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Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Intro

Disclaimer: I purchased the Tin T2 from Aliexpress at full price and this review is written of my own accord.

This is a review of the Tin T2, the first breakout success of company TinHiFi. This set has received rave reviews from around the world saying how it sounds many times more than its asking price and today we shall have a look at this set.



Packaging and Accessories (Score: 6/10)

A very simple yet minimalistic packaging, no complaints in this area, not at this price range at least. Decent tip selection provided, with the famous blue foams to complete the look. The blue foams provided are of good quality and have good synergy with the sound of the Tin T2.

It comes with an honestly subpar MMCX cable. My cable broke after a month, so it is not pictured but overall the MMCX connectors did not seem to be well made and the 3.5mm plug on my cable had a gold coloured metal that faded in 2 weeks.



Build Quality and Fit (Score: 7/10)

I really should split this section into 2 for this earpiece. The build quality was excellent as the T2 earphones themselves are built like tanks and I don’t think they would be taking any damage soon, and the only thing I could see happening to them are some scratches from the earbuds scratching each other. They look beautifully machined and I love the aesthetic.

However, the fit for this earphone is highly subjective. To me, they are not the most comfortable. They also have very wide bores and only very few tips fit comfortably for me. Another thing to take note is that the T2s were designed to be worn cable down (as can be told from the red-blue colourings at the female MMCX connectors) However, they wouldn’t stay in my ears if I wore them that way and the only solution was to switch them around and wear the cable over the ears.

Sound (Overall Score: 7.5/10)



Sources Used

• Shanling M3s
• Fiio Q1 MkII (I liked this pairing as the T2 benefitted from the warmth of the Q1 and I enjoyed having the option to use the bass boost switch on the Q1)

Albums and Tracks Listened to

• Aladdin Original Broadway Recording
• Martin Frost – Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622
• The Killers – Battle Born
• Andy Gibb - The Very Best Of
• Spinners – Essentials
• The Temptations – Classic Soul Hits
• Postmodern Jukebox – The New Classics (Recorded Live!)

Bass (Score: 6.5/10)

Do not expect powerful bass from this set. This is one big area where the sound differs from many chi-fi earphones. There is a decent punch in the mid-bass however as can be seen from the frequency graph, there is a significant dip (roll-off) in the sub-bass. To describe how this feels, it constantly feels as though the T2s do not have a good seal in my ear and I keep trying to push them further in although they are already secure. My guess would be because of the way the T2 is heavily vented. (Isolation suffers because of this and I wouldn’t recommend this for a noisy train commute.) One thing I like about the bass is its speed and attack. It sounds tight and doesn’t bleed or linger too long, and decays naturally. This really shone in the tap-dancing section of Aladdin’s “Friend Like Me”.

Mids (Score: 7.5/10)

The mids perform well on the T2s. It’s not what you’d usually expect from a typical V-shaped tuning with scooped mids. Listening to Martin Frost’s rendition of the “Clarinet Concerto in A” by Mozart was a real treat. It really brought the strings to life. Few IEMs in the sub-100 range succeed in really injecting energy into the strings without going overboard. Most of the time I find that they either sound lifeless or shrill. However, the T2 seems to hit the sweet spot, with very nice detail retrieval as well. To add the cherry on the cake, the tonality of the clarinet was very enjoyable too. The clarinet sounded mellow, yet with lots of breadth and not suppressed by the other instruments. The soundstage on the T2 is also much better than average, giving a very enjoyable experience with classical music. The biggest complaint I have is with how vocals somehow seem weak and too far back in the mix.

Treble (Score: 7/10)

Treble here is a little too boosted for my liking, especially for longer listening sessions. There are peaks at the 7-8k and 10-12k region and it makes it a little fatiguing and I find myself having to refrain from turning the volume too high. This is a big con as I constantly find that the vocals are too laid back in the mix and I keep wanting to turn up the volume to hear them better. However, a good thing is that the treble has impressive detail retrieval for such a budget set. Listening to Aladdin’s “Friend Like Me”, the bar chimes have a very nice shimmer and sparkle. The Hi-hats have an excellent tonality on the T2 as well. Quick note, if you are treble sensitive, swapping our silicone tips for foam tips may help.

Overall

The Tin T2 leans towards a brighter sound signature. It has a more detail-oriented tuning. Although I wouldn’t call these lacking in bass, people who are more used to more common V-shape tunings with slightly elevated bass might find this set hard to adjust to. I won’t lie, it took me a while of listening before I managed to fully appreciate the strengths of the T2. It is quite a technically capable set, especially for its asking price.

Comparison

Tin T2 vs TinT4 (Review here)

I am going to be skipping the Tin T3s here and jumping straight to the T4s. The T4s have been touted as the upgrade to the Tin T2 and for good reason. The T4, with a similar shell design and with an upgraded cable and packaging, has a better bass and sub-bass response. Its overall sound signature that leans more towards a V-shape. The T4 also has a smaller soundstage than the T2. The T4s are also much more technically capable and those who found themselves wishing more detail from the T2 would enjoy the T4.

However, the T2 has been hyped so hard for its unbeatable value but I cannot say the same for the T4. The T4 is significantly pricier than the T2s and although the T4s is a worthy performer, I would not say that it is as solid a rec as the T2s for what it offers.

Conclusion

The sub $50 range is flooded with so many models that people wanting to jump into the hobby would have a hard time finding something to get. Among the sea of normies, the Tin T2 stands out as an outstanding performer and pushes out a special sound signature with quality which is rarely seen in budget models. This is not to say that the Tin T2 is “endgame”, with things like me wishing the bass didn’t roll off so early (which would be a huge improvement IMHO). The Tin T2 fully deserves its status of a sub $50 budget rec.

Review written by: Perry

Build & Aesthetics:

The shells are made of metal through and through which results in a durable build quality. The downside being that in winter your ears get an ice-bath for a minute until it reaches thermal equilibrium with your body temperature.

The T2s are aesthetically pleasing and nothing screams out of place. With round and smooth edges, when plugged in they appear quite discreet and minimal, not appearing gaudy and drawing too much attention.

At 50$, the stock cable it comes with is of commendable quality with the ends molded in resin. But if you're a seasoned audiophile you'd know that the cable texture is nothing to write home about. It tangles easily and it has a rough "rope-like" texture.

An aftermarket copper plated cable is highly recommended with these (explained later in Treble section).

The mmcx connectors, also molded in resin is cause for concern as there have been reports of the left connector being loose. But thankfully Tin HiFi has solved that with the newer batches of the IEM which come with an improved cable.


Overall Score: 3.5/5.


Fit:
Well there's no other way of putting it: if you have big ears, these will not securely fit which will inevitably result in loss of bass quantity. Even with the foamies the fit is not secure, although a tad bit improved.

Which means there's good news for people with small ears (including me): these go down deep in your ear canals causing no issues with the fit.


Overall Score: 3.5/5.


Amping:
It is a 2DD Driver unit with 16Ω impedance and a sensitivity of 102dB/mW hence no amping is needed. You can drive these off a phone with ease from the 3.5mm jack.

Sound:

Right off the bat, these are not bassy IEMs, if you're an avid basshead, look elsewhere. The quantity of subbass qualifies just enough to be passable. Same goes with the frequencies all the way up to the midrange. It's present enough to not sound dry but don't expect the thump. The good news is the bass is fast and accurate. But if you really want some more kick from the low end, these drivers are capable of handling a good amount of EQ. Turn up the subbass frequencies a notch or two and be surprised with ample amount of clean and fast bass. No bloating is noticed. Bass mods are not recommended as they bloat the bass.

The mids are where these IEMs redeem themselves. Detailed breakup of the frequency range performance is seen below.

100Hz-800Hz: the graph shows a nice smooth valley which results in the sound being "bodied" and fuller, not at all hollow sounding which most budget Chi-Fi IEMs fall victim to.

1kHz-4kHz: the curve rises but steadily, peaking before 3kHz. Electric guitars have a good "crunch" to them and sounds pleasing. No harshness is noticed even on Judas Priest's Starbreaker and Rolling Stone's Rock and A Hard Place.

5kHz-8kHz: This is the party piece of the T2. They are sibilant, very rarely, on female vocals only, if the mastering of the track itself is a bit hot on the treble. This is due to the peak at 8kHz, but it's not as strong as you'd might expect just by looking at the graph. Soulperfreesia's Underwater Love is already mastered a bit hot on the treble and the T2s on this track are a tiny bit sibilant sometimes. But the really commendable part about its treble performance is the smoothness. The treble here is really smooth and it absolutely razes many other IEMs more than double its price when it comes to overall smoothness of treble. The timbre of string instruments and orchestral instruments are truly jaw-droppping for an IEM that costs 50$. Lindsey Striling's Artemis induces an eargasm every single time. The crisp and raspy sound of the violin strings are truly incredible.
Remember the copper plated cable? The overall treble is blanketed with a slight touch of warmth, reducing the slight sibilance noticed on some tracks. The difference is enough to be noticed right from the get-go. The mids are also noticeably more forward.

10kHz-20kHz: The air region is boosted, making the sound very airy, all the time. Which is very pleasing to the ear.

Soundstage and Imaging:
Soundstage is quite wide when it comes to width. The boost in air region also helps in presenting an airy soundstage. It cannot do height or depth that well.
Imaging is just good enough, could be better.


Overall Score: 4.6/5

Conclusion:
If you can see past a few of its shortcomings, the positives far outweigh the negatives. This is a legendary pair of IEM, and for good reason! No matter if you use 50$ headphones or a 50000$ Orpheus, you need to hear it! Amazing what you get for such a low price.


Absolute Overall average: 3.8/5

Absolute Overall average with a copper cable and a warm DAC : 4.6/5

I've been listening about T2s for quite some time now so I had to try them, and I'm glad I did. So let's start.

BUILD AND COMFORT

All-aluminium body sure look nice and sturdy, for my ears comfort is great too. Thing that pulls them down is cable - it's very thin and twisty, it tangles like crazy and is tricky to untangle. Luckily it's changeable but that would increases their total cost... So I would really like to see a better cable bundled with them.

SOUND QUALITY

First of all, frequency response is very ear-tip and ear-fit dependent. Use them with the wrong ones and they can sound bright with not enough bass. Personally I found a sweet spot with bundled grey silicone tips, everything clicked in place and they sounded well balanced. Bass is not the deepest or punchiest I've heard but it's still has decent weight while being fast, precise and well textured. Going up there is a really nice and full lower mid range which let T2s create weighty and natural vocals and other mids. Upper mid-range is again very good and maybe slightly pronounced, enabling them to create very clean and precise edges as well as some nice texture to all tones. Highs are simply clear and clean without being overdone.

Instrument separation is very good as well as layering, basically as good as I ever heard on an IEM so far. Overall they might not be warm and fuzzy sounding but I never felt they're being too harsh or too analytical. So simply combining all of the qualities they have and lack of any serious issue is making them a very good choice in my book. If it weren't for a lousy cable I would have given them full 5 stars.

Here I compared them to more expensive KZ ZSX:


EDIT:

Two weeks later I also compared them with **** **** which are equally amazing, especially considering their price. In terms of separation and sound-stage they are very similar. T2s have an edge in transparency while DT6s counter with increased warmth in lower mids which makes for more fluid sound. Each one has it's own strengths but choosing better ones overall is almost impossible.

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