One thing I was wondering about the Zen is that why these 6 pairs of tips come in an exclusive box? I've already used the Dunu White tips (the left ones) but the right side ones looked very similar to Sony Hybrid tips. Today I did an A/B with actual Sony hybrid tips and I'm fairly certain that these are similar, if not the same type of tips. While these didn't sound the best for me (I'm still hanging with CP-500) just a nice little perk that some Zen owners might be unaware of. These Sony Hybrid tips (or the good quality "replicas") are very difficult to come across outside Japan (unless you buy an M7/M9) and I'm glad Dunu bundled them with the Zen packaging.
I have tried pretty much all of the tips that come with Zen and I find the black ones in the photo, the medium size for me, sound the best by a significant margin. As you said they are very similar to Sony. Even before I read this I went through tips that came with my XBA series Sony IEM's. I'm convinced they are probably not exactly the same but extremely close and the sound is extremely close as well. I was already planning to make a post that sought opinions of what tips I should try based on the fact that the medium size black ones with the blue stems are my starting point. Sounds like the CP-500 would be a good place to start. Even if I can't improve on the sound that would be okay, I just want to make sure I can get replacements that sound and fit as good
Looking forward to getting the Zen sometime this week. Love the piano black look ! Really feeling single DD drivers . What they lack with treble extension they make up for in cohesiveness and tonality. I am a huge fan of the dk2001 ! Mainly because of its graceful way of producing sound more than actual technicalities which sometimes can sound like trickery to me .
Looking forward to getting the Zen sometime this week. Love the piano black look ! Really feeling single DD drivers . What they lack with treble extension they make up for in cohesiveness and tonality. I am a huge fan of the dk2001 ! Mainly because of its graceful way of producing sound more than actual technicalities which sometimes can sound like trickery to me .
They share some similarities in treble traits to the DK2001 actually. But your observations are correct. Zens cohesiveness and tonality is outstanding. They sound as good as they look.
Auditioned Dunu ZEN, FiiO FD5 & Moondrop Illumination locally on Sony WM1A (with custom firmware) & Hifiman R2R2K. ZEN easily came in first, FD5 wider staging, less in the midrange, highs a little pushed, however not sibilant, Illumination failed to impress, not bad, but not $800.
Sonically; ZEN, FD5, Illumination
IEM build quality; ZEN/FD5, Illumination
Cable; ZEN, FD5, Illumination
Value; FD5, Zen, Illumination
Overall ZEN is the most cohesive and tonally balanced, FD5 is more V shaped, Illumination didn't do anything for me, maybe trying far to hard too be reference and pricing accordingly... Dunu do tend to play it safe yet they know how to produce IEM's that are both technical & musical. For the asking price FD5 is outstanding value, yet potentially not the best choice for brighter sources. Illumination is IMO way overpriced, even the cable is significantly lacking compared to the competition.
Can someone please elaborate how the male vocals sound on these? Usually with the highly technical DD iems I find male vocals lacking emotions due to a leaner presentation. Moondrop kanas pro is the only iem I have that has beautiful and bodied vocals but the driver on that earphone is outdated compared to today's crop of iems.
Can someone please elaborate how the male vocals sound on these? Usually with the highly technical DD iems I find male vocals lacking emotions due to a leaner presentation. Moondrop kanas pro is the only iem I have that has beautiful and bodied vocals but the driver on that earphone is outdated compared to today's crop of iems.
I don't have the frame of reference like a lot of people on this forum do, such as listening to a lot of different IEM's to compare it to. But I do know what I like and when it comes to male vocals, when I listen to Led Zeppelin Kashmir or No Quarter I think I can tell how many cigarettes Robert Plant smoked the day they recorded it. Outstanding male vocals IMHO
I don't have the frame of reference like a lot of people on this forum do, such as listening to a lot of different IEM's to compare it to. But I do know what I like and when it comes to male vocals, when I listen to Led Zeppelin Kashmir or No Quarter I think I can tell how many cigarettes Robert Plant smoked the day they recorded it. Outstanding male vocals IMHO
So I received Hiby R6 2020 and first thing I did was try the Zen with it and it's a great pairing... This gives me yet another angle on Zen tuning and scaling capability between DAPs with different DAC chips ESS9038Q2M, Cirrus 43198 and AKM4499.
My review will be based on the R6 2020 DAP mainly with notes on how it scales with DX300 and the M8. I'll add also pairing with iFi Audio Zen Can out of R6 2020 balanced. Fun times!
I'm really keen to try some sort of headphone amp with ZEN on my Mac and phone but having just bought the NW-WM1A, I need to hold any larger spend for a couple of months. Any suggestions up to around €300 or am I better exercising patience and spend double or so that in a couple of months?
I'm really keen to try some sort of headphone amp with ZEN on my Mac and phone but having just bought the NW-WM1A, I need to hold any larger spend for a couple of months. Any suggestions up to around €300 or am I better exercising patience and spend double or so that in a couple of months?
I'm really keen to try some sort of headphone amp with ZEN on my Mac and phone but having just bought the NW-WM1A, I need to hold any larger spend for a couple of months. Any suggestions up to around €300 or am I better exercising patience and spend double or so that in a couple of months?
I can only vouch for the RME, but that thing is seriously one of the best audio purchases I've ever done, as I also use it as a DAC for my powered speakers.
I'm really keen to try some sort of headphone amp with ZEN on my Mac and phone but having just bought the NW-WM1A, I need to hold any larger spend for a couple of months. Any suggestions up to around €300 or am I better exercising patience and spend double or so that in a couple of months?
If you plan to run just iems, I’d say grab a Lotoo paw s1. Works really well and it’s small if you’re using a MacBook. If it’s a Mac desktop then the options are open. iFi hip dac or the FiiO q5s are good middle of the road options if you plan to use the Zen and maybe some full size cans.
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