World’s First Pure Beryllium IEM Driver: New DUNU Luna Announced

DUNU Luna earpiece with cable

Breaking up the monotony of another day reviewing headphones, DUNU has announced the new Luna earphone.  Using the world’s first pure Beryllium earphone driver, the Luna follows the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing.

World’s First Pure Beryllium IEM Driver: New DUNU Luna Announced

DUNU Luna moon and earth

The fruit of three years of dedicated R&D, the DUNU Luna touts itself as an engineering breakthrough.

At the heart of the Luna sits the first pure Beryllium rolled foil diaphragm, making this the first earphone to boast such a driver.

Partnering with Moses Xu, DUNU’s newest earphone marks a renewed focus on consisted and concerted design for DUNU products.  Based in Hangzhou, Xu previously collaborated with DUNU on the industrial design of the DK-4001.

DUNU Luna driver

The Luna tells a story within itself, reflecting the spirit of the first moon landing 50 years ago.  玥, the representative Chinese character for the LUNA, signifies a heavenly, pearlescent gift from the gods. And from this luminous, round canvas, Xu imbued the earphones with an overarching moon landing theme.

Current images of the housings stem from a prototype CNC process and may be updated prior to release of the finished Luna.

Featuring a circular and concave faceplate, the build physically represents the changing albedo of the moon from one phase to the next.  Furthermore, the asymmetrical lip delineates the crescent shape of waxing and waning moons.  The CNC body uses custom-formed titanium alloy, which is then sandblasted.  Facets on the body reflect subtle specular highlights, while the concave shape draws in a penumbra of shadow.

Despite the artistic sensibilities used in the design of this IEM, the build also serves to easy insertion and removal of the earpiece.

DUNU Luna earpiece with cable

Bonkers for Beryllium

With its high stiffness-to-mass ratio, Beryllium can be considered the ideal speaker material.  Two-and-a-half times faster than traditional drivers made from materials like aluminum, this translates to faster attack and decay.

Accompanying these properties, Beryllium also offers more consistent pistonic motion across the surface of the driver. Even at the edges of a pure Beryllium driver, imaging remains lifelike.  Additionally, the lattice structure of the driver helps deliver more accurate high-end frequencies.

The DUNU Luna will retail for $1699.  Available from Dunu and authorized dealers before CanJam NYC 2020, the earphones are estimated to enter production in December 2019.

You can order the DUNU Luna for the best price here:

Audio46

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Carroll is a headphone junkie residing in Brooklyn. He's a huge fan of Grado, UK hip hop, and the English Language in general. When not testing audio equipment or writing, you'll find him taking photographs or fiddling with circuit boards. You can contact him at carroll@majorhifi.com.