Tansio Mirai Spark

Fit, Build & Isolation​

The Spark feature a lightweight shell and just like the Land the build quality is excellent. I picked a custom fit for the Spark as I do for all my flagships now. The fit is perfect and Tansio accepts STL file which makes the process seamless and safe. The Spark features the same beautiful smoke (transparent grey) shells that show the internal craftsmanship is very good including the switches system with tight tolerances.


The fit is deep but not overly tight and provides both comfort and excellent isolation which was something I felt was lacking with Land. Custom has its perk vs universals especially when the fit is deep like Spark is. Just like the previous flagship Zodiac, the bass BA are vented with a color coded ring to indicate left and right.

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Introduction​

I must confess I hadn’t heard much about Tansio Mirai before I reviewed the TSMR-5 but I am very happy that my fellow headfiers mentioned it as a brand to get a look into. Just like Fearless Audio, Tansio Mirai is one of the chinese brand to keep tabs on as they are getting quite a bit of traction among audiophiles that want to get high sound quality at affordable prices.

The TSMR-5 review clearly put Tansio Miraï on the map for me as a strong contender with great build and tuning knowledge. I didn’t get to audition TSMR-8 and TSMR-10 but those have a strong reputation in the audiophile world. When I reviewed the Zodiac, I was quite impressed at how well Tansio’s flagship fared against a highly competitive landscape and it’s still one of my favorite all BA IEMs.

As you know the landscape has changed a bit with the generalization of EST drivers and the flourishing offering of tribrids, especially in the mid tier segment. Tansio Mirai didn’t rush things and took its sweet time and rolled out it EST lineup first with the Land and now Spark in a short time frame. I must say, when it was announced I was quite excited at the prospect given their track record of price to performance ratio as well as tuning mastery.

If you’ve read my review, you know I value the Land as being probably the best bang for bucks in the lower mid tier and I sure was excited about Spark although I must say I wished they had kept a dynamic down low but hey BA and EST sure worked out fine for Oriolus Traillii so… how does the Spark compete with the current flagships?

Let’s check it out!

Sound​

This is will all switches to ON, which also was my favorite setup with Zodiac and Land. This will be my baseline for the Spark. I’ll go into switches combination in the detailed bass, mids and treble sections.

Spark name could imply that it’s an energetic brand of sound, but it seems like marketing didn’t line up with the actual signature which is of a more relaxed kind (cozy fire rather than bonfire !)… the Spark feature a balanced and transparent signature with impressive technicalities without ever sounding clinical or analytical. It builds up upon the Zodiac tuning philosophy but on EST steroids so to speak : treble extension is reaching elite level which benefits resolution, imaging and separation compared to its older flagship brother. Land was already quite excellent up top but quad EST setup can’t really be matched. It’s the current state of the art in the business and it shows there. As we’ll see, Spark clarity and transparency is remarkable and this immediately stands out. Note that Spark is not as smooth as the Zodiac or even the Land and has more bite with a bolder signature while remaining free of any harshness.

Soundstage is excellent with great width, but I actually feel Land has a tad better height and depth. Spark stage is more elliptical. True to Tansio tuning, vocals are forward and clear but on the accurate side compared to the sweeter Land.

Bass​

Bass switch to ON
The Spark shares a lot with the Zodiac bass. Back when I reviewed Zodiac I wrote “It is the epitome of audiophile bass done right” and it stands with the Spark and after some A/B I would be hard pressed to find differences really. Tansio chose to stick to the winning recipe.

My usual sub bass test track Aphex Twin “Ageispolis” didn’t bring the same enjoyment I got from Land dynamic driver but with the switch to ON the sub extension is very good just not with the same presence, density and power. You can’t really mimick a dynamic driver with a BA but as BA goes this is a good performance especially when paired with Shanling M8 granting the Spark significant additional presence and weight.

The mid bass is textured and detailed with superb control, but depending on the source the bass line might lack a bit of rythmic presence for my taste. From that standpoint I preferred the Shanling M8 and Hiby RS6 pairing to N6ii Ti (R01) and AMP12 on the DX300 over AMP11(mk1).

Out of Hiby RS6, the bass line of José James “Better off Dead” is very satisfying with both percussions and bass guitar getting me toe tapping along. Stefon Harris “Song of Samson” drums and percussions feature a very satisfying presence and excellent levels of details with smooth attack and a very natural decay of notes. This is a strong but relaxed and detailed mid bass, reminiscent of the Zodiac in many ways except Spark is more articulate and detailed.

Bass switch to OFF
Given what I wrote in the ON section, you probably guess what I am about to say : I wouldn’t use the bass switch to OFF unless you’re bass averse. When switched to OFF, even M8 can’t lift the bass presence enough and the bass line is really too weak and lacking weight. I switched it for the purpose of the review and see what happened but really never used this setting.

Mids​

Mids switch to ON
The Spark midrange is not the intoxicating brand of midrange that the Land was, Tansio clearly had different goals of transparency and timbre accuracy. This was true of the Zodiac mids but with a fuller and slightly warm twist the Spark doesn’t feature. Spark midrange looses a bit of fullness which benefits a remarkable instruments separation and a more accurate timbre. Adam Ben Ezra’s double bass on “Bolero” is so realistic, soulful and natural sounding providing a “live” feeling of listening straight to the instrument and same goes for the guitar strings. Also worth mentionning is Gerry Mulligan “Chelsea Bridge” which gave me goosebumps. I usually get this kind of feeling with TOTL dynamic drivers like Dunu Luna or JVC FW10000 but Tansio managed a timbre accuracy and realism that is pretty special there.

The Spark is also about transparency and it shows in its chameleon like ability to reflect the source coloration or absence thereof. From this standpoint having several sources to switch from made for interesting pairings. My preference goes to more organic sounding sources with Spark, and DX300 with AMP11mk1 added a smoother more organic touch that makes the Spark more natural sounding. Likewise, Hiby RS6 (my favorite pairing) was a fuller brand of organic (especially NOS mode) but more lively with excellent bite and overall more forward mids. On the flipside pairing with N6ii Ti emphasizes the superb layering abilities of the Spark and incredible separation with a fairly neutral brand of midrange. DX300 with AMP12 was the most balanced presentation of all my sources, reflecting what I think is Spark baseline. It was also interesting to cable roll with the Spark as it’s responding very well to it – more so than usual – bringing the desired adjustments : Penon Totem brings interesting weight down low and furthers the treble performance, ISN Solar adds a touch of warmth to the midrange and quite a bit of bass presence, Penon Storm brings transparency to higher levels yet.

The Spark lower midrange is combined with a safe upper midrange : instruments have good bite and energy providing excitement but it will remain safe at all times (My usual Hank Levy’s “Whiplash” passed with flying colors). Some might find it lacking bite compared to say Vision Ears Elysium. I know I don’t mind going to the edge with Saxophones or Violin with the Elysium but the Spark won’t provide that shivery feeling. One good example is John Coltrane “Equinox”, the Elysium provides me with the extra bite that makes the track much more exciting. On the flipside, those who are upper mids sensitive will feel right at home with the Spark as it still packs excellent energy while remaining smooth.

Vocals are forward and clear, true to Tansio house sound. Depending on the source, male vocals can range from having satisfying power (RS6, M8) to lacking a bit of grit and chest (N6ii Ti/R01, DX300/AMP12). Female vocals – regardless of the source – are highly engaging while never featuring any hints of harshness or sibilance. Positioning is forward emphasizing the performer significantly.

Mids switch to OFF
Just like Land, the mids switch affects mainly the lower mids region. Unless you really like leaner mids I wouldn’t recommend it. If I was nitpicking I’d say I would have prefered Spark to have a bit more upper mids bite and have the option with switch OFF to have the setting that Spark features with the switch ON which is safe. It would have been a more interesting choice IMHO.

Treble​

Treble switch to ON
The Spark treble section is a bit different than its brother Land in the EST range. It’s much less energetic, with a gentler lower treble more akin to the Zodiac. There is good energy but some might find bite lacking a bit : like upper mids, it won’t bring you to the edge which can be a good or bad things depending on your taste in treble. This being said, lower treble has good energy. Piano notes are realistic with satisfying energy and weight, as exhibited in The Hot Sardines “Comes love (l’amour s’en fout)”. The Spark is engaging but is a more relaxed listen over the more exciting Land.

The upper treble section is the main differentiator to the Zodiac, the 4 EST driver array of the Spark is simply in another league with much better extension it provides more air, significantly more resolution and faster transients. Given the bass and mids tuning, this makes Spark a very transparent IEM. It betters my Elysium as well in terms of detail retrieval, with a more relaxed presentation. Laurie Anderson “Born, Never Asked” is somewhat of an experimental music kind of track with complex nuances that reflects on the Spark ability to keep up with the treble produced by Laurie keening violin (an instrument of her own design, featuring magnetic tape on the bow rather than the more usual horsehair and a magnetic tape head in the bridge) while remaining smooth. Color me impressed.

Treble switch to OFF
The treble switch seems to be aiming mainly the lower treble section, as turning the switch to OFF clearly takes away some of the lower treble energy while not affecting the upper treble extension. The treble has more of an upper treble tilt and the Spark looses quite a bit of energy. Again, I think Tansio could have provided a tad more energetic setting here brining Spark towards Land energy with the ability to turn the switch off.

Verdict​

When I read Spark announcement I must say I was both excited – Zodiac is one of my favorites – but also after Land I really thought they would do a tribrid flagship with a dynamic down low. I have come to love the dynamic – BA – EST trio and some of my favorite IEMs feature it like Elysium, Volt and Tansio very own Land. So when it was announced that Spark was a BA and EST array I was a bit disappointed.

This being said, I couldn’t pass up on Spark as I am a big fan of Tansio and have always been impressed by their tuning mastery. Spark has earned a special place in my lineup and prooves once again that Tansio Mirai is certainly one of the best at tuning IEMs that are transparent, natural sounding with a very coherent tuning. They have their own unique brand of sound and that’s what I am looking for. Sure, I would have preferred different choices for the tuning switches and I can’t help but feel like it’s a missed opportunity to make Spark a more versatile IEM.

If you’re looking for an IEM with remarkable transparency, impressive air and resolution combined with a relaxed presentation then the Spark certainly has a place in your collection! It does so with superb build quality at a fair price in a soaring prices segment.

Listening notes
I spent approximately 250 hours with the Spark, listening on Cayin N6ii Ti using the stock cable, Penon Storm, ISN Solar and DITA Oslo. I also tested the Spark with Shanling M8, DX300 and RS6.

Special Thanks
Thanks to Tansio Mirai for providing a discounted priced unit of the Spark. As usual, this review is my honest opinion. No incentive was given for a favorable review.

Introduction

The more time you allocate in and around the IEM industry, the more apparent it becomes that some companies are louder than others, forever touting a new model, a new technology, or a ground-breaking advance- each and every one guaranteed to transform your perception, your listening pleasure, your very existence… It’s almost as if they believe that sufficient exalted nature, feeling, and human individualism will overcome both market resistance and any shortcomings in their products.

In a stark contrast, you’ll also start to notice companies that seem intent only on the immediate business at hand, concentrating on designing and building product, while believing that those products will speak for themselves. It’s a refreshingly self-effacing approach, but the risk is that excellent products struggle to achieve the reputation and sales they deserve, while customers miss out on potentially superior performance. Of course, that’s partly why reviews exist: one of their functions is to redress that balance, drawing attention to unsung excellence- and you don’t get many companies that blow their own trumpet less than Tansio Mirai.


My musical preferences and sonic objectives:
I am mainly into classical music, but occasionally I listen to some 90's rocks and jazz.

I prefer earphones with a realistic timbre, even frequency response, separation / detail and good dynamic swings and clear harmonics for orchestral music. This is a hard group to get right and there are times I’ve given up stage for timbre or detail. My earphone benchmark is the Sony IER-Z1R as this has been my goto for the past few years and I have considered it as a great all rounder IEM.


Disclaimer: I purchased my own Spark from the Penon Audio with a introductory discount coupon. I am in no way affiliated with the company nor am I compensated in any way for writing this review.



Build & Design:
The build quality of the Spark is very good. The medical grade resin shells look great with a smoky transparent finishing and feel very solid, dense, smooth and sturdy. The Spark comes with a medium sized acrylic shell design, molded into the 'universal custom' type shell that has been all the rage lately. The shell is not exactly semi-custom type as it lacks a concha wing for better traction and grip inside the ear. The faceplate is tastefully crafted with red speckles and free of any impurities (bubble, metal dusts, etc). On top of that, there's a polished silver TSMR symbol on left, and a singular Chinese character on right side of the unit.
The surface of the nozzles are not polished like the rest of the housings and they have a very subtle texture to them as you can see on the picture above.
It has this soft sandblasted feel to touch and this enables the nozzle to grab eartips in place via friction.

The stock cable is quite thin and flexible, non microphonics, and comfortable to wear thanks to the quality material as well as soft ear guide 2-pin connectors.

Tuning Switches:
There are three very small switches on the side of the housing that allows the listener to adjust the sound signature. They are mapped respectively to the low / mid / high frequencies, each toggling with an audible click that can’t be mistaken. These switches are nearly impossible to flip with your fingers (they’re a bit recessed and too tiny), so there is a little tool that you can use to toggle (included in a box). I personally hope every manufacturers start using larger switches like the ones found in the DUNU SA6 where you can use your finger nails to quickly toggle between the settings but I am just nit picking here.

0 means switch in down position, 1/2/3 means switches are pushed up (as shown in the picture above which is the default 020 setting)
100: Low Frequency Elevated and sound is warmer.
120: Low and Mid-Range Frequency Elevated. Fuller Sound.
020: Default tuning. Balanced mode. Personally found this mode most likable for my taste.
103: Low and Highs are Elevated to give more V-shaped sound.
003: High frequency enhancement mode.
023: Mids and Highs are boosted, analytical sound.
123: Everything boosted. (lowest impedance)





Specification:
Drivers: 4EST + 7BA
4BA low frequency driver (Sonion 33AJ007/i9)
2BA Mid frequency drivers (Sonion 33AP007)
1BA High frequency driver (Knowles ED-29689)
4EST Ultra High Frequency drivers (Sonion EST-65QB02)

4-way crossover and 4 channel tubed bores design

Impedance: 27Ω@1kHz
Sensitivity: 112dBs/mW
Frequency range: 5-70kHz
Passive noise reduction: -26dBs


Source Matching:
For this Review, I mainly used the Shanling M8 with ISN Solar cable (4.4mm) which provided a very pleasing and balanced sound.






Presentation:

The Spark comes in a simple medium sized and dense foam layered package, providing the buyer with a quick and no gimmick unboxing experience. Outer black box is securely slide out with a tight tolerance. Inside the box, you’ll find yourself the complete package:

• Spark IEMs
• 8-core braid 3.5mm-2pin (0.78mm) silver plated copper cable
• Assortment of eartips
• Small carrying case
• Cleaning tool / Toggle switch tool
• Documentation

All of this is packed very firmly, padded densely without any room for movement.

I hope as the flagship product, Spark would come with more premium accessories and a bit more luxurious-looking package, but I digress as SQ is the main concern.


Preface:

Founded in 2016, Tansio Mirai has become a byword for quiet excellence, with a reputation for producing beautifully crafted and subtly distinctive earphones designs. Conventional at first glance, look a little longer and you’d soon discover that there was nothing ‘me-too’ about Tansio's products. They follow neither fad nor fashion – and that includes eschewing the current trend for stratospheric pricing. The Spark reviewed here is the company’s flagship, a substantial and elegantly engineered hybrid IEM, with each shell incorporating no less than 11 drivers and displaying exemplary standards of fit and finish. They also display four bores in a four-way crossover topology. But as impressive as the Spark is in physical and aesthetic terms, it doesn’t prepare you for the sheer scale, finesse, and musical impact of their performance. This isn’t just a flagship IEM because it’s Tansio Mirai’s most expensive product: it’s a genuine flagship performer when compared to the competition. Everything about this product quietly proclaims its quality and attention to detail, yet the Spark costs $1500 per pair. Any product that really does deliver the performance benefits of a specialist audiophile atelier producer, at a price-point more commonly associated with global mass-marketeers like Sony or Sennheiser is worthy of both considerable respect and closer attention in my opinion.


Listening Tests and Sound Analysis:

Ahh, what a bliss! Just put the Spark in my ears and with no fiddling/adjusting/burn in, etc. it sounded superb. Balanced sound with tons of detail. For an EST+BA hybrid, bass output was impressive. Despite use of a small DAC/AMP dongle like the 9038S in my initial testing, it could fill my headspace with vast midrange, delicate and sweet highs with plenty of powerful low energy. I went through some 20 reference tracks and every single one, without exception sounded amazing. With some IEMs, I have to hunt to find a good sounding track or two. Not with the Spark.

One of the nice things about the Spark is that it wears its technological heart proudly on its sleeve. One of the first things you notice about the Spark are the “stacked patterns” on the bass and treble drivers, the vented BA diaphragm on the low range unit, and that pose-able quad EST units fully visible. Together they encapsulate exactly what sets the Spark apart from the crowd- and what makes this IEM such an astonishing performer. Let’s start with the bass drivers. Dissatisfied by the trade offs between the distortion level of the older gen. sealed BA bass drivers and the SPL gains but harmonic losses of the most DDs, Spark set out to stack 4 vented BAs. This in turn delivers the excellent bass stability, foundation and self-damping required for low coloration and rich, natural low ends, while the creation of the unique, physical venting on shells, provide essential breathing space and reduce back-wave reflection required for good dynamic and phase response, so long the Achilles heel of multi BA units.



What the Spark’s switch setting adjustments allow you to achieve is the best possible balance of midrange bandwidth and overall integration from the combination of this drivers. Now add in the Sonion drivers used across the bass and midrange characterized by its rich, natural tonality and the total absence of edge or glare, its careful matching to the detailed Knowles treble driver, and the air, harmonics, and temporal precision delivered by the EST tweeters and you have a performance that is at once big and powerful, engaging, and rewarding. It's quite a show: It’s also one that's able to run and run. This is an IEM that positively rewards long-term listening- another key indicator of its quality. Often, listening fatigue is laid at the door of gross aberrations: intrusive coloration, hardness, or some form of edginess. The Spark banishes all those, with its even, natural tonality. But it is this earphone’s coherency that helps lift it above the norm. All that effort you expended on optimizing the bass response and multi driver integration results in a soundstage that has scale and volume, that’s populated by clearly placed, naturally proportioned and dimensioned images. That natural perspective is matched by dynamic and harmonic coherence that tracks musical energy across the entire bandwidth. In short, everything in the recording has a place and it’s easy to hear both what each musician is doing and exactly when they’re doing it. That might seem like the obvious goal for any IEM, but it’s remarkable how many miss that target- and how hard your brain has to work in making up the shortfall…



Play the Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique (Abbado), and first violin advance on rhythmic cello section has never been so stately – or laden with such latent threat. The off-stage location of the string section mirroring the structure of the main score in the Barbirolli / Sinfonia Tallis Fantasia makes perfect sense, sonically and musically, while Sheku's Elgar Adagio have an almost physical weight, power, and impact. There’s scale and purpose in the performance, but also subtlety and delicacy too. The Sony IER-Z1R has set the standard for acoustic and dynamic coherence- a standard that the Spark matches but to which it adds bandwidth at both ends of the midrange. Few IEMs in my experience match the instrumental texture delivered by the Spark – and all of those were considerably more expensive. It’s a quality that brings immediacy and recognizable character to performances, fleshing out string bass where so many IEMs make it sound thick and muddy, bringing the proper, breathy feel to saxophone or woodwind.



‘Feel’ might be a strange word to describe music, but it is a vital aspect of live performance, of being in the presence of real instruments- and of reproducing that impression. Working at its best and fed from a serious source like the M8, the Spark has an uncanny ability to put performers in the room, to mimic the sense of musical energy coming off of instruments and a stage. It’s to do with their bandwidth, the innate accuracy of their harmonic structures, their dimensionality, and their overall coherence. But lest you think that this only applies to classical or acoustic jazz, the Spark will put the performers in your room, whoever they are. Just play Alice in Chains Unplugged: Got me Wrong, if you ever wondered why Layne Staley captured the hearts and minds of a generation, The Spark will tell you.



Conclusions:

The Spark objectively and subjectively meets and exceeds my expectations. I feel like I can listen to this natural-sounding performance for hours, hear every bit of detail, and yet walk away without an ounce of fatigue. The Spark boasts impressive midrange imaging and a nice vocal presentation to go along with that punchy low-end and finely balanced treble. Driver counts do not really matter, but if designers know what they are doing with them, multi drivers can scale hugely and it seems Tansio Mirai has figured out how to implement them properly and exquisitely tune them in unison.

Tansio Marai Sparks

TSMR line of earphones has up till this point made some outstanding all BA earphones which are all hand made semi custom to custom designs that use premium BA drivers in each version. Recently Tansio Marai has added newer driver configurations to their line up the LAND introduces their first tribrid with a new 10mm dynamic and dual Sonion EST drivers. You can read about them here.

I heard some rumblings since last year that they were hard at work producing what was to become a new flagship for the group and today I am happy to report that this new flagship is a reality in the new Sparks. Tansio Marai is consistent in what they do as they seem to tune with each driver's innate ability to recreate music for each region of sound bringing out strengths of each driver methodically placed in the earshells for their designs.

All of their builds are consistent being all resin designs and all of them incorporate 3 tuning switches. 1 for bass 2 for mids and 3 for treble. Each switch effectively enhances the region of sound giving a bit of a personal touch to each earphones tuning in the way we like our earphones to sound. The tuning switches are all slight in what they do as it adds a mild 2-3 dbs of enhancement for the regions.

So far I have seen a steady increase in quality from their intro model the TSMR-2 with each successive model incorporating more drivers with an increase in BA quantity and quality to enhance the sound tuning even further from their previous models all the way to their former flagship the TSMR-Zodiac which uses 12BAs per housing. So how do you go one up the previous flagship? You add 4 highly regarded Sonion EST drivers for the upper treble of the new Sparks and 7 of their best BAs mostly using Sonion drivers to handle the rest of the sound. This driver combination has been done by other manufacturers but is entirely new to Tansio Marai. They were able to get a very good sound of the LAND. Now utilizing 2 more EST drivers I will get into the difference between the recent LAND and why the Sparks are what I consider a masterclass in multidriver tuning.

First I would like to thank Tansio Mirai and the Penon audio group for sponsoring this review. I was provided with a review sample for the purpose of this review. I am in no way affiliated with Tansio Marai or Penon. I am reporting to my fellow enthusiasts what is good and bad about their newest.

Their recent LANDs has been a departure of design for the group since it is the first Tansio Marai to use a full blown 10mm dynamic and then they started using EST drivers in the mix to enhance upper details and treble notes. I knew about the Sparks actually even before the LAND which was a surprise to me as I had no idea about the LAND at all until I got contacted about them. The Sparks I knew about since last year actually and it has been cooking in the oven as they say for months, maybe years. You don’t make a flagship level earphone overnight. One thing for certain: the tuning on the Sparks is meticulous. I can clearly tell they took their time to fine tune the earphones sonics to a sheen. It is their best effort yet and what was really surprising is why they didn’t include a dynamic for their Sparks. Instead they are using two sets of Sonion dual acupass vented BAs. 4 BAs in total to cover the low end for the Sparks. I suppose they had their reasonings and I will most certainly cover how the bass was done for the Sparks but just know for now it could have been a design choice for better cohesion or fluidity of the tuning. Just a guess but the sound most certainly has excellent cohesion.

What you get
This is where some disappointment lies, and it is with this package. More of a concern than really a disappointment as I have gotten lavish boxed sets for earphones that cost much less that did not amount to the sonic qualities for the earphones themselves. To be honest if the sound is worth the money the sound is worth the money if you know what I mean. The packaging happens to be a bonus if the included set of accessories is lavish as well but with the Sparks you get a package that is very average at best for a flagship category of earphone. While that would be a valid concern for mega buck earphones in this case, I am gonna clearly look the other way.

But why so you may ask? Cus the sound is all that, that's why. You're not gonna care less how many sets of tips or how average the cable it comes with, when you hear these things. You're just simply not going to care. I bet it was something they knew. Tansio Marai knows these are good. They don't have to throw in anything to make them look or be more lavish. The Sparks are most certainly not going to win the presentation for open box experience of the year. Nope you're not gonna get drawers filled with a king's ransom of tips, you're not getting a high end case. Heck you're not even getting a premium cable in here. What it comes with is a very basic set of tips, though you do get a decent variety, a case that's a bit small and a cable that is too average to be included with a flagship level earphone.

SPARKS+ISN Solar

But let's be real you don't invest this amount of money for this level of earphone to not be using your favorite aftermarket cables and tips anyhow. I am being completely honest. Unless these things come with a $500 plus premium cable that was included as a design choice, you're not gonna use the cable that comes with them regardless and you're certainly not going to use the tips that was included though the tips are actually usable. If you need a reviewer to tell you, use your best cables and tips. I am gonna tell you the better your tips and cables are, the better the Sparks are going to sound for you. This was the exact same case for their LANDS as well as those include a similar set of average accessories.

Onto the sound
Sound of the Sparks was evaluated using my players Fiio M15, Shanling M6 pro, M5s, M3s, Ibasso DX160, Sony ZX300, Cayin N5ii, Pioneer XDP-30r, Fiio E12a, IBasso PB3, and IFI Black Label. After a good break in.

The sound of the Sparks is spectacular!
There I said it, it is in every way a flagship level sound. I mean I knew it was going to be good just based on their prior earphone history. I knew it was going to be on a level that would compete with or eclipse the best that I have heard but the reality sets in with the first listen that I am dealing with something special for sound. The sound presentation is the most refined listen I have heard from a Tansio Marai phone to date and that was easy to tell. The sound was pure liquid pouring into my ears and I was addicted to the first hit of that rich airy precise presentation. I have heard musical presentations and then there is the Sparks. The sound balancing is exquisite, the imaging, ethereal dimensional larger staging, the tonal qualities so absolute, so rich so natural, and ever so immersive. It has the type of sound that will leave a lasting impression on your psyche and then has you wondering if you can believe what you just heard.

Listening to one more track becomes 10 more tracks which becomes one more album then two more. You lose all sense of time when listening to the Sparks as you have to hear your favorites with how the Sparks portray sound. You know it is a good sign when you have to go to bed for the night but getting in one more track has you staying up just to hear one last album and you wake up groggy late for work.

At this point I was thinking of what earphones I own and or heard that mimics the qualities of the Sparks The Mids certainly reminds me of the rich tonal qualities on the Penon Volts which also use higher end Sonion BAs for mids, but seems a bit more airy to my ears. The treble has very good detail and again airy with very nice sparkle. Maybe a hint of the MEST treble but with better treble balance. The detail in the bass was very reminiscent of some of the best BA bass I have heard. Dunu SA6 interestingly enough is using the same type of BA drivers for the bass but doubles the driver count for bass in the Sparks. Taken as a whole, there was not a part of the Sparks that I felt that wasn’t refined. Larger sweeping sound tracks just sounds mesmerizing.

Sound balancing of the Sparks is ideal, with an ever so engaging mids signature. Vocals both male and female has a spacious rich atmosphere added to that BA precision, a dimensional imaging and you got a recipe for some of the best instruments and vocal performances on any earphone. Looking inside the shells there are a lot of Ss in there meaning Tansio Marai is taking some liberties using a lot of Sonion’s best drivers. Higher end Sonion BAs are known to have more of a richer tonal quality more so than their Knowles counterparts. If they are using Knowles I am betting it is their single lower treble BA that might be utilizing it otherwise I would say most of the drivers being used are Sonion including 4 of them for bass and of course the 4 Sonion EST drivers.

All them drivers won't mean a thing if they don't equate to a sound that is worth it. And I can honestly say you're going to be getting more than just a good looking earphone. It has to be one of the best all around versatile tunings and sound I have heard for any earphone at any level. I have yet to hear some of the lauded summit fi offerings being discussed on the threads but I have a feeling the Sparks are playing on a similar level to those. I can’t imagine the sound quality for earphones getting too much better to be honest.

Even the bass end is highly refined.
Sparks bass has the ability to recreate any type of bass note down to a textured rumble for low hitting sub notes to a speedy punchy bass drum notes for metal music. This bass presentation is enough low end grunt to make even hip hop sound proper. Punchy with enough meat to reproduce speedy aggressive double kicks with precision and accuracy.

There is not a bass note the Sparks cannot replicate to the fullest and yes I do prefer the sound of the sparks with the bass and mids switch on with treble off. I have always felt TSMR earphones all have well executed treble and really don't need more enhancement however with the switch on in the treble area this creates a touch bit of extra sparkle and shimmer for the region and there is nothing wrong with that. It will come down to how you like your Sparks in the end.

Bass has a surprising level of sophistication, agility with the right amount of impact. Some of the best tonally accurate BA based bass I have ever heard. While it lacks a pure physicality from a good dedicated vented dynamic it does a great job replicating every nuanced detail of every type of low end bass note for the region. Bass sustain and decay are variable dependent on the type of bass that is emphasized and that is something you don’t get with a lesser bass presentation. The bass end in design seems to me more well defined to compliment the vivid mids presentation vs the other way around and that is what you want for a higher end sound. No way does the bass end lag behind the rest of the very reference sound tuning of the Sparks. It plays more of a higher end BA bass supporting role vs being the star of the show.

You can’t call a flagship earphone Sparks and not have any treble sparkle and shimmer. Utilizing 4 Sonion ESTs for upper trebles. Treble detail and imaging is very well executed on the Sparks once again to compliment the mids of the Sparks much like the bass. Sound balancing is superb for the Sparks and has a very good extended treble. Treble is precise, clean,sparkly, dimensional and airy and has the ability to complete the high notes to the fullest degree. Treble has a slightly slower decay and has a lingering effect which ultimately adds to a sparkly shimmery treble note that is addictive as any other part of the Sparks. Treble on the Sparks don't stand on their own which a lot of hybrids tend to do. One thing for certain you can clearly tell Tansio Marai has toiled over each portion of the sound with their absolute best effort for their version of the reference tuning. The end results are about as good as you would expect and an earphone that I can honestly say leaves little to be desired. Not in the bass and certainly not in the treble.

The trump card
Mids balancing is absolute with a very satisfying slightly forward presence, I say slight as the mids switch to the on position provides the best balanced sound signature for the Sparks. If you're a vocal lover and are an eclectic music listener. Sparks' mids prowess is something to behold.

I always thought Tansio Marai tuned for excellence in vocal clarity and detail in all their earphones and the Sparks goes several steps well beyond just this aspect of the sound presentation. The choices for mids BAs here is clearly evident. Mids tonal qualities are a richly defined mids experience that has a superior level of layered immersion factor. These sound so dimensional at times how this sound comes from earphones without some type of dolby processing is beyond me. You're gonna wonder why your other earphones sound so flat and uninspired after hearing the Sparks. Sparks has imaging in layers that simply don’t exist for lesser earphones. And hence this is what separates the Sparks from anything I have heard from the group previously. It takes the traditional Tansio Marai experience and then cranks it up several notches for a supreme sound quality. To put it simple, if you are not immersed in your music with the Sparks. It is time for a new hobby.

Taken as a whole
The Sparks sonics are undeniable. Its tonal qualities sound so natural yet full bored all the time, every time. It will leave you wanting more and more. Addiction is real in aural euphoria and here that is exactly what the Sparks portray. The sound is utterly so engrossing it will make you realize just how limiting your other earphones sound in comparison and that is what you want in an earphone that is considered a flagship. Earphones in this price range are all good, heck they better be as the cost is not exactly cheap but I have yet to hear one that is as complete sounding with no real weakness in sound like the Sparks.

I suppose the sound will not be for bass guys hence the LAND will be more suited for you. The sparks however are for the sophisticated discerning listener that wants every bit of that layered immersion factor to be cranked up to 10 using some of the best higher end drivers in the industry. It is what a true flagship sound should be. It is what the Sparks sound like. These are simply a masterpiece of tuning with the sound it portrays. Get your best sources, your best cables and your best tips and I am willing to bet you will agree. The Sparks are special and are most definitely worthy of their cost much more so than a lot of earphones I own at a similar cost level. A value earphone that cost $1500? Tansio Marai thinks so. I was told these are their best sounding earphones to date. I have to completely agree. As always, thanks for reading and happy listening.