technology and hi-end equipments, DUNU desires to be able to provide Delicate, Unique ＆ Utmost products for Hi-Fi embracers. Delicate means extremely quality demanding on product process, from every little component to product manufacturing. DUNU has complete production line and equipments, including precise equipments, B&K frequency machine, IMD sputter, CNC machine, anechoic room, etc. Concerning design of product, DUNU also devotes to create unique outer appearance and balance in all sound frequency.



Utmost is not only the expectation on products, but also the pursuit of an Earphone Manufacturer. The founder of DUNU, himself, has years of experience in OEM/ODM earphone products in which many worldwide famous earphone Brands are included. However, in order to create the most enjoyable earphone on his own, DUNU’s president establishes the brand “DUNU” and implants many hi-end equipments and hires talented employees. From then on, DUNU takes the lead in developing the first Chinese made metal earphone, developing 5.8mm Driver unit and produce the very first Chinese Balance Armature Earphone, in 2014 DUNU release China first triple driver Dynamic and Balance Armature Hybrid earphone, All these preparation are to step on the world stage and to challenge renowned earphone brands. The ultimate goal of DUNU is to provide worldwide HI-FI embracers our Delicate, Unique & Utmost earphone products.” Click to expand...

DUNU’s full product catalogue can be found at

- and their products are supplied through their own storefront (globally) on Amazon.

Although the DUNU DN-2000 arrived to me around 5 weeks ago, I’ve had to split my time with various other review units, so I haven’t had as much time with these as I’d like. But they need to go back “over the ditch” this week – so at this stage I’d estimate around 15-20 hours total with them so far.

Read on to find out my personal thoughts on the DUNU DN-2000. I realise I’m once again late to the party on this one. Does it improve on the DN-1000, and is it worth the heftier price tag?

DISCLAIMER

I was provided the DUNU DN-2000 as a loaner unit from fellow Head-Fier djvkool. I am in no way affiliated with DUNU and this review is my honest opinion of the DN-2000.

PREAMBLE - 'ABOUT ME'. (or a base-line for interpreting my thoughts and bias)

I'm a 47 year old music lover. I don't say audiophile – I just love my music. Over the last couple of years, I have slowly changed from cheaper listening set-ups to my current set-up. I vary my listening from portable (Fiio X5, X1 and iPhone 5S) to my desk-top's set-up (PC > coax > NFB-12 > LD MKIV > HP). I also use a portable set-up at work – either X5/X1 > HP, or PC > Beyer A200p > HP. My main full sized headphones at the time of writing are the Beyer T1 and Sennheiser HD600. Most of my portable listening is done with IEMs - and up till now it has mainly been with the Fidue A83, Dunu Titan and Altone200. A full list of the gear I have owned (past and present is listed in my Head-Fi profile).

I have very eclectic music tastes listening to a variety from classical/opera and jazz, to grunge and general rock. I listen to a lot of blues, jazz, folk music, classic rock, indie and alternative rock. I am particularly fond of female vocals. I generally tend toward cans that are relatively neutral/balanced, but I do have a fondness for clarity, and suspect I might have slight ‘treble-head’ preferences. I am not treble sensitive (at all), and in the past have really enjoyed headphones like the K701, SR325i, and of course the T1 and DT880.

I have extensively tested myself (abx) and I find aac256 or higher completely transparent. I do use exclusively redbook 16/44.1 if space is not an issue. All of my music is legally purchased (mostly CD – the rest FLAC purchased on-line). I tend to be sceptical about audiophile ‘claims’, don’t generally believe in burn-in, have never heard a difference with different cables, and would rather test myself blind on perceived differences. I am not a ‘golden eared listener’. I suffer from mild tinnitus, and at 47, my hearing is less than perfect.

For the purposes of this review - I used the DN-2000 straight from the headphone-out socket of my iPhone 5S, X5, and X1. I also used my Beyer A200p and also the E11K amplifier, but IMO they do benefit from additional amplification. In the time I have spent with the DN-2000, I have noticed no change to the overall sonic presentation (break-in), but am aware that my impression of their sonic footprint has changed over time with use (brain burn-in).

This is a purely subjective review - my gear, my ears, and my experience. Please take it all with a grain of salt - especially if it does not match your own experience.

THE REVIEW

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

As I explained earlier, all I will document here is what the DN-2000 normally comes with, and include the pictures from Penon. I can’t comment further as I have not seen either the retail packaging or accessory package.

DUNU DN-2000 retail box (photo courtesy Penon Audio) ​ Accessory range (photo courtesy Penon Audio) ​

The DN-2000 are packaged in a black retail “book style”. Inside the box you should get (if purchasing from Penon):

DN-2000 in-ear earphone 10 sets of Eartips (inlcuing 1 set of foams, and 3 sets of dual flange tips) 1 pair of Earhooks 3.5mm Female to 6.5mm Male Adapter 3.5mm Female to 2-pin Male Adapter (airline adaptor) Aluminum alloy box 6 pairs of metal adjustment rings 4 pairs of rubber fitting ‘fins’ 1 Shirt Clip

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

(From DUNU’s website)

Type

Triple driver hybrid IEM (inner ear monitor)

Drivers

1 x 10mm dynamic and 2 x balanced aramature drivers

Frequency Range

10 Hz – 30 Khz

Impedance

16 ohm

Sensitivity

102 dB (+/-2 dB)

Plug

3.5mm gold plated (right angled)

Cables

1.2m, fixed

Weight

22g

IEM Shell

Metal– cartridge style



FREQUENCY GRAPH

The frequency graph above is copied from Innerfidelity’s excellent website, and thanks go to Tyll for his ongoing services to the audiophile community in providing these.

What I’m personally hearing from the DN-2000 (which doesn't quite match the graph) is a relatively flat but well extended bass (very good extension to the sub bass), a relatively balanced and quite clear mid-range, and very smooth treble with some roll-off . The only other thing I’d comment on would be that for me the upper mid-range can sound a little subdued (can give some of my female vocalists a slightly darker sound than I’m used to).

BUILD & DESIGN

The DN-2000 is extremely well made with a polished metal (matte) outer shell in two tone (champagne coloured mid section and silver bass and nozzle). It is very reminiscent of the DN-1000 both in shape and size. The main body is 12.5mm in diameter (slightly wider at the base), and 20mm from the rear plate to the tip of the nozzle. The nozzle itself has no lip (to allow fitment of the adjusting rings and is approximately 8mm in length. The nozzle itself is just over 5mm in diameter, and the tip is protected with fine mesh.

Side view - no lip on the nozzle ​ Front view and nozzle ​

On the rear exterior of each shell is Dunu's logo. L&R markings are quite small, and located on the protrusions for attaching the fitment “fins”, and IMO could have been more prominent / easier to identify. This is alleviated somewhat by a small bump on the left hand cable (at the relief exit) – making it also easy for non-sighted people to find left from right (top marks DUNU).

Opposite side view showing clip for stability fins ​ Rear view ​

On the side of each body (attached to the base plate) is a small metal “clip” to which you attach the fin for more stability (when worn cable down), or remove and wear cable up. More about this in the “fit” section below.

The cable is a very smooth PVC outer, and appears extremely well put together. I can't see this breaking any time soon - and it's pretty much tangle free as well. There is a short (but adequate) cable relief at the DN-2000 shells, Y split, and longer relief at the right angled 3.5mm jack (which is smart phone case friendly).

Excellent Y split and "hidden" neck cinch ​ 90 deg jack & in-built cable tie (brilliant) ​

The Y split is rigid, metal, sturdy and practical. One of the great things about the Y split is that there is enough weight in it to keep the cable pulling down slightly. The other thing I love about this Y split is that the top section of it detaches to become the chin slider. The design is simple, very elegant, and works incredibly well. The other fantastic (to me anyway) design element in the cable is the inclusion of an 'on-cable' cinch (or rubber cable tidy) – the same as used on the DN-1000 and Titan. This is a really simple mechanism that is unobtrusive - but means that whenever it's time to store the IEMs, the cable is always tidily looped. For me (being slightly OCD), I simply LOVE this inclusion. So simple - yet so practical.

There is a moderately high amount of microphonic noise present with the upper portion of the cable when worn down – but this can be alleviated by using the shirt clip, or tucking under clothes. The microphonics are considerably lessened when worn over ear.

Brilliance of the cable tie - always a tidy coil ​ JVC FXD tips fitted - but note wide body and sharp front corner ​

Before we go into fit, I'll briefly touch on the inclusion of the coloured rings (or spacers). The DN-2000 is designed to allow you to fit one of three different sized spacers (or fourth option - use none at all) - that then allow the tips to be closer or further away from the body of the IEM. Changing this theoretically affects the frequency response, and also the insertion depth.

Sound tuning rings ​ Sound tuning rings profile ​

As Vic’s DN-2000 didn’t come with any rings, I used the ones from my DN-1000 which are exactly the same. Once again, I tried different settings and different tips - and whilst I like the idea (it definitely has tweaking options for the enthusiasts here), I wonder how effective it is. I tried all of the different rings, eventually removing them all together - but to be honest I found that any change in frequency response (for me) was marginal and I doubt I could tell anything in a proper blind test. It's also likely that the few mm change between rings would be nullified by the actual change in fit each time you use them (ie I guarantee that my insertion depth with the same rings will be different almost every time I use them). One other thing I noticed with the rings is that on tips like the JVC FXD tips, the inner sleeve of the FXDs would often slide right over the rings rendering them ineffective anyway.

Anyway - nice idea - but leads to one of the design issues I have with the DN-2000. By allowing for the change of rings, they can't accommodate a lip on the nozzle. Because of this - anyone trying for a really good seal / deep insertion with some of the tips may very well find themselves removing the DN-2000 from your ears, and finding the tips still in your ears. This doesn't happen for me with comply foams (they stick on the DN-2000 pretty well), but I found that with virtually any silicone tips (including the JVC FXD tips), I often had to go fishing (in my ears) for the missing tips. It happened often enough to be very annoying. If I was to have my choice between tip stability and tweakability with the rings, the rings would be discarded. Others may have different ideas.

FIT / COMFORT / ISOLATION

I have one ear canal slightly different to the other one (my right is very slightly smaller) - so I tend to find that usually single silicon flanges don't fit overly well. My normal go-to with the DN-2000 would be Comply T400s. I know they work, and they manage (most of the time) to stay on the nozzles. However I was recently given a set of JVC FXD tips (L) from another Head-Fier (Bram), and I have to say, these go extremely well with the DUNU earphones (DN-1000 and DN-2000), providing a fantastic seal, and very good sound. So for the remainder of the review I simply used these.

JVC FXD fitted - note protruding clip with fins removed ​ JVC FXD fitted - when they compress, sharpish front edge irritates this wearer ​

Either over ear, or cable down, they fit very flush, and would be OK to lie down with – but I couldn’t sleep for long with these. This leads to the second and third design flaws (IMO). First let’s talk about the fins. Brilliant idea – and works really well. Basically they tuck inside the antihelix and help stabilise the DN-2000 inside your ear. This works wonderfully for me, and the fins provide no discomfort for me personally. My issue with comfort is two-fold. Firstly the body is quite wide, and after an hour I begin to feel physical discomfort just outside the entrance to my ear canal. It is the large width that is causing it. Secondly, in my preferred cable up position – removing the fins allows the metal fastener to be exposed, and this causes some serious discomfort within a relatively short time (within the first hour). I understand the update to the DN-2000 (the DN-2000J) will address the issue of the girth of the body, and I’m really looking forward to the changes it makes.

Fin stabilising system - works surprisingly well - very innovative ​ Fins and attaching clip ​

Isolation is above average for a hybrid (so far I haven’t seen a vent), and I’d be keen to try these out in an aircraft. They are not bad in a car with music playing – still some background noise, but not enough to detract from the music. Because of the isolation, there is a bit of bone conduction noise when walking.

So good marks on isolation, and OK on fit – but issues with long term comfort. Now how does the DN-2000 sound?

SOUND QUALITY

The following is what I hear from the DUNU DN-2000. YMMV – and probably will – as my tastes are likely different to yours (read the preamble I gave earlier for a baseline). Most of the testing at this point (unless otherwise stated) was done with my Fiio X5 as source, no EQ, no spacers, and JVC FXD tips in use with the cable worn down. For the record – on most tracks, the volume level on the X5 was around 25-30/120 which was giving me around an average SPL around 75 dB and peaks at around 85dB. I am hitting up to 40 though on tracks with better mastering (eg Tundra).

Tracks used were across a variety of genres – and can be viewed in this list http://www.head-fi.org/a/brookos-test-tracks

Thoughts on General Signature

If I was to describe the signature in a few words/phrases – I’d choose the words “balanced” , “clear”, “smooth” and “detailed”.

I’m finding the DUNU DN-2000 to have a nice coherence between bass, midrange and treble – with a quite nice balance overall – just a very slight V shape (mainly sub-bass emphasis). At the ‘sharp end’, I’ve been trying to put my finger on what is happening with the mid-range and treble, because even though it is very clear, and practically grain free (really smooth), I do find it lacking just a little in upper mid-range and lower treble for my tastes. This gives a very smooth presentation, but can make some of my female vocalists not quite as euphonic as they are on other IEMs (A83), and there is also less sparkle. On the plus side, male vocals are better, and there is absolutely no sibilance.

Overall Detail / Clarity

For this I always use both Steely Dan’s “Gaucho” and Dire Strait’s “Sultans of Swing” as there is a lot of micro detail in both tracks, and the recording quality for both is excellent.

With Gaucho, this would be quite possibly one of the best presentations I’ve ever heard of this track with an IEM. Sax is detailed, but smooth, vocals are to the front and tonally perfect, and the bass is punchy and well textured. Personally I’d like a bit more cymbal splash – but that is a small critique when the rest of the track is this good.

Switching to Sultans of Swing, and once again wow – this is dynamic and hugely enjoyable. Detail is very good. The constant background sound is again bass guitar – but it’s not overpowering anything. Snares are crisp and fast – and Knopfler’s guitar is crisp and compelling – with enough edge to keep things lively. Cymbals again are present and polite rather than emphasised. Best of all, Knopfler’s vocals are just wonderful – again tonally brilliant. A great start.

Sound-stage & Imaging

For this I use Amber Rubarth’s binaural recording “Tundra”. I use this because it’s a pretty simple way to get comparative data on sound-stage.

It’s usually difficult to get a reasonable stage size from an inner ear monitor. The stage is often quite small / close – with an average impression of space. The DUNU DN-2000 has a good sense of spaciousness for an IEM, and whilst I wouldn’t call the stage overly expansive, it is providing reasonable width and some sense of depth with this track. Imaging is excellent – very clean and clear on positioning.

I also used Loreena McKennitt’s “Dante’s Prayer” and the DN-2000 gives a nice sense of width, but again not quite the depth which is possible with this track. Again though – the overall presentation is hugely impressive, captivating, tonally brilliant, and with both piano and cello portraying excellent timbre. Directional cues are again very good (the cello is where it usually is to the right, and piano slightly off center). Loreena’s vocals are nicely centered – but quite intimate.

In this track, the applause at the end is so well presented that with some headphones (HD600) I can actually close my eyes and imagine myself in the crowd. With the DN-2000, I’m definitely there in the theatre, but maybe not quite in the audience – they are to the side and front of me. Still it is a very compelling performance, and one I’ve completely enjoyed.

Bass Quality and Quantity

I’ve been spoilt recently with impactful and good quality bass from my other triple hybrid IEMs (Altone 200, DN-1000 and A83), so I was looking forward to seeing how DUNU had tuned the DN-2000 Titan. The bass on the DN-2000 reaches impressively low (even with my hearing, I could easily hear 25Hz). The bass is very agile and well defined, and I’ve noticed no mid-bass bloom. Bass impact, texture and speed so far have been top notch.

Amongst my test tracks, one of my go-to test tracks is “Bleeding Muddy Waters” by Mark Lanegan. This blues rock track is dark and brooding – and exposes any mushiness or imbalance in bass cohesion. The DN-2000 was practically perfect with this track, clean and impactful bass, and the gravel in Mark’s voice comes through easily.

I wanted to see how low the bass would go in real music – so switched to Lorde’s “Royals” – and the DN-2000 definitely delivered. When the bass guitar kicks in, there is nice rumble, and the best thing is that the vocals remain sweet, clear, and well defined.

Female Vocals – A Special Note

I have added this section simply because around 60-65% of my music revolves around female vocals – be it jazz, pop, rock, electronic, or even opera. I’m an unabashed fan. For me personally, the sign of a successful IEM is how successfully it conveys emotion and timbre with my female vocalists. Other IEMs I’ve owned in the past had sometimes struggled with some of the artists I like – and this includes IEM’s like Shure’s SE535 LE (upper-mids on the SE535 LE were too forward/fatiguing with some tracks).

The one thing I’ve noticed so far has been how well the DN-2000 has handled vocalists like McKennitt and Lorde. But how would it handle some of the tougher artists like Agnes Obel – as some of her recordings can become quite strident or shouty if the mids aren’t quite right. With the DN-2000, her vocals aren’t as perfectly euphonic as the Fidue A83 or Altone200 (missing some of the upper mid-range maybe) – but the overall presentation while darker than I really prefer is still good enough to be enjoyable.

I then proceeded to play a medley of my other tracks from artists including Christina Perri, Gabriella Cilmi, Florence and the Machine, and Norah Jones. The DN-2000 portrays my female artists very well, again very slightly darker than I’m used to, but nothing onerous or uninvolving. Standout for me was Feist (The Bad In Each other) – the bass was just so dynamic, and the resulting contrast with her vocals was sublime. Quickly summarising, I’d say that while the DN-2000 doesn’t quite beat my Altone or A83 for female vocals, neither does it perform poorly. Respect from me for well-tuned BA drivers.

Male Vocals

At the other end of the scale sits a lot of my rock tracks.

The continued theme here was coherence, balance, clarity and impact. The only problem I normally have with my Altones is that whilst they are brilliant with female vocals, they sometimes aren’t so good with male vocals (just don’t convey the lower male vocal range). Here is where the DN-2000 shine, great tone and timbre on all my rock tracks – and that sub-bass impact just really helps rock overall. 3 Doors Down, Green Day, Breaking Benjamin, Seether – all sound excellent and the vocal quality is superb. When I played Diary of Jane (Breaking Benjamin), there was no guitar distortion (this track can overwhelm some drivers), and the DN-2000 remained clear and detailed.

My litmus test still is Pearl Jam (huge fan). Once again, wonderful vocal presentation, and excellent overall – but missing just a little more cymbal emphasis which I know is there with my HD600s (and definitely with my T1s). This isn’t at all bad though – I’d just love that last little bit of sparkle. I guess it’s a small price to pay though for the rest of the presentation.

Genre Specific Notes

Again for tracks, albums, artists – please refer to this list: http://www.head-fi.org/a/brookos-test-tracks

Rock – Covered this one above. In a word, excellent.

Alt Rock – First up (in my usual test rotation) is Pink Floyd’s “Money”, and the DN-2000 delivers pretty good clarity but I’d personally prefer just a little more sparkle. Next is Porcupine Tree’s “Trains”, and this track is very good – not missing anything. The bass impact is wonderful, and the speed and definition of the bass is incredibly good. PT on the DN-2000 is a winner for me.

Jazz / Blues / Bluegrass – Portico Quartet’s “Ruins” is very good displaying nice dynamic contrast, and very good clarity. I did find the sax just perhaps lacking a little body (exhibited a touch of hollowness and stridency), and this was repeated with Miles Davis trumpet in the track “So What”. Otherwise though, the detail was very good, and the double bass presentation was fantastic. Classic Jazz gets a tick.

Switching to blues, and Bonamassa’s vocals and guitar have always been a favourite of mine. The DN-2000 is stunning with Bonamassa, perfectly blending the emotion of his vocals and the magic of his guitar. I then briefly played Union Station’s “Dust Bowl Children”, and it was very enjoyable. Once again for my own personal preferences though, I’d like just a smidge more upper mid-range and lower treble (a little more sparkle).

Rap / EDM / Pop / Indie – Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” surprised me. I was expecting to maybe be left wanting on the bass impact, but the quality of the bass is so good that it just perfectly fits with this track. It is in’t bass head quantity by any means – but it definitely has slam. I’m again impressed. Sticking with the bass heavy tracks, and queueing some Trance (Armin), and EDM/Electronic (Linday Stirling & Little Dragon), once again the overall quality of the bass, and the fact that it is sub-bass oriented makes it eminently enjoyable.

Straight Pop is next – and the DN-2000 easily delivers wonderful renditions of Adele and Coldplay. The stand out once again though is Amanda Marshall’s “Let it Rain”, and (like the Titan) this was a genuine “wow” moment. This track has a holographic feel to it (the way it was recorded). The DN-2000 really does go nicely with Marshall’s vocals, and there is nothing in this track that feels out of place or contrived. I could listen to this sort of presentation for hours (comfort aside).

For Indie, I listened to both Band of Horses and Wildlight. The DN-2000 was brilliant with the former, and just a little short of perfect euphonic sweetness with the latter (close though).

Classical / Opera – I’ll keep this short as it is more of the same. Wonderful sense of space, dynamics, timbre and tone. Standouts for me – Kempff’s solo piano and Keating’s cello. Pavarotti was also extremely good, while Netrebko and Garanca (with the Flower Duet) were just a hint darker than I’m used to.

AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

I covered this in the introduction – but to me the DN-2000 definitely doesn’t need any extra amplification. They were easily powered out of all my portable devices. I also performed my standard test – volume matched, and then compared the X1 and X1+E11K. There was no real change in dynamics to these ears.

QUICK COMPARISON OTHER IEMS

I’ll make this quick as the review has already become overly long. I’m anticipating questions regarding the DN-2000 in comparison to my other triple hybrids (Altone 200, DUNU DN-1000 and Fidue A83), so here are my very quick (very subjective) thoughts:

DN-2000 vs DN-1000



Similar balance. But the DN-1000 actually sounds a little brighter in the upper end (more sparkle), whilst the DN-2000 sounds just as clear, but a little more refined and smoother. DN-1000 seems to have slightly more bass impact, but DN-2000 has more bass quality/definition.



DN2000 vs Altone200



Altone is much more V shaped, bassier and brighter. DN-2000 sounds fuller, darker, but overall more balanced. Altone has more comparatively bass impact, and sounds slightly clearer – but also thinner. The Altone is much more comfortable to wear – it isn’t close!



DN2000 vs A83



The contrast between these two is interesting. For overall balance I’d give it to the DUNU. The A83 is still full bodied, but you really notice the dip in the lower mid-range after listening to the DUNUs for a while. The A83 comparatively are brighter, and also bassier. When listening to male vocals, the DN-2000 sound more coherent and more realistic. When listening to female vocals though, the A83 are still stunning, and for my tastes the tables are completely turned.

DUNU DN-2000 - SUMMARY

I’d been looking forward to trying the DN-2000 for a while. I’d read some of the reviews when they first came out, and hoped to be able to review them, but up until now, the opportunity never presented itself. I’m so glad I’ve had the chance though, and my sincere thanks goes to Vic for giving me some quality time with them. Once again the generosity among fellow Head-Fiers (and within the Head-Fi community) is wonderful.

To sum up -

The DUNU DN-2000 is a relatively well balanced (both frequency and tonality) hybrid IEM. It has excellent bass quality and quantity, good clarity, and vocal presentation (both male and female), and exhibits reasonably good sound-staging, and very good imaging. Its treble is very smooth and grain free – but I personally find it lacking a tiny bit of sparkle. In short, it is a genre master, and very enjoyable IEM sonically to listen to.

Its build and innovative features are on the most part excellent – with very good implementation of the new ear stabilising fins, and I think everyone already knows that I love the attached cable tie.

Where the DN-2000 misses the mark for me is in overall comfort (too big, with a sharpish edge), and also with the nozzle having no lip. I love the sound of the JVC FXD tips on the DN-2000 but unless I’m very careful, they invariably stay in my ears if I’m taking them out in a hurry. Given the arguably insignificant benefits of the spacers, is it time to go back to something more conventional?

So big question – would I recommend the DUNU DN-2000?

On sonics alone – yes. It is one of the best sounding earphones I’ve heard in this category. The A83 and DN-2000 are natural competitors on this turf – with both having wonderful SQ performance. However for current long-term comfort issues, I’d be cautious – and I’m afraid even if I could currently afford the DN-2000, I’d be ultimately saying no. Others may not have this problem – but for me it is very real.

Thanks again to Vic for the opportunity to try them. 4 stars from me – based on sonics, build, and innovation. Only points off really are for my personal comfort issues and those darn nozzles.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO DUNU

I know you are currently working on the DN-2000J – with a smaller overall body, and titanium drivers (which will hopefully give it a little more upper end sparkle). I look forward to trying these when they are released because you have made a really wonderful sounding earphone with the DN-2000. If you did want a solution for the nozzles – can I suggest going with a screw in nozzle in 3 different lengths (interchangeable). It would give people the ability to tune the sound – but allow you to go back to incorporating a lip on the nozzle again. It also then gives you a chance to look at internal filtering options as another attraction. The combination of mozzle length and internal filter would be unique, and fit your Company motto well.

This idea given freely, and if adopted the only thing I’d like would to be to try the new release.