TinHifi Tin Buds 3

disclaimer: The Tinbuds 3 were provided by Tin Hifi for the purpose of review.    I have no financial interest in Tin Hifi or any of their distributors and have received no guidance or compensation beyond the product itself for this review.  For more information on Tin Hifi products, see their website

 

Unboxing / Packaging:

The Tinbuds3 ship in a patterned matte black box with a white slip-cover that has the Tin logo and Tin Buds 3 on the top panel and website and QR codes for Tin Hifi on the reverse.  There are no photos or line drawings of the buds on the packaging to help sell the product.  Curiously when you first open the box, you are greeted with a smaller box labeled accessories on top rather than the more common earpieces on display.    The accessories box contains a USB charging cable, a manual, and 4 sets of tips.  its a bit uninspiring but lifting the small box out of the way does reveal the case which is much more eye-catching.    The case is protected on the top surface with a plastic sheet and the sides with a foam surround.   The earpieces are safely hidden within.

 

Build/Fit:

The cases are available either in a deep anodized blue or a gun metal grey with the top and sides sharing the anodized metal cover. The bottom and internals are black plastic.   Earpieces are either a deep blue or black resin to match (sort of) the color of the case.   My sample is the gun metal / black model and having seen photos of the blue pair, I kinda wish I’d gone that route as the blue is really quite stunning.  Shells are 3d printed resin in a semi-custom shape with stainless nozzles.  There are a pair of contact points carefully fitted in the fold of the under-side where they are unobtrusive when in the ear.   The face plates are hand-painted so no two pairs will be exactly alike but all have the Tin Hifi logo in a matte gold color at the center.   The earpieces are mid-sized and were quite comfortable for long wear.  Isolation is about average as the shape does not put a lot of material directly in line with the ear-canal.

 

Internals/battery:

The tech inside the TinBuds 3 is fairly impressive for a budget in-ear.   They utilize a QCC3040 chip set for connectivity.  This is a low energy Bluetooth 5.2 chipset that helps extend battery life while providing low latency connections via AptX adaptive.     Sound is handled by the 6mm Beryllium-plated dynamic driver similar to the model used in previous generation Tin Hifi T series products in design but smaller in diameter.    The battery also deserves discussion as it lasts nearly 6.5 hours which is really quite ridiculous for an in-ear this size as most last more like 3 hours than 6 or 7.  The case provides an additional 4 full charges and nearly a full fifth charge before needing to be plugged into a USB type-C charger itself.    The USB port is on the rear of the case with 4 LED lights immediately opposite the port that give the user an idea   Once fully drained the case takes roughly 6 hours to charge while the earpieces will charge in roughly a 2 hour window.   I did find the charge times mentioned in the documentation a bit optimistic but that may be entirely dependent on the charger that is used as well.

 

Controls:

The Tinbuds 3 have to be controlled via the touch panels on the earpieces as there is no companion app.   While some will lament not having an app, the buds go immediately into pairing mode upon opening the case or reconnect to the last device if available so there really is not a need for an app to pair the earbuds.   I found the touch controls a bit finicky but once you get the hang of where to touch, they work as advertised and are simple in use.

 

Sound:

Bass:

Despite what the FR plot might suggest, sub-bass is not emphasized and is actually a bit below the mid- bass to my ear as mid-bass slam definitely overshadows the sub-bass rumble when listening to bass heavy genres.  The lowest notes sound a bit monotone and most of the texture is again found a bit further up the frequency range as the top end of the mid-bass is notably more detailed than the sub-bass and adjacent mid-bass.  There is little or no bleed into the lower-mids, but the emphasis on mid-bass does impart a bit of warmth and thickness.

 

Mids:

This is the clear focus of the tuning of the Tinbuds 3 with vocals being the main theme.   Lower voices have good weight and tone while upper voices take an additional step out in front and are really on full display.   Perhaps oddly, other instruments are not nearly as prominent in the mix even those that overlap the vocals in frequency are somewhat reserved in comparison.  Guitars for example are a bit smoothed and rasp not as sharp as I’d like and male vocals tend to push the sound of the guitar to the rear a bit.  Likewise female vocals overlap the viola and violin at times and can displace them in the mix.   Those looking for a vocal-centric in-ear might be quite well pleased with these, but those looking for a cohesive sound will be less than happy with the dichotomy.

 

Treble:

There is a large push in the 2kHz – 4khz range that brings vocals to the forefront but also can be the source of some glare and nasal vocals occasionally surface.  Above the early lift treble falls back quickly which keeps the Tinbuds 3 from becoming fatiguing but does limit the air and sparkle at the top.   Snare rattle is not as sharply defined as I’d like and cymbals come off a bit flat.  The detail level also seems to travel with the emphasis and while lower treble details are on display higher notes get less emphasis and less detail is realized.

 

Soundstage / Imaging:

I’ve come to expect little from sealed designs in the way of staging as even the best CIEMs wont compete with a headphone in this respect and the Tinbuds 3 follow that model.  Stage is a bit wider than deep with none of the dimensions being particularly large and height is a bit limited as well.   Instrument separation is average or slightly better which helps keep things from sounding overlapped or congested but the overall stage dimensions limit what imaging is possible.   movements are well tracked through space, but with the limits it seems to travel some distance and then remain still rather than continuing its path.     There is some minor compression in the lows as tracks become more difficult but that should be expected from builds at this price point.

 

Thoughts / Conclusion:

I really wanted to be able to say the Tinbuds 3 were going to return Tin Hifi to their previous position at the top of the budget heap but ultimately came away with more mixed emotions about them.    They have some great features,  the connectivity and battery life are both really good and the lack of an app that some will reference as a detractor I find kind of refreshing.  There is something nice about not needing to fiddle with things to enjoy my music.  Alas that is where some of the downside starts showing itself.   These are a vocal-centric tuning and the instrumentation takes a bit of a backseat to the vocals.  With no app to adjust the EQ, I had to revert to an EQ in the playback device to adjust.     Even then, there is a mild hiss that makes itself known far too frequently for my liking.      My hope is Tin will keep the shells, the Bluetooth and battery and rethink the tuning a bit for the next generation as there is a lot to like here, but unfortunately a few foibles the mix as well.   With the asking price being $90 USD the Tin buds 3 are in direct competition with a ton of big name models from brands like Sennheiser and Shure which will make it harder for them to find a market, but they are worth a try for those looking for a simple, ,easy to use system.