Looking for an affordable pair of earbuds with enough detail for gaming but that also sound great for music? Tin Audio thinks it has the answer with the Tin T2 Plus. Coming in at only $49.99, these buds are feature metal shells, a beautiful cable, and have a sound signature perfect for competitive games. Are they worth a buy?
Specifications
- Current Price: $49.99 (Linsoul)
- Model: T2 PLUS
- Driver Unit: 10.0mm
- Sensitivity: 104±3bBdB @1K HzV 0.126V
- Frequency Response: 10-20KHz
- Impedance: 32Ω±15%
- Rated Power: 3mW
- Max Power: 5mW
- Max Distortion: 1% @1k Hz 0.126V
- Interface: Gold-plated MMCX connector
- Plug: 3.5mm black carbon multi dimensional heavy plug
- Conductor/Cable: 1.25m (22/0.06AS Silver-plated Enameled+200D Kevlar)*4, Transparent Super Soft PVC Cable
- Housing Color: Stainless steel color
Tin Audio has a great reputation in the earphone world. Throughout their releases, it has generally made itself out to be a great value option, pairing high quality sound and durability with an affordable price. That was certainly the case with the Tin T2 Pro I reviewed back in September of 2019 and again in May with the T4s. The company has dabbled in more expensive models and, frankly, done well, but the real acclaim has always seemed to come from their high value IEMs.
The Tin T2 Plus definitely follows the lineage of the former two IEMs. It comes to market at a very reasonable $49.99 and once you hold them in your hand, that feels downright cheap. The earbuds feature sturdy aluminum housings that are made to survive the wear and tear of daily use. It comes with a beautiful 4-core silver-plated cable that ends in MMCX connectors. If it ever breaks, you can detach the earbuds and replace it, also opening the door for upgrades in the future. Along with those, Tin also includes an assortment of silicone eartips and the now-iconic-for-the-brand foam tips. Standard grey, though: no blue.
Inside the shells, the T2 Plus’s are powered by Tin’s new 10mm NanoPure dynamic drivers. They’ve been tuned to sound more neutral, with a flat midrange that puts the instruments on the same plane for music. For games, it’s not quite so simple, because of the headphone’s excellent treble response. Bass isn’t absent either as the company claims an extended sub-bass all the way down to 10Hz, which at that point is more felt than heard.
In my listening, I found the headphones to sound rather bright. The treble response is great for music and games with high-end details — strings and cymbals shine here. The same is true for cues like breaking glass, falling bullet shells, and whistling bullets. Bass feels a touch recessed in comparison but isn’t as lightweight as I feared. There’s a nice body to music that also fills out bombastic sounds like roaring tanks and massive explosions, but there isn’t any rumble here, even with the extended low-end. Bass heads need not apply but don’t mistake these as lacking body and presence.
For gaming, the T2 Plus’ worked well. The added detail is absolutely welcome in competitive games. Footsteps themselves are slightly elevated but they sounded sharper in my ear. I’m also a sucker for nice, tight crack when firing a sniper rifle. The bass was present enough for big cinematic scores, like when entering Stormwind from Elwynn Forest in World of Warcraft. The soundstage is expectedly more intimate than a traditional gaming headset but, as always, Windows Sonic provides a good boost to that and is a available for free in Windows 10.
Final Thoughts
The real benefit to the Tin T2 Plus earphones is that they’re both versatile enough and cheap enough to use for whatever I need them for without costing an arm and a leg. At $49.99, they’re more durable and all-around better made than most of what you’ll find from the department store brands, but if they break I wouldn’t feel terrible about replacing them. The sound signature isn’t as fun as some of Tin’s other earphones, but if you like a flatter sound signature that leans into details, this is a solid budget-friendly bet.
The product described in this review as provided by Linsoul for evaluation purposes.