I have not heard any of those (though have heard that the Lotus weren't great), but as a universal recommendation for budget earbuds, the Yincrow X6 have been (pretty much) the king of budget buds for a long while now.
Great impressions, mate! Almost identical experience from my side.They really are a great "all rounder". Having said that, I still maintain (from my point of view) that the RW2000 are just a bit more of an "all rounder" than the RW3000, but only because of the analytical nature of the RW3000 (not that they are truly analytical, just in comparison). I wouldn't get rid of either of them to be honest. They really do compliment each other rather than compete against each other.
I have to agree with you on this point. While the bass IS there, and even the sub bass (though rolled off), can sound off some. It is rolled off enough that songs with very deep sub bass lose too much energy to sound accurate.
As for my first impressions, and they are subject to change as I listen to them (whether it be through brain burn-in, or conditioning, or both), my thoughts will differ even from the few reviews I have read. I find these to be better than the "meh" I thought they were going to be for sure, but they aren't the "next big thing" from DUNU. There really isn't any comparison to the OG Alpha 1 because the tuning isn't even close to the same thing here. I think they were going more for a similar tuning to the FF5 or the RW3000 (similarities, not exactly the same though).
The packaging and build quality are the standard DUNU presentation, which is to say that they are TOTL, even if they are a bit cheaper. I am certainly glad that they decided to go with a cheaper price than the Alpha 1 when they came out. I think this kept the Alpha 1 down for the longest time, because I don't think the price tag matched the sound quality that you were getting for the price. If they had been much cheaper in from the start, they would probably have been much more popular.
Anyhow, these things are built like a tank (much like the FF3 or the FF5), and I have 0 complaints here. Though, I still don't like the fixed cable for something like this. Since they are built like a tank, you would almost need to destroy the set just trying to change a broken cable. But... it actually looks like there is a set screw (hex head) that might be holding the two (vertical) halves of the stem together, which might lend to being able to easily service your own set.
Having said that, the cable (though fixed) is really nice. It is very thin, but non-microphonic, and I find it to have less memory than aforementioned FF3 or FF5. It is almost supple, if a bit rubbery feeling. It was well created though, which we all know that DUNU is VERY good at making cables. I picked up the 4.4mm balanced version so that I can use either balanced or SE in my interconnections. On that note, I also love that it is so thin. It is not NEAR as heavy as the FF5, for instance (and thereby constantly pulling at the monitors in your ears).
This leads to the fitment (for me). These are very similar to what I might say about the FF3. They are indeed a bit heavy, but are so balanced, and are of such a size and shape, that while they have a very long stem, they don't budge, and are comfortable for very long sessions. I can shake my head pretty rigorously, and they will not budge from their place. I would put these at a very close second to the FF3 as the most comfortable (over time) set that I own.
The buds are very beautiful, and I especially love the almost "celtic rune" look they have as an added touch/flair. As per usual DUNU fashion, they look very professionally built. Top notch here!
I think that overall these have a very nice sound, with some caveats. That isn't to say that they sound really bad in any particular area, they just have some weaknesses if I am looking at them as a versatile or "all rounder" set. They have the potential to be perfect for those that are looking specifically for this type of tuning and technicalities.
The bass is of particular interest here (and has some weaknesses, more so than other frequencies). The sub bass is quite rolled off, and while it IS there, it isn't audible enough to add any sort of rumble. It is fast enough that what you CAN hear of it, just thuds and dies trying to replicate any sort of really low hit or rumble. It isn't like it is lazy sounding at all, in fact it sounds like it is working too hard, and any sort of synthetic bass, or second harmonics of a kick drum might fall flat.
Moving up to the mid bass, we have much more presence, though I still wouldn't put it at levels equal to most "contemporary" buds. For anything that is more focused on mid bass (rock, metal, etc...) it will sound more accurate and does have some thump, though more in the background than present and level with the rest of the spectrum. That isn't to say that it is missing or too low like some think the Chaconne might have (we'll come back to that later). I think that the upper bass, which normally lends to warmth or thickness in the rest of the overall sound is also too low in amplitude to do too much good, and you have to listen close to hear bass guitars that play a lot in this area. It also isn't missing though, and you can indeed hear it, but it doesn't really add a lot of warmth to the mids or overall sound. That isn't to say that it makes the whole sound too thin like something from Smabat might, but I also wouldn't say these are particularly warm sounding. So overall they are just a bit recessed, but that doesn't mean it sounds scooped out like the Smabat ST10S B&G do though.
There is a tad bit of warmth though, and this means that the lower and mid mids aren't super thin, or "troughed" out. In fact the mids are pretty prominent in the mix, just not particularly impactful though (IMO). There really isn't anything missing from the mids, and I think they are very well done. Female vocals (or high pitched vocals to be more precise) are the star of this show. When using drums as a "benchmark", the toms and mid-centric sounding drums are much louder (to my ears) than the lower kits (read, kick drums), This makes them sound a bit out of place to my ears as far as imaging and layering are concerned, and is one of the things I listen for to get an accurate picture of where everything is located. This isn't to say that it is super skewed, it is just a tad bit off to my ears. There IS some good texture in the mids, and can be considered wet and prominent. Mid forward lovers will be really happy here.
Nowadays, I put the upper mids and treble together, because a ton of ChFi companies use this upper mid region to make up for a lack of tuning in the treble region. In this case I don't believe that DUNU used this method. They DID indeed tune the treble region to be boosted. The problem with this is that they also boosted the upper mids (typical DUNU "house" tuning for upper mids). While I wouldn't put them quite at "ice pick" or "female poison" levels, I would put them very close to that edge for those sensitive to it. Combined with the boosted mid treble, these can indeed be very aggressive sounding to those sensitive.
There are some songs that can sound both shouty and sibilant because of this. While I am not too sensitive to treble boost, these can have a bit of sibilance once in a great while. Cymbal crashes (for instance) can sometimes get overpowering in the mix and sound a bit thin or hot overall. Either way these are very bright and aggressive. The upper treble is a bit rolled off, so while the treble boost might give the impression of clarity, there is only a bit of air up top. It isn't missing, and I consider it to be just about right if the mid treble and uppper mids/lower treble weren't so boosted. Once again, I don't think that this makes the overall sound so skewed as to sound funny, but I am comparing to other TOTL buds, and these have quite a bit to live up to.
Technicities range from average to good to great; none I would consider excellent though. Macro dynamics are pretty good, but micro dynamics are lacking just a tad bit (remember I AM comparing to some really good competition). Staging is average in width, but it lacks depth or height to my ears. I am a bit shocked here, being a set of earbuds, and with the porting they have. I thought these were going to be super wide and tall (if also hoping to have great depth). Where they have some issues is with the separation. I thought that with all the driver coatings nowadays, we had solved the DD congestion issues. Well, we haven't just yet. These can sound congested in some really busy stuff like metal. With songs that aren't busy, it is excellent though.
Detail retrieval, I would consider to be just average. In the song Had a drink by Two Feet, during the chorus where he is singing and the bass is quietly playing in the background, there is some audible amp hum (on their end), and with sets with excellent detail retrieval, you can plainly hear it, but on this set it is silent. This could be considered a good thing where hum is concerned, but I like to use it to measure micro detail retrieval, and it is a bit surprising given as this is a pretty low impedance (32Ohms) and fairly high sensitivity (105dBSPL/mW) set. Having said that, the macro detail retrieval is a bit better overall, and I don't feel that you are going to miss too much from the mix. It might lack just a tad bit of impact overall though.
As for the bass from earlier, comparing it to the Chaconne, I was a bit disappointed because while I love the Chaconne and we can all agree that the bass is pretty much in the background, it is this very tuning that makes those so very special, and adds to the huge soundstage that these get. This isn't so true for the Alpha 3. It is just... in the background, and doesn't really add to the technicalities prowess at all. This isn't to say that that makes it bad, but for $80 I am looking for a bit more WOW from DUNU.
Having said all that I have said, I am being nitpicky on a lot of things here, and I find them overall to make for a great (just not excellent) set of buds. Do I think they are worthy of the lofty (for earbuds) price? Well, not for sound alone, no. If you take into account the rugged build, beauty, and cable, I might otherwise say yes though. To my ears these are trying too hard to be a set that has some really great clarity (and mostly succeed), but using tricks to do it. If you aren't used to hearing TOTL models and know how good it CAN get, then you might disagree with me and think they are just the best thing since sliced bread. But at this point, I can't help but listen in "critical" mode, and find all of these tricks to be a bit overdone, and wished they had just used a better driver, and wouldn't have to had done this.
This isn't to say that these aren't very good sounding buds. They are.They just don't compare to the staples that I have come to know (Yincrow, Yinman, FiiO, etc...) for the price they are asking. I found this to be also true of the Alpha 1 and would have thought much better of them if they weren't $299; if they were about what I paid for them ($39), I would have thought of them as excellent for their price class.
Bottom line is that if these were released for something like $30-$50, I would be much more inclined to say that these could give any budget set a run for their money. In the TOTL category, I don't think they quite hold up. There is just too many things that are off to be TOTL. I know this all sounds really negative. It isn't because the overall sound is really good, and I will enjoy them. They are different enough from all my other sets, that I think them worth keeping in my collection.
With all of that said, please take it all with a grain of salt, and these are my opinions (very subjective), and as always YMMV. These might be the best thing you have ever heard, they DO have the potential to give that impression. Also, I am very sorry this got to be so very long.
Already bought FF5 & RW3000 the last Ali saleYou are welcome!
If you are on such a budget that you don't want to pay the higher cost of the FF5 or the Yincrow RW3000, these just might be the ticket though.
Thanks so much for taking the time to write such a detailed and complete set of impressions! Your input is always highly valued (along with all of the other regular posters).They really are a great "all rounder". Having said that, I still maintain (from my point of view) that the RW2000 are just a bit more of an "all rounder" than the RW3000, but only because of the analytical nature of the RW3000 (not that they are truly analytical, just in comparison). I wouldn't get rid of either of them to be honest. They really do compliment each other rather than compete against each other.
I have to agree with you on this point. While the bass IS there, and even the sub bass (though rolled off), can sound off some. It is rolled off enough that songs with very deep sub bass lose too much energy to sound accurate.
As for my first impressions, and they are subject to change as I listen to them (whether it be through brain burn-in, or conditioning, or both), my thoughts will differ even from the few reviews I have read. I find these to be better than the "meh" I thought they were going to be for sure, but they aren't the "next big thing" from DUNU. There really isn't any comparison to the OG Alpha 1 because the tuning isn't even close to the same thing here. I think they were going more for a similar tuning to the FF5 or the RW3000 (similarities, not exactly the same though).
The packaging and build quality are the standard DUNU presentation, which is to say that they are TOTL, even if they are a bit cheaper. I am certainly glad that they decided to go with a cheaper price than the Alpha 1 when they came out. I think this kept the Alpha 1 down for the longest time, because I don't think the price tag matched the sound quality that you were getting for the price. If they had been much cheaper in from the start, they would probably have been much more popular.
Anyhow, these things are built like a tank (much like the FF3 or the FF5), and I have 0 complaints here. Though, I still don't like the fixed cable for something like this. Since they are built like a tank, you would almost need to destroy the set just trying to change a broken cable. But... it actually looks like there is a set screw (hex head) that might be holding the two (vertical) halves of the stem together, which might lend to being able to easily service your own set.
Having said that, the cable (though fixed) is really nice. It is very thin, but non-microphonic, and I find it to have less memory than aforementioned FF3 or FF5. It is almost supple, if a bit rubbery feeling. It was well created though, which we all know that DUNU is VERY good at making cables. I picked up the 4.4mm balanced version so that I can use either balanced or SE in my interconnections. On that note, I also love that it is so thin. It is not NEAR as heavy as the FF5, for instance (and thereby constantly pulling at the monitors in your ears).
This leads to the fitment (for me). These are very similar to what I might say about the FF3. They are indeed a bit heavy, but are so balanced, and are of such a size and shape, that while they have a very long stem, they don't budge, and are comfortable for very long sessions. I can shake my head pretty rigorously, and they will not budge from their place. I would put these at a very close second to the FF3 as the most comfortable (over time) set that I own.
The buds are very beautiful, and I especially love the almost "celtic rune" look they have as an added touch/flair. As per usual DUNU fashion, they look very professionally built. Top notch here!
I think that overall these have a very nice sound, with some caveats. That isn't to say that they sound really bad in any particular area, they just have some weaknesses if I am looking at them as a versatile or "all rounder" set. They have the potential to be perfect for those that are looking specifically for this type of tuning and technicalities.
The bass is of particular interest here (and has some weaknesses, more so than other frequencies). The sub bass is quite rolled off, and while it IS there, it isn't audible enough to add any sort of rumble. It is fast enough that what you CAN hear of it, just thuds and dies trying to replicate any sort of really low hit or rumble. It isn't like it is lazy sounding at all, in fact it sounds like it is working too hard, and any sort of synthetic bass, or second harmonics of a kick drum might fall flat.
Moving up to the mid bass, we have much more presence, though I still wouldn't put it at levels equal to most "contemporary" buds. For anything that is more focused on mid bass (rock, metal, etc...) it will sound more accurate and does have some thump, though more in the background than present and level with the rest of the spectrum. That isn't to say that it is missing or too low like some think the Chaconne might have (we'll come back to that later). I think that the upper bass, which normally lends to warmth or thickness in the rest of the overall sound is also too low in amplitude to do too much good, and you have to listen close to hear bass guitars that play a lot in this area. It also isn't missing though, and you can indeed hear it, but it doesn't really add a lot of warmth to the mids or overall sound. That isn't to say that it makes the whole sound too thin like something from Smabat might, but I also wouldn't say these are particularly warm sounding. So overall they are just a bit recessed, but that doesn't mean it sounds scooped out like the Smabat ST10S B&G do though.
There is a tad bit of warmth though, and this means that the lower and mid mids aren't super thin, or "troughed" out. In fact the mids are pretty prominent in the mix, just not particularly impactful though (IMO). There really isn't anything missing from the mids, and I think they are very well done. Female vocals (or high pitched vocals to be more precise) are the star of this show. When using drums as a "benchmark", the toms and mid-centric sounding drums are much louder (to my ears) than the lower kits (read, kick drums), This makes them sound a bit out of place to my ears as far as imaging and layering are concerned, and is one of the things I listen for to get an accurate picture of where everything is located. This isn't to say that it is super skewed, it is just a tad bit off to my ears. There IS some good texture in the mids, and can be considered wet and prominent. Mid forward lovers will be really happy here.
Nowadays, I put the upper mids and treble together, because a ton of ChFi companies use this upper mid region to make up for a lack of tuning in the treble region. In this case I don't believe that DUNU used this method. They DID indeed tune the treble region to be boosted. The problem with this is that they also boosted the upper mids (typical DUNU "house" tuning for upper mids). While I wouldn't put them quite at "ice pick" or "female poison" levels, I would put them very close to that edge for those sensitive to it. Combined with the boosted mid treble, these can indeed be very aggressive sounding to those sensitive.
There are some songs that can sound both shouty and sibilant because of this. While I am not too sensitive to treble boost, these can have a bit of sibilance once in a great while. Cymbal crashes (for instance) can sometimes get overpowering in the mix and sound a bit thin or hot overall. Either way these are very bright and aggressive. The upper treble is a bit rolled off, so while the treble boost might give the impression of clarity, there is only a bit of air up top. It isn't missing, and I consider it to be just about right if the mid treble and uppper mids/lower treble weren't so boosted. Once again, I don't think that this makes the overall sound so skewed as to sound funny, but I am comparing to other TOTL buds, and these have quite a bit to live up to.
Technicities range from average to good to great; none I would consider excellent though. Macro dynamics are pretty good, but micro dynamics are lacking just a tad bit (remember I AM comparing to some really good competition). Staging is average in width, but it lacks depth or height to my ears. I am a bit shocked here, being a set of earbuds, and with the porting they have. I thought these were going to be super wide and tall (if also hoping to have great depth). Where they have some issues is with the separation. I thought that with all the driver coatings nowadays, we had solved the DD congestion issues. Well, we haven't just yet. These can sound congested in some really busy stuff like metal. With songs that aren't busy, it is excellent though.
Detail retrieval, I would consider to be just average. In the song Had a drink by Two Feet, during the chorus where he is singing and the bass is quietly playing in the background, there is some audible amp hum (on their end), and with sets with excellent detail retrieval, you can plainly hear it, but on this set it is silent. This could be considered a good thing where hum is concerned, but I like to use it to measure micro detail retrieval, and it is a bit surprising given as this is a pretty low impedance (32Ohms) and fairly high sensitivity (105dBSPL/mW) set. Having said that, the macro detail retrieval is a bit better overall, and I don't feel that you are going to miss too much from the mix. It might lack just a tad bit of impact overall though.
As for the bass from earlier, comparing it to the Chaconne, I was a bit disappointed because while I love the Chaconne and we can all agree that the bass is pretty much in the background, it is this very tuning that makes those so very special, and adds to the huge soundstage that these get. This isn't so true for the Alpha 3. It is just... in the background, and doesn't really add to the technicalities prowess at all. This isn't to say that that makes it bad, but for $80 I am looking for a bit more WOW from DUNU.
Having said all that I have said, I am being nitpicky on a lot of things here, and I find them overall to make for a great (just not excellent) set of buds. Do I think they are worthy of the lofty (for earbuds) price? Well, not for sound alone, no. If you take into account the rugged build, beauty, and cable, I might otherwise say yes though. To my ears these are trying too hard to be a set that has some really great clarity (and mostly succeed), but using tricks to do it. If you aren't used to hearing TOTL models and know how good it CAN get, then you might disagree with me and think they are just the best thing since sliced bread. But at this point, I can't help but listen in "critical" mode, and find all of these tricks to be a bit overdone, and wished they had just used a better driver, and wouldn't have to had done this.
This isn't to say that these aren't very good sounding buds. They are.
Bottom line is that if these were released for something like $30-$50, I would be much more inclined to say that these could give any budget set a run for their money. In the TOTL category, I don't think they quite hold up. There is just too many things that are off to be TOTL. I know this all sounds really negative. It isn't because the overall sound is really good, and I will enjoy them. They are different enough from all my other sets, that I think them worth keeping in my collection.
With all of that said, please take it all with a grain of salt, and these are my opinions (very subjective), and as always YMMV. These might be the best thing you have ever heard, they DO have the potential to give that impression. Also, I am very sorry this got to be so very long.
Vido are the best budget earbuds
although I think I want to try the VE Monk plus SPC that we recommend @digititus , if it is an improvement RY4s plus it will be a good piece to have at home
Of course he does
I wanted to write RY4S plus too, but I stopped when I thought about the price of Vido earbuds
thanks a lot for your reply. really appreciated it
I recently picked up the RW-2000 during the last AE sales, they are a great set of buds for sure. As we all have individual sound signature preferences, I keep choosing the 3000's over the 2000's. Maybe I just haven't given the 2000's a fair chance yet? I guess I'll have to give them more listening time. I think this was mentioned in the thread before, but Yincrow is one brand that knows how to tune their buds.
The updated EB2S pros are my favorite sub-$30 earbud. Super fun tuning with great clarity to my ear
Very interesting, looks like iem from behindHi, just want to share my DIY earbud, so far i really love this shell, it can make sub bass rumble more extend and the fitting very2 great (over ear only).
i name it "chimera shell"
Anyone can compare the eb2s pro to the eb2s? Are they the same with different materials and color?
