[cormann]

After reading around on this forum, I noticed that the Future Sonics Atrios don't get a lot of love from the Head-Fi community. The reviews at Head-Fi are generally good, but the individual statements of head-fiers seem to be lukewarm. Can anybody tell me why? I read in some of the threads that they've become out of date or something like that - like IEM technology has improved since they were introduced - but I don't see portable listening technology changing at a rapid pace.
 
I bought a pair about 1 1/2 years ago after reading a review over at anythingbutipod.com. They were my introduction to quality IEMs. I was blown away; albeit, as a noob. I couldn't get over the fantastic bass (really, it's almost unbelievable how well they produce bass). I was also amazed that I could listen to them for long periods of time and not get fatigued.
 
I'm not trying to start a flame war here (not sure if that's the right term). I'm genuinely curious about what it is that I might be missing.

 

[Kunlun]

People are odd, "out of date" doesn't make any sense at all in portable audio (just look at classics like the ER4P, for example).
 
The new MG7-driver Atrios sound pretty great with a stage monitor sound and a bit more prominent treble than the MG5-driver ones that you have, otherwise they are similar in sound. I found the Atrios after burn-in to be competitive with iems like the Monster turbine pro line and the Re262 (which I didn't find to be very engaging).
 
Joker's review of the first gen Atrios seemed very close to what I heard with the new Atrios, just the balance is a bit better and the comfort/build quality have improved.

 

[cormann]

There's this part of me that would really love to sell my v.2 atrios and pick up the new ones, but I know that the improvements probably aren't significant enough to warrant that. I bought some Fischer Audio DBA-02s just to get a different experience a few weeks ago. As good as the DBA-02s are, I still find myself drawn back to the Atrios. I think that I just enjoy that warm sound. It's funny, there are probably many better IEMs (better highs, mids, separation, etc.), but few are as good at any one thing as the Atrios are at bass.

 

[Bazirker]

I'm not sure either.  My guess is that they're very warm in their sound and not particularly analytical, which to most is a downside...but if I'm gonna sit around all day and listen to music, I appreciate that warmth.

 

[cormann]

You are right: the assumption is probably that an expensive IEM should be analytical. There seems to be a general bias toward analytical (usually balance armature) versus warm (usually dynamic driver). I feel that music really should be warm. The instruments and vocals are meant to be enjoyed as a whole, not individually - unless an instrument is intentionally highlighted. I don't want to find myself critiquing the production quality instead of enjoying the actual music. That said, there is definitely a place for analytical IEMs that do a great job balancing the two.   
 
Quote:

I'm not sure either.  My guess is that they're very warm in their sound and not particularly analytical, which to most is a downside...but if I'm gonna sit around all day and listen to music, I appreciate that warmth.

 

[Confispect]

^ I agree music is meant to be enjoyed not analyzed - quote
 
Funny this thread pops up right when I'm looking for a pair....

 
I agree though give me a dynamic any day over a lifeless armature.

 

[MaxwellDemon]

Bassy isn't the only way to enjoy music. Just because some earphones are dedicated to the sparkle for a bit more detail, it doesn't mean there isn't anything to enjoy.
 
Personally, the sparkle allows me to hear the fingers moving across a guitar/violin. That sound really gets me.

 

[jleewach]

The Atrios are one of my all time favs. Not the best in terms of clarity or accuracy, but just an incredibly fun earphone to listen to. I think there's plenty of praise for the atrios on this forum, you just have to go back to much older posts to find it. That's the thing with this forum. People generally like to talk more about newer exciting products (ie FOTM). On top of that, we're at a very different point in time w/ the industry. Manufacturers are making incredibly great iems for well under $100; iems that would have cost upwards of $300 a few years ago. More people like talking about these newer, cheaper products because they're easier to obtain. 
 
Just think of it this way. The ABSOLUTE best iem I've ever had in my ears was the Etymotic ER4S (and I've tried just about every universal iem available.) Are there tons of recent ER4S praise threads? No. That's just the way it is. 

 

[cormann]

Despite what I said before, I do appreciate the "sparkle" generated by more analytical IEMs. I remember first listening to my DBA-02s. My only real experience was the Atrio. I was amazing at the amount of clarity and "sparkle" when listening to classical music, particularly classical pieces that were recorded live and not in a studio. It really does add to the music when you can clearly hear the performers moving around and physically touching their instruments. They are also great for very well mastered and complex albums, like Dark Side of the Moon. You can really appreciate the amount of work that went into producing the album. In fact, a good test of an IEM would probably be how well you're able to hear the people talking/interviewing in the background during Dark Side of the Moon.
 
Quote:

Bassy isn't the only way to enjoy music. Just because some earphones are dedicated to the sparkle for a bit more detail, it doesn't mean there isn't anything to enjoy.
 
Personally, the sparkle allows me to hear the fingers moving across a guitar/violin. That sound really gets me.

 

[james444]

Quote:

Despite what I said before, I do appreciate the "sparkle" generated by more analytical IEMs. I remember first listening to my DBA-02s. My only real experience was the Atrio. I was amazing at the amount of clarity and "sparkle" when listening to classical music, particularly classical pieces that were recorded live and not in a studio. It really does add to the music when you can clearly hear the performers moving around and physically touching their instruments. They are also great for very well mastered and complex albums, like Dark Side of the Moon. You can really appreciate the amount of work that went into producing the album. In fact, a good test of an IEM would probably be how well you're able to hear the people talking/interviewing in the background during Dark Side of the Moon.

 
x2, the Atrios (v1) were nice and their wicked low bass was great fun when I had them, but sorry to say for classical they were badly lacking in treble and soundstage.

 

[mootookang]

I personally enjoy more warm sound too, but I do own more analytical IEMs such as RE0 and RE-ZERO.

I personally am not a big fan of analytical based sound mainly because I always felt that there's an "artificial" clarity, peaks in different spectrum that gives the listeners a sense of the main parts of the music. On some cases, the different peaks will be too overpowering, and the vocals will sometimes be drowned out by the bumps, sometimes vice-versa.

It's not necessary a bad thing though, since they can be very enjoyable depending on the mastering of the album, some will sound better with the peaks and some won't.

It is probably the reason why I enjoy my TF10 so much, the mids are at the level of balanced sound, but it is tuned so there would be a better emphasis on treble to give it the nice sparkle that makes music very energetic.

I also really like the hippo pearl, they're one of the most balanced IEMs I've ever heard, though not very impressive musically, they really do shine when you want to obtain the most balanced sound and get a better understanding of the true nature of the recording, it has also become my main reference headphones. A true diamond in the rough, too bad they've been discontinued though.

 

[Bazirker]

I still haven't gotten a chance to hear the new mg7 drivers.  I had the v1's for a year, sent them in when my strain relief around the memory wires split and failed and FS sent me a new pair of v2's as a replacement no-questions-asked, which I still have and love.  I have yet to read a comparison between the v2's and the newer (v3, I suppose) mg7's...

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

I still haven't gotten a chance to hear the new mg7 drivers.  I had the v1's for a year, sent them in when my strain relief around the memory wires split and failed and FS sent me a new pair of v2's as a replacement no-questions-asked, which I still have and love.  I have yet to read a comparison between the v2's and the newer (v3, I suppose) mg7's...

Really? There's one in this thread.
 

 

[Bazirker]

 
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I still haven't gotten a chance to hear the new mg7 drivers.  I had the v1's for a year, sent them in when my strain relief around the memory wires split and failed and FS sent me a new pair of v2's as a replacement no-questions-asked, which I still have and love.  I have yet to read a comparison between the v2's and the newer (v3, I suppose) mg7's...

Really? There's one in this thread.
 

Where?  Are you referring to your post?  Did you actually get to sit down with the two and compare them head-to-head?  I'm considering putting mine up for sale and then throwing in the bit of extra cash to get the mg7's, hence the interest in how significant the difference is between the two.

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

 
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I still haven't gotten a chance to hear the new mg7 drivers.  I had the v1's for a year, sent them in when my strain relief around the memory wires split and failed and FS sent me a new pair of v2's as a replacement no-questions-asked, which I still have and love.  I have yet to read a comparison between the v2's and the newer (v3, I suppose) mg7's...

Really? There's one in this thread.
 

Where?  Are you referring to your post?  Did you actually get to sit down with the two and compare them head-to-head?  I'm considering putting mine up for sale and then throwing in the bit of extra cash to get the mg7's, hence the interest in how significant the difference is between the two.

Yes and yes, I did.