Futuresonics Atrio M5 - Page 19

http://cgi.ebay.com/FutureSonics-Atr...QQcmdZViewItem

offer $130 + shipping and they will accept... best price around!
btw, I absolutely love mine

Thanks! I had no idea it was so easy to find them from a reliable seller on Ebay.

I tried google products and got no results so thanks for the speedy answer.

EDIT: Offer made! Let's see what happens.

The only thing that bugs me about the M5's is the seemingly plasticky construction compared to my old Vibes. However, if most people say this a total step-up from the Vibes, and sound quality being my biggest draw as long as its within my 150 and under price range, going for this was a risk but I figure, why not? I'll report back what I hear when I get them.

Quality control doesn't seem to be a problem with the M5's, none of us has yet had problems..touch wood!

Thats good to hear. I'm a bit worried that the construction would be a little weak but since nobody seems to be complaining about that aspect, my offer should be a good investment..

i do agree that in photos they look plasticy and weak, but however in real life they don't look that weak and they sure do not feel weak. Feels well made. When you sqeeze they body it doesn't compress or anything if you get me.

Thanks for that. I was looking at them closely in the few pics we have in this thread and I kept getting the sinking feeling that they were somewhat poorly made and that the all-metal design of the Vibes would be something worth sticking for. Thanks for letting me know about it. Thats the only thing left to worry about in my book.

Hmmm, I should post close up photos of them with my camera in macro mode to show the construction with great detail when I get them. I'm sure other people would appreciate a better look at them before they buy.

The casing build quality is pretty nice. Sure, the metal casing of the vibes is probably as sturdy as you'll get, but the sound quality doesn't come close. I found the Vibes flabby and uncontrolled even compared to my EM3, the old Future Sonics consumer IEM, and the EM3 are the masters of bass (the Master Bassers, if you want, heheh). But the EM3 was far more controlled than the Vibes. Honestly, aside from the look of the cool metal casing, I didn't like anything about the Vibes. The sound was kinda "meh", and they weren't particularly comfortable. No such problems with the Atrio, I assure you.

-Packgrog

Thanks to everybody on this thread for sharing their thoughts on the Atrios. I lurked here for quite a while before making a decision on purchasing some decent IEMs to go with a new ipod and have no regrets whatsoever. The main selling point for me was the glowing reports on the bass quality of the M5 's (as I'm an unrepentant basshead) , but at the same time I didn't want the bass to completely swamp everything else. Needless to say , the Atrios have not disappointed me in that respect. They manage to reproduce some very demanding sub-bass beautifully , yet never at the expense of the rest of the music. I 've listened to a wide range of music genres on these things , as my taste in music can be fairly eclectic (it can range from classical to industrial ) and the M5s seem to cope well with whatever I throw at 'em. I'm certainly no expert , but the one thing I would say about these little beauties is that ( for me anyway) the music reproduction always has a good degree of warmth about it. I 'd listened to a couple of supposed quality IEM s before that friends had and they sounded a bit too clinical for my tastes . In regards to build quality, I would say that the actual casing of the earphones seems pretty sturdy , so hopefuly there shouldn't be any problems with this (hope i'm not tempting fate here !) Some new Shure complys (on order ) should by all accounts improve my listening pleasure even more! All I need now is a half decent connect for my newly acquired Macro IV amp (looking forward to experimenting with some op-amp combinations and tweaking the sound perhaps) to my Ipod . Does anybody know if I can get hold of a quality one in the UK or should I just order direct from the States ? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated . Thanks again guys. (Currently enjoying the music (via the Atrios of course) and beautiful sunshine in my back garden, S.W. London )

I'm really curious about these earphones. I have a pair of Westone UM2s right now and I'm wondering how these compare. My source is a 5G ipod with lineout and Go-Vibe V5s. I've always liked the UM2s, but I'm getting itchy to try something new. I listen to a wide variety of music and the UM2s handle most of it pretty well. It wouldn't hurt them to be a little more punchy in the bass though. How would the Atrios compare? Would it be a step down?

it depends on who you talk to. i prefer any good dynamic over any good armiture. they are a more headphone sound other than soundstage versus the um2. i also own the um2 and love them but far too much a revealing precise little tool to be fun to listen to. the atrio is much more of a small headphone - relax and enjoy the music, don't kill it. the bass quality is very good - same old story - similar to the bigger headphones --- very hd600 like to me. just not as good in the highs.

don't go wrong - pay less and get these - i think you may find them worthwhiles.

Road Dog Online accepted my offer and I made the payment an hour ago. I just love that I could have had to spend $199 at a retailer but I only spent $140 total. I could never go above $150 for headphones anyway...

I also got an email saying that my replacement Vibes (with the strain relief plug) have been shipped so I'll be putting that up for sale here as soon as I receive the box so I can recoup some of what I spent on the superior M5's.

Hey, quick question for anybody who sees this. I hear the tips for this IEM are not that great. What tips would make the most out of this IEM?

I'm between the new Shure Black "Olive" foamies or the Comply standard tips.

Anybody know a good place to buy quality tips for a good price, btw?

I bought a pack of the Shure olives (small) via Ebay and they didn't cut it for me, so I tried a pair of Comply gray shorts purchased via Westone (use them with ER4P) and they didn't do it either. But the Comply regular (flesh colored) seem to be the best, and in fact turned me around on the M5s. I guess it all depends on your ear situation. Everyone raves about the small olives as the tip of choice, but to me, I didn't need to go too deep to get a good seal, so the Complys worked very well. I also ordered a bag of medium olives (on the way) so they may work. I am using the small olives with the Etys now, so not a complete waste of money.

They should start a tip trading exchange on Head-Fi, one pair for one pair. All it would cost is a stamp.

Don't automatically dismiss the tips that come with the M5s. Fit of IEMs is a very personal thing. Getting that magical balance of fit and comfort can be a journey. I found the bi-flanges of the M5s to fit pretty well and were comfortable but they didn't give me a consistent seal. I do think the stock foamies are sub-par in that they are too stiff. I ordered the Shure black olives - medium - and haven't looked back ever since. Amazing seal and terrific comfort. But, again - YMMV.

One other thing - always consider the possibility that a different size in each ear might be the answer. We humans are not symmetrical creatures.

Yeah, I was actually talking with Laxx about this after he let me try his E500. He supposedly needs different foam sizes for each ear, and he had the medium foamies on his E500. Those didn't fit my ears at all, and I had to use my Future Sonics beige foamies to get a good seal. Once I did, the E500 sounded great (if a bit analytical for my taste). I still want to try the Shure large foams. It really is a matter of best fit for YOUR ears. My wife, for example, uses the small FS foams with the EM3 when she's at the gym. Heh.

On a different note, I received my replacement Atrio m5 yesterday, a few hours after I'd mailed back the faulty one. Started burning the new pair in immediately (about 14 hours of burn-in with pink noise). Ahh... I love these things. They really do outshine the EM3 (which I uses yesterday) by quite a lot. Far more expansive soundstage, and not as much treble roll-off. The treble is a lot more relaxed than with the E500, but I really do prefer that. I *ENJOY* music with Future Sonics IEMs. Most other phones are just too analytical. Glad to have the Atrio back.