Dunu Zen Pro iem Review - f**k me these are good

I like doing a running report on my reviews. I am set up with my best streaming system, using the SPDIF output of my P2AES in my primary speaker system. Getting the tips right seems to be an ongoing story here. I am not settled on them yet. The two different cable types are a bonus as the OCC copper cable works a lot better to control the sibilance that the Zen Pro's seem to exhibit. I am testing with a Chord Mojo and an Ayre Codex.

The test environment includes my SE535's and LCDI4 headphones. I will bring in some other cans a bit later.

The Zen Pro is about double the price of my SE535s, and I am impressed with them. The bass is better than I expected. I started with electronic music, BT, Joe Ford, AES DANA. Then I played a little female vocal, where the OCC cable shines. I will add more over time. Out of the gate, these are good. They need the OCC cable, and getting the tips right is a challenge.

Here are some pictures: https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0wGY3uThGXlO6I

I have a playlist on Qobuz that has a smattering of tracks I am using:

https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/4833309

As a quick 9-minute test, @archimago has an exciting one:

http://archimago.blogspot.com/2021/08/ampt-test.html

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1/17/22 Progress report

Yesterday and today, I started my A/B with my Shure SE535 and to my HD6xx using my Chord Mojo DAC. The source is Pi2AES SPDiF, Squeezelite on PiCorePlayer + sKit on a Ferrum HYPSOS supply.

The Zen Pro has a richness and dynamic that I like. When the bass gets overly strong, they seem to be overwhelmed. In the Hu Track "Song of Women, with Lizzy Hale," they seem to falter. But, the Kettle Drum is just fine on the "Fanfare for the Common Man," thank you very much!

My SE535's seem to just muddle through the tracks compared to the Zen Pro. (half the price). When I listen on the HD6xx I do not get that feeling of being in the music I get from the Zen Pro. I really do need to update those stock cables.

I am getting a good seal with the tips I selected. They are still not at the comfort level I would want for long-term listening.

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1/18/22 Progress Report

I really wish I could keep the Zen Pro's in my ears longer. The sound is effortless and clean. I have to try a couple of different tips tomorrow. I listened to Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here all the way through. It was almost like hearing it for the first time. Tomorrow I will pick a symphony to listen to. I will also get some time on the Zen models and then get ready to ship them on to the next person.

1/19/22 My Last Day

While working today I spent time rotating through the Zen, Zen Pro, and my SE535 IEMS on Dunu and the Copper cables. The Dunu cable is very good over say my stock Shure cable. But the Copper cable releases all three of the IEMS to do more of what they do! The Denu ZEN is very good, but not that much better than my SE535. The Zen Pro with the copper cable is almost magical. The pair has a musical flow or rhythm that just feels real.

The Zen Pro should be on your shortlist for your next IEM.

(I will ship them as soon as I get the address for the next person in-line)

 

A little painful.

Meaning, it was a little painful to send these along to the next person on the loaner tour. A damn fine IEM for my preferences, and one I wish I could use everyday.

Smooth but with plenty of life in the midrange (by life, I mean detail and the right amount of exciting midrange energy). Good bass; great, even for my basshead-lite preferences with the bass boost on the iFi Go Blu enabled, and good enough without the bass boost. I did not find myself noticing or being annoyed by the harshness some have reported.

Ergonomics and fit were good for me. It's kind of cool that the magnets in these IEMs cause them to stick to each other when they're close together. Magnets are fun.

After trying several IEMs via the SBAF loaner tour (thanks for this amazing service!), I have some Moondrop ATTENTION EVERYONE PLEASE LOOK AT MY BLINDING SILVER EAR THINGS Katos coming. I hate the finish and love the sound of those, and the sound and price are good enough to overcome my hatred of their appearance. But if the Zen Pros were $300 and not $700 or whatever they are, I'd prefer the Zen Pros both for sound and appearance (and enlightened choice of MMCX connectors).

I like the IEM cable that @rhythmdevils included with these, but it has some INTENSE Mister T gold chain energy (yes that is a stain on my jacket I am a messy eater and I WFH deal with it):



Given that the Zen Pros are in Andromeda price territory, I don't think of them as a no-brainer choice unless something about the Andros or balanced armatures rubs one the wrong way.

I'll try to report back on the gaffer tape stealth mod I'm consider for the Katos (seriously).

To conclude, the Zen Pros strike me as a great competitor to the Andromedas. Nice to have good choices in that nearing-$1000 price bracket.

 

Why aren’t there more impressions of these when there is an active loaner?

I’m going to start cracking down on this. Impressions are fun to write and fun to read and keep SBAF full of relevant information. I don’t work my ass of negotiating to get loaners for no reason. I do it for this forum.

 

Thanks to Dunu and SBAF for the chance to hear the Dunu Zen Pro via loaner.

My chain was Pi2AES > Yggdrasil A2 > Phonitor X.

First, I really enjoyed the tuning on these, as I prefer a slight emphasis in the mids, which are the Zen Pro's strongest feature. The treble is tastefully done as well, with a decent sense of air without any sense of sibilance/brightness that I could tell. Although I wasn't able to listen beyond an hour or so per any listening session, there never seemed to be risk of fatigue.

The only weakness I could discern tonally was in the lower bass & sub-bass. I actually felt like I heard the Pros struggle at times with low bass rumble or sub-bass heavy tracks, but nothing that a non-bass-head like myself really minded. Otherwise felt like a great sense of texture/timbre all-around - really enjoyable. Also still got that distinct dynamic driver slam from well-recorded drums. Also thought these had a good sense of air/stage for an IEM, with the best separation/layering that I've heard on this style of driver. Also a huge fan of the fairly soft non-microphonic stock cable with the interchangeable connectors. I wish all the non-budget priced IEMs at least offered cables like these! As for one downside, while I thought them to be fairly well resolving, they weren't quite up to what I've heard from other IEM's in this price range (primarily the ThieAudio Monarch).

In sum, these are a fantastic pair of IEMs, but a bit overpriced in this current market. Perhpas the 7HZ Timeless has skewed my expectations in that regard, but so be it. As a fan of single dynamic driver IEMs though, if these were under $500 new, with improved lower/sub-bass I'd be quick to snatch up a pair.

 

Got these as part of the Dunu/SBAF loaner. I was really constrained on time (due to being sick for part of the time they were with me), so I focused on the Zen Pro. No comments on the Zen from me. It is also worth calling out that I have fairly large ear canals, which seems to result in me hearing in-ears differently from a lot of folks.

Overall I found these to have great resolution in the mids, but was disappointed by the bass and tonal balance. They are also very slammy, but micro dynamics were lacking for me.

Mids capture a good deal of texture and differentiating timbre quite well. The tonal balance I heard in the mids is nice, slightly upper mid forward, reminding me of the HD650 a bit.

Treble was fine, but not fantastic. I heard an unpleasant spike around 6-7 khz which messed with reproduction of brass, and was not getting much air with these.

The bass was punchy, but lacked texture and was overbearing. I find myself generally bass sensitive, and the bass tuning on these was just not for me. Between the 7 khz spike and the treble rendition, I struggled to listen to these for more than an hour at a time.

Between Zen Pro and the much cheaper single DD competitor Kato, I overall preferred the tuning of Kato, and especially the bass rendering which while not as snappy was much more textured to my ears.

 

Not part of the loaner....but band-wagoned into a purchase (seeing great reviews here and other places) as I test out the world of IEM's. Love em'. Others with more education on the IEM side have given impressions more complete than I can, but short hits:

IEM's owned (realm of comparison): Dusk, Timeless, Saber, Isabelle, Zen Pro, IER-Z1R, EXT. Tried a bunch more at the $1k level (Andromeda, Solaris, Monarch II, Helios, etc.)

• Largely even-handed through the bass/mid/treble, but does sneak extra dessert to the mids. (If you like a mid-focused approach, worth a listen)
• 
  
• Lively; has kind of a rollicking kick-and-swing tuning that's very engaging.
• 
  
• For me it's like a B+ everywhere all-rounder'. It may not be a class-leader (at the $1k point) in any one specific area, but its 'real good' in most all spots I care about.
• 
  
• Forgiving to poor mixes. This was a real treat, as I listen to a lot of crap mixed metal.
• 
  
• It's kind of cliche to say 'great timber and coherency from a single DD'....but well. great timber and coherency from a DD
• 
  
• Fast as heck
• 
  
• I struggle with fit/seal on this...not uncomfortable in my ears but even at the first stem position the barrels tend to push out of my ears if I wiggle around too much. That's totally subjective to an individuals ear-shapes, your mileage will vary.

I love these. Does well in the mids, my favorite of ranges, Forgiving, fast, engaging.....plays well whether I'm throwing Jazz, Death Metal, or Opera at them. They've lost some time to the EXT....and I wish I didn't struggle with fit on these.....but just awesome all-arounders. That said...if you lean more towards technical ecstasy or flatter tuning approach.....you'd probably be happier with something like the Monarch II at the $1K level. I'll go out on a limb and say headphone folks would likely really dig these IEM's vs. someone coming up primarily through the BA ranks in IEMS.

 

Cheers from another EXT owner.-- Great impressions thanks for sharing. I've heard a lot of the same IEMs and these are some of the best.

 

hello,

tl/dr: the Zen is very nice, the Zen Pro is magical.

as per usual i audition iem's on my (now completely obsolete) portable set up.

started with the Zen Pro (which definitely colored my take on the Zen.)

just random down the listings on my iPod classic.

-Steel Stringed Guitar. as many of these recordings are from Windham Hill, lots of folk dismiss them as "New Age" crap. i would beg to differ as players like William Ackerman, Robbie Basho, Alex De Grassi, John Fahey, Michael Hedges, and Leo Kottke can make this (seemingly simple instrument) sing, dance, and enchant.

-over compressed Pop. "Hot" by Avril Lavigne is a hot mess, but i like it!

-Vocal Jazz (the ladies). Diana Krall was inside my head. as was Irene Kral (no relation,) Blossom Dearie, and a bunch of others. (including Babs, NOT a jazzer i know.)

-The Voice. i know he's fallen out of fashion, don't care.

-Bird, yeah, he should have played "Star Eyes" more often.

-Rock. i know i shouldn't try to sing along with Robert Plant (or Fiona Apple for that matter), but that's what you do sometimes.

verdict: the Zen Pro did the disappearing act for me.

and it passed the glockenspiel test on "The Bells.":

switching to the Zen. pretty much the same thing. but i had already been spoiled.

cheers!

 

I had a chance to try these today and will give more detailed impressions as I get to know them better. These impressions are after a few hours of listening out of an old iPod classic and just out of my LGG5. My go to IEMs are still the ER4SR, for reference. Just for starters, the ability these phones have timbre wise is really great. If you listen to a lot of acoustic music these would be wonderful. Instrument separation and detail retrieval is really solid. Frequency response and tonal balance is better than on any DD based IEM I have heard.

On the other hand, these still seem to exhibit all the problems really good DD based IEMs have IME, in that they are still uneven starting in the 7-8khz region and are just a touch too hot for me there with my sources. I am finding these to be just a touch too sibilant. The other issue I find is that the bass response can be a little unfocused/bloomy sometimes and takes away from the wonderful balance they exhibit otherwise. This seems to compress or crowd the otherwise fairly open soundstage.

I have to listen some more for sure and possibly try them with other sources, but if these were less source picky and the problems in the treble, in particular, were fixed, I would be done looking for IEMs. But I have thought this before about really good DD based IEMs. This IEM kinda reminds me of the old GR07 if all its strengths were enhanced but with some of its weaknesses still kinda there. More detailed impressions to come.

 

Sorry about the delay in getting these impressions from the loaner up; it’s been a busy week. I just want to say that I really enjoyed the Zen Pro especially. I’m going to try not to overhype these things, but I genuinely liked them a lot.

On the most basic level, these have kilobuck IEM level performance without the buzzing and pickiness of the Andromeda S (which really does limit its flexibility, you can’t just plug it into anything). I know that some people have reported some buzzing/hiss, but it was dead quiet for me through my Jot 1 SE output, IEMagni, and my Sony ZX300. YMMV. Also the system that they give you on the stock cable for being able to quickly switch terminations is nice because my desktop amps are SE whereas I prefer 4.4mm on my DAP.

I instantly felt at home on the Zen Pro compared to the Zen due to the slightly toned down upper mids. They were fatigue free, and frankly that’s often the biggest deciding factor for me when considering IEMs. There was great resolution, but when I A-B compared the Zen to the Zen Pro I think I was able to hear still a hint of the treble roughness found on the Zen. It’s frankly not something I noticed without looking for it, but at these prices I will nitpick.

Also, it’s worth noting that because it’s a DD it also avoids timbre issues that plagues so many of the popular BA options. In the past there have often been tradeoffs with options like the Kato or the FDX1, in the sense that they just weren’t in the same performance class as the kilobuck BAs. I feel like the Zen Pro really does go blow for blow with some of those options and at a cheaper price in some instances.

Comparing it to the Andromeda S for example really put things in perspective for me. The Andro S has always had this issue where it’s U shaped tuning with a rebound in the treble always sounded a tad unnatural. I put up with it because of its lack of upper-mid fatigue. But the Zen Pro accomplishes the lack of fatigue while not having timbre issues and retaining detail retrieval. It also costs slightly less than the andromeda S went for back in the day (significant fact considering recent inflation). I would absolutely have picked the Zen Pro over the Andro S had that been a choice back then.

Back to the sound, I can see why some people might say that the Zen Pro has compressed dynamic range, but I actually think that it creates an interesting effect when listening to music with vocals. While the instrumental mix can perhaps feel a bit compressed, the vocals are strikingly well separated from them. I think this was the aspect of the Zen Pro that I found most impressive. Be it music, movies, or TV, vocals were really well reproduced in these IEMs. I think this is something that you really have to hear to understand, but suffice it to say that it goes beyond “soundstage”. It’s not just the separation but also the quality of it, which is probably bolstered by the timbre being correct.

Much like others have said, the only real complaint I have about the Zen Pro is the bass feeling a tad weak, particularly in the subbass. This is why I don’t think the Zen regular is worse necessarily. The Zen has more energy in the treble and more prominent bass, which is sometimes desirable if you listen to “high energy” music like electro or rap, etc. The bass on the Zen isn’t necessarily of higher quality but there is more of it, which is nice. I should also say that I didn’t find it disagreeable in the upper-mids even though it has more energy there than I prefer. I would encourage people to try out the Zen at least on the loaner tour and give it a chance.

In summary: If you are in the market for a kilobuck IEM, these are a very strong contender. They have performance that trades blows with BA options while having a non-fatiguing tuning, excellent resolution, impressive vocal reproduction, and good timbre. Bass heads might look elsewhere, although it is by no means bad in that department.

 

Loaner Tour Impressions
Thank you, SBAF, for the opportunity to hear the Zen Pro. I was excited to hear these IEMs, given the praise they’ve received here, and I’m grateful to @rhythmdevils for putting them on my radar. (The TL;DR here is that my impressions line up nicely with his in many ways).

I got to hear the original Zen on a previous loaner tour and wasn’t keen on them, the emphasis in the upper-mids and lower treble put me off. I tried them again and don’t feel the need to revise my unfavorable opinion of them (posted here), especially since the Zen Pro are so much better.

These impressions of the Zen Pro are, I realize, quite long. For a succinct take on the Zen Pro, please skip down to my “Impressions of the Zen Pro at their Best,” below. Before I get to those impressions, I thought some comments about pairings and synergies might be worthwhile.


Gear, Caveats, and Preferences

• I tried the Zen Pro out of two setups: first, my Sony NW-ZX2 DAP and, second, old (2012) MacBook Pro using Audirvana via USB -> Bifrost 2 -> Magni 3 (low gain, obvy).
• I was surprised at how different the Zen Pro were from these two setups
  • the ZX2 made for a poor pairing
  • the Magni 3 was much, much better (more on this below)

• I’m kicking myself for forgetting to try the Zen Pro out of the copper cable. I have a hunch that a bit of added warmth might have been appealing.
• I’m in my mid-40s and have suffered from some hearing loss; I have no idea what's happening above 14 or 15 kHz
• I’m not typically a fan of overly warm tunings; I prefer the HD 600 over the 650
• For reference, my own preferred IEMs are the Andromeda 2020, original Solaris, and Soranik Bastille Audiophile

From the Sony ZX2
I don’t mean to be perverse but I’m going to offer some impressions of then Zen Pro from the Sony ZX2 even though it was a poor pairing. I’m doing this in case these impressions have some diagnostic value, especially for anyone who may have found the Zen Pro to have certain problems.

That the ZX2 is a poor source for the Zen Pro isn’t necessarily a matter of poor synergy, at least not entirely. (The ZX2 is a slightly warm DAP and the Zen Pro don’t suffer from some added warmth). It’s more that these IEMs, I suspect, need a decent amount of power to realize their full potential.

From the ZX2, the Zen Pro sound pleasant enough - and are still impressive IEMs in many ways - but they have a kind of simplified sound, as though there’s a sheen or haze, with the music sounding smoothed over and insufficiently textured or complex. (This is immediately apparent with massed strings and orchestral music). I kept wondering if the resolution was poor (it’s not). The bass is also quite lacking, and not just in the sub-bass region. There’s a lack of body, as though there’s not enough emphasis in the lower mids, perhaps. In spite of the slightly forward upper mids/lower treble, there isn’t much treble extension (within the limits of what I can hear), which means that while the tuning has an upward tilt, the overall treble presentation is less than satisfying and sounds oddly uneven.

Beyond matters of tuning, the ZX2 pairing offers poor technicalities. There is no depth or height to the staging. The IEMs produce a fairly spacious and open sound, but this isn’t anything noteworthy or special. The macrodynamics are decent enough, and not lacking, but there’s not much slam given the lack of bass strength. The IEMs sound nice and fast. And while the resolution is decent, it’s undermined by very poor separation and layering. Everything sounds flat and dull. The imaging’s not bad. But there’s insufficient air and space around instruments.

In the end, the Zen Pro from the ZX2 makes the music come across as unengaging. The original Solaris is much better in every way: just as fast; more resolving; with a vastly superior headstage; stronger, deeper bass, and better treble extension and smoothness. If the Solaris is a bit recessed in the vocal range, the Zen Pro from the ZX2 is appreciably more forward.


From the Beefroast 2 -> Magni 3
Holy cow, now the Zen Pro are significantly better in almost every way. Compared with the ZX2, now the Zen Pro from the BF2 -> M3

• have more mid-bass emphasis and richness even as the bass is tighter and faster
• the sub-bass, though, remains lacking, but it’s less poor now (or its absence isn’t missed as much)
  • the added bass emphasis compensates for the leanness and lack of body I heard from the ZX2
    • this makes for a more even, richer and fuller sound, overall
  • I don’t think there’s more to the lower mids; it’s just that the mids now rest on a weightier, bassier foundation
• at the other end of the spectrum, the treble now extends further
  • you can hear flutes and harps flitting over the top of orchestras; trumpets get more piercing
  • the treble now sounds coherent and evenly presented, with sufficient extension

Where the improvements are most noticeable are in staging:

• imaging is about the same but separation is vastly improved
• there’s much more space and air around instruments
• layering is also markedly better
• there’s also more depth and height to the headstage, and overall, the staging is more expansive
  • in other words, the headstage is more expansive internally (in the spaces between and around instruments) and externally, with the music projecting farther out in every direction
    • together, these qualities provide that essential complexity that the music needs and that was missing out of the ZX2
• groups of instruments, be they brass or string instruments or even voices in choirs, now have more of a sense of individuality
• the music no longer sounds smoothed over or overly simplified
• there are better, stronger textures, and a greater sense of reverberation - and everything sounds richer, with much better timbre

All of this is to say that source pairings matter a great deal with the Zen Pro, and from my limited perspective, I’d say they have the potential to scale fairly well.


Impressions of the Zen Pro at their Best
These are exciting IEMs. They don’t quite rise to the level of being aggressive, for me, but they are certainly fast, resolving, and punchy and energetic, and with their slight upper mid/lower treble emphasis, they have a touch of brightness and can be slightly fatiguing.

The first quality of the sound I noticed was their clarity, something which I assume has to do with the lower treble emphasis. Apart from this emphasis, I’d say the Zen Pro are fairly neutral, perhaps a bit brighter than the HD 600 or the Focal Clear, although I didn’t compare them directly. If not neutral—I realize it’s a controversial term—the tuning is nicely balanced. (I’ve not heard the Gaudio IEMs, which seem to be a benchmark for neutrality).

The bass could perhaps be a bit richer. It’s fast and hits hard, but without much sub-bass, it doesn’t rumble as much as I might like. I’m not sure if the Zen Pro’s bass has enough timbral richness. What I mean by this is whether something like the double bass has a satisfyingly and convincingly woody and boomy sound to it. Other than this, I found the timbre of acoustic instruments to sound pretty convincing.

I find no fault with the Zen Pro’s technicalities - speed and resolution are both highly impressive, and staging is fine. While the staging isn’t exactly holographic, it is perfectly acceptable and not a reason not to buy the Zen Pro. I’m fussy about IEMs not being congested and these aren’t.


Comparison with the Original Solaris
It was hard to compare the two IEMs directly because the superior setup for the Zen Pro worked poorly with the far more sensitive Solaris. I’ll keep this brief, then:

If you can imagine a Solaris with boosted upper mids/lower treble, and with less sub-bass and a smaller headstage, then I’d say you get most of the way to the Zen Pro

• the two IEMs present the mid-bass region in fairly similar ways
• the Solaris offers more sub-bass depth, though
• I’m not confident about this but my sense is that the Solaris offers a slightly warmer, richer bass

• I hear the Solaris as being less aggressive, more laid back as opposed to the Zen Pro’s brighter, more exciting presentation
• vocals, especially female vocals, are recessed on the Solaris and forward with the Zen Pro
  • the slight emphasis in the upper mids/lower treble gives stringed instruments a lot of bite, especially electric guitars, much more so than the Solaris
  • hammond organs also end up being very forward with the Zen Pro, sometimes intrusively so

• the Solaris have more macrodynamic strength, better slam, and seem to be more nimble and responsive to shifts in the intensity of music

• I can’t decide which is more resolving but I’m inclined to say the Solaris nudges out the Zen Pro here
• both are similarly fast; again, though, I think the Solaris edges out the Zen Pro
• the Solaris has a much more expansive and spacious headstage
• imaging, layering, and separation are probably similar but the bigger canvas offered by the Solaris makes it seem better in these ways even if it isn’t

Both IEMs offer a lovely clear presentation of sound. To use a visual simile: the Solaris’s clarity is like one of those lovely, fresh sunny days after a storm has rolled through town, when the atmosphere is clear; the Zen Pro are similar in terms of clarity, but with more intensity to the brightness of the light.

I prefer the Solaris because I have an irrational preference for open, spacious and airy headstages and because vocals aren’t especially important to me.


Conclusion
These really are highly impressive IEMs, especially when they go on sale for under $750 (I saw them for $720 at CanJam). My personal view is that the original Solaris are better—for my preferences—but the fact that, on sale, the Zen Pro are approximately half the price of the original Solaris’s MSRP makes them a great deal.

I’d recommend them to those looking for neutral IEMs that could serve as excellent all-rounders for a wide range of musical genres. For those who prioritize vocals, I could see them being outstandingly good (and preferable to the Solaris). They may be a bit too bright for me, in which case I could imagine having them not as a one-and-done pair of IEMs but as a nice complement to my darker and mellower, less fatiguing Andromeda 2020.

I doubt I’ll get a pair, at least for the time being. I’m happy with my current IEMs, the Zen Pro don’t really edge out any of them, and I’d have to invest in a more powerful DAP to get an acceptable level of performance from the Zen Pro.

Thank you again, SBAF and @rhythmdevils for the chance to hear these outstandingly good IEMs.