It’s been over 15 years since Audeze launched the first planar magnetic headphones, the LCD-2, and since then we’ve seen continued innovation in the field from a number of brands. DUNU is the latest to step into the planar-magnetic ring, with Arashi, a $1399 headphone that seems to pay homage to classic planar designs from both Audeze and HIFIMAN. How does DUNU’s first planar-magnetic headphone stack up against entries from the masters of the art of planar magnetic drivers?
Build and Design
Visually Arashi circular earcups evoke classic Audeze designs, while the headband and suspension have a similar action to HIFIMAN’s flagship headphones. The magnesium-alloy chassis feels sturdy, and the dark textured metal has a premium look and feel. The earpads are hybrid style, with a protein leather outer ring, and cloth for the inner section. Arashi is comfortable, with a “just right” amount of clamp force that keeps the headphones stable without becoming uncomfortable, but they’re just a little on the heavy side at 1.1 pounds.
Arashi’s package has an outer cardboard box with a more luxurious inner box that can also serve as a storage case. The only thing included other than the headphones are two cables, and while the cable quality is nothing to write home about, the inclusion of both 6.3mm and 4-pin XLR cables is nice. There are some other nice touches on the headphones, like easily removable earpads, which could be swapped at a future date, but no additional earpads are included.
Arashi is very sensitive for a planar magnetic headphone, with 25ohm impedance and 97db sensitivity. That efficiency might make you think it’s a good candidate to use with DAPs or portable DACs, but I found that it sounded a little anemic with portable sources and really craved the power of desktop amps. With solid looks and design, does Arashi deliver on sound and performance?
Sound
DUNU Arashi delivers a big, hard-hitting sound with a weighty slam that comes from a slight emphasis on the lower end of the spectrum. Despite the powerful low-end, there’s strong detail, layering, and separation in the instruments. The tuning evokes classic Audeze tunings, but with some changes to the midrange, which fits in the theme here of Arashi bringing combining aspects HIFIMAN and Audeze designs in Arashi.
Arashi’s has near limitless extension through the subbass, with a very linear presentation from the low mids down through the lowest depths. Arashi produces solid slam and impact in the midbass, giving it a lively, energetic feeling with pop, rock, jazz, and hip hop music.
The midrange is clear and well layered. The presentation is highly natural and instruments and vocals have a weighty feeling. The vocals are well balanced and the dynamics and microdetails in the vocal presentation are especially strong.
The treble has good fundamentals with a slight roll-off at the very top, leaving Arashi feeling slightly relaxed in the overall tuning and largely nonfatiguing. The relatively tame treble, coupled with the powerful bass and deep extension creates a slightly dark feeling to the timbre at times.
The soundstage is wide and deep, and the imaging offers strong three-dimensionality, with good lateral positioning along with a sense of depth and height. The fullness in the midrange combine with the other imaging characteristics for a vivid, lifelike, close-your-eyes-and-you’re-there sort of imaging, that tends towards a close-up “on the stage” sort of feeling, rather than an expansive sort of “ampitheater” type sound.
Listening to the industrial-electronica steeped sounds of Trent Reznor’s Challengers soundtrack, Arashi demonstrates great impact and slam in the low-end from the fundamentals elements of the driving beat. The synth sounds that build on top of the beat are presented with intricate detail and a good sense of texture. There’s a great feeling of layering in the lead synth elements and counter melodies where you feel like you can easily pull apart and reassemble each element of every track.
I’ve found that planars often struggle to sound natural with classic rock and more “raw” sounding recordings, but on “Rooster” by Alice and Chains, Arashi has a well-balanced delivery that gives you the fine details, while maintaining the visceral feeling of grit and grime in the recording. There’s a clean tight pluck in the bass guitar and guitars hit thick and hard, with lifelike presentation of the interplay between the guitar, bass, and drums. Arashi provides strong vocal imaging and dynamics, including the placement of backing vocals.
On Kate Bush’s “Cloudbusting,” Arashi gives you a rich presentation with intimate vocals. There’s a warmth to the strings, which are the most prominent feature other than the vocals. While drums and percussion are set back in the mix, you can almost feel the tension in the skins with each hit. The full presentation is open and transparent with a cohesive sense of connection between the performers on stage and a strong sense of the space around and in between them.
Arashi’s imaging puts you on the stage, behind the drum kit on Garage a Trois’ “Hard Headed Rio.” It feels like you’re in the middle of a jam session with the snare right in front of you, and the band all around you. The bass in particular feels thick and weighty with deep extension. There’s a special physicality with the kick and bass guitar hit at the same time, with strong slam and rumble.
Comparison: HIFIMAN Arya Unveiled, Audeze MM500
If you’re looking for planar magnetic headphones in the $1000-$1500, Audeze and HIFIMAN both have some great options, with the Arya Unveiled and MM500 being the latest from each brand (though, MM500 is a couple years old at this point.) Probably one of the first things a headphone like Arashi needs to overcome is the competition from more established brands in this space.
In terms of the build and design, while Arya Unveiled is an improvement over some past HIFIMAN models, both Arashi and MM500 have a stronger build and materials that feel more premium. While I found Arashi to be the most comfortable of the three, it’s a bit heavier than Arya Unveiled, and Arya has the least clamp force of the three, meaning that some may find it more comfortable than Arashi.
In terms of the tuning, they’re all reasonably close together, but Arashi has the strongest bass, MM500 has the most emphasis in the mids and vocal range, and Arya Unveiled has the most treble extension and air. In listening between the three, MM500 has the strongest detail and clarity, but can feel a little bass-lite. Arashi’s combination of powerful bass and slightly more relaxed treble gives it a slightly dark character, while Arya Unveiled can come off as slightly bright.
Arya Unveiled provides the biggest, most expansive soundstage, while MM500 and Arashi both have a more constrained sense of space. MM500 and Arashi have a more tactile feeling to the imaging, while Arya Unveiled can feel more diffuse in how it presents voices and instruments.
The Bottom Line
Sometimes established brands end up just sticking with what works, rather than adapting their designs to respond to feedback and the competition. Often it takes an outsider coming in to disrupt things to make those changes. Arashi seems to be one of those cases, with DUNU coming in with a lot of elements that seem familiar to fans of Audeze and HIFIMAN, but that also improve upon the original designs. From the build to the tuning and technical capabilities, Arashi impresses across the board, and earns a place alongside the best planar magnetic headphones.
