Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors › Brookstone DDM arrived today
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Brookstone DDM arrived today

post #1 of 14
11/10/11 at 4:07pm
Thread Starter 

You may have read ClieOS’s review here or at inearmatters.net about the clear dual driver headphone. Just an update Brookstone does ship out of the United States to select countries. Information is at the Brookstone web site.

fyi; I have no connection to any audio manufacturer or any retail operation.

 

I started a few day ago visiting some select Brookstone brick and mortar stores. None of the stores I visited had the clear dual drives in stock and for the most part they were almost apathetic in locating local stock.  Finally one employee told me that I could have them shipped free to my home.  Brookstone charges if you order online. I decided to save the twelve dollars and let them put the order in for me. I ordered on Sunday, arrived on Thursday; not too shabby.
 
Impressions out of the box are always to be taken with a grain of salt, something new always deserves a little skepticism even by an impressed new owner. I have very little time with them so far. I’m using a rockboxed clip+ and a Cowon D2. Neither of the players showed any hiss and the headphones were fairly easy to drive. Sonys hybrids’ went on with no trouble, complys foams made them bloomy. Even turned up the iems didn’t show any sign of breaking up. The best part is hearing new treatments done in studio on tracks I’m familiar with.


I suspect its natural that in a multi driver system that "congestion" stands a very good chance of being diminished. Bass is all there when called for and vocals sound very natural. Not having the Radius models I can’t directly compare them but I do have some respected headphones, iems and full size headphones to compare these.


Possibly more later if anyone is interested. I have some burning in to do but after only an hour things are looking very positive.


Edited by ri_toast - 11/11/11 at 2:41am
Reply
post #2 of 14
11/10/11 at 10:46pm

Agree with you on the sound -- these have really impressed me in the few weeks I've owned them.  I had some initial fit issues, but I figured a way to seat them better in my ear with the stock tips by kind of turning them a bit after insertion. Not only great sounding for the price, but also incredibly comfortable and non-fatiguing.  I'm surprised they don't get more attention around here, but guess too few have heard it.  Perhaps people don't associate brookstone with quality audio?  I know I never would have bought them had I not read that they were OEM'd by the same co. in China that makes the DDM1 and DDM2 for radius.

Reply
post #3 of 14
11/11/11 at 2:39am
Thread Starter 

this might be the best purchase i've ever made of audio equipment. smooth and wide.

bronxers, you still have yours listed in the hps for sale section?

Reply
post #4 of 14
11/11/11 at 9:39am

Nope, closed the listing.  I'm definitely keeping them.  These were basically an impulsive purchase for me, and I had it in my mind that I would sell them before I even got them because I also own the atrio m5 and the triple.fi 10.  But I've ended up liking them too much to part with them just yet.

Reply
post #5 of 14
11/11/11 at 9:59am

Yeah the Brookstone DDMs are a rare find. The kind of sound quality these things put out, while perhaps not up to the Radius standard (going off the impressions of those who have heard them because I haven't), they are amazing for $60. They're one of the best purchases I've ever made in the world of portable audio.

Reply
post #6 of 14
11/19/11 at 9:27am

Can't agree with Toast and Game more, and couldn't resist but bought two pairs...

Reply
post #7 of 14
11/19/11 at 10:01am
Thread Starter 

50 hours, nothing seems to have changed. that's not a bad thing, i've said in other threads that if i could only have one headphone this would be the one. i still haven't tried the mic and controls; the brookstone is made for ipod, iphone or ipad concerned me at first since i have no I anything; i'm just here for the music tyvm. i have an android and i have seen there's an app to control some of the phone functions, pause, answer, hang up etc. i will get around to testing it but success or failure is more of a phones hardware issue not the headset itself.

I have tried these with one of my portable amps, no change, just as sweet and warm. i keep thinking i should write a real review and jump back and forth between these and the tf10 and stax. the only iems i used in the last week are these and the hf5s which oddly now seem anemic but the isolation is so good with the shure olives. the etys have bass but its like having a conversation through a translator.

Reply
post #8 of 14
11/19/11 at 12:28pm

A review would be nice!

 

Burn in did tame the bass of my (1st) pair, though.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by ri_toast View Post

50 hours, nothing seems to have changed. that's not a bad thing, i've said in other threads that if i could only have one headphone this would be the one. i still haven't tried the mic and controls; the brookstone is made for ipod, iphone or ipad concerned me at first since i have no I anything; i'm just here for the music tyvm. i have an android and i have seen there's an app to control some of the phone functions, pause, answer, hang up etc. i will get around to testing it but success or failure is more of a phones hardware issue not the headset itself.

I have tried these with one of my portable amps, no change, just as sweet and warm. i keep thinking i should write a real review and jump back and forth between these and the tf10 and stax. the only iems i used in the last week are these and the hf5s which oddly now seem anemic but the isolation is so good with the shure olives. the etys have bass but its like having a conversation through a translator.



 

 

Reply
post #9 of 14
11/19/11 at 6:43pm

I'm going to be working on a review of these soon.

Reply
post #10 of 14
2/12/12 at 8:52pm

i have the Brookstone Clear Dual Drive and, compared to my MTPC, TripleFi10, Westone 4, Shure 115, and Scosche IEM856, the BCDD's performance/price completely ANNIHILATES all of the others.  In fact, I enjoy listening to my BCDD MUCH more than any of my other universal IEMs.

I'm wondering if the Radius DDM1 or DDM2 are a significant upgrade from the BCDD.  

 

Does anybody have both the BCDD and the Radius DDM1/DDM2?

 

 
Reply
post #11 of 14
2/12/12 at 9:16pm

Didn't get a chance to ABX them to the DDM2, but they did sound about the same. The drivers are the same, but i think the difference lies in the filters. Could be wrong but the BDD sounds a bit brighter than the DDM2 which to me is a good thing. For a dynamic, it's the biggest bang for the buck by quite a margin, more than some of the hyped products here. I do like mine a lot more with a loose seal, but it functions more as on earbud this way. Not great for noisy environments, but outstanding sound for the price. 

 

I wouldn't waste my money on the DDM2, overpriced and has terrible quality contro and most likely not an upgrade but a sidegradel. The DDM is good if found under 100$, but it's warmer. 

 

Many don't know this, but I believe the Monster Beats PowerBeats also have the same driver. Monster thinks they're clever by hiding the specs, but the front shell is quite a clue and they are said to be dual-drivers as well. Can't confirm this, but i'm almost certain it is. If it is, this may be a good option as it can probably be found at a low price, but the cable seems to have major problems. Thus, I don't recommend it in general. 


Edited by Inks - 2/12/12 at 9:21pm
Reply
post #12 of 14
2/12/12 at 9:27pm

Do you have any idea if Brookstone locations have these out to audition?

Reply
post #13 of 14
2/13/12 at 10:22am

Thanks so much for your insights and sharing your impressions!  I'll not pursue the Radius DDM1/2.

bigsmile_face.gif

Reply
post #14 of 14
2/13/12 at 10:23am

when i went to Brookstone, they had the headphones out hanging but didn't know [didn't check to see] if you could plug them into a digital audio player.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors › Brookstone DDM arrived today