Introduction:
Dunu are a well-established company by now and will need little introduction from me.
Having produced many well-regarded IEMs in the budget range, they pushed into the TOTL market with their acclaimed Luna earphone.
They undertook a very lengthy R&D process to produce the pure beryllium foil
dynamic driver for the Luna, including devising the materials and manufacturing methods to implement the tech they’d developed. Part of their mission since then has to allow that tech and optimised manufacturing process to filter down into new mid-range and budget models.
Today, I’m going to be looking at an IEM which does exactly that, via DUNU’s new Eclipse driver platform which, to quote DUNU themselves, showcases ‘a collection of exclusive, next generation driver technologies’.
All the details of the technology employed – far more than I could hope to fit in here – is available on the dedicated DUNU Zen page here on Head-Fi:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zen-by-dunu-our-first-model-designed-around-next-generation-driver-platform-eclipsƎ.949689/
On here, you will also find a plethora of impressions, links to reviews, questions and answers, and – as is de rigueur on any self-respecting Head-Fi thread these days - some memes involving cats and stuff
At USD $699 at the time of writing, the Zen - according to the IEM world’s ever-changing pricing norms - would fit today at the mid-upper end of the mid-range price tier.
My sincere thanks to Tom and the team at Dunu, for providing me with a review unit to keep in exchange for an honest review.
With these ‘starters’ in place, it’s time to move on to the main course, which you can begin by feasting your eyes upon the photos in the following section
Photos:





Unboxing, packaging and accessories:
I think the packaging is of a reasonable standard for this price point; it’s fairly classy and everything is squared away inside in its own place. The accessories package was a mixed affair; a dark blue carrying case was included, which looked to be made from leather or PU Leather; it’s not really to my taste, but since such things are so dependent on one’s personal preferences, I won’t count that as a negative.
I would mention though that the $399 Unique Melody 3DT IEM, released around the same time, includes a case made by the prestigious Korean artisan company Dignis; as such, I think DUNU could perhaps up their game in this particular aspect of their accessorising.
A generous selection of ear tips was provided, along with DUW-03, an 8-core silver-plated copper cable that previously came with the SA6, only with MMCX connectors this time around for the Zen. It’s got a somewhat rubbery feel and is fairly chunky given the 8-wire construction and aforementioned rubbery sleeve, but in use I found no issues with it.
The cable employs DUNU’s modular plug system, coming with all 3 major plug options in the box from which to choose; 3.5mm SE along with 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced. Huge plus points for this choice, which I’ve sadly seen lacking on IEMs at more than double the price!
A cleaning tool and a guitar-style adaptor round out the package.
The IEM itself is pretty nice. This will depend very much on one’s personal taste.
It’s not the artwork-like unique beauty of the SA6; this – in keeping with the Eclipse theme of the DD platform – does have a design that is blacked out, which also allows light to play across the surface in an appealing way. It’s a more subtle design in a glossy black that regrettably collects fingerprints faster than a policeman chasing the ‘collars of the month’ award. Nevertheless a degree of simple but elegant artistry in how these IEMs are designed.
The shells are made from stainless steel and seem very solid and well-engineered.
The Fit:
The nozzle of the Zen seems longer comparatively than the SA6 and DK-2001 that I reviewed previously; I was able to get a good seal using my New Bee foam tips which lasted undisturbed throughout lengthy listening sessions, including cooking whilst listening.
There was no discomfort or fatigue.
The Sound:
I listened using the Sony WM1Z DAP, with MrWalkman’s custom FW (DMP-WM1 Mk I), and the DX220MAX, combined with a variety of tracks in lossless or hi-res lossless format, from a wide variety of genres.
I’ll begin with the summary of my findings, then a couple of comparisons, followed by a brief conclusion.
Low end:
I hear the Zen as having a moderately tuned sub-bass – with my own slightly basshead tendencies, I would personally prefer quite a bit more of this. Along with this, there’s a comparatively elevated mid-bass, albeit still fairly average in terms of quantity. The impact and slam are, I would say, not much above neutral.
This contrasts with the mid-bass, which I found to be a bit variable in delivery, depending on the source material. On neutrally mastered tracks, I found the low end to be slightly unsatisfying, but with tracks with a more full-bodied and powerful mastering (of the drums and bass) the mid-bass of the Zen was able to deliver an engaging and rich performance.
However, this is where -on a few occasions - the discrepancy I felt between the sub-bass and mid-bass became slightly jarring; you could have full-bodied, toe-tapping bass strums, but quite anaemic sounding drums to go with it.
On most songs, it all came together and everything sounded great, but not quite consistently enough for me to completely ignore this issue.
Of course, I have to note that this relates to my own personal preferences and there will be plenty of other IEMs that give me that feeling of slight dissatisfaction regarding the low end.
So if classic rock or other neutrally-mastered music is your thing and you really want to feel those drums and bass, then you’d be better off looking at something within your budget that approximates the sound signatures of the EE Nemesis or Legend X, CA Solaris, UM MEST Mk II, etc.
I am not so familiar with IEMs at the $700 price point, but I’m sure others on the dedicated Zen thread here can advise accordingly!
Another side-effect of the low-end tuning is that I occasionally hear the presentation of a song to have slight inconsistencies. It’s not noticeable most of the time, and even when it is, it’s a subtle effect that might go over many people’s heads (I’m in ‘critical listening mode’ as I write this, haha).
An example would be Rage Against The Machine – ‘Bullet in the head’.
Following the breakdown, from 3m 6s into the song, the instruments all come roaring back in. When the repeated bass riff hits the lower notes, there’s a palpable feeling of weight, impact and power coming off of those bass notes, but as soon as those bass notes move higher, that feeling disappears immediately.
Whilst I play some guitar, I’m not familiar with the bass as an instrument, and maybe this is simply the feeling one would get in in real life? Anyway, I’m just writing what I hear.
Just the facts, Ma’am, just the facts
Mids:
I hear the lower mids as being fairly neutral, with somewhat forward upper mids.
For me, there’s a warmth and weight from the mid-bass that spreads into the mids, more prominent in the lower mids and attenuating as the frequency increases into the upper mids. Female vocals can come across as a bit sharp and piercing occasionally; a hazard of those forward upper mids, although male vocals on the whole sound reasonably full-bodied and enjoyable, if perhaps a little bit lacking in presence and weight.
With one of my go-to test tracks, Hong Kong opera singer Alison Lau’s rendition of ‘Lascia la spina’ the strings have a gorgeously full-bodied warmth, but I did feel the harpsichord in the background had a bit less of the prominence and sparkle that I enjoy on other IEMs in my collection.
Also, as mentioned the vocals can be too piercing for me at times, although in fairness with my treble sensitivity, that issue comes up with this song on many IEMs and usually only the most smooth and non-fatiguing ones will pass that test.
Treble:
The treble is interesting. And no, that’s not a euphemism for ‘a bit rubbish’
It’s somewhat rolled off, and from graphs I’ve seen has a prominent spike between 8-9 kHz.
Different kinds of ear tips will either exacerbate or reduce this; with my New Bee foam tips, it was never really something I noticed to be honest.
Going simply on what I hear, there’s not the immediate sense of air and spaciousness that you’ll get with some IEMs; as mentioned previously, there’s also a sense of intimacy brought about by the size and weight of the notes. However, unlike some IEMs I’ve heard, this doesn’t result in a muddy or congested feeling, even on songs with fairly dense and complex arrangements, or where the mastering of the song has been done in an intimate way itself. There’s a well-judged degree of separation and a fairly black background that gives every vocal and instrument its own space to shine.
Technical performance and overall sound signature:
The increased note size engendered by that mid-bass creates a more intimate feel, although in fact the soundstage is reasonably wide and deep, with average height.
I found the layering and - especially – the imaging to be surprising (in a good way); things like backing vocals and additional instruments were highlighted enchantingly and details pop out very well against a fairly black background.
It’s definitely more on the musical side than reference, although it certainly is able to bring out those delightful small details in the music. For me, it’s more of a tonally coloured presentation and if that’s what you’re looking for, then you’d do well to give the Zen a listen if you have the chance.
On the other hand, if your tastes lean more towards neutral-reference and transparency, then DUNU’s SA6 would be well worth investigating.
Finally, I have to mention the timbre, which I think is done in a very engaging way and generally very lifelike.
Comparisons:
DUNU Zen vs DUNU SA6:
It’s pretty much chalk and cheese here; two radically different tunings.
The SA6 features a switch on each earphone that can be used to add a bump to the low end; I use this every time and find the sound to be essentially neutral reference with a touch of organic warmth; the detail retrieval, resolution and transparency of the SA6 are excellent.
I hear Zen to be less transparent and resolving. The detail retrieval on the Zen is not far behind at all, but just does it slightly differently. It’s hard to put my finger on how; I just found that different details stood out for me with the Zen, and in different ways. Perhaps an effect of its rather non-standard tuning.
Conversely, I found the Zen to have a significantly harder hitting and more enjoyable low end. It’s not a bass-head presentation by any means, but has enough of that DD goodness to leave most all-BA IEM’s in the shade.
DUNU Zen vs Unique Melody Mini-MEST:
The Mini-MEST features 3 balanced armature drivers, along with UM’s custom Bone Conduction Driver (BCD), which seems to add coherence and body to the sound signature.
The tunings of these two IEMs are more similar than Zen vs SA6 above, but still quite diverse on the whole.
I hear the Mini-MEST to have faster transients, with instruments having more clearly defined ‘edges’. Perhaps surprisingly, compared with the single DD setup of the Zen, I hear the Mini-MEST to sound more cohesive and also smoother and more balanced. Timbre is very good on both, although I might give the edge to the Mini-MEST here.
The Zen’s low end hits with more impact and power though – unsurprising in a DD vs BA comparison – although as I mentioned in my Mini-MEST review, the low end on the Mini-MEST is the most DD-like I’ve yet heard on an all-BA IEM.
On the other hand, I’d say the Mini-MEST pulls significantly ahead technically.
What they both have in common is an engaging musicality and a dynamic and energetic signature.
It's worth adding as I close that everyone has different preferences and it just so happened that the Mini-MEST, when I reviewed it, managed the rare feat of ticking pretty much all my boxes and I am a big fan of it. Others will prefer the Zen.
If in doubt, try them both out (if at all possible)
Conclusion:
I think the Zen distinguishes itself with a unique sound signature, as befits one of the few single-driver offerings in the market at this price point.
It’s rich, dynamic, and full-bodied. Sometimes powerful and frequently foot-tappingly musical. It’s intimate but not congested, with a solid technical performance with particular strengths in the imaging and layering.
I felt that the tuning occasionally came off as a bit uneven, but on the whole it was very enjoyable. Overall, if the audio qualities I’ve described are piquing your interests, then I’d highly recommend giving the Zen a listen.
Dunu are a well-established company by now and will need little introduction from me.
Having produced many well-regarded IEMs in the budget range, they pushed into the TOTL market with their acclaimed Luna earphone.
They undertook a very lengthy R&D process to produce the pure beryllium foil
dynamic driver for the Luna, including devising the materials and manufacturing methods to implement the tech they’d developed. Part of their mission since then has to allow that tech and optimised manufacturing process to filter down into new mid-range and budget models.
Today, I’m going to be looking at an IEM which does exactly that, via DUNU’s new Eclipse driver platform which, to quote DUNU themselves, showcases ‘a collection of exclusive, next generation driver technologies’.
All the details of the technology employed – far more than I could hope to fit in here – is available on the dedicated DUNU Zen page here on Head-Fi:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zen-by-dunu-our-first-model-designed-around-next-generation-driver-platform-eclipsƎ.949689/
On here, you will also find a plethora of impressions, links to reviews, questions and answers, and – as is de rigueur on any self-respecting Head-Fi thread these days - some memes involving cats and stuff
At USD $699 at the time of writing, the Zen - according to the IEM world’s ever-changing pricing norms - would fit today at the mid-upper end of the mid-range price tier.
My sincere thanks to Tom and the team at Dunu, for providing me with a review unit to keep in exchange for an honest review.
With these ‘starters’ in place, it’s time to move on to the main course, which you can begin by feasting your eyes upon the photos in the following section
Photos:





Unboxing, packaging and accessories:
I think the packaging is of a reasonable standard for this price point; it’s fairly classy and everything is squared away inside in its own place. The accessories package was a mixed affair; a dark blue carrying case was included, which looked to be made from leather or PU Leather; it’s not really to my taste, but since such things are so dependent on one’s personal preferences, I won’t count that as a negative.
I would mention though that the $399 Unique Melody 3DT IEM, released around the same time, includes a case made by the prestigious Korean artisan company Dignis; as such, I think DUNU could perhaps up their game in this particular aspect of their accessorising.
A generous selection of ear tips was provided, along with DUW-03, an 8-core silver-plated copper cable that previously came with the SA6, only with MMCX connectors this time around for the Zen. It’s got a somewhat rubbery feel and is fairly chunky given the 8-wire construction and aforementioned rubbery sleeve, but in use I found no issues with it.
The cable employs DUNU’s modular plug system, coming with all 3 major plug options in the box from which to choose; 3.5mm SE along with 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced. Huge plus points for this choice, which I’ve sadly seen lacking on IEMs at more than double the price!
A cleaning tool and a guitar-style adaptor round out the package.
The IEM itself is pretty nice. This will depend very much on one’s personal taste.
It’s not the artwork-like unique beauty of the SA6; this – in keeping with the Eclipse theme of the DD platform – does have a design that is blacked out, which also allows light to play across the surface in an appealing way. It’s a more subtle design in a glossy black that regrettably collects fingerprints faster than a policeman chasing the ‘collars of the month’ award. Nevertheless a degree of simple but elegant artistry in how these IEMs are designed.
The shells are made from stainless steel and seem very solid and well-engineered.
The Fit:
The nozzle of the Zen seems longer comparatively than the SA6 and DK-2001 that I reviewed previously; I was able to get a good seal using my New Bee foam tips which lasted undisturbed throughout lengthy listening sessions, including cooking whilst listening.
There was no discomfort or fatigue.
The Sound:
I listened using the Sony WM1Z DAP, with MrWalkman’s custom FW (DMP-WM1 Mk I), and the DX220MAX, combined with a variety of tracks in lossless or hi-res lossless format, from a wide variety of genres.
I’ll begin with the summary of my findings, then a couple of comparisons, followed by a brief conclusion.
Low end:
I hear the Zen as having a moderately tuned sub-bass – with my own slightly basshead tendencies, I would personally prefer quite a bit more of this. Along with this, there’s a comparatively elevated mid-bass, albeit still fairly average in terms of quantity. The impact and slam are, I would say, not much above neutral.
This contrasts with the mid-bass, which I found to be a bit variable in delivery, depending on the source material. On neutrally mastered tracks, I found the low end to be slightly unsatisfying, but with tracks with a more full-bodied and powerful mastering (of the drums and bass) the mid-bass of the Zen was able to deliver an engaging and rich performance.
However, this is where -on a few occasions - the discrepancy I felt between the sub-bass and mid-bass became slightly jarring; you could have full-bodied, toe-tapping bass strums, but quite anaemic sounding drums to go with it.
On most songs, it all came together and everything sounded great, but not quite consistently enough for me to completely ignore this issue.
Of course, I have to note that this relates to my own personal preferences and there will be plenty of other IEMs that give me that feeling of slight dissatisfaction regarding the low end.
So if classic rock or other neutrally-mastered music is your thing and you really want to feel those drums and bass, then you’d be better off looking at something within your budget that approximates the sound signatures of the EE Nemesis or Legend X, CA Solaris, UM MEST Mk II, etc.
I am not so familiar with IEMs at the $700 price point, but I’m sure others on the dedicated Zen thread here can advise accordingly!
Another side-effect of the low-end tuning is that I occasionally hear the presentation of a song to have slight inconsistencies. It’s not noticeable most of the time, and even when it is, it’s a subtle effect that might go over many people’s heads (I’m in ‘critical listening mode’ as I write this, haha).
An example would be Rage Against The Machine – ‘Bullet in the head’.
Following the breakdown, from 3m 6s into the song, the instruments all come roaring back in. When the repeated bass riff hits the lower notes, there’s a palpable feeling of weight, impact and power coming off of those bass notes, but as soon as those bass notes move higher, that feeling disappears immediately.
Whilst I play some guitar, I’m not familiar with the bass as an instrument, and maybe this is simply the feeling one would get in in real life? Anyway, I’m just writing what I hear.
Just the facts, Ma’am, just the facts
Mids:
I hear the lower mids as being fairly neutral, with somewhat forward upper mids.
For me, there’s a warmth and weight from the mid-bass that spreads into the mids, more prominent in the lower mids and attenuating as the frequency increases into the upper mids. Female vocals can come across as a bit sharp and piercing occasionally; a hazard of those forward upper mids, although male vocals on the whole sound reasonably full-bodied and enjoyable, if perhaps a little bit lacking in presence and weight.
With one of my go-to test tracks, Hong Kong opera singer Alison Lau’s rendition of ‘Lascia la spina’ the strings have a gorgeously full-bodied warmth, but I did feel the harpsichord in the background had a bit less of the prominence and sparkle that I enjoy on other IEMs in my collection.
Also, as mentioned the vocals can be too piercing for me at times, although in fairness with my treble sensitivity, that issue comes up with this song on many IEMs and usually only the most smooth and non-fatiguing ones will pass that test.
Treble:
The treble is interesting. And no, that’s not a euphemism for ‘a bit rubbish’
It’s somewhat rolled off, and from graphs I’ve seen has a prominent spike between 8-9 kHz.
Different kinds of ear tips will either exacerbate or reduce this; with my New Bee foam tips, it was never really something I noticed to be honest.
Going simply on what I hear, there’s not the immediate sense of air and spaciousness that you’ll get with some IEMs; as mentioned previously, there’s also a sense of intimacy brought about by the size and weight of the notes. However, unlike some IEMs I’ve heard, this doesn’t result in a muddy or congested feeling, even on songs with fairly dense and complex arrangements, or where the mastering of the song has been done in an intimate way itself. There’s a well-judged degree of separation and a fairly black background that gives every vocal and instrument its own space to shine.
Technical performance and overall sound signature:
The increased note size engendered by that mid-bass creates a more intimate feel, although in fact the soundstage is reasonably wide and deep, with average height.
I found the layering and - especially – the imaging to be surprising (in a good way); things like backing vocals and additional instruments were highlighted enchantingly and details pop out very well against a fairly black background.
It’s definitely more on the musical side than reference, although it certainly is able to bring out those delightful small details in the music. For me, it’s more of a tonally coloured presentation and if that’s what you’re looking for, then you’d do well to give the Zen a listen if you have the chance.
On the other hand, if your tastes lean more towards neutral-reference and transparency, then DUNU’s SA6 would be well worth investigating.
Finally, I have to mention the timbre, which I think is done in a very engaging way and generally very lifelike.
Comparisons:
DUNU Zen vs DUNU SA6:
It’s pretty much chalk and cheese here; two radically different tunings.
The SA6 features a switch on each earphone that can be used to add a bump to the low end; I use this every time and find the sound to be essentially neutral reference with a touch of organic warmth; the detail retrieval, resolution and transparency of the SA6 are excellent.
I hear Zen to be less transparent and resolving. The detail retrieval on the Zen is not far behind at all, but just does it slightly differently. It’s hard to put my finger on how; I just found that different details stood out for me with the Zen, and in different ways. Perhaps an effect of its rather non-standard tuning.
Conversely, I found the Zen to have a significantly harder hitting and more enjoyable low end. It’s not a bass-head presentation by any means, but has enough of that DD goodness to leave most all-BA IEM’s in the shade.
DUNU Zen vs Unique Melody Mini-MEST:
The Mini-MEST features 3 balanced armature drivers, along with UM’s custom Bone Conduction Driver (BCD), which seems to add coherence and body to the sound signature.
The tunings of these two IEMs are more similar than Zen vs SA6 above, but still quite diverse on the whole.
I hear the Mini-MEST to have faster transients, with instruments having more clearly defined ‘edges’. Perhaps surprisingly, compared with the single DD setup of the Zen, I hear the Mini-MEST to sound more cohesive and also smoother and more balanced. Timbre is very good on both, although I might give the edge to the Mini-MEST here.
The Zen’s low end hits with more impact and power though – unsurprising in a DD vs BA comparison – although as I mentioned in my Mini-MEST review, the low end on the Mini-MEST is the most DD-like I’ve yet heard on an all-BA IEM.
On the other hand, I’d say the Mini-MEST pulls significantly ahead technically.
What they both have in common is an engaging musicality and a dynamic and energetic signature.
It's worth adding as I close that everyone has different preferences and it just so happened that the Mini-MEST, when I reviewed it, managed the rare feat of ticking pretty much all my boxes and I am a big fan of it. Others will prefer the Zen.
If in doubt, try them both out (if at all possible)
Conclusion:
I think the Zen distinguishes itself with a unique sound signature, as befits one of the few single-driver offerings in the market at this price point.
It’s rich, dynamic, and full-bodied. Sometimes powerful and frequently foot-tappingly musical. It’s intimate but not congested, with a solid technical performance with particular strengths in the imaging and layering.
I felt that the tuning occasionally came off as a bit uneven, but on the whole it was very enjoyable. Overall, if the audio qualities I’ve described are piquing your interests, then I’d highly recommend giving the Zen a listen.