Tin Audio T2 IEMs: Review of this Budget Neutral Beast






This is a quick review of these budget IEM headphones:

I've done quite a bit of buying/selling headphones over the past year or so and have been really honing in on a set of open back headphones, closed back headphones, open IEMs, closed IEMs, and ear buds as my arsenal. Through the course of listening to many different headphones/earphones over a large disparity of prices, I've really come to a good set up right now with the Hifiman HE560, Audeze Sine, Unique Melody ME.1, Yincrow X6, and now the Tin Audio T2.

The closed back IEM was the hardest one to nail down only because I don't usually listen to closed back IEMs since I've been very content with my UM ME.1 for using at work and very rarely do I really need isolation. I actually prefer not to use closed backs as much as possible, except when loud finance lady the cubicle over from me gets on the phone. Then its closed back heaven!

I had purchased the Campfire Comets recently and was impressively satisfied with them. They sounded great, didnt have any glaring weaknesses, and were well built and attractive. But I found that I didnt use them much for the items mentioned above. Was it really worth keeping a $200 IEM sitting there collecting dust? No. Not really, especially if I wanted to feed my camera hobby. :)

So I set out to look for a budget IEM again. I tried KZ's offerings and I've previously tried Final Audio's offerings and then recently heard many rave reviews on the T2 and had to try it.

Well, I'm happy to report, whatever you've heard about these is probably true. They are excellent for the sub $50 price range, and yes, I sold my Comets with these to replace it. These aren't better than the Comets, but they are a close enough. The Comets sound just slightly more detailed and more full-flavored, but the T2 is nearly there.





The T2 is a very neutral sounding IEM as many have mentioned in the past. It may sound a little bass shy to many folks, but it is well detailed and ever present to my liking. I have gone with both vent mod and without and now I'm happy without the vent mod with foam tips. The detail that is present on these is fabulous at this budget range. I find it more detailed and engaging than the FAD E2000 which was my previous budget champion. The detail level is on-par with the KZ ZS6, however the ZS6 has wider soundstage and better imaging. That's not to say these are lacking, but the KZ pair really nails that part down. Of course, the ZS6 is a treble nightmare, and happily, the Tin Audio T2 has plenty of energy but without the nailbiting peaks and sibilance to go with it.





Comfort-wise, these are very comfortable for me. They can be worn up or down, and while I prefer it up, I can easily insert them quickly down if I'm lazy. They are lightweight, but still made of a metal housing, The included cable is very attractive and works well. I opted to use my own balanced cable but I'd be quite happy with the stock one.

TL;DR version:

Great sounding budget IEMs that have a very clean, neutral sound signature. Works well with every genre. Lightweight and comfortable. Could use slight warmth but happy without it too. Excellent value and purchase highly recommended over it's competitors.

PS - The best part of this IEM is.... no eq required. comes ready to play. But if you do want to EQ, here's the MiniDSP EQ flat response compensation curve. They recommend +3dB to bass but I don't really like that sound signature.




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