After reviewing the original Tin Audio T2, we had a great interest in what else this small Chinese IEM maker could provide, and promptly ordered the Tin Audio T2 Pro from Massdrop.

Click here to read the original Tin Audio T2 Review

The Tin Audio T2 is a Chinese IEM that has been quite hyped in the past year. With an extremely affordable price tag, nice build quality, and a highly refined, neutral sound, it’s not surprising that it became so popular. Nonetheless, there were some minor criticisms of it. The bass was often criticized as being much too light, and while I personally did not mind it, I saw many comments about how the high frequencies sounded a bit grainy and were too rolled off.

The Pro version features a chunkier, silver carbon fibre weave 3.5mm plug instead of the older black and gold plug.

So when I got hold of the T2 Pro, it was to my surprise that for the most part, it had the same sound as the original T2. The bass had not changed at all – it had the same overly polite, low impact rendition as before. However, the mids and highs were subtly different. Mid frequencies like vocals sounded like they had slightly more presence, and details were more pronounced. This goes all the way up to the high frequencies as well, with hats and cymbals sounding significantly crisper and a bit louder. As a result, the soundstage is also slightly different from the original. I felt that there was a bit more sense of height as the highs are more pronounced, though some width is sacrificed with mid-frequency details being more forward.

In terms of the measured frequency response with the Vibro Veritas, it is largely the same as the original T2. However, most noticeable is the slight boost around the 14kHz region, which does reflect the increase in high frequencies.

It seems like that Tin Audio decided not to fiddle with the low and mid frequencies, and only adjusted or replaced the smaller diameter 6mm dynamic driver to tweak the high frequency details. Although I am not a big fan of such bass light sound signatures, I suppose it may have been the right choice – I’m most likely not the target demographic for the T2, and fans of its bright, neutral tone may appreciate this subtle boost to the highs. If I had to choose between the T2 and the T2 Pro, I might actually pick the original – I actually enjoy the softer, gentle high frequency rendition rather than the more pompous, harsher presentation of the Pro.

In terms of physical and aesthetic changes, only a few things have changed. The biggest change is in the 3.5mm plug, which is still a straight plug, and still has the carbon fibre weave pattern, but is now a little chunkier and all silver instead of gold and black. The earphone housing also received a minor refresh. The colour of the cylindrical section of the housing is now lighter and also looks slightly shinier, in contrast to the original T2 which is obviously darker than the section that connects to the MMCX cable. In addition, the mesh has also changed from the old, slightly less dense metallic mesh to an even finer white coloured mesh.

To conclude, if you’re a fan of the original, you’ll probably love the Pro version as well. New buyers looking for a cheap budget IEM will have to decide whether they prefer slightly rolled off highs or not – either way, I think the T2/T2 Pro are both solid choices regardless.