My background- I am a professional musician, producer and audio engineer with experience in the performing, recording and pro-audio industry. I test products on a technical and musical level and try to write reviews as simple as possible from a music fan's perspective.
Disclaimer – The sample was sent to me to test and review. I am not affiliated with the company or the seller in any way and write this review with my unbiased opinion regardless of how the review turns out.
Genre preferences- I majorly listen to rock, acoustic, pop and metal genres and occasionally checkout EDM music which is doing the rounds on the radio and charts.
Specifications
Build Quality, Fit and Comfort – The universal shells of the whole TSMR line up are the same. The shells are made from resin and are stunning to look at. There are innumerable customization options where sky is the limit. The shells are extremely well made and you can clearly see that the attention to detail is top notch.
Fit, like previous TSMRs I’ve tested is very comfortable and snugness primarily depends on the choice of ear tips. The shells aren’t like the semi-custom shape that you see a lot of companies using but they still provide similar isolation from outside noise. I’ve used them while travelling by public transport and never knew what was happening around me while listening to songs. Also, the nozzles aren’t intrusive and remain comfortable over long sessions.
Pictured case and cable not included in the package. This Tanchjim upgrade cable was used for testing.
Sound – This is the 3rd IEM from Tansio Mirai that I have tested. I really dug the TSMR-3 when I first got it around 7 months back and it got me particularly interested in the brand. I stalked their Taobao store and drooled over all the customization options they had. I then got the lucky opportunity of trying out the updated version of TSMR-3, the 3Pro. It brought in refinements that I felt really improved their 3 driver config. Now lets see what the 4 Pro has in stock for us.
Since I like Mode 100 the most, I’m going to use that for comparison.
Bass – My friends and I, who own the TSMR-3 always wished for a little more sub-bass. 3 Pro refined it but it is the 4Pro which ultimately sorts it out. The sub-bass is more refined and it can be heard better in songs with 808s and good natural electric bass. It’s far from basshead levels of boosted bass quantity but it’s there to help you feel the depth of the low end. The overall quantity of bass too is felt 'slightly' more in 4Pro. Bass as a whole is still neutral, in control, tight and has good fast decay.
Mids – The lower mids are similar to 3Pro but feel slightly cleaner and more musical. Upper mids have the trademark Tansio character. It maintains the natural tonality of the instruments but gives electric guitars and snares a bit more sheen and sparkle to keep the music exciting. The resolution and separation in the mids is better than its predecessor and as a result you hear more micro-details. Vocals sound forward and commanding, acoustic instruments when panned wide have good tonality & presence, and kick & snare have good body and stick attack. 4Pro's resolution helps me focus on the depth of snares and the individualistic tonality of different snares in different songs.
Treble- All TSMRs I've tested have been IEMs driven by detailed higher mids and clear treble and 4 Pro is no different. The treble in 4Pro is sparkly, clean and clear (no pun intended). It has good amount of resolution. It particularly lends good sheen to orchestral instruments and acoustic guitars. You can hear separation between strings in an acoustic instrument or the tonal character of an instrument which gives it its individuality, obsessively, if you want to. One thing I really like is that Tansio Mirai keeps the 6.5-8kHz sibilance region in check. So you can keep listening to vocals for a long time without them getting intrusive or harsh.
Soundstage, Imaging and Separation- 4Pro’s soundstage is wide. It is certainly my favorite out of the TSMR units that I’ve tested. Instruments are placed very well and quite accurately. Separation across the frequency range is quite good and along with the good soundstage helps portray a better sense of space.
Comparisons-
TSMR- 4 Pro vs 3 Pro ($220)
4Pro in Balanced Mode 020 (Yellow) & 3Pro in Bass Enhanced Mode 100 (Green)
FYI, I like both of them very much. I’m not the one to praise a new product from the company just because it is new. I’m going to lay down all the parameters that I noticed while comparing both. It is for you to choose which one will work for you and for that, here are some noticeable differences.
TSMR-4 Pro vs Shozy & Neo BG ($279) - I like the Shozy BG. It plays most parts well musically and safely. But sometimes you don't wanna play safe and need more excitement. That's what 4Pro does. BG's bass is well rounded but 4Pro's bass has more attack and can hit harder. BG's midrange is of the thinner kind whereas 4Pro's sounds slightly fuller yet detailed. BG's treble is smooth whereas 4Pro's treble is exciting and more detailed.
TSMR-4 Pro vs LZ A6 ($310) - A6 and 4Pro have nothing in common. A6 is energetically tuned whereas 4Pro is towards neutral with better balance and sync between the frequency bands. A6 has a lot of filter options whereas 4Pro has 3 tuning switches. 4Pro's bass is more accurate. A6's midrange is slightly recessed whereas 4Pro's is towards a neutral presentation. A6's treble is boosted and has a lot more energy whereas 4Pro's treble is more accurate while still equalling on detail and clarity. A6's tuning insults badly recorded songs while smacking them in the head, whereas 4Pro portrays them in a more accurate, easy and balanced way.
Conclusion – For me, 4Pro is another hit from the brand Tansio Mirai. It sounds detailed, rich and very well balanced. With excellent build quality, 3 tuning switches, detailed sound and unlimited customization options, TSMR-4Pro is a no brainer and an easy recommendation. Recommended, check it out!
Testing Rig-
Reference Songs list-
Disclaimer – The sample was sent to me to test and review. I am not affiliated with the company or the seller in any way and write this review with my unbiased opinion regardless of how the review turns out.
Genre preferences- I majorly listen to rock, acoustic, pop and metal genres and occasionally checkout EDM music which is doing the rounds on the radio and charts.
Specifications
- Driver - 4 Balanced Armatures (2 x Knowles 22955 & 2 x Knowles 29689)
- Impedance - 15ohm
- Sensitivity - 115dBL/mW
- Frequency range - 15Hz-20KHz
- Passive noise reduction - 26dB
- Connector - 2-pin 0.78mm
Build Quality, Fit and Comfort – The universal shells of the whole TSMR line up are the same. The shells are made from resin and are stunning to look at. There are innumerable customization options where sky is the limit. The shells are extremely well made and you can clearly see that the attention to detail is top notch.
Fit, like previous TSMRs I’ve tested is very comfortable and snugness primarily depends on the choice of ear tips. The shells aren’t like the semi-custom shape that you see a lot of companies using but they still provide similar isolation from outside noise. I’ve used them while travelling by public transport and never knew what was happening around me while listening to songs. Also, the nozzles aren’t intrusive and remain comfortable over long sessions.
Pictured case and cable not included in the package. This Tanchjim upgrade cable was used for testing.
Sound – This is the 3rd IEM from Tansio Mirai that I have tested. I really dug the TSMR-3 when I first got it around 7 months back and it got me particularly interested in the brand. I stalked their Taobao store and drooled over all the customization options they had. I then got the lucky opportunity of trying out the updated version of TSMR-3, the 3Pro. It brought in refinements that I felt really improved their 3 driver config. Now lets see what the 4 Pro has in stock for us.
Since I like Mode 100 the most, I’m going to use that for comparison.
Bass – My friends and I, who own the TSMR-3 always wished for a little more sub-bass. 3 Pro refined it but it is the 4Pro which ultimately sorts it out. The sub-bass is more refined and it can be heard better in songs with 808s and good natural electric bass. It’s far from basshead levels of boosted bass quantity but it’s there to help you feel the depth of the low end. The overall quantity of bass too is felt 'slightly' more in 4Pro. Bass as a whole is still neutral, in control, tight and has good fast decay.
Mids – The lower mids are similar to 3Pro but feel slightly cleaner and more musical. Upper mids have the trademark Tansio character. It maintains the natural tonality of the instruments but gives electric guitars and snares a bit more sheen and sparkle to keep the music exciting. The resolution and separation in the mids is better than its predecessor and as a result you hear more micro-details. Vocals sound forward and commanding, acoustic instruments when panned wide have good tonality & presence, and kick & snare have good body and stick attack. 4Pro's resolution helps me focus on the depth of snares and the individualistic tonality of different snares in different songs.
Treble- All TSMRs I've tested have been IEMs driven by detailed higher mids and clear treble and 4 Pro is no different. The treble in 4Pro is sparkly, clean and clear (no pun intended). It has good amount of resolution. It particularly lends good sheen to orchestral instruments and acoustic guitars. You can hear separation between strings in an acoustic instrument or the tonal character of an instrument which gives it its individuality, obsessively, if you want to. One thing I really like is that Tansio Mirai keeps the 6.5-8kHz sibilance region in check. So you can keep listening to vocals for a long time without them getting intrusive or harsh.
Soundstage, Imaging and Separation- 4Pro’s soundstage is wide. It is certainly my favorite out of the TSMR units that I’ve tested. Instruments are placed very well and quite accurately. Separation across the frequency range is quite good and along with the good soundstage helps portray a better sense of space.
Comparisons-
TSMR- 4 Pro vs 3 Pro ($220)
4Pro in Balanced Mode 020 (Yellow) & 3Pro in Bass Enhanced Mode 100 (Green)
FYI, I like both of them very much. I’m not the one to praise a new product from the company just because it is new. I’m going to lay down all the parameters that I noticed while comparing both. It is for you to choose which one will work for you and for that, here are some noticeable differences.
- 4Pro has better separation & resolution and as a result you hear more micro-details. You can hear reverb trails in slightly better detail as compared to 3Pro. This also gives you a better sense of the room and atmosphere in the song.
- On the other hand, 3Pro has a slightly warmer character relatively and is smoother.
- 4Pro technically has more bass presence than 3Pro in 100 Mode. But because 4Pro has better and more detailed treble extension as compared to 3Pro, even if it has more bass, the treble detail shines through and takes away the perceivability of more bass in 4Pro in real world tests.
- 4Pro in Balanced Mode 020 and 3Pro in Bass Enhanced Mode 100 have nearly identical bass performance and you can see that in the graph above.
- 4Pro has more clarity in the high bass and lower mids and that is because of a smoother curve descent in that region.
TSMR-4 Pro vs Shozy & Neo BG ($279) - I like the Shozy BG. It plays most parts well musically and safely. But sometimes you don't wanna play safe and need more excitement. That's what 4Pro does. BG's bass is well rounded but 4Pro's bass has more attack and can hit harder. BG's midrange is of the thinner kind whereas 4Pro's sounds slightly fuller yet detailed. BG's treble is smooth whereas 4Pro's treble is exciting and more detailed.
TSMR-4 Pro vs LZ A6 ($310) - A6 and 4Pro have nothing in common. A6 is energetically tuned whereas 4Pro is towards neutral with better balance and sync between the frequency bands. A6 has a lot of filter options whereas 4Pro has 3 tuning switches. 4Pro's bass is more accurate. A6's midrange is slightly recessed whereas 4Pro's is towards a neutral presentation. A6's treble is boosted and has a lot more energy whereas 4Pro's treble is more accurate while still equalling on detail and clarity. A6's tuning insults badly recorded songs while smacking them in the head, whereas 4Pro portrays them in a more accurate, easy and balanced way.
Conclusion – For me, 4Pro is another hit from the brand Tansio Mirai. It sounds detailed, rich and very well balanced. With excellent build quality, 3 tuning switches, detailed sound and unlimited customization options, TSMR-4Pro is a no brainer and an easy recommendation. Recommended, check it out!
Testing Rig-
- Universal Audio Apollo & Focusrite Clarett 8PreX audio interfaces.
- Playback - Logic Pro X session (with hi-res tracks mentioned below), in order to use plugins to isolate dominant frequencies & frequency bands, check imaging, normalise levels precisely using dbFS meters in order to compare different IEMs with different impedances, etc.
- LG V40 and Oneplus 7 Pro phones for casual listening.
Reference Songs list-
- Foo Fighters- The Pretender, Best of you & Everlong
- Coldplay- Paradise, Up in flames & Everlong
- Ed Sheeran- Thinking out loud, Bloodstream & Galway Girl
- Chainsmokers – Somebody, Sickboy, This Feeling & Closer
- John Mayer- Slow dancing in a burning room, Stop this Train & Say
- Gavin James- Always & Hearts on fire
- Switchfoot- Meant to live & Dare you to move
- Linkin Park- Papercut, One step closer & Somewhere I belong
- Maroon 5- She will be loved, Payphone & Lost stars
- Lifehouse- All in all & Come back down
- Karnivool- Simple boy & Goliath
- Dead Letter Circus- Real you
- I Am Giant- Purple heart, City limits & Transmission
- Muse - Panic station
- James Bay - Hold back the river