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The last graph of his comments, the references you mentioned above, indicated that anyone who favors the Atrios isn't sophisticated enough to know the difference between the good (in his view, the Etys) and the Atrios. I might have overreacted, so for that I apologize. But it's one thing to reel off a list of audiophile terms in comparing two IEMs, but another to say anyone who favors Atrios is only interested in bass, doesn't care about vocals and doesn't want to buy "name" products.

Okay, not exactly horrible stuff. But it was the tone. Guess I should have resisted the enter key on that one.

Sound is very subjective as we all have diferent shaped ears. Just becayse one type of IEM sounds bass heavy to you does not mean it will sound that way to everyone.

Chill out! Give yor opinion about the headphones, not about the listeners ("those who want to drown in bass"), and then shut up.

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Good, that's cleared up then. . . It's easy to read things the wrong way sometimes, and this is exactly why the 'enter' key should have an auto-delay feature built into it!

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No doubt.

Tsarn,

I'm not here to tease anyone for his taste. I tried the Atrios in a period where I wanted to upgrade from the Etys to something else, and the M5 were kinda hyped over here. A friend lend them to me, so, maybe, I didn't feel "compelled" (sorry about the word, poor english) to like them only because I spent money for them. I really wanted to like the sound, since they were so cheap. Unfortunately, what I found in the sound of the Atrio is exactly what I wrote here, and I've been honest. In the end, I decided that the advantages with the Etys were too many to leave to favor the Bass on the Atrios.
I think you over reacted because when people comment unfavorably your IEM they are not considering you stupid, and themselves smart (smart-ass??). Most times on Headfi it's a matter of different experience, since taste can be educated, especially with audio, music and other subjective stuff like that.
I appreciate suggestions from people I trust here (people that have a path longer than me). If I went more high end myself, I may find the Etys insufficient in many way... actually, I already found that with some cans I tried. Still, the ER4 are one of the best alternative when it comes to IEMs.
I also aswered in this discussion, instead of leaving it alone, because I've noticed that when it comes to Atrios (like with some other IEMs in the past), many people who don't like them prefer to stay away from threads like this, so that often it results in a thread providing information only in one direction.
It seems anyway that you cleared it up by yourself.

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Seems we both need some termpering on remarks. Sorry if I overreacted, and believe me, even as much as I do like the Atrios, I am always looking for even better sound (within budget), and even recently looked into the Denon C700s. So I am not married to the Atrios, I just prefer them to the Etys. Your last graph in your original post crossed the line somewhat (in my view), and that's what I reacted (overreacted) to. Not your criticism of the Atrios, but of those who chose them and like them.

Fair enough?

What I may criticize is people promoting an headphone blindly, not the fact that you like the Atrio. Seeing your signature, the Atrio could be the prolly the best headphones you have tried (but I haven't tried the Equation RP-21)), so how could I criticize your liking them?
You took on a personal plane what I suggested to potential buyers: to get the Atrio (among other IEMs, that can perform better, or maybe just differently) if the main requirement is bass (and not vocals, because it isn't the strong point of the M5).

Come on now. I didn't mean for this to start. When you think about it- is really anything the best. Every ear is different and one man's sonic bliss may be another persons sonic hell! Cant we all just get along!!! LOL Thanks so much for the advice though. Will help with my decision. I am going to get both and enjoy them both.

todd

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It was not blind promotion. Did you notice that I previously owned the ER4P/S and sold them when I compared them to the Atrio? I sat here for more than two hours, going back and forth, and came to the conclusion I preferred the Atrios over the Etys (which is what the original OP was asking, no?)

That's not a blind promotion; it was based on MY experience (albeit, it may not be on as high a level as others on Head-Fi). Again, in this specific case, I owned both phones, and prefer one over the other. Please try and understand that. It was not simply a case of me blindly saying people should choose the Atrio over the Etys. Same with your experience, right? You own both too, and you prefer the Etys on balance. However, I didn't make any comments such as "if you like antiseptic, relatively bassless sound, love vocals at the expense of all else, and want to buy 'big name' products only, then by all means, get the Etys."

Now that would have been wrong. See my point?

If language is a problem, maybe you didn't read my entire post or misunderstood my point. No way would I tell someone to choose one phone over another one if I haven't heard both. Obviously, I frequently offer my POV on the Atrios, but whenever the situation arises, I always say I have had no experience with the (fill in the brand here, Shure, UM, UE, etc.). I'd say that the best I can do. So no, the Atrios (at least in you view) are not the best headphones I have owned/tried. Peace.

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heard them very briefly but not long enough to comment or put on my experience list

obviously long enough to notice the er4's were the better earphones, but thats why i havnt commented too much on the atrio because i would naturally give advantage to etymotics, due to extensive listening

I'd been thinking of getting the Atrios before I got the Denons, but was put off because I didn't understand the description of the Atrios bass. So that I know in future, can someone explain if 'boomy' bass means too 'loud' or 'overwhelming'?

Is 'boomy' a term that's considered negative when describing bass? I'm asking because in one thread, jinx20001 said the Atrios bass was too 'boomy' for him, and in another he said the bass was one of the best he'd heard from an iem. Does this mean 'boomy' can also mean 'good' depending on the style of music? Someone please explain 'boomy'!

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Not sure what jinx meant, but boomy to me indicates overwhelming to the point of distraction (via loss of other parts of the musical spectrum), but I don't find that to be the case with the Atrios. Yes, they have more bottom end than any other IEMs I have owned, but to me, it is a nice, fluid, pleasing sound, and I can still hear mids and highs fine. I don't EQ at all, which I also like (with Etys, I had to EQ for more bass).

Boomy can also mean mushy, I think. So the bass is muddied, not "tight." Again, I don't hear that with the Atrios, but I have with other, less expensive IEMs/canal phones). Of course, not a problem with the Etys.

I see some prefer the Denon C700s over the Atrios, but compre them favorably. That's why I was interested in the Denons. Still am, but don't want to spend any more on portable phones at this point.

Anyway, that's my attempt to explain it. Sure there are other more knowledgeable head-fiers who have a more in-depth opinion/explanation.

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Thats exactly the statement about fanboyism. I am not picking on flavors or anything, and whatever you have at home as a big standing rig (being more expensive than my car is not hard, I don't even have one). The thing is - you aggressively engage every single person who says something negative about the product (I've seen a few posts, I just have no reason to say anything in those threads usually). In other words - you may be not married to the IEM, and not even having any desires to, but you sure behave like you do from our point of view.

As Antony noted, lots of people who have to say things otherwise for really biased opinions do not post just to avoid grudges like that.

And I am fairly surely Livewire is a good argument for the same price-range headphone, since Atrio users have fairly happily claimed that Atrios are better than ER4s (~$300), UM2 ($300) - both of which statements are frankly not true.

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Aggressively engage? You're kidding, right? That's your perception, but hardly the case. Again, I just favor the Atrios over the Etys based on my experience. That's it. Not very complicated.

As for the car, etc., you are the one who stated I had little or no experience with hi-fidelity based on my signature, but hi-fi obviously extends way beyond headphones, headphone amps, etc. I wouldn't use someone's sig as a way to determine the value of their hi-fi gear in general.

Otherwise, not sure I grasp the somewhat cryptic meaning of the graph above about "As Antony noted, lots of people..." I'm sure you know what you meant to say. Fanboyism is a perjorative term that just doesn't apply here. Do I think that Atrios are the best IEMs, bar none? Of course not. I haven't heard them all. I just don't have any reason to spend $500+ for IEMs, so I guess I will never know for sure. The issue was ER4P vs. Atrio M5. Nothing more. Am I biased? Huh? If you mean by biased do I prefer one phone over another, guilty as charged.

Finally, speaking of price, I don't know where you got your Etys, but I bought mine on Amazon for $165 US, not $300. Never owned UM2s (and never said Atrios were a better IEM, as a result). Again, your view that it's a truism that the ER4Ps are (quantitatively/objectively?) better than the Atrios is frankly impossible to prove. Stats? Charts? Graphs? Meaningless to most people. The only way to decide is to listen to both, and make a choice. That's what I did, but didn't expect to be ridiculed for it (see Antony's initial post).

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. But please, enough already about the whole fanboy thing. If someone wants to post negatively about the Atrios, it's all good. Just don't attack someone because they prefer one headphone over another, no matter what the self-designated experts might say/think.