I'm going to share some impressions of the DK3001BD, even though I prefer to wait a few days usually - these only landed yesterday, and to be honest I'm trying to find any possible moment to get them back in my ears... working from home today and I was delighted between online meetings to be able to dip back in again.
I sat down tonight, poured a midweek glass of red wine, and put pen to paper while listening - I often find it easier to articulate my thoughts on paper rather than typing.
Anyway... this is a classic 'stream of thought' while listening, straight to journal...
Initially I was a bit 'hmmm' when they arrived yesterday... they sounded a touch lifeless as the tuning is certainly more neutral vs a lot of what I've been listening to of late - I've learned however many times how important it is to let your ears/brain adjust to different tuning, all too easy to dismiss something in a fleeting evalulation. Once settled, I found myself very drawn to the crisp, detailed, clear tuning - fantastic technical capability, with really precise details coupled with a wonderful deep sub-bass... mid-bass certainly takes a bit of a backseat, but not enough to trouble me, especially as more a sub-bass guy. WIth DK, you get this wonderful contrast of deep sub, which then has the in my opinion beautiful ultra-crisp/airy treble presentation up top, those 4x micro planars certainly doing what they are tasked with. While the mids aren't lush or vibrant, they are absolutely ultra-clear and for me complement the overall tuning perfectly - listening to "Thank U Mum" by St. Germain, the male vocals occupy a large and central position - incredibly distinct... the lower registers of the synths rumble along with again such fantastic distinction, and as the track progresses, the kick drums make an entry, landing with very good impact... again distinct, precise, clear... hi-hats push out to a wide stereo field presentation, you can really hear them extend with again such exceptional clarity - imaging is really fantastic - plus sounds very "authentic" vs the unique wizardry of BCDs which I find take a bit of adjusting to, and I think I possibly prefer 'traditional' configurations - that could be just a right now thing though. Oh and to note also, the quality of the bass is fantastic - bass guitars sound so detailed, incredibly lifelike where you can really hear and almost feel the strum of the strings and a deep rumbling vibration of those lowest registers.
The DK3001BD for me is absolutely a winner, and offers something quite different to my ears vs anything else I've been listening to of late. It of course won't suit everyone - it leans brighter, more technical perhaps than many at this price point - but if you enjoy something that goes for ultra-clarity, super-detailed, with excellent sub extension, clear/distinct mids, and very crisp and airy up top, definitely worth giving these a shot.
If I were to call out an 'issue' so to speak, I would say probably not a set for longer sessions as the clarity and detail could likely lead to some listening fatigue... but that can be said of any set with this sort of tuning.
