esanthosh
Well-Known Member
As much as I wanted to listen to DDM-1 today, I had to dedicate my time to OK1. My costliest ear bud is also the first in a blue moon to make me want to listen more and more. But enough about OK1.
I wanted to try out QA350 -> UHA6s with some Opeth to gauge how DDM does, but from all the running with OK1, QA350's battery ran dry
. Moving on, I am currently using iPod -> awwan LOD -> UHA-6S. In terms of isolation, DDM-1 may be a notch ahead of OK1, which does not speak well for it. Over the ear fit works well for me.
I'd say it's slightly difficult to get through the initial few minutes with DDM-1. This is just not true of DDM-1, but also of DDM-2. Once you get past that anxious first few minutes, brain adjusts, they start sounding damn musical.
The mid range falls short of the impact OK1 just had on me. But then OK1 has a sort of a special mid range. The details are all there in DDM-1 behind the thickish sound, just not apparent or in your face in the bass dominant signature. I think I like DDM-1 more out of UHA-6S as an amp than I remember out of Clip+ when I had them. I think a bit more power controls their drivers well making them sound better. Even treble is better than I remember - details are all present, but not extended or forward or sparkling. I characterized DDM-1 as a "wild child" and DDM-2 as the "restrained adult", but seems like DDM-1 can also be tamed a bit with amplification. A reason could be that DDM1 shines better with more volume as ljokerl mentions in his review. Clip+ as good as it is, did not supply as much power as required.
They still have that unique blended presentation. I remember describing two sound stages, but then my understanding of terms probably sucked more back then. Now, I'd say that the sound stage is still pretty wild with lot of things happening all over the place - far different from normal IEM presentation. Right now, I have Opeth's "Beneath the Mire" from "Ghost Reveries". There are things happening all around - Right, left front, left deep back, slightly right off center and of course, center. Strange because usually IEMs do Left, right, Center with some perception of depth and very, very rarely height. This is more like many things fighting to grab your attention that you don't know where to concentrate. But may be that's the point - don't concentrate?
Now that I understand a little more of sound than when I had them, I'd say they have good dynamics, scratch that, one of the better dynamic ranges I've heard so far in IEMs. It plays a very important role in making them musical. Another aspect that makes DDM-1 unique is it's tone / timbre. It may not be very natural at all times, but it certainly makes it 'catchy'. To hell with accuracy, this is fun!
I still hate you Doc for hitting the glass ceiling in IEM world too early. I see only FX700 and may be something like a UM Miracle (if it's as good as they say) as likely contenders for your wallet.
Listening to Isis with DDM is very nice - much different from other IEMs I tried them with. Try the first minute and a half of "Wills dissolve" from 'Panopticon' or "1000 Shards" from "In the Absence of Truth" when I send them back to you, rallynut. Switching over to FX700, mid-bass presence gets magnified a bit, treble becomes sparkly, DDM's slightly dark sounding characteristic gives way to clarity, a little more snappiness and more perception of detail, strings start to sound far better. Anybody with a penchant for flowery prose would say "veil was lifted" (or as I'd like to read that sentence "my ear wax was cleaned" ), but I won't go that far. When you get to this level, improvements may be minor in each category, but they add up to something significant. FX700 sounds more natural, refined and grand, if I may, in the scheme of things (but also more trebly coming from DDM). I can go back and forth between them and like both, but I prefer FX700 a bit more for my tastes.
PS: Does not change my ranking in any way. But, I feel that the sources I bought this year viz., QA350, UHA-6S and iPod Video 5G with LOD give me a better / different perspective of my IEMs sound than when I am used them with Clip+.
I wanted to try out QA350 -> UHA6s with some Opeth to gauge how DDM does, but from all the running with OK1, QA350's battery ran dry
. Moving on, I am currently using iPod -> awwan LOD -> UHA-6S. In terms of isolation, DDM-1 may be a notch ahead of OK1, which does not speak well for it. Over the ear fit works well for me.I'd say it's slightly difficult to get through the initial few minutes with DDM-1. This is just not true of DDM-1, but also of DDM-2. Once you get past that anxious first few minutes, brain adjusts, they start sounding damn musical.
The mid range falls short of the impact OK1 just had on me. But then OK1 has a sort of a special mid range. The details are all there in DDM-1 behind the thickish sound, just not apparent or in your face in the bass dominant signature. I think I like DDM-1 more out of UHA-6S as an amp than I remember out of Clip+ when I had them. I think a bit more power controls their drivers well making them sound better. Even treble is better than I remember - details are all present, but not extended or forward or sparkling. I characterized DDM-1 as a "wild child" and DDM-2 as the "restrained adult", but seems like DDM-1 can also be tamed a bit with amplification. A reason could be that DDM1 shines better with more volume as ljokerl mentions in his review. Clip+ as good as it is, did not supply as much power as required.
They still have that unique blended presentation. I remember describing two sound stages, but then my understanding of terms probably sucked more back then
. Now, I'd say that the sound stage is still pretty wild with lot of things happening all over the place - far different from normal IEM presentation. Right now, I have Opeth's "Beneath the Mire" from "Ghost Reveries". There are things happening all around - Right, left front, left deep back, slightly right off center and of course, center. Strange because usually IEMs do Left, right, Center with some perception of depth and very, very rarely height. This is more like many things fighting to grab your attention that you don't know where to concentrate. But may be that's the point - don't concentrate?Now that I understand a little more of sound than when I had them, I'd say they have good dynamics, scratch that, one of the better dynamic ranges I've heard so far in IEMs. It plays a very important role in making them musical. Another aspect that makes DDM-1 unique is it's tone / timbre. It may not be very natural at all times, but it certainly makes it 'catchy'. To hell with accuracy, this is fun!
I still hate you Doc for hitting the glass ceiling in IEM world too early. I see only FX700 and may be something like a UM Miracle (if it's as good as they say) as likely contenders for your wallet.
Listening to Isis with DDM is very nice - much different from other IEMs I tried them with. Try the first minute and a half of "Wills dissolve" from 'Panopticon' or "1000 Shards" from "In the Absence of Truth" when I send them back to you, rallynut
. Switching over to FX700, mid-bass presence gets magnified a bit, treble becomes sparkly, DDM's slightly dark sounding characteristic gives way to clarity, a little more snappiness and more perception of detail, strings start to sound far better. Anybody with a penchant for flowery prose would say "veil was lifted" (or as I'd like to read that sentence "my ear wax was cleaned" ), but I won't go that far. When you get to this level, improvements may be minor in each category, but they add up to something significant. FX700 sounds more natural, refined and grand, if I may, in the scheme of things (but also more trebly coming from DDM). I can go back and forth between them and like both, but I prefer FX700 a bit more for my tastes.PS: Does not change my ranking in any way. But, I feel that the sources I bought this year viz., QA350, UHA-6S and iPod Video 5G with LOD give me a better / different perspective of my IEMs sound than when I am used them with Clip+.
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