DUNU - Titan S

DUNU Titan S (og) best for electronic music. its $50 currently or lower.

Fosi DS2 is one of the cleanest and most neutral DAC/Amps you can get, and at $50, its a steal. If you HAVE to get something off of that list, then i would go witht he Fiio KA13, just for the Fiio App, and ease of support and firmware updates through Fiio. If you want something without overpowering bass. You can basically write off the Lagato, Fudu, EM6L, Hexa, and DZ4. They all have a rumbly sub bass texture to them, the Legato is basically a bass canon, and a bad one at that. The DZ4 and the Hexa do have a slightly leaner lower mid bass region, but that just makes the sub bass more pronounced sounding. The only really vocal forward, low bass IEM in that list is the Aria2. But it is kinda older now, and i think there are some better tuned IEM's out there with a similar sound signature. The Titan S2 is a good IEM, very balanced, vocals are a little less prominent than the Aria2, but the upper mids have more authority, so female vocals are a little stronger. The mid bass of the Titan S2 is also strong, which can make it feel bassy on some rock or traditional jazz tracks. But it balances nicely with the upper treble. If you want something that has less lower mid kick, the original Titan S, or the Sivga Que, might be a better fit.

Hey! What do you think about the fit? I have the first gen of the Titan S and also got the Dunu S&S, but it wasn’t a good combo for me. Both still fall off my ears.

Right? I get why people love them, but I'd always rather listen to the Dunu TItan S (or frankly any of a half-dozen IEMs under $25).

I really, really like the Dunu Titan S. Here are my quick notes about it: "Treble is very nice and present without being harsh. Vocals are perhaps a hair recessed (particularly female vocals), but clear and with nice timbre. Bass is strong and present but not splattery or fuzzy (maybe the best reproduction of "Limit To Your Love" I've heard from an IEM). Soundstage is good but not great; better front-to-back than most. Solidly built metal body, nicer cable than I expected at this price point (slender, minimal memory, minimal tangles). Comes with probably the nicest case of any IEM I own outside of Campfire (velvet lined pleather)." I'm digging the Moondrop Aria 2 so far: "Bass is emphasized but not overly so/splattery. Treble is clear and forward but not harsh or sharp. Vocals are average plus; not exceptional but nicely reproduced. Surprisingly good at quiet tracks; lower sensitivity so gives you more headroom for volume control (especially with headroom management). Heavy IEMs with a solid cable; feels like a premium product and is very satisfying to use. Appreciate that it comes with both a 3.5 mm and 4.4mm pentaconn connector, though the way the cable connects to the IEM will make using non-OEM cables a challenge." I also mostly like the Artti T10 but it can be a little bit thumpy at times without EQ (and of those three, the build quality is the cheapest). Oh, and the Hexa is good, just ... a bit boring?

FWIW, I also really prefer the Titan S as well, though I think of them as a little warmer than neutral. Great IEM!

Unfortunately the Hexa is too divisive. For everyone who likes it there will be one who hates it. The bass is fine for me but many complain about it or rather the lack of it. The treble i found to be unnatural before taming it with tips but  as equally some find it smooth others find it bright and peaky. I love the relax listening other hate it because it's boring.  The Dunu Titan S is a safer bet and can be tip rolled from warm neutral to neutral which I'm getting to like. Obvious omissions are the explorer and defiant. 

What sounds do you like? They sound different. The Dunu Titan S could be a better alternative to these and the warm neutral sound for me is tip dependent so you could adjust it. And u/dr_wtf comment too. 

Im waiting for the white kbear tourbillon pro to be back in stock and hopefully priced around 35$ at most to contrast the CCZ CZ10. The treble on the CZ10 ruins that iem. Initially it sounds like the Titan S but it's inferior. Can't believe headfi reviewer were saying that rivals the Kiwi ears Astral. Kima 2 or Fission on my list but can't decide which. Then the 2 purple iems from Tangzu when they are low enough in price. The Hexa with muse hifi m4 is my preferred pairing with its warm sound. Ibasso dx180 is more neutral bass is lighter and brighter treble.

Personally going on from the Defiant you are better off saving up and get something like the Fission or Kima 2 which would be by next move from there. Especially on sale you can get towards Defiant money. The titan s I find is very much tip dependent on whether it's warm neutral or neutral as the bass is rather light but it's much vocal orientated with treble that's not too bright. Tip rolling makes a difference. Using Dunu s&s the bass is light but opens up the soundstage improving the clarity of the treble which I find is grainy with the stock tips and is more neutral. The explorer as someone mentioned will give you a warmer bassier sound but I find vocals more recessed than the defiant and the treble relaxed. I didn't tip roll these as I was using my friend's who got it recently so the sound may not be optimal for me. Others in the sub would suggest the Letshuoer s08 another warmer iem that's also a planar but I haven't heard these.

The explorer isn't neutral. It's more warm. The Titan S is more neutral but very much tip dependant on whether it's warm neutral as alot of reviewers describe it as.

Hey, I've been waiting for your review on this one :) I'll just add a couple of thoughts from my perspective: 1. At the TSP of around $50 now, I think these are really good value for money and I'd take them over the Zero Red any day of the week for a neutral-ish set. The build and comfort are much better aside from anything else. 2. It's easy to overlook how well these handle hip hop, with many reviews describing them as "bright neutral" which I find strange. I'd say they're more of a warm-neutral with some vocal forwardness. But they do male vocals particularly well, without the Harman-like cool tilt and without excessive warmth either. They maintain a strong enough bassline while keeping the vocals front and centre. And while they might be lacking technicalities in some areas compared to more expensive IEMs, they are particularly good at *bassline separation*. They're my favourite IEM for rap over other, bassier IEMs that intuitively you'd think would be better. I also think these can be seen as a pretty direct upgrade from the Wan'er for anyone who likes that sort of tuning but wants something that's better in every way really. The only thing I can really point to as a negative of the Titan S is the treble can be a bit grainy at times. It's only really noticeable on maybe 1 in 10 tracks, so it's not a really major flaw, but it is there. Were it not for that I'd put them at around the same level as the Moondrop Kato. I actually think bass on the Titan S is slightly better than the Kato, which can occasionally get a bit boxy.

It's kinda grown on me over time a bit. It literally is a purse (I guess they got them from a purse factory), but it's also a very nice shade of blue in person. It also has a really good quality feel to it compared to most IEM cases, but it's a bit impractical. On the one hand it's quite big, so it's not very pocketable. But it's also quite thin, so IEMs don't fit in it very well. I keep my Titan S in a different case and keep my Tanchjim Oxygen in the purse, because it's quite small and I've got it on a blue cable, so it matches.

I have about 50 IEMs, so it's a fairly long list. But my current favourites are: 1. Simgot EA1000 2. Letshuoer S08 -- currently tied with Ikko OH300 3. QKZ HBB 4. Moondrop Stellaris -- specifically with Dunu Candy tips^[1] 5. Moondrop Kato -- tied with Ikko OH10 (order changes if I'm inside or outside). 6. Dunu Titan S ^[1] Just because these tips work for me doesn't mean they'll work for anyone else - with other tips these are super bright and fatiguing to listen to.

I would go with the EM6L out of that list. The Hexa fits your description except for soundstage, which is quite narrow. The EM6L has excellent imaging and a decent soundstage which is why it is one of the consistent top recommendations for gamers. It's also a fairly neutral sound. Bassier than the Hexa, but I'd say the Hexa bass is a bit below neutral and is a bit limp as well. The Aria 2 AFAIK is also a good choice. I haven't heard it but it's supposed to be very similar to the Kato, which I have. The EM6L is probably a bit ahead for technicalities though, especially stereo imaging. I haven't heard the Titan S2 but most reviews say it's not as good s the original Titan S, which I have and is a great IEM. If you can get the Titan S, it fits what you're looking for. Vocals are one of its particular strong points. You don't want the Legato, that's a basshead ridiculous mud-fest. The Fudu is also warm, bassy and a bit muddy. Not what you're looking for. Haven't heard the DZ4, nor can I recall seeing any reviews of it. A cheap dongle like the Apple dongle or JCally JM6 Pro should be all you need unless you're considering a planar like the Artti T10 (there are no planars on your list). There's no point in spending a lot of money on DACs as the difference they make to the sound is tiny, whereas the difference the IEM makes is huge. You just need one with enough power to drive your IEM and most IEMs don't need much.

It's very well regarded. Some reviewers slightly prefer the Tanchjim Origin, but I skipped that one because some other reviewers say it's more of a downgrade or sidegrade from the Oxygen, which I already have. The EA1000 is definitely in another league technically when you compare it to 1DDs like the EA500LM, Kato, Oxygen, Dunu Falcon Ultra, etc. Even the reviewers who prefer the tuning of one of the other 1DDs acknowledge that the EA1000 is ahead on technicalities. The Origin is the only one out of that list I haven't been able to hear and compare myself. I also haven't heard the stupidly high end ones like the SoftEars Twilight, but that one interests me, to hopefully try in the future. Oh also I keep forgetting that technically the EA1000 isn't actually a 1DD, it's more like a 1.5DD because it has a passive radiator. Most people group it together with the rest though and it's unclear if the passive radiator actually contributes anything. I think it *might* because the bass on the EA1000 is pretty unique too. If I had to pick from the ones that are true 1DDs, in terms of enjoyment I'd rank them OH300 > Dunu Titan S > Kato > Oxygen, but in terms of "technically-the-best" it goes Oxygen -(tiny difference)-> Kato -(big difference)-> Dunu Titan S -(big difference)-> OH300. Also worth calling out the QKZ HBB for being stupidly good for what it costs (about $15). It's roughly my #3 favourite IEM at any price, but maybe drops down to #4 because of the OH300 (I haven't decided if the OH300 completely replaces the S08 or not). The HBB is just very unique for it's super laid back, warm tuning, so I can't see it ever leaving my collection.

Thieaudio Legacy 2. Bear in mind that there's barely any accepted definition of neutral in headphones, and even less so in IEMs because the sound varies from person to person based on ear anatomy. Most of the bass-boosted new-meta IEMs released so far (KE4 and so on) sound either muddy or veiled to a lot of people, including the Truthear Pure which is more of a warm, down-tilted tuning, but some would also consider it neutral. The Legacy 2 is a bit older so doesn't follow that style of tuning, but it's not quite Harman either (which some consider v-shaped or u-shaped), it's closer to what most people subjectively say is quite neutral (mostly) and unlike the Hexa which has no bass, the L2 has slightly boosted sub-bass. The Simgot EM6L is also within the bounds of what some would call neutral, but it's bassier than the L2 and maybe a mild v-shape. Another neutral-ish option is the Dunu Titan S, which is a bit warmer and more vocal-forward. There's also the Aful Explorer which is quite L-shaped so I wouldn't really call it neutral, but it might fall within what you're actually looking for. It has more of a bass boost, but it's quite clean bass that doesn't muddying up everything else. But I do find vocals on it sound a bit recessed.

I wouldn't say they're bright, but the treble is definitely peaky. I'd say the bass isn't really neutral either. It's a bit below neutral for me, though it depends on eartips. I can get them up close to neutral with some tips. But the final issue with the Hexa is the nozzles are uncomfortably large. Not insane like the Zero Red, but still large enough where it limits which tips I can use without causing some discomfort. Personally I don't find them worth the hassle. They're pretty mid, honestly. I prefer the Dunu Titan S for a neutral-ish tuning. They look [very similar on a graph](https://graph.hangout.audio/iem/5128/?share=JM-1_Target,Hexa,Titan_S&bass=8&tilt=0&treble=-4&ear=0) but the Titan S has much more authoritative bass, and a slight vocal forwardness that makes them more engaging to listen to without knocking them out of neutral territory. And they're nearly half the price as well. I have a theory that the reason people's experiences with the Hexa sound are so varied is because Truthear generally use cheap drivers and then try their best to tune them really well, but they still get a lot of unit variance and they don't reject many. Akros has talked about all of his Zero Red units, where out of 4, only one has decent coherency and the rest all have crap technicalities (which is my experience with them). Yet they often get recommended for gaming, presumably because one reviewer got a golden unit with good imaging and the Reddit echo chamber repeats the "good for gaming" meme. You can see on [Crinacle's 5128 measurements of the Hexa](https://graph.hangout.audio/iem/5128/?share=Hexa) that even between his left and right units (which in theory should be a matched pair) there's quite a big discrepancy between the bass levels: 3dB difference at 30Hz, i.e., double the power.

I prefer the tonal balance of the EW300 to the Hexa because it's got a nice warm tilt that still sounds fairly clean, but it has a major issue with the midrange sounding muddled with anything busy, including distortion. If you're monitoring a guitar with distortion then it's probably going to sound mushy on the EW300. The Hexa isn't my favourite IEM, but it is pretty neutral and has no issues with things like separation & resolution. It's a bit lacking in bass weight but it has enough if it's for a 6 string and not a bass. Not sure if it's the best for metal either. Another neutral option I personally prefer to the Hexa is the Thieaudio Legacy 2. It's got a bit more bass (mainly sub-bass, so it doesn't bleed into the mids) and it's much more comfortable than the Hexa. The Hexa has quite big nozzles and some people find the shell shape awkward despite it being fairly small. The Hexa has better treble extension, but soundstage & imaging are both a bit better on the L2, which is another reason I prefer it for music listening. The Hexa can sound quite narrow & closed-in for some reason, although that won't matter at all for monitoring.

Which S2? If it was the Titan S2 then that wasn't me. I have the original Titan S, but not the S2. I do have the HD660S2 but that's not an IEM. The Titan S does have a similar sort of tuning to the Hexa and I prefer it to the Hexa because it has much better bass. Although it does have slightly grainy treble at times, which is its main weakness. Come to think of it I don't think I've actually sat down and compared the Titan S to the L2 side-by-side. Going from general memory the L2 is slightly more vocal-forward and has smoother treble, but the upper treble on the L2 does roll off a bit, so it can seem a bit like it's lacking some "air". I find it to be pretty neutral, not fatiguing, and just not overly forward in that area. As in, it's more subdued, but it doesn't sound like you're missing a lot of timbre from cymbals for example, though something with more of that upper treble (like the Hexa) might sound more detailed. From memory I think the Titan S sits roughly between the Hexa and the L2 in terms of treble extension, but in terms of grain, the Titan is worst, the Hexa is slightly peaky and the L2 is the smoothest (but most rolled-off).

I wouldn't bother upgrading in that range because the Chu 2 is already very good - to a point that's often understated in this sub. If you want to notice a difference I'd say you need to either look at one of the more technical sets around the $80 mark like the Truthear Hexa or the Simgot EA500LM, or else go up to around the $120-ish mark where there are a lot of hybrid options. The only other one I'd recommend is the Artti T10 which is about $50 but you'll want a reasonably powerful dongle like the JM6 Pro if you don't already have one, so budget for that as well. The T10 just stands out as exceptional value for the level of performance. I would maybe consider the Dunu Titan S because it's got a different enough tuning from the Chu 2 to notice a difference, as well as being a slight technical upgrade. But again it's not a huge upgrade. The Klean is good but it's not a massive upgrade from the Chu 2 and the tuning is pretty similar. It comes with slightly nicer accessories but the Chu 2 accessories are already pretty good.

Dunu Titan S (slightly warmer & more vocal-forward) or Thieaudio Legacy 2 (more of a reference-neutral). The Legacy 2 is maybe more suited to pro work as it can be a bit less forgiving about badly mastered tracks, but it's still a good IEM for listening to music, as long as you're not regularly listening to absolutely awful mixes. It has particularly good soundstage and imaging for the price. The Hexa gets recommended a lot, but I'm not a big fan because it has peaky treble, bad imaging, weak and flabby bass, and the fit is uncomfortable for a lot of people (including me), because of its large nozzles. There aren't really any other flat neutral options in that price range, but if you want a slightly brighter neutral then the Moondrop LAN is pretty good, as long as it hasn't sold out (it's been discontinued but the LAN 2 REF is even more bright and not as neutral). The Aria 2 isn't really neutral, it's more of a warm-leaning mild v-shape, but it's not some crazy Beats By Dre style of tuning or anything. It's probably close enough to neutral for most people and a good all-rounder (at least as far as I know as it's the only one I haven't heard, but I've heard what it's very frequently compared to). And of these will run just fine on the Apple dongle, even the EU one.

Best bang for your buck is probably the Titan S. If you want the most accurate sounding then possibly the Daybreak as a lot of people say it sounds very natural. It's not actually neutral though, it's tuned to be slightly U-shaped, but a lot of people seem to like that better than something closer to flat neutral like the Hexa (which I don't like for other reasons).

There's quite a broad range. For example: * Aful MagicOne - pretty, but not overdone * Ikko OH10 - good looking, nature-based & reserved * 7Hz Timeless, Timeless AE, Simgot EA500 - minimalist * Tin C2, Dunu Titan S (black/red version), Truthear Hexa/Pure - industrial There's a whole load in the middle that are just random swirly colours which has become the default low-effort design. Something like the Thieaudio Legacy 2 does that well IMO because its just one colour with a bit of texture, not all the colours, all at once. If you want a plain black cable, look at the KBear ST12. There's lots of options out there. I notice the stock cables often don't match the IEMs very well, and intentionally or not, this most likely helps sell a lot of aftermarket cables.

In that case I don't know. I haven't heard them but the reviews aren't good. The REF is closest to the original, but the original already leans a bit bright and for some reason they decided to make it brighter instead of more neutral. Super Review has a good review of them on Youtube if you want to know more. The other option that's a slight downgrade from the original LAN but similar bright-neutral tuning (without being overly bright) is the original 7Hz Salnotes Zero, which you can typically find on sale for around $10 or so (sometimes less, usually a bit more). After those there isn't much in the bright-neutral category until you get to the Blessing 3 at around $300. There are other neutral or slightly warm-neutral options like the Hexa or the Dunu Titan S (out of these I prefer the Titan S personally). If you want something that's full-on bright (and potentially fatiguing) I'd go for the Simgot EA500, because it's an incredible IEM apart from being fatiguing. Of course if you're not especially looking for a neutral IEM then there are loads of other options.

Dunu Titan S. Not the S2, the original S. Slightly warm neutral with some vocal-forwardness. Very good for that sort of music in that price range. They have very good quality bass, but the bass level is pretty neutral.

you will pry s12 pros out of my cold, dead hands! i don't mind the treble or bass. just don't like vocals being in my face. had dunu titan s before them and i just couldn't. titan s was very lean to me and s12 pro feels like i'm on the stage with the musicians

It depends on the price range... Up to 150 dollars, Titan S (1) without a doubt.

I've already tested a lot of things... but the image and soundstage equal to the combination of Dunu Titan S (1) + Divinus Velvet Wide Bore still surprises me to the point where I adopt it as my definitive IEM for games. The black variant with these tips also has an aesthetic that I really liked...

Pra games, ainda acho o Titan S (1) com ponteira Velvet Wide Bore, imbatível... acima inclusive do Red e do Artti... Mas curioso pra testar esses ..

First you need to find "your" tuning. There is no better phone, there is what suits your taste. For example, I think my Sgor Venus is infinitely better than my Titan S, even though it is much inferior in technicalities. I like my Artti T10 more than the Letshuoer S12 Pro... I like the Samson SR850 more than the Philips SHP9500, and it costs half as much.

Meteor will always be in my all time favourite lineup. In my ears the standout would be the unique treble presentation. I love the laid back lower and mid treble but having a peaky upper treble. To date this is my favourite treble experience, note that I do have Helios SE but personally I love how the Meteor treble is presented. Cymbal crashes sounds realistic and gives satisfying slam adding to its thick midbass.  I have demo-ed a lot of IEMs from the audio stores and I couldn’t find anything similar sounding as the Meteor. 

I guess I can say they are opposites, however mids presentation I perceive Meteor a little more forward and musical due to Helios treble more present. I also have the Titan, my 2nd favourite treble, slightly peaky in the upper end like Meteor but not much and having smooth, present lower and mid treble.  I tried the Crimson demo unit, I like the note weight, nice for musicality but I found it a little boring but it is technical. Tbh it can be an all rounder set while Helios, Titan and Meteor are more of specialty set on specific genres.

Thanks for the suggestion! I've had the Titan S before and tried using autoeq on it with the harman target. With this eq, I've found the harman tuning to be too forward in its vocal. Does the Wyvern Abyss have the same issue? And also would it be equal or better than the Titan S in terms of technicality?