Наушники — DUNU DUNU x FitEar Kaoru

The Kaoru is an in-ear monitor with universal shells, co-developed by DUNU, the Chinese earphone maker established in 1994, and FitEar, the Japanese custom in-ear specialist run under the Suyama hearing aid business. DUNU presents it as the first collaboration edition of the two companies and sells it as a limited collab model. Launch pricing was USD 1,599, and the maker's own store later listed it at USD 1,699.99 with a one-year official warranty.

Key specs that matter

Six balanced armature drivers sit in every earpiece, so there is no dynamic or planar unit in the design. The shells connect through FitEar's proprietary two-pin sockets, and the supplied lead is the FitEar cable 013 ending in a straight Oyaide 3.5 mm single-ended plug. That cable is about 1,250 mm long overall, with roughly 410 mm between the Y-split and each connector, and its signal wires use twisted Oyaide 102SSC copper. Neither brand has released figures for impedance, sensitivity or bandwidth. The box contains DUNU S&S tips, SpinFit CP100 tips, a set of balanced tips, cleaning tools and a Pelican 1010 hard case.

Engineering and use context

DUNU supplies the multi-driver acoustic engineering it has built up through in-house driver development since 2006, while FitEar contributes cavity design and shell geometry taken from its work on custom-moulded monitors for professional users. The most visible result is the nozzle - instead of a round tube it has an elliptical cross-section with a triple-layer structure, a form derived from FitEar's custom ear-mould data and meant to improve fit, stability in the canal and acoustic consistency. The ABS shells are shaped to sit lightly in the ear over long sessions, with a black inner cavity and French grey faceplates. Because FitEar uses the 013 cable as standard with its own 224, DC and ROOM models and the TG universal series, the Kaoru shares its connector system with those earphones and can use any lead made for FitEar sockets.

Pairing

The single-ended Oyaide plug goes straight into phones that still have a headphone jack, into portable players and into desktop headphone amplifiers fitted with a matching socket. Owners who want to use a balanced 2.5 mm or 4.4 mm output have to buy a separate cable with FitEar two-pin terminations, because the proprietary sockets need matching plugs. The three tip families let the seal and insertion depth be matched to different ear canals.

Alternatives

The DUNU SA6 MK2 is another six balanced armature in-ear model, pairing Sonion and Knowles drivers with a tuning switch and rated at 24 ohm and 114 dB.