By virtue of its name, you would think that the Dream XLS excels in the metric of imaging. After all, the “XLS” stands for “Xtra Large Soundstage”. Its identity, the whole reason it exists… and yet, it’s honestly not all that special on that front.

I wouldn’t call the XLS’ soundstage bad, but the standards are going to be a lot higher when the marketing is literally in the product’s name. The XLS’ staging width is somewhat average, perhaps above average if we push it hard enough with a non-portable source, but that’s really as far as it goes. It’s not excellent and it doesn’t really redefine what an IEM is truly capable of.

What about the detail and resolving ability? Well to my own ears, I think the original Dream is leagues more resolving with better definition and clarity. The XLS is more-or-less “middling” in the grand scheme of things; it’s not horrible, it’s actually pretty good, but “pretty good” doesn’t cut it at their prices and when being inevitably compared to its predecessor.

The original Dream and the XLS more-or-less trade blows in tonality but it comes down to personal preference at the end of the day, considering that it’s more an apples-to-oranges situation under the metric of “signature”. The original Dream has a V-shaped response that digs into the sub-bass regions far better than the XLS ever could, while the XLS is kind of neutral-ish with more body to the mids and smoother notes.

The XLS does better the original in two aspects: texturing and timbre. Both weaknesses in the original; after all, the metallic timbre and edgy notes were the prime reasons why I never liked the original on a personal level. But then you’d have to consider: is the XLS truly unique in this regard? Being better than the Dream in its greatest weak points?

At the end of the day I’m more disappointed than disgusted at the XLS, if anything. Dita has demonstrated that they could cut out a niche for themselves and completely own it, even if it meant alienating the common audiophile. However, the XLS seems like an appeal to the mainstream that resulted in the greatest nightmare any boutique company can ever face: creating a product that’s “just another”.

And unfortunately, in my own humble opinion, the XLS is just that. Just another DD IEM.