Review - Dunu Titan S2

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TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - Dunu Titan S2

The Dunu Titan S2 have been sent to me by HifiGo in exchange for the publication of this review. HifiGo have not made any specific comments or requests and I will do my best to be as unbiased as humanly possible.

The Dunu Titan S2 can be found via HifiGo here: https://hifigo.com/products/dunu-titan-s2

As always, this is a non-affiliate link.

To avoid being repetitive in my reviews, you can find all the info about how I create the reviews, equipment used, how I receive the products and how to interpret my reviews by visiting: About my reviews

Intro…

Back in February 2022, I reviewed the Dunu Titan S, an IEM that I was quite fond of and has probably been one of the IEMs that I have most used since then. The reason for this is that it lives permanently hooked up to my Mac (via a Modi + Atom) where I do my video editing. I do listen to music also sometimes, while videos are rendering, and use them for quick multimedia consumption on that computer in general. It is not that the Titan S is my favourite IEM but it is clean, performs well and I sincerely enjoy using it.

Back then (almost 2 and a half years ago, which seems like decades in the IEM world), the Titan S was something that made a name for itself. The aesthetics were something different, the presentation and included accessories were very respectable, the performance was good (still is) and the price was more than fair. It basically turned itself into a reference point under 100€ at the time.

The Titan S2 comes in at a very reasonable price also, at just under 75€ (at the time of putting this review together) and promises to improve on the original, let’s see if it actually does or not.

Presentation…

After the Dunu sets I have reviewed since the Titan S, it is no longer a surprise that they come well packaged and with accessories that are very impressive for the price point. The Titan S2 is no exception.

The outer sleeve is pretty basic, just showing the brand and model on a red background, with basic specs on the back. However, opening the box reveals contents that will put a lot of other brands to shame.

We get the IEMs, the cable, the Dunu QMini cable with 2 interchangeable connectors (balanced and unbalanced), a cable clip, a semi-rigid storage/transport case and 14 sets of tips, in 4 different types and 3 different sizes.

There is absolutely nothing to complain about in this regard, the contents are just great.

Build and aesthetics…

The original Titan S presented an aesthetic that was different to anything before it and, as far as I am aware, anything since it. In the case of the S2, there is a slight resemblance to the original but not enough to immediately spot that they are the same model.

The shells are still completely made of metal, although, this time, the finish is mirrored rather than the brushed finish of the previous model. In the center of the IEMs, there is a round protruding part in bright red that looks like it should unscrew (it doesn’t, at least as far as I am aware). The overall shape stays the same but the S2 are slightly larger, at least in thickness.

The connections remain 2 pin and still sport a shape that is proprietary to the Titan. Not that other cables won’t work, they work fine, just that the stock cable covers the surrounding part to the connector also.

Speaking of stock cable, this is much improved over the original, in my opinion at least. As I said a moment ago, it includes the QMini cable that has interchangeable connectors that push in and then a ring screws down to hold them in place. The cable itself is a braided sleeve that runs as far as the splitter, where it then divides into to separate cables. I have to say that I didn’t expect to like this cable but I have found that I actually do, especially at my desk, as it never gets tangled and stays out of the way.

The storage case is the typical storage case included by Dunu in most of their models. While simple, it is very nice and is large enough to hold the IEMs and a dongle without issue.

In general, while I prefer the aesthetics of the original, especially as far as fingerprints are concerned, I really have no complaints about the Titan S2 in this regard either.

Sound…

All tracks mentioned are clickable links that allow you to open the reference track in the streaming service of your choice (YouTube, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, etc.)

In the sound section we also find that the Titan S2 differs quite a bit from the original. I find that the Titan S is a rather neutral set of IEMs that doesn’t excel at anything in particular but also doesn’t do anything wrong. Nothing is overly pushed or bloated, it is just a good, neutral, all rounder. Some may find it a little overly present in the upper mids but I personally like it.

The Titan S2 moves away from this signature and emphasizes the bass more while dropping those upper mids. Here is a graph of the Titan S2 Vs the original (with my usual preference curve for reference):

Starting off with the usual subbass test, “Chameleon” comes across as more focused in the midbass than actual subbass. There isn’t a lack of subbass, just the focus is shifted slightly higher than those low rumbling notes. There is enough subbass but the extra midbass can make this track seem not quite as clean and controlled as it should be.

When moving over to “No Sanctuary Here”, here we can once again notice that there is a warm touch to the midbass area. It is not excessive but it is north of my preferences and, together with the delayed rise in the upper mids, does make the percussive hits take a little more spotlight than I would like.

With the low end reverb on the guitar of “Crazy”, there is a bit of boomyness to it that can become a little too much for me. Not to the point of becoming fatiguing like on many other midbass focused sets, yet still enough for things to not seem as clear as I feel they could be.

I find the same with a lot of acoustic music, such as “Sugar (Acoustic)”, where things seem a little blurred in general. It is not that they are excessively warm, this set has much less of a warm focus than many other sets we have seen lately, it is just that they are a little “hazy” with that slightly boosted midbass and upper mids that arrive a little late to contract.

Speaking of upper mids, these are much less pronounced than on the original Titan S and have a bit of a delay in their climb, meaning that things are not quite as present and clear as I would like them to be. This is particularly noticeable in vocal tracks that have warm bodied acoustic guitars in the lower ranges. Other than those mentioned above, “Something Just Just Like This” would be another example of things being just a little “hazy” in their presentation.

The upper mid does extend more than on the originals, stretching over into the 5k mark, however, this doesn’t really fix the presence and also gives me hints of that 5k presence that I am personally very sensitive to. It is not a painful 5k, not like if it was an actual peak there, but it still brings a bit of that spicy flavour.

Details are ok, they are not the best in price range but they are not terrible either, they just get a little diluted by that general “haziness” that I have mentioned already. If focusing on detail, such as the intro to “All Your Love (Turned to Passion)”, then the details are there, they are just sort of glazed over.

Conclusion…

I can’t say that the Dunu Titan S2 are a bad set of IEMs but I also can’t say that, based on sound presentation, that they would be my pick over many other sets at the same price point. For me personally, I would rather listen to the Titan S than the Titan S2. Admittedly they are not going for the same sound signature, so it is not really a fair comparison, but where the originals became a sort of reference point for me at the time, I don’t see anything in the S2 that would put them in the same place.

There is no doubt that they have a great build quality, aesthetics that make them stand out and come with accessories that are second to none in their price range (and much higher), but the sound just doesn’t quite do it for me.

To my ears, it is as though they couldn’t decide if they wanted the neutrality of the original or the warm, laid back, signature that is so common at the moment. In the end, they are neither one nor the other.

As always, this doesn’t mean that you, and many others, will not like them. It just means that I am not a fan.