With each new release, DITA Audio continues to build a strong reputation for their expertise in single dynamic driver designs alongside a distinctive industrial aesthetic. Project M2 continues that tradition, arriving at $329 with a new dynamic driver design and a distinct clear visual. Is Project M2 just a pretty new variation of the original, or a clear step forward?
Build and Design
At the heart of the Project M2 is DITA’s new PM1.8Ti driver, an 8.3mm carbide titanium diaphragm dynamic driver powered by dual N45 neodymium iron boron magnets. The shell uses a clear resin construction similar to the original Project M, but the execution is refined. The slight blue hue, and pure clear design creates a striking visual effect, like looking through clear water along a tropical shoreline. With only the single 8.2mm driver, there’s plenty of space inside for DITA to craft and contour the IEM shell, and they do this to great effect. The combination of lightweight resin and careful crafting makes Project M2 an exceeding comfortable IEM.
The accessory package mirrors that of the original Project M. Inside the box you’ll find one of DITA’s signature plastic cases, a silver-plated copper cable made in collaboration with Cardas Audio, and a selection of eartips. The cable uses DITA’s modular termination system and includes both 3.5mm and 4.4mm connectors. DITA’s packaging and the included accessories display a high level of creativity and artistry which creates a more premium unboxing experience.
Sound and Performance
While DITA has produced IEMs with a fairly large range of tunings, the key characteristics they all have is a natural, transparent character, with a tight, accurate delivery. IEMs like the original Project M and their flagship Ventura epitomize this sort of sound, while Project M2 captures the key characteristics while adding a little more fun and musicality to the sound. Project M2 has an overall W-shaped presentation that combines a bass emphasis with more forward vocals and a little bit of extra energy in the upper treble.
Bass is well-extended and nicely textured, and while there’s a definite midbass emphasis, it feel tight and punchy rather than thick and bloated. Project M2 delivers plenty of physical impact in the bass, but always feels 100% in control, giving it a sense of strong bass quality and quantity.
The midrange is slightly pulled back to lean into that stronger bass emphasis, but the upper mids highlight vocals rather nicely, pushing them more forward in the mix and offering a musical, emotional delivery.
Project M2 adds a nice bit of treble extension that delivers some extra sparkle near the top. As someone who is treble sensitive, I was initially concerned that it might be a little too bright based on the graph, but Project M2 balances the upper end nicely, providing energy without feeling fatiguing or strident.
Project M2’s imaging and soundstage are very strong, with a sense of clean separation between instruments and voices and precise placement of each element on the stage. The soundstage isn’t exceptionally large, but it is one of the best that I’ve heard at this price point. Project M2 delivers a clear, three-dimensional sense of space, with an immersive overall presentation.
“Snapshots from a Dream” by I Built the Sky opens with a cinematic build, mixing piano, synth, and orchestral instruments, and Project M2 flexes its dynamic muscles, offering clear details from the very start, and presenting the shifts without any sense of compression as the song builds up over the course of the first 2 minutes. Once the full band is in, Project M2 does a great job balancing layers of guitars and orchestral sounds over the thick bass and heavy drums. Later in the song, there’s a djent-y staccato passage with tight hits, and M2 delivers nice impact along with good clarity and separation on each hit.
“Misty Mountain Hop” by Led Zeppelin gives you a more straightforward rock sound, with guitar, bass, drums, and electric piano largely playing as a single unit. Of course, there’s the vocals too, which Project M2 delivers cleanly with a nice placement in the mix – just forward of the band – and with plenty of little details pulled forward, adding to the vividness of the performance. The rest of the band sounds highly cohesive on M2, but focus a little bit, and you’ll be able to easily pick apart each element of the band and exactly what they’re playing.
Oliva Rodrigo’s “Drop Dead” opens with an 80s inspired bassline with airy layers of synth and vocals on top. Project M2 presents both the simpler vocals on the verse and the massively overdubbed chorus vocals with a sense of realism and emotion. The separation and layering also help you try to piece together exactly how this song even works, with disparate pieces ranging from orchestral instruments to lo-fi synths to punk rock guitars and choral vocal arrangements. M2’s vocal presentation is the real highlight here though: forward but never shouty, and warm and emotional while remaining cleanly layered and separated.
Charles Mingus’s “Track A - Solo Dancer” is a workout for any headphone or IEM, challenging the drivers to deliver clean balanced sound with an intricately layered cacophony of sound. The alto sax lead sometimes just acts like it’s doing its own thing, with two separate horn sections laying down a combination of countermelody and rhythm alongside the bass and drums – oh and don’t forget about the piano too! Project M2’s technical capabilities are on full display, with nothing getting lost in the mix, and the imaging presentation keeps elements from feeling too far off to the left or right. M2 gives you a good sense of positioning and provides a nice “center stage” as a reference for everything going on around you. On top of all that, each individual instrumental feels clean and natural, with strong timbre.
Comparisons - Crinear Reference ($349.99), DITA Project M ($325)
If you’re in the market for IEMs in the $300-400 range, one of the best options out there right now is the CrinEar Reference. Reference, as its name implies, aims for an accurate “reference” tuning, which at first glance is quite a bit different from Project M2’s more musical W-Shaped sound, but they’re not as far off as you might expect.
While Reference is touted as being a “flat” tuning, there are a number of small emphases to the tuning the compensate for elements like pinna gain and psychoacoustic characteristics that make a completely flat IEM not actually sound fully neutral. The biggest difference between Project M2 and Reference is that M2 simply goes much further in emphasizing those key areas in the tuning. Where Reference has a soft elevation in the subbass, Project M2 elevates in a few dB more, and extends it further up into the midbass. Where Reference elevates in the upper mids to compensate for IEMs not being processed by the outer ear, Project M2 pushes specific frequencies in that range just a little further for a little increased engagement over a fully accurate tuning. The result is, by comparison, Project M2 feeling like a sort of “neutral+” tuning that doesn’t quite have the pure accuracy of Reference, but instead offers a natural balance with a little more fun.
The comparison with the original Project M is surprisingly similar. Project M has a much more neutral tuning than Project M2, with its main highlight being the exceedingly crisp, clear, natural sound. Project M2 captures the same sort of natural delivery, but with a little more energy at key points. It’s interesting because for all of the differences in the tuning, M2 still maintains the core characteristics that made the original Project M great.
Project M2 also makes some improvements in the build and comfort over the original. While the shell shape and design is very similar, Project M2 has a cleaner internal design that makes for a more striking visual, and is just a little bit more comfortably molded.
The Bottom Line
Project M2 deftly balances technical performance with engagement and musicality, with a combination of clean dynamics, natural timbre, strong separation, and tasteful boosts of just the right frequencies. Combined with DITA’s distinctive visual design and thoughtful presentation, Project M2 stands out as one of the best options under $500 on the market right now.
