Headphones, which will be discussed today, appeared quite heavily. The company Dunu-Topsound came to their development with all diligence and seriousness and spent much more time for their debugging than other companies spend for the entire development cycle of the new model. The fact is that engineers have set themselves a difficult task, to make headphones - "liners", using a hybrid configuration of the emitters. So appeared Alpha 1.
In general, the form factor of the inserts (they are also "droplets", they are "tablets") are going through hard times, the in-channel headphones have replaced them all over the place, which is not surprising, since the latter offer better sound insulation and is easier to set up in order to obtain a high-quality sound. But there are no pluses without minuses, and for the convenience of the "plugs" we are forced to pay the irritation of the ear canal and risk getting under the car. Therefore, the inserts still find their fans (well, also because they usually get better to transfer the volume of the recording). Unfortunately, because of the low popularity of high-quality headphones of this format can be counted literally on the fingers. Therefore, Dunu decided to correct this situation.
In Alpha 1, the engineers of the company decided to use a hybrid circuit with a dynamic radiator for the low-frequency range and an armature, responsible for medium and high frequencies. Typically, hybrid schemes use different variations of the coaxial arrangement of the drivers, i.e., the emitters are placed on the same axis. In Alpha 1, this option was not suitable for a number of reasons, so a very unusual decision was made: low-frequency radiators are designed like traditional headphones-inserts, and the reinforcing bars are placed at an acute angle to the plane of their diffusers in small protrusions on the front of the headphones. Such a design, according to engineers, provides optimal acoustic matching of drivers.
Also, special nozzles were developed for the most reliable fixation of Alpha 1 in the ears. Dunu already experimented in this direction in the model DN-2000, immediately we can observe the further development of the idea.
The cost of headphones in Chinese online stores at the time of review was about $ 165.
Specifications
- Emitters: 16 mm dynamic + rebar
- Frequency range: 10 Hz - 30 KHz
- Impedance: 16Ω
- Sound pressure level: 125 ± 2 dB
- Plug: 3.5 mm TRS, gold-plated
- Cable: symmetrical, 1.2 m
- Weight: 17g
Packing and delivery kit
The box is a traditional box for Dunu, made of black cardboard with a double lid on magnets. Polygraphy is decorated in dark colors and looks stylish. Inside there is a pseudobarhat lodgement on which headphones, a cover and nozzles are located. In addition to them, you will also receive an adapter for 6.3 mm jack and a clothes clip for fixing the cable to the clothes.
Nozzles in the kit are also many, and all of them in their own way affect the sound. The kit includes:
- 3 pairs of anatomical tips of different sizes, providing an emphasis on bass and high frequencies;
- 3 pairs of wide rubber nozzles, providing a balanced sound;
- 3 pairs of narrow rubber nozzles for fans of bright HF;
- 2 pairs of foam nozzles for a tireless musical sound.
In general, everything here as usual with the company: the maximum set of baits, stylish packaging, a good set of delivery.
Design and comfortable wearing
The appearance of the Alpha 1 is exactly what is expected from high-end earphones. The base is made of metal, the front part and the "leg" for the cable outlet are plastic. The main feature is small triangular projections on the front panel, in which the reinforcing radiators are placed. The quality of performance - traditionally for Dunu is impeccable. On the outer edge of the headphones comes a narrow plastic bezel, which serves to fix the nozzles. It should be noted that some attachments must be worn in a strictly prescribed position, for this purpose special marks are placed on them, which must be combined with the protrusion of the reinforcement emitters.
The cable is ordinary, in silicone insulation, it hardens slightly in the cold, little is entangled, the microphone effect is poorly expressed due to the form factor of the headphones. The splitter and the plug are very reliable, the cable has a traditional "Dunu" rubber "tail" for twisting, which I still consider the best invention in the history of headphones.
Due to the fairly large size, headphones are not suitable for people with small ear cones. Even entering the diameter, the Alpha 1 may not give the desired landing, which leads to a deterioration in sound quality, especially in the low frequency range. For owners of medium and larger size of ears, there is no problem. Complete nozzles allow you to easily select a convenient option that ensures comfortable wearing throughout the day. Due to the fact that headphones do not block the ear canal, prolonged use of them causes less fatigue compared with traditional intracannel models.
Sound insulation, of course, is not the strength of these headphones, they do not completely cover the auditory canal, so external noise penetrates quite strongly, although the "anatomical" nozzles partly help to fight it.
Sound
The following equipment was used for listening:
- Yulong DA8 as a DAC and amplifier
- Resonessence Labs Concero HP as a DAC and Amplifier
- Apple MacBook Pro Retina 2013 as a source
- Fidelia as a player
- Fiio X5 and QLS QA360 as portable players
- VSonic Gr01 and HiFiMan Re600 as headphones for comparison
- High Definition Records in Lossless-formats (Dr. Chesky The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disc and others)
Before listening to the headphones were warmed for 48 hours.
The sound of this model depends very much on landing. If you can not achieve reliable fixation in the ears, the level of the bass will be greatly reduced, and the headphones will sound sharply and irritatingly. To combat this, different nozzles were put in the kit. Having tried all of them, I settled on simple foam rubber "bagels", they are very comfortable to plant, and HF with them is smaller, which is beneficial to the balance of sound. The only problem is putting them on properly, then I had to attract my soul mate with her thin fingers and tweezers.
Alpha 1 sounds quite predictable, as expected from their design. Clean, detailed medium and high frequencies, played by the rebar emitter, are supported by the bass of a dynamic driver playing a little in the background. In total, this gives a funny effect of transforming the virtual scene: the rhythm section from behind, the rest of the instruments and vocals - closer.
The bass in Alpha 1 is a lot quantitative, and it is also good quality, but due to its design features it is reserved for second place. Its number is very dependent on the density of landing in the ears and therefore can be easily adjusted. Nozzles with projections give it as much as possible, narrow rubber rings are the least. In general, with the task of creating a dense body, the Alpha 1 melodies are being mastered, but they should not be expected from the bass in-channel hybrids.
Medium frequencies are good, which is natural for an armature radiator (I would be more surprised by the reverse situation), there is detailing, the necessary speed is all that is needed to convey emotions and the nature of the sound. Due to the fact that the headphones are not in-channel, the imaginary scene is wider than usual.
The upper frequencies are also well detailed and give melodies lightness and airiness, although in places there may be many, especially with narrow rubber nozzles. If you have a bright source or sensitivity to the HF range, consider this fact.
Compatibility
Headphones are very desirable to the headphones, compensating their sound handwriting, so before buying one should listen to them with their technique, otherwise the problem of incompatibility may arise. For example, I did not like the sound from the iPhone, but Alcatel OneTouch IDOL X + with its advanced audio path coped with the Alpha 1 well.
Alpha 1 records are loyal enough, they do not have strong genre capriciousness, although music that requires "volume" in the filing sounds especially well in them.
conclusions
The headphones turned out to be interesting, though not for everyone. Their sound very much depends on the landing, and it, in turn, depends on the configuration of the listeners' ears. The company tried to do everything, depending on them, so that the headphones approached the widest possible range of people, but still owners of small ears remain "overboard". For other users, Dunu Alpha 1 is a good chance to get high-quality sound in an unusual format of headphones-inserts.
The article is based on materials .
Comments
Post a Comment