[Review] Future Sonics MG6PRO Ear Monitors: Dynamic Driver Custom-Fit In-Ear Monitors

bazirker said:

Am I the only person in the world who actually likes the physical design of the Atrios?  

 
The mg6pro would definitely be my first choice for a custom given how much I enjoy the Atrio.  Someday, I will be able to make an on-topic post in this thread...someday...

Click to expand...

fusionramjet said:

I like the ergonomics of the physical design of the Atrios.  the nozzles are long enough and the body is small and curves well to fit along the ear.
I have the mg6pro and I've listened to the Atrio.
Both rock.  the mg6pro mega-rocks.

 ​

Click to expand...

fusionramjet said:

I like the ergonomics of the physical design of the Atrios.  the nozzles are long enough and the body is small and curves well to fit along the ear.

Click to expand...

fusionramjet said:

I have the mg6pro and I've listened to the Atrio.

Click to expand...

music_4321 said:

Kunlun,
 
I thought I'd better post this here as there are very few threads I actually find worthwhile. Anyway, I know this is the MG6 Pro thread, but I still felt this was the most appropriate place to post the following:

Click to expand...

soundfreaq said:

The more I listen to these little fellows the more I am very convinced these CEMs need quite a hefty amount of burn-in. 
 
I think, even though these drivers are dynamic, the thought of burning in ear monitors is a second thought at best. When Kunlun suggested I put at least 20 hours on them, I thought, eh why not. After 20-30 hours, I set them down for a couple weeks in a bit of disappointment with the sound signature. Too muffled, too veiled, specifically in the mids and highs. 
 
Now as I listen, almost every 5 hours I can hear, what is to me, a slowly but steady definitive change in the sound signature. The bass is tightening up, and the mids have come forward most of all. The highs continue to roll in more with more sparkle and smoothness. They went from being bass-centric, to having the mids in full flavor with the bass. 
 
The mids and highs will never be up-front and in your face. It truly is a very natural sound. When listening to a symphony, maybe some Baroque music, it sounds like I'm at a live venue. So many other ear/headphones have such an up front and artificially boosted mid and high section that you can hear the hammer popping the strings of the harpsichord. But that's not what it sounds like live. These sound like you're there enjoying the music at a live show, not inside the sounding box of the harpsichord, or part of the rosin particles flying off the string of the violin. 

Click to expand...

idsynchrono_24 said:

That would certainly be of great interest to me. I was stuck between the two, but decided to go with the ES5 after reading up enough information to conclude that they are probably most suited for the sound signature I'm looking for. 
 

Click to expand...

sinocelt said:

 
+1
 
 

Have you written a comparison somewhere?

Click to expand...

idsynchrono_24 said:

 
That would certainly be of great interest to me. I was stuck between the two, but decided to go with the ES5 after reading up enough information to conclude that they are probably most suited for the sound signature I'm looking for. 
 
 

Click to expand...

soundfreaq said:

Brief Comparison of Future Sonics MG6Pro (13mm dynamic driver) and Westone ES5 (5-driver balanced armature) Custom Fit In Ear Monitors
 
Since CIEMs are more often than not driven with "portable" gear, I'll drive them in this brief comparison with the same. Namely iPhone 4s > LOD > Ray Samuels P-51 Mustang.  
5-point rating scale. A bit of a qualitative approach here. 
 
Comfort: With the vinyl tips of the ES5, comfort is no contest. I can wear the ES5 for hours without even noticing them. With the MG6Pro, I am aware after a while that I have hard chunks of acrylic shoved up in my ear. Of course, this can also be due to a difference in fit. But with my current fits, the Westone is more comfortable, and I can wear it much longer. However, dry insertion of the vinyl tip (without oto-ease) is more difficult on the ES5 as the stickier vinyl creates more friction on the skin. It's never difficult to insert the ES5, just more difficult than the MG6Pro.   
 
Comfort - MG6Pro: 4.5, ES5: 5.0


Isolation: The ES5 offer a tad bit more isolation from sounds, but not much. Even though the MG6Pro have the low-frequency vents, isolation is not impacted much. So for those of you that this might be a holdup in picking up the MG6Pro, this should not be a factor. In fact, due to the ES5's vinyl tips, the ES5 is considered to theoretically be one of the highest isolating CIEMs on the market right now. 

Published specs show 25db from Westone, and about 20db from FS. Difference is negligible, and with music playing in most environments, impossible to tell the difference for me. 
 
Isolation - MG6Pro: 4.5, ES5: 5.0
 
 
[size=small] Sound:[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] 1. Sonic Signature:[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Coming from the Westone 4, the ES5 is that great Westone sound, but improved. The MG6Pro are a very specific, less common in IEMs, dynamic sound signature. You have to want that. Both earphones do their own thing well, but what they each do well, is completely different. They are the best compliment to each other.[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] If I had to use one word to compare ES5 to the MG6Pro, I would say the ES5 are "beautiful," and the MG6Pro are "badass."[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Coming from the ES5 BA sound, the MG6 may sound muffled and veiled. But like I mentioned previously, it is a very natural sound. If listening to a symphony, the MG6 sound like you're at a live show, viewing the concert in a hall that is acoustically tuned. The ES5 will sound artificially over the top if compared to a truly live sound. But, that's also what makes them sound so great to many. The MG6 will sound more congested in sound stage and separation, as if you're viewing the show live, from a few rows back, rather than standing in the middle of the orchestra as they're playing (ES5). The instrument separation and detail retrieval are strong points of the ES5. Naturalness is the forte of the MG6. Who actually stands in the middle of the orchestra at a concert?[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] 2. Bass:[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] As far as the bass goes, there is nothing I have ever heard render bass with such authority as the MG6Pro. Is is profound. I sold my Ultrasone Pro 900 immediately after getting them. They hit so hard, and so low, that if the sound were live, it would be joggling my vision. The ES5 can't even come close to it in bass quantity. I would recommend the MG6Pro if you're in to electronic music, Dubstep, Hip-Hop, etc.. [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] To borrow cooperpwc's words:[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] ...much of what they are calling "bass" is actually the reverb of a bass note. It's a bloated echo which means that it is sloppy. Good quality bass is a tight low full representation of a recorded note...[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] ...You can create a headphone with comparartively little bass but lots of bloat. You can create another headphone with a proper quantity of good quality bass and no bloat. Most people will say that the first headphone has more bass. In thumping night club terms, it does. But it's a meaningless comparison without acknowledging the full context.[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] The MG6 has much more bloat to it. The MG6's bass has more resonance, reverb, and air. But it's not nearly as accurate. The ES5 has plenty of bass. It doesn't lack bass by any means, and with EQ can hit hard, and hit low. They have a very nice amount of un-EQ'd bass, but they do not hit as hard or as low as the MG6. The extension on the MG6 is very impressive. I can hear down to 20hz on the ES5, no problem. It'll do it well. But the MG6 does it effortlessly, and beautifully. That's probably the only time I'll use "beautiful" when describing the MG6 to the ES5. So take that seriously. [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] "Bloat" is, as far as I'm concerned, a bit of a negative word when it comes to audio. You don't want to much "bloom," "bloat," etc, or you get can get muddy. Bloat implies a lack of control and detail to me. The "bloat" of the MG6Pro is of high quality. The bloat adds meat to the bass, something you can really sink your teeth into. It's more fun, It's lively, it'll have you moving your head up and down. The ES5 is of superb technical quality, just clean, and clear, without being dry. Decay is fast, but texture is deep. [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] However, you want that live air feel? That bass that will suppress your breathing it hits your chest so hard? The MG6Pro will do it. The closest thing I've heard to it is a state-of-the-art 250,000 watt sound system at a club with tuned sub cabinets that shake every last thing in your body with powerful tight bass. And with the MG6Pro being a true dynamic stage monitor, they can play LOUD if the occasion calls. They will hit a level that any of my other headphones would have crapped out long ago. [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Bass Quantity - MG6Pro: 5.0, ES5: 3.5[/size]
[size=small] Bass Quality - MG5Pro 4.5, ES5: 5.0[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] 3. Mids[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] There's no contest as to my personal taste here. The ES5 have forward, beautiful, lush, melt-in-your-ears mids. The mids are so great, they have made me a fan of mids rather than my usual U-shaped frequency preference. However, once again, these are totally different camps. The MG6Pro are much more natural sounding, but at the expense of some detail and air to me. If you prefer to have Norah Jones up on stage singing away a great set to you, and get lost in the music, MG6 is your phone. If you want to be in bed with Norah Jones feeling warm after sharing two bottles of wine and want her to sing sweetly in your ear, the ES5 is your phone. But how realistic is it to be drunk on wine and in bed with Norah while she sings to you? Oh but what a feeling![/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] For vocals, or anything that is mid-centric, the brighter, more up-front (to some, artificial) sound of the ES5 is better to me. I am rediscovering all my symphonies and violin concertos as the ES5 is such a joy in the midrange department. Please, again, this is just my preference. The MG6 is as natural as it gets. There's nothing artificial to argue about in the sound or presentation. And while I have yet to find anything harsh on the ES5, the mids are so forward (yet beautiful), that when the volume gets turned up high, the mids are the brightest aspect of the sound signature. Watching the volume because of the mids on the MG6Pro is never anything you'll have to worry about. [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Mids - MG6Pro: 4.0, ES5: 5.0[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] 4. Highs[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Something these two phones have in common are the very smooth high end that is not bright or overly present. With the MG6, I can't ever hear any sibilance on them no matter what I play. With the ES5, I can coax some sibilant tendencies out of them occasionally. When I play my most sibilant-prone tracks, I get nothing on either phone. These are electronic vocals that make everything else have bits if sibilance. I only get tinges of sibilance on super aggressive female vocals with the ES5 if I work hard at it. No trace of it on any normal stuff. Sibilance is just not a problem for either of these phones. [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] The detail and shimmer of the highs on the ES5 put you right next to the instrument or vocal. The highs on the ES5 add a depth to the music and an air the MG6Pro is lacking. In exchange, the MG6Pro is never harsh, never abrasive, and will always supply natural sounding highs on every recording. Again, I can't imagine finding the ES5 ever harsh, it's just so smooth and elegant sounding. But the MG6Pro could never overwhelm with it's naturalness in the highs. The ES5 could be considered artificially over the top by comparison. But the ES5 has a lush quality and smoothness coupled with that detail that makes the highs nothing short of magical. [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Highs - MG6Pro: 4.0, ES5: 5.0[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Final Average:[/size]
[size=small] MG6Pro: 4.42, ES5: 4.75[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Conclusion:[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Quick Summary, the forte of the MG6Pro is it's stellar low end, and it's very real naturalness. The forte of the ES5 is it's accuracy through the entire range, and the lush midrange and stellar high end. I will reserve my MG6Pro for electronic dance music, and my ES5 for most everything else. Depends on my mood. I would be very hard pressed to give up either earphone, as I feel they are perfect compliments to the other. If someone put a gun to my head, whichever one I picked, I would miss the other sorely.[/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] Please note that with EQ, the lows of the ES5 can hit very hard and low. To borrow Anaxilus's words, "The ES5 Subwoofer can kick like a mule." And of course, some air in the high end can be EQ'd into the MG6Pro, if you fancy EQ at all. [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]
[size=small] In the end, they are both fantastic earphones that do their own thing well. I don't believe one is better than the other. These are just my personal preferences. I love that I have both, and I'll say it again, these two earphones are the perfect compliment for each other. While the imaging of trance is "neat" on the ES5, it just can't get me seriously excited like the MG6Pro does. On the other hand, the realism of symphonies and vocals on the ES5 is unsurpassed. With EQ, I feel the ES5 could maybe be a bit of a better all-rounder just because of those beautiful mids. You can't go wrong with either, and it truly does come down to personal preference. [/size]
[size=small]  [/size]


 

Click to expand...

soundfreaq said:

Brief Comparison of Future Sonics MG6Pro (13mm dynamic driver) and Westone ES5 (5-driver balanced armature) Custom Fit In Ear Monitors

Click to expand...

bmiamihk said:

awesome review dude


 

Click to expand...