Link to my review and measurement index thread where one can also find a full review overview, more information about myself as well as my general-ish audio and review manifesto: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/956208/
I only give full stars. My ranking/scoring system does not necessarily follow the norm and is about as follows:
5 stars: The product is very good and received the "highly recommended" award from me.
4 stars: The product is very good and received the "recommended" award from me.
3 stars: The product is good/very good, but not outstanding/special enough to get any of my two awards. ["Thumbs Up"]
2 stars: The product is only about average or even somewhat below that and somewhat flawed/flawed in some areas. [neither "Thumbs Up" nor "Thumbs Down"]
1 star: The product is bad/severely flawed to outright bad. ["Thumbs Down"]
NocturnaL Audio Atlantis
Source:
Review sample.
Miscellaneous:
Rather plain unboxing experience but still okay – IEMs, three pairs of ear tips, cleaning tool, cable tie, aluminium storage case, cleaning cloth, some business cards.
What I really like about the storage case is that it offers plenty of interior space, is nicely padded on the inside and looks generally nice. It doesn’t offer ultimate quality, though, and elements such as the lock and outer corner protectors appear less premium. Still ultimately much better, more protective and practical for actual use than the more boutique-like cases of IEMs such as my Campfire Audio Andromeda, Sennheiser IE 800 or the DUNU DK 3001 Pro.
Available in custom fit and universal fit shells. Even the latter are hand-built and just as customisable, which is quite awesome.
While I didn’t request any special design or colours but wanted to be surprised, I really like the blue colour with silver glitter and swirl faceplates.
Build quality and finish are excellent.
Very comfortable fit.
2-pin connectors (the type of connectors is configurable, though).
Premium, soft cable with four twisted conductors and chin-slider. Despite its slightly different design, it highly reminds me of the cable I configured my Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors with; it’s actually very similar to my Campfire Audio Andromedas’ cable (except for minor differences in colour, a different twisting direction and different twisting density above the y-splitter) but with the, to me, more attractive cable divider.
Four BA drivers per side, three acoustic ways, triple-bore configuration.
Sound:
Largest included silicone ear tips.
Tonality:
Warm balanced.
Basically similar to my Campfire Audio Andromeda (as well as the Brainwavz B200 (the original ones with black shells, not the much inferiorly tuned v2 with removable cables) or Eternal Melody EM-2) in the entire lows, but with fairly natural-neutral central and upper midrange that is highly comparable to my UERMs’ tuning (although ultimately a little more relaxed), and moderately, softly lifted upper highs that are never sharp and more realistic than that of my Andromeda (as a result, I definitely see and hear the Atlantis as the better (as in more realistically) tuned alternative to my Campfire Audio Andromeda, although true fans of them might miss the Andromedas’ clarity-lifted, sometimes nearly-overly sharp (and sometimes too gimmicky) bright treble accentuation).
Around 700 Hz, the lows’ emphasis starts to climb gradually and reaches its zenith around 100 Hz with an elevation of around 8 dB north of diffuse-field neutrality while the area between 200 and 100 Hz already carries certain fullness. The bass remains with unchanged levels down to 40 Hz and gently loses quantity below that wherefore the focus is somewhat more on the midbass than the sub-bass.
The fundamental range and lower midrange is undeniably on the warmer side, but neither exaggerated nor unnatural; just enough to give the lows a warm tilt and lower voices a fuller character.
The central midrange and upper midrange are highly comparable to that of my UERM and therefore on the “natural neutral” side, which also means that they are ultimately somewhat more on the relaxed side and inoffensive, contrary to in-ears such as my Etymotic ER-4S or the ER4SR/ER3SE/ER2SE whose midrange tuning is more “uncompromised flat” but can appear as not relaxed enough for recreational listening.
As a result, the midrange appears natural yet not intimate, and has got a warmer tilt.
Between 6 and 10 kHz, I can spot a soft, mild and broad, even elevation that adds just a bit of brightness to the sound in the upper highs and can be seen as a nicely implemented loudness correction applied to the tuning since due to its even implementation, it doesn’t appear gimmicky and isn’t really adding any colouration either but instead just accentuates the higher frequencies more (contrary to my Campfire Audio Andromeda that are tuned noticeably brighter in the highs, which can be fun, but ultimately leads to a more coloured, less realistic presentation).
Extension past 10 kHz is good, with a roll-off above 15 kHz.
Overall, I consider this a really well-done tuning for recreational listening, and it is no real surprise that the Atlantis, also due to their technical qualities, are still very clearly among my all-time favourite in-ears for this purpose.
Frequency Response:
ER-4S-Compensation
ProPhile 8-Compensation
Resolution:
When it comes to technicalities, the Atlantis don’t fall short either – more precisely, they are definitely in the UERM, Andromeda, InEar ProPhile 8 tier.
The star of the show is definitely the Atlantis’ highly detailed, transparent midrange with extremely high speech intelligibility and headroom (doubled up backup vocals are very precisely and transparently uncovered as such and not as echo/reverb as it would be often the case on somewhat less resolving in-ears, which also applies to singers’ very small, purposefully placed tonal variations).
As such, it outperforms my UERM and Andromeda in this area, but is ultimately slightly behind my ProPhile 8 in terms of transparency and micro details in the mids, while interestingly offering the better speech intelligibility.
What’s really nice is that all of this is achieved without implementing any “tuning tricks”.
The lows carry the typical BA tightness, resolution and speed, paired with a hint and body, which is what one would expect from a good implementation of the BA woofers. As for bass quality, they are practically identical to my UERM (and therefore somewhat superior to the Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered to-go they were replaced with), although undeniably with a fuller, warmer tuning.
While the lows are very detailed, highly controlled and clean (similar to my UERM), the Atlantis’ sheer midrange transparency is ultimately just somewhat higher, wherefore the lows are in the end a bit behind these in-ears’ midrange when it comes to details.
When it comes to treble resolution, the Atlantis are impeccable as well and feature precise single note separation with high speed, and are, just as in the midrange, even superior when compared to my UERM. Their even and rather soft tuning of the treble elevation also contributes to a fairly subtle effortlessness added to the high, almost brutally accurate resolution in the higher ranges.
Needless to say, complex and very fast music material doesn’t stress the Atlantis at all – if anything, their bass starts to appear just a bit less focussed/controlled, whereas the mids and highs remain pretty much unaffected by it.
Soundstage:
Open, fairly large and precise to my ears, with good layering – ultimately not fully Andromeda-tier yet, though.
Pretty much even balance between width and depth wherefore the soundstage appears three-dimensional and very authentic.
Very clean and precise imaging with very good portrayal of “empty space” around and between tonal elements/instruments; UERM tier and ultimately even a little above them.
Handles complex, fast and busy arrangements very well without collapsing, although ultimately just a bit less clean than my ProPhile 8.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Comparisons:
Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors:
The UERM are obviously tuned audibly flatter and more neutral, whereas both in-ears’ midrange timbre is quite similar apart from the Atlantis’ warmer tilt in the lower midrange and fundamental range.
Except for around/just a bit past 10 kHz where the UERM have a fairly strong peak when performing sine sweeps, they are quite comparable here as well, although I would ultimately say that the Atlantis are somewhat more realistic/authentic in the highs due to being elevated more evenly, whereas the UERM ultimately offer more subtle sparkle because of their higher super treble extension.
Both are absolutely on the same high level in the lows when it comes to details, tightness, control, speed and texture.
In the midrange and treble, though, the Atlantis are a step above and resolve even higher, with more transparency, headroom, the higher speech intelligibility and even somewhat cleaner note separation and better control.
Depending on the recording, the UERMs’ soundstage may appear even slightly larger to my ears, although just by a small margin.
Imaging precision is comparably precise on both sets of IEMs, with ultimately a small advantage for the Atlantis that are just a bit ahead when it comes to instrument separation and cleanly portraying “emptiness” between and around single instruments and tonal elements.
Campfire Audio Andromeda:
Similar tuning in the lows with the Andromeda being more relaxed and distant in the midrange, upper mids/presence range and lower treble.
The Andromeda are a good bit brighter in the treble, which can be fun but also contributes to a coloured, sizzly high note timbre, whereas the Atlantis are only gently lifted in the high and appear much softer and especially more realistic due to their even and broader elevation (as for tuning, I definitely think that the Atlantis are the better (more realistically sounding) alternative while sharing some similarities).
Both have a different approach to the bass – while the Andromeda have traded some of the control and tightness for more visceral, rumbling fun, the Atlantis are cleaner and tighter, and remain better controlled in the lows when the track becomes more demanding.
When it comes to the midrange, the Atlantis are definitely more transparent and detailed sounding, whereas the Andromeda are slightly more detailed in the treble.
Generally, the Atlantis are definitely better controlled with busy and fast music material, with a stronger focus on technical qualities than rumbling tactility.
The Andromedas’ soundstage is somewhat larger (both in terms of width and depth) and as a result more open, effortless sounding, whereas the actual imaging (instrument placement and separation) is a bit more precise on the Atlantis that also remain cleaner with busy, fast and densely arranged music material.
InEar ProPhile 8:
The ProPhile 8 are generally tuned flatter (“natural neutral”), even when both switches are activated (which I usually never do) – then, compared to the ProPhile 8, the Atlantis are still warmer in the lower mids and a bit bassier, and somewhat brighter in the upper highs.
Both are comparably authentic and realistic sounding in the treble with an accurate timbre, with the Atlantis having just a bit more of “loudness compensation” tuning applied.
The Atlantis are slightly more relaxed in the presence range.
In terms of transparency and resolution, the ProPhile 8 are ultimately slightly ahead of the Atlantis (even with both switches activated, although then to a slightly lesser degree), while the Atlantis interestingly feature a level of speech intelligibility that appears even a little higher, just as if they had more “headroom” here.
While the Atlantis are already very good in terms of bass quality (definitely UERM tier), the ProPhile 8 manage to sound seven somewhat tighter and cleaner in the lows, with the higher resolution in the bass and lower mids.
Generally, the ProPhile 8 are a slight step above when it comes to control when they are pushed to the limits (by which I mean speed and busy, dense recordings with multiple layers and many fine variations).
The Atlantis have got the larger, more open, more three-dimensional soundstage (more perceived spatial depth and width to my ears) whereas the ProPhile 8 offer the more precise instrument placement (imaging) and cleaner note/instrument separation in comparison.
Conclusion:
Recommended.
Very easily so, actually, and (really) close to the “Highly Recommended” award.
Flagship-level technical performance with very, near extremely high midrange transparency, speech intelligibility and general control, combined with a three-dimensional, authentic soundstage and well-executed soundstage. Their only shortfall, if one could even say so, is that their bass, while on its own technically excellent, is ultimately just a step behind the Atlantis’ excellent midrange and treble resolution.
On a personal note, along with the Etymotic ER2XR, the NocturnaL Audio Atlantis are easily among my all-time favourite in-ears for non-neutral recreational music enjoyment.
Photos:
I only give full stars. My ranking/scoring system does not necessarily follow the norm and is about as follows:
5 stars: The product is very good and received the "highly recommended" award from me.
4 stars: The product is very good and received the "recommended" award from me.
3 stars: The product is good/very good, but not outstanding/special enough to get any of my two awards. ["Thumbs Up"]
2 stars: The product is only about average or even somewhat below that and somewhat flawed/flawed in some areas. [neither "Thumbs Up" nor "Thumbs Down"]
1 star: The product is bad/severely flawed to outright bad. ["Thumbs Down"]
NocturnaL Audio Atlantis
Source:
Review sample.
Miscellaneous:
Rather plain unboxing experience but still okay – IEMs, three pairs of ear tips, cleaning tool, cable tie, aluminium storage case, cleaning cloth, some business cards.
What I really like about the storage case is that it offers plenty of interior space, is nicely padded on the inside and looks generally nice. It doesn’t offer ultimate quality, though, and elements such as the lock and outer corner protectors appear less premium. Still ultimately much better, more protective and practical for actual use than the more boutique-like cases of IEMs such as my Campfire Audio Andromeda, Sennheiser IE 800 or the DUNU DK 3001 Pro.
Available in custom fit and universal fit shells. Even the latter are hand-built and just as customisable, which is quite awesome.
While I didn’t request any special design or colours but wanted to be surprised, I really like the blue colour with silver glitter and swirl faceplates.
Build quality and finish are excellent.
Very comfortable fit.
2-pin connectors (the type of connectors is configurable, though).
Premium, soft cable with four twisted conductors and chin-slider. Despite its slightly different design, it highly reminds me of the cable I configured my Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors with; it’s actually very similar to my Campfire Audio Andromedas’ cable (except for minor differences in colour, a different twisting direction and different twisting density above the y-splitter) but with the, to me, more attractive cable divider.
Four BA drivers per side, three acoustic ways, triple-bore configuration.
Sound:
Largest included silicone ear tips.
Tonality:
Warm balanced.
Basically similar to my Campfire Audio Andromeda (as well as the Brainwavz B200 (the original ones with black shells, not the much inferiorly tuned v2 with removable cables) or Eternal Melody EM-2) in the entire lows, but with fairly natural-neutral central and upper midrange that is highly comparable to my UERMs’ tuning (although ultimately a little more relaxed), and moderately, softly lifted upper highs that are never sharp and more realistic than that of my Andromeda (as a result, I definitely see and hear the Atlantis as the better (as in more realistically) tuned alternative to my Campfire Audio Andromeda, although true fans of them might miss the Andromedas’ clarity-lifted, sometimes nearly-overly sharp (and sometimes too gimmicky) bright treble accentuation).
Around 700 Hz, the lows’ emphasis starts to climb gradually and reaches its zenith around 100 Hz with an elevation of around 8 dB north of diffuse-field neutrality while the area between 200 and 100 Hz already carries certain fullness. The bass remains with unchanged levels down to 40 Hz and gently loses quantity below that wherefore the focus is somewhat more on the midbass than the sub-bass.
The fundamental range and lower midrange is undeniably on the warmer side, but neither exaggerated nor unnatural; just enough to give the lows a warm tilt and lower voices a fuller character.
The central midrange and upper midrange are highly comparable to that of my UERM and therefore on the “natural neutral” side, which also means that they are ultimately somewhat more on the relaxed side and inoffensive, contrary to in-ears such as my Etymotic ER-4S or the ER4SR/ER3SE/ER2SE whose midrange tuning is more “uncompromised flat” but can appear as not relaxed enough for recreational listening.
As a result, the midrange appears natural yet not intimate, and has got a warmer tilt.
Between 6 and 10 kHz, I can spot a soft, mild and broad, even elevation that adds just a bit of brightness to the sound in the upper highs and can be seen as a nicely implemented loudness correction applied to the tuning since due to its even implementation, it doesn’t appear gimmicky and isn’t really adding any colouration either but instead just accentuates the higher frequencies more (contrary to my Campfire Audio Andromeda that are tuned noticeably brighter in the highs, which can be fun, but ultimately leads to a more coloured, less realistic presentation).
Extension past 10 kHz is good, with a roll-off above 15 kHz.
Overall, I consider this a really well-done tuning for recreational listening, and it is no real surprise that the Atlantis, also due to their technical qualities, are still very clearly among my all-time favourite in-ears for this purpose.
Frequency Response:
ER-4S-Compensation
ProPhile 8-Compensation
Resolution:
When it comes to technicalities, the Atlantis don’t fall short either – more precisely, they are definitely in the UERM, Andromeda, InEar ProPhile 8 tier.
The star of the show is definitely the Atlantis’ highly detailed, transparent midrange with extremely high speech intelligibility and headroom (doubled up backup vocals are very precisely and transparently uncovered as such and not as echo/reverb as it would be often the case on somewhat less resolving in-ears, which also applies to singers’ very small, purposefully placed tonal variations).
As such, it outperforms my UERM and Andromeda in this area, but is ultimately slightly behind my ProPhile 8 in terms of transparency and micro details in the mids, while interestingly offering the better speech intelligibility.
What’s really nice is that all of this is achieved without implementing any “tuning tricks”.
The lows carry the typical BA tightness, resolution and speed, paired with a hint and body, which is what one would expect from a good implementation of the BA woofers. As for bass quality, they are practically identical to my UERM (and therefore somewhat superior to the Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered to-go they were replaced with), although undeniably with a fuller, warmer tuning.
While the lows are very detailed, highly controlled and clean (similar to my UERM), the Atlantis’ sheer midrange transparency is ultimately just somewhat higher, wherefore the lows are in the end a bit behind these in-ears’ midrange when it comes to details.
When it comes to treble resolution, the Atlantis are impeccable as well and feature precise single note separation with high speed, and are, just as in the midrange, even superior when compared to my UERM. Their even and rather soft tuning of the treble elevation also contributes to a fairly subtle effortlessness added to the high, almost brutally accurate resolution in the higher ranges.
Needless to say, complex and very fast music material doesn’t stress the Atlantis at all – if anything, their bass starts to appear just a bit less focussed/controlled, whereas the mids and highs remain pretty much unaffected by it.
Soundstage:
Open, fairly large and precise to my ears, with good layering – ultimately not fully Andromeda-tier yet, though.
Pretty much even balance between width and depth wherefore the soundstage appears three-dimensional and very authentic.
Very clean and precise imaging with very good portrayal of “empty space” around and between tonal elements/instruments; UERM tier and ultimately even a little above them.
Handles complex, fast and busy arrangements very well without collapsing, although ultimately just a bit less clean than my ProPhile 8.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Comparisons:
Ultimate Ears Reference Monitors:
The UERM are obviously tuned audibly flatter and more neutral, whereas both in-ears’ midrange timbre is quite similar apart from the Atlantis’ warmer tilt in the lower midrange and fundamental range.
Except for around/just a bit past 10 kHz where the UERM have a fairly strong peak when performing sine sweeps, they are quite comparable here as well, although I would ultimately say that the Atlantis are somewhat more realistic/authentic in the highs due to being elevated more evenly, whereas the UERM ultimately offer more subtle sparkle because of their higher super treble extension.
Both are absolutely on the same high level in the lows when it comes to details, tightness, control, speed and texture.
In the midrange and treble, though, the Atlantis are a step above and resolve even higher, with more transparency, headroom, the higher speech intelligibility and even somewhat cleaner note separation and better control.
Depending on the recording, the UERMs’ soundstage may appear even slightly larger to my ears, although just by a small margin.
Imaging precision is comparably precise on both sets of IEMs, with ultimately a small advantage for the Atlantis that are just a bit ahead when it comes to instrument separation and cleanly portraying “emptiness” between and around single instruments and tonal elements.
Campfire Audio Andromeda:
Similar tuning in the lows with the Andromeda being more relaxed and distant in the midrange, upper mids/presence range and lower treble.
The Andromeda are a good bit brighter in the treble, which can be fun but also contributes to a coloured, sizzly high note timbre, whereas the Atlantis are only gently lifted in the high and appear much softer and especially more realistic due to their even and broader elevation (as for tuning, I definitely think that the Atlantis are the better (more realistically sounding) alternative while sharing some similarities).
Both have a different approach to the bass – while the Andromeda have traded some of the control and tightness for more visceral, rumbling fun, the Atlantis are cleaner and tighter, and remain better controlled in the lows when the track becomes more demanding.
When it comes to the midrange, the Atlantis are definitely more transparent and detailed sounding, whereas the Andromeda are slightly more detailed in the treble.
Generally, the Atlantis are definitely better controlled with busy and fast music material, with a stronger focus on technical qualities than rumbling tactility.
The Andromedas’ soundstage is somewhat larger (both in terms of width and depth) and as a result more open, effortless sounding, whereas the actual imaging (instrument placement and separation) is a bit more precise on the Atlantis that also remain cleaner with busy, fast and densely arranged music material.
InEar ProPhile 8:
The ProPhile 8 are generally tuned flatter (“natural neutral”), even when both switches are activated (which I usually never do) – then, compared to the ProPhile 8, the Atlantis are still warmer in the lower mids and a bit bassier, and somewhat brighter in the upper highs.
Both are comparably authentic and realistic sounding in the treble with an accurate timbre, with the Atlantis having just a bit more of “loudness compensation” tuning applied.
The Atlantis are slightly more relaxed in the presence range.
In terms of transparency and resolution, the ProPhile 8 are ultimately slightly ahead of the Atlantis (even with both switches activated, although then to a slightly lesser degree), while the Atlantis interestingly feature a level of speech intelligibility that appears even a little higher, just as if they had more “headroom” here.
While the Atlantis are already very good in terms of bass quality (definitely UERM tier), the ProPhile 8 manage to sound seven somewhat tighter and cleaner in the lows, with the higher resolution in the bass and lower mids.
Generally, the ProPhile 8 are a slight step above when it comes to control when they are pushed to the limits (by which I mean speed and busy, dense recordings with multiple layers and many fine variations).
The Atlantis have got the larger, more open, more three-dimensional soundstage (more perceived spatial depth and width to my ears) whereas the ProPhile 8 offer the more precise instrument placement (imaging) and cleaner note/instrument separation in comparison.
Conclusion:
Recommended.
Very easily so, actually, and (really) close to the “Highly Recommended” award.
Flagship-level technical performance with very, near extremely high midrange transparency, speech intelligibility and general control, combined with a three-dimensional, authentic soundstage and well-executed soundstage. Their only shortfall, if one could even say so, is that their bass, while on its own technically excellent, is ultimately just a step behind the Atlantis’ excellent midrange and treble resolution.
On a personal note, along with the Etymotic ER2XR, the NocturnaL Audio Atlantis are easily among my all-time favourite in-ears for non-neutral recreational music enjoyment.
Photos: