I bought these on a whim, due to a deal too good to pass up, and with the interest to hear something with more bass presence. (Edit: I purchased these a second time from atrio.me and received them in Jan 2012) Here is my review.
Fit and Isolation: The Atrios are pretty light weight and when properly seated do not touch the ear. They are very comfortable and provide very good isolation with the right tips. Isolation is above average and they most you can get from a vented dynamic driver.
Build Quality: The Atrios are built from a lightweight but heavy duty plastic housing and provide good strain relief on where the cables exit the housing. I think these could take some abuse and keep providing years of use. Cables are of medium density and do a fair job of staying untangled and are fairly supple. Worn over the ear, I haven’t noticed any microphonics issues. For iPhone users, the right angle plug will fit in bumper style cases with ease.
Accessories:
Sound: The new M5’s have an new proprietary driver called the MG7. The driver is a reported improvement over previous models by having better and more prominent treble. The result is a fairly balanced presentation for what are considered bassy phones.
Most dynamic driver phones need a period of burn in.
Bass: A bass lovers delight. The M5’s have bass in spades, however it is not all about quantity. The bass is of superb quality as well. Most phones achieve their bass signature by boosting mid bass. Not so with the Atrios. The M5 has a great deal of sub bass that effortlessly reaches very deep; deeper than any other phone I’ve ever heard. The quality of the bass adds a dimension of realism (timbre) to bass guitar and drums not exhibited in other phones. Best of all you get all this bass without it stepping all over the midrange.
Mids: Mids are placed just right. I find them neither recessed nor forward. They are clean, detailed and natural, if a bit dry. Vocals and guitars are placed in the mix just where you’d expect them to be when heard live. Once again, realism with strings is something really special here.
Treble: The new Atrios treble is clear and non-fatiguing with plenty of detail; however for my ears, I would prefer even more treble presence. For instance, the perfect treble for me is found in the Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10’s. I suppose this is due to the M5 design as studio monitors and the need to listen for extremely long periods of time. The Atrios cannot match the effortlessness and airiness of the TF10’s but they are no slouches; the fact that you can easily pick out small details like cymbal splashes in bass heavy songs is a testament to their improved presentation.
Soundstage: Just average or maybe slightly below average in width (this is dependent upon fit and I have experienced a slightly larger soundstage the second time around). Depth, however , is very good. The M5’s often make me feel I’m in the recording studio with them. In contrast the TF10’s make me feel I’m at a concert and maybe 15 rows back, presenting a wide soundstage for an IEM.
Overall the new Atrio M5’s are a very fun and enjoyable phone and does very well with good and poor quality mastered songs. While being a bass oriented phone, they still offer up a fairly balanced sound. If you’ve felt that your IEM’s have always been missing something in the bass department, whether quality or quantity, then give the Atrios M5 with mg7 driver a try.
(updated with a few additional thoughts from my second time around in Jan 2012.)