Disclaimer: The Tansio Mirai Halo was sent to me as part of the tour for review, I do not get to keep it and by the time of posting it has already left my possession. As always all thoughts and opinions remain my own and I have not been requested to do or say anything.
Personal preferences in audio gear may vary. This review is based on my own subjective experience.
If you prefer to watch a video review you can watch mine here
Pros –
- Extremely Resolving
- Incredible detail retrieval
- Insane Imaging
- Instrument layering is the best I have heard for IEMs so far
- Holographic Stage
- Treble sounds great and is nicely detailed
- Very comfortable
Cons –
- BA Bass
- Stock Cable Isn’t Great
- Dynamics are lacking causing all the sounds to come across a bit dull
Gaming:
Pros –
- Imaging is the best I have heard
- Immersive worlds sound and feel huge
- Huge amount of information and detail presented in a clear manner
Cons –
Build, Fit & Accessories:
The Tansio Mirai Halo is priced at $2000, no that wasn’t a typo…This is a TOTL (Top Of The Line) Flagship from Tansio Mirai.
As this was a tour unit I did not get the full unboxing experience and the only things I have to compare to what the original will come with are the cable and the IEMs themselves. The stock cable was disappointing off the bat, although it looks quite nice it has a fair amount of memory and the ear hooks like to twist and get wrapped around each other. The build looks and feels solid. I enjoy the galaxy blue faceplates and being able to see all the drivers and tech that is crammed inside of these. As for fit both my wife and I believe this is one of the best fitting IEMs we have tried.
As for other accessories for an original unit, going from the photos online it looks like you get a three different types of tips, a cleaning brush and a case as well.
Equipment Used:
- FiiO K11 on Windows
- FiiO Q11 on Windows and Android
- MusicBee on Windows 11 with FiiO ASIO drivers for local FLAC and DSD files
- Tidal Music Streaming
- Hidizs AP80 Pro Local FLAC and DSD
Test Tracks used:
- Test Tracks (Work in Progress)
Sound Quality:
The Halo is an 12 driver per side set, utilizing 8BAs and 4ESTs,
2 Sonion open-hole BA for low frequency
4 Knowles BA for middle frequency
2 Sonion BA for high frequency
4 Sonion electrostatic for Ultra-high frequency
This is my first time hearing electrostat drivers and I must say I am surprised, they do work in the high treble and throw out microdetails that I have not heard before, really cool experience there. Overall this set is fairly natural sounding with a bit of warmth definitely not as much as the graph would suggest to my ears.
The sound is incredibly balanced and is unlike anything else I have heard, they push an insane amount of detail out while remaining cohesive across all frequencies. These were a treat to listen to and I am glad I was able to have the ability to try them.
Bass:
For me I think the bass is quite underwhelming, the punch and slam is just lacking to me, although everything is clear and correct and quality wise sounds fantastic I can’t help but feel that the bass region is limp sounding, nothing ever really hits hard enough for me. Bass guitar lines sound fantastic and have their own part of the stage to stand on. Although fast and correct sounding they just don’t stand out quantity wise and lack some feel and emotion. I assume this is what people refer to as BA bass.
Midrange:
The midrange is very rich sounding with incredible amounts of detail. string instruments have never sounded so good. Everything here is life like and sounds great. There is a wonderful balance on my tracks that have heavy guitars, vocals, and violins all trying to occupy the same space that I have not experienced before, they all remain distinct and have their own legs to stand on without overriding each other. Guitar solos are there in your face but still have the whole band right behind it and you can hear every members part.
Vocals:
Some female vocals can come across a tad sharp on Ts and Sh sounds for me but overall they are done in an excellent manner. Both female and male vocals sound natural to me with great micro detail, there are breath and throat noises on some of my favorite tracks I am extremely familiar with that I have not noticed before a very cool experience. Vocals all seem to sit in the mix perfectly and move around depending on the genre I am listening to, always present but sometimes they sit more in the back and at other times more forwards.
Treble:
The treble on the Halo is incredible for me, details in this region are off the charts. There is a ton of information here that I have not heard before on my favorite tracks, cymbals have insane detail and wind instruments are breathy, there is definitely a special sparkle over this region bringing details from synths out that I didn’t know existed before. I don’t find it too spicy or sibilant at all myself.
Technicalities:
The technicalities are off the chart and I guess should be expected considering the price point on these but nevertheless I am glad they were. The first things that stood out to me were the instrument separation and layering. This are the first IEMs that are able separate and pull information from across my tracks and present a full image of the band playing all their parts. Orchestras are huge and grand sounding with the most information coming back to me I have heard so far. Sounds in my favorite prog metal tracks swirl all around me in an incredible holographic presentation, sounds are coming from so many different places all at once. Although I think a lot of the Halo is near perfection there is another area other than the bass I think it lacks in and that is dynamics. there is all this information and detail they are throwing at you but everything comes across a bit flat.
Gaming Performance:
I highly doubt that the intention of this $2000 set was for video games but here we are. Halo offers some seriously good gaming performance…and I’m glad that it does considering the price tag. I definitely wouldn’t run out to grab this if I was a serious gamer though but if I did own them I would definitely be gaming with them from time to time. Fit and comfort and the overall sound are amazing and felt comfortable for long sessions.
FPS Gaming:
Escape From Tarkov was fantastic, a really awesome experience with the amount of information being thrown at me. Audio cues were all greatly apparent with pinpoint imaging. Footsteps have good weight to them and scav chatter stood out and was extremely easily to locate where it was coming from. Awesome experience all around here.
Immersive Gaming:
I decided to try out Helldivers 2 with the Halo and wow, there is a lot of detail and information that I was not aware of on this game. Lots of little sounds and details were all jumping out at me that I don’t think I had ever heard before, super cool! Everything was very well separated and the world sounded huge. Great overall presentation.
Comparisons:
Being the first Kilobuck (multi kilobuck I guess) I have tried, I do not have much to ground myself to or compare my thoughts to so the closest I can compare it to is my current top IEM the CKLVX CK-D41 from Myer Audio, this is a $180 set compared to a $2000 one…not really a fair comparison. The CK-D41 actually fixes my couple nitpicks that I have with the Halo, The bass is more tactile and punches quite a bit harder as well as the dynamics are better making the general listening experience more fun unless you are really focusing and listening on a critical level. and the tuning is quite similar while coming off a bit warmer. The Halo excels everywhere else and sets it apart enough I truly believe it is special and worth $2000. I thought the CK-D41 was special and punched well above its price point but the Halo really stands out showing off a technical prowess I wasn’t sure was possible in IEMs. In terms of detail and layering they aren’t even comparable it is a completely different beast that I think warrants the ginormous price tag.
Conclusion:
The Tansio Mirai Halo blew my mind and shattered what I thought possible for IEMs. Although extremely expensive compared to everything I have tried I believe it sets it self apart enough to warrant the price tag as it is truly an impressive and incredible experience. But I believe only very critical listeners will respect and enjoy what these are capable of, if you want to just put these in and jam out I feel like some of their specialness will be lost on you and possibly wont even be enjoyed due to the less than tactile bass and sub par dynamics.
Would I Pay $2000 for these? If I had the ability to, I think I would. They would not be for average every day use but a reference set that I can sit down with and dissect my favorite tracks and really enjoy what each and every member is contributing to the sound.
I would only recommend this set to the extremely critical listener or those who want the best techs possible as these are unlike anything I have heard for IEMs so far.
Thanks for reading this review! Feel free to ask any questions if you have any. Also feel free to share your experience if you have been able to try the Halo.
If you are interested in the Tansio Mirai Halo it can be purchased at the links below.
- Penon
TANSIO MIRAI HALO EST (penonaudio.com) - Tansio Mirai
TSMR HALO (tansio-mirai.com)
Cheers!
