[Brooko]

 
Is there a way to tame them with different bore width tips? 

 
Personally I don't find a need to "tame them" 

 - but I'll check for you when I get home tonight (in around 8-9 hours)

 

[H20Fidelity]

Personally I don't find a need to "tame them"   - but I'll check for you when I get home tonight (in around 8-9 hours)

No taming required here, just grab onto the reins and ride that pony.

 

[Hisham]

Does Titan 1 have similar sound signature as the kc06a? as in the brightness and clarity? If its an upgrade to kc06a, I'll definitely grab one.

 

[waynes world]

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 
 
 

 

 
Ok, she's a freak. But in a freakishly good way

 
 
Edit: spotifying as we type...

 

[Brooko]

@RedJohn456 @earfonia + others
 
OK - this is a mix of subjective and objective so bear with me.
 
I got home for lunch, fired up the home rig, used the NFB-15, a tone generator, grabbed the Titans, and jury rigged a simple set-up using an iPhone SPL meter and some glad-wrap (isolation + holding the IEMs in the same place each time).  Note that I can't guarantee I got placement perfect + the iPhone does OK as an SPL meter - but it isn't an ideal test set-up.
 
Here's the average SPL using 3 different tips - Comply T400 with a medium bore, very narrow silicone bore (longish tube), and wider shorter bore silicone.
 

Tone Used ​	Comply  ​	Narrow  ​	Wide     ​
17 kHz​	82 dB​	83  dB​	81  dB​
15 kHz​	84  dB​	86  dB​	86  dB​
13 kHz​	83  dB​	85  dB​	85  dB​
12 kHz​	84  dB​	86  dB​	86  dB​
11 kHz​	86  dB​	87  dB​	88  dB​
10 kHz​	88  dB​	86  dB​	86  dB​
9 kHz​	90  dB​	87  dB​	88  dB​
8 kHz​	88  dB​	88  dB​	89  dB​
7 kHz​	90  dB​	88  dB​	90  dB​
6 kHz​	91  dB​	90  dB​	91  dB​
5 kHz​	91  dB​	90  dB​	91  dB​
4 kHz​	92  dB​	91  dB​	92  dB​
3 kHz​	91  dB​	89  dB​	90  dB​
2 kHz​	86  dB​	85  dB​	85  dB​
1 kHz​	75  dB​	71  dB​	76  dB​

 
Sorry - didn't have time to test the lower frequencies and my equipment does tend to struggle below about 600 Hz anyway.
 
Female vocal sibilance tends to occur around 6-9 kHZ which would suggest the Comply are probably worst, and narrow bore best.  But - I also queued the brightest album I have (Beth Hart - Live at Paradiso). Her vocals are great but the recording can defintiely exhibit some sibilance.
 
Subjectively, the Comply were best for me, narrow tips were worst.
 
The difference is that the comply gave me best seal, and also best bass response.  The narrow bore probably had worst seal - and you can already see the bigger drop around 1kHz (above) so I'm wondering whether this is more a comparative thing.  If you're getting more bass, and lower mid-range, then that may ameliorate the vocal sibilance - in which case, the Comply are a winner for me.
 
Anyway - I think you're going to find anatomy is going to play a bit of a part in any recommendation on tips - and so my answer would be ...... use the tips which give you the best seal and most comfort.

 

[Spyro]

I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with the Titan 1.  Talk about a great bang for buck IEM?   It sounded more in the $300-400 range type of sound.  The clarity is fantastic.  I was going back and forth a bit with the IE800.  The Titan is certainly more mid bass focused but the overall amount of bass is very similar between the two.  The IE800 sounds more studio, more polished where the Titan is a rawer, "live" type of sound.  I do NOT find the treble any more fatiguing than IE800 either.  Both have pleasantly large soundstages.
 
The package, assortment of tips, overall feel of quality and attention to detail is VERY impressive with the Titan.  When you look at them you are not sure how they are gonna fit.  Love the red and blue differentiation between left and right.  Once seated in the ears they are extremely comfortable and secure.  Much more than the Senns.  Heck, they even provided a shirt clip!
 
I don't have a ton of experience in the "under $150" selection of IEM's but I usually recommend the HF5.  But I'd have to say the Titan 1 has a more robust sound and a  much larger soundstage while still providing the extreme amount of detail one would expect from the HF5.  Very highly recommended given the price.

 

[earfonia]

 
Good stuff! (although those triple flange tips don't look very comfy - I'm not really into deep insertion. Well, you know what I mean lol)

 

 
Bram - as per Wayne's email below - unfortunately the triple flange tend to be extremely painful to me.  I also tried double flanges, but for me personally the Comply 400 series give me the best combination of fit and sound.  They do attenuate a tiny bit of the brightness - and while there is still a little sibilance with some vocalists, it is low enough that it doesn't bother me. To be honest, unless sibilance is really piercing and obvious, I've never been really bothered by it.  Could be a combination of my age, and the permanent low level tinnitus I have.
 

 
That's right, unfortunately triple flanges is not for everyone. I had similar experience with Brainwavz S5, where I found that it is best using the triple flanges.
 
This morning I tried the Titan 1 with ifi stacks:
ifi micro iDSD >> ifi micro iTube >> ifi micro iCan >> Titan 1
ifi micro iDSD settings: Filter: Bit-Perfect, Power mode: Normal, Line Out: Direct.
ifi micro iTube set as buffer (0 dB).
ifi micro iCan set at 0 dB gain.
 
The sibilant is not as noticeable as like when playing using my DX90. Probably the iTube tame down the treble nicely.
 
You're right Paul, Comply S400 and T500 foam tips do work well for Titan 1, and reduce the treble peak (sibilant). The T500 sounds a bit better, fuller midrange than S400. S400 sounds a bit dry and thin on vocal, but not much of a difference. Both T500 and S400 are good choices when we have sibilant problem with the stock eartips. But the triple flanges works best for Titan 1, best tonal balance, better bass and midrange than the foam tips, with smooth and extended treble without sibilant. Triple flanges gives a better 'immersive' feeling than foam tips, better soundstage depth, and clearer instrument separation. Probably due to better sound isolation.
 
Anyway, at this point, I found the best eartips for Titan 1, top to down starting from the best sounding eartips:
 
1. Triple flanges
2. Comply T500
3. Comply S400
4. Red bore stock eartips
 
With the triple flanges, the Titan 1 is really amazing! Organic sounding, with very good and balanced tonal balance. No more boosted bass, no more ear scratching treble peak. Bass sounds tight and powerful, extends low, but never out of proportion. Mids is full and lush, treble has good sparkle smooth and extended. This is very good! 

 

[earfonia]

  @RedJohn456 @earfonia + others
 
OK - this is a mix of subjective and objective so bear with me.
 
I got home for lunch, fired up the home rig, used the NFB-15, a tone generator, grabbed the Titans, and jury rigged a simple set-up using an iPhone SPL meter and some glad-wrap (isolation + holding the IEMs in the same place each time).  Note that I can't guarantee I got placement perfect + the iPhone does OK as an SPL meter - but it isn't an ideal test set-up.
 
Here's the average SPL using 3 different tips - Comply T400 with a medium bore, very narrow silicone bore (longish tube), and wider shorter bore silicone.
 

Tone Used ​	Comply  ​	Narrow  ​	Wide     ​
17 kHz​	82 dB​	83  dB​	81  dB​
15 kHz​	84  dB​	86  dB​	86  dB​
13 kHz​	83  dB​	85  dB​	85  dB​
12 kHz​	84  dB​	86  dB​	86  dB​
11 kHz​	86  dB​	87  dB​	88  dB​
10 kHz​	88  dB​	86  dB​	86  dB​
9 kHz​	90  dB​	87  dB​	88  dB​
8 kHz​	88  dB​	88  dB​	89  dB​
7 kHz​	90  dB​	88  dB​	90  dB​
6 kHz​	91  dB​	90  dB​	91  dB​
5 kHz​	91  dB​	90  dB​	91  dB​
4 kHz​	92  dB​	91  dB​	92  dB​
3 kHz​	91  dB​	89  dB​	90  dB​
2 kHz​	86  dB​	85  dB​	85  dB​
1 kHz​	75  dB​	71  dB​	76  dB​

 
Sorry - didn't have time to test the lower frequencies and my equipment does tend to struggle below about 600 Hz anyway.
 
Female vocal sibilance tends to occur around 6-9 kHZ which would suggest the Comply are probably worst, and narrow bore best.  But - I also queued the brightest album I have (Beth Hart - Live at Paradiso). Her vocals are great but the recording can defintiely exhibit some sibilance.
 
Subjectively, the Comply were best for me, narrow tips were worst.
 
The difference is that the comply gave me best seal, and also best bass response.  The narrow bore probably had worst seal - and you can already see the bigger drop around 1kHz (above) so I'm wondering whether this is more a comparative thing.  If you're getting more bass, and lower mid-range, then that may ameliorate the vocal sibilance - in which case, the Comply are a winner for me.
 
Anyway - I think you're going to find anatomy is going to play a bit of a part in any recommendation on tips - and so my answer would be ...... use the tips which give you the best seal and most comfort.

 
Thanks for the measurement Paul!
From the comparison the Comply seems to have hotter treble up to 10kHz. But agree with you, I find Comply also works better than the stock smaller bore and wider bore tips. The smaller bore, though reduces the treble, but overall tonality is not natural and sounds weird. The stock medium bore with red core is the best from the stock eartips if we don't have other eartips. And the Comply does sounds better than the stock eartips.  The triple flanges sounds even better, but not everyone comfortable with it. But if you have Titan 1 and comfortable with the triple flanges, it is a must try! 

 

[RedJohn456]

@RedJohn456
 @earfonia
 + others

OK - this is a mix of subjective and objective so bear with me.

I got home for lunch, fired up the home rig, used the NFB-15, a tone generator, grabbed the Titans, and jury rigged a simple set-up using an iPhone SPL meter and some glad-wrap (isolation + holding the IEMs in the same place each time).  Note that I can't guarantee I got placement perfect + the iPhone does OK as an SPL meter - but it isn't an ideal test set-up.

Here's the average SPL using 3 different tips - Comply T400 with a medium bore, very narrow silicone bore (longish tube), and wider shorter bore silicone.

[TD]Tone Used [/TD]​

[TD] Comply  [/TD]​

[TD] Narrow  [/TD]​

[TD]  Wide     [/TD]​

[TD]17 kHz[/TD]​

[TD]82 dB[/TD]​

[TD]83

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]81

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

15 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]84

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]86

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]86

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

13 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]83

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]85

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]85

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

12 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]84

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]86

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]86

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

11 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]86

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]87

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]88

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

10 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]88

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]86

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]86

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

9 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]90

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]87

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]88

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

8 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]88

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]88

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]89

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

7 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]90

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]88

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]90

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

6 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]91

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]90

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]91

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

5 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]91

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]90

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]91

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

4 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]92

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]91

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]92

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

3 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]91

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]89

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]90

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

2 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]86

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]85

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]85

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]

1 kHz​

[/TD]​

[TD]75

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]71

 dB​

[/TD]​

[TD]76

 dB​

[/TD]​

Sorry - didn't have time to test the lower frequencies and my equipment does tend to struggle below about 600 Hz anyway.

Female vocal sibilance tends to occur around 6-9 kHZ which would suggest the Comply are probably worst, and narrow bore best.  But - I also queued the brightest album I have (Beth Hart - Live at Paradiso). Her vocals are great but the recording can defintiely exhibit some sibilance.

Subjectively, the Comply were best for me, narrow tips were worst.

The difference is that the comply gave me best seal, and also best bass response.  The narrow bore probably had worst seal - and you can already see the bigger drop around 1kHz (above) so I'm wondering whether this is more a comparative thing.  If you're getting more bass, and lower mid-range, then that may ameliorate the vocal sibilance - in which case, the Comply are a winner for me.

Anyway - I think you're going to find anatomy is going to play a bit of a part in any recommendation on tips - and so my answer would be ...... use the tips which give you the best seal and most comfort.

wow thank you so much for taking the time to write down all that. Much appreciated I must say I'm new to all this objective data, where can I go about to learn how to interpret this kind of data?

 

[Brooko]

Hi John
 
All I've done above is played a constant tone at each of the listed frequencies, and then measured how loud it is for each of the various tips.  We know for instancae that female vocal sibilance most often occurs in the 6-9 kHz band.  So if I play the same tone at the same volume through each medium, then it's likely that the tip that accentuates those frequencies the most will have the worst chance of avoiding sibilance in female vocals.
 
This is fine in theory - but as I stated, the Comply tips actually had the least audible sibilance for me - as I suspect that ultimately sibilance can be brought forward by attenuation of bass and lower mid range, or conversely can be masked by increasing the bass / lower mid range.
 
Anyway - this is probably the best resource for understanding different frequency ranges and how they affect our listening.  it is also a great tool for starting off with EQ
 
http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm

 

[RedJohn456]

  Hi John
 
All I've done above is played a constant tone at each of the listed frequencies, and then measured how loud it is for each of the various tips.  We know for instancae that female vocal sibilance most often occurs in the 6-9 kHz band.  So if I play the same tone at the same volume through each medium, then it's likely that the tip that accentuates those frequencies the most will have the worst chance of avoiding sibilance in female vocals.
 
This is fine in theory - but as I stated, the Comply tips actually had the least audible sibilance for me - as I suspect that ultimately sibilance can be brought forward by attenuation of bass and lower mid range, or conversely can be masked by increasing the bass / lower mid range.
 
Anyway - this is probably the best resource for understanding different frequency ranges and how they affect our listening.  it is also a great tool for starting off with EQ
 
http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm

This is actually quite interesting and I would love to get to know more about the theory behind a lot of the science. Specially when people start posting FR graphs I am at a loss so it seems I have a lot of reading to do
 
Again, thanks for taking the time to do such a comprehensive test @Brooko cheers. Are you planning to review the Dunu Alpha in the future? The Titan seems to be getting the most acclaim but I wonder how the older brother performs.

 

[Niyologist]

It may take another few days to get my review up. I was hit by a big snow and icestorm and I'm trying to get my new smartphone delivered so I can take some great photos of my Titan 1. My previous phone broke, so I can't even use it. 

 

[Brooko]

 
This is actually quite interesting and I would love to get to know more about the theory behind a lot of the science. Specially when people start posting FR graphs I am at a loss so it seems I have a lot of reading to do
 
Again, thanks for taking the time to do such a comprehensive test @Brooko cheers. Are you planning to review the Dunu Alpha in the future? The Titan seems to be getting the most acclaim but I wonder how the older brother performs.

 
Frequency graphs are pretty easy to get the basics.  The X axis is the actually frequency.  The Y is the volume scale.  So a frequency graph shows the relative volume to frequency.  You can use them to get an idea of what something will sound like - and also to further understand what you are hearing, and what your likes dislikes can be. EG  - for me, and my taste for female vocals, I prefer a boosted upper mid-range, and definitely dislike most earphones I've heard where the upper mids are recessed.  I also tend to stay away from any headphone with too much mid bass boost (a bump is OK, a huge rise into the mid and lower bass is not).
 
But there is no subsitute for actually listening to a headphone.  A frequency graph is ultimately just a guide - but a good one
 
I'm hoping to get to listen to the Alpha at some stage soon.  Vic got a pair, and after H20 gets to listen to them, they should be coming my way.  I'll review them then.

 

[HeartSongs]

Thank you Brooko. I always enjoy reading your comments and reviews .. Most of all, have learnt a lot! Will be sourcing for suitable Comply tips and I am confident the sound experience with the Titan 1 will only get better. I am already loving this IEM!!

 

[Brooko]

Thanks for the kind words. Just remember that tip selection is very personal. What may suit my anatomy may not be the same for everyone. If you've never tried Comply before, a good place to start is the variety packs they have (not sure where you get them from though).  The size you want for an exact fit on the Titans should be the 200 series.