DUNU DK-3001 PRO Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

DUNU DK-3001 PRO Review

 

Introduction:

DUNU was originally an OEM/ODM manufacturer established in 1994 and focuses on development, manufacture and marketing of professional earphone and ear bud products. DUNU’s manufacturing plant is located in Dong Guan City, Guangdong, China.

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO is the upgraded version of the popular DK-3001 and features a 4+1 Hybrid Driver Configuration instead of the 3+1 (3 BA + 1 Dynamic Driver) configuration we have found on the previous DK-3001.

Each monitor of the DK-3001 Pro has 4 x Knowles (High/Extreme High Frequency) Balanced Armature Drivers & 1 x 13mm Beryllium Diaphragm Dynamic Driver.

 

 

Disclaimer:

I would like to thank DUNU for providing me the DK-3001 PRO sample for review purposes. I am not affiliated with DUNU beyond this review and these words reflect my true and unaltered opinions about the product.

 

  

Price:

The price for the DUNU DK-3001 PRO is around 469,99 USD and can be purchased from the links below;

                                 

  

Package and Accessories:

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO is a premium product with a nice packaging same as the DK-4001 that I have reviewed before. The DK-3001 PRO came in a black box, which is wrapped with a white cardboard that is featuring some visuals of the technology inside the DK-3001 PRO IEM and has also some advertisements (Hi-Res, Knowles, Comply, SpinFit, etc.) on the top.

The main box has the DUNU logo on the top and features a nice textured surface.

This box is including the following contents/accessories;

 

  • 1 pair x DUNU DK-3001 PRO In-Ear Monitor
  • 1 pcs x Detachable Cable with MMCX Connector
  • 4 pcs x DUNU Quick-Switch Modular Connectors (3.5mm TRS, 3.5mm TRRS, 2.5mm TRRS & 4.4mm TRRS)
  • 1 pcs x 6.3mm Headphone Adaptor
  • 4 pairs x SpinFit Silicone Eartips (size S/M/L), 1 pair came pre-installed
  • 3 pairs x Grey Silicone Eartips (size S/M/L)
  • 6 Pairs x Custom SpinFit eartips spacer
  • 1 pair x Comply Foam Eartips (M)
  • 1 pcs x Premium Leather Case
  • 1 pcs x Cleaning Tool
  • 1 pcs x Flight Adaptor

 

Inside the box are two separate The DUNU DK-3001 PRO is coming with many accessories same as the DK-4001 which are all of high quality.

The box is including Comply Foams, SpinFit Silicone Eartips and Custom SpinFit eartips spacers that are reminding me to the metal spacers I have used with my old DN-1000.

The Leather case which is in green color looks simply amazing!

The 6.3mm headphone adaptor, flight adaptor and the cleaning tool are also some nice additions.

 

 

 

Design, Fit and Build Quality:

The first appearance of the DUNU DK-3001 PRO is very positive with its premium look and feel. The monitor shells are made of CNC machined S316 stainless steel which should effectively eliminate the harmonic resonance to enhance the sound cohesiveness.

The monitor shell of the DK-3001 PRO is in black color except the center of the faceplate which is in silver color and that sports the DUNU product branding.

At the backside of the monitor shell is the sound nozzle, a small vent and the Left / Right markings.

The sound nozzle is slightly angled and has a pretty long profile. On the top of it is a fine metal mesh to prevent the insertion of dust, earwax, etc. that should be cleaned with the cleaning tool which you can find inside the box.

On the top of the monitor housing is the DUNU patented Catch-Hold MMCX Connector. This MMCX connector utilizes the hollow cylinder design to lock the earphones and effectively improve the connectivity. This should increase according to DUNU the service life of the MMCX connector.

The overall build quality of the DK-3001 PRO monitor housing is rock solid and doesn’t shows any imperfections like burs or gaps.

 

 

The Cable & Quick-Switch Modular Connectors:

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO is coming with a detachable cable which is made of High Purity OCC Copper, further purified via a secondary fire refinement process. This technique should reduce according to DUNU specs, the loss of transmission.

The cable itself has a twisted design and features rigid plastic insulation in brown color.

The MMCX connectors of the cable have a black plastic housing with Left & Right markings. The patented MMCX connectors utilize the hollow cylinder design to lock the earphones and effectively improve the connectivity.

The cable sports on both sides flexible (transparent) ear guides, which offers extra comfort for longer listening periods.

This cable features also a stylish metal y-splitter in brown color with DUNU product branding and has also a transparent plastic chin slider.

The DK-3001 PRO cable is coming with the DUNU patented quick-switch modular connectors that we have seen on other DUNU products like the HULK upgrade cable and the DK-4001 IEM.

The package is including 4 connectors, which are the 3.5mm TRS, 2.5mm balanced, 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm TRRS variant. Each of these connectors is easily changeable with this auto-lock feature. This provides a convenience switching from one device to another.

 

 

 

Fit and Comfort:

The DK-3001 PRO has a fairly ergonomic design with a relative small size for an IEM with a 5 driver hybrid configuration. I have read some fit and comfort issues that have been mentioned for the previous DK-3001 IEM, while I haven’t experienced any of them with the DK-3001. On the contrary, it offers a fairly comfortable fit and fatigue free wearing experience. The Isolation on the other hand is on an average level.

 

 

 

Technical Specifications:
  • Model             : DK-3001 PRO
  • Driver              : 4 x Balanced Armature & 1 x 13mm Diameter Beryllium Diaphragm
  • Impedance     : 20Ω
  • Freq. range     : 5 Hz – 40 kHz
  • Sensitivity       : 112dB @ 1 kHz
  • Weight            : 16g
  • Cable length   : 1.2m

 

 

Drivability:

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO has an impedance of 20ohm and sensitivity of 112dB. It can be driven with relative weak sources like Smartphone’s, Tablets and smaller sized DAP’s, but shows its true potential if you pair it with more powerful sources like a Portable Amplifiers or powerful Players like the QA361 or DX220.

 

 

Equipment’s used for this review:

IEM’s              : DUNU DK-3001 PRO, Custom Art FIABE Black, FiiO FH7
DAP&DAC’s  : iBasso DX220, QLS QA361, Cayin N5II, FiiO Q5s

 

 

Albums & tracks used for this review:
  • Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Photek – Hidden Camera (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (DSF) – Binaural Recording
  • Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Wav 24bit/88kHz)
  • Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Spotify)
  • Lorde – Royal (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
  • Tom Player – Resonace Theory (16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Portishead – The Hidden Camera (MP3 320kbps)
  • Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Opeth – Damnation (Wav 16bit/44kHz)
  • Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Slayer – Angel of Death (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Elton John – Your Song (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • David Bowie – Black Star (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Eric Clapton – Unplugged Album (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • B.B. King – Riding With The King (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • First Aid Kit – My Silver Lining (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • London Grammar – Interlude (Live) (Flac 24bit/88kHz)
  • Aretha Franklin – I Say a Little Prayer (Wav 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
  • Laura Pergolizzi – Lost On You “Live at Harvard and Stone” (Wav 16bit/44.1kHz)

 

 

 

The Sound:

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO is a balanced and musical sounding In-Ear Monitor with a close to the neutral, slightly warm and lightly colored tonality. The bass is quite depth and fast; the midrange has a warmish tonality, while the upper midrange and treble is fairly soft and smooth in its presentation.

This review is written after a burn-in period of 150 Hours. I have used the Spin-Fit silicone ear tips which are included to the package.

 

Bass:

The lower frequency region is one of the highlights of the DK-3001 PRO, which makes it to a very pleasant to listen to IEM with genres like Rap, Hip-Hop, Pop, Trance, EDM, etc.

The subbass is able to reach to a low register which is quite noticeable to hear and to feel. The subbass depth, extension and intensity are pretty good, while it shows a soft and warmish tonality.

The DK3001 Pro is able to present some complex bass passages such like Gogo Penguin’s “Raven”, Lorde’s “Royals” and Photek’s “The Hidden Camera” without to show any remarkable mixings.

The midbass region of the DK-3001 PRO is slightly warmer then neutral, pretty controlled, fast and tight in its presentation. I have tested instruments like the contrabass, drums, def, bongo together and individually and couldn’t find any midbass issues. The midbass of the DUNU DK-3001 PRO is full bodied, pronounced and has a pretty good layering. The amount of midbass is neither too less nor too much.

The DK-3001 PRO has in general a good bass amount, intensity, speed and emphasis. The bass is able to catch up the music even in very fast tracks. Such a pronounced, clean and fast bass presentation is very rarely to find and makes the bass of the DK-3001 PRO successful with any type of genre.

 

Midrange:

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO is an IEM with a close to neutral, slightly colored, smooth and musical midrange presentation. The DK-3001 PRO the ideal choice if you like an upfront midrange presentation.

 

Vocals:

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO has a good lower midrange depth and intensity, with an average thickness and smoothness. This is an advantage for male vocals with a thick and deep tonality. The clarity and detail level is also pretty good, without to show negative situations like muddiness, mixings or harshness.

When it comes to female vocals, I can say that they are presented in slightly warmish and musical tonality, due to the slightly pronounced and soft upper midrange tuning. The level of clarity and airiness on the other hand is on a quite good and they are no negative situations like sibilance or sharpness.

 

Instruments:

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO has in general a slightly warmer than neutral and full bodied instrument tonality and do not have a too analytical or dry timbre.

There is a neutral air between the instruments of the DK-3001 PRO, which makes the overall presentation of instruments quite airy and clean. The fact that the instruments do not play too close or too far away from each other makes the DK-3001 PRO to a very balanced and musical In-Ear Monitor.

I found the DK-3001 PRO pretty successful in terms of clarity, definition, separation and detail retrieval of instruments and vocals.

The DK-3001 PRO has a very musical, soft and fatigue free guitar presentation, with a slightly warm, bassy and vivid tonality. Pianos on the other hand are soft and a bit bright while listening to the Chopin’s Nocturnal up to Fazıl Say’s Oratorio without to show unwanted harshness and over-sparkling.

 

Upper Midrange & Treble:

The DK-3001 PRO has moderate pronounced upper midrange with a close to neutral and fairly soft tonality.

The upper midrange is quite controlled, lively and soft, from female vocals to violins and woodwind instruments. The upper midrange tuning makes a detailed and airy presentation possible.

The lower treble range of the DK-3001 PRO is a bit bright and shows a good level extension. This tuning makes the presentation of this area energetic and dynamic.  The lower treble region shows more emphasis than the upper treble which drops in a controlled manner.

The Hi-hats in metal music for example are coming slightly from the background, while the hits/kicks are quite pronounced and slightly bolder in tonality. Here are also no negative situations like a too short or too long extension.

Crash cymbals have a highly controlled extension and there is only a slightly lack in upper treble area.

All in all, the general treble quantity and intensity will satisfy most users. I really liked the balance of the DK-4001’s treble range.

 

 

The Soundstage:

The soundstage of the DUNU DK-3001 PRO offers a quite precise placement of instruments and vocals. The soundstage sounds pretty airy and spacious, while the depth shows a parallel performance to the fairly expansive soundstage wideness.

 

 

Some Short Comparisons:

 

DUNU DK-3001 PRO versus Custom Art FIBAE Black:

The FIBAE Black is a warm, musical and smooth sounding In-Ear Monitor with deep and strong bass, soft and musical midrange, controlled and mildly pronounced upper midrange and treble presentation.

The Custom Art FIBAE Black is slightly more successful in terms of subbass dept & quantity and midbass intensity, while the DK-3001 PRO is superior in terms of bass speed, tightness and resolution.

The midrange of the FIBAE Black is warm and soft, while the level of transparency and airiness are on an average level. The DK-3001 PRO on the other hand, shows a more neutral and transparent midrange presentation than the FIABE Black.  The FIABE Black has the upper hand in terms of male vocals due to the lower midrange tuning, while the DK-3001 PRO is more successful with female vocals with its upper midrange presentation.

The upper midrange and treble region of the DUNU DK-3001 PRO shows a better intensity and detail retrieval than the Custom Art FIABE Pro, while the FIABE Black offers a slightly more controlled and musical presentation.

The soundstage of the DUNU DK-3001 PRO is wider and more airy then Custom Art FIABE Black, while the FIABE Black has the upper hand in terms of soundstage depth.

 

 

DUNU DK-3001 PRO versus FiiO FH7:

The FiiO FH7 is an In-Ear Monitor with a slightly bright sound character. The bass has good depth and speed, the midrange is quite detail and transparent, while the treble range is pronounced and has very good extension

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO has a warmer, more musical and fuller presentation than the FiiO FH7. Both IEM’s are showing a good subbass depth and strong midbass presentation. The DK-3001 PRO is superior to the FH7 in terms of subbass intensity and midbass quantity.

The midrange of the FiiO FH7 is slightly more laid back in its presentation compared to the DUNU DK-3001 PRO and have a more neutral and transparent tuning. The lower midrange of the DK-3001 PRO shows better depth and extension, which makes it more successful with male vocals. The upper midrange of he FH7 is more pronounced than the DK-3001 PRO which is an advantage for the presentation of female vocals.

Both In-Ear Monitors are successful in the treble region in terms of technical performance. The DUNU DK-3001 PRO has a more balanced, controlled, soft and musical treble tuning, while the FiiO FH7 shows a thinner, brighter a higher extending treble presentation.

Both IEM’s are successful in terms of soundstage performance. The main difference is that the FiiO FH7 has the upper hand for soundstage width, while the DUNU DK-3001 PRO is more successful in terms of depth.

 

Conclusion:

The DUNU DK-3001 PRO is a very interesting In-Ear Monitor that combines audiophile sound and entertainment with its musical and lively tuning. This sound is packed in to a solid monitor shell which comes with and unique set of accessories, like a high quality leather case, various set of ear-tips and a great stock cable that features DUNU’s patented Quick-Switch  Modular connectors.

 

Pros & Cons:
  • + Solid Bass Performance
  • + Smooth and Lively Midrange
  • + Soft and Controlled Treble Presentation
  • + Premium Build Quality
  • + Soundstage Width and Depth
  • + High Quality Accessories
  • + Very good stock cable with patented quick-switch modular connectors
  • – Upper Treble Roll-Off
  • – Bass could be a tad too much for analytical sound lovers

 

 

 

 

 

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8 Responses

  1. Hiep Le says:

    I wonder if Pro version or 3001 more suitable for dance genre?

    • Gökhan AYDIN says:

      Hi, the DK-3001 Pro is a good all-rounder that will satisfy you with a wide variety of genres, including dance music. A good fit and the right ear tip are the key for that. Cheers!

  2. Kelsey says:

    Hi can you please compare to oh500.

    Thank you

    • Gökhan AYDIN says:

      Hi, both are pretty good IEM’s in terms of sound quality. The OH500 has more subbass depth and intensity, while the DK3001 Pro show slightly more midbass depth & extension. The upper midrange of the OH500 a bit more pronounced and detailed. The DK3001 is more successful when it comes to treble quantity detail and extension. The OH500 has in general a warmer tonality. Cheers!

  3. Elias says:

    Hola! Comparado con el pinnacle p1 de Mee audio que tan superior es este audífono ?

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