Futuresonics Atrio M5 - Page 7

Thanks, niknik! Doing a little burn-in with the FLAC version now.

Thanks niknik.

Guess you're set then and won't be needing me. Let us know what you hear afterwards!

I'm looking forward to hear ur impression after the burn in.

bump

OK, I burned them in overnight using the pink noise, as well as using them during my Seismic Radio show. The frequency ranges seem to have smoothed out significantly, with the bass being less flabby and the treble being less shrill, and the midrange no longer feeling distant. I'm sure it will settle down more, so I'll probably continue the pink noise burn-in over the weekend, but it's probably close enough to it's final character to give some more impressions.

The treble is significantly more pronounced and sparkly than with the EM3. Again, this is a mixed blessing. While there's certainly more life to the high end, there's also more fatigue. I've become very sensitive to high frequencies, and I'm starting to miss the treble roll-off the EM3. It's a tough call. The treble has more life, but it's less comfortable. I'd say that the Atrio is a far more neutral earphone than the EM3. And while the treble seems to match my Etymotics, the bass still surpasses that brand handily.

The soundstage is magnificent. I feel like the sound is surrounding my head, rather than being trapped inside of it...

But this is also dependant on the source. The Atrio is far less forgiving than the EM3, and shows off the limitations of your source hardware very quickly. My Cowon A2 is a tad bit too bright for comfort, though the soundstage it provides is wonderful (thanks to the Wolfson DAC). Unfortunately, I can't use my Tomahawk with it, as it winds up over-emphasizing the treble and becomes painfully sibillant. Meanwhile, the line out of the iriver H120 shows it's severe limitations even further, with a completely compressed soundstage, though the frequency range is more comfortable. I'll have to wait a while longer to test with the Monica II DAC since my builder has been having trouble getting the optical receiver to work. I won't even bother with the line-out from my M-Audio Transit because it sounded awful with the EM3, so I'll wait for the Monica. Ironically, the line-out from my IBM PC's built-in sound card sounds best at the moment (playing audio through Amarok on Ubuntu Linux).

On the bright side, I'd been getting worried lately that the Monica II DAC might not be a great match for the warmer sound of the EM3. Given the Atrio's more even frequency response, it might be a better match. That's a great relief.

I do have to say that I think the Atrio is easier to recommend to the audiophile crowd. It *IS* more neutral than the EM3. The soundstaging is wonderful. I really don't hear any "deficiencies", which some folks might consider the EM3's treble roll-off to be. Everything is imaged effectively here. It's quite remarkable.

Now if my external drive would stop throwing a fit so I can listen to tunes with my better source I'd be a happy man.

Holy isolation, Batman!!!

Guys - you think the M5s sound good? Try them with a pair of Shure's new black foamies! Holy cow! They are not only uber comfy but they give you an amazing seal. And you've all heard me say it more than once - the M5s need a good seal to perform their best. Well, with the Shure tips I just fell in love all over again. I'm listening to a current fav downtempo electronic track and i'm hearing more detail and the bass - whoa! some of the low hits felt like i had subwoofers strapped to my ears! but good deep resonating bass. Not flabby at all.

As for fit of the tips on the M5s - couldn't be better. Actually, I would say they fit better than the foamies that come with the M5s. I noticed that the stock foamies rotate fairly easily on the eartubes. It felt like that there was a potential of a tip getting stuck in my ear. With the Shures, they fit very snug.

And size? The mediums are slightly smaller in diameter than the stock larger foamie. And the large Shure is slightly larger. (I bought a stock of medium and large since I wasn't sure which would work best.) The mediums for me work great. I did try the large and they were comfortable as well but I didn't feel like I was necessarily getting a better seal and I felt a little bit of pressure and could see how after a long listening session they might get a bit uncomfortable.

So the hype on the new Shure foamies is definitely warranted. And if they last as long as they say they will then I'm no longer even considering getting the custom mold tips that Future Sonics offers.

Guess I'm bending the rules a bit here but if any of you fellow M5'ers want a first crack at trying these before I post my extras on the FS board - drop me a PM. EDIT: Only large left.

glad to hear they fit so well, mine should arrive next week sometime. Looking forward to testing them out.
All i need now is an amp and the M5's will be perfect.
Which portable amp would you guys think would work well with the M5's? Size is an important factor to me too, smaller the better.

Hornet fanboy here. Tried the Tomahawk at the NYC meet - very close to the Hornet but even smaller. I mean the dern thing is tiny! Love Ray's amps.

i'm just about to go ahead with my M5 purchase with my Cowon D2. whereabouts did u order from the new Shure black foams? and what exactly is the difference?

The Shure's are much more pliable and softer than the stock. They are also said to be more durable than typical foamies and can be washed with some soap and water to keep them clean which you really can't do with regular foamies. On top of all that, aesthetically they are much more appealing than the stock pinkish foamies.

I bought the 2 sets of 5 pairs from FullCompass.com. Good price initially but after shipping I really didn't save much in regards to Shure's MSRP. I ordered from them mostly because I knew I would get them quick via ground shipping.

The Atrio works marvelously with the Tomahawk. Very good pairing.

Darn UPS. My Atrio m5's might not be coming in today because of a "train delay."

Anyone know if a set of custom sleeves for the old FS EM3s will work with the Atrio M5s? I have the soft sleeves, and tried using them with my Ety ER4P/S, no go. Hate to waste the custom sleeves, but don't like the EM3 sound any more (sitting in my closet, collecting dust). But I might want to step up to the m5s if I can sell my Vibes and PK2s, so my out of pocket is low. After trying hard, I just don't care for the Vibe sound any longer. I just need two good sets of headphones, and the Etys are fine for set #1.

ordered my shure tips few days ago from ebay.com from seller 'idealsound'. A few people here have also ordered theirs from these ppl and it comes with free international delivery. It was around £7 they are selling the tips for.