Dunu Titan S Review

INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER:

The Dunu Titan S is an in-ear monitor (IEM) which uses a single 11mm dynamic driver with a polycondensated crystal polymer diaphragm. The Titan S was provided to me by Dunu in exchange for my evaluation. The Titan S retails for $79.99.

SOURCES:

I have used the Dunu Titan S with the following sources:

• Qudelix 5K
• Hidizs S9

I have tested the Dunu Titan S with local lossless audio files and Spotify Premium. Visit my last.fm page to get an idea of what I listen to:

XenosBroodLord’s Library | Last.fm

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES:

The Dunu Titan S comes in a medium-sized box with a slipcover. Technical specifications for the Titan S, Dunu’s corporate contact information, and a series of quick response codes which link to Dunu’s social media channels are provided on the rear of the slipcover.

The Titan S includes nine pairs of silicone eartips. These eartips come in three varieties, each in small-, medium-, and large-sized pairs. The first is conventionally shaped, the second is more bulbous, and the third is short, wide, and conical. I would have liked to see at least one set of foam eartips, perhaps in place of one of the silicone varieties.

The Titan S includes a large semi-rigid zippered carry case. The zipper has a sizable pleather pull tab. The case has a pleather exterior and a felt-lined interior with a small elastic pocket. The case exterior is embossed with the Dunu logo. I would have preferred the case to have been a more muted color, but the craftsmanship is excellent otherwise.

BUILD QUALITY AND DESIGN:

The Dunu Titan S has burnished zinc alloy shells with an angular, industrial aesthetic. There is a circular strainer-style mesh-covered vent surrounded by a black rim in the center of each faceplate. The Dunu logo is printed in white off to the side of this vent. A black nut is set into each faceplate at the top corner just below the 2-pin connector housings, which reinforces the Titan S’s industrial design language. “L” and “R” indicators are printed on the interior housing body of each earpiece. There is a large circular vent at the base of each nozzle. The nozzles are made of the same burnished alloy as the rest of the earpiece and have mesh covers and substantial lips with which to secure eartips.

The included 2-pin cable uses four individual strands wrapped in a spiral below the Y-split and a double helix pattern on each side above the Y-split. The unit serial number is printed in white on the Y-split hardware. The 3.5mm jack housing and the Y-split hardware are made of polished black metal with reflective rings at the ends. The jack uses an L-shaped form factor, and the jack cap is engraved with fine concentric circles. The jack has substantial strain relief. The cable has a chin adjustment choker and uses preformed earguides without memory wire. The 2-pin connector housings are made of plastic, and the pin housings are slightly extruded to ensure a flush fit between the IEM and the cable connectors. The cable comes with a rubber attachment for securing the cable when coiled and a large black plastic shirt clip.

COMFORT, FIT, AND ISOLATION:

The Dunu Titan S is intended to be worn cable up. The nozzles have a moderate to deep insertion depth. The Titan is very comfortable and remains secure over extended periods. However, isolation is poor.

MEASUREMENTS:

Measurements of the Dunu Titan S can be found on my expanding squig.link database: Dunu Titan S — Squiglink by Bedrock Reviews

My measurements are conducted with a Dayton iMM-6 microphone using a vinyl tubing coupler and a calibrated USB sound interface. The measurements use a compensation file derived from relating my raw measurements to published measurements from Crinacle and Antdroid. There is a resonant peak around 8k. Measurements above 10 kHz are not reliable.

SOUND:

The Dunu Titan S has a Harman-ish tuning.

The bass is modestly elevated, with the elevation confined to the sub-bass. This avoids any kind of mid-bass bleed into the lower mids. Sub-bass extension is good but not exceptional. The bass is well-textured and avoids the wooly timbre exhibited by the similarly priced Tin T3+. The Titan S exhibits good bass articulation but seems to privilege note weight over speed just a smidge.

The Titan S’s midrange is on the brighter side of Harman-ish and emphasizes vocal clarity. Both male and female vocals are forward and distinct from the underlying instrumentation. Male and female vocals are roughly equal in emphasis and intelligibility. Melodic male vocals are on the thinner side, with some limited body. Female vocals sound more vibrant than male vocals. The Titan S avoids overemphasizing the presence region.

The Titan S has the evenest transition from the pinna gain region to presence to treble that I have ever heard on an IEM in this price range. This even presentation is coupled with exceptional upper treble extension for the price point. The Titan S’s extended yet balanced treble presentation puts much more expensive IEMs to shame. Treble transient delivery is superbly natural, and detail retrieval is excellent. On the other hand, the overall size of the soundstage is limited, and instrument separation and imaging are distinctly average.

SOURCE PAIRING:

The Dunu Titan S is easy to drive. I did not notice any hiss during my listening on either of my source devices.

CLOSING WORDS:

The Dunu Titan S is a superb IEM and a new benchmark in the $75–100 range. While the Moondrop Aria remains a more universally inoffensive option in terms of its tuning, the Titan S is a much more exciting listen.