Simmons Titan 20 vs Titan 50: What the Extra Money Actually Buys

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The Titan 20 and Titan 50 were announced together in December 2022, and they look similar in photos. Both have mesh drum pads, 10-inch cymbal pads, a four-post rack, Bluetooth and the same Simmons app. So why does one cost noticeably more than the other?

The short answer is the kick, the snare, the module and the size of the rack. Those four things decide whether a kit fits a 9-year-old or a 6-foot adult. I compared both kits using the Simmons product pages and manuals, Guitar Center and Musician’s Friend listings, the original launch specs and DrumSilent’s reviews of both kits. I have not played either kit myself, so this is a comparison on paper plus what owners and reviewers report.

One thing changed since launch. The Titan 20 is still current and in stock at Musician’s Friend, but the original five-piece Titan 50 is sold out. The version you buy new today is the Titan 50 B-EX: the same module, snare and kick, plus a fourth tom and a second crash. Below, “Titan 50” means that platform, and I note where the B-EX differs.

The specs at a glance

A note on the Titan 20 sound count: the launch specs from December 2022 and the manual list 103 drum sounds. Current retailer pages and Target say “over 180 sounds.” I could not confirm whether a firmware update changed this, so I treat 103 as the documented number and mention the retailer figure.

Module and sounds

Titan 20 module

The Titan 20 has 10 preset kits and 1 user kit, plus 3 preset songs and 1 user song. The sounds come from the same London Bridge Studio sessions as the larger Titans, with styles like a “Black Album” rock kit, 70s, country and modern pop. Practice mode scores your timing and has click, intermittent click and cut-out click options.

Editing is basic: level, pan and reverb send per sound. That is enough for a beginner, but the single user kit slot fills up fast once you start making changes.

Titan 50 module

The Titan 50 has 187 drum sounds, 25 preset kits and 10 user kits, with 3 preset and 7 user songs. Each kit gets EQ, reverb and compression, and the presets are stereo, while Sonicstate’s launch report notes the Titan 20 presets are mono. Simmons also offers a downloadable Titan sound pack.

Does the module difference matter?

For a child learning their first beats, probably not much. Ten kits cover rock, pop and a few other styles, and the practice mode is the same idea on both kits.

For a teen or adult, yes. Ten user slots mean you can save a practice kit, a quiet kit and a few song-specific kits. EQ and compression let you fix a boomy kick or a thin snare without a computer. DrumSilent still rated the Titan 50 module 3 out of 5 for its limited library, so neither kit is a sound powerhouse. Both work with drum plugins over USB, which I cover in my guide to connecting e-drums to a computer.

Pads and feel

Snare

The Titan 50 snare is 10 inches, dual-zone, with adjustable tension and rimshot detection. The Titan 20 snare is 8 inches, dual-zone, with rimshot detection listed by Simmons and retailers. DrumSilent, which reviewed both kits, found the Titan 20 has no true rimshot (head and rim together), while the Titan 50 snare does one.

A 10-inch snare is a noticeably bigger target. For an adult, that matters a lot for rimshots, ghost notes and cross-sticking. For a small child, the 8-inch pad is perfectly fine.

Toms

The Titan 20 has three 8-inch mesh toms and the B-EX has four, all with adjustable tension. DrumSilent found them single-zone on both kits, so no separate rim sounds, though it found the Titan 50 toms more responsive to dynamics.

Cymbals

The Titan 20 has three 10-inch rubber cymbal pads (hi-hat, ride, crash) and the B-EX has four (two crashes). All are single-zone, so there is no ride bell zone on either. The Titan 50 crashes add a choke, which lets you grab the cymbal to stop it, like on an acoustic crash. The Titan 20 does not have choke.

DrumSilent also found the Titan 20 cymbal pads stiff and not very responsive to dynamics. That fits what you would expect at the lowest price in the lineup.

Hi-hat

Both use a fixed hi-hat pad with a variable controller pedal that moves from closed to half-open to open. Simmons lists splash and foot-close sounds on the Titan 20 pedal. For beginners both are fine, though neither feels like a real moving hi-hat.

The kick: the biggest difference

This is the part most buyers miss in the product photos.

The Titan 20 does not have a kick pad. It uses a velocity-sensitive kick trigger pedal, where the beater points down and strikes a small pad inside the pedal unit. DrumSilent said the pedal moves but “lacks the feel of a fully swinging beater”, the spring started out stiff, and it works only as a single pedal. You cannot use a double pedal, and you cannot swap in your own pedal later.

The Titan 50 has a 6-inch mesh kick pad on its own small tower, with a real kick pedal included. The launch coverage says it takes a double pedal, so you can upgrade the pedal later or add a second beater. DrumSilent found the included pedal much better to play than the Titan 20 unit, with adjustable beater angle and spring tension.

If the drummer is going to keep playing for years or may ever play an acoustic kit, the Titan 50’s real pedal and pad will teach better technique. Trigger pedals are fine for kids and casual play, and they have one big upside: they are quieter for the people downstairs. My explainer on kick towers vs kick pads goes deeper into the trade-offs.

Hardware, size and weight

Rack

Both kits ship with a four-post rack that comes mostly assembled.

The Titan 20 rack is the smaller one. DrumSilent’s reviewer, who is 6 foot 3, found it too small for adults. The cymbal and drum mounts cannot rotate toward or away from you, which limits how you spread the pads, and the plastic cymbal clamps felt loose even when tightened. He broke one by overtightening it and waited a week or two for a replacement.

The Titan 50 rack is bigger, with round vertical posts and rectangular cross bars. Tom and cymbal mounts tilt forward and back, so you can fit it to a taller player.

Footprint

Simmons gives two different kinds of figure:

• Titan 20: the manual lists about 39 inches high, 43 wide and 26 deep assembled, and 32.4 lb.
• Titan 50: the Simmons FAQ recommends about 52 x 32 inches of floor space. The B-EX’s extra tom and crash need a little more width.

The Titan 20 is the better fit for a kid’s bedroom or a corner of a small apartment. The Titan 50 still counts as compact next to most full-size kits. For measuring your space, see my guide to how much space electronic drums need.

Noise

Both kits use mesh drum pads and rubber cymbals, so the sound in the room is similar: soft taps and dull clicks.

The kick design changes how much noise goes through the floor. The Titan 20 trigger pedal has the beater hitting a small pad inside the pedal unit, so there is less impact than a beater swinging into a pad on the rack. The Titan 50’s real kick pedal and pad will thump more. In an apartment, a rug under either kit helps, and the Titan 50 benefits more from a riser. My guide on making electronic drums quieter covers the options.

Connectivity

This section is basically a tie. The launch specs say the Titan 20 shares the Titan 50’s connectivity, and the product pages agree:

• Bluetooth audio and MIDI (reviewers report it does one at a time, and neither supports wireless headphones)
• USB audio and MIDI, working as a 2×2 audio interface with MIDI
• 1/8-inch stereo aux input for a phone or music player
• Stereo 1/4-inch line outputs and a 1/8-inch headphone output
• Detachable padded tablet shelf for an iPad or phone
• Works with the Simmons Drums 2 app

That is a lot of connectivity for a kit at the Titan 20’s price. For a child using a lesson app on a tablet, it is the same experience on both kits.

Expansion

The Titan 20 has no expansion inputs. What you buy is what you keep.

The Titan 50 module has inputs for a fourth tom and a second crash. On the old five-piece you filled them with an expansion pack. The B-EX ships with both pads in the box, so you get the six-piece layout from day one.

If you think the drummer might stick with it, starting with four toms and two crashes is a real advantage.

Price and value

Both kits sit in the 300 to 500 dollar bracket, with the B-EX toward the top of it and the Titan 20 near the bottom. I do not list exact prices because sales change them often.

For the extra money, the B-EX gives you a real kick pad and pedal, a bigger snare, a fourth tom, a second crash with choke, 15 more preset kits, 9 more user kits, kit effects and a bigger adjustable rack. For anyone older than about 12, I think that is clearly worth it. For a young child who may not stick with drums, the Titan 20 saves money and space.

Who should buy the Titan 20

• Young kids, roughly elementary school age, who need a smaller rack.
• Families testing interest before spending more.
• Very small rooms, where the smaller frame helps.
• Households worried about kick noise, since the trigger pedal is lighter on the floor.

If you are shopping for a child, my guide to the best electronic drum sets for kids has more options, and what age kids can start drums helps with the timing. The Titan 20 review covers this kit in full.

Who should buy the Titan 50 B-EX

• Teens and adults who need a full-size, adjustable rack.
• Anyone who wants a real kick pedal, including future double pedal players.
• Beginners who plan to keep going, thanks to four toms, two crashes and more user kits.
• People who like to tweak sounds, with EQ and compression per kit.

My Titan 50 review has the full breakdown. If you are also looking at the older SD600 or the Alesis rival, see Titan 50 vs SD600 and Titan 50 vs Nitro Max.

Bottom line

The Titan 20 is a good kid’s kit: small, light, simple and fully connected. Its trigger pedal, 8-inch snare, single user kit and lack of expansion are what keep the price down, and they are also what make it a poor fit for adults.

The Titan 50 B-EX costs more, but you get a real kick pedal and pad, a bigger snare, four toms, two crashes, more kits and effects and a bigger rack. For teens and adults, it is the one I would buy.