TRN ST2 review

Amusing fact—TRN don’t try with boxes, so the box you get here is as you get at £800. On to the stuff—the way the money is used is startling. The cable is silver, not soft, has no memory, and will tangle badly. There’s a little extra bulk on the cable to create an ear‐wrap. The plug is surprisingly easy to grip. The cable is detachable, uses a 2‐pin connector that may fit KZ products, but is not the same as the coax plug on other phones. The housings are ear‐shape moulds found on expensive earphones—ST2s are intended to wrap the cable round the ear. Sum the shape, wrap, and the mid‐insertion depth, ST2s hold is outstanding. The cable plugs are unclear which is left or right but, once plugged, there is no doubt. I’m not convinced of robustness. They’re averagely comfortable and, besides the wrap action, easy to use. Online reports say people love the sparkle and gleam, and the makers have worked on this—I like them but make them good only.

Volume is outstanding. Exaggerated at bass‐guitar level, for no good reason. Volume range is passable. Envelope is dull, lowband especially is damped. Behind that, all‐band precision is good. Timing can be outstanding, but where there’s lowband, it drags. Swells are a little compressed—the frequency range gets ST2s out of this, but then complex replay muddles in midband. Outstanding near electric bass. Frequency gets aggressive in massed mid‐strings. Muted and dull near mid‐horns. There’s a duff spot near upper horns—can be heard in cymbals. Outstanding for high strings. Very clean, no obvious resonance or echo. Outstanding high and lowband range. Detail is poor on lowband, outstanding in highband, but muted by the envelope… color is often good but veriable. Scale is passable, positions are outstandingly accurate.

Vocals could be outstanding, but high edges and lowband boom make them only passable. Outstanding for soundtracks, and good for orchestra, because of clarity, frequency range, and dragging out masses of precision, if a little muddled. But duff midband frequencies, unlatched lowband and dragging pace mean ST2s can be poor elsewhere.