Dunu DM380 Hybrid Earphones Review | Hifigo

We often talk about the Chi-Fi (Chinese Hi-Fi) boom in recent years. Dunu is one of the first homegrown Chinese brands to put a big emphasis on sound. When most of their products were ODM for various brands, Dunu decided to make a shift and produce their own gear. Dunu has its own line of headphones that offer high-quality sound at an affordable price, not only the expensive solutions.    

What are the DUNU DM380 IEM

Dunu DM380 is a pair of triple dynamic driver earphones, linear layout driver design effectively minimized the interference between drivers and present clear sound performance.

Accessories of Dunu DM380 headphones

Just like with other Dunu headphones I have reviewed in the past, the DM-380 headphone does not disappoint when it comes to the extras. You get every accessory you would need and more. They aren't just thrown in as an afterthought either these are high quality and really add to the overall package.

The box is all so cute, made of thick cardboard. The box feels expensive and solid. Dunu has always paid much attention to the package and the delivery set. For DM-380 headphones they also decide to keep the level. A thick cardboard box with the Hi-Res certification logo hides neatly folded headphones and a case underneath which guarantees the most complete and natural listening experience.

Below on the cover, we will find a detailed description: characteristics, description, various links. To check the authenticity of the DM-380 earphones- you must erase the protective layer and drive the code on the official website of the company.

There is so much information about the spec, certifications, etc. printed on the back of the box. 

Included in the box are the following items:

1x Pair of Dunu DM-380 hybrid earphones
2x interchangeable earpads of different sizes - a trifle, but nice. 

1x Case
1x Warranty Card  

If you purchase Dunu DM-380 in Russia, you will receive a 12-month warranty. 

Soft / velvet material inside, more than enough space, stitched properly.

3 pairs of interchangeable ear pads allow any user to find their ideal size and sound. 

Of course, this is not such a configuration as in the Titan5, where the manufacturer, it seems, only did not put the elephant in the box, but there is everything necessary. there are no cable clips either, but they are not needed here.

Appearance of Dunu DM380 earphones

Despite the presence of ear hooks, the cable has a light microphone effect. I just pause the track and when walking I hear a light tapping and rubbing on clothes. A high-quality oxygen-free copper cable (SPC OFC) was used; the wires are covered with a transparent silicone braid. The memory effect is not pronounced, the cable does not remember the shape when twisting.

The plug of DM380 earphones is straight and gilded, originally put on a plastic cap. There is knurling on the metal part, fingers do not slip at all.

The splitter is made in the same style - metal and plastic.

The remote control for calls and playback, as well as an HD microphone with mute function,  make the DM-380 an ideal choice for everyday use. 

The control unit is metal, three-button. Plastic buttons stick out noticeably from the base of the case, blindly groping for one or two. On management: the central button performs several functions at once (play pause, answer a call, double-click switches to the next track), well, and the side buttons adjust the volume.

The ear hooks of DM-380 are very soft and comfortable, do not fly out of the ears, do not move. Recently, I often read negative comments about the behind-the-ear landing and honestly I don’t understand these people, well, I don’t like it - take and buy a headset with a classic way of fixing, what problems. Dunu has such models - Titan 1, DN12 ... thousands of them.

Pay attention to the contacts, well, as the contacts ... this is essentially an element of decor, in this model the cable is fixed !

The design of the DM-380 headphones is different from what we saw in early models from Dunu. The case is made of metal and plastic. Three radiators are visible through the plastic; one compensation hole is located closer to the cable outlet. Of course, the LR marking is applied, of course, there is a ledge on the sound guide, and of course, the sound guide is covered with a metal mesh, everything is classic.

The length of the sound guide is normal, let's say - enough.

The front of the DM-380 earphones is all metal. A white, round insert with the name of Dunu is glued.

Sound Signature of Dunu DM380

In principle, the claimed 16 kilohertz are present, I do not observe a sharp cut. The graph also shows a decline to 10 kilohertz. In general, the headphones play the frequency spectrum up to 40 kilohertz, which corresponds to the Hi-Res certificate, but the guys from Dunu indicated “real” characteristics, highlighted that part of the range that stands out by ear. Unfortunately, RMAA does not allow changing the “Octave Smoothing” parameter, therefore the graph turned out to be more smooth and close to the “1/6” value. But here everything is already so obvious, we have the next headphones with a V-frequency response.

One of the reasons I decided to replace the standard ear cushions was the fit, the native ear cushions did not allow me to push the earpiece body as deep as possible, especially on my left ear. The earphone seemed to hang a little and could even fall out. But the blue tips corrected the situation, managed to push the body deeper into the ear canal, the sound insulation improved noticeably. 

Sound sources: Burson Audio Playmate, Aune S6 Pro, Activo CT10. Paired with an external desktop harvester they sound just great.

Sound character: V-shaped curve, with a noticeable emphasis on low frequencies.

A small blockage of medium frequencies has nothing to do with the loss of volume on the midrange, I noticed only a slight distance from some musical instruments and male vocals. Looking at the graph, you might think that the Dunu DM-380 earphone sounds harsh, but no, it’s not. 

The high frequencies of DM380, although pushed lower, are perfectly readable and listened to in great detail. Against the background of inexpensive hybrid novelties, all the “sharpness” and “dirt” on the treble in these headphones are “swallowed”, we get realistic, soft and comfortable tops with decent separation and detail. By the number of them, no less, this is not the Shozy V33 Pro, where this part of the range is cut to the root, but not the Tin Audio T2 / T3, where it was the high frequencies that stood out. 

In our previous reviews, I complained about inexpensive emitters for some earphones, which was expressed in a certain flowability and dirt on the HF when listening to poor-quality recordings. In DM-380 earphones, everything is completely different,  it is tolerant of dubious recordings and try to tint low-quality tracks. If you listen to everything in a row - I would not recommend changing ear pads.

The scene here is natural, correct, but still not prohibitive, for me it is rather average in width and depth. I would also note a slight “blur” over the entire frequency range, yet we are dealing with dynamic emitters. The middle is dense and saturated, but it is worth considering - there is no super detailed reinforcing middle here. The bass is expectedly accented and slightly smoothed, the emphasis is on the middle part of the low-frequency range. I would not say that there is a lot of bass, the model is not for bass heads, but in terms of quantity all the bass stands out in general terms.

Dunu DM-380 headphones are ideal for listening to modern styles of music: pop, electronics, tropical house and all that. Old classic rock, jazz blues, and reggae sound perfect.

Vertical

Total: the headphones turned out cool, versatile and generally decent. I would note saturated mid frequencies, this is perhaps the main trump card of the new product. 

Reason to Buy 

• Build quality
• Very good, musical midrange
• Comfortable and at the same time detailed treble (third-party earpads)
• Cute case
• Reliable cable

Reason to Avoid

• Do not change the wire

Stock ear cushions smooth out sound at high frequencies, this is not a minus, but rather nitpicking, could add nozzles to the kit. 

That's all there is to add ... I compared them with other headphones, taking into account my price (which is $ 60 US), the Dunu DM380 sounds quite worthy.