Well you like it more than DMS. His impression was basically “Nope.” Lol
Dont know what he listens to. But if it is solely acoustic/classical, then I get it.
Could be. But his complaint was that he considered it “shouty.” Nothing about the treble roll off that I remember. I’m not sure I can confidently say I have a firm grasp on what the term shout means. Curious to hear your thoughts on whether you would characterize the Zen in that way?
I dont find it shouty at all…and I am very sensitive to that area.
The Hana for example is a lot more shouty for me (2.5k).
Even the Oxygen is more shouty than the Zen.
The graph on the Zen implies at least for me, that it would be shouty. But it isnt, the treble is very refined and it helps it be less peaky and shouty. Now, that upper-treble DOES reduce the overall treble quantity/brightness. So it ironically is a factor in why I can handle it. Because if the upper-treble isnt rolled-off, I do need to cut down 2.5-4k area a bit.
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So when you use the term shout you are referring specifically too much elevation or emphasis on the lower treble around the 2.5k range?
Just pulled up the graph on the JVC to compare since that’s my current frame of reference. 2.5K is definitely lower than the Zen which is interesting.
And here is the Zen compared to the Kinera Nan Na which was the #1 pick in the vid. The Kinera is definitely more subdued in that 2.5k area compared to the Zen.
yes, but I find that the graph for the Zen is very different from how it sounds. Except the upper-treble roll-off.
Bass sounds like it is elevated by about 3db more than the graph. Lower-treble area isnt as much as on the graph.
The Zen is one of the few iems I just wouldnt look at the graph to judge it. Same with the Audiosense T800.
Zen should be the brighter iem here, but I found the T800 a lot brighter and I cant stand it at my normal listening volume, it is super sibilant, sharp and shouty.
I do think that the shoutiness is what got to DMS. I very rarely have issues with supposedly ‘shouty’ IEMs, but on that same token, I rarely agree with DMS’ assesment on a lot of IEMs that we have both tried. I have no idea how we line up on headphones, because I’m really an IEM and speaker guy more than a headphone guy.
Regarding the sound of the Zen, I think shout-factor and lack of air are the only negatives I could find. I would note that I liked them best with the stock ‘white’ tips, which I believe emphasize high end according to Dunu. Like @Mr_Makua said, my only real issue with the Zen was the fit was untennable with my ears; otherwise I loved them.
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Yeah I’m not a big graph guy. I just wanted an excuse to play with Crinnacle’s cool little comparison tool. lol
I’ve found myself to be a fan of several different types of sound signatures so I don’t really have a preferred “target”. And I also agree that the graph definitely doesn’t tell the whole story about how something sounds.
yeah, I agree. But the Zen is one of the iems that are even more different from what the graph implies.
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Interesting. One can’t help but wonder why that is. Some other combination of factors must be contributing to change the overall perception of the FR.
No idea really…I got a ton of DD´s and this is quite strange to me. The Fiio FD5 is also a bit in that same boat.
Treble on the FD5 might be a bit too much for me on the graph as well, but I didnt have any problems with it. (although it is a fatiguing iem, same with the Zen.)
The only factor they have in common is that they are both single DD´s and with a semi-open shell. So maybe it is the vents that is affecting it somehow.
Well, Dunu Zen supposedly has really strong magnets (for an IEM), so they could throw the measurement rig off a little (like some heavy planars do)
…just a speculation
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…wow, never thought of that.
i mean at least 75-80% of the music i listen to is electric based so i think i’d be good lol
i do like a bit of upper treble though so thats a little hard and i just was saying because i like grados and the nighthawks seem like something i’d like so it would have a type of weird sound i like (though tbh i’d mostly want something in between the grados very little bass and the hip dacs bass boosted too much bass to the point of causing a bit of ear ache)
The nighthawks carbon are very different from the Zen though.
You’ve heard the hawks? I didn’t realized you dabbled in headphones of the over ear variety. 
Yeah I got it. I have a small headphone ranking as well.
damn IE300s don’t disappoint. The bass response is exceptional, detailed and crisp with some nice punch to it. Upper bass - lower mids are a bit recessed, but they come back for the vocal range, vocals are a bit thin (coming from Elex, never had IEMs so take that as you will), but very detailed and the imaging is excellent. A touch peaky in the highs, can get a little sibilant, but nothing dramatic or unacceptable.
i.e. they sound A LOT like how they measure here.
Honestly probably swapping my CA Cascades for these, basshead gear is probably always going to give up something in the other places, and i prefer the tradeoffs here with the IE300s to the Cascade where vocals sound like muffled or lost.