This & That:
Despite the name, it doesn’t really have much in common with the original Titan series (completely different design and beryllium- instead of titanium-coated dynamic driver).
Available in two different colours.
Nice unboxing experience.
Comes with three sets of differently sized silicone ear tips. One set consists of ear tips that are combined with ear hooks.
Nice looking but more boutique than functional carrying case, made of artificial leather.
High build quality and nice design; it barely resembles the “typical” DUNU Titan series design anymore, though.
I like the satin brown shell colour, silver accents and brushed faceplates with polished bezels (that triangular design, according to the website’s product page, is inspired by the balalaika).
Similarly to the carrying case/purse that came with my Campfire Audio Andromeda, I don’t like the Titan 6’s either. It’s also padded with artificial fur inside (which is more likely to attract dust and dirt and less easy to clean that silicone or plastic), and has also got those folding “wings” inside that ultimately only limit the interior space. Nope, I really don’t like it and would have preferred a more traditional, less boutique but more functional carrying case – for example one of the same style that came with most of the other Titan series in-ears (perhaps a bit taller for an easier fit of the in-ear).
Very nice cable with four twisted conductors – supple, soft and looks beautiful. Has got a chin-slider and DUNU’s typical silicone cable tie. I prefer it over the other Titan series in-ears’ cables.
Designed to be worn with the cable down, however, as with pretty much every in-ear of this kind, I insert the in-ear pieces normally and the route the cable over my ears anyway.
Sound:
Largest included red core silicone tips.
Low impedance sources.
Tonality:
Typically for in-ears with inner-facing front vent for the dynamic driver’s front cavity, the Titan 6 also suffers from changes in the lower bass (blocked vent = more lower bass) depending on how much/if that front vent is blocked. As it is almost impossible not to block this vent (it is blocked naturally by my ears, which is the case for most in-ears with a vent in this place), the lows have a strong emphasis on the sub- and midbass with a very warm root that also bleeds somewhat into the lower mids (if the vent remained free, there would be a moderate (ca. 4.5 dB) midbass and upper bass plus lower root lift with a roll-off towards the sub-bass, whereas the lows would extend flat into the sub-bass with an overall elevation of ca. 3 dB if both vents (dynamic driver’s front and rear cavity) were blocked).
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The bass starts to climb around 700 Hz, is already around 7.5 dB north of neutral around 200 Hz, shows an elevation of ca. 10.5 dB around 100 Hz, and reaches its highest quantity at around 30 Hz with an elevation of no less than a bit more than 12 dB without any roll-off below that.
Naturally due to such a strong bass, the root/fundamental range sounds very full (which can become quite annoying as it is boomy) in addition to the strong bass elevation, and also bleeds somewhat into the lower midrange and almost overshadows the mids.
Despite being somewhat too warm in the lower midrange caused by the very boomy fundamental range, the midrange and voices sound quite natural and are pretty correct, with a flat central midrange, only mildly dialled back presence range around 2 kHz, and again correct quantity around 3 kHz.
The treble is, apart from a moderate but neither peaky nor sharp brightness lift around 5 kHz, on the smoother side and gradually loses quantity above ca. 7.8 kHz (cymbals are reproduced fairly quietly and without much splash and absolutely no aggressiveness) aside from a less important rebound around 12 kHz, which makes the Titan 6 the least bright and most even (in the treble) sounding member of the Titan series in-ears.
General timbre isn’t 100% perfect, but overall natural and close.
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So, yeah, nicely done midrange and treble for most parts, but the root/fundamental range is very (/overly) full and boomy.
Resolution:
The Titan 6’s treble is on the softer side in terms of aggressiveness but still with decent detail retrieval and clean note separation.
The in-ear’s midrange is truly its positive highlight, as it is really nicely layered, detailed and reproduces fine details very well (high speech intelligibility). What’s really notable is however how “layered” it appears subjectively – really something that sounds very appealing (comparable to the Etymotic ER2SE’s and ER2XR’s layering, however those two carry this perceived sound attribute over their entire frequency range), and is a nice feature that the other Titan series in-ears don’t have.
When it comes to a bassy or bass-heavy in-ears bass performance, I demand a high quality, nimbleness and control – unfortunately, the Titan 6 clearly disappoints in this regard. While its lows aren’t really soft or slow sounding per se (they are a bit soft, though, but not to the extent of being overly soft), its bass quality isn’t very high; it just rumbles but doesn’t have all that much definition or details.
The control is actually quite decent, nonetheless the bass sounds fairly one-noted, not really layered and just doesn’t feel “right” (there are very bassy single- and multi-driver in-ears in comparable price ranges that perform better when it comes to technical bass delivery (e.g. AAW Nebula One and Nebula 2, Echobox Audio Finder X1, FiiO FH1, Shure SE215m+SPE, iBasso IT01 and IT01 v2); the Titan 6’s bass, on the other hand, falls rather into the category of my Sennheiser IE 80 (not really the softness, but the lack of details), Trinity Audio Engineering Delta V-II (the same as for my Sennheiser) or the MEE audio Pinnacle P1 (yup, in its bass character, the DUNU’s technical delivery sounds really similar to the latter that already left me quite disappointed in terms of bass quality (one-noted, lack of layering, not much definition or details despite not sounding really soft or slow per se))).
To me, it sounds as if the driver’s mass were too high (or over-damped), resulting in the attack not appearing to be the fastest, which leads to a lack of differentiation and definition, and a blunt, dull appearing bass delivery. This works really well with slower bass lines (nice slam and lingering of the lower notes) but not so well with faster ones at all, and sounds really bad with tracks that have fast, layered bass lines.
Thinking this may be a result of the driver not being able to handle the strong elevation is unfortunately a wrong assumption, as even when both vents are blocked (which leads to the bass becoming flat and only mildly lifted), the bass quality is still not great and remains about the same.
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Nope. I may have liked this driver in a hybrid setup acting as a pure midrange driver, but I simply cannot stand the Titan 6’s low quality bass delivery that remains low regardless of whether the bass is strongly elevated (front vent naturally blocked) or flat (both vents blocked on purpose) – it’s just a fairly one-noted rumble without much layering, details or differentiation.
Soundstage:
The soundstage is pretty wide and clearly leaves the base of my head. There is only little spatial depth, though, which makes the soundstage appear fairly flat and stretched to the sides.
Instrument separation is pretty accurate; there’s still a bit of blur but the stages doesn’t collapse. As a result, the separation and instrument placement are decent for a dynamic driver in-ear in this price range.
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Compared to:
Shure SE215m+SPE:
The DUNU’s cable is clearly superior to my Shure’s. While its carrying case/pouch looks more boutique and is stiffer, I still prefer my Shure’s as it’s much more convenient.
In terms of fit, my Shure is superior.
The bass tuning is highly comparable and almost identical – the small differences are that the DUNU has got a very slightly sub- and upper bass elevation while the root and fundamental range are pretty much similar, whereas my Shure’s lower mids are minimally warmer.
The DUNU portrays voices a bit closer while the Shure is less relaxed in the presence range.
In the highs, the Shure has got the darker, more downwards-sloping tilt.
Despite being tuned almost identically in the bass, the Shure sounds less boomy and full in the root/fundamental range since its lows appear nimbler, linger less and seem much less one-noted wherefore its warmth and bass bleed feel much less pervasive or obtrusive. The DUNU’s bass is a bit softer, less controlled and lingers longer whereas the Shure’s lows are cleaner and tighter.
The DUNU sounds more layered in the mids and also a bit cleaner. The real midrange details are actually quite comparable – ultimately, the Shure is somewhat ahead in the lower midrange whereas the DUNU is in the upper mids despite having less quantity in the presence range than the Shure. Still, due to the better layering and sounding a bit more cleaner in the midrange, I see the DUNU as slightly ahead.
In terms of treble details, the DUNU seems to be somewhat ahead.
The soundstage presentation of both in-ears is highly comparable – in the End, the only real difference in terms of soundstage size, is that the Shure’s appears to be slightly wider whereas the DUNU portrays just slightly more width; in terms of precision, the DUNU’s stage offers the slightly more precise instrument placement in comparison.
DUNU Titan 5:
I prefer the Titan 5’s shell design, perceived value and carrying case (although it could be just a bit taller on the inside) while the Titan 6’s cable is superior.
The Titan 6 is tuned bassier and much warmer in the root.
The Titan 5’s midrange is brighter – the Titan 6 sounds more natural here in comparison. The Titan 5’s mids sound more distant whereas the Titan 6’s are more intimate, closer in the mix.
The Titan 6 is clearly more even and much more natural sounding in the treble (the Titan 5 sounds somewhat metallic and much brighter in the upper middle and lower upper high compared to the Titan 6), but has got somewhat subdued cymbals. The treble timbre is more natural, even and realistic on the Titan 6.
The Titan 5’s bass is tighter, nimbler and better layered as well as controlled whereas the Titan 6’s lingers longer and seems rather one-noted.
The Titan 6’s mids are more layered and slightly more detailed.
The real treble details are comparable; the Titan 5 renders the contours sharper and has a less soft character, but that’s mainly due to the different tuning. However, due to the higher treble linearity, the Titan 6 apears more realistic in the highs.
In terms of soundstage size, the Titan 5’s is larger and also features the slightly more precise imaging. What’s especially audible, though, is that the Titan 5 offers far more spatial depth compared to the Titan 6’s wide but flat sounding imaginary soundstage.
Conclusion:
Aside from not really being a true addition to the Titan series line, DUNU’s Titan 6 features a generally nice timbre plus well-done midrange as well as treble tuning along with nice midrange layering, however, what ruins all of this, is that the sound is unfortunately swamped by an overpowering bass and overly boomy fundamental range with a driver that sounds like its mass were too high wherefore the lows linger too long, don’t appear nimble (despite not being slow or soft per se), lack layering and control, and sound quite one-noted.