Listening Tour
Ever since
we made an announcement on our new product, ZEN, a large number of members have been asking for a listening tour, similar to the one we ran for LUNA. Unfortunately, we have been very short staffed this past year and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Running a centralized listening tour is very administratively taxing and we were reluctant to run a large scale listening tour with us as the main organizers. Luckily, we've had a good number of members step up and volunteer to run listening tours on our behalf!
So we're pleased to announce that listening tours will be available in the following locales:
- USA (Regional Organizer: @Slater )
- Canada (Regional Organizer: @riverground )
- EU Countries (Regional Organizer: @davidmolliere )
- UK (Regional Organizer: TBD)
- Oceania [Australia, New Zealand] (Regional Organizer: TBD)
- Southeast Asia [Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.] (Regional Organizer: TBD)
The countries/regions of China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, and Thailand are
not eligible for tours because audition units are/will be available at major stores. If you do not see your region indicated and wish to participate in the tour, please contact us and request to be a tour organizer. A threshold of at least 5 members participating in a region will be required.
So how do members sign-up? To facilitate regional organizers with the sign-up process, we've opened up a short form, found here:
https://www.dunu-topsound.com/zen-tour
The first round of sign-ups will close after three weeks, on 1/21. Additional rounds will be determined by continued demand.
Please note that this listening tour for ZEN is restricted to
active Head-Fi members (defined as possessing a posting average of
at least 5 posts per month over the past three months, and
at least 1 post in the past month) with
at least 100 posts. Prior experience with listening tours is recommended, though past participation is not required.
Regional tour organizers are free to introduce additional tour requirements and instructions, including, but not limited to, PayPal-confirmed shipping addresses, national ID numbers, etc. After sign-up, regional tour organizers may contact members to request additional information and coordinate the forwarding process.
Tour participants should post their impressions in the relevant discussion threads/areas:
DUNU prides itself on being constantly at the cutting edge of audio technology. Last year, inspired by the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, DUNU launched LUNA, one of the world’s first and only pure beryllium foil dynamic driver in-ears. As a project developed from an unconstrained budget...
Tour units will ship without a retail box and may not include all retail accessories. Depending on demand, we may include other item(s) in the tour kit, such as our USB Type-C modular plug, or other cables.
Note on Safety
Although we've left 2020 behind, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Tough times will likely continue for the first half of 2021, despite the potential of vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Oxford-AstraZeneca, as well as other efforts. At this point, very few individuals have been vaccinated, much less a second booster dose. Multiple countries around the world are experiencing record numbers of new cases, with the seasonal flu set to compound issues this winter.
Although fomite transmission is considered a very minor mode of transmission for SARS-CoV-2, in order to maximize participants' safety, all members
will be required to wipe down all used ear tips, used accessories, and earphones with an alcohol-based disinfectant (at least 70% isopropyl alcohol V/V) before forwarding the tour package to the next member in line. All participants should exercise personal discretion and refrain from using earphones if any upper respiratory symptoms are noted. Any participating member diagnosed with COVID-19 should follow local public health guidelines and self-isolate and/or be treated prior to making any attempt to forward the tour package.
We request that members refrain from listening gatherings. If anyone must meet in person, please maintain proper social distance, wear a face covering, and exercise hand hygiene before/after handling anything.