Tin Buds 3 Review - Excellent TWS Earbuds Under $100
Our Verdict on the Tin Buds 3 (What you need to know)
The Tin Buds 3 are one of the best true wireless earbuds we have ever tested. They are simple and have fewer thrills and features than more expensive brands like Sony and Sennheiser but get the basics right. The carry case is a highlight as its metal build brings a touch of elegance to the product. The earphones themselves sound fantastic with clear midrange and punchy controlled bass. Read the rest of this review if you need to find out more.
Availability and Pricing
The Good:
Price is highly competitive, and the earphones are an excellent balance of value and features. You feel like you are buying a premium product at a low price.
The sound Quality is excellent. While it is not the most detailed wireless earbud, we have tested it works well with a wide range of music and has above-average clarity combined with excellent tuning.
The carry case design is very premium, with an all-metal build and innovative sliding lid. It provides four charges of the earbuds from a single charge of the case.
The color scheme gives a premium appearance in line with far more expensive earphones.
The Bad
While not huge, the Tin Buds 3 are not recommended by us for users with small ears. They are slightly on the large side.
The lack of noise canceling is apparent and should be noted. The earphones reduce noise passively but have no ANC technology to help them compete with Bose or Sony flagship earbuds. People on a budget who require ANC should look at the Anker Soundcore Earbud line as an alternative.
Availability - The Tin Buds 3 will likely only be available to order online. We provide links to buy above, but we don’t expect to see them available for purchase in stores.
Packaging
Packaging is simple and to the point. You get a sleeve box with some graphics. There is very little in the way of accessories, with a few sets of silicone-only eartips and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable included in the box.
The earphones were well protected for shipping and used mainly recyclable materials like paper and cardboard.
The carry case wouldn’t be out of place on a $300 set of earphones. Its small and complete metal construction feels strong and
Performance
The Tin Buds 3 are very easy to use out of the box. Connecting the earbuds to our phones and computers took only a few seconds, and with the inclusion of Bluetooth 5.3 in these earbuds, we found the connection stable at a long range. Never once in two weeks did we have to repair to our device, so it seems Tin managed to perform better in this area than our own Apple Airpods.
Battery life is claimed to be 6.5 hours per charge, and listening at a little over 50% volume achieved a commendable 6 hours of playback which we consider average to good for these sorts of devices.
Enabling low latency reduced lag in gaming, and the touch controls were intuitive. The only complaint here was we needed to use our digital assistant or physical buttons to reduce the volume.
Sound Quality
Sound quality during testing of the Tin Buds 3 was considered excellent. Tin Hifi has an excellent reputation for tuning budget earbuds well; we see this here. Its most vital point is the tuning which follows a slight V-Shape with slightly extended bass and treble. The good thing is that the midrange is also very clear, and while not the most detailed, it stands out in a product category that often suffers from muddiness in this area.
The bass is punchy and tight; they opted not to tune purely for maximum sub bass but instead keep it composed and fast, making it work well with many genres. They work just as well with EDM as they do with classical or rock. Bass heads can also have some fun because, despite the default tuning being on the lighter side, the bass was very responsive to the tweaking of the EQ. A couple of DB added in this area really brings the sub-bass to an elevated level.
Detail retrieval is not the most vital point, but it is not bad. I would say it’s on a par with many $50 wired earphones featuring dynamic drivers. Things are relevant because it’s far more detailed than anything Sony, JVC, or JHB offers at this price.
I managed to work my way through my entire testing playlist without having any areas I found jarring or wanting more. At the end of the day, they are a very competent sounding set of earbuds that sound a bit better than what the average consumer would expect.
Conclusion & Recomendations
The Tin Hifi TinBuds 3 feels like a no-brainer. They are well made, look good, and have a great carry/charging case solution. When I tested the product, I couldn’t believe the price; they feel like and sound like a far more premium product and thus represent excellent value to buyers. The one caveat, of course, is that they are only available to purchase online, so make sure you buy them from a reliable seller to ensure proper after-sales care. We recommend Linsoul for worldwide shipping or Amazon if it’s available in your area.
In summary, it’s a very good earphone at an excellent price and will go to the top of our list for TWS earbud recommendations under $100 this year.