Symphonium Audio Titan

Thanks to Audiogeek and Sandeep for providing the Symphonium Titan on loan. The effort that goes into the tours and coordination with so many brands and Audiophiles is enormous. Hope this platform reaches more people so they get to try and experience audio at a different level. Sharing my thoughts about the Titan in this write up.

Build and Accessories

Symphonium Audio has their trademark shell design with solid metal build. The smaller Crimson shell with carbon faceplate makes a comeback in Titan which is now in a blue accent. The Neptune cable in blue matches the IEM and has good ergonomics. The metal puck case, tips and overall package is excellent for the $1000 price range. Symphonium has had great build and design for a considerable time, interested to see their evolution over time.


Sound Impressions

The Titan is a hybrid IEM with a big bass provided by a Dynamic driver and BA for rest of the sound. L shaped or slight U shaped sound profile with sub bass boost is what I feel about the Titan. I used Hiby RS6 to drive the Titan, it sounded better when used with additional amplification with xduoo pro amp.


Sub bass has good rumble and extends well. Mid bass is bit pushed back which reduces the bloat. Excellent textured bass and it slams. Lower mids needs a bit more heft personally though I feel it is Symphonium house tuning from trying the Crimson before. It provides a sense of clarity in the bass to mids transition. Upper mids sound with good presence and there’s no shout or exaggeration. Treble is extended but a bit less exciting as there’s a big bass shelf it needs to counter. Still it’s well refined and no harshness anywhere. It’s a smooth performer.



Technicalities are good with decent separation even on busy tracks and enough space for various instruments. The overall stage feels intimate. The resolution is good for the price range though it’s not a detail oriented IEM.

Conclusion

The Titan is Symphonium’s answer to DD lovers who wanted a great Bass first IEM from their lineup. It’s a good choice for Slamming bass at the same time a well balanced sound. Smooth treble will be non fatiguing over long listening sessions. Maybe there’s a lack of excitement in the treble but there’s other offerings like Helios and Crimson for those after that kind of sound.

Disclaimer:
I'd like to thank AudioGeek for including me in this tour of the Symphonium Audio Titan IEM. I was given a chance to audition the Titan and share my honest feedback about the IEM. The impressions shared in this write-up are based on my usage of the IEM over a couple of days.

Introduction:
The Titan is a 999 USD IEM from Symphonium Audio with a Hybrid BA + Custom Tuned DD featuring Symphonium Audio's CORE and PHAT technologies and a TrueX 3-way crossover. As per Symphonium Audio, Titan is their answer to the question, "What makes a Great Basshead IEM?"



In terms of looks, size, and shape, the Titan is similar to the Crimson, the only difference being perhaps that the Titan has a blue frame on the faceplate while the Crimson has a red frame. The earpieces have a simple design that's aesthetically pleasing. Just like the Crimson, the Titan too has earpieces made of anodised AL6061 aluminium shells with forged carbon composite faceplates.

The IEM I received was unboxed and came with a metal carry case, cleaning cloth, a soft pouch for the earpieces, 4.4mm balanced cable, and the earpieces. Hence, I will not be able to comment on the unboxing experience or the accessories that come with the retail unit.

The cable this time around is a 4 wire 25.5 AWG Type 2 Litz Pure OCC Copper Cable from Altalune Audio christened Neptune. The cable comes with interchangeable 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm BAL plugs from OEAudio. Personally, I felt the cable looked quite delicate, and unless it is Kevlar reinforced or something (which it isn't), it doesn't inspire confidence in terms of longevity. Sonically, however, the cable complements the Titan quite well.



The Titan is somewhat hard to drive, and just like the Crimson, it opens up significantly when amped. I tried the Titan with the stock cable, Azla SednaEarfit Vivid eartips, and FiiO M23 (on high gain). I also tried it with Sony WM1AM2 and Aroma A100TB, but I felt the Titan sounded more lively with the Khadas Tone 2 Pro when compared to the FiiO M23 and Sony WM1AM2. Maybe it just pairs better with ESS.

Sound:
The bass response is easily the highlight of the Titan. The subbass is elevated to create a dark background upon which it delivers powerful slams. The Midbass too is elevated but is super clean. It doesn't sound muddy, nor does it interfere with the mids. I guess the pressure relief/venting and overall design of the earpieces (CORE tech) does a good job at seperating the bass from the mids.

Titan's mids, while natural for the most part, sound slightly lean in comparison. Vocals sound natural, but nuance is missing. This is perhaps because of the elevated subbass that the detail in the mids, especially vocals, is inaudible/missing. The emotion in the artist's voice is missing. Not that the vocals are bad, they just lack nuance.



The treble on Titan is smooth. Given the bass heavy signature, there's a fairly good amount of sparkle. Those who like warmer-sounding IEMs will take a liking to Titan, as the treble is pretty tame and fairly well done.

The soundstage is intimate but has a good sense of depth to it. The imaging is very good, and separation too is excellent. The detail retrieval is very good. Overall, technically, the IEMs performance is on par with IEMs in this price range.



Conclusion:
Titan has explosive bass with very good detail. The stage is intimate but has good depth and excellent separation and imaging. The elevated bass comes at the cost of nuance in the vocals.

Battle of Basshead Midfi: Fatfreq Scarlett Mini vs Maestro Mini vs Symphonium Titan

Big thanks to @Damz87 for organising Fatfreq Scarlett Mini tour and @tfaduh for loaning his personal Fatfreq Maestro Mini as part of the same tour. Symphonium Titan is my personal iem.
Scarlett has the upgraded cable, Maestro Mini has 3rd party cable from XinHS (Aliexpress) and Titan uses stock cable.


Fatfreq Scarlett Mini

To say Scarlett is a bassy IEM is a gross understatement. It’s simply a bass monster. I’m not sure why it is called Scarlett “Mini”; it definitely does not refer to the bass. The tuning is L-shaped, with the deepest and most amount of bass among all IEMs that I have tried and you can buy. Scarlett is capable of slamming bass very deep, weighty, and rumbling with natural decay. Despite its quantity, the bass is well controlled with no distortion I could notice, not bloated, and has very good texture. Unfortunately, that’s all Scarlett delivers.

The mids are recessed and hollow, with vocals feeling quite detached from the music. The female vocals simply sound unnatural. The treble also suffers from roll-off, with not enough sparkle. Indeed, Scarlett is a dark IEM that reminds me of my old Audeze LCD-X. In terms of space, the music sounds as if it comes from a far distance and from one point. This makes imaging very compressed and inaccurate.


Fatfreq Maestro Mini

Maestro Mini is a more balanced IEM, although it would still be categorized as a bassy IEM. The tuning is W-shaped and quite energetic. It has deep subbass and a full midbass punch, although to a lesser degree compared to Scarlett. Like Scarlett, the bass has good natural decay, albeit faster. The lower mids are lifted to add volume and warmth to the vocals. The lower treble is capable of adding sparkle to the music. In most tracks, the treble is well controlled with no sibilance, although some people may find it too energetic. Maestro Mini provides a good sense of space in the music. It has a wide soundstage but is relatively flat.

Symphonium Titan

Titan is also more balanced than Scarlett Mini. The tuning is U-shaped. The bass focuses more on subbass instead of midbass. Therefore, despite how deep the bass hits, it feels like it lacks weight. The vocals sound clean but recessed and lean. The treble is quite smooth and non-peaky, with just enough sparkle. Titan has an intimate soundstage where you feel surrounded by music.

Comparison:


Price

• Fatfreq Scarlett Mini: USD 639 (or 798 with upgraded cable)
• Fatfreq Maestro Mini: USD 479 (or 599 with upgraded cable)
• Symphonium Titan: USD 999

As a side note, it is interesting that Fatfreq’s upgraded cable and connector seem to be identical to Titan’s stock cable and connector. See below.


Bass
All three IEMs—Scarlett, Maestro Mini, and Titan—have outstanding bass quality but with different presentations. Scarlett has the deepest, most rumbling subbass, followed by Titan and Maestro Mini. In terms of midbass, Scarlett again has the heaviest and weightiest punch, followed by Maestro and then Titan. These IEMs have natural bass decay, with Scarlett seeming to have the longest decay, followed by Maestro Mini and then Titan.

• Subbass: Scarlett > Titan > Maestro Mini
• Midbass: Scarlett > Maestro Mini > Titan

Midrange
Maestro Mini has enjoyable, thick, warm vocals. It has good lower mids and upper mids, making it great for both male and female vocals. Titan's vocals are more neutral, leaner, drier, and lack richness in comparison. In my opinion, Scarlett's mids are too recessed and unfortunately muffled. It is hard to recommend Scarlett if you care about vocals.

• Midrange: Maestro Mini > Titan >> Scarlett

Treble
Maestro Mini has the most treble energy. The treble can be quite coarse and grainy. In several tracks, it can be peaky and piercing. Luckily, this does not happen often. At the extreme opposite, Scarlett almost has no treble energy. In my opinion, Titan has the best treble among these three. It strikes an excellent balance: it has enough sparkle but still sounds smooth.

• Treble: Titan > Maestro Mini >> Scarlett

Space and Imaging
In terms of soundstage, Titan is the most intimate, followed by Maestro Mini and Scarlett. Titan and Maestro Mini have very good imaging, while Scarlett's imaging is quite poor. With Scarlett, the music seems to come from a very distant singular point, making instrument positioning a mess.

• Imaging: Titan = Maestro >> Scarlett

Detail Retrieval
In terms of technicality, all three IEMs are roughly on a similar level. Titan has slightly better instrument separation, followed by Scarlett and lastly Maestro Mini.

• Detail: Titan > Scarlett > Maestro Mini (difference is minimal)

Conclusion
To sum up, each of the Scarlett Mini, Maestro Mini, and Symphonium Titan have their own appeal. Scarlett Mini is for bassheads who only care about bass and want the deepest and biggest bass among all IEMs in the market—and don’t really care about mids or treble. Maestro Mini is for those who enjoy an energetic IEM with punchy midbass and warm vocals—at the expense of slightly more elevated treble. Titan would be suitable for those who love rumbling subbass, a more neutral sound, and smoother treble—at the expense of a lack of vocal warmth.