Today we preview the all new single dynamic flagship IEM from Dita Audio – the Dream XLS. It retails for $2,299 USD and is available in limited quantities.
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Disclaimer: This post is part of our First Look series, where we give brief impressions of products that are in the review queue. A full review will come in the following weeks. To check out more previews, you can do so here.
Dita Audio
I am almost certain most readers have come across the name Dita Audio in the past. Here on Headfonia we have given many of their products the review treatment already. You can read up on those reviews here.
Dita Audio is a Singapore based manufacturer of In Ear Monitors and cables. They are best known for their previous limited edition flagship – the Dream. Dita follows the principle of simplicity. All of their IEMs have been single dynamic driver monitors. As they believe that in order to get to high fidelity listening, you don‘t have to cramp in a lot of drivers into tiny shells. All it takes is one very well performing driver.
In the last year, Dita has released something quite uncommon, an oil soaked copper cable. This cable not only comes drained in oil, no, it‘s also filled with nano-particles of gold and silver. Which should fill in the gaps in the copper strands itself for better transmission and conductivity. We‘ve reviewed their OSLO cable just a couple of weeks ago, and it sure does offer something unique.
Dita has also been working on a new flagship dynamic driver IEM, the successor of the original Dream. And today, we‘re giving you our short impressions of it.
Dita Audio Dream XLS
Dream XLS
The Dream XLS is as mentioned a single dynamic driver, which is supposed to deliver an ultra linear response. The thing that struck me the most about the Dream XLS was its physical appearance. Dita does not stop at making the IEM just sound good, no their attention to design is extremely high. The Dream XLS is made out of Titanium and sports one of the most beautiful looks out there. The only down-side of its design is its glossy nature. I am very peculiar when it comes to keeping monitors clean looking, and with the Dream XLS that has been a real challenge. I know, it‘s nothing critical to the audio performance…
Dita equipped the Dream XLS with a special version of their aforementioned OSLO cable, of course it brings their swappable termination with it. For those that don‘t know, Dita developed a system called the Awesome Plug. It‘s basically a screw-able design that lets you change the termination of the cable on the source‘s end. So you don‘t have to buy multiple versions of the same cable for different DAPs or DAC/Amps. You can simply take out the 3.5 mm and replace it with a 4.4 mm plug. Easy and effective.
A good fit with the Dream XLS is crucial for its sound performance. Thankfully my ears can take these in quite easily and I don’t have any issues there. But I’ve seen reports from people who can’t get them to fit, who also have problems with the Dream’s not reaching their full potential then. So be aware of that before you make any purchase decisions.
Dita Audio Dream XLS
The sound of the Dream XLS is unique for a dynamic driver in my opinion. It doesn‘t sport a hard hitting or full-bodied bass, it goes for a calmer low-end with a less prominent placement in the picture. The Dream XLS has a focus on clarity and puts more attention to the upper midrange and treble region. What it is missing in my opinion is a bit of warmth for a more organic and natural sound. For my preference it could use a higher dose of bass-presence.
Dita probably wanted to stand out from the field with this tuning. Where we get many different flavors of one design, Dita went the other way and created something, for the lack of a better word, exotic.
Of course we‘ll dig deeper into the Dream XLS‘ sound in the full review, which will come in the following weeks.
