esanthosh
Skilled
(Boring) Intro:
First off, I must confess. My audiophile lingo is made of 3-4 words. I don't have the skill or ability to write reviews. So, take my blabber as-is. I love music, but that's about it. I have no intention to be or become an audiophile --- ever. So, that out of the way, let's get into N00bish rants about a subject he has least knowledge about.
As some of you might know, I have been sold on analytical IEMs like Phonak PFE and RE-0 for the past year (nearly). I have looked long and hard for something which complements these IEMs for sometime now. I narrowed my choices to Brainwavz M2, Panasonic HJE-900 and Triple Fi 10. But, before I could decide on any of them, out of the blue, I stumbled upon Radius "DDM". It was unique in having two dynamic drivers. A "famous" Head-fi-er led me to finally pulling the trigger on DDM. My preferred sound signature largely agrees with his. So, I had no hesitation in going ahead.
Coming to the point, I bought them from Musica Acoustics, Japan. They sell the packaged DDM for $158 shipped. But, I went for the basic OEM pack, which contains nothing except the IEM. No tips, no packing, no case, no cleaning cloth - Just a zip-lock and your IEM. I got them for $110. Unfortunately, all the black and gold OEMs have been sold out already. So, I had to settle with a blingy red version.
To get them, you have to contact them by E-mail and pay via PayPal.
The Looks
From left to right - Radius DDM, It's (infamous) cable, Close-up shots in over flashed g(l)ory
First impressions
The IEM reached me in five days by EMS. It was packed in a not-so good looking pack. The IEM was kept safe in a plastic box covered by few really bad papers. Unimpressive packing, but customs won't have their eye brows raised due to the packing. That's the "good" side of it. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry to discard them, so no photos of 'em. Sorry!
If you ask, they will send you their "best tip" which may give a good fit. But, that is priced at $6. So, a better choice would be looking at one of your available IEM tips or get fake tips from lostearbuds on eBay.
Their cable reminded me a lot of the poorest IEM cable I have - Hippo Epic-Sparkle. Why would anyone in their right mind use a nylon covered memory prone cable, I don't know. Here comes the next part - I've heard horror stories about the fit; but with a single flange I used (sorry don't remember which IEM / After market pack it came from :ashamed
, I got a very good fit. Let's plug this thing to S9 and ..... damn! Microphonics - I could feel every movement of the body translating into an equal and ugly sound from the cable.
And now to the sound part.
This is where I tell you that sound is subjective and you might feel the exact opposite of my impressions. I can only write what I honestly felt during the fist three hours with this IEM. Audio memory is illusive, so I'm going to write this down fast before I forget.
First thing I noticed was ... BASS. I've had bass shy IEMs and a Hippo VB, which does sub-bass really well. But, this one has both mid and sub-bass. The good thing is it's not bloated or humped like other IEMs. I finally have an IEM that makes Massive Attack's "Tear Drop" actually sound like a song over heart beats.
Most IEMs, even if they have a wide sound stage, have a three pronged setup - Left ear, right ear and center. Some sounds vaguely pass through in between. DDM does some unique layering of sounds that I was unable to get my head around. I initially felt that the sound stage was a bit cramped. Oddly, some cymbal then struck a tad "outside" of my right ear. The sound seemed to float between my left and right ears, seemingly in a semi-circular fashion. But then I realized with time, that these do have a wide sound stage. It's layering of sound, some unique positioning and imaging that had me confused.
And how are the mids? Really nice. They are not recessed, not too in your face, just about right. Only my Phonak PFE had it so far. The vocals are much more clearer here. I could even decipher a few words of Jens Kidman in Meshuggah's "Bleed". That song brought out another aspect - that they don't seem sluggish. They do have speed.
They do not seem to be "lacking" in treble. They just don't have that excess energy. And as far as I could tell, there's no hint of sibilance. I tested them with Opeth's "Isolation Years", which sounds a tad unbearable with Hippo VB.
And what of details? It's not "prominent" or "visible" as in the case of RE-0 or a PFE. They do have the details, but you won't pick everything up until you wrap your head around their signature. Once you do, you'll find that you don't miss much (or anything at all).
And apart from bass, I love what they did to my old metal albums. Metallica needed that little boost of energy and slight forwardness to shine compared to analytical IEMs. I also liked how they presented a few MP3s (VBRs / 256 kbps) of Sepultura. I do not have to bother with ripping bit perfect FLACs too much. I am yet to test them with lower bit rate files though. They seem to inject life into music compared to the dry, analytical IEMs.
Playing Diana Krall made me a bit nervous. She was using the center of my head as the mic. Next I tried "Dark Side of the Moon" 30th anniversary edition in 320 kbps. I must say, among my IEMs this is the only one which does justice to that recording - at least what's possible within it's ability. The effects emnate from one ear and fades into the other ear. The spatial feel is very much there. I could also "feel" a bit of bass when sound travels over my head - too close for comfort.The first three tracks I listened to were to say the least, very enjoyable.
And any negatives? Of course, no IEM is perfect. The cable microphonics and isolation are both bad. There may be fit issues due to it's odd shape for some, but not to me personally.
With a few tracks, bass though not intruding on mids was more prominent and was seeking most attention. They say that with burn-in, it gets better and bass becomes much more tighter. Let's see how it goes.
So, what do I think? I am really happy to get something "different" that doesn't do anything 'normal' IEMs do - right from the dual dynamic drivers to unique presentation. I am happy with my purchase. Is it worth $160 shipped? I really don't know as I don't have that many IEMs in that price range to compare. But is it worth $110? A resounding yes.
First off, I must confess. My audiophile lingo is made of 3-4 words. I don't have the skill or ability to write reviews. So, take my blabber as-is. I love music, but that's about it. I have no intention to be or become an audiophile --- ever. So, that out of the way, let's get into N00bish rants about a subject he has least knowledge about.
As some of you might know, I have been sold on analytical IEMs like Phonak PFE and RE-0 for the past year (nearly). I have looked long and hard for something which complements these IEMs for sometime now. I narrowed my choices to Brainwavz M2, Panasonic HJE-900 and Triple Fi 10. But, before I could decide on any of them, out of the blue, I stumbled upon Radius "DDM". It was unique in having two dynamic drivers. A "famous" Head-fi-er led me to finally pulling the trigger on DDM. My preferred sound signature largely agrees with his. So, I had no hesitation in going ahead.
Coming to the point, I bought them from Musica Acoustics, Japan. They sell the packaged DDM for $158 shipped. But, I went for the basic OEM pack, which contains nothing except the IEM. No tips, no packing, no case, no cleaning cloth - Just a zip-lock and your IEM. I got them for $110. Unfortunately, all the black and gold OEMs have been sold out already. So, I had to settle with a blingy red version.
To get them, you have to contact them by E-mail and pay via PayPal.
The Looks
From left to right - Radius DDM, It's (infamous) cable, Close-up shots in over flashed g(l)ory
First impressions
The IEM reached me in five days by EMS. It was packed in a not-so good looking pack. The IEM was kept safe in a plastic box covered by few really bad papers. Unimpressive packing, but customs won't have their eye brows raised due to the packing. That's the "good" side of it. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry to discard them, so no photos of 'em. Sorry!
If you ask, they will send you their "best tip" which may give a good fit. But, that is priced at $6. So, a better choice would be looking at one of your available IEM tips or get fake tips from lostearbuds on eBay.
Their cable reminded me a lot of the poorest IEM cable I have - Hippo Epic-Sparkle. Why would anyone in their right mind use a nylon covered memory prone cable, I don't know. Here comes the next part - I've heard horror stories about the fit; but with a single flange I used (sorry don't remember which IEM / After market pack it came from :ashamed
, I got a very good fit. Let's plug this thing to S9 and ..... damn! Microphonics - I could feel every movement of the body translating into an equal and ugly sound from the cable.And now to the sound part.
This is where I tell you that sound is subjective and you might feel the exact opposite of my impressions. I can only write what I honestly felt during the fist three hours with this IEM. Audio memory is illusive, so I'm going to write this down fast before I forget.
First thing I noticed was ... BASS. I've had bass shy IEMs and a Hippo VB, which does sub-bass really well. But, this one has both mid and sub-bass. The good thing is it's not bloated or humped like other IEMs. I finally have an IEM that makes Massive Attack's "Tear Drop" actually sound like a song over heart beats.
Most IEMs, even if they have a wide sound stage, have a three pronged setup - Left ear, right ear and center. Some sounds vaguely pass through in between. DDM does some unique layering of sounds that I was unable to get my head around. I initially felt that the sound stage was a bit cramped. Oddly, some cymbal then struck a tad "outside" of my right ear. The sound seemed to float between my left and right ears, seemingly in a semi-circular fashion. But then I realized with time, that these do have a wide sound stage. It's layering of sound, some unique positioning and imaging that had me confused.
And how are the mids? Really nice. They are not recessed, not too in your face, just about right. Only my Phonak PFE had it so far. The vocals are much more clearer here. I could even decipher a few words of Jens Kidman in Meshuggah's "Bleed". That song brought out another aspect - that they don't seem sluggish. They do have speed.
They do not seem to be "lacking" in treble. They just don't have that excess energy. And as far as I could tell, there's no hint of sibilance. I tested them with Opeth's "Isolation Years", which sounds a tad unbearable with Hippo VB.
And what of details? It's not "prominent" or "visible" as in the case of RE-0 or a PFE. They do have the details, but you won't pick everything up until you wrap your head around their signature. Once you do, you'll find that you don't miss much (or anything at all).
And apart from bass, I love what they did to my old metal albums. Metallica needed that little boost of energy and slight forwardness to shine compared to analytical IEMs. I also liked how they presented a few MP3s (VBRs / 256 kbps) of Sepultura. I do not have to bother with ripping bit perfect FLACs too much. I am yet to test them with lower bit rate files though. They seem to inject life into music compared to the dry, analytical IEMs.
Playing Diana Krall made me a bit nervous. She was using the center of my head as the mic. Next I tried "Dark Side of the Moon" 30th anniversary edition in 320 kbps. I must say, among my IEMs this is the only one which does justice to that recording - at least what's possible within it's ability. The effects emnate from one ear and fades into the other ear. The spatial feel is very much there. I could also "feel" a bit of bass when sound travels over my head - too close for comfort.The first three tracks I listened to were to say the least, very enjoyable.
And any negatives? Of course, no IEM is perfect. The cable microphonics and isolation are both bad. There may be fit issues due to it's odd shape for some, but not to me personally.
With a few tracks, bass though not intruding on mids was more prominent and was seeking most attention. They say that with burn-in, it gets better and bass becomes much more tighter. Let's see how it goes.
So, what do I think? I am really happy to get something "different" that doesn't do anything 'normal' IEMs do - right from the dual dynamic drivers to unique presentation. I am happy with my purchase. Is it worth $160 shipped? I really don't know as I don't have that many IEMs in that price range to compare. But is it worth $110? A resounding yes.
