[Frankie D]

best bass in IEM tht honor goes to Legend X

also would love to hear ppl's opinions on Luna for metal

Well, I think you would be happy with them for metal. I just listened to Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir and they were able to produce the weight, drive and impact needed for the drums in that song.
Switching to Tull’s Aqualung, a great job. Again the bass is produced with impact. Moving to Locomotive Breath it can produce the weight and bass to carry the rhythm/drive of this track. If the IEM cannot produce strong bass when asked you will not hear this track properly. For example the Elysium cannot do it. On Cross Eyed Mary you can feel the song’s power. Moving to a lighter track, Riders On The Storm by the Doors, the bass and bass guitar come through nicely providing the necessary weight for this track. Tks.

 

[Spie1904]

Well, I think you would be happy with them for metal. I just listened to Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir and they were able to produce the weight, drive and impact needed for the drums in that song.
Switching to Tull’s Aqualung, a great job. Again the bass is produced with impact. Moving to Locomotive Breath it can produce the weight and bass to carry the rhythm/drive of this track. If the IEM cannot produce strong bass when asked you will not hear this track properly. For example the Elysium cannot do it. On Cross Eyed Mary you can feel the song’s power. Moving to a lighter track, Riders On The Storm by the Doors, the bass and bass guitar come through nicely providing the necessary weight for this track. Tks.

If we’re talking metal, how do they handle heavy metal like trivium or in flames as I don’t consider the doors metal really

If you got time, songs to test for example:
- Voices by In Flames
- What the dead men say by Trivium

 

[Frankie D]

If we’re talking metal, how do they handle heavy metal like trivium or in flames as I don’t consider the doors metal really

If you got time, songs to test for example:
- Voices by In Flames
- What the dead men say by Trivium

Well that was fun! Can’t wait till I get my hearing back!

Okay, before we get into the comparisons for you: Led Zeppelin and Tull are not Metal enough for you? I realize the Doors are softer as I said that in my update. I included that track because I have found that Metal bands do some great soft rock. I did not feel like listening to some of the softer Zep and Tull tunes, I was in the mood for the Doors, so I used “Riders On The Storm” instead to represent the softer side.

Okay, now to your requested comparisons. Before I forget, thank you for the music info. I normally listen via my Cayin N8, however for this comparison I used my iPhone connected to the Dragonfly Red and Youtube for the music. So not the same quality source material as I typically use. Still pretty good though.

“Voices” by In Flames: At 50 seconds in this track takes off. The guitars rip and have good sound. The drums come through as well, but not as impactful as on Jethro Tull (but that is in hidef and a very good recording). At just below half volume the Luna explodes. Powerful drum hits, whaling vocals. “I will search, search through the wreckage of my soul.” And you will! Good tone to his vocals and details will come through as the Luna never allows the mix to get congested. You can hear the tone change beautifully when they sing “I swear I could hear the voices from the edge of the earth.”

My Fourte proves to be more impactful, and the Luna a bit brighter in presentation. Both good, just different. The tone change of the vocals mentioned above is more interesting on the Luna.

The Anole VX is great on this track. Strong bass and good drive.

The Vison Ears VE-8 does it the best, just a better tone to the guitar, but the Luna is close to the VE-8.

“I Am Above” by In Flames: At the beginning of this track the drums hit hard and with texture. You can hear differences in the drum whacks if you care to, or just take it all in.

The Fourte in comparison sounds muddier, not as clear. Definite edge to the Luna here.

Compared to the VX, I think I would still choose the Luna as the better listen. The Luna is a bit better on the vocals, and just a great listen overall.

The VE-8: Close. I might still go with the VE-8 due to a better tone. A bit clearer, but close. You would like both presentations. The Luna is the heavier presentation. At 2:34 in the guitar comes in brighter on the VE-8. On the Luna it is less bright in tone…deeper?

Awfully close call to me on this track between VE-8 and Luna.

“What the Dead Men Say” by Trivium: Very forceful guitar at the beginning of the track. You can still hear the drums and feel the overall power of the presentation. This track is in the Luna’s wheelhouse. The drum riffs through the cut are heard and felt. The drummer is flying, and the Luna lets you hear it all. You will be happy.

They Fourte hits harder in the bass, but not as clear as the Luna. Again, this is a question of deeper presentation vs brighter presentation. The Fourte can really shake your head on this track. It is wild.

The VE-8 does a better job on the guitars and vocals, the Fourte better on the drum whacks. Very clear, but not the impact of the Fourte or Luna.

The VX is just not as good as the above 3 on this track. Even the guitars sound better on the Luna.

For me, this track is a choice between the Fourte and the Luna.

In summary, the Luna can definitely handle these metal bands. A note on the Luna. To get the quality I am talking about on the Luna requires the volume be turned up. For example, while the VE-8 can provide a semblance of the tracks at a lower volume, the Luna will lose the power of the drum whacks. Once the volume is engaged, it is more powerful than the VE-8 at the matching DB level. In other words, no subdued listening, though I cannot imagine anyone wanting to listen to these tracks without them being loud. Hope this was helpful. Tks.

 

[Frankie D]

Well that was fun! Can’t wait till I get my hearing back!

Okay, before we get into the comparisons for you: Led Zeppelin and Tull are not Metal enough for you? I realize the Doors are softer as I said that in my update. I included that track because I have found that Metal bands do some great soft rock. I did not feel like listening to some of the softer Zep and Tull tunes, I was in the mood for the Doors, so I used “Riders On The Storm” instead to represent the softer side.

Okay, now to your requested comparisons. Before I forget, thank you for the music info. I normally listen via my Cayin N8, however for this comparison I used my iPhone connected to the Dragonfly Red and Youtube for the music. So not the same quality source material as I typically use. Still pretty good though.

“Voices” by In Flames: At 50 seconds in this track takes off. The guitars rip and have good sound. The drums come through as well, but not as impactful as on Jethro Tull (but that is in hidef and a very good recording). At just below half volume the Luna explodes. Powerful drum hits, whaling vocals. “I will search, search through the wreckage of my soul.” And you will! Good tone to his vocals and details will come through as the Luna never allows the mix to get congested. You can hear the tone change beautifully when they sing “I swear I could hear the voices from the edge of the earth.”

My Fourte proves to be more impactful, and the Luna a bit brighter in presentation. Both good, just different. The tone change of the vocals mentioned above is more interesting on the Luna.

The Anole VX is great on this track. Strong bass and good drive.

The Vison Ears VE-8 does it the best, just a better tone to the guitar, but the Luna is close to the VE-8.

“I Am Above” by In Flames: At the beginning of this track the drums hit hard and with texture. You can hear differences in the drum whacks if you care to, or just take it all in.

The Fourte in comparison sounds muddier, not as clear. Definite edge to the Luna here.

Compared to the VX, I think I would still choose the Luna as the better listen. The Luna is a bit better on the vocals, and just a great listen overall.

The VE-8: Close. I might still go with the VE-8 due to a better tone. A bit clearer, but close. You would like both presentations. The Luna is the heavier presentation. At 2:34 in the guitar comes in brighter on the VE-8. On the Luna it is less bright in tone…deeper?

Awfully close call to me on this track between VE-8 and Luna.

“What the Dead Men Say” by Trivium: Very forceful guitar at the beginning of the track. You can still hear the drums and feel the overall power of the presentation. This track is in the Luna’s wheelhouse. The drum riffs through the cut are heard and felt. The drummer is flying, and the Luna lets you hear it all. You will be happy.

They Fourte hits harder in the bass, but not as clear as the Luna. Again, this is a question of deeper presentation vs brighter presentation. The Fourte can really shake your head on this track. It is wild.

The VE-8 does a better job on the guitars and vocals, the Fourte better on the drum whacks. Very clear, but not the impact of the Fourte or Luna.

The VX is just not as good as the above 3 on this track. Even the guitars sound better on the Luna.

For me, this track is a choice between the Fourte and the Luna.

In summary, the Luna can definitely handle these metal bands. A note on the Luna. To get the quality I am talking about on the Luna requires the volume be turned up. For example, while the VE-8 can provide a semblance of the tracks at a lower volume, the Luna will lose the power of the drum whacks. Once the volume is engaged, it is more powerful than the VE-8 at the matching DB level. In other words, no subdued listening, though I cannot imagine anyone wanting to listen to these tracks without them being loud. Hope this was helpful. Tks.

Attached is a picture of the 4 IEM’s I used for the comparison. I find the Luna more comfortable than the Fourte even though I use the Azla SednaEarFitLight Short ear tips on both.

 

[kmmbd]

The full review of the Dunu Luna was long overdue, but here it is at long last: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/dunu-luna.24311/review/23771/

In short: it's one of my most favorite flagship IEMs out there. Incredibly well-built, that awesome cable and loads of accessories, bass response that leaves most IEMs in its wake in terms of overall speed/impact/texture, lower-mids/treble representation that's basically perfect - there's a lot to love here. The upper-mids can add coloration/be a bit up-front on a handful of tracks but otherwise it's every bit of performance you'd expect from a flagship.

Also, this is a great opportunity to introduce to our own YouTube channel where we basically review stuff that we love, or things that we believe people should notice. Feedback/comments are greatly appreciated. It is basically a passion/side-project for us so things are kinda rough around the edges, but we plan to iron out the kinks over time. Please have a watch:

 

[davidmolliere]

@kmmbd Excellent review and great read!

 

[james444]

In short: it's one of my most favorite flagship IEMs out there. Incredibly well-built, that awesome cable and loads of accessories, bass response that leaves most IEMs in its wake in terms of overall speed/impact/texture, lower-mids/treble representation that's basically perfect - there's a lot to love here. The upper-mids can add coloration/be a bit up-front on a handful of tracks but otherwise it's every bit of performance you'd expect from a flagship.

I agree with your review, the Luna is an impressively capable IEM and pretty close to my idea of perfection. Actually, the only one thing that kept bothering me during my evaluation was that slight upper mids glare. I listen to a lot of classical music, and orchestral pieces tend to have plenty of energy going on in that range.

So I decided to do something about it and tried out narrow-bore tips, like Sony hybrids. However, the result didn't sound convincing, so I went on to play a bit with damping. (Obviously, equalizing the 5kHz range in Neutron on my LG V30 would have done the trick too, but whenever feasible, I prefer something that works consistently with all my sources.)

In the end, I found a simple damping solution that subtly tones down the highest peaks, but leaves the Luna's overall sound signature fully intact:

(High range > 1kHz, DF-compensated) red = stock, purple = narrow-bore tip, orange = damping mod

Btw, it's easy to see why the narrow-bore tips didn't really work, they just cut down on treble extension, but left the peaks pretty much unchanged.

However, the damping mod succeeded in taking just a smidgen of energy out of the peaks, yet without taking the sparkle and shimmer out of cymbals and chimes (i.e. the 7-10kHz valley remained widely unaffected).

Here's how I did it: I used a foam filter, harvested from an old ChiFi IEM:

I cut the filter in two halves and shoved them into the Spinfit tips (from the rear side).

Fortunately, the Spinfits have a slight narrowing in their stem, which prevents the filter from sliding out at the front.

That's basically it, very easy to perform and takes some of the edge out of the Luna's upper mids. Pretty sure it will work with cotton swab as well, just in case someone wants to try it and doesn't have a foam filter at hand.


Conclusion: with its high range ever so slightly tamed, I now feel confident to state that the Luna is the overall best dynamic driver IEM I've heard to date. I've auditioned several TOTL DDs in the past, which ultimately failed to impress me: the CA Vega, Beyerdynamic Xelento, IE800S, they all left me rather underwhelmed when compared to the much cheaper JVC FDX1. And while the latter still rules (for me) in terms of bang-for-buck, I have to admit, that sonically, it has now met its match with the fabulous Dunu Luna.

So, thanks @DUNU-Topsound for having me on your loan tour, the Luna is one exceptional IEM that undoubtedly deserves a place my collection.

 

[davidmolliere]

Maybe my using custom silicon tips also explains why I didn't experience any upper mids glare, that or source, whichever I never had any issues of harshness

 

[FlowLikeWater]

Well that was fun! Can’t wait till I get my hearing back!

Okay, before we get into the comparisons for you: Led Zeppelin and Tull are not Metal enough for you? I realize the Doors are softer as I said that in my update. I included that track because I have found that Metal bands do some great soft rock. I did not feel like listening to some of the softer Zep and Tull tunes, I was in the mood for the Doors, so I used “Riders On The Storm” instead to represent the softer side.

Okay, now to your requested comparisons. Before I forget, thank you for the music info. I normally listen via my Cayin N8, however for this comparison I used my iPhone connected to the Dragonfly Red and Youtube for the music. So not the same quality source material as I typically use. Still pretty good though.

“Voices” by In Flames: At 50 seconds in this track takes off. The guitars rip and have good sound. The drums come through as well, but not as impactful as on Jethro Tull (but that is in hidef and a very good recording). At just below half volume the Luna explodes. Powerful drum hits, whaling vocals. “I will search, search through the wreckage of my soul.” And you will! Good tone to his vocals and details will come through as the Luna never allows the mix to get congested. You can hear the tone change beautifully when they sing “I swear I could hear the voices from the edge of the earth.”

My Fourte proves to be more impactful, and the Luna a bit brighter in presentation. Both good, just different. The tone change of the vocals mentioned above is more interesting on the Luna.

The Anole VX is great on this track. Strong bass and good drive.

The Vison Ears VE-8 does it the best, just a better tone to the guitar, but the Luna is close to the VE-8.

“I Am Above” by In Flames: At the beginning of this track the drums hit hard and with texture. You can hear differences in the drum whacks if you care to, or just take it all in.

The Fourte in comparison sounds muddier, not as clear. Definite edge to the Luna here.

Compared to the VX, I think I would still choose the Luna as the better listen. The Luna is a bit better on the vocals, and just a great listen overall.

The VE-8: Close. I might still go with the VE-8 due to a better tone. A bit clearer, but close. You would like both presentations. The Luna is the heavier presentation. At 2:34 in the guitar comes in brighter on the VE-8. On the Luna it is less bright in tone…deeper?

Awfully close call to me on this track between VE-8 and Luna.

“What the Dead Men Say” by Trivium: Very forceful guitar at the beginning of the track. You can still hear the drums and feel the overall power of the presentation. This track is in the Luna’s wheelhouse. The drum riffs through the cut are heard and felt. The drummer is flying, and the Luna lets you hear it all. You will be happy.

They Fourte hits harder in the bass, but not as clear as the Luna. Again, this is a question of deeper presentation vs brighter presentation. The Fourte can really shake your head on this track. It is wild.

The VE-8 does a better job on the guitars and vocals, the Fourte better on the drum whacks. Very clear, but not the impact of the Fourte or Luna.

The VX is just not as good as the above 3 on this track. Even the guitars sound better on the Luna.

For me, this track is a choice between the Fourte and the Luna.

In summary, the Luna can definitely handle these metal bands. A note on the Luna. To get the quality I am talking about on the Luna requires the volume be turned up. For example, while the VE-8 can provide a semblance of the tracks at a lower volume, the Luna will lose the power of the drum whacks. Once the volume is engaged, it is more powerful than the VE-8 at the matching DB level. In other words, no subdued listening, though I cannot imagine anyone wanting to listen to these tracks without them being loud. Hope this was helpful. Tks.

absolutely awesome comparison, much appreciated friend

I agree with your review, the Luna is an impressively capable IEM and pretty close to my idea of perfection. Actually, the only one thing that kept bothering me during my evaluation was that slight upper mids glare. I listen to a lot of classical music, and orchestral pieces tend to have plenty of energy going on in that range.

So I decided to do something about it and tried out narrow-bore tips, like Sony hybrids. However, the result didn't sound convincing, so I went on to play a bit with damping. (Obviously, equalizing the 5kHz range in Neutron on my LG V30 would have done the trick too, but whenever feasible, I prefer something that works consistently with all my sources.)

In the end, I found a simple damping solution that subtly tones down the highest peaks, but leaves the Luna's overall sound signature fully intact:

(High range > 1kHz, DF-compensated) red = stock, purple = narrow-bore tip, orange = damping mod

Btw, it's easy to see why the narrow-bore tips didn't really work, they just cut down on treble extension, but left the peaks pretty much unchanged.

However, the damping mod succeeded in taking just a smidgen of energy out of the peaks, yet without taking the sparkle and shimmer out of cymbals and chimes (i.e. the 7-10kHz valley remained widely unaffected).

Here's how I did it: I used a foam filter, harvested from an old ChiFi IEM:

I cut the filter in two halves and shoved them into the Spinfit tips (from the rear side).

Fortunately, the Spinfits have a slight narrowing in their stem, which prevents the filter from sliding out at the front.

That's basically it, very easy to perform and takes some of the edge out of the Luna's upper mids. Pretty sure it will work with cotton swab as well, just in case someone wants to try it and doesn't have a foam filter at hand.


Conclusion: with its high range ever so slightly tamed, I now feel confident to state that the Luna is the overall best dynamic driver IEM I've heard to date. I've auditioned several TOTL DDs in the past, which ultimately failed to impress me: the CA Vega, Beyerdynamic Xelento, IE800S, they all left me rather underwhelmed when compared to the much cheaper JVC FDX1. And while the latter still rules (for me) in terms of bang-for-buck, I have to admit, that sonically, it has now met its match with the fabulous Dunu Luna.

So, thanks @DUNU-Topsound for having me on your loan tour, the Luna is one exceptional IEM that undoubtedly deserves a place my collection.

thx for the awesome mod info also shoutout to being a DD lover, single drivers ftw

can u pls do a brief comparison beteen Dunu Luna, and FDX1 (like bass, mids, highs?) or does Luna jus blow it away?

 

[subguy812]

Maybe my using custom silicon tips also explains why I didn't experience any upper mids glare, that or source, whichever I never had any issues of harshness

Maybe, but I am not so sure I hear an issue either.

 

[ranfan]

..loads of accessories

Indublydubly. Luna's packaging looks like a supply box dropped from outer space.

I really like your review. Those photos look incredible. Thanks!

 

[james444]

can u pls do a brief comparison beteen Dunu Luna, and FDX1 (like bass, mids, highs?) or does Luna jus blow it away?

No, it doesn't blow the FDX1 away imo, but the Luna is slightly better in several aspects. Imagine two pictures of the same scene, out of which one looks slightly clearer, more colorful, more contrasty and more three-dimensional than the other. The difference in individual aspects is actually rather small, a bit better textured bass, a smidgen more detail in the mids, slightly better instrument separation and layering... but the sum of all makes the Luna a more accomplished IEM in my book.

Maybe, but I am not so sure I hear an issue either.

I wouldn't recommend trying to detect an issue when you don't hear one. People hear differently and listen to different types of music at different volume levels, so a slight upper mids bump won't be a problem for every listener. About 50% of the Luna reviews I've seen mention some glare or peakiness, so there are some who hear it and others who don't. If you hear it and it bothers you, then you might want to try the mod. But if you don't hear it, then just enjoy the Luna as is and don't worry.

 

[subguy812]

No, it doesn't blow the FDX1 away imo, but the Luna is slightly better in several aspects. Imagine two pictures of the same scene, out of which one looks slightly clearer, more colorful, more contrasty and more three-dimensional than the other. The difference in individual aspects is actually rather small, a bit better textured bass, a smidgen more detail in the mids, slightly better instrument separation and layering... but the sum of all makes the Luna a more accomplished IEM in my book.



I wouldn't recommend trying to detect an issue when you don't hear one. People hear differently and listen to different types of music at different volume levels, so a slight upper mids bump won't be a problem for every listener. About 50% of the Luna reviews I've seen mention some glare or peakiness, so there are some who hear it and others who don't. If you hear it and it bothers you, then you might want to try the mod. But if you don't hear it, then just enjoy the Luna as is and don't worry.

No, I totally agree, but you know I critical listen for reviews. As you are finding out, tips play a super critical role. The effect of tips was so staggering, even relative to other IEM's, that I did that exhaustive comparison. I just finished a lengthy Luna listening session. I was using the CP360 tips and the Fiio M15 DAP as the source and the synergy is incredible.

 

[audio123]

I agree with your review, the Luna is an impressively capable IEM and pretty close to my idea of perfection. Actually, the only one thing that kept bothering me during my evaluation was that slight upper mids glare. I listen to a lot of classical music, and orchestral pieces tend to have plenty of energy going on in that range.

So I decided to do something about it and tried out narrow-bore tips, like Sony hybrids. However, the result didn't sound convincing, so I went on to play a bit with damping. (Obviously, equalizing the 5kHz range in Neutron on my LG V30 would have done the trick too, but whenever feasible, I prefer something that works consistently with all my sources.)

In the end, I found a simple damping solution that subtly tones down the highest peaks, but leaves the Luna's overall sound signature fully intact:

(High range > 1kHz, DF-compensated) red = stock, purple = narrow-bore tip, orange = damping mod

Btw, it's easy to see why the narrow-bore tips didn't really work, they just cut down on treble extension, but left the peaks pretty much unchanged.

However, the damping mod succeeded in taking just a smidgen of energy out of the peaks, yet without taking the sparkle and shimmer out of cymbals and chimes (i.e. the 7-10kHz valley remained widely unaffected).

Here's how I did it: I used a foam filter, harvested from an old ChiFi IEM:

I cut the filter in two halves and shoved them into the Spinfit tips (from the rear side).

Fortunately, the Spinfits have a slight narrowing in their stem, which prevents the filter from sliding out at the front.

That's basically it, very easy to perform and takes some of the edge out of the Luna's upper mids. Pretty sure it will work with cotton swab as well, just in case someone wants to try it and doesn't have a foam filter at hand.


Conclusion: with its high range ever so slightly tamed, I now feel confident to state that the Luna is the overall best dynamic driver IEM I've heard to date. I've auditioned several TOTL DDs in the past, which ultimately failed to impress me: the CA Vega, Beyerdynamic Xelento, IE800S, they all left me rather underwhelmed when compared to the much cheaper JVC FDX1. And while the latter still rules (for me) in terms of bang-for-buck, I have to admit, that sonically, it has now met its match with the fabulous Dunu Luna.

So, thanks @DUNU-Topsound for having me on your loan tour, the Luna is one exceptional IEM that undoubtedly deserves a place my collection.

Nice findings. On the issue of Luna's upper midrange, I feel it is perfectly fine. Source and seal will definitely affect the overall presentation. Having heard all the TOTL single DD IEMs including the likes of Technics EAH-TZ700, AK T9iE, Simphonio VR1 & JVC HA-FW10000, Dita Dream XLS & Final A8000, my top 2 favourite single DD IEMs are the Dunu Luna & Acoustune HS1695 Ti. For soundstage aspect, I will still go for the IE800S if it has the necessary amplification. The Luna is undoubtedly a world class single DD IEM.

Indublydubly. Luna's packaging looks like a supply box dropped from outer space.

I really like your review. Those photos look incredible. Thanks!

When is your turn to collect your supply box from outer space

 

[davidmolliere]

That DX220 Max looks great, I guess it's a fantastic match to the Luna