DUNU is not yet large enough to commit to larger MOQs from suppliers, which no doubt hurts pricing since the ZEN PRO's R&D costs cannot be amortized over a larger volume. Knowing first-hand the engineering that has gone into the making of the ECLIPSƎ driver in the ZEN PRO, it is vastly more complicated than the one in the FALCON PRO. As a materials scientist by trade, I admittedly geeked out and was only left wondering what would be possible with larger orders to reduce pricing further. I already know comparisons will be drawn to the equally new FiiO FD7 I can't speak for personally. However, costing less, it supposedly uses a pure beryllium foil diaphragm for its own single DD implementation, too.

Pricing is the biggest issue of contention, but my inexperience with the wacky world of IEMs means I do not have a direct competitor from among other flagship single DD sets for the ZEN PRO at this time. So keep that in mind as I talk about the positives of operating on a smaller scale. For one, DUNU can examine each driver more intimately, and channel matching with all DUNU sets I have used to date has been nothing short of excellent. There is so much more I could share about the intricacies of making the drivers, including the coating on top and magnet system, but suffice it to say that this is the only company to date outside of Audeze and HIFIMAN that willingly shared a lot of details with me, which goes a long way in making the most of your own IP and self-developed drivers, of which ECLIPSƎ is as good an example as any having undergone continual improvements over time. With the ZEN PRO, DUNU has a finished product that can satisfy many a user, and it certainly does not feel like the proof-of-concept the flagship LUNA perhaps came off as.

There remain some issues tonally, and the treble extension is the foremost among them. If other reviews can be taken at face value, the ZEN PRO has certainly improved over the ZEN, but I was still left wanting more. The technical performance is also mixed, with some excellent dynamics and resolution where the dynamic driver is at its strongest, but soundstage is lacking even relative to IEMs. I spoke to DUNU about a few different things prior to writing this review, and on my wishlist was an ECLIPSƎ dynamic driver paired with a tubeless open balanced armature driver akin to 64 Audio's Tia. DUNU has other product lines too, including hybrid and tribrid driver implementations, so I am eager to see what's next from the company as the ECLIPSƎ matures and can be implemented more. The strong bass and vocal performance of the ZEN PRO no doubt played a role, but what helped nudge it over enough to give it a recommendation was the cable with the user-friendly digital plugs that had me take these out whenever I was traveling. It's the set that made me want to keep listening to music, TV shows, and even movies on the go, and having fun with your purchase and continually using it is all that matters at the end of the day.