Pros: Build Quality, Fit, Accessories, Value, Balanced Tuning, Natural Timbre and Tonality

Cons: Upper Mids/Treble forward

Driver Setup: 10mm Dynamic Driver, Gold-Plated Diaphragm

Price: $199

Intro

Disclaimer: The TinHiFi T7 was provided to us at no charge courtesy of TinHiFi. However, this was done with the understanding that I would provide my honest thoughts and opinions on the T7. The T7 is available for purchase here, should you find yourself interested in a pair, or feel free to use your links.

No, this isn’t just a cringe reference to KPop Demon Hunters, this IEM is literally golden. From the fully coloured cable to the diaphragm itself, it seems TinHiFi is set on making sure you recognise the T7 as the flagship IEM it is. I have yet to try a TinHiFi IEM in this price range, except for their first planar IEM way back, which I really enjoyed and am definitely hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the T7.

Accessories

TinHiFi spared no expense here. The thick braided golden cable exudes quality, and while being sturdy, it is soft enough to be coiled up easily and kept. The termination is swappable, and it fulfils all the needs I could ever require from a cable. Absolutely well-done here.

On top of the sets of foam and silicone tips provided, these are all packed in a very premium PU leather zip case, which even comes with a detachable strap. The T7 is literally built to aura farm, and anyone who sees you pulling these out of your bag and putting them on would know you are not there to mess around.

Build Quality and Fit

Moving on to the build quality of the buds, I can definitely tell a lot of thought went into designing these. The shells were CNC machined, and the matte metal shells have good weight to them. However, they aren’t too huge or heavy and do sit nicely in the ears for long listening periods. There are no painful pressure points and have curves in the right places

The copper is fully copper, and it was said to be an intentional choice to enhance clarity. While this is the first time I’ve heard this fun fact, I must say the T7 does have pretty good technical details. (Spoiler Alert) The Faceplate has a wood pattern which I found really tasteful and is a good switch-up from the plain industrial design of the T2.

Sound

Sources Used

• Lotoo Paw S2
• SMSL M200 –> Schiit Magnius

Music Listened to

• The Weeknd
• MAAPS
• Shaboozey
• Kygo
• Cochren & Co
• keshi
• etc

Bass

Bass is responsive and fast, and does extend quite well into the subbass. Bass is rather light and laid back compared to most other offerings nowadays, which tend to be more L-shaped or U-shaped. It is quite rare to see a very balanced-sounding single dynamic driver, and that is where the T7 stands out in being unique. There is no midbass bloat and minimal bass bleed into the mids, and I really enjoy the transients on the bass and lower mids in pop genres. People craving a meatier bass or greater presence in the lower frequencies might be disappointed with the T7’s tuning, though. I personally find this quite close to my sweet spot, so I enjoyed this.

Mids

The T7 lives up to its flagship identity with its technical prowess shining in the mids. Separation is really good and yet manages to maintain a cohesive and accurate tonality, especially for instrumentals and vocals. Mids are not overly thick and are overall well-balanced in the sound signature. There is a slight peakiness in the upper mids that can cause a little fatigue on certain genres.

Highs

The highs of the T7 extend well and have good detail retrieval. The extension gives the sound a more expansive feel and helps with the soundstage. There are no sibilant peaks or unnatural-sounding quirks. The only issue is the forward lower treble that can be a little fatiguing to certain people on longer listening sessions.

Overall

The T7 has very good separation, and the quick decay lends itself to a very clean tuning. It might not be the most fun tuning, but it definitely is very accurate in detail and tonality. There is some thought behind the shell design, which is said to increase the soundstage of the IEMs. I would say these have a decent soundstage and breadth. Nothing too crazy, but it is comfortable in the sense that the sound is neither too crowded nor too intimate. Timbre-wise, I really enjoy how piano and strings sound on the T7, testament to the balanced tuning and overall technical performance across all frequencies.

Conclusion

I love the amount of thought, experimentation, and engineering that TinHiFi always puts into its products. It may not always bear fruit, but once in a while, they do come up with something really intriguing that just works. I love it that they do not pressure themselves to blindly chase trends but instead what they believe in, and truly do it for the love of the game, which is what made this hobby fascinating for me.

The TinHiFi T7 was a lovely experience for me to review. It is rare for me to hear a polished single dynamic driver that isn’t overly bass-focused. I also love that the balanced tuning was truly balanced and allows the T7 to stand out for its niche it fulfils in my lineup of IEMs. It also helps that the IEMs are well-designed, and the accessories are so much more than what I could have asked for at this price point. The only thing that I can think about might be a gripe would be the slight peakiness in the upper treble that can translate into fatigue for certain genres, especially on slightly higher volumes.

TinHiFi certainly have been in the game for so long because they know what they are doing, and I will continue to keep an eye out for their releases this year.

Overall Grade: A

Click HERE for our grading list for earphones