Advertisement

Headphone Zone and ddHiFi Bring Two Hand-Painted, Solid-Resin IEMs to the Budget Segment for the First Time

Headphone Zone, India’s home for audiophiles since 2011, today announced the launch of two co-branded in-ear monitors made with ddHiFi: the Iris at Rs. 2,999 and the Skyfall at Rs. 3,999. Both IEMs were designed from the ground up with Demond Ding, founder of ddHiFi, exclusively for the Indian audiophile community.

The Iris and Skyfall are the first IEMs in the budget segment to use a fully solid 3D-printed medical-grade resin shell, a construction approach previously found only on flagship IEMs costing at least three or four times the price, including the Moondrop Blessing 3 and the DITA Audio Project M. They also feature driver materials rarely seen at this price: a beryllium-plated diaphragm on the Iris, and a nano-titanium diaphragm on the Skyfall.

“We went to ddHiFi for a new project aimed at the Indian audiophile community,” said Raghav Somani, Founder and CEO of Headphone Zone. “An IEM that represented value for money for a beginner audiophile. But Demond asked us why India needed another budget IEM. And really, it didn’t. So he said, why not do something that’s never been done before in the budget segment? That conversation became the Iris and Skyfall.”

ddHiFi has previously been recognised within the audiophile community for its design and tuning work on critically acclaimed IEMs including the Surface and Memory, both made in collaboration with Moondrop. Demond Ding has been designing differentiated audio products for over a decade. The Iris and Skyfall are the first IEMs ddHiFi has made for the Indian market, developed as a passion project with Headphone Zone at a price Indian audiophiles can afford.

The Iris (Rs. 2,999)

The Iris, inspired by the Goo Goo Dolls track, is a single dynamic driver IEM with a 10mm beryllium-plated diaphragm, tuned to put vocals and instruments at the centre of the song. Most IEMs in the budget segment are V-shaped, bass-lifted, or flat neutral. Almost none make the singer and the instruments the hero, with bass and treble in supporting roles. The Iris fills that gap. It ships with a 3.5mm silver-plated OFC cable terminating in a 0.78mm 2-pin connector, and pairs naturally with the Headphone Zone X ddHiFi Hi-Res DAC. Best suited to rock, acoustic, pop, R&B, and jazz. Available at headphonezone.in/products/headphone-zone-x-ddhifi-iris.

The Skyfall (Rs. 3,999)

The Skyfall, inspired by the Adele track, is a 1DD plus 1BA hybrid IEM with a 10mm nano-titanium dynamic driver paired with a custom balanced armature, joined by a two-way crossover combining electronic RC components and physical acoustic design. It is tuned warm, full-bodied, and refined, with deliberately relaxed treble for high-volume, long-session listening without fatigue. The budget segment is full of warm-and-bassy IEMs, but most are crude and tiring within minutes. The Skyfall offers a refined take on warm and smooth that holds up at high volume for hours. It ships with a 4.4mm balanced cable made of high-purity silver-plated OFC with an aluminium shell, and pairs naturally with the Headphone Zone X ddHiFi Hi-Res DAC Pro. Best suited to cinematic music, soundtracks, hip-hop, and electronic music. Available at headphonezone.in/products/headphone-zone-x-ddhifi-skyfall.

No Two Pairs Are Alike

Each Iris and Skyfall faceplate is hand-painted, layered in marbled patterns, and sealed under clear resin. The Iris is finished in marbled green. The Skyfall in marbled blue. Because the marbling is created by hand rather than printed, no two pairs look exactly the same. Every owner gets a one-of-one IEM, with patterns, depth, and finish entirely unique to their pair.

Built to Last

Both IEMs use a fully solid 3D-printed medical-grade resin shell. Most budget IEMs use hollow moulded resin, which can crack under force. Metal IEMs are more robust but can split open at the seam. Solid resin shells have neither failure mode: nothing inside to rattle, and no join to come apart. The result is build durability typically reserved for IEMs at three or four times the price.

The Headphone Zone X ddHiFi Iris and Skyfall are available now at headphonezone.in, and can be experienced in person at the Headphone Zone Experience Studio in Mumbai and at Headphone Connect events happening across India.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *