Gosh I feel bad sharing bad impressions, but I wanted to share my honest take on the Tinhifi T2, which I just got in and cost under $50 on Drop. Here's what I have to say (and am copying in my ranking chart notes too). Again, apologies if you enjoy these. I don't mean to take any joy away from others. They just didn't suit me...at all.
I also have some notes to share about CCZ Melody (gotta disclose though that those were given to me for free from the manufacturer; that being said, I'll be honest - see notes below).
At this point, I feel like I must be doing something wrong with Tinhifi products. For some reason, I keep getting too shrill treble, or too unnatural voicing of the instruments. Before trying this one, I had tried the Tinhifi P1 and the T3.
In this, the T2 Pro, the sound is natural enough, and balanced enough in the bass and mids for my liking, but the treble is way way too shrill for me to tolerate. This is where I feel bad for saying something negative, because I sincerely wonder if I simply have a bad fit or the wrong tips or...something! I mean, I keep reading how people like this brand on the forums, but I've not enjoyed the T3 or T2 now. While the T3 had some degree of shrillness that made me unable to enjoy music as fully as I would have liked, the T2 (the one this note here is for) is so overbearingly sibilant that it's uncomfortable for me to listen to at the volume I want to enjoy my music at.
I tried, I really did. I put these deeper into my ear canal. I tried them just sitting near the entry of my ear canal. I tried Spinfit CP145 tips. I tried Campfire Marshmallow tips. I tried the stock tips that came equipped to the IEM's in the box. No matter how I tried to situate this set or tip them differently, I could not do anything to reduce the sibilance my ears picked up in the treble range.
Treble differs ear to ear though, so please take my treble problems with a grain of salt. Each of our ears alter treble responses drastically, so your mileage may certainly vary here. I just feel bad that I had to have such a negative experience, with my ears and my tastes. If you enjoy this set, I feel happy for you and wish I could too
CCZ Melody ($27)
Rank: C+
These took me off guard. I think any time I put something in my ears that are under $30, I'm always surprised - not even if it's very good, but if it's even remotely decent. These were actually fairly decent. Would I say they are more enjoyable for me compared to the Aria at $80, which is my current top pick at $200 or below? No.
Would I say these are more enjoyable than the Tinhifi T2 Pro at $42? Easily!
What about the Blon BL-03, the current highly acclaimed budget IEM at $39? Hmmm...this may be a tough call. I could say yes. I liked the bass of the CCZ Melody. Not necessarily as balanced as the Blon, but quite fun - albeit suffering poor technicals everything does at this budget range.
The Melody has fun bass, although with the accompanying caveat almost all bass heavy gear has, which is a bit of a muffled mid section. It isn't so bad though, actually. It just isn't exactly
clear. So no, I would not personally say I enjoy these enough to replace my higher priced gear. But....is this worth the low budget price over the other gear?
I would listen to these any day over the T2 Pro. I would also, after trying it side by side with the Blon BL-03, prefer the CCZ Melody, if for nothing else but the comfort actually. My Blon BL-03 are less comfortable in the ear and have also started to show issues with wire connectivity (even though I barely if ever use the BL-03). Seriously, my BL-03 can't even play back music well anymore. It comes out like a garbled mess. Like, this BL-03 be broken. I can't in good conscience recommend the BL-03 for this alone (for anyone who doesn't know, the wire in the BL-03 is not replaceable with another cable; if it breaks, you have to buy a new pair). At least the CCZ Melody has a detachable cable.
It's a real shame, since I would love to try a working BL-03 again so I can compare the sound qualities with a fresh take instead of a memory.
What about the KZ ZS5 (my current highest rated IEM sub-$50, at $35)? Honestly, no. I prefer the ZS5 still, and for maybe $8 more than the CCZ Melody. The ZS5 has a "clearer" signature to my ear. I'm a sucker for "clarity." Whether that simply means the treble is higher, or the bass isn't so high that the mids are muffled, in any case...I prefer the KS5.
I think these could be a great budget entry, maybe worth trying if you are up for trying multiple budget IEM's to see which you prefer. There isn't much bad about them in the tuning, but they are indeed simply decent technically - which is common at this price. So you may love these like anyone loves any budget gear. Or, like me, you simply have other more expensive gear to enjoy.
