Dunu TITAN 5

General Information

Already awarded the Hi-Res AUDIO certification, Titan 5 utilizes a 13mm diameter single dynamic transducer with titanium diaphragm for its excellent transient and clarity as well as ability to handle high input power. Bass has good quantity and deep reach. Mid-range has clean and sweet vocal. High-range is smooth and detailed. By combining an analytical presentation, wide soundstage, accurate imaging, and well defined layering, Titan 5’s lifelike performance will make music much more enjoyable.

SPECS:
Driver: 13mm titanium coated dynamic
Frequency Response: 10Hz-40KHz
SPL: 108±2dB
Impedance: 32Ω
Plug Size: 3.5mm Gold-plated L-plug
Cord Length: 1.2m
Weight: 24g

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Latest reviews

Hifihedgehog

500+ Head-Fier

5.00 star(s)
May 17, 2016

Pros: Natural and fast moving midrange; smooth and articulate across the spectrum; rock solid build quality

Cons: Lacks the last bit of upper treble definition; very slight upper bass bleed into the lower midrange

DUNU is an inspiration in the world of earphones, a company having come out of relative obscurity and gained a name for itself with its value-packed, trend-setting IEMs, notably the TITAN 1, that compete with products costing hundreds more from manufacturers with decades in the industry. DUNU's product line is the sort of David and Goliath story that is the win-win that we all long for because it drives competition and lowers pricing, it forces the old guard to stay on their toes and up their game, and it makes for sweeping reviews and active discussions.

But between every battle, there are skirmishes, for every tock on the clock, there is a tick, and following every major breakthrough, there are subtle improvements. Along these lines, DUNU's TITAN 5 is a minor collection of tweaks to an already phenomenal product, the TITAN 1, making for an instant easily recommendable successor.

For starters, the same build quality you knew and loved about the original TITAN 1 is here to stay with added improvements that in no way detract from former glory. The same polished and utilitarian, rigid and rugged stainless steel housings now feature detactable cables making cable replacements and upgrades a snap.

The TITAN 5's spectular sound quality, also the hallmark of the TITAN 1, is both an upgrade and yet also a side-grade. While its familar-and-yet-improved sound eliminates and straightens out the very slight aberrations and edginess of its predecessor, the TITAN 5's sound signature is warmer and more musical. This is the IEM equivalent of the HD 650 coming from the HD 600.

In particular, you will notice smoother, less forced transitions from bass to midrange to treble resulting in a more natural, unified sound as a whole. Dynamics and detail stand out because, for example, the heft of a bassdrum kick is followed by its hum and rattle in its drum casing without jarring distortion and undue emphasis.

If I were to nitpick, the upper bass does bleed ever so slightly into the midrange. In head-to-head comparisons, even my Denon AH-D5000 that has a penchant for bass impact is less obtrusive--but the Denons are not bass monsters as some reviewers historically miscategorized them. The uppermost treble could do with a teeny bit extra shine and sparkle to make the projection of vocals more airy and the outlines of instruments more discernible. But the overall sound is so close to perfect that there is still excellent bite and definition for everyone but the most sizzle thirsting of treble heads and detail mongers.

Make no mistake: the TITAN 5 has not taken a step back but is TITANIC compared to the likes of competing products from Etymotic, Shure, and Ultimate Ear and many others. The TITAN 5 delivers the TITAN 1's performance and craftsmanship with much appreciated tweaks from top to bottom. If you are looking for the new king of the TITAN line, the TITAN 5 now bears the price-performance crown, punching well above its weight better than ever.

Thank you to DUNU, especially Vivian, for the opportunity to review this unrivaled product. Setbacks, including health and family struggles, tried my patience and likely yours as I worked to produce this review. I look forward to the bright and promising future of IEMs thanks to DUNU's untiring pursuit of immersive audio from fetching earphones.

Reactions: archdawg and stalepie

mark2410

mark2410's Reviews!
Sponsor: HiFiMAN

4.00 star(s)
May 2, 2016

Pros: First rate sound quality. Staging and scale are epic.

Cons: Negligible Isolation. That lower treble peak. Its siblings exist.

DUNU TITAN 5 Quick Review

Thanks to DUNU for the sample.

Full review here http://www.head-fi.org/t/806906/dunu-titan-5-review-by-mark2410

Brief: DUNU have triplets.

Price: £95 or US$140

Specification: Driver: 13 mm Titianium drivers, Frequency Response: 10 Hz- 40KHz, Sound pressure level: 108 +/- 2 dB, Impedance: 32 Ohm, Plug Size: 3.5 gold-plated plug, Cord length: 1.2m

Accessories: 1 X case, 1 X 3.5mm to 6.3mm audio adapter, 1 X shirt clip, 6 pairs of silicon tips

Build Quality: Very nice. The buds are CNC’ed metal, the cable is removable from the beds and thusly replaceable if you kill it. The cable feels alright, very light and flexible and the jack is metal as usual. It’s a rather nice package.

Isolation: Well it’s a very open IEM, hence the isolation it offers is very slight. If you want isolation then this isn’t for you.

Comfort/Fit: For me great. I mostly wore them up which worked fine by swapping right and left. With that done I was happy to wear all day. Worn down I found their shallow fit made them regularly tugging and being distracting.

Aesthetics: They look pretty good I think. Nothing amazing but still quite nice.

Sound: Well the meat of thing, they sound pretty damn fantastic. Seriously they are wow for an IEM, the air, the scale, the airiness, the detail levels are all crazy. No question the TITAN 5 is amazingly good. The problem is its slight V shape sound isn’t really the best suited to their abilities and thus I constantly think the 1 and 3 are what I’d go with. It’s a shame really for the 5 as they are great. The bass is a big full bodied affair, so clean and sculpted yet willing to rise up at a moment’s notice. The treble is a little less well behaved. When pushed its upper mid / lower treble range want to get a little bit excitable and “assertive.” It will leap out and scream at you a little. The mids, clean, open and highly detailed. They really are a breathy wonder in their own right, they really are. Trouble is I’d pick the 1 or the 3 over the 5 in pretty much every situation I can think of. The range shows the driver which I’m sure they all share is freakishly good but the tuning here, these want to be proper audiophile IEM’s and the tuning I can’t see appealing to hard core audiophiles. On the other side I can’t see it being as dramatically V shaped as might make it more popular with the masses. It feels a little bit like its sitting in a room by itself, not quite one thing nor the other.

So the Titan 5 is a great IEM, it’s just its siblings are every bit as capable but with preferable sound signatures.

Value: Excellent. The sound quality and capabilities for their price you get a bargain just like everything with DUNU stamped on it has been.

Pro’s: First rate sound quality. Staging and scale are epic.

Con’s: Negligible Isolation. That lower treble peak. Its siblings exist.

Reactions: jinxy245

BlackUser

New Head-Fier

4.00 star(s)
Apr 24, 2016

Pros: Great bass impact, fun and dynamic with good detail, good build quality and accessories

Cons: Lower treble may be too sharp for some people and songs, slighty veiled on lower midrange, heavy earpiece

Introduction

This is my 4th experience with Dunu product. My 1st experience was Dunu Trident,which has excellent value for money in entry level market and I was really impressed. Then I tried Dunu hybrid driver, DN-1000, which surprisingly has enjoyable good sound and has no coherence issue (at that time, I could't enjoy some hybrid IEM because in my ears those dynamic and BA sound doesn't "blend" together. And the last I tried Fiio EX1, which has very spacious and airy soundstage, but has "unique" sound that maybe can't be accepted by some people.

Now Dunu Titan 5 is in my ears, and I will share my honest impression about it. Retail price when I write this review (April 2016) is about USD $139

Review

Technical Specification
Model no : TITAN 5
Type : dyamic 13mm driver
F-response : 10Hz-40kHz
SPL : 108dB
Impedance : 32 Ohm
Plug : 3.5mm gold plated (L-shaped)
Cord length : 1.2m
Weight : 24g

Retail Package
Titan 5 comes with big black box that gives you premium and expensive feeling - as always from Dunu product. I really like how Dunu designed the front side of the box : simple picture of Titan 5 with good combination of black and silver colour plus Hi-Res audio logo on top corner, leaving "premium serious audiophile product" impression to anyone who buy it.

The box has 2 opening door mechanism before you can find Titan 5 lies inside the box. There are some description about Titan 5 and it's technology on each door (once again : leaving "premium serious audiophile product" impression to anyone who buy it)

What is inside the box? Here it is :
1. Dunu Titan 5 IEM
2. Silicon ear stabilizer
3. Plug converter 3,5mm to 6,3mm
4. two set of silicone eartips : Dunu eartips and Sony eartips (S/M/L each)
5. Hard plastic carrying case
6. Warranty card

Yes, Dunu gives you more than enough accessories inside. There are two type of silicone eartips, but in my opinion it will be better if Dunu give more than S/M/L size of silicone tips or add foam tips rather than gives two set of different silicone eartips with same size. Silicone earstabilizer really does it's job, since Titan 5 earpiece is slighty heavy, it help Titan 5 to sit comfortably in your ear. The carrying case has good black elegant design, with doff finishing on the side, matt rubber on the bottom, and glossy fingerprint magnet on the top. Nothing wrong with design and quality of this carrying case, but the only complain from me is the size. You can put Titan 5 inside the case, but there may be no space for spare eartips or other accessories.

Design, Build Quality, and Comfort
Titan 5 comes with half in-ear design. Shell made by polished shining metal that gives not only strong, robust, and premium feeling, but also slighty heavy and fingerprint/oil traces magnet.Build quality is very good, there's no sharp metal edge or inconsistent gap between shell panel.

Look how good Titan 5's build quality is. Even in nozzle small detail, there's no sharp metal edge, all the things are very tidy and neat. There's only one vent on each earpiece (Fiio EX1 has more than 5 vents). Soundstage will less spacious and airy?

Titan 5 comes with detachable cable with MMCX cable. Connector is very rigid, slighty hard to remove the cable, but the positive things is this connector will be durable. Unfortunately, this MMCX pin slighty different from Shure's, so aftermarket cable availability will be limited. Maybe Dunu can sell upgraded cable or cable with mic for Titan 5.

Talks about cable, Titan 5 cable has small microphonic cable and will not leaves tangled traces. I like all features on it's cable : shirt clip + chin slider + build in rubber cable strap. I hope all consumer IEM in the world has those features. L-shape 3,5mm plug has slim profile, so if you use extra case for your DAP or smartphone, Titan 5 still can plug properly to female jack.

How about comfort and isolation? I haven't comfort issue with Titan 5. It can easily fit and get proper isolation in my ear using Sony tips. Earpieces feels slight heavy and sometimes easily get off from my ears when I actively moved. But don't worry, earstabilizer really helps solve that problem.
We can't expect very good isolation from half in-ear design, so does Titan 5. Isolation not so good, if I use it in public place like train station, noise from outside interference my music, but offcourse not as bad as earbuds or openback headphone.

Sound
My primary setup : Lenovo notebook (Foobar2000 player, ASIO out) + centrance dacport dac/amp
Other setup : AK240, Xduoo X2, Samsung Galaxy S4
I use Sony Hybrid eartips without earstabilizer for this review

Titan 5 main signature is V-shaped, has great bass impact while maintain balance with mid and crispy high.

Bass

Titan 5 gives good amount off bass, just one strip below basshead level. Bass impact is great, it has good punch, deep, dynamic, and hard-hitting while maintain clean and rarely bleed to other freq. Bass has good extension, I don't feel low freq is roll off early. Sub bass amount is decent, I can hear subbass rumble in some EDM tracks. Bass speed is good, but isn't tight enough for double pedal drum like in metal tracks. As long as not for fast double pedal tracks, I think mostly people will like deep, punchy, dynamic, and impactfull bass offered by Titan 5.

Midrange

V-shaped soundsig makes Titan 5's midrange slighty recessed. Just "slighty", midrange doesn't feel far back or lacking. I like midrange timbre on Titan 5, feels clean and natural with good weight. Midrange also feels smooth, there's no fatiguing peak on uppermid. But sometimes I feel lower midrange is slighty veiled, makes some instrument and male vocal not as open as I like and usually hear. Different from male vocal, female vocal on Titan 5 feels open and has enough sweetness, and sibilance always keep in safe level.

High

Titan 5 has good crispy treble with good extension, but not as good as fiio EX1. Cymbal crashes has good timbre, detail, and texture with "right" short decay, really like this presentation. But unfortunatelly, sometimes I annoyed with sharp lower treble. On some tracks, it makes fatigue, and I have to lower the volume level because of this.

Soundstage

Titan 5 has above average soundstage, and has nice balance between width, height, and depth which gives good 3D feeling. Instrument placement and layer also good enough for this price. Compared to Fiio EX1, Titan 5 has better depth but not as spacious and airy as EX1.

Separation and Detail

Separation is good, I can clearly distinguish sound of each instrument, although not as good as some BA on it's price range. Detail level is also on good level, but doesn't make overall sound become clinical. I can enjoy combination of fun dynamic sound with good detail and separation offered by Titan 5 for hours.

Conclusion

Dunu Titan 5 gives you fun and dynamic sound while maintain good level of separation and detail. It less "unique" and more "mainstream sound" compared to EX1, but also makes Titan 5 more easy to listen and accepted by many people. Sharp lower treble may be dealbreaker for some people, but offcourse it depends on your songs and setup.

USD $139 for Titan 5? In my opinion, it's price to performance ratio isn't stunning, but still in good level. If you looking for fun and dynamic IEM and also want good detail, Titan 5 must be in your consideration list.

----edited for fixing pictures-----

Reactions: archdawg

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