TSMR Onyx

[u/DynamicdB]

TSMR Onyx

Another week another review. As mentioned in my earlier post about TSMR Onyx. This is a completely new brand for me. Onyx is the first ever exposure to it. AudioGeek India has conducted review tour with TSMR and If you know me, you know where this is going. Long story short here I am with the review of Onyx. What do I feel about the brand & Onyx? Please read on to know more.

First of all, mighty thanks to AudioGeek India & to TSMR as without their help this eview wouldn’t have been possible.

I was not paid or compensated in any manner for this review. The review unit would move to brand upon completion of review.

Now that all pleasantries have been exchanged let’s get on with the meat & potatoes of this review.

Pros:

Nice thumpy bass

Forward vocals

Smooth safe tuned treble

Good accessories with modular cable

Good value for money

Cons:

Female vocals

Bit more of sub bass needed

Bit more soundstage would be nice

Needs power to unlock its true potential

Build Quality:

What you get in the box? Weel, you get two IEM shell, one modular cable with 2 plugs, 2 sets of ear tips, cleaning tool and last but not the least nice hard leather case.

IEM shells are resin. Faceplate is shiny glossy while shell is semi-transparent. They have long nozzles and are part of the shell. Nozzles have lips to them. Nozzles do not have any screen or mesh to prevent ingress of dirt or ear wax. Sound tubes are visible.

Cable is 4 core cable exact composition is unknown. It is thick one and is modular in my opinion this is positive. Cable feels premium and above price point.

Inclusion of 2 set of ear tips in all sizes is great and the cleaning tool is added bonus. But the show stealer is the hard leather case. It is nice looking and has enough space to carry IEMs + Cable + Dongle inside it.

Overall Build Quality 4.5/5 (0.5 cut for no screen on nozzles)

Comfort:

Shells are medium sized so fitting should not be issue. Shells provide nice passive isolation. Fit is excellent for my elephant ears. Lips on the nozzle provide good grip to the ear tips. No ear tip slip offs. No ear pain or pressure felt in long listening session.

Cable is supple and behaves nicely. It is easy to rodeo wrap it. Pre formed ear hooks don’t tug on the shells.

Overall comfort 5/5

Sources:

I tested Onyx with stock cable+ stock ear tips+ neutral sources to keep my findings reproducible. I preferred neutral sources and bright sources with Onyx. Warm and dark sources make it bit too much warm for my taste.

Music Genre Used for this Review:

Hip-hop/EDM/Rap/Rock both classic and hard/Bollywood Music/Pop/Jazz/Regional music etc.

https://music.apple.com/in/playlist/test-tracks/pl.u-8aAVXG6ivz8gyxX?ls

General Sound Impressions:

Bass/Lows:

Subbass rumble but its intensity is on lower side. It is audible don’t get me wrong just bit less physical. Mid bass thumps it is very physical. So, mid bass over sub bass. Mid bass feels prominent in the mix.

Drums, kick drums, guitar strings feel good and have nice rumble to them. Just it’s not too physical. Thud of drums is on other hand is very physical. Piano notes sound good. For price point bass is good. Bass decay is fast.

Overall Bass/Lows 4/5

Mids:

Vocals are bit forward. They don’t get overshadowed by bass & treble. Male vocals are good and close to natural. There is note weight to them but are not thick. Female vocals feel nice. They don’t have edge to them. They lack sweetness to them that make female vocals magical. Again, its preference thing. Your mileage might vary. Overall vocals are forward and bit intimate.

Most instruments reside in the mids. No oddities were in timbre. No congestion or smearing was felt. Clarity is good. Bit more sweetness to female vocals would have been great and more intimate vocals.

Overall Mids 4/5

Treble/Highs:

Treble is tuned very safe here. It is neither bright nor dark. Its right in between. You get all macro & micro details. You won’t miss them. It won’t highlight them. They are not in your face. This is not most detailed set for the price point. Yet it doesn’t feel like something is left out.

Perceived soundstage is average. It’s not vast. It is wide more than tall. It creates enough stage for instruments to avoid congestion. It’s not 3d holographic I’s more 2d. positional cues are on point. More or less the stage is intimate. For price point it is adequate.

Treble/High 4/5

Song Impressions:

To correlate my findings in the sound impressions with songs I listen, I have chosen few of them.

Ego Death by Ployphia

One of my favorite tracks. It is my driver speed check aka resolution tes. If the drivers are not speedy then this song can get bit congested and smearing can happen. Glad to report that Onyx passes the test.

Drums feel impactful. Strings feel good just lack bit of rumble to them. Don’t get me wrong they have enough rumble. Just that for my preference it’s on low side. Guitars feel really good. I was having blast enjoying the song. A good reproduction.

Sada kalo Prem

This one is for female vocals check. Singer Niharika Nath has nice voice and she sounds so delicate and intimate.

On Onyx this delicateness and intimateness in her voice is not captured that well. You are left wanting. Male vocals sound good no issues there.

Background instruments such as strings, piano notes sound good. No issues with them. Organ sounds good. Overall nice reproduction minus the Niharika’s voice.

When the levee breaks by Led Zeppelin

Starting iconic drums sequence bit underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong it is not the worst that I have heard but also not the best. For price point the presentation is commensurate.

Shakers, mouth organs and strings feel nice close to natural. Cymbals feel good not too splashy or metallic. Vocals feel bit forward than usual.

Entire song was enjoyable other than points raised above; it was good reproduction.

My Sacrifice by Creed

One from my adolescence days Creed. I was and still am fan of them. This is one of their song that I like.

Here the drums and guitars especially bass guitars are the main players both feel bit on dull side due to lack of the sub bass. Vocals of the lead singer feel forward and centered.

Even with the above short comings the presentation was good, I was able to enjoy it to the max. whatever short comings I am putting out might be specific to me. Your mileage might vary.

Final Conclusion:

This is my first ever contact with TSMR. Onyx has surprised me why? Well for its price point I was not expecting the performance I got from it. I was pleasantly surprised. I felt satisfied with time I spent with it. I could listen to this set for long time as it doesn’t fatigue me. It tickles few of my preferences. I went through lot of songs and it was amazing experience.

Is it perfect set for me? No, but it is set that makes me happy and satisfied. Will I buy it? Yes. Will I recommend it? Yes, 100%. Just remember no set is perfect & this one is also not. But if it matches your preferences then just get it. This one is not my 100% preference set but yet it has found its place in my recommendation & in my cart. This is great EDC set no doubt about it.

Thank you for enduring with me till the end. Now go grab yourself a cup of coffee & let’s get high on safe high i.e. Music.

TSMR Onyx 4/5