DUNU DM-380
I would like to thank DUNU for a sample that was provided for purpose of review. As a personal note I am of fan of all sorts of sound profiles when it comes to in ears. I am not as technical in my description of sound as most but more of how I perceiving a sound. If I was to choose a favorite type of sound it would be more of a balanced signature but don’t mind me some deep rump shaking bass to a detailed extended treble. With that being said these are my thoughts on the new entry level DUNU DM-380.
Testing was done using my sources. Ibasso DX160, Shanling M5s, Shanling M3s, Cayin N5ii, IFI black label amp any my LG Android phone.
The DM-380s can be purchased here and is marketed as their intro to the DUNU sound. So what do you get with the DUNU-380? The DM-380 comes in an attractive box with your standard 2 pairs of silicone tips and an attractive pouch. It is pretty much standard fare. The one aspect of the DM-380 that I have already seen some backlash for is that the design has a fixed mic'd cable. The fixed cable has a mic and is made of an oxygen free silver coated copper cable. It does function well with calls, vocals can be heard with good clarity and my voice can be heard well on the mic provided on the cord.
The pouch is nice looking but is not all that practical as the phones themselves barely fit in them. Another mark against the DM-380 is that the fixed cable while sturdy is a bit stiff and is more on the springy side and not as pliable as I would have liked. Microphonics is at a minimum due to the over ear design. So lets get into how they sound.
The sound has a safe balanced tuning to them but due to the use of 3 titanium coated dynamics they have a good amount of dynamics,spaciousness and clarity to the sound. The sound has an even portional balancing that has a good lift for the sub bass region but mostly balanced which is not too common in the budget range of earphones. Most budget level earphones I have heard accentuate the mid bass to a degree to give it some stand out features of the sound. The DM-380 is more of a jack of all trades type of sound which when taken as a whole is excellent for its intended purpose.
While the DM-380 has a good amount of bass impact and low reaching rumble I don’t perceive the bass to be overwhelming which adds to the overall balancing of the phones sound design. DUNU chose the larger 6mm dynamic to do bass and mids duties with the 2 smaller 5mm drivers to cover treble detail. The sound is a good one but somehow I feel it would have been better if they used one less driver and added an option for cable replacement instead. I do feel the added treble dynamic does give a sense of added space to the sound. As I understand it the housing is not original but the drivers and the sound tuning is all DUNU. For an intro model I feel DUNU has come out with a good one.
Overall resolution of the DM-380 is good for the price but lacks the precision you get with even cheaper BA sets. Tonality is more neutral than bright or warm. It has a good amount of sound projection but lacks some depth to the sound giving it more of wider than deep sound. Sound stage is just average but does give a good sense of space for in ears. Sound has a moderate oval like stage with above average dynamic character. Treble has good clarity with decent extension. It does have a slight roll off in the upper trebles but still retains a good amount of detail in the region. Treble could use a touch more extension and shimmer but again does compliment the overall balancing of the sound design. The mids are in the same vein as the treble in that it isn't forward but does not sound recessed at all. Instrument timbre and positioning is good but imaging could be better. Being more consumer oriented in tuning, the bass end of the DM-380 is the best aspect for the DM-380
Titanium coated drivers in my past experiences never lacked in the bass end and this is evident in the DM-380. Bass has good amount of impact and when called for, a surprising amount of low end rumble. Not the most textured but not bad here. I feel the bass is the standout of the DM-380. It was tuned with street use in mind so does have slightly more emphasis than the mids or the treble end. I have seen more and more dynamics being tuned this way where the larger dynamic is used for both the bass end and the mids. Probably helps with coherency. Which is another aspect of the DM-380 that is commendable. Very coherent sound it does sound like one driver is at work here.
The above average spacious presentation helps to immerse in your music and the bass end to help drown out excess noise with a decent amount of passive sound isolation. So the sound design was a good one for an earphone that was made to plug n go. As the marketing goes on their site. Just because these are entry level does not mean it is an entry level sound. I do like the DM-380 quite a bit however I have a message for DUNU.
I commend that you have put forward a good effort there with your DM-380. However being a consumer first and an enthusiast secondly. You have some very stiff competition in the price range. I have heard earphones that are cheaper and a bit more that come out of China that reach the sound quality of the DM-380. More or less in a few areas but similar sonically. So that makes the DM-380 sound compared to others in the price range. Good but average by todays standards. Today's consumer is bombarded with a myriad of new and exciting hybrids and a promise of new tech for drivers on a daily basis. With that being said. To make a move in the marketplace. I feel a phone has to be special.
Is the DM-380 good? I would say so. It has it where it counts. SQ is it’s strong point and is also very functionable as an on the go earphone. However with competition now a days, we are seeing new companies that emerge with crazy driver counts that promise good tuning and the like. Standing out in this segment I feel has to be one over the others.
With that I will give the DM-380 a solid 4 star rating. It is a good solid earphone at the price range and a very likable tuning in the sonics. DUNU has come out with a good phone here but does have some room for improvement. Todays earphones must have a way of replacing the cable and the movement in the industry recently is that even cheaper earphones have a way of replacing the cables. If your not so concerned about using an aftermarket cable or using the DM-380 for balanced sound on your DAPs. Then the DM-380 is a good choice. The DM-380 will be a good seller for DUNU as it has it where it counts. The sound tuning is versatile and has some good solid dynamics to the tuning. There is a lot to like about the sound aspect of the DM-380 and for that I think it will succeed. Thanks for taking the time to read and as always happy listening.
I would like to thank DUNU for a sample that was provided for purpose of review. As a personal note I am of fan of all sorts of sound profiles when it comes to in ears. I am not as technical in my description of sound as most but more of how I perceiving a sound. If I was to choose a favorite type of sound it would be more of a balanced signature but don’t mind me some deep rump shaking bass to a detailed extended treble. With that being said these are my thoughts on the new entry level DUNU DM-380.
Testing was done using my sources. Ibasso DX160, Shanling M5s, Shanling M3s, Cayin N5ii, IFI black label amp any my LG Android phone.
The DM-380s can be purchased here and is marketed as their intro to the DUNU sound. So what do you get with the DUNU-380? The DM-380 comes in an attractive box with your standard 2 pairs of silicone tips and an attractive pouch. It is pretty much standard fare. The one aspect of the DM-380 that I have already seen some backlash for is that the design has a fixed mic'd cable. The fixed cable has a mic and is made of an oxygen free silver coated copper cable. It does function well with calls, vocals can be heard with good clarity and my voice can be heard well on the mic provided on the cord.
The pouch is nice looking but is not all that practical as the phones themselves barely fit in them. Another mark against the DM-380 is that the fixed cable while sturdy is a bit stiff and is more on the springy side and not as pliable as I would have liked. Microphonics is at a minimum due to the over ear design. So lets get into how they sound.
The sound has a safe balanced tuning to them but due to the use of 3 titanium coated dynamics they have a good amount of dynamics,spaciousness and clarity to the sound. The sound has an even portional balancing that has a good lift for the sub bass region but mostly balanced which is not too common in the budget range of earphones. Most budget level earphones I have heard accentuate the mid bass to a degree to give it some stand out features of the sound. The DM-380 is more of a jack of all trades type of sound which when taken as a whole is excellent for its intended purpose.
While the DM-380 has a good amount of bass impact and low reaching rumble I don’t perceive the bass to be overwhelming which adds to the overall balancing of the phones sound design. DUNU chose the larger 6mm dynamic to do bass and mids duties with the 2 smaller 5mm drivers to cover treble detail. The sound is a good one but somehow I feel it would have been better if they used one less driver and added an option for cable replacement instead. I do feel the added treble dynamic does give a sense of added space to the sound. As I understand it the housing is not original but the drivers and the sound tuning is all DUNU. For an intro model I feel DUNU has come out with a good one.
Overall resolution of the DM-380 is good for the price but lacks the precision you get with even cheaper BA sets. Tonality is more neutral than bright or warm. It has a good amount of sound projection but lacks some depth to the sound giving it more of wider than deep sound. Sound stage is just average but does give a good sense of space for in ears. Sound has a moderate oval like stage with above average dynamic character. Treble has good clarity with decent extension. It does have a slight roll off in the upper trebles but still retains a good amount of detail in the region. Treble could use a touch more extension and shimmer but again does compliment the overall balancing of the sound design. The mids are in the same vein as the treble in that it isn't forward but does not sound recessed at all. Instrument timbre and positioning is good but imaging could be better. Being more consumer oriented in tuning, the bass end of the DM-380 is the best aspect for the DM-380
Titanium coated drivers in my past experiences never lacked in the bass end and this is evident in the DM-380. Bass has good amount of impact and when called for, a surprising amount of low end rumble. Not the most textured but not bad here. I feel the bass is the standout of the DM-380. It was tuned with street use in mind so does have slightly more emphasis than the mids or the treble end. I have seen more and more dynamics being tuned this way where the larger dynamic is used for both the bass end and the mids. Probably helps with coherency. Which is another aspect of the DM-380 that is commendable. Very coherent sound it does sound like one driver is at work here.
The above average spacious presentation helps to immerse in your music and the bass end to help drown out excess noise with a decent amount of passive sound isolation. So the sound design was a good one for an earphone that was made to plug n go. As the marketing goes on their site. Just because these are entry level does not mean it is an entry level sound. I do like the DM-380 quite a bit however I have a message for DUNU.
I commend that you have put forward a good effort there with your DM-380. However being a consumer first and an enthusiast secondly. You have some very stiff competition in the price range. I have heard earphones that are cheaper and a bit more that come out of China that reach the sound quality of the DM-380. More or less in a few areas but similar sonically. So that makes the DM-380 sound compared to others in the price range. Good but average by todays standards. Today's consumer is bombarded with a myriad of new and exciting hybrids and a promise of new tech for drivers on a daily basis. With that being said. To make a move in the marketplace. I feel a phone has to be special.
Is the DM-380 good? I would say so. It has it where it counts. SQ is it’s strong point and is also very functionable as an on the go earphone. However with competition now a days, we are seeing new companies that emerge with crazy driver counts that promise good tuning and the like. Standing out in this segment I feel has to be one over the others.
With that I will give the DM-380 a solid 4 star rating. It is a good solid earphone at the price range and a very likable tuning in the sonics. DUNU has come out with a good phone here but does have some room for improvement. Todays earphones must have a way of replacing the cable and the movement in the industry recently is that even cheaper earphones have a way of replacing the cables. If your not so concerned about using an aftermarket cable or using the DM-380 for balanced sound on your DAPs. Then the DM-380 is a good choice. The DM-380 will be a good seller for DUNU as it has it where it counts. The sound tuning is versatile and has some good solid dynamics to the tuning. There is a lot to like about the sound aspect of the DM-380 and for that I think it will succeed. Thanks for taking the time to read and as always happy listening.
