[Towert7]

Hi all. I recently returned my Shure SE310 and ordered the Shure SE530 and Future Sonics Atrio M5 just to give IEM's another try.

These IEM's can be purchased for about 200$us from Future Sonics website. They come in a little box that has the M5, various ear plugs, a cleaner, and a travel case.

Functionality:
First things first, these earphones are very light. The cable is rather thin, but light. Also, the cable is quite long at 1.3m which I myself prefer for my uses. No extension cables are included as they are not really needed unless your amp is far away. As for the cable itself though, they are ‘microphonic’. The littlest touch will make a fairly loud noise.

My main gripe with these is that it’s hard to tell the L from the R quickly. There are no clear distinctions between L and R, and you have to either remember which shape fits in which ear, or squint for the little embossed L or R on each (which is the same color as the enclosure, so it’s hard to see, and dam near bloody impossible in dim light).

Comfort:
I find these IEM to be very comfortable. I personally like the large comfies, which makes a good seal and blocks out a fair amount of ambient noise. Using the rubber bi-flange increases the bass, though I had trouble getting a good seal. I did try using the Shure foamies, both normal and reversed, but did not find an improvement over the large comfies. The shure foamies also fit a little loose on the Atrio M5, though reversing it does help a little.

Sonically:
Yes folks, these are the “OMG, teh BASS!!!!” earphones.

Bass:
I like a level of bass weight and bass slam above most people, so naturally I was drawn to these. These are the first IEM that I have heard that has a credible amount of bass. The bass is noticeable down to 20Hz for me. It has a very nice weight to the bass, one that you can physically feel (very sweet!). I would say it has roughly the same amount of bass weight as my ‘Drew modified’ Darth beyers, but the quality is not as good as the Darths. The bass slam is ok, especially among IEMs, though compared to some high end full size headphones it leaves something to desire. At times the bass can sound just the slightest muddy. For 200$ though, it’s got great bass for my tastes.

Mids/Highs:
Sadly, the mids and highs are not as nice as the bass. I find these sound harsh at times and very tinny (almost hollow), to the point where I cringe on some songs. They lack the smooth sweet mids that I am accustomed to. This is especially noticeable on male/female vocals which can sound piercing (terrible). I have noticed a bump around 1800Hz, and a huge bump near 4200Hz (ranging from 3600-4800Hz). Despite these large bumps, there are times when the mids still sound recessed, so I can only imagine that is because of these two bumps, and the frequencies in between are overpowered. In Foobar 2000, if I EQ down the 1.8kHz a notch, and the 3.5 and 5.0kHz a lot, these sound quite nice for the price (See Fig.1). Actually, when I EQ them, they sound similar to my DT770pro 250ohm headphones with a milder treble. The treble rolls off smoothly. Too bad my Ipod nano doesn’t have a graphic equalizer.

Fig.1

Misc:
These earphones have an ok sense of depth, ok L/R separation, and have fairly nice detail.

Conclusions:
Do I think these earphones are worth 200$... stock no… though if you can EQ them they do sound much better. They have quite a bit of bass weight, which is nice for bassheads. They are light, small, and rather comfortable. Bottom line? If your source has a nice graphic equalizer, these are nice for the price. If not, then be warned.

Now onto some pics!







Hope this was helpful,
~Drew

 

[musicmind]

Thanks for the review and pics Towert7

 

[shigzeo]

hey guys, nice to see another review up. i find towert7 findings to be interesting as mine differ quite on the treble and mid section. i personally stayed with them as their trebles were not as shrill or piercing as my um2 or the er4s or the e500 - i am very pleased. the mids may be too relaxed, but still very good. i find them to be a good balance for strings - reminding me of the hd600 and mids like the dt770 - not too warm but nice enough. the bass is tangible as he mentioned and brilliant though as any iem, not as good as a full headphone.

though i will admit i am not an iem person by nature, i find these to be far better than any i have tried before.

EDIT: i should mention that i find microphonics present but nothing like any i mentioned above. naturally, the um2 is the champion with its wonderful cable, but m5 with the cable placed carefully over the ear in both ears is only 2nd to the um2 and that by a small margin. i can walk with it and indeed touch the main cable without much microphonics at all. beautiful

 

[StevenBrouwer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Towert7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mids/Highs: Sadly, the mids and highs are not as nice as the bass. I find these sound harsh at times and very tinny (almost hollow), to the point where I cringe on some songs. They lack the smooth sweet mids that I am accustomed to. This is especially noticeable on male/female vocals which can sound piercing (terrible). I have noticed a bump around 1800Hz, and a huge bump near 4200Hz (ranging from 3600-4800Hz). Despite these large bumps, there are times when the mids still sound recessed, so I can only imagine that is because of these two bumps, and the frequencies in between are overpowered. In Foobar 2000, if I EQ down the 1.8kHz a notch, and the 3.5 and 5.0kHz a lot, these sound quite nice for the price (See Fig.1). Actually, when I EQ them, they sound similar to my DT770pro 250ohm headphones with a milder treble. The treble rolls off smoothly. Too bad my Ipod nano doesn’t have a graphic equalizer.

I will get mine in a few days and if this is the thing then I will go mental crazy. I bought them, because they weren't suppose to be like this! :'(

 

[Hardwired]

Nope, mine don't sound like DT770s at all. If they did I'd throw them away. When I first got them the bass was kind of pale and the highs were very strident but a couple hours of listening (and tinkering with getting a good seal) settled them out and they amaze me with the sound you get out of 2 tiny plastic mosquitoes.

 

[cooperpwc]

Great review, Towert! And so yet another headphone screams "Rockbox your iPod". Nothing like a good graphical EQ on your PAD.

So this is most interesting. I look forward to hearing the Q-Jays and Westone 3s at the Toronto meet this Saturday but these are sounding like real contendors.

 

[3X0]

Thanks for the review. Your experience seems to agree with some of the online reviews that call the M5 a bit iffy on the higher ends.

And those foamies look really, really soft and fluffy in those pictures.. those are pretty much the most comfy-looking eartips I've seen on an IEM. Quite inviting if they don't belie that look.

shigzeo, you found the E500/UM2 shrill/piercing? I'm finding that kind of hard to believe..

 

[epithetless]

I'm surprised this hasn't been emphasized yet (though Hardwired alluded to it), but give your m5s a decent amount of burn-in, Towert7. Mine came to me used, with about 50 hours on them, and the highs are beautifully controlled-but-present, with zero harshness. I'm quite sensitive to sibilance, to the point where its appearance will completely eclipse the music for me, and my Atrios make it all about the music, IMO. They are, in fact, the least harsh IEMs I've had the pleasure of cramming in my ear canals.

This comes from a list including the super.fi 5 Pro, iM716, iM616, ATH-CK7, vibe, CX300, EP-630, RP-HJE50, Future Sonics FS1, Marshmallows, and MylarOne X3. Of those, the only other contenders for taming harshness without sacrificing too much of the highs are the X3 (which also boasts a nice, full midrange to boot) and perhaps the iM716 (though its sound signature is vastly different -- more analytical, still a bit sharper, and much less bassy and involving).

As for the Atrios' midrange performance, it sounds clean and neutral to my ears...not lush, but not particularly lacking, either. Perhaps more "relaxed" than some of the competition, as shigzeo notes, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it "recessed." Of course, everything here is relative, and if you're looking for midrange on the order of the Shures (it is their expertise, I'm told), I doubt you're going to find it anywhere but there -- but, again, I say give your m5s some time.

When that's done, I'll be curious to read your SE530 comparisons.

 

[tbonner1]

Nice detailed review, thanks. I agree the M5 respond well to EQ but I do not think my set up needs it.

 

[Towert7]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

With everyone saying they don't have piercing mids at 3.6-4.8kHz, I would almost question whether mine are defective, because they sound so awful without EQ. With the EQ setting I used in foobar, while I'm listening to music, if I zero all the bands it just sounds very bad in comparison. I have been using these now for the past week or two, and have been letting them run for quite a while.

Yea, the tips are rather comfy. I really like them. They are fast to put in to boot (takes me all of 5 seconds really).

Stock, both of the shures that I have tried had a better mid range, though even those lacked the smooth mids that I'm used to. However, with the EQ that I used, the M5 really makes them more enjoyable for myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hardwired Nope, mine don't sound like DT770s at all.

Nor did mine, until I EQ'ed them.

 

[Funk-O-Meter]

Mine don't sound piercing at all. I like to have EQ on them all the time (boosting the mids and adding a little in the 12khz range) but even without EQ I can listen to them and not be bothered at all by sibilance or harshness like I was with the UM-2. I think they do lack mids so I boost them with EQ. On my Ipod I've found that the "Lounge" setting works well with these. Most of the time the iPod EQ is worhless but with these phones that setting works pretty well.

 

[riceboy]

Thanks for the review and pics Towert7. I'm not familiar with the Future Sonics Atrio M5, so it was good to get semi acquainted with them.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funk-O-Meter /img/forum/go_quote.gif On my Ipod I've found that the "Lounge" setting works well with these.

This is what I came to find out too. This is the only preset EQ setting on my nano that allows me to listen to them, as it reduces that large bump that I mentioned.

Now that I discovered this EQ setting, I have to decide whether to keep the M5 or the SE530.

 

[shigzeo]

yes indeed, i find e500 and um2 to be harsh in the highs. more sibilant than their treble oriented cousins of the d-jay and er4s though those too give me trouble.

i find too the m5 has a very unadvertised mid - it is not sweet nor does it make you want to wrap it in a box witha bow, but it is accurate and not flashy - no problems at all.

the bass while deep and ponderous sits where bass should be: in the back. um2 and e500 have wonderful bass but it sits around the music, engulfs it and makes it seem very much more like you are in a studio. i don't need that.

the m5 separates music listening from music recording very well - indeed my favourite - and i have heard all the biggies. putting them in due to the soft nature of of the flex sleeve that encompasses the cable is harded than both um2 (easy easy) and the e500, but still, it can be done quite quickly.

again, with the cable over the ear, microphonics are near par with um2 - quiet. i imagine hanging, they would be very loud - but so too would the um2 make noise.

they impress me more and more each time i listen to music, however, again... they are not trance phones - that is the realm of monitoring iems or accurate phones.

 

[Packgrog]

Seriously, how much burn-in did you give the Atrio before doing this test, Towert7? Out of the box, I found the treble harsh and the bass flabby (both times, my first pair shorted out, so they replaced them free of charge, and since then I've had zero problems). After probably 50-100 hours of burn-in, they're wonderfully relaxed. Clear and accurate, but never harsh. Massive bass that's never a flabby fart cannon.

Definitely give them more burn-in with pink noise if you haven't already. The Atrio absolutely needs it.