Disclaimer
Thank you, Yang, from Optimization Elements (OE) Audio for sending me the Tita in exchange for my honest opinions. I am not affiliated with the company and no incentive will be given for a positive review. Here is my review.
Introduction
I heard of OEAudio from Alex Twister, founder of Twister6. He introduced the OEAudio adaptor, which is the smallest in the world in his review of Westone W80 and UMPro50 cable rolling with 2pin cables.
Quote Alex's words in his review:
Then I noticed MusicTeck listed new OE Audio adapters and decided to give them a try. Never heard of this company before, Optimization Elements, but they turned out to be the best I have tried so far.
I reviewed their cable - 2DualOFC in 2019 and Yang sent me their latest in-ear monitors (IEMs), Tita for review purposes recently. Powered by single Sonion balanced armature driver, I am anticipated to experience Tita because there are plenty of single BA IEMs in the market but only a few did it right.
Will Tita join the force of being a pair of "right-sounding" single BA IEMs? We will check it out in this article!
Unboxing
Here's my unboxing video for OEAudio Tita:
Here are the accessories in the box:
3 exchangeable back cover for Tita
Screw driver (to remove and install the screw for back cover)
Screws (secure back cover)
3 pairs of silicone ear tips (S,M and L)
OEAudio 2DualOFC stock cable
Soft storage pouch
Technical Specification
Frequency response: 20-16000Hz
Sensitivity@500Hz: 106dBSPL/mVA
Impedance@500Hz: 6Ohm
Cable: 2DualOFC
Cable termination: 3.5mm unbalanced terminated with MMCX connector
Cable length: 1.2m
Build
Chassis
When I first opened the box, Tita reminds me of Final Audio IEMs design - simplistic piston design. The outer shell is made of plastic. However, the inner core of the IEMs is actually crafted by titanium. The core extends all the way to the nozzle. According to OEAudio, titanium is an ideal sound material for its outstanding resonance features.
Tita has a horn nozzle design which enhances energy of sound and the extensiveness of trebles, based on OEAudio's introduction.There is no crossover implemented in Tita. Sound adjustments are done by the cavity itself and the Titanium horn which introduces less distortion and unleashes the potential of the driver itself.
Tita comes with three set of exchangeable back cover for the IEMs shell: stainless steel, brass and aluminium. Each of them will factor a different sound signature to Tita. I will introduce them in detailed later in the sound analysis section.
Cable
The overall texture of this cable is soft and supple. A stiff cable could be a deal-breaker and I am glad that OEAudio took this into consideration. I like the plug particularly. It is sturdy and durable based on physical appearance. There is a logo engraved on the plug. There is no ear guide at the connector.
This is a piece of good news for me because ear guides are a disaster to me as a myopia sufferer.
Fit and Isolation
With the small shell, Tita is able to provide deep insertion for most of the users, no matter how big or small are your ears. With the large stock ear tips, it blocks out most of the external noise from entering the ear canal with music on. Do note that the passive noise cancellation is dependent on the back covers used. Stainless steel and brass are having slightly weaker passive noise cancellation due to the open-back design.
Sound Analysis
Sound Signature
Each of the back cover will factor a different sound signature to Tita. Stainless steel has an open back design with a small hole at the back. This yields a balanced and ‘calm’ style of sound, a tighter bass and a swift treble.
Brass is a material with augmented resonance. The brass back cover has an open back with a bigger back hole has compared to stainless steel, resulting in a warmer tone of bass, a looser sound style, and a gentle voice performance. it has greater extensiveness of treble.
Aluminium back cover has a close back design which has the most active sound among all three back covers. It has augmented and energetic bass which make it suitable for tracks and recordings with stronger rhythm.
Soundstage
The soundstage of Tita is above average. It has good width and depth to handle complicated genres like rock bands. During the reviewing period, I do not face any congestions. The layering in complicated tracks have been done well by Tita - I still cannot believe this can be done on a pair of single BA powered IEMs.
Lows
The lows of the Tita extend deep; it rumbles in the sub-bass and maintains excellent control when moving to the mid-bass. It has a very high quality bass as a pair of IEMs with only single BA. The speed is average. The bass has some warmth and rich texture. These two factors yield a natural sound that doesn’t come close to being analytical.
With stainless steel back cover on, the bass is well-controlled with a slightly faster decay. This makes Tita a good monitoring IEMs with this back cover. If you need more warmth, brass back cover got your back. The bass is boosted slightly with a slower decay. The sound signature turns warmer and more analogue.
For pop lovers, I would recommend the aluminium cover. The bass is boosted like brass back cover but with good control like stainless steel. This keep the bass in the dedicated frequency region, without bleeding towards the mids.
Mids
If you read my previous reviews, you will understand how much I appreciate good mids. I am a Mandopop and Cantopop lover. Good vocals are essential for me. What does“good mids” mean to me? The texture needs to be thick enough. What do I mean?
Texture is how the vocals and other mid frequency instruments are combined in a composition, thus determining the overall presentation of the mids in a piece.
This is very tricky because the vocals become too honky when the texture is too thick. When the vocals are too thin, they lose the spotlight. The stage will be taken over by other frequency regions.
The Tita has a good grasp on texture. The mids are rich, thick, and juicy. It has sufficient air and space in the mids to make the vocalists sound lively. I particularly like the mids from the stainless steel back cover - airy and spacious. I always get a crystal clear vocals from this pairing. The mids is very firm and well-penetrated.
Highs
The treble can be shy sometimes. It is not always energetic. It can sit in any tracks without any issues. The treble synchronises in a balanced manner with the rest of the spectrum. It gives the overall presentation a sufficient amount of air and space. Nonetheless, the treble is not airiest but it coexist flawlessly with the mids and lows.
The highs do not have the best extension but it is sufficient to make the sound sparkle. The highs start to roll-off at around 10kHz on the frequency response curve, which could be unacceptable for some treble lovers. The highs sound smooth, without any sense of piercing to the ears. This could be a saviour for those who have lower treble tolerance.
Perhaps OEAudio should start to pursue Hi-Res certification to motivate them to push the frequency response to 40 kHz. This might extend the high extension and mitigate early roll-off issues.
Verdict
The OEAudio Tita is a good start for OEAudio. It ticked numbers of boxes to be a pair of outstanding IEMs - small form factor with well-controlled bass and transparent mids. I think this strength can be used by OEAudio for their advertising of the Tita.
The tuning showed maturity of OEAudio in this industry despite this is their first IEMs. I am looking forward to their future releases.
OEAudio's Tita is retailing at USD$169. You can purchase it from OEAudio official website.
With the launch of Tita, it’s time for OEAudio to gather feedback for this IEM attempt and plan for their next release.
