Tin HiFi T2 Plus: how much amplifier do you need?

The Tin HiFi T2 Plus is 32Ω. Its maker prints a sensitivity of 104.0 dB and never says whether that is per milliwatt or per volt, so this page reads it as per milliwatt — on that reading it needs 0.40 mW to reach 100 dB SPL, or 0.11 V across the drivers. If the figure is really per volt, it needs far more.

That puts it in the easy category. A phone, a laptop headphone jack or the cheapest USB dongle will drive it to painful levels. Of the 280 sources in the database, 280 have at least 10 dB of headroom and another 0 have enough. The cheapest portable source that does the job is the Apple USB-C dongle (US) at $9.

The two numbers that decide everything

Impedance32 Ω
Sensitivity (printed with no reference unit)104.0 dB
Sensitivity (voltage) (if the figure is per milliwatt)118.9 dB/V
Power for 100 dB SPL (if the figure is per milliwatt)0.40 mW
Voltage for 100 dB SPL (if the figure is per milliwatt)0.11 V
TypeIn-ear monitor
Easy to drive — anything will do it
All 280 sources at 100 dB SPL into 32Ω
Comfortable 280Enough 0Marginal 0Not enough 0
Cheapest portable source that does it
$9 · USB dongle · +19 dB headroom
Cheapest desktop amp with 10 dB to spare
$75 · desktop DAC/amp · +26 dB headroom

This maker printed a decibel figure and no reference unit, so the number above is shown exactly as printed. Everything below reads it as per milliwatt, which is the commoner convention on a sheet that omits the unit — if it is really per volt, this headphone is about 15 dB harder to drive than the rest of this page assumes. The converter explains the difference.

Where this sensitivity figure comes from

Tin HiFi publishes a sensitivity of 104 dB and does not state whether that is per milliwatt or per volt — the spec sheet simply stops at the number.

Both readings are given here so you can judge for yourself. If that 104 dB is per milliwatt, the figures on this page are right as they stand. If it is per volt, the real sensitivity is 89.1 dB/mW — 15 dB lower at 32Ω — and everything above understates what these need by that much. The per-milliwatt reading is the one shown, because it is the more common convention on a spec sheet that omits the unit; treat it as an indication rather than a specification.

Source: tinhifi.com. How this data was built.

What is printed there, and what it is worth

As it is labelledAs printedToleranceStandard
Frequency Response Range10 - 200000Hznot printednot printed

Tin HiFi prints 10 - 200000Hz for the Tin HiFi T2 Plus, under the heading “Frequency Response Range”. Source: tinhifi.com.

The figure stands in the product description’s "Specification" list rather than in a table of its own.

No tolerance is printed with it, so “10 - 200000Hz” says nothing about how loud this headphone actually is at 10 Hz.

Only what the maker printed; maker by maker.

Power, voltage and current by listening level

LevelWhat it isPowerVoltageCurrent
85 dB SPLquiet background listening0.01 mW20 mV0.6 mA
95 dB SPLnormal listening0.13 mW63 mV2.0 mA
100 dB SPLloud listening0.40 mW0.11 V3.5 mA
105 dB SPLvery loud1.3 mW0.20 V6.3 mA
110 dB SPLpeaks on dynamic music4.0 mW0.36 V11.2 mA

Most people listen between 75 and 85 dB; the 100 dB row leaves room for peaks.

The cheapest sources that drive them with room to spare

The 15 cheapest of the 280 sources here that reach 100 dB SPL into 32Ω with at least 10 dB of headroom and no known hiss or output-impedance problem with these headphones. All 280 sources, judged for these headphones.

SourceTypePricePower into 32ΩHeadroomVerdict
FiiO SnowSky Tiny AUSB dongle$2234 mW+19 dBComfortable
FiiO SnowSky Tiny BUSB dongle$2234 mW+19 dBComfortable
Tanchjim Stargate IIUSB dongle$4075 mW+23 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35ALUSB dongle$46210 mW+27 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35AirUSB dongle$46210 mW+27 dBComfortable
Fosi Audio N3Bluetooth receiver$50138 mW+25 dBComfortable
Hidizs SD2USB dongle$5070 mW+22 dBComfortable
FiiO BTR13Bluetooth receiver$59100 mW+24 dBComfortable
iFi GO linkUSB dongle$5970 mW+22 dBComfortable
Kiwi Ears Allegro ProUSB dongle$6068 mW+22 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35Pro (Mountain2)USB dongle$6665 mW+22 dBComfortable
iBasso DC03 ProUSB dongle$6998 mW+24 dBComfortable
DUNU DTC 480USB dongle$7065 mW+22 dBComfortable
EPZ TP35 ProUSB dongle$70112 mW+24 dBComfortable
Tanchjim SpaceUSB dongle$70125 mW+25 dBComfortable

The three ways a source goes wrong

Hiss. At 118.9 dB/V these are sensitive enough to reveal a source's own noise floor. The noisiest source in the database, the Schiit Mjolnir 3, would put its hiss at roughly 27 dB SPL in these headphones — clearly audible in quiet passages. Check your own source.

Output impedance. At 32Ω these want a source output impedance below 4.00Ω to satisfy the one-eighth rule; 35 of the 192 sources that publish one miss it. Check yours here.

Similar headphones

Compared with its stablemates: vs C5.

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