DUNU - DK3001BD

Lately, I've been using the DUNU SA6 EST and DK3001 BD quite a bit. The original Zen Pro used to be my daily IEM, but after using this single DD IEM for so long, I wanted to try something new. The SA6 EST is also versatile across different music genres, while the DK3001 BD has a more distinctive tuning—it’s fantastic for instrumental and jazz tracks, with resolution and separation that can rival some super-flagship-level IEMs. But you might want to be cautious to DK3001 BD If you're sensitive to treble. If there's a chance, I'd love to pick up the Sony IER-M9 at a discounted price, which I've been waiting for but haven't been determined to purchase.

I got a Dunu Brain dance for $297! Can't wait to try it out and see if the "brain damage" claims are true

The Candy tips are my favorite fit for the DK3001BD, I like them much better than the stock white tips. I love that Dunu included high quality tips like the Candy and S&S.

How do you like the Dusk compared to Brain Dance's? I was torn choosing between those 2 and ended up going for the DK3001BD, solely because of all the quality control issues I've read about the Dusk. All the poor reviews on Amazon scared me away. I received the Dunu's the other day and I'm impressed by the build quality, beautiful cable, unboxing experience, etc. Oh and the IEM's sound pretty damn good as well.

I got mine a few days ago and you have to try it with an impedance adaptor. I am using a 30ohm and the difference in bass response is pretty staggering and balances it out really well. I am also using it with Spinfit W1 which sound better than the SS tips for me.

Agreed on all your points (except the cable, I much prefer this one over the one on the bd) it's an everyday wear version of the Braindance, still very technical yet fun, but much more reigned in.

I know this is a controversial one, but the Dunu DK3001BD. As someone who loves details, albeit at the expense of natural playback, this set is money. It's definitely something I would like to own down the line. (It was lent to me for 2 weeks by a friend who has deeper pockets.)

Tea pro, top pro, dusk, aful performer 7, 3001bd or anything around this price point. Your money but I never saw a point of buying many of cheap iems because there’s nothing special between them. 

Hey man welcome. I think I can help! Most audiophiles come at this with a different view than what you posed, simply because we have different priorities. I'll also try to correct some of the things you wrote that are not true. You posted so many good questions and points, though. This is going to be a long response. >i just found it expensive enough Yes and no. Some high end stuff has crazy prices. Some of the super expensive stuff straight up sucks, too. But good IEMs can be had for under $50. >not even wireless Not the main priority of IEMs or headphones for audiophiles/musicians. We generally prefer a reliable connection that doesn't rely on a time limit (battery). We also want to squeeze every drop of audio quality, and wireless means bluetooth which means compressed data. (That's changing, though!) Wires are 100% reliable and gives 100% of the performance. More importantly, ANC IEMs (e.g. Apple Airpods Pro 2) tend to be much more expensive for the sound quality they provide. Going back to the last section, IEMs are not more expensive than their wireless counterparts. Wireless is convenient! You'll see many people here rocking ANC IEMs for our daily, and going home to our wired IEMs. I'm one of those many. >Headphone provide better sound noise isolation No, they don't. Ignoring ANC, IEMs tend to isolate the best. Some can isolate even better than actual earplugs. They isolate so well, musicians use them to isolate themselves on stage during LIVE performances, and those get super loud! >Headphone are more comfortable More of a preference thing. Generally speaking, headphones will rarely have a "bad fit" issue because they go around your ears. Any decent set of cans (hehe) is light enough to be mostly unnoticeable. IEMs can be very comfortable, and doesn't get in the way of anything. But, you'll run into more fitment issues on larger IEMs or IEMs with thicker nozzles. >Latency Yep, wired means close to 0ms latency, software and interface aside. Again, we're trying to squeeze every bit of performance. For music making, we want <10ms. For gaming/listening, hardly matters. Most people aren't dropping big money to buy IEMs for gaming. Honestly, how many of us is good enough to warrant that for gaming? lol **Okay! Now to your questions.** 1) Advantages and disadvantages. You'll have to understand the differences first, and it is one of preference. Normally we listen with our entire ear and head. Like the fleshy bits of our ear is a bit part of our listening. But with IEMs, we bypass the ears entirely and the sound goes right into our earholes. It creates a completely different experience than headphones/speakers. It's like the music is in our heads, and feels different than "listening". Advantages: - If you prefer the aforementioned sound, the IEM sound cannot be replicated by headphones, speakers, or earbuds (the ones that sit outside your ear canals). - Dollar for dollar, IEMs will provide more performance than headphones and definitely speakers. - Portability. Not even close compared to even headphones. And speakers lmao. ANC buds and IEMs win over wired anything in this category; you'll have to pay for it, though. - Isolation. It keeps the noise out passively, without ANC. I'd say for certain frequencies (e.g. human voice), a good passive isolation is superior to ANC. ANC just isn't very good for higher frequencies. And for most audiophiles, they'll pick open-back headphones, which provide basically negative isolation. Disadvantages: - Soundstage, or how it replicates space in audio recordings. Because you're bypassing the earflesh, space is not replicated correctly. If you love to "hear" the stage, headphones are much better than their IEM equals. Some IEMs are great with this, but a good headphone will still beat it easily. - Fit/comfort. Not every IEM is for everyone. Most are fine, but look up reviews/try them would be ideal. This is more of an issue with more expensive IEMs ($250+) that shoves a ton of audio components into the IEM form factor, and the shell/nozzle has to be enlargened. Famous examples: Sony IER-Z1R, ThieAudio Monarch Series, etc. You also got something that is touching your ear canals for potentially hours at a time. Some people can't stand it. Some people have no issues. Again, personal preference. 2) What is the best overall IEM (ignoring the price)? Oh boy. Ignoring price? Probably the Subtonic Storm. But it's $5K, has very few reviews, and the waitlist is closed. It's been reviewed well by reputable reviewers, but hype is a thing in this space. Time will tell, but that seems to be the one to have if you can swallow the price tag. Outside of that outlier, best overall IEMs will cause arguments in this hobby. People have differences in preference, but they can be summed up in a few categories: 1) neutral tuning, 2) mild-V/U tuning, 3) V/U tuning, 4) bassheads, 5) trebleheads. I'm condensing a few groups together for the sake of brevity (ironic), don't @ me. Let me know if you read this far and want me to provide examples for each. The best IEMs or headphones in the world don't attempt to do everything the best. They do one or two things exceptionally well. For most people? You don't have to spend anywhere near $1000. You want something neutral? Hisenior Mega5EST. You want something a little more exciting? Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk 2. You want to feel like your brain is on meth? DUNU Braindance. There are so many more great IEMs in this price bracket. There really is a great IEM for around $500-600 for every taste. Even just 5 years ago we did not have this level of luxury in choice. Anything beyond $500-600 really is diminishing returns. Not really worth it, and this is from someone who has many IEMs over $1K. 3) Are there any accessories/peripheral for IEMs (other than eartips)? Yes, but eartips make the most difference. Required: buy Q-tips, lens cleaners, small brush (like from an electric razor), and, if your wallet can stomach it, an IEM vacuum. Cleaning your IEM is important and not often talked about because frankly it's so boring. Debated: buying cables for sound quality. Buy a cable if you want an upgrade in comfort or cable noise (microphonics). If you don't like the sound of an IEM, return it. No cable is going to solve that for you. Also debated: DAC and AMP. Again, you don't have to spend a lot, or at all. If you have an Apple Dongle, it really is good enough. Especially for IEMs, power is almost never an issue unless you're deaf or you want to be deaf. However, if you want to get into the hobby of finding amp sounds, that's a different story, and outside the scope of this post. DACs should be colorless and we've basically perfected the technology. You're paying for features now. Which brings us to the point: you can buy portable bluetooth DAC/AMP combos for your wired IEMs! (Back to BT compression, a little sacrifice of sound quality and money for added portability.) Welcome to the hobby, hope this helped!

I guess this is not an absolute scale, but based on price/performance? I have the FX17 and had a DK3001BD. I don't think it's in the same league, though it's a far better bang for the back (esp in China where a DK3001BD can be had for 2800 RMB)

Even at $1500 , I've seen plenty of people claim the FX17 is actually a really good value for the money. I guess they must be TOTL good, considering it's becoming really hard to justify buying IEMs over $500 mark, based on audio quality alone. I'm normally a headphone guy, but I jumped on the FX17 because of how well it was reviewed, and thought I might as well have at least 1 IEM, and might as well buy the " best" one (without going into the absurdly priced category) In terms of build/feel, i was really impressed with the braindance. I actually prefer how it felt in the hands over the FX17. It's a bit heavier, and the ceramic coating is lovely. The FX17s are very light as they're made from Titanium. Fancier material, but doesn't feel as interesting in the hands as the ceramic coated braindance

RIP Dunu Brain Damage, my fave IEM I own but I guess trebleheads are few and far between

Dunu Brain Dance, can’t stop listening to it since I got it, which also happened with the Tea Pro when I got that one. I think I have a really good variety in my collection now and I have no desire to buy more, I feel like anything else will be a very minor sidegrade or possibly a downgrade. edit: BD has everything I like, nice timbre, extremely good technicalities, just the right amount of bass and mids and treble, I have nothing to complain about

Xenns Tea Pro maybe? A little warm or bassy but it definitely works great for metal and rock I’d recommend Dunu Brain Dance but most people might think the treble is too much and dont spend anything on another dap or dac just keep the dawn pro