It is surprisingly good and growing on me more and more. It scales well as I find it sounds even better out of my desktop setup (Tidal/foobar->Grace Design m920->Monolith THX AAA 887).
Definitely very very high on the performance/price scale.
It is surprisingly good and growing on me more and more. It scales well as I find it sounds even better out of my desktop setup (Tidal/foobar->Grace Design m920->Monolith THX AAA 887).
Definitely very very high on the performance/price scale.
Anyone here own/heard the qdc Dmagic and can compare to the UM 3dt? I'm currently in love with the qdc Dmagic and its 3DD and looking to buy the 3dt but if the sound/tone is similar then I might stick to the qdc Dmagic. Might get the MEST-mini or big daddy MEST if thats the case.
Anyone here own/heard the qdc Dmagic and can compare to the UM 3dt? I'm currently in love with the qdc Dmagic and its 3DD and looking to buy the 3dt but if the sound/tone is similar then I might stick to the qdc Dmagic. Might get the MEST-mini or big daddy MEST if thats the case.
I need to start this comparison with a disclaimer, I listen to all types of music, but mostly I've been into classical music genre for last 30 years. My main goal is in achieving a wide sound-stage with pinpoint imaging and excellent detail. If that can be done with musical tonality then it would be most ideal. My current reference sets are the Penon Volt (+ slight EQ) and the IEM-Z1R.
Starting with the 3DT, there is no denying, its focus is square on detail retrieval via treble extension, the UM's triple DD unit is an decisively high-resolution IEM. The sound-stage it produces is not forward but it is very vivid. Perhaps this came through most clearly on the CD(rip) The World According to Andy Bey [High Note]. On the cut “Never Entered My Mind,” for instance, Bey’s grandiose voice and rich piano chords permeate the listening space, with his ample use of the pedal patently audible. The same attention to detail was apparent on a performance of Elgar’s cello concerto by Jacqueline du Pre on the Warner Classic label. Once again, the superb transient and timbral fidelity of the 3DT was apparent. The 3DT was able to evoke not simply the bowing of the cello but its resonating cavity. The emotional plangency of the introduction, as the cello and orchestra surge, came through with real verisimilitude. At such times, it’s hard to believe that an IEM can produce such an ocean of sound to smoothly sweep you away.
Once again, I don’t mean to imply that the 3DT can best much bigger and more elaborate IEMs like the Z1R or the MEST. The real point is somewhat different. It’s that the 3DT delivers a remarkable quotient of reference-level of sound for its price. This IEM is hardly a budget item, but, at the same time, it’s nowhere near the Rockefeller-like planet a goodly slice of equipment occupies. So on the overall price-versus-value spectrum, the 3DT deserves to be singled out as a true contender, a revealing and refined IEM that, coupled with excellent source and cable, can deliver breathtaking sound.
Moving onto the ZEN which is masterfully engineered and tuned by DUNU:
I quickly noticed that the Zen's treble is spot on, offering tremendous energy dispersion with no trace of fatigue, even after very long listening sessions.
The ZEN has incredibly natural and a planar like fluidity and flowing mid-range. The Zen also have excellent image, dynamic, transparency, and a slightly forgiving sound compared to the 3DT.
In listening to the Zen, it only seemed fitting to begin with Mozart. Some of my favorite new CDs are appearing on Harmonia Mundi with the Dutch fortepiano-playing phenom Kristian Bezuidenhout, who steadily records Mozart’s keyboard music for the label. The detail he extract out of the sonatas makes his recordings something of a revelation. It was quite an absorbing experience to listen to the Zen capture the nuances of his playing. The sense of black space and decay endowed the music with a great sense of realism. It almost seemed as though you could see the forte-piano’s hammer striking the string and the felt damper stopping the string from vibrating. When an IEM reaches this level of fidelity it feels as though you can sense the movements of Bezuidenhout himself.
For all its control and grip, then, the Zen does not suffocate music, as some IEMs do. Rather, it is quite special for what it does not do, which is to say that the lack of bass overboost and overhang is a very discernible feature.
I would have to say emphatically that while the 3DT is a very fine IEM, the Zen (for my listening purposes) had a small advantage since the mid-range is where I live on the audio spectrum and Zen brought about Mids more convincingly and its liquid tonality was more versatile for many different genres of music.
3DT has a very refreshing, natural and detailed sound with no blurring of the sound image, and has a skillful balance between high-resolution and analytical tendencies and deeply articulate, musical and dynamic expressions. The classical orchestral instrument stands up sharply and clearly, and the upper harmonics are also expressed delicately. The sound is not just filled with the extension of the low range and the warm lingering sound of the hall, but it has a spatiality, and a very realistic and clear sound field that depicts the space hierarchically.
With the Volt, the intonation of the melody is lively and the signal-to-noise-ratio is good so I can really crank up the volume. Lower treble energy is definitely more relaxed than the 3DT so instruments loose bit of clarity, detail, and articulation compared to the 3DT. However I perceived bit more upper treble detail out of the Volt and conversely I felt slightly more airiness and brilliance. The strings of the acoustic guitar are also extremely fast in picking speed, and the sound of the body are drawn rounder with clear decay. The nuances of the vocal timbre are also smoother and more weighty with the volt, showing a natural and fuller expression. Volt's clear and reasonably deep sound field also allows you to clearly see the pre-delay component of the reverb which I find very attractive.
3DT has a very refreshing, natural and detailed sound with no blurring of the sound image, and has a skillful balance between high-resolution and analytical tendencies and deeply articulate, musical and dynamic expressions. The classical orchestral instrument stands up sharply and clearly, and the upper harmonics are also expressed delicately. The sound is not just filled with the extension of the low range and the warm lingering sound of the hall, but it has a spatiality, and a very realistic and clear sound field that depicts the space hierarchically.
With the Volt, the intonation of the melody is lively and the signal-to-noise-ratio is good so I can really crank up the volume. Lower treble energy is definitely more relaxed than the 3DT so instruments loose bit of clarity, detail, and articulation compared to the 3DT. However I perceived bit more upper treble detail out of the Volt and conversely I felt slightly more airiness and brilliance. The strings of the acoustic guitar are also extremely fast in picking speed, and the sound of the body are drawn rounder with clear decay. The nuances of the vocal timbre are also smoother and more weighty with the volt, showing a natural and fuller expression. Volt's clear and reasonably deep sound field also allows you to clearly see the pre-delay component of the reverb which I find very attractive.
Anyone here own/heard the qdc Dmagic and can compare to the UM 3dt? I'm currently in love with the qdc Dmagic and its 3DD and looking to buy the 3dt but if the sound/tone is similar then I might stick to the qdc Dmagic. Might get the MEST-mini or big daddy MEST if thats the case.
3DT has a very refreshing, natural and detailed sound with no blurring of the sound image, and has a skillful balance between high-resolution and analytical tendencies and deeply articulate, musical and dynamic expressions. The classical orchestral instrument stands up sharply and clearly, and the upper harmonics are also expressed delicately. The sound is not just filled with the extension of the low range and the warm lingering sound of the hall, but it has a spatiality, and a very realistic and clear sound field that depicts the space hierarchically.
With the Volt, the intonation of the melody is lively and the signal-to-noise-ratio is good so I can really crank up the volume. Lower treble energy is definitely more relaxed than the 3DT so instruments loose bit of clarity, detail, and articulation compared to the 3DT. However I perceived bit more upper treble detail out of the Volt and conversely I felt slightly more airiness and brilliance. The strings of the acoustic guitar are also extremely fast in picking speed, and the sound of the body are drawn rounder with clear decay. The nuances of the vocal timbre are also smoother and more weighty with the volt, showing a natural and fuller expression. Volt's clear and reasonably deep sound field also allows you to clearly see the pre-delay component of the reverb which I find very attractive.
You know, it sounds so great I don't even remember to burn it in over night....but it has gotten better and better... i may have 50ish hours on it.... I want to do about 30 more hours of LOUD bass heavy edm to really stretch the drivers out and loosen them up....
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More observations to absorb from you.