MMR THUMMIN REVIEW

Uniquely Designed, Uniquely Musical!

Thummin (ˈθʌmɪm) n. (one of) two objects probably used as oracles and carried in the breastplate of the high priest (Exodus 28:30) Old Testament.

Metal Magic Research (MMR), a relatively new company in the In-Ear-Monitor (IEM) market, was founded by Jomo Audio’s Joseph Mou and a team of like-minded individuals. The Thummin IEM ($4,499), currently under review represents MMR’s flagship product, which is a nine (9) driver, multiple driver technology (tribrid)—electrostatics, balanced armatures, and dynamic driver—design. 

MMR’s modus operandi as established by Joseph Mou was to bring together a diverse group of individuals across various specialities—Industrial Design, Manufacturing, Process Implementation, Marketing & Research to:

“Perfect the consummation of impeccable acoustics design with excellent aesthetics & ergonomics through the use of various ingenious methods to process manufacturing implementation … MMR innovations not only comes with a creative flair but is also a befitting alignment of current lifestyle standards.”

The Thummin design is, decidedly, avant-garde—experimental, radical, or unorthodox—as it embraces elements of Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller’s geodesic dome, a cutting-edge design for, perhaps, an Antarctic research facility, in miniature, or, as its name indicates, an ancient religious artifact imbued with magical powers. Needless to say, our curiosity was peaked with regard to just how this uniquely designed IEM might actually sound. 

REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the headphones actually sound and not the process of physically “undressing” them and/or laying out their various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a  non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Terminator, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.

The Sound

A note of warning, out of the box the MMR Thummin will be unlistenable and it will take up to two weeks or more of burn-in before it will even begin to approach its rather lofty pricing plateau. Perhaps a pre-burn-in prior to leaving the factory should be undertaken (mandatorily), in order that a positive first impression be generated. As those who are not reviewers may not wait out the necessary burn-in period after an out-of-box listen and will either 1) cast aspersions and bad reviews or 2) return them before they have “blossomed” musically. 

Patricia Barber’s The Moon (Verses, Premonition Records) plays and from the black-quiet notes emerge—a piano, then a guitar, then a trumpet, and then Patricia’s voice. There is an interplay of dissonance, that is anchored by Patricia’s voice. Air and space, timbre, texture, and tonality all lend a wonderful natural realism to the music, that the Thummin as allied to the Cayin Audio N6ii/A01 render beautifully. Bass is taunt, controlled, textured, and fast. The microdynamics and articulation, the lack of sibilance, the palpability of voice and instruments are beautifully engaging. Yes, it appears that the MMR Thummin is quite musical and very engaging. 

The MMR Thummin’s volumetric cube—its soundstage—is very good. It is quite wide, with very good height, and reasonably good depth. It is not the grandest that we’ve encountered, but it is quite good. Separation, positioning and layering are also very good, while their tuning is decidedly musical and analog. Another music lover’s IEM that happily embraces transparency, which, of course, falls squarely within our “wheelhouse” of sound (see Modus Operandi)

Bass

Eiji Oue’s Stravinsky Infernal Dance of King Kashchey, fifth movement (Stravinsky, Reference Recordings), has been called upon once again to “litmus test” the bass response of the Thummin IEM and there are smiling faces all around. The Thummin’s bass is tight, textured, quite fast, richly detailed, and thunderous! Thunderous! The Thummin’s transparency reveals pages being turned across the Minnesota orchestra an event previously obscured or barely hinted at. The Holy-Bass-Head-Grail is easily within reach of the Thummin, that may well bring smiles to the faces of those who happily indulge themselves across this frequency range. The Thummin have passed this test with flying colors.

Midrange

Another favorite album for evaluating the midrange qualities, strengths of a given IEM, headphone, DAP, DAC, etc is Joan Shelley’s self-titled album Joan Shelley and the track of choice is We’d Be Home (Joan Shelley, No Quarter). The clear, textured strumming of guitars rise from a black-quiet background. Shelley’s voice follows rich, natural, emotive, personal. The Thummin together with the Cayin N6ii/A01 have weaved a convincing, analog-like rendering of this track, that is both palpable and highly engaging. The Thummin bring a music lovers perspective to bear across the midrange, that is rich, textured, and transparent, the combination of which makes for a highly engaging listen.

Treble+ 

The Thummin kindly invite and entertain high-reaching treble extension, beautifully and sweetly so. Perhaps the four (4) electrostatic drivers have more than a little to do with this. Hilary Hahn’s 1726 (Higdon & Tchaikovsky, Deutsche Grammophon) begins and the notes staccato, distinct, clear, rise. A triangle follows it is clear, distinct, resonant, and set deeply within the background. Hilary’s violin reaches skyward now and is, seemingly, unobstructed by engineered limitations. Massed violins are silken, their tone and timbre rich, and the clarity, microdynamics, and air are splendid. It would appear that the symbiosis of transparency and musicality and the magic—design engineering—for making it so has found adherents and practitioners across the globe. This is, of course, a boon for those who consider themselves music lovers first.

The Wrappings and Accessories

The MMR Thummin come in a hollow, cylindrical, cardboard container, that is reminiscent of a repository for, perhaps, an ancient religious scroll, a pirate’s map, or a set of instructions for world domination from a nameless cabal. Within the outer cylinder is a leather tube itself evocative of a medieval scroll case and it is in this tube that the Thummin and ancillaries reside.

Accompanying the Thummin are a beautiful, custom Eletech Plato cable and a small, plastic case of twelve (12) silicone eartips. Given the asking price ($4,499) the offerings seem rather threadbare. One would expect, at least, a greater assortment of eartips with a compliment of foam tips to boot and, perhaps, a second balanced cable, as the asking price is in quite rarified air.

The wrappings for the Thummin are decidedly creative, playful, mysterious, and unique, in terms, of their use for an IEM package.

Design—Look and Feel and Fit

The design of the MMR Thummin IEMs is space-aged in its angularity and non-parallel walls, and it utilizes titanium as the main building material for its shell. In this respect, the Thummin seem indestructible, as in not being crushed underfoot or large heavy objects or, perhaps, even under a car’s tire (as rumor has it another metal IEM survived being run over). 

The Thummin feature within their titanium shell a total of nine (9) drivers—4 electrostatic drivers, 2 vented, balanced armatured mid drivers, 2 high frequency balanced armatured drivers, and 1 Foster dynamic driver in a four-way design. The blending together of so varied an array of drivers and technologies is, certainly, no easy task and the engineers should certainly be commended.

The Thummin are large and for small ears they may well be problematic. The THUMMIN will sit well outside of the ear and the elongated ear tube may itself cause fit issues, as attempting to get a tight seal will temporarily shut off the flow of music.  It is a situation that I have not yet encountered when placing IEMs in ear. So in this respect, if you have small ears be forewarned.

The Thummin are beautifully constructed and evocative of a modern metal art sculpture. Further, they are bereft of any truly sharp edges and are quite smooth to the touch. Sculptural art for the ear? Definitely.

The Specifications

9 Triple Hybrid Drivers Configuration
Quad Electrostatics, 2 Vented Mid, 2 Highs, 1x Bespoke 9.7mm Foster Dynamic Driver
4-Way Passive Electro Frequency Division
TriBore Waveguide
Eletech Proprietary Internal Litz
Frequency Response: 20Hz-80kHz
Impedance: 35ohm
Noise Isolation: -18db (UIEM)
2 Years Warranty

The Thummin have a relatively low impedance (35Ω -Ohms) and, to date, an “unknown sensitivity.” They are relatively easy to drive and they worked with numerous devices ranging from computers to DAPs to desktop systems.

Conclusion

First, the MMR Thummin IEMs will serve one’s music beautifully from thumping, bass-rich genres to classical to folk to jazz and beyond. Perhaps it is the shell’s design, the materials utilized, the seamless integration of drivers—the design engineering—that brings to life so many musical genres and so well and so musically. That transparency and musicality walk hand in hand in these IEMs is the consummation of a marriage long sought. For music lovers reference, neutral, bright, analytical no longer need be tolerated. The Thummin with their nine (9) distinct drivers in a Tribrid design represent a wonderful feat of design engineering, that reward the listener with a lavish analog musicality and the liberation of detail that may have long lain dormant, buried within the mix.

The above said, the Thummin, a rather large IEM, represent, at best, an ‘interesting’ fit with regard to small ears. That is to say, that one will have to diligently search for the appropriate tip to secure them to one’s ears, comfortably. Though when the proper tips are found and they are comfortably secured and the music is flowing, the difficulty may then come in having to separate from the Thummin and the music they render. Additionally, they will sound quite dreadful out of the box (though their younger sibling—the Homunculus—will sound absolutely ghastly out of the box). There is also the issue of their pricing—$4,499. I have certainly purchased and lived with some incredibly expensive equipment. However, in this day, age, technology is finally making the previously unaffordable for most, relatively affordable for a much broader range of folks.

Suffice to say, that despite the stellar sound profile, the wonderful transparency, and  the ‘mad’ design engineering “chops,” the MMR Thummin represent an expensive proposition for an IEM and, even, for most headphones—dynamic driver, planar, electrostatic. However, those able to indulge, who consider themselves music lovers first, will find a rare, musical and transparent “talisman” that will deliver countless hours of enjoyment and may well protect them from any and all sundry maladies. Recommend!

MUSIC—Qobuz, TIDAL EXCLUSIVELY

Alexander Tharaud—Tharaud Plays Rachmaninoff
Omar Sosa—Ballads, Calma
Patricia Barber—Verse
Rickie Lee Jones—Pop Pop
Sade—Lovers Live
Sheku Kannah Mason—Inspiration
Tracey Chapman—Where You Live
Olafur Arnalds—Island Songs
Olafur Arnalds—The Chopin Project
Melody Gardot—My One and Only Thrill
Melody Gardot—My Worrisome Heart
Eiji Oue—Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
Hilary Hahn—Tchaikovsky 
Mechell Ndegeocello—Bitter
Jordi Savall—Tous les Matins du MondeMaxwell—Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite
Sarah Jarosh—Undercurrent
Igor Stravinsky—Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Annie-Sophie Mutter—Mendelssohn, Brahms: Violin Concertos
London Grammar—If You Wait
Stevie Wonder—Innervisions 
Miles Davis—Kind of Blue
Jóhann Jóhannsson—Orphée
Alexis Ffrench—Evolution
Dave Holland—Emerald Tears
Gidon Kremer, Daniil Trifonov, Giedre Dirvanauskaite—Preghiera/Rachmaninov Piano Trios
Joan Shelly—Joan Shelly
Magdalena Kožená—French Arias
Andy Bey—American Song
Erykah Badu—Baduism
Kronos Quartet—Kronos Caravan

ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT

Cayin N6ii/A01
Cayin N6ii/E01
iBASSO DX220-AMP1/MK II
iFi Pro iDSD
Meze Empyrean
OBravo EAMT-2C IEMs
Final Sonorous III
FiiO FH5
AudioQuest Cobalt
AudioQuest Red
AudioQuest Dragon Tail
Samsung S10
Apple X iPhone

THE COMPANY

MMR AUDIO
16 Shaw Road, #01-04, 
367954, Singapore
info@metalmagic.co
https://metalmagic.co