Titan S

Had Arias, Had hexas, now got dunu S (1gen) and they blow previous two out of water and hit way above their pricepoint imo. I have no idea how most top mentioned of nowdays iems sound, but i could advise dunu S to anyone.

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

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.

Dunu Titan S. It was worth every penny ($52 back in 2024). I'm a basshead, but I love that thing. It was my first big purchase and, it made me realize how shouty my other sets were.

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

Letshouer Cadenza 4 Enjoyability: A to A+ Critical Editing: B to A Mixing: A. While a bit U-shaped it's not egregious. It's enough to make decisions. Sennheiser IE200 Enjoyability: B to A Critical Editing: D to F (rounds out a lot of sibilance imo, which is actually a good thing for enjoyers). Mixing: B. Kind of shocking but while people call this v-shaped this is actually not as v-shaped imo. If you monitor yourself using these iems it'll sound exactly like you down to the microphone. Most other v-shaped iems don't do that. Crinacle Daybreak Enjoyability: B to A- Critical Editing: A (rofl. It's funny because it genuinely is good at picking out bad audio. If it sounds harsh it's because the original track is harsh) Mixing: B (This is more of a "Meta" tuned iem. But imo just enough where it sounds true) Crinacle Dusk Enjoyability: B to A+ (depending on who you ask) Critical Editing: C on Analogue. F on DSP. It rolls out sibilance by quite a large margin. Mixing: A on analogue mode. Honestly pretty neutral. almost HD600ish. But about a C on DSP mode. Tanchjim Origin Enjoyability: C to A (depending on who you ask) Critical editing: A (it'll definitely let you know spicy regions Mixing: A. A bit bright-slanted but definitely capable for mixing. Theioaudio Legacy 2: Enjoyability: C Critical editing: A+ Mixing: A+ Xuan NV (honorable mention) Enjoyability: A Critical editing: B Mixing: D (too bassy imo) I mention these because imo these are the Audio Technica M50x of iems but the size of 2 quarters. They basically give you accurate vocals down to the tee but thumpy bass. The vocals are very accurate on these. Not good for mixing though. Dunu Titan S (original) Enjoyability: C Critical editing: D (the treble is rounded out quite a bit) mixing: A (these are my imo pretty close to neutral)

PART 1: I'm coming back to your post now 22 days later. Because I wanted to answer this question. So think of this as a better update/answer than what I gave you. From a point of simplification, there's monitoring (this means when you use a microphone your voice sounds pretty close to you). There's critical voiceover editing (this means you wear headphones you can accurately detect problems with your audio, ie sibilance, plosives, phasing issues, etc) Then there's mixing. mixing means you are generally trying to make everything comprehensive and cohesive and sounds good on many mediums, ie iphones, speakers, car speakers, cans, openbacks, everything basically. Here's my thoughts: The Tanchjim Origin/Tanchim Fission are good at all 3. The Westone Mach60s (bought recently) excel at all 3. To elaborate, when I use any microphone it sounds exactly like me. When I watch microphone reviews by Podcastage, Boothjunkie, Curtis Judd, not only does it sounds like them to the dot but it sounds exactly individually how that mic sounds on them. When I listen to male singers, they sound correct. When I listen to female singers they sound correct. But it also does a great job of pointing out flaws in audio, ie I can hear everything. But also these have a ton of soundstage. The Beyerdynamic DT70IE (bought recently) excel at all 3. Though I'd give the edge to the Mach60s. Vocally it's pretty on point, with my voice and others. I noticed a voiceactor on Youtube mentioning the same thing. Just be sure to use the silicone eartips and toss the sponge ones (those suck). The Shure SE846 (bought recently) can do all 3. However I used the blue filters (neutral) along with the the black adapter from the AZLA SednaEarfit Crystal Standard which allows you to use all eartips, ie Dunu S&S. It veers warmer than the Mach60s but it's still pretty on point. It reminds me a lot of my JBL 305 speakers on my desk. The Moondrop Blessing 2/Blessing 3/Cadenza 4 excel at all 3. I map these all the same. While not exactly the same they're pretty much in the same camp. If you own 1, you don't need the other. The Softears Studio4 is good at only 2. Monitoring and mixing. But it isn't good for critical editing for voiceover. This is because it tends to round out sibilance and round out flaws in audio. So you need to cross-check it with something like a Moondrop Blessing 2 or a Thieoaudio Legacy 2. The Etymotic ER2XR is only good at voiceover editing and monitoring. But because of its poor soundstage it's not good for mixing. The Crinacle Dusk is good for monitoring. Good for mixing. But not suitable for critical voiceover editing. You won't know you have sibilance and problems in your audio. It even smooths out DMS's old sibilant headphone videos. ie I use his old videos as a reference for detecting horrible sibilance. The Dunu Titan S (original) are good for monitoring and mixing (it's relatively neutral). But not good for critical editing. It completely smooths out harsh sibilance on female vocals. Wouldn't count on these. The Salnotes Zero (original) are surprisingly good for $20. They are perfectly fine for monitoring. They also give you a general sense of the landscape and can be used for mixing. I thought it was a meme when I saw a ton of audio engineers mentioning the Salnotes Zero (original) for mixing. It also is good with critical editing (but nowhere near as reliable) as other options but it'll definitely point out egregious areas with your audio. Not bad for $20. I'd still strongly recommend going with the Fission (with S nozzle) which almost the same as the Tanchim Origin for a good price.

PART 2: (CONTINUED) Thieoaudio Legacy 2 are good at all 3. Excellent for monitoring. Though when I hear through with my microphone it's my voice but with about 10-15% of the lowend removed from my voice. These imo are the true "Baby Blessing 2" and imo are far more effective and reliable than the Hexa. These also are fantastic for pointing at flaws in your audio, ie issues like sibilance, clipping, plosives, boxiness, phasing, muffled audio, etc. Zigaat Lush (recently bought) is fine for monitoring. But I'm not entirely sure how it would translate to mixing and critical editing. It tends to relax a bit of the highs a bit too much imo. However, the Lush sounds substantially better when paired with the Moondrop Spring tips. Truthear Hexa - I'm going to list these as unreliable (for me). They've steered me so wrong so many times. Not that it won't for you. But I can't recommend them. Also the Hexa is the most divisive IEM. Just read this thread. No one agrees on how it sounds. Watch and read everywhere. No one knows what it sounds like. You got people saying it has a ton of bass. No bass. Little bass. Peaky. Harsh. Smooth. No one knows. You have me saying it's anemic in bass. Who's right? Who's wrong. Imo these are fine for monitoring and mixing. Not for critical editing. Purely anecdotal. But they have steered me wrong.

Lately these are my favorites. I don’t know their exact sound signatures, but here’s how I’d describe them: Celest Pandamon 2.0 (with Kiwi Ears Flex eartips) – Super small, comfy, and chill—similar vibe to the Aful Explorer. I actually prefer these over the Salnotes Zero, 7Hz Sonus, Crinacle Zero Red, Artii T10, Tangzu Waner 1/2, Kefine Klean, IE200, Truthear Hexa, Moondrop Lan Reference, Chu 2, FDX1, Blessing 2, Kiwi Ears Cadenza, Inawaken Dawn, Dunu Titan S, and Truthear Gate. It’s about $20, a total “grower.” Boring at first, but comfort and tuning make it great. Likely warm or neutral-warm. Softears Studio 4 – Kicks ass. Especially on female vocals. I prefer it over all Meta-tuned and Harman IEMs. Campfire Andromeda 2020 – Neutral-warm with massive soundstage. Letshouer Cadenza 4 – On par with the Studio 4; I can’t pick a favorite between them. I can't describe how it sounds correctly and it's an IEM that shocked me because it (looks) like it'd be a Blessing 3 on graphs. Sounds nothing like anything out there. It's just an amazing IEM. I think it's U-shaped. Etymotic ER2XR – Love these for sentimental reasons. My EDC setup—always in my work bag. I use the Final Audio E multipack with the red adapter and my own tips. Dunu Kima 2 – The definition of neutral-warm to my ears. Filled the one gap in my collection (Lush, Dunu SA6 Mk2, Truthear Pure, S08, Explorer, etc.). The Kima 2 nails what I was missing. For budget stuff which surprised me. Xuan NV and Defiant. Both are spectacular with female and male vocals. Great punchy bass. Xuan NV is a bit more...liberal with bass. Defiant sounds more...correct with bass. But both are giant killers. Though the Defiant feels like more of a dragon slayer.

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.

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 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.

Definitely not the Explorer. It has quite veiled vocals. Not a big fan of the Hexa personally, but lots of people like it. I would take the Dunu Titan S instead (not the S2, the original S), especially if you something slightly more vocal-forward. Haven't heard the Daybreak so don't know how that compares.

If you're plugging them directly into a PC then you should stick to 1DDs. Avoid multi-driver IEMs because they will sound messed up if your PC sound card has high output impedance (which it most likely does). The only exception to that I know of is the Simgot EG280 which is a hybrid, but it's designed to have completely linear impedance specifically for PC gaming. You also want to avoid anything highly sensitive like the Simgot EA500 / EA500LM which would otherwise probably be the top pick in that price range. So I'd suggest looking at the Moondrop Aria 2, the Dunu Kima 2 or the Dunu Titan S. The ST16 Plus is a decent cable, but no harm in contacting Xinhs about a custom one if you see one you like the look of. It won't affect the sound either way.

The original Titan S is generally regarded as better than the S2. I only have the original so all I can say is the tuning is different and it's not necessarily an upgrade.

The ones I would consider to be some version of neutral are the Hexa, the Dunu Titan S and the Thieaudio Legacy 2. Apparently the Pure is more of a warm-neutral than the Hexa, but about half of reviewers found it sounded muddy, so I'd hesitate to put it in the same category. It seems to be very hearing-dependent though so you might like those, but if you really liked the Hexa then possibly not. I haven't heard it myself yet. I would say the Legacy 2 is more accurate and more neutral than the Hexa, but the only disadvantage it has is that the Hexa has a bit more treble extension. My Legacy 2 extends up to about 14kHz, which is fine for general music listening but there might be some instances where you need to hear higher frequencies than that, such as mixing, which is one of the use-cases where the Legacy 2 excels, unless you need to hear higher frequencies than that. Still, even though the Hexa has more treble extension, it has much worse treble *quality* than the Legacy 2, as the Hexa is quite peaky and that can exaggerate channel imbalances too. Imaging on my Hexa is really bad, with instruments appearing to wander around the stage, because those treble peaks are in slightly different places on each side. The L2 is much more solid in that regard and also has a much more natural soundstage (the Hexa is weirdly narrow to me). Also when I say the Legacy 2 is more accurate than the Hexa, that means it won't hide issues in a bad mix to the same extent that the Hexa will. So if the mix is sibilant, it'll sound sibilant on the Legacy 2, whereas the Hexa will hide that and smooth over issues more. So some may find the Hexa is more pleasant to listen to, not because it's more neutral, but because it's suppressing some of the potentially problematic frequencies in the 3-6kHz region. This makes the Legacy 2 a better choice if you need a neutral reference for mixing etc., but possibly worse for music listening (personally I prefer it to the Hexa so YMMV). I would put the Titan S ahead of of the Hexa as well. It's got a slightly more warm tilt compared to the L2 and more vocal-forwardness that, unlike a lot of Harman-like "vocal forward" IEMs isn't limited to only female vocals. It's arguably a bit less neutral, but it's coloured in a good way, and it's a subtle A-shape rather than the usual v-shape. The treble on the Titan S can be slightly grainy at times, but it's only noticeable occasionally. That's really the only thing that holds it back from sounding like a $150 IEM instead of a $50 one. It probably has the best build quality of the 3 too, although the Legacy 2 is the most comfortable, stable and lightweight. I would say bass on the Titan S is a lot better than on the Hexa. It doesn't have significantly more (maybe just a touch more), but it's more impactful, without getting outside the bounds of still being at a neutral level.

Well, I don't know that they're particularly worse than anything else around the same price but Truthear have a reputation for doing a good job of tuning very cheap drivers. They have quite high unit variation as a result. That doesn't necessarily make them more likely to fail down the line, but they're not a high-end product. If you want something a bit safer around the same price the Simgot EA500LM has very high build quality, and it's a 1DD so there's less to possibly go wrong, no BA dampers in the nozzle to worry about, etc. If you're really worried that £70 is a lot, maybe take a look at the Tin C2 instead because it's cheaper, built like a tank, screwed-on faceplate should you ever need to repair something internally, and you're not really sacrificing any sound quality. The C2 isn't as neutral as the Hexa but it can get pretty close with the right eartips (I use Spinfit CP-100+ on mine to dampen down the treble slightly, but YMMV). You may want to watch [this review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz1oSafKlh8) if you're concerned about them being "too cheap". The EA500LM is more of a pronounced v-shape than these, but it's well balanced and doesn't sound as v-shaped as it looks on a graph. Any of them would be a good all-rounder, and I'd argue a better all-rounder than the Hexa, without even considering the comfort issues the Hexa has because of it's large nozzle. Another option if you can still find them for sale (apparently they're discontinued and stocks have been drying up) the Dunu Titan S (the original S not the S2) is another 1DD with a really solid all-metal build (and the black one is anodised, not painted). It's a bit more neutral than the others, and I would personally rank it significantly above the Hexa for both neutrality and general sound quality overall. It has much better quality bass for one thing, without being bass-boosted. Last time I checked there were still stocks on Aliexpress, but a few people have mentioned not being able to find them after I recommended them, so it may depend on where you are.

I have the black Titan S (I think it looks a lot better than the shiny one) and currently use the Xinhs K05 cable on it, which matches it very nicely in terms of colours. There aren't many cables with black connectors, but another one is OpenHeart, and if you don't want a fabric cable like the Xinhs, they are coincidentally probably the best quality cables around for the price (a £15 OpenHeart cable is roughly the same as some £60 ones I have from Xinhs and Hakugei). If you want a plain black cable that's a bit cheaper but still very good quality, look at the KBear ST12 (you can usually find it for about £6 or so). Just make sure it's the Titan S you're looking at not the S2. Not that the S2 is bad (afaik, I haven't heard it) but every review says the original is tuned better, the S2 just comes with slightly better accessories. Although, as much praise as the cable got initially, I've subsequently heard that it's not very well behaved, so it probably also needs a cable upgrade too. The S is neutral with some vocal-forwardness, whereas the S2 is more v-shaped.

Dunu Titan S is pretty much a direct upgrade from the Wan'er, if you like that sort of warm, vocal-forward tuning that doesn't overly favour female vocals over male. Except the Titan S is more neutral, has a bit less but much better controlled bass, and is more resolving. Really nicely build with anodised metal shells too. You may want to upgrade the cable, although it's not terrible, it's just not as good as you'd get on most IEMs around that price that released more recently.

Depends what mood I'm in. Want warm, bassy & relaxed for mostly background listening? QKZ HBB. What warm, bassy & cosy but more focused on the music? Ikko OH300. Out for a walk? Ikko OH10. Out for a walk but want a more neutral sound? Moondrop Kato. Want less bass & lots of resolution? Stellaris. Want the most "realistic" sound possible? Simgot EA1000. And so on... I've got a lot of IEMs that I don't listen to that often. Some of those are just not very good but are too cheap to be worth selling. Some are good but not part of my core set, so I'll maybe listen to one of those now and then to mix things up a bit. I don't really do "genre-specific" IEMs because the mastering of individual albums can make a bigger difference than genres. But if I mainly want to listen to metal, I'll almost always get the EA1000 just because it's so much better than any other IEM for several things that come up a lot in rock, metal, prog, etc. If I'm in the mood for hip hop there's a very good chance I'll get the Dunu Titan S, but that's also more mood-specific and I might want something bassier. Even these "genre-specific" cases are more mood-specific anyway; just because I'm in the mood to listen to metal doesn't mean I'm exclusively only going to listen to metal, nor am I going to put Spotify on shuffle then change IEMs depending on what track comes on.

Overrated: * Truthear Zero / Zero Red: The nozzles are huge and the sound is just OK for the price. They were a big deal at the time for target adherence (although the "full Harman" Zero actually has terrible Harman compliance), but that's more of a technical curiosity than actually good. Fortunately there are much better options these days, so the hype has died down a lot. * Truthear Hexa: Bass is anaemic, treble is peaky and the nozzle is also huge, though not quite as bad as the Zero. * Simgot EW300: The worst Simgot I've heard for coherency, although it does have the safest tuning as long as you don't get the killer treble peak around 11kHz (that's solvable with eartips, its other issues aren't). * GK Kunten. I mean it's *OK* for the price, but it's literally just a slightly downgraded and more expensive [ZVX Pro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eQc95TR0Ls), which in turn is almost identical to about half a dozen other KZ IEMs. All of which have the same driver as the Zenith too. The hype around this one is insane. A very successful astroturfing campaign though, so I guess well done for fucking up the sub with a tsunami of spam, and congrats to everyone who fell for it (including me, because I bought one too out of curiosity). Underrated: * Moondrop LAN (the OG one): A very good bright-neutral IEM for its price, overshadowed by the Chu 2 costing half as much, and the 7Hz Zero having nearly the same tuning (but much lower build quality, comfort and less refined treble). * Dunu Titan S: it's like the Hexa if it were better in every way and also cheaper. Actually these were a very highly regarded IEM at launch but I believe the hype machine moved on to the bassier Moondrop Aria and they got a bit forgotten about. Still a very good IEM though. Unclear if they're still in production or not, but everyone seems to agree the S2 isn't tuned as well. * Ikko OH300: Just one of my favourite IEMs with a fun but mostly natural-sounding warm v-shape tuning and incredibly holographic imaging. Nobody else ever talks about them. * TRN Shell: One of the few TRN IEMs that's actually good. It's like the EW300 but better in ever possible way aside from having a more pronounced v-shape tuning (personally I like it though, especially after some tip-rolling). It's also only $40 (on frequent sale) and comes with an insane set of accessories for the price. * Aful MagicOne: It's not an all-rounder IEM, it's not for everyone, and it's probably overpriced at RRP. But it's a very unique IEM in every way and nothing else sounds quite like it. I only paid about $60 for mine on sale and it's absolutely one of the best things I've bought.

If they're still available on sale around that price, try to get a Dunu Titan S. It doesn't have a lot of bass, but it's actually my favourite IEM for hip hop because of how well it does the bass and vocals, so they're clearly separated from each other but without an odd dip somewhere that messed up bass guitars or whatever. I think they might be discontinued though so IDK if you'll find one in stock. I'd say overall it's quite neutral, with a bit of added vocal-forwardness (but unlike a lot of "vocal forward" IEMs it doesn't favour female vocals at the expense of male vocals). Failing that I'd probably go with the Chu 2 because it's nicely balanced and is an overall nice IEM in terms build quality, accessories and so on. The EW200 is good as well if you want a slightly more aggressive sound, but the EW200 can be a bit picky when it comes to eartips, in that if you don't get a good seal it will sound bright, thin and tinny (that isn't how it's tuned, but it's a common complain because people often don't get a good seal with the stock tips). The Cadenza is pretty good as well, but I'd probably look at the KBear KB01 instead because it's a 1:1 clone and slightly cheaper. Sounds very similar to the Chu 2 so it mostly comes down to whether you want metal shells or plastic, but I'd say the Chu 2 is a tiny bit more vocal-forward. Personally I don't think the Zero 2 is very good. One that I haven't heard myself but is nonetheless my default first IEM recommendation now is the Tangzu Red Lion. From what I've heard the tuning is more in line with the original Wan'er than the Wan'er 2, and it's a good all-rounder tuning with a bit of warmth (not not crazy basshead levels of bass) and some vocal forwardness, similar to the Titan S. In fact I would say the Titan S is the direct upgrade from the original Wan'er. The thing about the Red Lion is it has a great accessories package, especially since it comes with $15-worth of premium eartips, despite being a $23 IEM. You won't really need a DAC for any of these 1DD IEMs as long as your device has a headphone jack. If you only have USB then some of them come with a USB C cable option, and some don't. But you can always get a cheap dongle DAC like the JCally JM6, or the Apple dongle if you mainly use iOS. There's also the OopusX Op.22 which got some good reviews, but I haven't heard it, so I can't say much about whether it's really any good. It does have an easy-to-use bass switch though, which gives you two tunings without having to mess around with EQ. The accessories aren't as good as the Red Lion though. And since this one is a hybrid, a DAC would be recommended unless you know your source has a low output impedance.

The Pure is a flat-out better IEM. Neither is perfectly neutral but if you want to achieve neutral with EQ, it's easier to do with the Pure because the treble quality on the Hexa is not good, whereas the Pure really only needs one filter and it's in the "easy to EQ" region. If you want any bass, avoid the Hexa because it has very limp bass that's a bit below neutral and not very good quality. The Pure is further away from flat neutral, but it's within the bounds of warm-neutral and probably a lot closer to what most people would actually want anyway. Arguably the Pure has a bit too much upper midbass and it can bleed into the mids slightly, but it generally sounds quite good and is certainly an upgrade from the Wan'er, especially when it comes to the *quality* of the bass and upper treble. Another thing to watch with both the Hexa and the Pure is comfort. The Pure is going to be safer for most people, because the nozzle on the Hexa is pretty big. They did improve that quite a lot with the Pure, although it's still not as comfortable as something like the Wan'er. A more direct upgrade from the Wan'er for a bit less money is the Dunu Titan S, which I would also recommend over the Hexa. It's warm-neutral with a bit of vocal forwardness. So it's closer to the Wan'er style of tuning, but not quite as warm. It has much better clarity, resolution and build quality (anodised metal shells). The Pure has better treble than the Titan S and punchier bass, but if you don't want to EQ and are worried about that slight bass bleed, the Titan S is a safer option. It's also a lot safer comfort-wise for most people.

I don't have it anymore but it would be somewhere around 250Hz and reduce by about 2dB. You could maybe go a bit lower with a higher Q to bring down more of the bass, or keeping it around 0.7 should target just the part that bleeds into the mids. Listener himself mentioned in one of the Headphone Show live streams that's what he does personally, though I forget if he mentioned an exact frequency. I did notice a slight elevation around there causing some bleed into the mids, so that's what I would change, but it didn't bother me enough while I had them to actually do it. In fact I quite liked the bass presentation overall - it has a nice well-rounded thump to it. The best thing would be to do it by ear and see what sounds neutral to you. Another trick you can do is go into auto EQ and set it to work in just the bass frequencies (say, allow it to adjust 20Hz to 800Hz), and constrain it to a single filter. Then Auto-EQ to JM-1. That would at least give you a good starting point to then adjust to what sounds right to you. Doing a quick experiment on squig.link gives me good results with 1 filter on 711 (although the level came out weird and I had to adjust it manually). On 5128 I needed 2 filters to get it looking nice, but that's compensating for a rocking mode that isn't really there (that weird S-shape bump around 200Hz), so I'd be careful about that. That's a problem with the 5128.

It varies. I'm currently having a headphone clear-out because I tend to mostly listen to the HD650 or AKG K712 (for comfort & airflow, especially after a shower). But I find that I rotate between different IEMs for the variety of different tunings. Current favourites that I am listening to the most are: * Ikko OH300 - warm v-shape, quite vocal-forward. * Moondrop Stellaris with Dunu Candy tips - bright-neutral with exceptionally clean, very linear bass. I specify the Candy tips with the Stellaris because they really change the sound signature quite dramatically, which is crazy bright normally. IDK if those tips would have the same effect for others though. Some other favourites include: * QKZ HBB - warm and laid back; similar to the OH300 except that while the OH300 is vocal-forward, these push the vocals back a bit in the mix, which makes them great for background listening while reading. * Simgot EA1000 - balanced, mild v-shape that is slightly cool/bright leaning but also has exceptional bass quality. Other than the slight cool tilt to the midrange, these are overall the most realistic-sounding IEMs I've heard so far, especially how they reproduce drums. And they keep up with my planars for resolution (I have several, not just the Stellaris, though the Stellaris is probably the most resolving). My endgame, if I eventually find it, is probably this but a bit warmer. * Dunu Titan S - when I feel like something a bit more neutral, but not as boring as the Hexa. Probably the closest thing to my ideal tuning, although it can be a bit grainy in the treble at times. * Moondrop LAN - if I'm feeling bass fatigue and want something a bit lighter while maintaining a fairly smooth (not overly bright) upper mids & treble. * Ikko OH10 - mainly for walking around outside, I prefer more of a v-shape. While I prefer the tonal balance of the OH300 for listening indoors, these are a bit cleaner and more resolving. I like the combination of deep, thumpy bass with crisp incisive treble, although they can be a touch strident at times. The main thing is the comfort though, these are incredibly comfortable and stable. Those are the main ones I rotate between the most, along with the Moondrop Kato for another mild v that sits somewhere between the EA1000 and the OH10. Nothing really stands out, but it's just a really solid all-rounder for listening to anything, anywhere, any time.