Putting Passion into Detail: An Interview with DITA Audio's Danny Tan

In Singapore, one headphone brand is almost always mentioned in the same breath as single dynamic drivers, titanium, and uncompromising craftsmanship: DITA Audio. We spoke with founder Danny Tan about growing up surrounded by audio gear, and how he and his partner Desmond Tan turned a small, passion-driven operation into a globally respected boutique brand.

Raised in an Audio Warehouse

Surrounded by audio equipment since secondary school, alongside his friend and now business partner Desmond. Desmond’s family was an audio distributor in Singapore, and every year before Lunar New Year, unsold or aging stock from warehouse clearances would be handed to the kids to play with.

They spent their days dismantling equipment, listening critically, swapping cables, and fine-tuning setups. “We just kept experimenting with old gear,” Danny recalls. “Our ears grew up completely immersed in sound.”

Starting a business together later on felt like a natural progression. Desmondwas equipped with a strong instinct for sales and a keen feel for the market, while Danny, trained in mechanical engineering, became deeply focused on CNC machining, metalwork, and structural design. Both sharing the surname Tan, they founded DITA Audio, a name derived from the letter D in their first names and their shared family name.

Pushing the Single Dynamic Driver to Its Limits

DITA began its R&D journey as early as 2010, but it wasn’t until the release of its first earphone, The Answer, in 2012 that the brand officially came into being. Now more than a decade later, when many headphone brands have come and gone, DITA has remained deliberately slow and focused.

The Answer: One of DITA's first models

“We take our time,” Danny says. “We make what we genuinely want to make.”

Why the unwavering commitment to dynamic drivers? The answer is simple: it’s a sound they love.

When The Answer debuted in 2012, multi–balanced armature designs were already gaining traction. But early BA drivers, which were often adapted from hearing-aid technology—had very distinct sonic signatures.

“You could tell instantly that it was a BA,” Danny explains. Both he and Desmond preferred the natural coherence and sense of completeness that dynamic drivers offer—something closer to the experience of listening to full-sized speakers.

From an engineering standpoint, Danny adds that multi-driver designs inevitably require crossovers. “In something as small as an earphone, the quality of crossover components is very limited. From a hi-fi perspective, that’s hard to accept.”

DITA firmly believes that a well-tuned dynamic driver is more than capable of covering the full 20Hz–20kHz range. 

This belief has shaped the brand’s design philosophy from the beginning. Across its flagship models—from The Dream and The Dream XLS, to the 10th Anniversary Perpetua, and now the latest flagship Ventura—the design DNA remains unmistakable: a single dynamic driver, titanium construction, and clean, circular forms.

Following Passion, Not the Market

One comment from Danny during our conversation stood out:

“If we don’t feel anything about a topic, we simply won’t make that product.”

DITA doesn’t chase trends or specifications just because the market demands them. Instead, ideas often grow out of whatever the team happens to be passionate about at the time.

Perpetua is a perfect example. Its concept revolved around the trinket boxes people keep, those containing stamps and train tickets. 

At the time, several people in the company were going through breakups, and it had become a frequent topic of conversation. “Since everyone was talking about it every day,” Danny laughs, “we decided to turn it into a product.”

That approach defines DITA’s culture: playful, deeply obsessive, and unapologetically emotional. It may not always be the most commercially aggressive path—but it’s one with soul.

Danny admits that many people don’t notice or fully understand the level of detail DITA pours into its accessories, packaging, and finishing. For the team, however, those details are essential—they’re what keep the passion alive.

The President's Design Awards

Not long after DITA was founded, Danny received an email from someone claiming to be a professor, inviting them to submit The Answer for a design award. His first reaction was skepticism. “I thought it was probably a scam,” he says.

After looking into it, he realized the sender was actually a highly respected design figure in Singapore. With a “why not?” attitude, they submitted the product—and unexpectedly won the Singapore President’s Design Award.

Unlike commercial awards such as Red Dot or iF, this is the country’s highest design honor, personally presented by the Singapore government. Winners receive their awards at the Presidential Palace. The year DITA won coincided with Singapore’s 50th anniversary, making the ceremony especially grand and unforgettable.

A Small Earphone with the Presence of Big Speakers

Over the years, DITA’s flagship driver size has evolved from 10mm to 12mm—but it’s never been about size alone. Every change requires careful, incremental adjustment, and sometimes the process even moves backward. Last year’s mid-tier Mecha, for example, returned to a 10mm driver.

Danny compares the process to engine development. You might perfect a four-cylinder engine, then expand it into a six-cylinder design—but market realities or other constraints might lead you to reduce displacement again, or push it even further. Either way, refinement takes time.

With Ventura, Danny’s goal was clear from the start. As a longtime high-end audio enthusiast, he wanted it to feel like large speakers in a big room—even at low volume. Not through exaggerated tuning or artificial impact, but through the driver’s inherent ability to sound spacious, relaxed, and effortless.

(For those curious: Danny listens to vintage JBL speakers and has recently added Magico speakers to his system.)

Gold-Plated Titanium-Ceramic Composite Diaphragm

Beyond its 12mm diameter, Ventura’s diaphragm is a major design highlight. It uses a gold-plated titanium-ceramic composite diaphragm, built on a titanium-and-ceramic base and finished with a PVD vacuum-deposited gold layer.

Danny is quick to emphasize that this choice wasn’t a marketing gimmick—it was purely about sound. Early versions using only titanium and ceramic powder sounded stiff and slightly aggressive. After extensive experimentation, adding the gold layer resulted in a more natural, refined presentation that aligned much more closely with their ideal.

V4 Four-Chamber Acoustic Architecture

A great driver still needs the right environment to perform. Building on the dual-chamber design introduced with Mecha, Ventura adopts what DITA calls V4 four-chamber technology.

Danny explains that while a typical dynamic driver relies on a single chamber and vent, Ventura uses four interconnected chambers. Conceptually, it draws inspiration from bass-reflex speaker enclosures combined with labyrinth-style airflow paths. The aim is to extend low-frequency performance without compromising mid and high-frequency clarity.

By carefully controlling damping, chamber volume, and airflow, the frequency ranges behave more independently—creating a sense of separation and refinement that feels “as if there were crossovers, without actually using any.”

Asked whether Ventura requires high power like many modern flagships, Danny says it’s relatively easy to drive. That said, to fully express its sense of scale, pairing it with a dongle DAC or portable DAP is recommended. He compares it to ATC speakers: at very low volume they can sound flat, but once driven past a certain point, the sound opens up. Ventura aims to sound “big” even at lower levels—but the source still plays an important role.

Flagship-Level Craftsmanship

Although both Ventura and the earlier Mecha use titanium housings, their manufacturing approaches differ significantly. Mecha was CNC-machined from a single piece, resulting in a fully curved form with almost no parallel surfaces. Ventura, by contrast, uses a complex ten-part CNC-machined construction, placing even greater demands on machining precision and assembly accuracy.

“A flagship should immediately show that its designer understands engineering,” Danny says. “This isn’t something you can just outsource. A CNC machinist can tell at a glance whether a designer truly knows what they’re doing.”

The Story Begins When You Open the Box

When Ventura was unveiled at the 2025 Tokyo Autumn Headphone Festival, DITA described its name as symbolizing a journey into the unknown. That theme carries through the entire unboxing experience.

Take the included leather waist pouch. Its origin is simple: Desmond loves waist bags. His old one was falling apart, and after replacing it with a cheap alternative, Danny couldn’t stand it anymore. “No,” he thought, “I’ll make one for you.” The result is a black, full-leather pouch designed to hold not just earphones, but also a DAP or other accessories. Inside, a discreet magnetic barrier prevents gear from slipping out—secure without being intrusive.

The notebook and pencil are equally personal. Danny enjoys writing and sketching, and every detail was designed with real-world use in mind. The pencil is a custom-length Blackwing from the U.S., perfectly matched to the notebook. The notebook fits easily into a jacket pocket, yet opens up to offer generous writing space. Subtle details—like small dots suggesting alternate writing orientations—reflect thoughtful design rather than decoration.

This emphasis on portability ties directly back to Ventura’s theme: capturing moments while exploring the unknown.

Many of these details may go unnoticed, but for the DITA team, they represent deeply held values. To them, an earphone isn’t just a tool for listening to music—it’s a complete experience.

In just one hour of conversation, Danny’s philosophy became clear: take what you love to the extreme, and let every detail be an outlet for passion. Through technical rigor, obsessive design, and an unwavering pursuit of sound, that philosophy is fully realized in Ventura.

If you ever encounter DITA’s new flagship at a store or audio show, take the time to sit down and listen. You may just hear the passion behind every detail.