Tansio Mirai Land – Promised land!

If you're looking for an IEM with an intoxicating midrange, powerful textured and fast bass and impressive air and resolution at a reasonable price then the Land is one of top alternatives in a crowded segment with tough competition! It does so with a really singular combination of transparency, engagement and refinement crediting a real tuning mastery from Tansio Mirai.

This is a sweet time to be an audiophile and despite the insane price rise in the flagship segment thanks to EST becoming widespread there are some gems in the mid tier segment now and Land is a very strong contender there.

Product Page : https://penonaudio.com/tansio-mirai-land.html
Price : 599$

Fit, Build & Isolation

The Land feature a lightweight shell and the build quality is excellent and I do feel one step up from the Zodiac (seamless joints of the faceplate, resin quality). The inside of the transparent grey shells show the craftsmanship is very good up to the switches system with tight tolerances.

The fit is perfect with lightweight shells that you quickly forget once you wear them. The included tips are high quality, a good thing because the stem of the Land EST is on the bigger side (slightly bigger than the Zodiac already big e.g >5mm) and this means not everyone of your tip collection will fit. The fit is not too deep either which make the Land quite comfortable especially for those who don’t like deeper fits. Like Zodiac the isolation is only average but that should be an issue only for those listening in noisy environments with moderate volume like I do.

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 building the Land EST and 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.

The Land didn’t arrive first at the tribrid party for sure, but I do expect Tansio Mirai is able to provide a strong contender!

Does this hold true? How does the Land fare in a ferociously competitive landscape?

Let’s check it out!

Sound

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

The Land feature powerful and balanced bass with excellent speed, an intoxicating midrange that strikes a superb balance of transparency and fullness with excellent bite and a highly refined treble that packs some excellent energy. Soundstage is excellent with great width, excellent height and good depth. Vocals are forward and clear with just the right touch of sweetness.

Bass

Bass switch to ON
The Land features a powerful bass with excellent sub bass power, the 10mm driver definitely brings additional physicality compared to the Zodiac excellent BA bass, the subs can be felt. My usual test track Aphex Twin “Ageispolis” brought thunderous subs with excellent density and power. On Phanee de Pool “Amstram” the Land really impressed me with the short burst of subs that provide the rhythm of the track, the weight of the notes was among the best I have heard it especially contrasting with the upper treble extension does justice to the extremely high contrast between the subs and highs. This is combined with an excellent recovery speed between the bass burst, note start and stop on a whim with excellent performance for a dynamic. I had a similar experience with Marian Hill “Differently” where the sub notes contrast with the treble beautifully, against a pitch black background. Vivid.

The mid bass slam is excellent, the Land with the bass switch to ON is clearly a fun IEM but not at the expanse of technicalities. The Land is actually pretty impressive in terms of control and speed as revealed on Lucy Dixon “Stormy Weather” where the drums snappy sequences are perfectly rendered. Textures are rich, detailed and layered, there is clearly a family of tuning with Zodiac and this is a good thing in my book given how high I rate the Zodiac mid bass. In Ted Poor “Emilia” the drums are perfectly portrayed with both power of the flow tom and bass drum and nuances one can easily pick out the snare drum, high and medium Tom. I highly recommend Ted Poor’s whole album “You already know” on the Land.

Worth noting, while powerful bass is really well integrated into the overall signature, it doesn’t overshadow or bleed into the mids while providing great pace and rhythm.

Bass switch to OFF
I was surprised at the sub bass presence which honestly is a bit attenuated but not by much the Land still provides excellent power and rumble. The bass switch seems to be affecting mainly the mid and upper bass with a leaner bass presence. The bass is faster and cleaner but on the flipside the Land looses physicality and becomes drier, less textured and full. This could appeal to some in the sense that it’s a purer bass that is not devoid of power and physicality in the sub bass.

Mids

Mids switch to ON
The Land midrange is quite intoxicating and Tansio has found a rare balance there. It’s not quite as transparent as the Zodiac midrange, but it’s fuller with a quite a bit more body to the instruments, it’s really a very subtle balance of transparency and fullness that I already loved with the Zodiac but the Land offers me a nice variant there.

This level of transparency combined with a full bodied midrange is pretty intoxicating to my ears. When I listen to Gerry Mulligan “Chelsea bridge” with a huge smile on my face, something is happening and not many IEMs can provide the level of nuances and engagement that I found with the Land. Gerry’s saxophone sounds soulful and provides so many levels of nuances and that’s what gives this track its full flavor with the Land : the ability to convey the minute nuance of interpretation makes all the difference. Sorry to keep on raving about Jazz tracks but the same goes for tracks like Houston Person “Everything must change”. This is a soulful interpretation and honestly not many IEMs have given me chills like the Land has and in this price range it’s simply quite unique.

The Land midrange fullness is combined with the right amount of bite in the upper mids as well. The Land passed the Hank Levy “Whiplash” test with flying colors : Land has good bite and takes me to edge on the cymbals but never crosses the threshold. It’s an energetic midrange but a safe one. This is a delicate balance which is hard to find.

Vocals are clear, both male and female reflect the nice balance found between the lower and upper mids tuning. Male vocals have satisfying power and female vocals have a sweetness that I find adds naturalness without going to far and timbre while not dead neutral is respected. Positioning is a tad forward emphasizing the performer and vocals are energetic and highly engaging.

Switching from Hiby R6 2020 – which is my main source for this review – to Shanling M8 takes the Land even further up the ladder of special midranges to me. Cable rolling to Penon Totem took me to heights I didn’t think a mid tier IEM could take me. Color me impressed, although it might not be a coherent setup for most as the Totem is more expensive than the Land it still pull off every bit of greatness the Land can deliver and show how it scales with sources.

Mids switch to OFF
I wasn’t sure how the mids switch would go. Less upper mids could have been a choice but it was clearly apparent from the moment I turned the switch off that it affects mainly the lower mids region. The Land sounds significantly brighter and leaner on this setting. Gone is the fullness of the midrange that I find so intoxicating with the switch to ON. Take the bass switch off as well and the Land sounds almost hollow. I really didn’t care that much to put the mids switch to off and unless you really like leaner and brighter mids I am not sure I would recommend it.

Treble

Treble switch to ON
I was really curious at how the first EST powered Tansio would sound? Well, it’s a pretty impressively mature EST tuning from Tansio and hints at what heights their upcoming Spark could reach. Tansio took time to release its first EST but it did right.

The lower treble section is always the one I check with EST arrays. It’s the weakest part of EST drivers to me and the first EST IEMs on the market lacked luster here. Not with LAND. I am pretty impressed at the lower treble energy with the switch to ON. Note weight still can’t really match the best BA setup but still, very close. The chimelike Kalimba in Vaiteani “How they call it” and the percussions in Stan Getz “Maracatu Too” both sound spot on and energetic with good weight to the strokes, and both track imaging are impressive with a very holographic image. I also enjoyed Stefon Harris “Let’s take a trip to the sky” dreamy vibraphone intro.

The upper treble is just impressive as EST done right can be with impressive extension and a sense of air and a resolution and fast transients that other technology fail to deliver. I have become a huge fan of EST tuned right and it’s hard to match. The Land is no exception and it performs really well, surpassing it’s older brother the Zodiac… until the upcoming 4 EST Spark comes out in a couple of months.

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 Land looses quite a bit of energy. I could see the appeal for those who are treble sensitive depending on sources and personal preferences of music genres but I do again prefer the switch to ON.

Verdict

I must confess that when I heard that Tansio Mirai was releasing a mid tier tribrid I got pretty excited at the prospect as I have always been impressed by the coherence and refinement of their tuning. I was really curious to see how they would implement a dynamic and the EST and how it would benefit both the bass and treble.

The dynamic definitely adds physicality to the mix and I must say I am almost a bit disappointed that the upcoming Spark flagship won’t feature one, although again Zodiac has superb BA bass I do love a physical sub bass and the slam that a dynamic can add. The EST technology really did bring a lot to the table for the Land, providing a level of performance that benefits Land resolution, separation and imaging greatly. It manages to surpass Tansio’s previous flagship the Zodiac at half the price. This being said despite the benefits of a dynamic down low and the EST up top, Tansio manages to also pull off a very intoxicating midrange with a pretty exquisite tuning, technology is not all!

I am nitpicking but The only minor gripe I would have is I would have liked a three position tuning switch system : it would have opened interesting variants like a more fun bass, more lower mids and less upper mids or more treble energy for example. Right now you can have a leaner bass, brighter mids and a less energetic treble. As it is, I am sticking to all switches to ON just like I did for the Zodiac.

This is a sweet time to be an audiophile and despite the insane price rise in the flagship segment thanks to EST becoming widespread there are some gems in the mid tier segment now and Land is a very strong contender there.

If you’re looking for an IEM with an intoxicating midrange, powerful textured and fast bass and impressive air and resolution at a reasonable price then the Land is one of top alternatives in a crowded segment with tough competition! It does so with a really singular combination of transparency, engagement and refinement crediting a real tuning mastery from Tansio Mirai.

Listening notes
I spent approximately 40 hours with the Land, listening on Hiby R6 2020using the stock cable, Penon OSG, ISN Solar. I also tested the Land with Shanling M8 and DX300 with Penon Totem. 

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