DUNU TITAN S2 REVIEW

>>I am brazilian and I speak portuguese, so forgive my english, I’ll use translation tools to help<<

INTRO:

As incredible as it may seem, this will be the first time I’ll be reviewing a DUNU product… It’s a company I’ve always admired but never had the opportunity to test a pair of IEMs. Well, the time has come! Today I have the DUNU Titan S2.

The Titan S2 is the new version of the previous model, the Titan S. As I said in the paragraph above, unfortunately I wasn’t able to listen to the Titan S, which is a real shame because it was a very popular pair of IEM in the hobby. But that’s it, life goes on, no one can listen to every pair of IEMs released, right?

The DUNU Titan S2 was sent by HIFIGO, one of the main distributors of DUNU products, as well as several other brands and audio products. More information on the links below.

Price: $79.99 USD
Color: Mirrored
Cable: Without Mic

HIFIGO LINKS:

https://amzn.to/3AoXnml

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_olO2K7D

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DBNLyer

SPECIFICATIONS:

Single DD:

• (1) 10mm Dynamic Driver (DD)

– Frequency: 5Hz – 40kHz
– Effective frequency: 20Hz – 20kHz
– Impedance: 16Ω (@1KHz)
– Sensitivity: 107dB/mW; 125dB/Vrms (@1KHz)
– THD: <0.3% (@1KHz)
– Modular plug: Q-Lock mini – 3.5mm & 4.4mm (straight design)
– Connectors: 2pin 0.78mm (detachable)
– Cable size: 1.2m ± 0.1m
– Cable: 4-Strand OCC Copper and Silver-Plated OCC Copper Litz Wire
– Shell: Chrome-plated All-Metal
– IEM weight: 8.6g (one side)(without eartips)
– Cable weight: 20g (without plug)
– Cable weight: 22.6g (with 3.5mm)
– Cable weight: 22.9g (with 4.4mm)
– Total weight (packaging, iems, etc): 274.5g
– Packaging size: 13.5cm [H] x 9.7cm [W] x 7cm [D]

UNBOXING:

PHYSICAL ASPECTS:

Construction: The DUNU Titan S2 is this IEM with a robotic – futuristic – cyberpunk design, an IEM with a polarizing aesthetic that some people like and others don’t. The Titan S2 has – for the price of the product – one of the best unboxing experiences I’ve ever had. It’s a simple unboxing but very efficient for the consumer, and the amount of accessories that the product has is something that impresses me. If you calculate the price of each accessory sold separately, you’ll see that it’s almost the same as the entire product.

It’s worth remembering that the Titan S2 is an IEM made entirely of metal, and it’s a very robust metal, which makes the IEM a bit heavy. This issue of the IEM’s weight is something very personal, I’ve preferred lighter IEMs, the ones made of resin… but I confess that when the Titan S2 is in my ears, the issue of weight, of being heavy, doesn’t really show up. It’s still average, at 8.6g per side, which is acceptable, there are IEMs that weigh twice that.

Another detail that I always mention is that when the IEM have a mirrored coating, they certainly always look better, but at the cost of scratching the surface more easily. In addition, they always look dirty because of the fingerprint marks.

Eartips: This is going to be a long topic… An IEM that comes with 4 types of silicone eartips, and some of them are exclusive eartips, it’s not every day that you see these around here. Dunu deserves congratulations for having offered all of this in an IEM under $100. They are: Dunu Candy eartips, Dunu S&S eartips, Dunu Balanced eartips, and Atmosphere enhancement eartips.

– Candy Eartips. Color: White dome and colored tube. Sizes S/M/L. The silicone used is very soft, for those looking for more comfort, this is the best choice. These are among the most comfortable eartips I’ve ever tested. The size was standard for me, I usually use M and with these it was M too. In terms of sound, the sound is warmer, the sub-bass is raised a little more, and the vocals and mids are slightly recessed.

– S&S – Stage & Studio – Eartips. Color: Gray in the shape of a cork. Sizes XS/S/M/L. First, I started testing the size M, but unfortunately it was very uncomfortable. It felt like I had inserted a cork in my ears. Then I went down to size P and the things improved, I didn’t feel any discomfort. So, for me, who uses size M, I had to go down to size P (but that’s subjective). These eartips have very good isolation and a firmer grip, not like a Xelastec, but they have a slightly “sticky” side. In terms of sound, they open up the vocals, make the sound more transparent, and the mid-bass is more emphasized. I admit that it was very good, but it wasn’t the best for me in terms of comfort.

– Balanced Eartips. Color: Light gray. Sizes S/M/L. Here’s a big surprise: these are Dunu’s proprietary eartips, but they’re not sold separately (sad to know), which is a pity because I thought they were very good and had exactly the right “balance” between the two eartips mentioned above. In terms of sound, they were the best for me, but they weren’t as comfortable as the Candy Eartips… I even thought about doing the review with the Balanced ones, but comfort is essential for me, so I preferred to evaluate the IEM with the Candy eartips (size M).

– Atmosphere Eartips. Color: Black dome and red tube. Sizes XS/S/M/L. In my opinion, these were the most generic, so I saved time and didn’t even test the IEM with them. The good thing is that we have another option included, and from what I saw here, they’re of good quality.

Cable: This is another excellent accessory that came with the product. It’s a modular cable with detachable 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced plugs. The cable comes with a new system called “Q-Lock Mini”. Of all the modular cables I’ve tested, this one is certainly the best, because it doesn’t allow the plug to be too big, it’s exactly like a normal plug, in fact, it’s even smaller than many others… The cable is excellent, the Q-Lock Mini system is very easy to use (take a look at the unboxing video). In addition to the plugs, the quality of the cable is impressive, it comes with a part made of Paracord and another part braided (after the Y-Split). The Paracord part is very interesting because it stays very straight, it never creates “memory” (wavys), even if you roll it up, it goes back to its original state. Okay, this Paracord part isn’t as malleable as the braided part, but don’t worry, it’s not rigid either, it has a good level of malleability. Paracord cables usually get a bit of microphonics, but this one has the top half made of another material, which prevents the annoying microphony noise. The chin slider works 200%, it’s even a bit difficult to move the piece by the cable.

This cable is very similar to a cable that Dunu sells separately, the Dunu Lyre Mini. The Lyre Mini costs $29.99 USD, and the difference between the cables isn’t that big, in other words, the cable alone costs almost half of the price of the entire product. If you add the Candy eartips and the S&S eartips, then you have more than half the price in accessories.

Fit and comfort: This paragraph is quite subjective, for me, the Titan S2 was very good. As I said in the part about the construction, it has this issue of being made of metal and having more weight than resin earphones… So, like, “is the Titan S2 the most comfortable earphone I’ve ever tested?”, no… “but is it uncomfortable?”, no either. In the paragraph about the eartips, you also saw that with the Candy eartips the comfort increased (for my ears). The Titan S2 basically follows the same format as the Titan S, and I haven’t seen anyone complaining about having any problems with these IEM. The isolation is OK, and it improves a lot if you use them with the S&S eartips. I found the insertion to be average. The only part I didn’t like about the IEM was that they stick out a little from my ears, especially the part with the red circle… I didn’t like it.

Accessories: To finish off, Dunu also included an excellent carrying case. It’s semi-rigid and has a zipper closure. There’s plenty of space inside, and it fits the IEM and a dongle easily. I liked the design, and it comes with the company’s logo in high relief. I have nothing to complain about the accessories, a carrying case like this is also expensive if you buy it separately – I don’t know if it’s available for purchase – so, from the consumer’s point of view, the Titan S2 delivers – in terms of material – a great value. I got the impression that it was the best kit I’ve ever reviewed (in terms of cost-benefit).

SOUND ASPECTS:

I understood the sound of the Dunu Titan S2 as being a Neutral with Bassboost IEM. The Titan S2 has a boost in the bass, a slightly accentuated pinna gain (or upper-mids), and very correct treble. It has already been said that in the physical part the Titan S2 is amazing due to the quantity and quality of the accessories, and when we get to the sound part, the IEM delivers excellent quality as well.

I have heard single DD IEM for $300 dollars and in my opinion, the Dunu Titan S2 is in no way inferior in performance. The driver is very competent, the detail – for a single DD IEM – is impressive. Of course, the tonality also influences this factor.

The price of the product also needs to be taken into consideration, because years ago we had the Moondrop Aria costing approximately the same amount as the Titan S2, and in my opinion, the Titan S2 is better by a large margin, in terms of the product as a whole (physical and sound aspects). Perhaps the only two things that I think the Aria is better at are the color and the design of the shell, which of course, is completely subjective, it’s my taste. But without a shadow of a doubt, the Titan S2 is today my recommendation between these two IEMs.

In this dispute mentioned above, we can still remember the Tanchjim 4U, which is also a Single DD IEM – which costs a little less – but I would say that it is an IEM better suited for those who like a neutral sound with a touch more sparkle in the treble.

Bass:

Quantitative: The bass level is moderate. The IEM has a slight emphasis on the mid-bass region. Sub-bass is also present, although in smaller quantities than mid-bass. In the paragraph about eartips, I said that eartips can change the level of sub-bass and mid-bass, and the eartip I’m using actually balances the regions better. I didn’t feel any roll-off, and the extension is good. Since these are IEMs that emphasize mid-bass more – even if it’s a slight boost – they’ll go very well with more acoustic genres, or even with some older rock, blues, and pop from the 70s/80s. These styles of music generally didn’t emphasize sub-bass as much as they do nowadays. That said, you can already know that this isn’t basshead IEM.

Quality: The Titan S2’s bass is clean, fast, controlled, full-bodied, and has great definition. I think the texture and physicality are average, they’re neither devoid of these characteristics nor are they IEMs with the greatest amount of them. The interesting thing is that it has a bass that is “muscular” but not exaggerated or too strong. Certainly because it has less focus on the sub-bass, the presentation ends up being more “natural”. The impact is very good, it brings vigor and at the same time it doesn’t lose its naturalness. For example, in “Californication” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, when the drums start playing, you feel the kick of the bass drum with strength and clarity, and at the same time it sounds correct. The bass isn’t boomy, isn’t bloated, and it doesn’t invade the mids. I think it is the type of bass that goes very well with the sound of the acoustic guitar, especially the acoustic one, because the sound resonates from inside the instrument’s box in a way that is very consistent with the real thing.

Mids:

Quantitative and qualitative: The mids are slightly forward, especially in the region called pinna gain, which can also be understood as upper-mids. So, the pinna gain does have a slight emphasis, but in my opinion, it doesn’t sound too shouty or aggressive. As I said in the eartips section, changing them can make this region a little more open or a little more recessed. Roughly speaking, the only difference is that one eartip will bring more clarity than the other, although both show this region with great clarity, transparency, and resolution. Also noteworthy is the great detail and airy of the mids. Guitar solos have good energy, very palpable, giving the sensation of the guitarist soloing in front of you.

Voices: I give the victory to female/high voices for their great detail and vitality. Soprano and mezzo-soprano voices stand out with great clarity and energy. In the Titan S2, the mid-bass of the IEM give male/low-pitched voices a fuller tone, and so, as I said before, the IEM have texture, but not an absurd amount of texture, which you will certainly find in IEMs with more sub-bass, which brings out all that vibration in the sound.

Treble:

Quantitative: The treble is at a moderate level. The presence of treble in the presentation, to me, sounds linear, that is, the instruments sound the way they should. If you are a person who is sensitive to treble, I believe that the Titan S2 will be a good IEM for you, it won’t be a problem, however, I think you need to know if you are sensitive to upper-mids, because then, as I said in the paragraph about the mids, the pinna gain of the S2 is a little increased, which may not be to some people’s taste. For example, when you listen to the Titan S2, you will hear the pinna gain region standing out a little more than the treble’s region. I didn’t notice any roll-off, and the extension is good. I think the Titan S2 is a good IEM for listening to more “technical” genres, such as jazz or acoustic instrumentals, because you can extract the nuances of the instruments.

Qualitative: The treble are very “correct”, or we could also say “natural”… of course, this is partly subjective, but to my ears, I found them to be very consistent with reality. The treble are versatile, always accompanying the recordings. I didn’t notice any peaks or coloration. The treble have good definition, good detail and good airy. The sparkle is very natural, nothing goes over the top or sounds dull. The treble aren’t shrill, they aren’t harsh, they aren’t fatiguing, and they also didn’t present sibilance at any time. Ride cymbals sound coherent, without any piercing. For example, I listened to a certain recording with the Tanchjim 4U and noticed that there was more brightness than with the Titan S2.

Soundstage: I found the soundstage to be good. The most interesting thing here was the sensation of two layers, with the vocals more forward and the band behind. In fact, the soundstage isn’t that deep, it has better performance in terms of height and width. It’s difficult to have much depth when the pinna gain is more forward, the sound feels more next to you. Now, it’s a well-resolved soundstage, nothing sounds tight.

Imaging: I found the instrumental separation to be very good. The IEM have a very clean, detailed and airy sound, which makes it much easier to identify the instruments in the performance. The space between them is good, but of course I always think that hybrid IEMs have a slight advantage in this regard (although this is not a rule). Remember that this aspect is strongly influenced by the quality of the recording.

Driver flex test: I didn’t heard any driver flex sound when inserting the IEM into my ears.

Amplification: I used the FiiO KA11 dongle connected to my notebook to perform this review. The volume was set to 25% of the 100% available through Windows. I can say that the Dunu Titan S2 is an easy-to-play IEM that doesn’t require dedicated amplification. The Titan S2 will play well on smartphones, iPads, and computers. As usual, I recommend that the user at least have a good quality dongle to play your IEMs. Currently, I recommend the FiiO KA11 as a good cost/benefit dongle.

PROS AND CONS:

GRAPHS BY SUPER*REVIEWS:

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