DUNU Titan S2 & Letshuoer S08: The Sequel & The Dark Planar

The DUNU Titan S2 is the follow-up to DUNU’s Titan S, which is widely regarded as the sleeper-hit single DD of the past. Conversely, Letshuoer’s S08 appears to be their most recent—and possibly most distinctive—model in their range of “S series” planar IEMs. How do they compare with one another? Let’s dissect it.

The DUNU Titan S2 is the follow-up to DUNU’s original Titan S, which many view as the “sleeper” hit single DD of bygone days. However, Letshuoer’s S08 appears to be the company’s most recent—and possibly most distinctive—offering in their range of “S series” planar IEMs.

DUNU Titan S2 & Letshuoer S08

I felt it wise to combine these comparably priced IEMs into one group and compare them to each other as two recent additions to lineups that have some reputation in our industry. Although their sound quality isn’t exactly comparable, I believe they provide comparable all-around value for consumers in this price range.

Although I don’t think I would choose them above other options in this price range for sound quality, that doesn’t imply they don’t have advantages. These are probably going to be pretty popular with some individuals because of what they accomplish well.Without further ado, let’s begin the analysis by talking about comfort, build, and design.

1. Build, Design and Comfort
2. Frequency Response and Tonality
   a. Bass
   b. Midrange
   c. Treble
   d. Which Has Better Tuning?
3. Subjective Impressions
4. Conclusion

Build, Design and Comfort

The “mech-inspired” design of IEMs like the Tin C2 Mech Warrior or the Acoustune IEMs is something that the Titan S2 reminds me of. It satisfies my inner Beyblade enthusiast; complex, geometric, vibrant designs can entice me to utilize something, and the presentation here has a little more flair than many less-risky IEMs I see these days. Having said that, I prefer the concept of this design above the finished product, which is a bit too “toy-like” for my tastes right now.

The S08, in comparison, has a rounded rectangular shape that reminds me of the Softears single DD IEMs, such as the Twilight and the Turii, and is much more subdued in terms of color and geometry. This design seems to be aiming for subtlety rather than being too striking, and I appreciate that as well. This kind of approach is a little more adaptable and understated, so if I were making a purchase only based on appearances, I think I would ultimately choose it.

Regarding construction, both are made of quite robust-feeling metals and have heavier shells than average. Unless they eventually succumb to the all-too-common problem of moisture buildup creating concerns with channel imbalance, I don’t see either of them experiencing any longevity problems.

Regarding comfort, I believe the S08 fits my ear better because of the way the outer shell’s “pinna” side is shaped to fit the unique ins and outs of my outer ear.

Naturally, this is a very personal choice, and given that the Titan S2 is still a somewhat compact and ergonomic IEM, some people may find it to be a better fit in this case.

The cords that come with both of these IEMs are without a doubt their best feature.

The package includes 3.5mm and 4.4mm terminations for the modular 2-pin cables that come with both IEMs. Considering the price, this is a pretty great touch! People will utilize the provided cable for other IEMs if it is good enough, and the adaptability offered by swappable terminations only increases this potential.

The Titan S2’s cable is partially cloth-wrapped and partially braided, but the S08’s cable is totally braided. Neither is particularly more comfortable to use than the other, but they both offer a very good balance between compliance and solidity. The rubber coating used to wrap the wire causes the S08 cable to lose some of its potential handfeel, making it feel a little sticky or “tacky,” but this isn’t really a problem when using the cable. Regarding sound problems, I experience some reduced isolation from accidental touches and bumps because of microphonics, but nothing extremely bothersome.

I enjoy the Titan S2 cable better than any other DUNU cable I’ve used so far, and it’s unbelievably fantastic for the price. If the IEM-side connectors weren’t a little strange—they have a weirdly conical and wide lip right before the 2-pin connection juts out of the connector—this, together with the abundance of provided tips, might be enough to justify the price of the Titan S2.

This cable’s fabric-wrapped portion rests comfortably around my torso with little to no disruptions or sounds from microphonics. It feels like a more substantial shoelace-type material, but in a pleasant manner. I’ll definitely be utilizing this cable with other IEMs in the future, and I believe the Titan S2 is the clear choice if someone wants to try a single dynamic driver with this kind of tone for less than $100 just based on the cable.

Frequency Response and Tonality

Bass

The bass on each of these is really bad, but for different reasons.

The Titan S2’s subbass rolls off substantially, while the remaining bass between 120 and 240 Hz is noticeably overemphasized. This makes bottom instruments, whether synthesized or plucked, sound slightly fluffed and hollow in comparison to the rest of Titan S2’s tone, which is normally bright. To that end, I find that this IEM lacks a sense of note weight, particularly in rock music.

Kick drums seem little and gentle, giving the rest of the mix very little sense of gravity to orbit and pulse around, as opposed to being kinetically charged and heavy. Generally speaking, the Titan S2 falls short of expectations when it comes to providing a high-quality or abundant bass IEM.

S08 is somewhat comparable in this instance because of the similar rise shape and placement, but it differs in the midrange (which we’ll discuss) and has more sub-bass elevation. As a result, the bass has slightly more weight and decay, though not always in a good way. Here, the Titan S2 was almost too small and slow, but the sub-bass rolloff and overall tone prevented it from crossing that boundary.

The S08 somewhat crosses this boundary and veers into the area of being overly warm and mushy, but its forward center-midrange prevents it from being horribly mushy, even though it also makes it sound a little small. Kick drums are much smaller than other drums; thus, they don’t sound boxy or tuned higher, but they have a noticeable greater impact and agility.

While the bass curves presented here are largely comparable, let’s talk about how tuning decisions in the middle really determine a lot of what people mistakenly associate with bass.

Midrange

While the Titan S2’s midrange performance isn’t particularly poor, it also isn’t strong enough to offset its shortcomings in other frequency response regions. Its lower middle tune is reasonable, although a little thin, emphasizing the male vocal and snare drum foundations while thinning out the feminine voices, higher-tuned horns, and woodwinds.

The rest of the upper midrange structure is rather good, with a small accent between 1-2 kHz and an overall very “HRTF-y” shape that most people will find fairly normal sounding, so this thinness alone isn’t necessarily a death sentence. That’s why electric guitars in particular sound quite similar to how I like them; they have a good combination of warmth from the basics and understandability from the upper midrange overtones that manage pick attack and grit for distorted guitars.

In contrast, the midrange of the S08 seems considerably stranger to me. Although the lower midrange emphasizes many instruments’ fundamental tones similarly, it has an unconventional 1.6 kHz lump that taints nearly everything I listened to. The previously noted “smallness” coloration on kick drums is undoubtedly caused by this elevation; nevertheless, other instruments that also exhibit this coloration include snare drums, guitars, pianos, vocals, and particularly horns, which all sound nasal and pinched.

One possible benefit of this hue is that a lot of the instruments have overtones, which might make a lot of the music feel more “textured” or “intense” than it would with other IEMs. However, keep in mind that this is still coloring, so things may not sound normal due to the texture and intensity.

Treble

As is typical, both of these do fairly poorly in the treble department, in my opinion. They both adopt distinct strategies, though, and it is worthwhile to discuss them.

With an excessive amount of lower treble between 3 and 8 kHz (similar to Harman’s IEM aim) and a somewhat piercing peak above 10 kHz, the Titan S2 is more akin to a classic single-DD IEM. I’ll just say this because I don’t think there’s anything really special happening here: the Titan S2 isn’t worth purchasing if you don’t like Harman’s IE target.

Feel free to try Harman’s IE target if you enjoy it; you might find it to be enjoyable.

S08 tunes its treble in a far more intriguing and inventive way. For the record, I don’t think it’s appealing, but not for the typical reason—I don’t like plans. S08 is actually too dark in this instance, in my opinion.

In particular, the treble at 10 kHz has a hint of the extra zing that planar IEMs are known for, but overall, there is a lot less air than with previous IEMs that I’ve tested that had planar treble, such as the Moondrop DUSK or the Salnotes Dioko. Although I still find this particular area to be a bit too high, I believe that most people will consider this upper treble level to be “listenable” and the treble to be somewhat dull overall.

But the upper midrange/lower treble of the S08 also has a recession at about 4 kHz. The combination of S08’s overabundance of bass and 1.6 kHz, along with its buried treble energy, results in a somewhat crowded or muffled sound.

There are problems with the intelligibility and blurriness of the vocals, and certain instruments, such as snare drums, don’t seem to attack quickly enough. It’s one of the planar IEMs’ more “relaxed” general treble tunings, which is a pleasant change of pace. Regretfully, it sounded meaningfully strange on the majority of the music I listened to—just strange in a different way than most planar IEMs.

Which has better tuning?

To be honest, I don’t find any of these all that enjoyable. Overall, though, the S08 most likely has superior integration. This is because, in addition to having too much treble and bass for my taste, the S08 also has too much middle, making everything else equally unbalanced. The Titan S2 appears to have the worst overall tuning, despite the fact that it actually has a superior midrange. This is because the other regions are not tuned well enough to match the midrange, which makes the sound nonsensical.

Subjective Impressions

Although the Titan S2’s subjective characteristics aren’t particularly strong, it’s not featureless either. “Dynamics” are mediocre at best; most sounds are muted, and volume changes sound compressed and lack contrast. “Spaciousness” is a bit cramped and constricted, with a good number of aspects that are marginalized really moving toward the center of my vision.

But the Titan S2’s “texture” and “detail” are actually quite fascinating. The Titan S2’s presentation is pretty damn energetic, with a sense of heightened saturation that makes most everything seem more colorful and exciting than S08. I’m not sure whether this is simply the treble, though; it may even be the flamboyant silver and red shell design that’s distorting my perspective.

In light of the fact that planar IEMs are typically associated with a greater degree of “detail,” I believe that people will be taken aback at how subdued and devoid of it S08. In this sense, the presentation is unmistakably different from the Titan S2; rather than being thrilling, it sounds a little drowsy.

Dynamically, I believe S08 is a bit of a two-edged sword. I don’t get the sense of contrast between aspects of music that I usually appreciate, but I will say that the sense of attack for drums is pretty dang good—most likely due to the relatively forward 1.6 kHz elevation boosting the sensation of transient thickness and snap.

In terms of “spaciousness,” I found the S08 to be slightly better than the Titan S2, most likely because the treble isn’t as upfront, making level variations across channels simpler to discern consistently, resulting in a more accurate image. However, the visuals on S08 appear to be a little smaller overall, which is the antithesis of the “grand” appearance that many people prefer.

Conclusion

I wouldn’t say any of these IEMs are particularly great as a well-rounded offering, but each has one or two distinguishing features that may make them worth considering: S08 has rather quick and surprisingly hard-hitting transients, while Titan S2 has an overall colorful and brilliant presentation that will undoubtedly excite a good number of listeners. Of course, both have well-provided cables.

Although the bass and midrange are obviously secondary to the incredibly brilliant and strong treble presentation, I believe the Titan S2 would have sounded better if a little more front dampening had been included. On the other hand, I believe that S08’s treble is distinctive and delicious exactly as it is, but the forward bass somewhat overpowers it and makes the whole signature rather muffled. To sound realistic, the midrange also needs a lot of work.

The cables are certainly pretty beautiful, and the ergonomics and designs of the shell are likely to appeal to a few different sorts of consumers, whether individuals truly enjoy the look of either IEM or really want to try the cables that come with them. Although the sound profiles aren’t bad, they aren’t nearly sufficient to make me enthusiastic about suggesting them. These will appeal to a lot of people; I simply don’t think I’m one of them.

The accessories were a pleasant surprise; the S08 in particular is somewhat unique in that it isn’t nearly as bright as other planar IEMs that I’ve heard of. Nevertheless, I would probably still suggest to most audiophiles to hold off on upgrading from an “ultra-cheap” IEM like the aforementioned GATe until newer models arrive, or simply choose an item like the Truthear Hexa, which has a better overall tuning than both.

You can find me and a number of other headphone and IEM lovers hanging out and chatting about topics like this in our Discord channel and forum, so feel free to ping me there with any questions or to start a discussion about this post there. I really appreciate you reading. Until the next occasion!