Satin Audio Titan Series: Even more affordable!
Satin Audio is one of the fast-growing brands in the custom cable industry with its highly cost-effective products. We here in About Audio previously covered all four of the Monster series and was much impressed with their quality for such affordable prices.
Anywho, it seems like Satin Audio is back at it again to step up their game, not in price but in cost-effectiveness. Sure, the Monster Series was already an affordable choice considering them being a premium lineup, but now they’ve presented an even more affordable option with their new Titan series – Gaïa, Hyperion, and Theia. The Titan series comes in with the same packaging as Monster series’ Medusa, including a soft velvet pouch and a leather cable tie.
Specs behind the Titans
Before I talk about the price of these, let me briefly guide through the technologies that have been incorporated into the Titan series. First off, it’s purity. All Titan series are made of 7N wires (99.99999%) which are rarer and difficult to produce – also good to note that the majority of cheap 7N cables from China are actually 5N or 6N. Along with that, most of the common, affordable cables have a Type 1 construction which goes through a single twisting operation while Type 2 is made of bundles of twisted wires, stabilizing the impedance as well as improving the quality of signal transmission in general. It’s also worth to point out that oxidization (or turning green) wouldn’t happen thanks to the Litz termination.
Some may remember the early Effect Audio cables turning a tad stiff and hard after a decent amount of usage, but that’s not going to be the case here. What’s covering the Type 2 construction is their new SA insulation II, which gives a clearer, transparent look to the appearance and remains soft for the whole lasting time. Last but not least, the connectors. Not only all Titan series come with exclusive Satin Audio connectors, but TeCu (Tellurium Copper) applied for the IEM connectors and Cardas 3.8% solder for welding them.
At the end of the day, how much these cables cost? $70.50 each, 4 braids as default. FYI, in case you’re not too familiar with customized IEM cables, this is a GREAT price, especially for a 7N cable. Let’s now check out each of their characteristics as well as some matching comparisons with various IEMs.
Satin Audi Gaïa Review: Vital warmth
Gaïa is a 7N Superior-Pure copper Litz cable with a thickness of 28AWG and a Type 2 construction. Gaïa takes a subtle yet noticeable approach when it comes to highlighting the warmth and bass, bringing a very natural and gradual change to the sound. The bass quantity and thickness increases a little bit but not drastic. The tonality heads for an organic taste but not boring or colorless. It keeps an appropriate amount of delightful, flavourful taste that sweetens the sound and keeping the atmosphere trendy. Not only the bass but the upper frequencies also gain clarity and transparency, allowing the IEM to shine in all aspects.
Matching comparisons
Campfire Audio IO
The bass dives deeper and darker, allowing the bass to freely perform and fill up that missing 10% the stock cable wasn’t able to achieve. I mean ALO cables are always up to par in quality, but IO feels to be performing better with Gaïa. The bass quantity slightly increases but nothing close to blurring the upper frequencies or loosening the bass presentation. Mids get mildly tighter and very slightly trimming the mid reverbs, making the atmosphere feel more clear and fresh. Highs get denser and visibly more crispy, allowing them to stand out more clearly with good details.
AZLA Orta
Vocals steps in closer and becomes more uplifting. Upper mids gain more air and brightness, but nothing to the point where the sound would get fatiguing. Originally Orta tends to hang around on the lower side of the headroom, however Gaïa enables Orta to make more approaches on the upper side. Along with that, the mids turn shinier with a silvery tone glazed on it, resulting in a lot more engaging and vibrant sound.
Tanchjim Oxygen
Treble details become visibly richer and stand out better. Mids are sweeter, shinier, closer to the ears without breaking the original imaging. Lows gain more power and force when pushing out the thuds. The overall sound gets so clean and clear as if the purity has increased.
Verdicts
Copper cables are often misjudged to be boring compared to the ones that are made of all kinds of other materials, though Gaïa presents a sound that is up to trend as well as seeking to bring improvements to both low and high frequencies. A gentle lift on the bass with sweet, clear upper frequencies is just hard to go wrong. If you’re unfamiliar with getting custom cables or not sure which model you should go for, Gaïa is going to be a safe and worthy choice.
Continued reviews for the Titan Series
Gaïa Review (1/3)
RELATED REVIEWS
Thanks to Satin Audio for providing Gaïa for an honest feedback/review.
I am not affiliated with Satin Audio and none of my words were modded or asked to be changed.
