Dunu DM-480 Review
Tags: Review, Tech, Music, Headphones, Audio

The Dunu DM-480 comes in a medium-sized black box with a grey slipcover. Inside the box, the IEMs are held in a foam mounting sheet. Underneath this sheet is a cavity containing a semi-rigid zippered cloth carry case. This case is embossed with the Dunu logo in raised black metal. The carry case contains the 2-pin cable, eartip selection, and a shirt clip. The DM-480 comes with two types of eartips. One set is translucent white silicone with a bulbous shape and a typically-sized nozzle opening (S, M, L), and the other is more squat, hemispheric dark grey silicone with a smaller nozzle opening (S, M, L). The package also includes a QC pass chit and a warranty claim sheet.

BUILD QUALITY / DESIGN:

The Dunu DM-480 sports compact 3D-printed resin driver housings with a pseudo-custom fit. The faceplates have a marbled pattern and are adorned with the Dunu logo in gold print. The inner faces of the housings have L/R indicators printed in white, along with text reading “dunu Dual Dynamic.” The nozzles are metal with metal mesh nozzle covers. The nozzles have a substantial lip for securing eartips. I did not have any issues with tips coming loose in my ears while using the DM-480. The housings do not appear to be vented in any way but there is no driver flex.

The DM-480 comes with a simple silver-plated oxygen-free copper cable. The cable uses a straight 3.5mm metal jack housing with a very fine ringed texture. The Y-split hardware is also metal and is marked with the Dunu logo and the unit serial number. The flush 2-pin connectors are marked with red and blue dots to indicate channel and polarity. The cable has a plastic chin-adjustment choker. The cable has pre-formed clear plastic ear-guides without memory wire. The cable is not tangle-prone or microphonic. There is rubber strain-relief above the 3.5mm jack.

COMFORT / FIT / ISOLATION:

The Dunu DM-480 is intended to be worn cable-up only. I found them to be extremely comfortable to wear for extended periods. Isolation was exceptional. Because the housings are unvented, I would sometimes need to adjust the DM-480 while inserted to release pressure in my ear canals and get an unmuffled sound.

MEASUREMENTS:

My measurements were conducted with a Dayton iMM-6 microphone using a vinyl tubing coupler and a calibrated USB sound interface. The headphones are driven using my Element, which has an output impedance of no more than 1 ohm. The measurements use a compensation file derived from relating my raw measurements to published measurements from Crinacle and Antdroid. The measurements are presented with 1/24th smoothing. The magnitude of the valley around 7k is a coupler artifact. There is a resonant peak around 8k. Measurements above 10k are not reliable.

SOUND:

Note: My impressions are based on use with the stock white eartips, which present more treble than the narrow-bore grey eartips.

The Dunu DM-480 has a V-shaped sound signature.

Like a number of other recent releases, the DM-480 adopts an elevated sub-bass “shelf” with a gradual dip through the mid-bass into the lower mids instead of a mid-bass hump. In general, this tuning choice is one of the better recent trends in IEMs, but in this case, there is a bit too much bass overall. Sub-bass extension is very good but the sheer amount of rumble and slam is a little distracting. The bass is well articulated and textured but not hyper resolving or lightning fast.

Despite the absence of a mid-bass hump, there is substantial mid-bass bleed into the lower midrange. Kick drums, chugged riffs, and growled male vocals are all given similar prominence, and when focusing on one it is easy to lose track of the others. Instruments in the lower midrange have good body. Male vocal intelligibility is okay but male vocals sometimes seem to be fighting the underlying instrumentation for attention. Female vocals are a bit more forward than male vocals and have better intelligibility. Harsh male vocals are conveyed with satisfying grit but are a bit dry. Female vocals can be sibilant. The DM-480 does exhibit the dry timbre common to other titanium diaphragm dynamic driver IEMs I’ve heard. There is a good amount of presence.

There is a painful amount of lower treble. Detail retrieval is good but does not justify the amount of lower treble. Air is limited. Treble transients are splashy and slightly diffuse. The soundstage is surprisingly wide given the driver configuration and absence of vents. Layering and instrument separation is average and imaging is fuzzy, especially at higher volumes.

AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND SOURCE PAIRING:

The Dunu DM-480 can be driven to comfortable listening volumes with a competent dongle. I did not notice hiss with either of my sources.

EQ:

The following EQ settings are intended to address the DM-480’s lower treble peak:

COMPARISONS:

Dunu DM-480 vs Shozy Form 1.1

The Shozy Form 1.1 is a hybrid in-ear monitor with a 9.2mm beryllium-coated diaphragm dynamic driver and a balanced armature on each side. The Form 1.1 has a small mid-bass hump as opposed to the DM-480’s elevated sub-bass shelf. The DM-480 has significantly more bass overall and sounds bloated in comparison. The Form 1.1 does exhibit sub-bass roll-off. The Form 1.1 has faster, more textured, and better-articulated bass than the DM-480. The Form 1.1 has much less bass bleed into the lower midrange and sounds clearer overall. The Form 1.1 has a more restrained upper midrange and presents male and female vocals more evenly. Male vocals are smoother sounding on the Form 1.1. The DM-480 is more sibilant. The Form 1.1 is a brighter sounding IEM than the DM-480 but is also less harsh because its primary treble peak is in the mid-treble instead of the lower treble. The Form 1.1 has more sparkle. The two IEMs have similar amounts of air and similarly-sized soundstages. The Form 1.1 has better detail retrieval, imaging, instrument separation, and crisper transient delivery. The Form 1.1 has a more natural timbre. The DM-480 has better ergonomics and isolation.

Dunu DM-480 vs KB EAR Diamond

The KB EAR Diamond is an in-ear monitor with one diamond-like carbon-coated PET diaphragm dynamic driver per housing. The two IEMs have similar tunings in the bass and lower midrange, but the Diamond has much less mid-bass bleed and sounds much clearer. The Diamond has a more even upper midrange. The Diamond has smoother sounding treble with more air. In terms of technical performance, the Diamond is a step above the DM-480 is every respect. The DM-480 has better ergonomics and isolation.

CLOSING WORDS:

Dunu accomplished a number of neat technical feats with the DM-480, raising the bar for isolation and long-term comfort in a universal-fit dynamic driver IEM without compromising soundstage or introducing usability issues like driver flex. However, there is too much bass and the lower treble peak is painful to listen to. There are less fatiguing options around this price point with better technical performance.