Pros:
• Very nice sealing and fit
• Neutral or almost flat sound signature (subjective)
• Nice ear tips inclusions
• Easy to drive
• Knowles balanced armatures (we love them right)
• Good starting price
• Neutral or almost flat sound signature (subjective)
• Nice ear tips inclusions
• Easy to drive
• Knowles balanced armatures (we love them right)
• Good starting price
Cons:
• Might sound dry and clinical to some
• Cable might need extra care
• Small carrying case that cramp up the IEM
• bass and treble heads might find this one dark sounding (subjective)
• unforgivable on low quality tracks
• Cable might need extra care
• Small carrying case that cramp up the IEM
• bass and treble heads might find this one dark sounding (subjective)
• unforgivable on low quality tracks
DISCLAIMER:
I did not buy this product. It was provided as a review unit for the Philippines reviewer circle tour. Much thanks to HiSenior for providing us one. We are not compensated in any way. My thoughts and opinion here are not influenced by any form of incentive.
Manage your expectations as what works for me, might not work for you. We all have different perception when it comes to sound. My setup and gears may not be the same as yours, and that plays a big role in what I hear. I have learned lately that source plays a big role in this as I have been exploring different music streaming platforms. So, as we reviewers always say, take this as a grain of salt.
INTRODUCTION
Hisenior is a company from China that specializes in custom IEMs for artists, musicians and audiophiles alike. The name was derived from the concept of HI-FI and Senior hence their mature leaning sound. More on this as we move on.
I am a professional gigging musician, mainly keys, sax and drums player. Worked in 5 star hotels, played for local artists here in Philippines, and studio work for indie artist too. I listen mostly to almost any genre, but minimal rock and almost to none metal. My personal preference is mostly jazz and fusion and contemporary pop.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Driver: All BA set up (Knowles) 1 for the low-mid, 1 for the highs
Impedance: 18 ohms
Sensitivity: 105db
FR range: 20hz-20khz
For more details, please visit this official link:
https://www.hisenior-iem.com/products/t2-classic?_pos=1&_psq=t2&_ss=e&_v=1.0
INCLUSIONS and PACKAGING:
As a review unit, we did not receive the official packaging. T2 came with a hard case, honestly quite small for the size of the IEM itself if you include the cable. Included was 4 pairs of silicon tips, in different sizes and colors, the cable, and the unit itself.
THE TIPS:
The tips here are quite decent in count, in different colors and sizes. They seem decent in quality compare to some entry level tip inclusions. They are generally on the softer side. I lost one tip though on a gig, one M size white colored. My apologies Hisenior. Good thing spares were included. I used the M size silicon tip for this review.
THE CABLE:
The cable is an 8-core silver platted OCC. Quite nice, have a decent weight. Looks nice on its pure black color. Easy to pair with any clothing you put on if that matters to you. Additional note though, I think the cable is not “that” tightly braided. I can see at times that the braid becomes loose. Extra effort for the care of the cable is noteworthy. Configuration is MMCX.
THE SHELL:
The shell is made of Egger resin and allergy free. It has a glossy finish and very smooth feeling. I didn’t notice it till lately that it is translucent. it will only be visible upon direct light. It is on the darker smoky translucency. On the faceplates, “Febos” is written which I googled and found no meaning to this word. It is very light in weight and very comfortable to wear. More on its fitting and seal later on…
Now on to how it sounds…
TREBLE/HIGHS – 3.5/5
I’ll cut to the chase. Trebles sounded veiled here. Making some of my fellow reviewers claim this pair kind of dark sounding. Which I somewhat agree. But on some bright sounding tracks, I can sense some shimmer. The good side here is it never felt fatiguing to listen.
Conclusively Hisenior played it safe here on the trebles. If you are a treble head this might turn you off.
BASS – 3.5/5
Bass is on the lighter side here. And I mean really light. Again, on bass heavy tracks, T2 still manage to give quality sounding lows. Just less of it though. On jazz tracks, where acoustic upright bass is mostly used, T2 gives a well-rounded presentation. Drum kicks felt lacking at times specially on thump and punchiness but still every track we listen to is mixed differently.
Conclusively, bass presentation here is really on the light side of things. I am not a bass head but quite often, I find myself looking for a bit more. Yet don’t get me wrong, lows here is quality over quantity.
MIDS – 4/5
This is where T2 shines. At least for me. Being a mid centric guy, I love my mids forward and it is forward here. Instrumental tracks felt alive and rich sounding. On a special note though, I occasionally find the drum snares a bit boxy. Almost artificial. Not all tracks but occasionally.
Conclusively, mids are full sounding, lush and rich. Instrument lovers are in for a treat on this department.
VOCALS – 4/5
Vocals, which share a good amount of mids, are well presented. Both male and female. Forward and intimate and with a good amount of texture. Yet because of the trebles sounding veiled, female vocals sounded a tad bit dark. Still nothing to dislike here. Vocals are still engaging nonetheless.
SOUNDSTAGE AND IMAGING – 3.5/4
Stage is pretty decent here. I can sense depth as well as height. Not that wide but still acceptable. Imaging is good with panning of elements are quite audible. Again nothing out of the ordinary here but nothing to dislike.
FITTING/ISOLATION – 3.5/5
Fitting and sealing are above average here. Since this was meant to be used by musicians, on-stage. Isolation is really decent. I didn’t expect to have a snug fit from the looks of the IEM but it did give my ears a good hugging.
Here are some TRACKS that I used for reference. Allow me to share you some notes I’ve taken.
1. Summer Breeze by Patti Austin (16bit/44khz Tidal Masters via UAPP)
2. Never Too Much by Luther Vandross (16bit/44khz Tidal Masters via UAPP)
3. I’m not in Love by 10cc (16bit/44khz Tidal Masters via UAPP)
And many more... Below are some of my favorite test tracks.
Lingus by Snarky Puppy
Thriller by Dirty Loops
Redefine by Incubus
Never too Much by Luther Vandross
P.Y.T by Michael Jackson
I'm not in Love by 10cc
Alice in Wonderland by Bill Evans
Pressure by Paramore
The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
Adia by Sarah McLachlan
Love Bites by Def Leppard
SOURCES AND GEARS
ADDITIONAL NOTES – TIP ROLLING
I highly suggest to tip roll on this pair to suit your preference. On this review I tried the BGVP E01 which provides good sealing and enhancement on all lows, mids and highs. Lows was added quantity, mids almost the same, and the highs was more open with this tip. If you want to modify T2 sound sig, tip rolling is an affordable way to achieve this. Strongly suggested.
VERDICT
The T2 classic, was designed for a specific purpose and that is to be used as a reference monitoring for musicians. And it delivered. I used it on my gigs, live streams, and studying songs. The almost flat response is very beneficial for musicians who need to study their parts specially for vocals, keyboard and guitar players. For the casual listener, this might not be it. It is also nice to know that it gives minimal coloration to what is intended to be heard.
An exception is the veiled sounding trebles. But you have the option of tip rolling to open up that shimmer on top. I tried tip rolling and it made T2 more enjoyable for me. I highly suggest you do this to fit your preference. Conclusively, T2 is a very capable IEM as a musician’s tool starting at a very nice price at 119$. As a musician, I find this pair very useful and a must have tool for an instrumentalist and vocalist.
I did not buy this product. It was provided as a review unit for the Philippines reviewer circle tour. Much thanks to HiSenior for providing us one. We are not compensated in any way. My thoughts and opinion here are not influenced by any form of incentive.
Manage your expectations as what works for me, might not work for you. We all have different perception when it comes to sound. My setup and gears may not be the same as yours, and that plays a big role in what I hear. I have learned lately that source plays a big role in this as I have been exploring different music streaming platforms. So, as we reviewers always say, take this as a grain of salt.
INTRODUCTION
Hisenior is a company from China that specializes in custom IEMs for artists, musicians and audiophiles alike. The name was derived from the concept of HI-FI and Senior hence their mature leaning sound. More on this as we move on.
I am a professional gigging musician, mainly keys, sax and drums player. Worked in 5 star hotels, played for local artists here in Philippines, and studio work for indie artist too. I listen mostly to almost any genre, but minimal rock and almost to none metal. My personal preference is mostly jazz and fusion and contemporary pop.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Driver: All BA set up (Knowles) 1 for the low-mid, 1 for the highs
Impedance: 18 ohms
Sensitivity: 105db
FR range: 20hz-20khz
For more details, please visit this official link:
https://www.hisenior-iem.com/products/t2-classic?_pos=1&_psq=t2&_ss=e&_v=1.0
INCLUSIONS and PACKAGING:
As a review unit, we did not receive the official packaging. T2 came with a hard case, honestly quite small for the size of the IEM itself if you include the cable. Included was 4 pairs of silicon tips, in different sizes and colors, the cable, and the unit itself.
THE TIPS:
The tips here are quite decent in count, in different colors and sizes. They seem decent in quality compare to some entry level tip inclusions. They are generally on the softer side. I lost one tip though on a gig, one M size white colored. My apologies Hisenior. Good thing spares were included. I used the M size silicon tip for this review.
THE CABLE:
The cable is an 8-core silver platted OCC. Quite nice, have a decent weight. Looks nice on its pure black color. Easy to pair with any clothing you put on if that matters to you. Additional note though, I think the cable is not “that” tightly braided. I can see at times that the braid becomes loose. Extra effort for the care of the cable is noteworthy. Configuration is MMCX.
THE SHELL:
The shell is made of Egger resin and allergy free. It has a glossy finish and very smooth feeling. I didn’t notice it till lately that it is translucent. it will only be visible upon direct light. It is on the darker smoky translucency. On the faceplates, “Febos” is written which I googled and found no meaning to this word. It is very light in weight and very comfortable to wear. More on its fitting and seal later on…
Now on to how it sounds…
TREBLE/HIGHS – 3.5/5
I’ll cut to the chase. Trebles sounded veiled here. Making some of my fellow reviewers claim this pair kind of dark sounding. Which I somewhat agree. But on some bright sounding tracks, I can sense some shimmer. The good side here is it never felt fatiguing to listen.
Conclusively Hisenior played it safe here on the trebles. If you are a treble head this might turn you off.
BASS – 3.5/5
Bass is on the lighter side here. And I mean really light. Again, on bass heavy tracks, T2 still manage to give quality sounding lows. Just less of it though. On jazz tracks, where acoustic upright bass is mostly used, T2 gives a well-rounded presentation. Drum kicks felt lacking at times specially on thump and punchiness but still every track we listen to is mixed differently.
Conclusively, bass presentation here is really on the light side of things. I am not a bass head but quite often, I find myself looking for a bit more. Yet don’t get me wrong, lows here is quality over quantity.
MIDS – 4/5
This is where T2 shines. At least for me. Being a mid centric guy, I love my mids forward and it is forward here. Instrumental tracks felt alive and rich sounding. On a special note though, I occasionally find the drum snares a bit boxy. Almost artificial. Not all tracks but occasionally.
Conclusively, mids are full sounding, lush and rich. Instrument lovers are in for a treat on this department.
VOCALS – 4/5
Vocals, which share a good amount of mids, are well presented. Both male and female. Forward and intimate and with a good amount of texture. Yet because of the trebles sounding veiled, female vocals sounded a tad bit dark. Still nothing to dislike here. Vocals are still engaging nonetheless.
SOUNDSTAGE AND IMAGING – 3.5/4
Stage is pretty decent here. I can sense depth as well as height. Not that wide but still acceptable. Imaging is good with panning of elements are quite audible. Again nothing out of the ordinary here but nothing to dislike.
FITTING/ISOLATION – 3.5/5
Fitting and sealing are above average here. Since this was meant to be used by musicians, on-stage. Isolation is really decent. I didn’t expect to have a snug fit from the looks of the IEM but it did give my ears a good hugging.
Here are some TRACKS that I used for reference. Allow me to share you some notes I’ve taken.
1. Summer Breeze by Patti Austin (16bit/44khz Tidal Masters via UAPP)
2. Never Too Much by Luther Vandross (16bit/44khz Tidal Masters via UAPP)
3. I’m not in Love by 10cc (16bit/44khz Tidal Masters via UAPP)
And many more... Below are some of my favorite test tracks.
Lingus by Snarky Puppy
Thriller by Dirty Loops
Redefine by Incubus
Never too Much by Luther Vandross
P.Y.T by Michael Jackson
I'm not in Love by 10cc
Alice in Wonderland by Bill Evans
Pressure by Paramore
The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
Adia by Sarah McLachlan
Love Bites by Def Leppard
SOURCES AND GEARS
ADDITIONAL NOTES – TIP ROLLING
I highly suggest to tip roll on this pair to suit your preference. On this review I tried the BGVP E01 which provides good sealing and enhancement on all lows, mids and highs. Lows was added quantity, mids almost the same, and the highs was more open with this tip. If you want to modify T2 sound sig, tip rolling is an affordable way to achieve this. Strongly suggested.
VERDICT
The T2 classic, was designed for a specific purpose and that is to be used as a reference monitoring for musicians. And it delivered. I used it on my gigs, live streams, and studying songs. The almost flat response is very beneficial for musicians who need to study their parts specially for vocals, keyboard and guitar players. For the casual listener, this might not be it. It is also nice to know that it gives minimal coloration to what is intended to be heard.
An exception is the veiled sounding trebles. But you have the option of tip rolling to open up that shimmer on top. I tried tip rolling and it made T2 more enjoyable for me. I highly suggest you do this to fit your preference. Conclusively, T2 is a very capable IEM as a musician’s tool starting at a very nice price at 119$. As a musician, I find this pair very useful and a must have tool for an instrumentalist and vocalist.
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