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We've recently released our Test Bench 1.6 update for Headphones! Read the Latency R&D Article to learn more.

TIN Audio T3 Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.4
Reviewed Mar 28, 2019 at 11:13 am
Latest change: Writing modified Oct 25, 2021 at 03:11 pm
TIN Audio T3 Picture
5.9
Mixed Usage
6.8
Neutral Sound
5.8
Commute/Travel
6.4
Sports/Fitness
6.0
Office
4.0
Wireless Gaming
6.0
Wired Gaming
2.5
Phone Calls

The TIN Audio T3 are fair in-ears for neutral sound with a great build quality with a detachable and replaceable cable. This model resembles the previous TIN Audio T2 headphones, and they perform similarly but with noticeably more bass. They're made to be worn with an ear-hook design. They can be decently comfortable if you can find the right tip option for you and come with foam tips as well. They isolate better than the T2s, making them slightly more versatile for commuting and at the office. Unfortunately, they don’t have any control scheme as they lack an in-line remote, but their wired connection is great for watching video content without any latency issues.

Our Verdict

5.9 Mixed Usage

The TIN Audio T3 are sub-par for mixed usage. Their audio reproduction is slightly hyped in the bass range, and they're very sibilant around 10kHz. On the upside, they have great isolation performance and will be a better option for commuting and the office than the previous TIN Audio T2. Unfortunately, they aren’t the most comfortable in-ears to wear for long periods but will be fine for working out thanks to their stable ear-hooks and breathable design. They won’t be great for watching TV, as you won’t have the range to watch from your couch, and they don’t have a microphone for online gaming.

Pros
  • Durable build with detachable cables.
  • Great isolation performance.
  • Minimal leakage.
Cons
  • In-ear fit might not be for everyone.
  • No in-line remote and microphone.
6.8 Neutral Sound

The TIN Audio T3 are alright for neutral sound. They have an extended, powerful, and consistent bass with a well-balanced mid-range but with an overly sharp treble on sibilants like cymbals. Also, their bass is slightly thumpy, which some may like, and a bit boomy. The mid-range is also a bit overemphasized, which brings a bit of thickness and clutter to vocals. When compared to the TIN Audio T2 model, the T3 have noticeably more bass with silicone tips.

5.8 Commute/Travel

The TIN Audio T3 are sub-par for commuting and traveling. While they have good noise isolation and block a decent amount of low-frequency noises like engine rumbles, they aren’t very comfortable and won’t be great to wear for long periods. Also, they don’t offer the freedom of wireless headphones, but if you don’t mind that or if you want to watch video content on your phone without any latency, they will be a good option for this use.

6.4 Sports/Fitness

The TIN Audio T3 are acceptable for sports and fitness. These headphones are very stable due to their ear-hook cable design, and their buds are small enough to be very breathable and portable. However, they don’t have an in-line remote with control options for when you’re working out. You might also not like having a cable in your way during physical activity.

6.0 Office

The TIN Audio T3 are mediocre for the office. These wired headphones aren’t as convenient as a wireless pair of headphones, but on the upside, you won’t have to manage battery life. They have very good isolation against ambient chatter and A/C system noises, which is nice. Unfortunately, they aren’t the most comfortable in-ears, so you might feel soreness quickly and won’t be able to wear them during your whole shift.

4.0 Wireless Gaming

The TIN Audio T3 are poor for gaming. They don’t have the longest cable, and they don’t have a microphone for online games. On the upside, they can be a good option if you’re not looking for customization options and only want to play offline single-player games.

6.0 Wired Gaming
2.5 Phone Calls
  • 5.9 Mixed Usage
  • 6.8 Neutral Sound
  • 5.8 Commute/Travel
  • 6.4 Sports/Fitness
  • 6.0 Office
  • 4.0 Wireless Gaming
  • 6.0 Wired Gaming
  • 2.5 Phone Calls
  1. Updated Feb 25, 2021: Updated the test settings and reran the Frequency Response test to compare the results between small silicone tips and foam tips.
  2. Updated Mar 24, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
  3. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
  4. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
  5. Updated Mar 28, 2019: Review published.
  6. Updated Mar 26, 2019: Our testers have started testing this product.
  7. Updated Mar 26, 2019: Early access published.
  8. Updated Mar 24, 2019: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  9. Updated Mar 18, 2019: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Compared To Other Headphones

Comparison picture

The TIN Audio T3 are decent critical listening headphones that are fairly versatile and stand out due to their great and durable build. However, their audio reproduction isn’t the best and they can be somewhat awkward to fit inside some ears.

We suggest looking at our recommendations for the best sounding wireless earbuds, the best wireless earbuds under $50, and the best earbuds and in-ears.

TIN Audio T2

The TIN Audio T3 and TIN Audio T2 models are very similar with slight differences. The T3’s cable is noticeably thicker and it encourages an ear-hook fit, while the T2’s is thinner and can be worn normally, hanging down from your ears. Also, the T3 get noticeably more bass if you don’t block the ports on the T2. Additionally, they isolate a bit more ambient noise than the T2. On the other hand, the T2 are less sibilant in high treble, but that’s about it. Overall, the two models are very similar.

1More Triple Driver

The 1More Triple Driver have a better sound than the TIN Audio T3 and are also more convenient as they have an in-line remote with controls and a microphone. The 1More audio quality is decent and neutral. On the other hand, the TIN are better-built headphones and feel more durable than the 1More. The TIN also isolate more ambient noise and will be better suited for commuting.

Samsung AKG Type-C

The Samsung AKG Type-C are better headphones than the TIN Audio T3. The Samsung are more comfortable, and they have in-line controls and a microphone, unlike the TIN. Both headphones have a little extra boom in the bass range, but the Samsung have a more neutral sound than the TIN. However, the TIN are better-built, more stable, and leak less noise.

MOONDROP KATO

The MOONDROP KATO are better IEMs for neutral sound than the TIN Audio T3. While both headphones are well-built, the MOONDROP are significantly more comfortable, have a more neutral sound profile, and have a better passive soundstage, although it's still not very large or immersive. However, some users may prefer the TIN's more bass-heavy sound profile.

KZ ZS10

The KZ ZS-10 are better critical listening headphones than the TIN Audio T3. Their audio reproduction is more accurate, and you’ll be able to wear these headphones for a longer period of time due to their fairly comfortable design. On the other hand, if you want to listen to music during your commute, the T3 isolate more ambient noise, so they might be the better option for traveling.

BGVP DM6

The TIN Audio T3 might be a slightly better option than the BGVP DM6 for people who prefer an exciting sound. The BGVP has bass roll-off, while the TIN’s bass is slightly overemphasized. Both headphones perform similarly in pretty much every category, though. The BGVP are very comfortable if you can find a good fit, which is difficult for some. They also have a unique style and come in multiple colors, but they're slightly more expensive.

Beats urBeats3 Earphones

The Beats urBeats3 Earphones are better-wired in-ears than the TIN Audio T3. They don’t sound as sharp as the TIN, and they have an in-line remote with controls and a microphone, which the TIN is lacking. The stability fins of the Beats could be helpful for a more secure fit inside the ear for sports activities. On the other hand, the TIN headphones are better-built, and their detachable cable is a nice feature since it's easy to replace if broken.

Sennheiser IE 40 PRO

If you like bass-heavy music, the TIN Audio T3 will be a better choice than the Sennheiser IE 40 PRO. Their sound profiles are fairly similar, but the low-bass of the TIN is more accurate and doesn’t lack thump like the Sennheiser. The TIN are also better-built and feel more durable. Their bud design creates a better air-tight seal and will isolate against ambient noise very well.

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Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless No
Transducer Dynamic

The TIN Audio T3 are very similar to the TIN Audio T2 model in style but don’t come with flashy blue foam tips that add color to the design. However, the overall feel is the same with nice-looking metal earbuds that have a high-end design. The braided cable is transparent with gold accents, which gives a nice premium finish to the headphones.

6.5
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.07 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs

The TIN Audio T3 aren’t the most comfortable in-ears we’ve tested. You can wear these headphones with the cable hanging down or hanging over your ears. However, they have a different fit than the previous TIN Audio T2 model. They come with a good variety of tip options, including foam tips, which most people seem to find more comfortable. Unfortunately, the nozzle is still larger than average, and some may feel it as they enter your ear canal.

0
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
No Controls
Ease Of Use No Controls
Feedback No Controls
Call/Music Control No
Volume Control No
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
No
Noise Cancelling Control No
Talk-Through
No
Additional Controls No

These headphones don't have an in-line remote or a control scheme.

9.2
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 0.8 °C

Like most in-ears, the TIN Audio T3 don’t trap much heat inside the ear, which means you shouldn’t notice a big temperature difference when wearing them for a while. This makes them suitable for sports, as you won’t sweat more than usual.

8.2
Design
Portability
L 2.6"
W 2.3"
H 1.6"
Volume 9.6 in³
Transmitter Required No

Like most in-ears, the TIN Audio T3 are very portable and easily fit inside pockets or a bag. They're easy to carry around, but unfortunately, they don’t come with a case.

0
Design
Case
Type No case
L N/A
W N/A
H N/A
Volume N/A

These headphones don’t come with a case to protect them when you’re on the move.

8.0
Design
Build Quality

Like the TIN Audio T2, the TIN Audio T3 are very well-built headphones. They look and feel premium thanks to their metal buds which shouldn’t get damaged if accidentally dropped. Also, their cable is braided and detachable, making it easy to replace it if it gets damaged. It's also a bit thicker than the T2's cable, giving it a sturdier feel. They have a high-end build, and the replaceable parts make them even more durable.

8.0
Design
Stability

These headphones are very stable, especially since the main difference in design between the TIN Audio T2 and TIN Audio T3 is that the orientation of the T3 buds indicates you should be wearing them with an ear-hook design. There is also a coating around the cable near the earbuds, which encourages the ear-hook fit. They shouldn’t pop out of your ears during physical activity, but you might find their cable to be in your way sometimes. Also, since the cable isn’t easily detachable, the headphones can still be yanked out of your ears if it gets stuck on something.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • TIN Audio T3 headphones
  • 6x silicone tip options
  • 2x foam tip options
  • Manuals

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
3.37 dB
Treble Amount
-3.15 dB

The TIN Audio T3 have a bass-heavy sound profile. They deliver a touch of extra thump, rumble, and boom. However, some users may find them a bit muddy. Vocals and lead instruments are accurately reproduced but are a bit veiled.

Note: Due to user feedback, we have reexamined the elevated bass response we received during our tests. We ran a pass with both the small silicone ear tips and the foam tips. The small silicone ear tips had much lower bass, while the foam tips had a significant increase in the bass range. You can see a comparison of our results here.

8.9
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.23 dB

The frequency response consistency is excellent. If the user can achieve a proper fit and an air-tight seal using the assortment of tips that come with them, they should get consistent bass and treble delivery every time they use the headphones.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
7.1
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
4.17 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
Low-Bass
4.66 dB
Mid-Bass
4.5 dB
High-Bass
4.82 dB

The TIN Audio T3's bass performance is satisfactory. LFE (low-frequency extension) is down to 10Hz, which is great. The response throughout the range is flat and even, but it's slightly hyped and overdone. The overemphasis in low-bass will make it slightly more thumpy, which some people may prefer. Mid-bass, responsible for the body of bass guitar and kick instruments, is well-balanced, but high-bass is hyped by more than 3dB, which will add a bit of boominess to the bass.

8.5
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
1.98 dB
Low-Mid
3.11 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.27 dB
High-Mid
-0.1 dB

The TIN Audio T3's mid-range is excellent. The response is very even and flat throughout the range, which results in a well-balanced reproduction of vocals and lead instruments. However, low-mid is overemphasized by about 3dB, which is the continuation of the overemphasis in high-bass. This adds a bit of thickness to the vocals and a bit of clutter to the overall mix.

7.8
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
2.99 dB
Low-Treble
-2.45 dB
Mid-Treble
1.09 dB
High-Treble
-10.4 dB

The TIN Audio T3's treble performance is good. The low-treble is underemphasized, resulting in veiled vocals and lead instruments. However, the mid-treble is a bit overemphasized, so sibilants like cymbals are bright.

7.8
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
1.5 dB
Dips
0.95 dB
8.9
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
0.12
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.37
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.17
Weighted Phase Mismatch
7.95

The stereo imaging is excellent. Their weighted group delay is at 0.12, which is very low. The group delay graph also shows that the entire response is well below the audibility threshold. This ensures a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Also, the L/R drivers of our test unit were well-matched in frequency, amplitude, and phase response. This is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (voices, instruments, video game effects) in the stereo image. However, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

0.4
Sound
Passive Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
Openness
2.2
Acoustic Space Excitation
0

The soundstage is poor. This is because creating an out-of-head and speaker-like soundstage is largely dependent on activating the resonances of the pinna (outer ear). The design of in-ears and earbuds is in such a way that fully bypasses the pinna and doesn't interact with it. Also, because these headphones have a closed-back enclosure, their soundstage won't be perceived to be as open as that of open-back earbuds like the Apple AirPods (1st generation) Truly Wireless, or the Bose SoundSport Free Truly Wireless.

0
Sound
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
Speaker Modeling
No
Room Ambience
No
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
No App
8.1
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.238
WHD @ 100
0.089
Sound
Test Settings
Firmware
No Firmware
Power
Passive
Connection
Wired
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Foam (small)
Microphone
No Microphone

These are the settings used to test these headphones, and our results are only valid with these settings.

Isolation
7.8
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-26.9 dB
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
-8.42 dB
Mid
-22.28 dB
Treble
-51.13 dB

The TIN Audio T3's isolation performance is very good. They surprisingly performed much better than the similar TIN Audio T2, especially against bass noises. In the bass range, where the rumble of airplanes and bus engines sit, they achieved more than 8dB of isolation, which is okay. In the mid-range, important for blocking out speech, they reduce outside noise by more than 22dB, which is very good. In the treble range, occupied by sharp S and T sounds and air conditioning noise, they isolate by more than 51dB, which is remarkable.

Note: We tested the headphones with the foam tips.

10
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
21.23 dB

The leakage performance is outstanding. They don't leak, so there's no need to worry about disturbing people around with your music, even if you listen at very loud volumes. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage at one foot away averages at 21dB SPL and peaks at 25dB SPL, roughly as loud as a whisper and way below the noise floor of an average office.

Note: We tested the headphones with the foam tips.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
In-Line
No
Boom
No
Detachable Boom
No
Mic No
0
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
N/A
LFE
N/A
FR Std. Dev.
N/A
HFE
N/A
Weighted THD
N/A
Gain
N/A

These headphones don't have a microphone.

0
Microphone
Noise Handling
Speech + Pink Noise N/A
Speech + Subway Noise N/A
SpNR
N/A

These headphones don't have a microphone.

Active Features
0
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
No Battery
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
Additional Charges
N/A
Total Battery Life
N/A
Charge Time
N/A
Power-Saving Feature
No
Audio While Charging
No
Passive Playback
Passive Headphone
Charging Port None

They don't have a battery.

0
Active Features
App Support
App Name No App
iOS No
Android No
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
No
ANC Control
No
Mic Control No
Room Effects
No
Playback Control
No
Button Mapping No
Surround Support
No

They don’t have a companion app to customize the sound to your liking.

Connectivity
0
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
No
NFC Pairing
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
PC Latency (SBC)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
Android Latency
N/A

The TIN Audio T3 are wired headphones and aren’t Bluetooth compatible. Since they have a wired connection, these headphones practically don’t have any latency and will be suitable for gaming and watching video content without any delay.

0
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
9.5
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
Yes
USB Audio
No
Detachable Yes
Length 4.3 ft
Connection 1/8" TRS
Analog/USB Audio Latency
0 ms

The headphones have a 1/8" TRS connection and only provide audio when connected to different platforms since they don't have a microphone.

Connectivity
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC/PS4 Analog
Audio Only
PC/PS4 Wired USB
No
PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
Connectivity
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
0
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
Line In
No
Line Out
No
Optical Input
No
RCA Input
No
Dock Charging
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock

These headphones don’t have a dock or a base. For gaming headsets with one, you can look at the SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless for a dock with customization options, or look at the Astro A50 Gen 4 Wireless 2019 if you want a charging dock. However, they won’t be as portable as the TIN Audio T3.