Tansio Mirai TSMR-6

Irecently had the opportunity to audition one pair of Tansio Mirai TSMR-6 IEMs, which – I anticipate – I did like quite a lot from the technical standpoint, although their presentation is not my cup of tea as they say.

We are talking about quite interesting IEMs, priced just above $500 and featuring a 3 DIP-switch mechanism allowing the user to fine-tune the presentation – up to a certain extent of course: SW-1 enchances midbass, SW-2 enhances mids and vocals, SW-3 apply a (further) boost to trebles. In the end I found myself preferring all 3 switches “ON”, as the presentation gets a bit more musical this way. Read on for more, considering that wherever not specified my notes refer to ON-ON-ON setup.


Test setup
Sources: Apogee Groove + Burson FUN + IEMatch / Apogee Groove + iBasso T3 / Sony NW-A55 mrWalkman / Questyle QP1R – Sedna Earfit Light Short tips – Linsoul 4 Core Pure Copper cable – lossless 16-24/44.1-192 FLAC tracks.

Signature analysis

Tonality Timbre is lean and clean. Tonality is obviously bright-clear, with very well calibrated and unshrilling trebles and good, articulated and natural mids and highmids.

Sub-Bass Sub-bass is light, although not fully rolled off. With SW-1 ON there is some very modes addition to rumble which is anyhow limited at all times

Mid Bass Midbass is shamelessly 100% BA-style: superfast, lean, modestly punchy. Definitely lean even for my jazz-sided tastes with SW-1 on the 0 position, I keep SW-1 ON to get at least some body in the mid-bass, and even so the presentation is definitely sided in favour of mid-treble lovers.

Mids TSMR-6 mids are the other star of the show here, together with trebles. Left free from any interference or veiling coming from the bass, mids come out authoritatively and in very good quality. Power is a stronger as we go, and the extreme high mids may become too hot for some; on the opposite end low mids are not recessed at all. If the source is competent enough, no or very limited glaring comes out from up there in spite of all that clarity and detail. Turning SW-2 ON does not simply add accent to the mids, it does add some more body too, which is a very welcome addition in my books.

Male Vocals Male vocals are very nice, most of all organic, realistic, quite well textured although free of any added butter (like all the rest)

Female Vocals Females are extremely good, also very organic like males, and at times even more bodied and almost flutey. Higher registers only sometimes risk to scant into too hot territory losing realism

Highs TSRM-6 trebles are superbly clear, sparkly and detailed. Evidently tamed above 10K I presume to avoid “exaggerating” here, which would surely be the case given how much vividness and air is already delivered in the presence section.


Technicalities

Soundstage TSMR-6 offers a very wide stage, with good height and above average depth.

Imaging Helped by great clarity and high end note definition, imaging is just about perfect at all times

Details High mids and trebles deliver a huge amount of detail and microdetail, without scanting into excessive, fatiguing thinness. Not the same happens down low where the bass-dedicated BA is kept too fast.

Instrument separation Separation just great as imaging. Layering is also very good, just some range compression can be spotted at times, consequence of transients kepts on the too snappy end. Liking this or not is of course 100% a matter of preferences.

Driveability TSMR-6 are not easy to properly drive with their low (15 Ω) impedance and very high sensitivity. Most budget (and quite a few non budget) sources will un-naturally either bump their bass up, or produce hiss, or both. If the source is powerful enough, this is one of those many instances where an IEMatch, on Ultra position, proves invaluable.


Physicals

Build Medical grade resin, offered with aesthetic customisation options. Each housing carries a block of 3 DIP switches allowing for signature finetuning: flipping each one ON adds a boost to bass, mids and trebles, respectively. Nozzles are long and quite thick, making a few common eartips e.g. final E and some sednas unfit for TSMR-6. Furthermore, no “lip” is present to help retain eartips in position, just the plastic surface is matte, offering “some” grip, so on the opposite end eartips with stem a tad wider then wanted are also a difficult go.

Fit Extremely easy to fit them, once you go through the pain of pairing the “right” tips – which may be a double issue do to how the nozzles are constructed (see above). My end preference goes to Symbio Peel silicon tips, helping on bass delivery, avoiding to overdo on trebles and “gripping” the nozzle more than appropriately in the back end

Comfort Once finally tip-fitted, comfort is near-perfect at least in my case

Isolation Isolation is not the best I ever experience but definitely above average, also depending on tip selection

Cable I tried the TSRM-6 with the upgrade cable they came with, a well made Linsoul 4 Core Pure Copper. No information about their stock cable.


Specifications (declared)
Housing Medical grade resin, offered with aesthetic customisation options. Each housing carries a block of 3 DIP switches allowing for signature finetuning: flipping each one ON adds a boost to bass, mids and trebles, respectively.
Driver(s) 2 independent Knowles 29689, 2 composite Sonion 33AJP007I, 2 composite Sonion 33AJ007I/9 drivers, 3-way crossover, 2 tubes
Connector 2-pin 0.78mm
Cable N/A (assessed a privately owned unit)
Sensitivity 115 dB
Impedance 15 Ω
Frequency Range 20 – 20000 Hz
Package & accessories N/A (assessed a privately owned unit)
MSRP at this post time $529,00


More about switch-based tuning

Product literature is slightly misleading in simply tagging the 3 switches as respectively acting on bass, mids and trebles.

More precisely SW-1 applies an obvious flat horizontal push up to all bass (mid and sub). SW-3 essentially does the same with trebles. SW-2 is different: it leaves central mids where they are, but enhances lowmids and midbass, and makes highmids a bit hotter.

As for my tastes I wanted to make bass more bodied, I started of course by turning up SW-1 and -2, but I found that this way highmids get too hot and most of all too evident, somehow even “stealing the scene” to trebles. Simply put, for how odd it may seem without trying, I found that flipping all 3 switches on I could get more bass as I wanted, while keeping the highmid+treble section still “strong”, even stronger than before but not “unbalanced”.

Conclusions

Even in its ON-ON-ON (aka “1-2-3”, as product literature calls that) configuration, TSMR-6 definitely fall into the clear / analythical drivers category, offering wonderfully clean stage, superb imaging, a very technical ultralean bass and loads of articulated macro and fine micro details from the mids up. So-called “treble-heads” rejoyce: these are for you.

Musicality is kept on a second priority here, at least for my tastes that is, although an exception is worth mentioning regarding vocals, which are delivered in a quite organic an realistic way.

As mentioned at the beginning, this TSMR-6 sample I auditioned for a few days is privately owned, not offered as a review/loaner unit by the manufacturer nor any distributor.

This article is also previously published here and here.

TSMR-6


The TSMR line of earphones by Tansio Mirai a hard working group of professionals that make high quality, high value IEMs presents with a line of all BA IEMs in their TSMR line up. I got the opportunity to evaluate and review most of their line up and most recently their TSMR-6. The 6 number indicates how many BAs are in the familiar housing design of the TSMR-6. TSMR-6 now incorporates a mix of Knowles and Sonion BAs. Looking into the shell you get 2x knowles 29689, composite multi Sonion 33AJP007I BAs and composite multi 33AJ007I/9 BAs. You're getting premium speakers in every TSMR earphone. Tansio Mirai as far as I can tell does not cut corners in any of their designs and all include the ability to add a few dbs of sonic enhancements in the bass mids and treble with their 3 switches on the back of the shells. It seems whenever someone comes up with a good idea for audio. Others follow and while Tansio Mirai might not have been the first but I am now seeing more and more companies follow suit with tuning switches. More than just a gimmick. The switches do matter. More on that later.


Times have changed with competition at an all time high. It makes sense to make your dollars count. The craftsmanship that goes into each and every offering be it the TSMR-2 to the 6 model I am reviewing today is clearly evident. Failure rate simply does not exist on the interwebs for any TSMR earphone and you can be assured you're getting what you pay for in all their earphone models. This being said, how does the 6 models fare? Truth be told I have yet to hear any of the TSMR earphones that is not good. In fact I find their sound tuning to be meticulous and very enjoyable in each iteration. With each iteration of he TSMR line we see a jump in sonic enhancements. While more drivers don’t necessarily mean more sound. What your getting in the TSMR-6 most definitely shows a jump in sonics from the previous models.


All BA designs when made correct has a place in the earphone enthusiast’s collection. It is well known that some of the top earphones in the industry use all BA designs. Whether you're a fan of BA sound or not. It has to be said there is something special about the all BA design that is unique. Maybe due to the sonic presentation with an effortless ability to have music come at you in all directions with a better enhanced spatial layered quality to it. Good multi BAs designs have their place and the TSMR-6 is an ideal earphone in this regard. Having the widest and the best sound separation out of all the TSMR earphones I have tested and reviewed thus far. The TSMR-6 is for the enthusiast that wants a premium reference type sound. I feel these were designed with a flagship like tuning and one that was centered around detail as a foundation for the sonics.

TSMR-6 was provided for the purpose of a review. I would like to thank Tansio Mirai for the sample and would like to say I am grateful for the opportunity to learn about their line up. This read is how I feel about the TSMR-6 and I will just come out and say. I haven’t heard a TSMR earphone I didn't like. All of them are good to great and that is a testament to how good these phones are. If you're in the market for an all BA earphone. TSMR earphones are all made extremely well and are more than competitive for what they represent.

The TSMR-6 makes a jump to a new type of more premium packaging with a new cable. Included in their packaging is a new semi hard zip up square case. Functional with good space to provide protection for your phones. Also included is a more premium cable that was not included with their TSMR-4 pro. The new cable upgrade consists of an 8 core oxygen free copper plated in silver. All TSMR phones come in a 2 pin .78mm configuration. I appreciate that all the TSMR phones are easy to swap cables and have the more secure 2 pin design..

The TSMR-6 looks stunning in person. What looks like coffee brown swirls on the shells make the TSMR-6 look more premium. This is just one design out of many you can choose for the sells when ordering from Penon audio here. Also the 6 models can be ordered in custom form. The general shape of the phones are exactly the same as the previous models with the same 3 switches. What has changed from the 2 model all the way up to the 6? The number of BAs used for one and the tuning that goes along with each upgrade. TSMR-6 now incorporates a mix of premium Knowles and Sonion BAs.


Sound evaluation was done using my sources: Fiio M15, Shanling M5s, M3s, IBasso DX160 and the IFI Black label.

Each TSMR earphone all have a foundation of a balanced signature but the 6 is the first one where I can detect a more of that higher end reference tuning meaning at its foundation the detail level of the phones are clearly evident vs the previous efforts. The balance switch or number 2 from the 1,2,3 switches come out of the box turned up. Out of the box the clarity and detail was upfront and center. Upper mids lower treble has more emphasis on the TSMR-6 more so than any of the previous TSMR phones from my audition.The balanced tuning now incorporates enhanced imaging, better sound separation, details with a wider more vivid stage. The tuning incorporates an upper mid. Lower treble emphasis with a more neutral take on the rest of the sonics. Natural instruments and vocals sounds superb with just about all the TSMR earphones but the 6 model I feel specializes in it.


Treble duties are done by two BAs. Treble is clean and detailed with very good extension. Every detail in the upper registers comes through even more so on these than any other TSMR earphone before it. Main focus seems to be lower treble vs upper treble. Treble energy seems to be a bit more forward than the rest of the signature. To the detriment of the sonics being a touch clinical and a bit analytical in nature. Of all the switches that never get touched on the TSMR earphones are in fact the treble switch. I have yet to hear any of the TSMR phones lacking or too rolled off in the treble region and the 6 is no different.


The 3 switched to the on position adds roughly 2dbs of treble emphasis. More treble emphasis would be a bit much in my estimation but for treble guys at least this is an option. This being said since there are two BAs working in unison to portray the region there is not a treble note or detail you will miss on the treble front and this leads the sonics to have a very detailed presentation. If you're looking for a monitor that will mask or smooth your treble detail a touch for the ease of listening. These will not be for you. However due to the exacting detail you get in all regions of the sonics. The TSMR6 will be well suited for monitoring and studio use. Listening to Stan Getz percussive instrumentiation sounds superb with a roomy cristaline high hat notes that ride in the background of his tracks. Micro detailing is among the best of the TSMR line in the 6 model. Metal guitars seem to have extra crunch and lingers a touch due to the ample emphasis in the region. Splash symbols tend to have a wetness about the sonics again due to that ample emphasis.


Overall sonic presentation of the TSMR-6 is spacious with a very nicely defined imaging with an emphasis on detail retrieval in mind. Vocals sound spectacular be it female or male vocals due to the upper mid emphasis. I know there are studio monitors that will cost you much more to get this type of reference level vocal clarity so for folks that actually have vocal performances in mind these will make for not only great music listening but more so even better for studio and performance use. The composite Sonion BAs here has great ability in the mids region and much like how the treble is portrayed the definition is outstanding for all things mid range. Guitar and stringed instruments come alive with every effect of the recording and these have no issues picking up slight to full on detailed effects. Overall I would say the strength of the TSMR line of earphones are in their mid ranges and the 6 model minus perhaps the Zodiac will be the tops in this regard. A clean tone is perceived throughout the sonics and this is due to the upper mid emphasis. Cohesion is also a very strong aspect of these earphones. No disjointed weirdness on any of their iems. You get your mids coming at you from all directions and that is always a sign of a well tuned multi BA IEM. Much like most referenced tuned IEMs the tonality overall slightly leans toward a cooler side. These earphones are all about a highly resolving portrayal of your music.


Bass tonality is surprisingly very accurate and real sounding. I know many have a view of BA bass be it good or bad but the quality of the bass end of the TSMR-6 does not suffer. In fact the tone of the bass end of your tracks be it synthetic or natural sounds exactly like it should. I can tell the bass BAs here again using Sonion drivers have very good ability and if you didn’t know these were using BAs as a foundation for the bass you're gonna have a hard time figuring out they are very good BAs doing bass duties. Sure it doesn't have the same rumble of an equivalent higher end dynamic but it is damn close and that was very surprising to me. The most effective switch that enhances and has an effect to the base sound profile happens to the be the number 1 switch which is the bass switch. Adding 3dbs of mostly mid bass and emphasis in the region when the bass end is this accurate this is not a bad thing. With the 1 switch on here is where using the TSMR-6 outdoors pays off. Ambient noise from outside environments are known to drown out the bass end of earphones so adding a bit of emphasis while out and about is always welcomed. Bass always stays in place when using a TSMR phone and that bit of enhancement does make a difference.

You get an agile, speedy, articulate bass end that BAs are known for. It is hard to top the speed of the BA bass and it shows on these. The TSMR-6 earphones are versatile in that regard. These are extreme for metal, jazz, blues, rock and pop. Versatile for bass genres too like hiphop and reggae with the bass switch on. I feel orchestral and classical lovers would love these due to their high levels of detail and instrument separation. Stringed instruments in particular sound spectacular on these. So while this presentation of sonic portrayal might not be the absolute when it comes to musicality, it more than makes up for it with its spacious clean precision and imaging. Again for someone that loves their detailed presentation, you're gonna get that with the TSMR-6.


I have learned to appreciate little details in my music and in conjunction with a good source the TSMR-6 gets you lost in your music. Due to the highly resolving nature of the sonics on the TSMR-6 I feel it did better with a more fuller warm bodied source like my Shanling M5s and Fiio M15, vs more neutral sources Shanling M3s and Ibasso DX160. Sounds wonderful amplified using my black label. Using more neutral sources makes the TSMR-6 sound more analytical than it has to be. A little note about the stock cable. Here is where I will give props to Tansio Mirai. The new stock SPC cable is a very good match on the TSMR-6. No real need to cable roll but if you do have some higher end copper cables those will match up very well due to the highly resolving nature of the TSMR-6. Copper cables will warm up the tonality of the TSMR-6 a touch giving even better balancing to the sonics.


So how does the TSMR-6 ramp up in quality vs the previous earphones?


TSMR-2= Well balanced, great intro phone from Tansio Mirai that gives you an excellent idea of how Tansio Mirai tunes their earphones. Good value, musical with a unique tall stage.


TSMR-3 pro= The best value Tansio Mirai earphones has better sound separation, detail and better balanced than the TSMR-2. Using 3 BAs these have better definition with a slightly wider and deeper stage but still retain that taller sound of the TSMR-2.


TSMR-4 pro= Slightly wider stage vs the previous models and more detailed in the treble region with slightly better imaging. Bass is also better defined. I would give the nod to the TSMR-3 pro for sheer value and I feel TSMR-4pro is only a slight improvement but most definitely worth the improvements if that matters to you.


TSMR-6= Reference quality detail and sound separation with the widest stage. Best imaging out of the previous line with the best accurate quality bass. Best bass tone as well. Widest stage out of the previous phones it sacrifices some musicality for a more analytical type tuning. If detail and precision is your jam these are excellent for dissecting your music and therefore will make for perfect studio monitors.


So in the end. If you're in the market to find a monitor that is both suited for sound accuracy and want to hear details from your music. The TSMR-6 is very proficient in this regard. You gotta remember these are tuned for reference so they make for excellent vocal and instrument details. Their ability to pick off macro and micro details are commendable with a resolving quality that is akin to much higher end monitors. If these qualities of a high end in ears is to your liking, I feel the TSMR-6 is a great example of what can be achieved using 6 very good speakers in your earphones. The ability to isolate up to 26dbs of passive isolation will be well suited for noisy environments as well as studio monitoring use. Tansio Mirai has done it again. As always thanks for reading. Always use a mask when you're around other people and be safe and healthy so you can enjoy your music.