[Dobrescu George]

Any more treble would ruin their balance IMO George. It already has great extension.

Well, everyone has their own tastes

Considering ie800, RE-2000, RE-800 and a few others that I love, I tend to be on the more treble side of things, but I honestly don't disagree with you, the treble extension is good indeed.

It is not about roll-off as much as it is about me liking more treble quantity with my music, but Dunu DK-3001 fares fairly well, I add 2-4 dB most of times, not more, so not a biggie, but still adding it.

 

[subguy812]

Any more treble would ruin their balance IMO George. It already has great extension.

Agreed...they are balanced in their signature as they are. The comfort is their
most glaring issue, not their sound.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Well, DK-3001 is gentle by itself, that much is clear. I managed to EQ them to my liking today. The curve is a bit complicated, but works nicely.

I keep my position, I have an ideal sound - the natural sound - to which I EQ everything. Seems that even ie800 and other TOTL can sometimes use a few dB's here and there.

 

[PinkyPowers]

Your definition of natural though isn't about replicating the experience of listening to music as an audience member, but rather how it sounds to stand right next to a symbal when it's struck at full force.

You can keep your "natural" and I'll keep mine.

 

[hi-fi amateur]

I think the treble on these is spot-on. They sound very clear, yet never bright or sibilant even at high listening levels. I remember owning the DN-2000J and those were like having needles in your ear. The DK-3001 are more like silk pillows.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Your definition of natural though isn't about replicating the experience of listening to music as an audience member, but rather how it sounds to stand right next to a symbal when it's struck at full force.

You can keep your "natural" and I'll keep mine.

If we want to be fully explicative about it:

It is a complex congregation of conditions, like the fact that I played live and experienced live music from a few meters from the instruments, so yes, I prefer live music as it is being near the band playing it, or rather being in the same room, not in the audience at a live show.

There's also probably some personal fascination with the cymbals since most of times I had an awesome time with those things so I am inherently fascinated and in love with cymbals

Which brings me to the third statement, having cymbals at my preferred levels is essential for me to be able to listen at moderate and humane levels, otherwise I keep increasing the volume, searching for cymbals, so in all fairness, I need the cymbals to be happy.

All in all, I wouldn't ask anyone to change their preferences in any way ever, it is just something interesting to keep in mind.

I've seen people from both camps, treble lovers and bass lovers, people who like smooth signatures and people who want electrifying signatures. In the end all is subjective and a matter of preference, what I wish most is for my descriptions to always be accurate and tell the reader things in a way in which he understands things and knows what to expect.

If we are to be honest, DK-3001 is not neutral by any means and the treble is smooth / gentle, it is not enhanced nor neutral, it is important for people to know this and to know what to expect so they are happy.

I think the treble on these is spot-on. They sound very clear, yet never bright or sibilant even at high listening levels. I remember owning the DN-2000J and those were like having needles in your ear. The DK-3001 are more like silk pillows.

And that was my point

They are never bright, never sibilant and the treble does feel silky / like silk pillows, so it is clearly smooth, important to know when recommending them because someone looking for a V or U shape or someone looking for a neutral signature wouldn't prefer too much smoothness.

Same with ER4-XR, I expected more treble, they are similarly smooth and need treble to sound V / U shaped / neutral.

There are things with too much treble for me as well though, like the original HD800, which sounded peaky and too serious...



- - - - - - - - -

I'm sorry, I'm not sure how my posts came actually, DK-3001 doesn't have too little treble, they are smooth sounding, I was just posting some of my impressions

They would satisfy a lot of people and I wholeheartedly recommend DK-3001 to people looking for this kind of signature.

 

[subguy812]

No sir the level of treble you enjoy is unnatural, but you enjoy it so have it. In my opinion there isn't a huge glaring issue with their sound, comfort on the other hand is another story.

 

[Dobrescu George]

No sir the level of treble you enjoy is unnatural, but you enjoy it so have it. In my opinion there isn't a huge glaring issue with their sound, comfort on the other hand is another story.

I enjoy the default treble on ie800, RE-2000 and a few other options...

About the comfort, I don't fully get it, I mean the default tips didn't work well, but the SpinFits included in the box are pure magic, DK-3001 doesn't really touch my ear except for the tip and the ear hook. I think I posed an image before to show how it looks for me.

 

[PinkyPowers]

I think your ears may be a little smaller, so the IEM doesn't sink in as deep.

 

[hi-fi amateur]

I have no fit or comfort issues with these. I use the mee double flange tips and the 3001 fits like a glove... sucks to hear about everybody else having problems though.

 

[Brooko]

If we are to be honest, DK-3001 is not neutral by any means and the treble is smooth / gentle, it is not enhanced nor neutral, it is important for people to know this and to know what to expect so they are happy.

Hi George - I agree its a really good idea to know your own tastes, and that everyone is different. But that is where its necessary to really articulate your descriptions while taking into account your own bias. because while the statement you made above might be true to you - its not actually how the lower treble really measures.

Here's the DK-3001, and that upper mid-range and lower treble is very extended, and while I agree with the smooth nature of the overall signature, I would not describe the treble as gentle (and I'm a bit of a mid-range and lower treble junkie). I would call it balanced and a little above neutral. It doesn't have the 7 kHz peak some others do - and maybe that's what you're missing?

If you are talking above 10 kHz then I'd be questioning how much extra you're getting by EQing. You'll get some harmonics and air with cymbals - but very little else.

You'll also note the gentle U or V shape. The other thing to note is the upper mid-range and treble relative to the bass - as this is where you get a lot of presence coming through. Raise the bass, and you won't notice it as much.

If it helps I can show some comparative graphs of other IEMs - which might give a little more information. I know once I started measuring and especially when I started comparing a lot of IEMs, I really found out what my preferences were. Before that, a lot of it was largely guess work, and I was surprised how many times what I'd been listening to previously would colour my impressions of a new IEM or headphone. its just the way we are wired I guess.

And I'm not trying to say your listening preferences are wrong - just that maybe your ideas on neutral or gentle (for treble) might be quite different from the norm.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Hi George - I agree its a really good idea to know your own tastes, and that everyone is different. But that is where its necessary to really articulate your descriptions while taking into account your own bias. because while the statement you made above might be true to you - its not actually how the lower treble really measures.

Here's the DK-3001, and that upper mid-range and lower treble is very extended, and while I agree with the smooth nature of the overall signature, I would not describe the treble as gentle (and I'm a bit of a mid-range and lower treble junkie). I would call it balanced and a little above neutral. It doesn't have the 7 kHz peak some others do - and maybe that's what you're missing?

If you are talking above 10 kHz then I'd be questioning how much extra you're getting by EQing. You'll get some harmonics and air with cymbals - but very little else.

You'll also note the gentle U or V shape. The other thing to note is the upper mid-range and treble relative to the bass - as this is where you get a lot of presence coming through. Raise the bass, and you won't notice it as much.

If it helps I can show some comparative graphs of other IEMs - which might give a little more information. I know once I started measuring and especially when I started comparing a lot of IEMs, I really found out what my preferences were. Before that, a lot of it was largely guess work, and I was surprised how many times what I'd been listening to previously would colour my impressions of a new IEM or headphone. its just the way we are wired I guess.

And I'm not trying to say your listening preferences are wrong - just that maybe your ideas on neutral or gentle (for treble) might be quite different from the norm.

Hey Paul,

I actually read your graphs and enjoy comparing them a lot, you're doing all of us a great favor in doing those measurements and taking the time to explain things!

To be honest, I noticed this with a few IEMs that roll off after 10K, I think it is that air I want to have, and you're absolutely right, what I call gentle is the lack of a 7 kHz slight emphasis which gives the sound more bite / feels like the treble has a bit more attack.

What I mean by gentle is that it's opposed to harsh, I don't see DK-3001 being harsh or metallic with anything, even if the music was supposed to be harsh, like some metal music. Music used might play a major role in the impressions, I don't really notice this thing when listening to jazz or pop or electronic, but with metal music, the sound is sometimes a tad friendly and happy. I think that people who love mids will have a blast with DK-3001 because of this though

For reference, this is the EQ I'm using:

First column is the value in dB

0 = 31 Hz

0 = 62 Hz

0 = 125 Hz

0 = 250 Hz

0 = 500 Hz

-1 = 1 kHz

-3 = 2 kHz

-1 = 4 kHz

+1 = 8 kHz

+5 = 16 kHz

Master/Pre = -5 dB

As you ca see, it is not extremely drastic, it kinda gives a clearer aspect to the whole sound, giving it more air and a bit more bite as well.

If you can test it, I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. DK-3001 still has something of a smooth character, they sound like something you can listen for ages without feeling any kind of fatigue.

Oh yes, I should mention this, I am EQ'ing everything under the sun, including other flagships, sometimes I reduce the treble, sometimes I bring it forward, this is just a little experiment I'm making to have a better balance in my views!

Thank you for your efforts of putting up with me and my sometimes weird views

 

[PinkyPowers]

I'm getting decent comfort all day so far, by putting spacers to extend the large SpinFits a bit further.

 

[Brooko]

George - your +5 at 16 kHz won't do a thing for me - I can't hear it, there is virtually nothing up there except a few harmonics anyway, and I doubt many people would even notice a difference if you adjusted it while playing real music without them knowing

 

[Dobrescu George]

George - your +5 at 16 kHz won't do a thing for me - I can't hear it, there is virtually nothing up there except a few harmonics anyway, and I doubt many people would even notice a difference if you adjusted it while playing real music without them knowing

Woah... I feel sorry to hear that...

Adding those 5 dB there does it for me somehow, it is not about knowing since I can easily tell those apart, but I'm still under 30 so this might play a role.

Anyways, we can probably agree that DK-3001 has a fairly silky sound up top and that they are smoother, not harsh nor sibilant