Introduction
It's been how long since I am tempted to write an initial impression within 3 hours? SM3, I think was the last. None between then and now have truly inspired me to write anything, at least not within the first few hours (RE-252, DDM-1, DBA-02 being the only three others to extract something out of me).
First up, I did not buy this for a change. Many thanks to ljokerl for agreeing to send them internationally and trusting me with his IEMs. This is part of ljokerl's loaner program and this goes to the next person on the international list soon. I don't think I'll have them for too long, so, I'll put my thoughts down quickly and make additions or corrections as and when I get time.
For those interested, Musica Acoustics has them on sale for $248. Dimitri did a one week sale for $214, but Radius forced him to up the price within a week. Chances are it won't come down.
Build Quality, Microphonics, Isolation, Comfort
The cable and the Y-split seem very similar based on my DDM-1 pictures from here. The cable is the same cloth sleeved cable with a similar straight plug, but with the chin slider in place, there's less microphonics. I do remember the DDM1 to do worse with microphonics- that's a good improvement. The redesign of the housing is a welcome sign for all those who were put off by DDM1's inability to stay put in the ears. The strain relief at the housing is long and good at the housing as well. The Left and the Right markings are on the inner side (the side that goes into the ear) in blue and red colored circles for easy identification.
The plastic housing though slightly weird in design gives a comfortable fit. But, after wearing it for over 3 hours, I got a slight sign of discomfort. Much like DDM1, DDM2 is almost like an ear bud when it comes to isolation, which is to say, it has none. Due to the design, they can be worn only for straight down (not over the ear).
Oh! the damn lovely case - why did I miss you last time by going for an OEM version? But then, you came with useless extra tips and an additional $50 price. You look good, but you're not worth $50. Other than the case, I got two sets of tips, but as usual, I'll be using my own tips.
Photos
Sound Signature
As usual, my impressions are straight out of Rockboxed Clip+ at a volume of -28 to -31. So, no need for any amp to make it sound good.
If I had to put it down in a sentence - a restrained, sedate version of DDM1's sound.
The bass is nowhere near the heaps of bass I still vaguely remember from DDM-1. It is thick, carries good extension and quantity, but with a lot of politeness. That is not to say that DDM2 is bass light. Oh! No! Just that bass is nowhere near as prominent or humped in the mid-bass like other 'bass head' IEMs. It sill goes deep, low and gives good impact and has all the quantity it needs, but plays a more supporting role in the whole signature than stepping up to occupy front position. Also, unlike Eterna, which has bloated mid-bass or Hippo VB, which has more sub-bass, DDM2 is more equally spread on both.
The slight loss of bass becomes the gain of the other two parts of the spectrum. Mids are where they are supposed to be - neither forward nor recessed. Let's say - not too forward or in your face. There is absolutely no bass bleed. Mids sound warm, thick, smooth, lively and devoid of sibilance. Micro-details and crispness be damned. Who needs them in every IEM? It borders on what I can call "liquid", but not quite there yet.
I have not removed DDM2 from my ears, so this is from memory (having listened to FX700 even yesterday evening) - FX700 does instruments well (good timbre), but DDM2's vocals, though a bit thick, sound very nice to my ears. Now if only I can combine the two....
The treble is probably the most improved from DDM-1. I remember searching for treble in DDM-1. However, it is nowhere close to making DDM-2 a bright IEM. On the other hand, it's still a slightly dark sounding IEM. Treble is still slightly recessed, not so crisp, but carries enough detail. Suffice to say - much like bass, treble is in a good supporting role. Taking a back seat, it does not disrupt the overall smooth nature of the signature.
DDM2 has a very good sized sound stage with good width and depth, just not open or vastly spacious. Let's see - from memory, I'd say it is like TF10 stage - just a short on depth, but a more on width and more rounded. Coming from a slew of open sounding IEMs yesterday (RE1, FX700), it feels a bit "boxed" though. The imaging is pretty good, no blended presentation like DDM-1 either, it's much more normal this time.
Overall, DDM2 does not sound "exciting", but still very musical - sort of laid-back, if you will. But, that sedate and smooth presentation makes it more relaxing to listen to.
Value for Money
As much as I like the DDM2, it's still priced higher. About $175 to a maximum of $200 sounds like a good price to me.
Ranking in my list
DDM2 feels more like e-Q5 and GR07 - excellent IEMs, but not quite at the level of FX700 or SM3 or CK10. But, for my tastes, I enjoyed GR07 and e-Q5 a little less than what I do with DDM2. I am going to provisionally place DDM2 at 7 out of 55. I would think GR07 is technically the most proficient of the three, e-Q5 is sort of the middle man and DDM2 is firmly on the musical side of things. They are all on equal footing and personal preferences would decide which is subjectively better.
Conclusion
Radius DDM-1 was one of the first IEMs in my audio journey that gave a taste of what the musical side of things hold. I'd say DDM2, while not as wild and raw as the first version, is a bit more refined in every way - be it the not so hard to fit housing or the much restrained sound signature.
Those who are looking for oodles of bass quantity can please look elsewhere. But, those who are looking for a musical IEM and won't mind the lack of isolation and don't mind paying a $75 premium over the über-correct value I arrived by using my yet to be patented SQ based formula can feel free to do so.
You can find a technically more proficient IEM easily around the price range, but musically, there are only a few contenders I can glean from Joker's thread like Westone 3, Monster Miles Davis Tribute, Sennheiser IE8 and of course, my favorite dynamic as of today - FX700. DDM2 is not quite worth the "best" IEM tag, but it is damn musical, smooth and relaxing.
Will I end up buying it? Hard to say - price is kind of a spoilsport. As of now, I'll concentrate on making full use of my (little) available time with them and then decide.
It's been how long since I am tempted to write an initial impression within 3 hours? SM3, I think was the last. None between then and now have truly inspired me to write anything, at least not within the first few hours (RE-252, DDM-1, DBA-02 being the only three others to extract something out of me).
First up, I did not buy this for a change. Many thanks to ljokerl for agreeing to send them internationally and trusting me with his IEMs. This is part of ljokerl's loaner program and this goes to the next person on the international list soon. I don't think I'll have them for too long, so, I'll put my thoughts down quickly and make additions or corrections as and when I get time.
For those interested, Musica Acoustics has them on sale for $248. Dimitri did a one week sale for $214, but Radius forced him to up the price within a week. Chances are it won't come down.
Build Quality, Microphonics, Isolation, Comfort
The cable and the Y-split seem very similar based on my DDM-1 pictures from here. The cable is the same cloth sleeved cable with a similar straight plug, but with the chin slider in place, there's less microphonics. I do remember the DDM1 to do worse with microphonics- that's a good improvement. The redesign of the housing is a welcome sign for all those who were put off by DDM1's inability to stay put in the ears. The strain relief at the housing is long and good at the housing as well. The Left and the Right markings are on the inner side (the side that goes into the ear) in blue and red colored circles for easy identification.
The plastic housing though slightly weird in design gives a comfortable fit. But, after wearing it for over 3 hours, I got a slight sign of discomfort. Much like DDM1, DDM2 is almost like an ear bud when it comes to isolation, which is to say, it has none. Due to the design, they can be worn only for straight down (not over the ear).
Oh! the damn lovely case - why did I miss you last time by going for an OEM version? But then, you came with useless extra tips and an additional $50 price. You look good, but you're not worth $50. Other than the case, I got two sets of tips, but as usual, I'll be using my own tips.
Photos
Sound Signature
As usual, my impressions are straight out of Rockboxed Clip+ at a volume of -28 to -31. So, no need for any amp to make it sound good.
If I had to put it down in a sentence - a restrained, sedate version of DDM1's sound.
The bass is nowhere near the heaps of bass I still vaguely remember from DDM-1. It is thick, carries good extension and quantity, but with a lot of politeness. That is not to say that DDM2 is bass light. Oh! No! Just that bass is nowhere near as prominent or humped in the mid-bass like other 'bass head' IEMs. It sill goes deep, low and gives good impact and has all the quantity it needs, but plays a more supporting role in the whole signature than stepping up to occupy front position. Also, unlike Eterna, which has bloated mid-bass or Hippo VB, which has more sub-bass, DDM2 is more equally spread on both.
The slight loss of bass becomes the gain of the other two parts of the spectrum. Mids are where they are supposed to be - neither forward nor recessed. Let's say - not too forward or in your face. There is absolutely no bass bleed. Mids sound warm, thick, smooth, lively and devoid of sibilance. Micro-details and crispness be damned. Who needs them in every IEM? It borders on what I can call "liquid", but not quite there yet.
I have not removed DDM2 from my ears, so this is from memory (having listened to FX700 even yesterday evening) - FX700 does instruments well (good timbre), but DDM2's vocals, though a bit thick, sound very nice to my ears. Now if only I can combine the two....
The treble is probably the most improved from DDM-1. I remember searching for treble in DDM-1. However, it is nowhere close to making DDM-2 a bright IEM. On the other hand, it's still a slightly dark sounding IEM. Treble is still slightly recessed, not so crisp, but carries enough detail. Suffice to say - much like bass, treble is in a good supporting role. Taking a back seat, it does not disrupt the overall smooth nature of the signature.
DDM2 has a very good sized sound stage with good width and depth, just not open or vastly spacious. Let's see - from memory, I'd say it is like TF10 stage - just a short on depth, but a more on width and more rounded. Coming from a slew of open sounding IEMs yesterday (RE1, FX700), it feels a bit "boxed" though. The imaging is pretty good, no blended presentation like DDM-1 either, it's much more normal this time.
Overall, DDM2 does not sound "exciting", but still very musical - sort of laid-back, if you will. But, that sedate and smooth presentation makes it more relaxing to listen to.
Value for Money
As much as I like the DDM2, it's still priced higher. About $175 to a maximum of $200 sounds like a good price to me.
Ranking in my list
DDM2 feels more like e-Q5 and GR07 - excellent IEMs, but not quite at the level of FX700 or SM3 or CK10. But, for my tastes, I enjoyed GR07 and e-Q5 a little less than what I do with DDM2. I am going to provisionally place DDM2 at 7 out of 55. I would think GR07 is technically the most proficient of the three, e-Q5 is sort of the middle man and DDM2 is firmly on the musical side of things. They are all on equal footing and personal preferences would decide which is subjectively better.
Conclusion
Radius DDM-1 was one of the first IEMs in my audio journey that gave a taste of what the musical side of things hold. I'd say DDM2, while not as wild and raw as the first version, is a bit more refined in every way - be it the not so hard to fit housing or the much restrained sound signature.
Those who are looking for oodles of bass quantity can please look elsewhere. But, those who are looking for a musical IEM and won't mind the lack of isolation and don't mind paying a $75 premium over the über-correct value I arrived by using my yet to be patented SQ based formula can feel free to do so.
You can find a technically more proficient IEM easily around the price range, but musically, there are only a few contenders I can glean from Joker's thread like Westone 3, Monster Miles Davis Tribute, Sennheiser IE8 and of course, my favorite dynamic as of today - FX700. DDM2 is not quite worth the "best" IEM tag, but it is damn musical, smooth and relaxing.
Will I end up buying it? Hard to say - price is kind of a spoilsport. As of now, I'll concentrate on making full use of my (little) available time with them and then decide.
