Hello to you all!
First off, huge thanks to TRN for sending me this set to test and share my honest impressions. This review wasn’t paid for—any bias here comes solely from my own tuning choices and musical preferences.
TDLR; An extraordinary budget-oriented IEM, redefining its own segment, delivering a bassy yet clean, neutral, warmer and at the same time brighter sound with a very saluted musicality, including a decent package, pointed towards a huge public who wants the most Hifi experience on a budget. All of this thanks to TRN.
First off, huge thanks to TRN for sending me this set to test and share my honest impressions. This review wasn’t paid for—any bias here comes solely from my own tuning choices and musical preferences.
TDLR; An extraordinary budget-oriented IEM, redefining its own segment, delivering a bassy yet clean, neutral, warmer and at the same time brighter sound with a very saluted musicality, including a decent package, pointed towards a huge public who wants the most Hifi experience on a budget. All of this thanks to TRN.
Introduction:
The TRN Dolphin is the latest addition to TRN’s sea life inspired lineup of IEMs, designed as a budget-friendly option, I think as the update to the once praised Orca. Why I’m thinking that? The Dolphin is driven by a second generation 10 mm LCP diaphragm dynamic driver housed in a dolphin inspired design metallic shell, delivering a TRN’s house tuning, appealing to music enthusiasts and newcomers to the hobby, with a simple yet complete package without spending too much.
The TRN Dolphin this time surprised me, it is an incredible entry into the market this 2026, it is a redefining set among a lot of its peers, a pretty appealing experience on a budget with its MSRP of 19.99 to 23.99 USD (3.5 mm (with or without mic), and usb-c (with mic) available). You can expect to find it directly on the official TRN AliExpress and Shopee official stores: https://a.aliexpress.com/_msESVO9, Amazon, and other retailers online.
The TRN Dolphin is the latest addition to TRN’s sea life inspired lineup of IEMs, designed as a budget-friendly option, I think as the update to the once praised Orca. Why I’m thinking that? The Dolphin is driven by a second generation 10 mm LCP diaphragm dynamic driver housed in a dolphin inspired design metallic shell, delivering a TRN’s house tuning, appealing to music enthusiasts and newcomers to the hobby, with a simple yet complete package without spending too much.
The TRN Dolphin this time surprised me, it is an incredible entry into the market this 2026, it is a redefining set among a lot of its peers, a pretty appealing experience on a budget with its MSRP of 19.99 to 23.99 USD (3.5 mm (with or without mic), and usb-c (with mic) available). You can expect to find it directly on the official TRN AliExpress and Shopee official stores: https://a.aliexpress.com/_msESVO9, Amazon, and other retailers online.
What’s in the package?
The box front shows an image of two dolphins under the sea, the unit sent to me came with a 3.5mm terminated cable without mic, with its plug on a different bag, but wired options with 4.4mm and USB-C terminations will also be available.
- The cable is enough for the set, a good quality one, yet it is prone to tangle, but don’t produce translated vibrations, I found it kind of thin for my liking, but matches the shells nicely
- 4 pairs of eartips:
- 1 pair of TRN T eartips M size (installed on the earphones)
- 3 pairs of white silicone balanced bore SML sizes
- Instruction Manual
- A carrying bag on fabric
- 2 Dolphin earphones
The box front shows an image of two dolphins under the sea, the unit sent to me came with a 3.5mm terminated cable without mic, with its plug on a different bag, but wired options with 4.4mm and USB-C terminations will also be available.
- The cable is enough for the set, a good quality one, yet it is prone to tangle, but don’t produce translated vibrations, I found it kind of thin for my liking, but matches the shells nicely
- 4 pairs of eartips:
- 1 pair of TRN T eartips M size (installed on the earphones)
- 3 pairs of white silicone balanced bore SML sizes
- Instruction Manual
- A carrying bag on fabric
- 2 Dolphin earphones
Technical specs:
- Model: Dolphin
- Driver: 10 mm LCP Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
- Housing: Metallic alloy
- Sensitivity: 106 dB
- Freq. response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Connection: 0.78 mm 2 pin
- Cable: 1.2 m +/- 3 cm silver-plated oxygen-free copper, 2 cores
- Plug: 3.5 mm (with or without mic), 4.4 mm or USB-C (with mic)
- Weight: ~9.3g+18g (with cable)
The IEMs are made of metallic alloy with a shiny black color, a faceplate who resembles the Dolphin's hump. They are lightweight, nicely ergonomic, and visually simple yet nice, a fingerprint magnet yet seeming resistant to micro-scratches, making them a reliable “beater” set.
The shell avoids any rough or sharp edges, and it is very well vented with two vents for the dynamic driver itself. With their small to medium sized nozzle (approximately 5.2 mm in diameter), they ensure a comfortable listening without fatigue on long sessions, but have in mind that I needed to change the eartips to get the best seal and fit in my ears.
- Model: Dolphin
- Driver: 10 mm LCP Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
- Housing: Metallic alloy
- Sensitivity: 106 dB
- Freq. response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Connection: 0.78 mm 2 pin
- Cable: 1.2 m +/- 3 cm silver-plated oxygen-free copper, 2 cores
- Plug: 3.5 mm (with or without mic), 4.4 mm or USB-C (with mic)
- Weight: ~9.3g+18g (with cable)
The IEMs are made of metallic alloy with a shiny black color, a faceplate who resembles the Dolphin's hump. They are lightweight, nicely ergonomic, and visually simple yet nice, a fingerprint magnet yet seeming resistant to micro-scratches, making them a reliable “beater” set.
The shell avoids any rough or sharp edges, and it is very well vented with two vents for the dynamic driver itself. With their small to medium sized nozzle (approximately 5.2 mm in diameter), they ensure a comfortable listening without fatigue on long sessions, but have in mind that I needed to change the eartips to get the best seal and fit in my ears.
HOW THE TRN DOLPHIN SOUNDS?
Before that, I’m using the TRN Dolphin with KBEar Coffee eartips M size and a TRN T3 Pro cable, with its 3.5 mm and 4.4 mm plugs. No EQ was used in the testing of this set.
The Dolphin with its 10 mm LCP dynamic driver offers a mild V-shape tuning. With a mix of being bassy yet neutral, warm and bright at the same time, very seriously clean, and musical yet analytical, with excellent low and high frequency extension, so, it offers a pretty mature yet engaging immersion into the sound.
The TRN Dolphin raises the bar for its price segment, making it an IEM worth considering if you’re seeking a budget-friendly who is also a mature entry into Hifi, or simply a consistent and highly pleasing everyday IEM for listening to music without spending too much money. Thanks to Jaytiss for his measurements of this set.
Before that, I’m using the TRN Dolphin with KBEar Coffee eartips M size and a TRN T3 Pro cable, with its 3.5 mm and 4.4 mm plugs. No EQ was used in the testing of this set.
The Dolphin with its 10 mm LCP dynamic driver offers a mild V-shape tuning. With a mix of being bassy yet neutral, warm and bright at the same time, very seriously clean, and musical yet analytical, with excellent low and high frequency extension, so, it offers a pretty mature yet engaging immersion into the sound.
The TRN Dolphin raises the bar for its price segment, making it an IEM worth considering if you’re seeking a budget-friendly who is also a mature entry into Hifi, or simply a consistent and highly pleasing everyday IEM for listening to music without spending too much money. Thanks to Jaytiss for his measurements of this set.
Bass:
The sound you are finding on the TRN Dolphin used to be found on sets costing 50 USD or more just a few years ago, it is an IEM who claims its place among the best of its class. With a good quantity and quality of bass, offering that nice thump, well-done extension into the lower frequencies, magnificent impact and remarkable transparency, with a natural decay and transparency.
In songs like “Self Purgatory” by Liferuiner from their Future Revisionists album, you can feel that huge bass impact in that slow paced song; the TRN Dolphin gets the job done, without muddiness or overcoming other frequencies. In “The Epilogue” by Crosses the bass drops and bass guitar line in the mix is presented perfectly; yeah, it is not basshead level but gets you satisfied with its high quality and decent potency.
Mids:
In the mids portion of frequencies, in the TRN Dolphin, the midbass bleed into the lower mids, so male vocals are recessed, but so natural sounding and zero veiled nor thin. It has a good note weight and warmth. In songs like “Triste y Vacía” by the salsa demigods Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon (RIP legend) shows this: the vocals by Hector Lavoe sound pretty good in the mix, you can crank the volume up to high volumes to enjoy that classic hit.
The FR curve in the Dolphin dips down to around 800 Hz before rising into a warm pinna gain that maintains a strong presence. It delivers a striking transparency, with those upper mids that are both resolving and well-controlled. Female vocals come forward, avoiding any harshness thanks to a well-done non-peaky bump around 5 kHz. In songs like “Usted Abusó” by Willie Colón and Celia Cruz, the charming vocals of Celia Cruz and the incredible technical musicianship by Willie Colon are displayed with excellence: timbals, wind instruments, pianos, everything merged, delivered with greatness in the track by the Dolphin.
Treble:
The FR curve of the TRN Dolphin shows how it delivers a brighter character, the lower highs take a well-putted dip into the 6 kHz region to handle sibilance, so you can enjoy music at mid to high volumes, but if you are sensible to that portion of frequencies, the Dolphin is not a high-volume set, showing its best qualities at mid to high volumes.
The Dolphin offers an instrumental enjoyment with a smoothed peak at 9 kHz and 12 - 13 kHz to give energy to the mix, yet it has that musical little dip at 10 kHz to tame the sibilance to an extent, but spicy tracks are noticeably fatiguing at high volumes and in short time periods, so you can still feel those hi-hats and cymbals (but it does not forgive poorly mixed tracks).
In songs like “The Living Infinite 2” by Soilwork, the TRN Dolphin shows that it handles complex and fast drumming, the melodeath track sounds so good, zero details are missing. In songs like “Earthrise” by Camel, the Dolphin renders cymbals and hi-hats so emblematic of 70s prog rock drumming perfectly.
Technical capacity:
Going into the upper treble, the TRN Dolphin excels, with an airy yet not fatiguing character, with a very well-done 12 – 13 kHz peak who it is zero uncomfortable to sensible ears like mine and rolling off smoothly in the higher frequencies after.
In terms of technical performance, the TRN Dolphin sets itself apart from its peers with an extraordinarily expansive soundstage, wider than it is deep yet giving a holographic image of sound. Imaging and layering of instruments are more than decent, complementing its mature tuning. It provides more than enough technical proficiency, enhanced by its well-tuned musicality and analytical character.
With complex and full of nuances songs like “Apparitions (Live at Lichtburg)” by Long Distance Calling, the TRN Dolphin delivers a track free of congestion, you can focus on the nuances and (excuse the redundancy) complexity of the song, checking all the instruments in the mix, so, please enjoy the music. In "Dim (Live)" by Cult of Luna, the Dolphin can make you feel immersed on that concert back then, and you can find those unique details of the slow and heavy rhythm song.
SHORT COMPARISONS (DIRECT COMPETITORS):
TRN Dolphin vs. NiceHCK Yuandao Tears:
The Dolphin is more neutral, analytical and brighter, with better technicalities than the Tears, it is even bassier. No matter your choice, Dolphin and Tears are bang for the buck and best of class IEMs for this 2026.
TRN Dolphin vs. Tangzu Wan’Er Red Lion Bass Edition:
Now we are talking about tuning preferences more than what it is better; the Dolphin is less warmer and organic, with a more impactful but less quantity of bass than the Wan’Er 2 Red Lion and it’s more technically capable; both sets has that expansive soundstage and air, but the Wan’Er 2 Red Lion takes a more musical and straight fun approach.
TRN Dolphin vs. CCA Phoenix:
Both sets are neutral bright tuned, the Phoenix also has an impactful and well resolving and clean bass shelf and it has a little more midbass than the Dolphin. The Phoenix is also less warm and has a smoother treble than the Dolphin, so, it depends of your tuning tastes.
TRN Dolphin vs. Kiwi Ears Belle:
The Belle is other new set for this 2026, and as the Red Lion is a tonality versus technical proficiency “fight”; the Belle is more organic and smoother yet enjoyable, it’s more bassy than the Dolphin but the treble and upper treble in the Belle tend to be laid back unlike the Dolphin and its brightness.
TRN Dolphin vs. TINHiFi C2 2025:
The C2 2025 is also a bright tuned set, but this time it is focused towards gamers. It doesn’t have that 10 kHz ‘musical’ dip as the Dolphin, so, the C2 2025 tends to be spicy and more fatiguing at high volumes than the Dolphin, both are excellent tuned and technically capable sets, but the Dolphin wins in its more mature yet all-rounder character, so, sonically, I prefer the mild V-shape tuning of the TRN Dolphin.
FINAL THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSIONS:
The TRN Dolphin stands out as an excellent option and best in class in the budget-friendly segment for IEMs, delivering a bassy, neutral, warm and bright mix yet incredibly clean and captivating sound with a musical character and more than average technicalities. It’s is not a market disruptor but shows a new tendency for this 2026 of raise the bar for what you get on budget IEMs.
The Dolphin with its 32 ohms of impedance and 106 dB of sensitivity it’s very easy to drive even with low powered sources; I tested it with the 4.4 mm balanced plug for the TRN T3 Pro cable on my different sources and I can tell you, yeah, this IEM can scale well, but a powerful source in not strictly needed for the Dolphin to display all of its qualities and excellence.
The Dolphin bass impact and its neutral yet warm and bright tonality suit both newcomers and experienced listeners seeking a ‘funalytical’ sound. For casual enjoyment or critical listening, it delivers a distinct quality with a very solid technical capacity delivered.
The TRN Dolphin enters the modern market standing out as one of the new sets who redefines what budget‑minded audiophiles can find at its price segment, it is a delightful taste of high‑fidelity sound without spending a lot of money.
Is it a recommendation? Absolutely. It’s one of the best options in the actual market, offering a complete package ready to enjoy. Thanks again to TRN, this set joins my collection with genuine appreciation, and may the gods of audio bless your listening!
The sound you are finding on the TRN Dolphin used to be found on sets costing 50 USD or more just a few years ago, it is an IEM who claims its place among the best of its class. With a good quantity and quality of bass, offering that nice thump, well-done extension into the lower frequencies, magnificent impact and remarkable transparency, with a natural decay and transparency.
In songs like “Self Purgatory” by Liferuiner from their Future Revisionists album, you can feel that huge bass impact in that slow paced song; the TRN Dolphin gets the job done, without muddiness or overcoming other frequencies. In “The Epilogue” by Crosses the bass drops and bass guitar line in the mix is presented perfectly; yeah, it is not basshead level but gets you satisfied with its high quality and decent potency.
Mids:
In the mids portion of frequencies, in the TRN Dolphin, the midbass bleed into the lower mids, so male vocals are recessed, but so natural sounding and zero veiled nor thin. It has a good note weight and warmth. In songs like “Triste y Vacía” by the salsa demigods Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon (RIP legend) shows this: the vocals by Hector Lavoe sound pretty good in the mix, you can crank the volume up to high volumes to enjoy that classic hit.
The FR curve in the Dolphin dips down to around 800 Hz before rising into a warm pinna gain that maintains a strong presence. It delivers a striking transparency, with those upper mids that are both resolving and well-controlled. Female vocals come forward, avoiding any harshness thanks to a well-done non-peaky bump around 5 kHz. In songs like “Usted Abusó” by Willie Colón and Celia Cruz, the charming vocals of Celia Cruz and the incredible technical musicianship by Willie Colon are displayed with excellence: timbals, wind instruments, pianos, everything merged, delivered with greatness in the track by the Dolphin.
Treble:
The FR curve of the TRN Dolphin shows how it delivers a brighter character, the lower highs take a well-putted dip into the 6 kHz region to handle sibilance, so you can enjoy music at mid to high volumes, but if you are sensible to that portion of frequencies, the Dolphin is not a high-volume set, showing its best qualities at mid to high volumes.
The Dolphin offers an instrumental enjoyment with a smoothed peak at 9 kHz and 12 - 13 kHz to give energy to the mix, yet it has that musical little dip at 10 kHz to tame the sibilance to an extent, but spicy tracks are noticeably fatiguing at high volumes and in short time periods, so you can still feel those hi-hats and cymbals (but it does not forgive poorly mixed tracks).
In songs like “The Living Infinite 2” by Soilwork, the TRN Dolphin shows that it handles complex and fast drumming, the melodeath track sounds so good, zero details are missing. In songs like “Earthrise” by Camel, the Dolphin renders cymbals and hi-hats so emblematic of 70s prog rock drumming perfectly.
Technical capacity:
Going into the upper treble, the TRN Dolphin excels, with an airy yet not fatiguing character, with a very well-done 12 – 13 kHz peak who it is zero uncomfortable to sensible ears like mine and rolling off smoothly in the higher frequencies after.
In terms of technical performance, the TRN Dolphin sets itself apart from its peers with an extraordinarily expansive soundstage, wider than it is deep yet giving a holographic image of sound. Imaging and layering of instruments are more than decent, complementing its mature tuning. It provides more than enough technical proficiency, enhanced by its well-tuned musicality and analytical character.
With complex and full of nuances songs like “Apparitions (Live at Lichtburg)” by Long Distance Calling, the TRN Dolphin delivers a track free of congestion, you can focus on the nuances and (excuse the redundancy) complexity of the song, checking all the instruments in the mix, so, please enjoy the music. In "Dim (Live)" by Cult of Luna, the Dolphin can make you feel immersed on that concert back then, and you can find those unique details of the slow and heavy rhythm song.
SHORT COMPARISONS (DIRECT COMPETITORS):
TRN Dolphin vs. NiceHCK Yuandao Tears:
The Dolphin is more neutral, analytical and brighter, with better technicalities than the Tears, it is even bassier. No matter your choice, Dolphin and Tears are bang for the buck and best of class IEMs for this 2026.
TRN Dolphin vs. Tangzu Wan’Er Red Lion Bass Edition:
Now we are talking about tuning preferences more than what it is better; the Dolphin is less warmer and organic, with a more impactful but less quantity of bass than the Wan’Er 2 Red Lion and it’s more technically capable; both sets has that expansive soundstage and air, but the Wan’Er 2 Red Lion takes a more musical and straight fun approach.
TRN Dolphin vs. CCA Phoenix:
Both sets are neutral bright tuned, the Phoenix also has an impactful and well resolving and clean bass shelf and it has a little more midbass than the Dolphin. The Phoenix is also less warm and has a smoother treble than the Dolphin, so, it depends of your tuning tastes.
TRN Dolphin vs. Kiwi Ears Belle:
The Belle is other new set for this 2026, and as the Red Lion is a tonality versus technical proficiency “fight”; the Belle is more organic and smoother yet enjoyable, it’s more bassy than the Dolphin but the treble and upper treble in the Belle tend to be laid back unlike the Dolphin and its brightness.
TRN Dolphin vs. TINHiFi C2 2025:
The C2 2025 is also a bright tuned set, but this time it is focused towards gamers. It doesn’t have that 10 kHz ‘musical’ dip as the Dolphin, so, the C2 2025 tends to be spicy and more fatiguing at high volumes than the Dolphin, both are excellent tuned and technically capable sets, but the Dolphin wins in its more mature yet all-rounder character, so, sonically, I prefer the mild V-shape tuning of the TRN Dolphin.
FINAL THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSIONS:
The TRN Dolphin stands out as an excellent option and best in class in the budget-friendly segment for IEMs, delivering a bassy, neutral, warm and bright mix yet incredibly clean and captivating sound with a musical character and more than average technicalities. It’s is not a market disruptor but shows a new tendency for this 2026 of raise the bar for what you get on budget IEMs.
The Dolphin with its 32 ohms of impedance and 106 dB of sensitivity it’s very easy to drive even with low powered sources; I tested it with the 4.4 mm balanced plug for the TRN T3 Pro cable on my different sources and I can tell you, yeah, this IEM can scale well, but a powerful source in not strictly needed for the Dolphin to display all of its qualities and excellence.
The Dolphin bass impact and its neutral yet warm and bright tonality suit both newcomers and experienced listeners seeking a ‘funalytical’ sound. For casual enjoyment or critical listening, it delivers a distinct quality with a very solid technical capacity delivered.
The TRN Dolphin enters the modern market standing out as one of the new sets who redefines what budget‑minded audiophiles can find at its price segment, it is a delightful taste of high‑fidelity sound without spending a lot of money.
Is it a recommendation? Absolutely. It’s one of the best options in the actual market, offering a complete package ready to enjoy. Thanks again to TRN, this set joins my collection with genuine appreciation, and may the gods of audio bless your listening!
