Accessories Review of DUNU Titan 1 in-ear headphones w/lots of pics!!!

[twister6]

This is a review of DUNU Titan 1 in-ear headphones. http://penonaudio.com/DUNU-TITAN1

Nowadays not too many headphone manufacturers are willing to take risk thinking outside the box. I guess when it comes to headphones, it's not an easy task to re-invent the wheel and still make it sound good, so it's more typical to see a traditional earpiece shell design (bullet/cylindrical shape or some modified "bean" shape) with a single or multi driver config using dynamic or BA or hybrid combination of both drivers. But if "UNique" is a part of your brand name and design philosophy, you can expect some very pleasant surprises just like I found with my previously reviewed hybrid driver ALPHA earbuds or this new dynamic driver TITAN 1 hybrid-housing (semi-earbud shell with an angled nozzle) earphones from DUNU. As a matter of fact, I don’t even recall auditioning another single dynamic driver IEM which in a blind test could be mistaken for a hybrid 3-way in-ear monitor. The second I took Titan 1 out of the box and put them in my ears - I was blown away by a performance of this 13mm single dynamic driver IEM with a titanium coated diaphragm. Here is what I found.

Though I already have been spoiled with unboxing experience of DUNU Alpha earbuds and have seen premium packaging of other DN hybrid models, I was still very excited with Titan 1 box in front of me. From a high res cover image to a detailed description of the design elements and the list of included accessories, you can see how much pride DUNU takes in their product. Flipping the magnetic cover of the box open reveals more detailed info about these headphones and a display setting with earpieces, the case, and some of the eartips. With DUNU, no matter if it's their $50 or $300 model, you can always expect a premium packaging and a very generous selection of accessories.

Unboxing pictures.

Looking closer at the included accessories, you will find a total of 9 eartip pairs in three groups with Sony look-a-like hybrids (S/M/L), narrow bore red-core hybrids (S/M/L), and wider bore silicone tips (S/M/L). You also get 1/4 adapter and a shirt clip which comes handy since Titan's cable has some noticeable microphonics. Also, included is a very cool hard shell storage case. With so many manufacturers using generic storage pouches or zipper cases, this one is a rather unique slim hard shell plastic case with a non-slip rubber padding on the bottom and a layer of interior rubber lining.

Accessory pictures.

Moving on to a design, you will see a few common elements carried over across different premium DUNU models. Starting with a headphone connector, you have a gold plated right angle plug in alloy housing with a rather long and durable strain relief. From there you have a fine braided cloth sheathing cable going up to a common side of y-splitter where it also has a nice strain relief at the joint. As an attached bonus, you will find DUNU's signature rubber cable wrapper which comes handy in cable management when you ready to store your headphones. Y-splitter has a form of a slim alloy cylinder with a matching retractable chin slider. Cables going up to earpieces have a soft rubber shielding and a decent strain relief at the joint of the housing. As I mentioned before, there is noticeable microphonics contributed by this cable which you can mitigate by using a shirt clip.

Shells itself look like a piece of art. They have all premium quality metal alloy body and a color-coded accent ring (red for the right side), though there is also metal etching with L/R marking. Looking from the back you can mistake it for a typical earbud design, but once you flip it to the other side - you will see a short angled nozzle. For me it was a perfect arrangement since I have a rather wide and shallow ear canal opening and inner-ear which can't accept earbuds. Here, with a selection of red-core large hybrid tips, I was able to get a perfect seal which yielded an excellent bass quantity! Furthermore, on the inner side of the earbud disc you have a total of 11 air vents which contribute to an amazing soundstage at a price of a very noticeable sound leakage to the point where Titans sound like semi-open IEMs. In my opinion, it's a small price to pay for such a great sound performance.

Overall fitment was excellent, very comfortable, and hardly even noticeable due to a rather lightweight metal housing. Shells were not sticking out of my ears by too much, and headphones were sitting comfortably flush, to the point where I was able to lie down with my ear facing the pillow without being pocked. Of course, YMMV since we all have different inner-ear anatomy.

Design detail pictures.

 

[twister6]

I started this review with a bold statement that in a blind test you can mistake Titans for a hybrid driver IEM. Typically it's not an easy task to achieve a wide dynamic tuning with a decent bass performance and detailed presentation of high frequencies utilizing a single dynamic driver. Thus you either have to look for ultra wide bandwidth drivers, like those found in DITA Answer, or settle for a partitioned hybrid design with a mix of dynamic and BA drivers. In case of Titan 1, DUNU was able to tweak a tuning of their single titanium driver, creating what appears to my ears as a v-shaped cut in lower mids separating bass and upper mids/treble to achieve such “hybrid” separation.

From what I’m hearing, I found the sound of DUNU Titan 1 to have a smooth bright detailed tuning (approaching analytical level) with a noticeable bass emphasis, definitely north of neutral. The lows and highs balance each other quite nicely, and you have a decent separation of instruments and vocals with an impressive imaging/position. Also as I mentioned before, soundstage is wide and airy and feels like a performance from semi-open headphones.

In more details, bass has a nice extension with a rather polite level of sub-bass rumble (comes out to play more only when called upon) and a fast mid-bass punch. Bass is well controlled, no sign of spillage into lower mids. Mids are very clean and detailed, but not peaky or harsh. They do sound a bit thin due to a leaner lower mids, but overall tonality is quite organic which shows itself extremely well in presentation of vocals. Treble is bright and crisp, but not too bright or harsh, more on a smooth side. Obviously, not even a sign of sibilance.

I know, some might ask, can it stack up to "real" hybrids? It definitely leaves my recently reviewed TTPOD T2 in the dust where Titan has a better extension of lower end, a much better retrieval of details in upper mids/treble, and wider soundstage. I also enjoyed it more than Altone 200, where Altone has a deeper bass impact and its higher frequencies are much brighter and harsher in comparison to Titan. It also has an advantage over some other dual hybrids like AX-35 and DGS100 where those had either too much bass bloat with not so clear low end or more veiled upper mids. In comparison to A83, Titan took a step back where it wasn't able to keep up with Fidue's deeper sub-bass, fuller body more natural mids, and slightly improved soundstage, though you have to keep in mind A83 is almost 3x the price of Titans.

In conclusion, I was very impressed with a performance and a design of DUNU Titan 1 headphones. Everything from a durable build quality to the amount of included accessories, from a premium packaging to a rather innovative shell design, and a single titanium driver tuning resulting in a sound signature with a balance of smooth analytical highs and clear lows – demonstrated a true thinking outside the box. The only downside remark I have for Titans was a poor sound isolation with nearly semi-open sound leakage which resulted in my wife kicking me off the couch because these headphones were "super loud" lol!!! Also, its hybrid shell design combining earbud and angled nozzle might not be everyone’s cup of tea if you require a deeper in-ear insertion. But if those limitations are not of you concern, DUNU Titan 1 is one fine in-ear headphones to consider!