[Kunlun]

 
 I wrote Aaron Fournier, president and CEO of Thinksound and asked if there were any new products in the works. Here's the answer I got:
 
[size=11pt]Thanks for asking [Kunlun].  We are going to develop a balanced armature headphone in the next year or so but we don’t have any solid dates yet.  If you are really into audio I do suggest that you check out our ts02 headphone that will come out in the next couple months.  I can personally say its one of the best sounding audio products I have ever designed or worked on.  It is an 8mm driver and the design is really nice looking.  More ergonomic than our current models.  It will retail for about 89.99 without a mic and 99.99 with a mic.  Don’t expect it to be sold for less at different retailers like our current models as we will have a pretty strict pricing policy on this model.  We are shooting for an August 1^st release date but that could change slightly[/size]
 
After that, I followed up by asking further about the future BA-driver earphone and about the sound signature of the coming dynamic TS02.
Here's Aaron's response:
 
[Kunlun],

Please xcuse me if this is a little short as I am at my daughters tball game on my blackberry. I don't mind at all if you share these answers with other head fi folks.

1). We are probably going to stick with a single BAT design but this is still in the works and could change. I don't think that it will make it in 2010 but probably in 2011. A BAT design is chosen because the sound is near perfect (used in most hearing aids) and I think it will be a perfect match for our wooden design.

2). The ts02 will not replace the rain. The ts02 will be an addition to the line. The sound actually takes the good parts of the Rain and improves on them. The problem in the past with dynamic driver designs is that the mids are always recessed too much. We have developed a driver with much more accurate mids and a better bass response as well as more accurate highs. Its just an overall improvement across the board. I think every user will appreciate the sound signature and its one of the best soudning signatures I have ever done.

3). Feel free to share these responses. I do take pride in being interactive with customers and the audio community as I feel it helps improve a company. Please note we have also changed the packaging slightly with the ts02. We are eliminating all wire ties, the window on the package will be slightly bigger but stamped as recyclable, and the inner pack will actually be a molded paper design as well that is easy to recycle.

I think that the ts02 sound will compete and beat headphones at a much higher price range. Feel free to let me know if you have any more comments or questions.

Best regards,
Aaron Fournier
President an CEO
Thinksound
 
 
 So, by the end of the summer there will be a new balanced dynamic iem with better bass, mids and highs than the already well-regarded rain for under $100 and there is a mic option. And a future wood-housed BA-driven earphone!

 

[Goombi]

Thanks for posting this!
 
I was right about to place an order for the rains, but I'm definitely going to hold out for the ts02's.

 

[semisight]

Wait, "8mm driver" is a description applied to dynamic drivers. Is the ts02 dynamic or BA?
 
This sounds very promising. They should make a dual BA design and try to compete with the DBA-02; their products are solid and their pricing is very competitive.

 

[kingpage]

Quote:

Wait, "8mm driver" is a description applied to dynamic drivers. Is the ts02 dynamic or BA?

From what  I can understand, ts02's are dynamic but there will be a BA release later this year.  Thus, the title says one dynamic (ts02) and one BA (another one) coming.

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

Wait, "8mm driver" is a description applied to dynamic drivers. Is the ts02 dynamic or BA?
 
This sounds very promising. They should make a dual BA design and try to compete with the DBA-02; their products are solid and their pricing is very competitive.

The ts02 is dynamic.
 
Another, different Thinksound iem will come out in 2011. That iem will be BA.

 

 

[ElPresidente]

 
Quote:Kunlun

[size=11pt]We are shooting for an August 1^st release date but that could change slightly[/size]

 
Now 15th of Aug
So any news on the TS-02 at all?

 

[lucozade]

Interesting imformation @ kunlun , are you looking for something new to replace those copper things in your ears ? lol

 

[ericp10]

Thanks for the information @ kunlun.

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

Interesting imformation @ kunlun , are you looking for something new to replace those copper things in your ears ? lol

No, I'm still very happy with my coppers! I'm no so interested in laid-back treble and overly mid-centric sounds, which seems to put a number of armature iems out for me (plus I don't want to buy a lot of iems--I give away my extras, the Klipsch custom 2 just went to a sweet siamese girl who was delighted with them).
 
Well, okay, my next purchase will probably be customs. The JH16 look like they have the sound closest to what I like to hear. Plus, I can actually sample them in universal fit form before I buy (it looks like). I'd like to learn more about the FutureSonics dynamic driver customs, but they don't seem to be quite right for me.
 
It was fun writing Westone about the ES5. They were quite clear that there would be no fuller-bass version of the ES5. The fellow also said there were no universal fit sample test versions to try at a Westone dealer before buying. I put my ears back and puffed up my tail a bit when I heard that, so I found a picture of the universal fit ES5 from CanJam and politely asked the Westone fellow about it! Turns out it was one-of-a-kind...
 

 

[Kunlun]

Okay, I wrote the Aaron, the president of Thinksound. I'm sure he'll write back tomorrow or the next day. I'll report more as soon as he does!

 

[lucozade]

LOL  @kunlun , i hope when you put back your ears and puffed up your tail that you did not start hissing at that westone dealer .
 
So you have your eye on a sweet little siamese girl , i guess there will be a litter of kittens running around soon.

 

[kmhaynes]

Ok, cool.  I've really grown to like the Rain.  It has 2 ports on each phone, and until I blocked up the front port under the nozzle, (at the suggestion of Aaron F -- I didn't even know there was a tiny port there), the Rain sounded too open to me, and I wasn't able to get a sound seal.  Now they sound so full and rich -- great bass impact and smooth clean highs.  It's surprising to hear Aaron say he thinks their current phones (Rain, TS01) don't have as much mid response as they would like -- I think the Rain has just the right mids for me.
 
It will be very interesting to hear a BA phone from them.

 

[paulypaul]

I wondered how you found that port at the front.

I thinks the mids are the best part of the Rains.

 

[Kunlun]

Update! Here's what the president of Thinksound had to say about the new IEMs. 
 
Quote:

  
Thanks for your interest.  The ts02+mic should be available around the 7th of September.  It will probably be cheapest through our website as we are going to have a strict pricing lock in place. 
 
The balance armature design is still under development and we are not rushing it due to the fact that the market for that type of earphone has shrank quite a bit due to the economy.  We are working on it just not pushing it.  I think you will be very please with the ts02+mic though as it is my favorite sounding headphone that I have ever worked on.
 
Best regards
 
Aaron Fournier
President /CEO/Engineer
thinksound

 

[Kunlun]

And the new iem is out!
 
http://www.thinksound.com/ts02mic.php