DUNU sibling love or rivalry? 

PROS: Well balanced signatures, smooth and dynamic DD bass with good extension, forward upper midrange for good instrument definition, robust build quality, rich overall package, very good cables with DUNU’s Modular Quick-Switch system, good accessories with lots of ear tip options, nice case. 

CONS: Lack of good upper treble extension and air.

Disclaimer.

I would like to thank DUNU for sending me the DK-3001Pro & DK-2001 to test and review. I am not affiliated with the company or any of its sellers and write this review with an unbiased opinion regardless of how the review turns out.

Genre preferences.

I majorly listen to rock, acoustic, pop, metal, and sometimes popular EDM songs doing the rounds on the charts.

About DUNU.

If you’ve been in this hobby for a while, I don’t think DUNU needs any introduction. But if you somehow missed them or are new to the hobby, here’s quick insight into the company and what they’ve been up to.

Starting off as an OEM/ODM establishment in 1994, DUNU developed and manufactured professional and consumer earphone products for some of the largest and most prominent audio & telecommunications companies. After gaining vast experience in the industry, DUNU launched products under its own brand name in 2006. With very capable and technically rich staff and comprehensive production facilities, DUNU started developing drivers fully in-house, developing myriad composite, metal, and micron thickness diaphragm down to the 4 μm level. Since then, DUNU has managed to acquire multiple internationally recognized acoustic research achievements and patents, something that they are extremely proud of.

DUNU has since built a loyal and enthusiastic fan base and actively participate in the community, offering insights into how they develop and manufacture their products, which is always very interesting to read. They’ve launched quite a lot of products this past year including the Luna, 17^th Anniversary edition, DK-2001 and DK-3001 Pro, the latter two being revised and upgraded versions of their previous models.

 Links – DUNU Website | DUNU AliExpress

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Technical Specifications.

DK-3001 PRO

• Frequency Response – 5 Hz – 40 kHz
• Impedance – 20 Ω
• Sensitivity – 112 ± 2 dB
• Total Harmonic Distortion – < 0.5% @ 1 kHz
• Housing Material – 316 Stainless Steel, CNC Machined
• Net Weight – 16 g
• Cable – High-Purity Ohno Continuous Cast (OCC) Copper with Secondary Fire Refinement
• Cable Length – 1.2 mm
• Cable connector – Patented Catch-Hold® MMCX Connector
• Plug connector – Patented DUNU Quick-Switch Modular Plug System
• Drivers – 13 mm Dynamic Driver with Dual-Sided Beryllium Coating (Bass)
       Custom-Spec Knowles Balanced Armature Drivers (Mids/Highs)
       Custom-Spec Knowles Dual Balanced Armature Driver (Ultra-Highs)

DK-2001

• Frequency Response – 5 Hz – 40 kHz
• Impedance – 13 Ω
• Sensitivity – 109 ± 2 dB at 1 kHz
• Total Harmonic Distortion – < 0.5% at 1 kHz
• ​ Net Weight – 14 g
• Cable – High-purity silver-plated Ohno continuous cast (OCC) copper Litz Type 1 wire
• Cable length – 1.2 mm
• Cable connector – Catch-Hold® MMCX
• Drivers – DYNAMIC DRIVER: 13 mm dynamic driver with dual-sided Beryllium diaphragm coating (Bass)
  3 Custom-ordered Knowles BA Drivers (1 mid-high, 2 ultra-high)

Included in the box.

DK-3001 Pro

• DK-3001 Pro Earphone
• DUNU Lyre cable with modular plug system
• Plugs – 3.5mm, 3.5mm Pro BAL, 2.5mm BAL, 4.4mm balanced plug
• Ear tips – SpinFit custom tips (x4), Grey balanced tips (x3), RED bore vocal tips (x3), 1 pair of Comply foam, Custom SpinFit eartips spacer (x6)
• 3.5mm to ¼” converter
• Airline converter
• Green leather carry case
• Cleaning brush

DK-2001

• DK-2001 earphone
• High-Purity Silver-Plated OCC Copper Litz Type 1 Cable
• 3.5 mm Single-Ended Plug for module system
• Cerulean Blue Leatherette Zip-Up Carry Case
• DUNU DC-16 3.5 mm to 1/4″ Adapter
• Cleaning Brush
• Balanced Silicone Ear Tips (4 Pairs), Transparency Silicone Ear Tips (3 Pairs), Vocal Silicone Ear Tips (3 Pairs), Memory Foam Tips (1 Pair)

Build Quality.

Both DK-3001 Pro and DK-2001 are made up of non-resonant precision machined 316 stainless steel housings. Type 316 steel is an austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel that contains between 2-3% molybdenum. The molybdenum content increases corrosion resistance, improves resistance to pitting in chloride ion solutions, and increases strength at high temperatures.

All the curves and edges of both shells are very smooth and the paint quality as well as the welding joints look very well done. So, I reckon these are built to last and that gives me the confidence to take them everywhere without worrying too much about scratching, storing or even dropping them. I don’t even have a problem putting them in my pocket whereas I generally put other IEMs, especially resin based ones, back in their pouches in fear of scratching or breaking them if kept otherwise.

Cable – Now this is where DUNU kills it with their patented DUNU Quick-Switch Modular Plug System. If you don’t what that is, it is the most convenient jack switching system I’ve ever come across, where you don’t need to keep switching cables for when you want to move between your balanced output and single ended 3.5mm output of a DAP. Swapping the jack is so easy! All you need to do is align the dots marked on the jack and connector and push until you hear a soft click. When you want to swap out the jack, pull the slider on the connector to the right, pull out the jack and it comes out with no fuss, extremely smoothly. DK-3001 Pro comes with all four, 2.5mm balanced, 3.5mm, 3.5mm pro balanced and 4.4mm balanced jack terminations whereas DK-2001 comes only with the 3.5mm as standard, though you have the option to purchase the other jack terminations as solo and choose the ones you personally need from their website.

DK-3001 Pro comes with DUNU’s Lyre cable, where they took an already high purity (greater than 99.9999% pure) OCC copper source and put it through a secondary fire refinement process before casting it into the final wire configuration. The finished conductors are hand-braided in a round Litz braid to ensure flexibility and to minimise interference. The cable is extremely supple and soft. It is a $150 cable included as stock with a $470 IEM. It’s my favourite stock cable that comes with an IEM under $1000 and probably my favourite cable for its price too as it sounds and feels very good plus is very lightweight and feels very comfortable around the ear. 

DK-2001 comes stock with DUNU’s DW-02 cable, which is a high-purity silver-plated OCC copper Litz Type 1 cable. It is braided differently compared to the DK-3001 Pro’s Lyre cable but this is no slouch either. It sounds great, is extremely supple and soft. To be honest, I’ve never come across a brand offering such a high quality Litz cable with their $300 IEMs, let alone IEMs much much more than its price. The modular system is the icing on the cake and propels the value for money to great heights.

Fit and Comfort.

Both shells are small and fit my ears very comfortably. DUNU gives a lot of ear tip options in the package for you to customise the fit according you ear and canal shape. The nozzle has 2 levels of lips which helps with a deeper or shallower fit as per your preference. DK-3001Pro even comes with SpinFit spacers for you to fiddle with the fit even more using the stock SpinFits.

I could get a comfortable with almost ever ear tip in the package but preferred the stock orange ear tips for DK-2001, the grey balanced ear tips and SpinFits for DK-3001 Pro and included foams for both. Both DK-3001 Pro and DK-2001 stay extremely comfortable for long sessions and I think I’m going to use these most when traveling because of their robust build, comfortable fit and the cool quick-switch modular system.

Noise isolation is on the average side because they have vents for the massive 13mm dynamic driver but isolation is very good once music starts playing because of a decently snug fit.

Page 2 – Sound analysis, Comparison, and Conclusion.