PAIRING WITH SOURCES:-
The DM7 looks very straight forward in its specs, it has a sensitivity of 115db and get very loud without dialing up the volume. Impedance value is just 13.5ohm with a rated power of just 6mw. It is a child’s play to drive to drive DM7, isn’t it? It isn’t sadly. These values are kind of deceiving. DM7 is not hard to drive alright but it needs to be paired with a slightly warmer source to sound more involving and musical.
When I used my Lg G7 the bass turned out acceptably voluminous while delivering leaner and slightly drier vocal notes and the treble feels a bit more agitated. When driven out of the Burson Playmate the DM7 sounds exceptionally musical and much more involving, it sounds bigger, the stage opens up a lot with much better treble control and lower end thump. I do not expect the people to use the DM7 with desktop DAC/AMPs so I picked up the Shanling M6 and it middles the Lg G7 and Burson playmate. The lower end is much better than the G7 with fuller and engaging notes, the treble region is nicely controlled but is not as excellent as the Playmate.
Is it necessary to feed it properly? No, not at all, the difference is insignificant but yes, it is better if you can.
CHOICE OF TIPS:-
The DM7 comes with 3set of tips, I used the wide bore tip for a while then I switched to the red core tips and they make a big difference when it comes to lower end volume. Wide bore tips are very good in general but these slightly narrow bore red core tips are an excellent pairing with the DM7. It opens up the lower end dimensions and has better imaging.
HOW DOES THIS SOUNDS:-
BGVP’s best seller BA lineup has made a distinct name for them. The DM6 and DM7 are some of the most popular earphones in their respective price ranges. They are said to be ahead of the competition when it comes to overall balance and the level of details. The DM7 houses 6 BA drivers with a mix from both Knowles and Sonion. It uses SWFK-31376 for highs, ED-29689 for mid-high, 33AP007 Sonion driver for mid-low and CI-22955 for lower frequencies in a 4 way crossover design, pouring onto 4 separate bores. BGVP has maintained excellent amount of consistency with their crossovers. There is no obvious dip of energy in any part, the integration is excellent.
DM7 can be classified as an IEM tuned for accuracy and details in mind. DM7 has excellent transparency and clarity across the spectrum while maintaining very good balance. There is little to no coloration while maintaining very good tonality.
BASS:-
The DM7 has a single CI-22955 BA driver for the lower end and it delivers good amount of body when required. Thankfully it is not as flat as the Audiofly AF180 or 1120, the AF twins deliver very good amount of details but the volume is dearly missing. DM7 delivers a lower end north to flat but is not very voluminous either. It still maintains good amount of sub-bass rumble which feels more natural and the extension is very good for a BA based IEM. Mid bass has a nicely rounded and aptly fuller body to keep me seated. The slam is not big, punch is not hard and the rumble is not comparable to dynamic drivers but it excels with decay speed while maintaining very good amount of texture. The notes have good amount of precipitation with the juicy and engaging feel intact. The Upper bass is well controlled and nicely integrates into the lower mids. What impresses me the most is its organic touch, it clearly is not in the league of the Pola but gives a better organic feel compared to TSMR4 and SG3.
Where does it stand? The lower end is better than flatter sounding q-JAYs, AF180/1120 and a few other leaner sounding IEMs which can include the sub-bassy but not nicely rounded Fibae 3. It doesn’t deliver a lower end as engaging as leading dynamic hybrid IEMs like DK2001 while being fairly similar with the SG3 and Avara AV3.
MID RANGE:-
The DM7 has 4 crossovers and it has two set of drivers contributing with the mind range, is it safe to assume the mid range has 4 drivers at work? Or 2? Whatever the driver count is, there is no loss of energy in the transition region and the DM7 maintains good amount of energy across the spectrum exhibiting excellent merging of frequencies at the crossovers. The mid range is very accurate like most of the BA based IEMs (SG3, Avara AV3, AF180) in this price range. Notes are agile and crisp. The biggest plus point of the DM7 is its technicality, the way it manages to deliver micro details of background instruments is praise worthy and the contrasty nature gives the DM7’s notes excellent transparency and clarity.
Vocals sound crisp and clear with a very natural tonality, no metallic feel here but are slightly pushed back. The decay is paced with both precision and accuracy in mind, giving the notes nice amount of body. It is not thin like the AF180 or thick like the Shozy Pentacle. Vocal notes have appropriate amount of fullness. Both male and female vocals sound accurate while resolving excellent amount of details. Male vocals have a nice throaty feel to them while female vocals are sharper with accurate notes depth. Both male and female vocals are equally impressive with very good texture and transparency delivering accurate still enjoyable vocals. Instruments have good attack and bite. Notes are on the revealing side with very good micro details. The upper mid range is well under control with good amount of details and clarity. It doesn’t sound lush in any way but is not unnaturally sharp either. The mid range is enjoyable while delivering excellent precision and details.
HIGHS:-
The DM7 has precise notes presentation across the spectrum and it holds true for the treble section too. It doesn’t shy away from a sparkly and energetic presentation filled with plenty of details and class leading transparency, transparency which is not seen with more expensive earphones like Pentacle. Some earphones try too hard to exhibit better transparency and clarity with sharper notes but the DM7 doesn’t belong to that bunch either. It delivers the right amount of energy and spark staying clear of uncomfortable notes. It has very good amount of air between instruments. Thanks to its slightly bright nature it resolves very good cleanliness.
The transition phase from upper mid range to lower treble region is excellent with very good clarity. The DM7 has class leading treble extension and even when it goes deep into the spectrum it maintain very good amount of energy and clarity. Level of details retrieval is class leading, it just doesn’t miss out on anything while keeping the timber close to natural. Cymbals and pianos sound vivid and natural, don’t expect it to sound very organic or loaded with texture (like the Pola39, SD5 and UM Mirage) and the DM7 doesn’t disappoint. Needless to say that separation and layering is up to the mark with good amount of air and space between instruments. The treble stage is well spread and has good density to it. The bigger than average stage size helps a lot with instrument placements and density. If you love treble, tingling instruments and minute details you will enjoy the DM7.
STAGE AND IMAGING:-
While the stage size of the DM7 is not very big it maintains excellent instruments placement with very good amount of air in between. It has most of the stage present inside the head which restricts the DM7 from being very open or wide. The stage is nicely rounded nevertheless with very good width depth and height. There no center hogging part of the spectrum which give it an evenly spread imaging with very good resolution and clarity.
