Future Sonics Atrio MG7 Review and Appreciation thread
Feb 11, 2013 at 6:17 PM Post #1,066 of 1,216
I picked up a pair of these. I wasn't totally impressed. The sound wasn't what I thought it would be. The build of the IEMs were shotty to me. I wasn't a fan coming from better built and sounding in-ears. I could see the sound improving slightly after some burn-in...especially the piercing highs. Also I have to say what didn't help was ordering it off the Atrio.me website, and the condition I received it in. It was supposed to be new and it was clearly used! What a crock! The stickers were opened, the leather case had a greasy texture and finger prints, and the tips were crusty. Comon now, is this really right? I had to clean everything first before using. I did not want to wait 5 weeks for a reply/return as that is what happened. I've never had a problem with any other headphone companies including sennheiser, westone, and denon.
 
Feb 11, 2013 at 6:40 PM Post #1,067 of 1,216
Quote:
What is the difference between the older m8 and the newer Mg7?  I'm just curious.  I have an older pair of M8 and really enjoy them.  I bought them 5 years ago and really didn't expect them to last this long.  As any red blooded gear head I bought other iems for various reasons and the atrios were deleagated to some of the rougher treatment like going to the gym  (currently I'm in Afghanistan) largely because I figure I've gotten my money's worth out of them and I'll spare the newer iems the wear and tear.  Anyway, these things just keep going! They sound and function as good as the day I bought them. 
 
Anyway, I'm just curious.  I'm not likely to buy a pair any time soon as I am saturated with iems right now but its good to know and keep up with whats going on.  Are the M7s a big improvement from the m8s.  If not what was the point? 

Check your box and look up the specs. If it says MG5 driver, then it's the old version. The current version uses MG7 driver. I haven't heard the MG5 ver, but it is said that the newer ver is better especially on the treble. I read somewhere that the MG5 ver didn't have sparkling treble. As for M3, M9, M5 or M8, it's just the coding of the color.
 
Feb 12, 2013 at 1:02 AM Post #1,068 of 1,216
Oh, that box is loooooong gone.  I bought mine in feb or march of 2008.  I'm not sure if that timeline says anything about what driver is in it.  I vaguely remeber something about improved drivers etc... but after 5 years I could be making that up. 
 
They sound really very good.  I have etymotic hf2 and jvc fx700.  They don't come close to the JVCs but they shouldn't considering the price difference.  They are definitely in the same ballpark and the etymotic.  The atrios have significantly better base but lack a touch of detail and soundstaging.  Those etyomotics are amazing with respect to that.  There have been several times I looked up thinking someone was in the room with me only to realize it was just a musician picking up an instrument or something in the recording.  Its a little spooky to be honest!  The etymotics are a little more colorful too.  But they don't come close to the atrio's base.  If I had to choose one (the atrios or the etymotics) I would choose the etymotics but others could easily and reasonably disagree.
 
All in all, I am really glad I have the atrios and am just floored at how long they last and how much abuse they tolerate!  Great product!
 
Nate
 
Feb 12, 2013 at 3:19 AM Post #1,069 of 1,216
Quote:
Oh, that box is loooooong gone.  I bought mine in feb or march of 2008.  I'm not sure if that timeline says anything about what driver is in it.  I vaguely remeber something about improved drivers etc... but after 5 years I could be making that up. 
 
They sound really very good.  I have etymotic hf2 and jvc fx700.  They don't come close to the JVCs but they shouldn't considering the price difference.  They are definitely in the same ballpark and the etymotic.  The atrios have significantly better base but lack a touch of detail and soundstaging.  Those etyomotics are amazing with respect to that.  There have been several times I looked up thinking someone was in the room with me only to realize it was just a musician picking up an instrument or something in the recording.  Its a little spooky to be honest!  The etymotics are a little more colorful too.  But they don't come close to the atrio's base.  If I had to choose one (the atrios or the etymotics) I would choose the etymotics but others could easily and reasonably disagree.
 
All in all, I am really glad I have the atrios and am just floored at how long they last and how much abuse they tolerate!  Great product!
 
Nate

If you got in in 2008 I think it's likely the old MG5 ver. If I'm not mistaken the MG7 ver was first released in 2010. I don't love my Atrio anymore, I used to be a basshead that's why I got it in the first place but after a while I switched back to my far brighter sounding Philips SHE9850 and while the Philips aren't the best in anything, their sound signature made me realize that I wanted something else. That's how I quit being a basshead.
 
Feb 12, 2013 at 5:58 AM Post #1,070 of 1,216
So does that mean that what I have is the MG5 which can be bought now for $50?  If so that is one heck of a good deal!  I agree that what I have is no longer competitave at the price I paid which I think was $150.  IMHO, the Etymotics are superior in every category other than base and they can be had for $120.  The recent explosion of high quality iems in the past few years has really brought the price down and the value up! 
 
In short, I am very happy to have mine.  I wouldn't pay $150 for them but if indeed the MG5 is the same as what I have, I may have just found a Christmas present for my Dad!  Thats a good deal!
 
Nate
 
Feb 19, 2013 at 9:59 PM Post #1,071 of 1,216
Hey all...something really weird has happened with me lately. I've only been into headphones for a little over a year, and IEMs have been only a very small part of that. When I first got my Atrios I felt they were significantly better than my Etymotics and I was very impressed with the sound quality given that I only paid $100. Well, a short time after, I picked up a ZO2, and the pairing was just incredible. Every time I picked up the Atrios I reached for the ZO, too. Over the last few months, I have been really busy with work and some of my other headphones have gotten the majority of my attention. Last night I picked up the ATrios for the first time in a good while, but this time I didn't have my ZO handy....so I just plugged them into my laptop and iPhone instead, which is how I usually will use my Beyer DT1350s and JVC portables. Well, much to my surprise, they really just didn't sound all that good to me anymore. The soundstage isn't quite as large as I remember it, and the sound seems a bit less engaging. Has anyone else experienced this? I don't know if it's just that the ATrios by themselves can't compete with the Atrio/ZO combo, which is what I'd gotten used to....or if the fact that I'm further along in the hobby and have raised my game in terms of the sort of audio quality I'm accustomed to...I just don't know! 
 
Thoughts? 
 
Feb 20, 2013 at 1:32 AM Post #1,072 of 1,216
I can't believe the discount code still works on atrio.me, I think I'm going to get another since I sold my old pair and I'm missing that amazing sub-bass plus the mids and highs are very balanced with good detail.
 
Feb 20, 2013 at 2:45 AM Post #1,073 of 1,216
Quote:
Hey all...something really weird has happened with me lately. I've only been into headphones for a little over a year, and IEMs have been only a very small part of that. When I first got my Atrios I felt they were significantly better than my Etymotics and I was very impressed with the sound quality given that I only paid $100. Well, a short time after, I picked up a ZO2, and the pairing was just incredible. Every time I picked up the Atrios I reached for the ZO, too. Over the last few months, I have been really busy with work and some of my other headphones have gotten the majority of my attention. Last night I picked up the ATrios for the first time in a good while, but this time I didn't have my ZO handy....so I just plugged them into my laptop and iPhone instead, which is how I usually will use my Beyer DT1350s and JVC portables. Well, much to my surprise, they really just didn't sound all that good to me anymore. The soundstage isn't quite as large as I remember it, and the sound seems a bit less engaging. Has anyone else experienced this? I don't know if it's just that the ATrios by themselves can't compete with the Atrio/ZO combo, which is what I'd gotten used to....or if the fact that I'm further along in the hobby and have raised my game in terms of the sort of audio quality I'm accustomed to...I just don't know! 
 
Thoughts? 

As for your love for Atrio over Etymotics, the easiest way to tell is that is your preference. It wouldn't surprised me if anyone moving from the Etys and instantly liking something else due to the Ety's uncolored, no fun sound.
 
I've never heard the ZO, but most reviews I read saying that they are great for bassheads, so maybe that's why?
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 1:15 AM Post #1,074 of 1,216
Quote:
Hey all...something really weird has happened with me lately. I've only been into headphones for a little over a year, and IEMs have been only a very small part of that. When I first got my Atrios I felt they were significantly better than my Etymotics and I was very impressed with the sound quality given that I only paid $100. Well, a short time after, I picked up a ZO2, and the pairing was just incredible. Every time I picked up the Atrios I reached for the ZO, too. Over the last few months, I have been really busy with work and some of my other headphones have gotten the majority of my attention. Last night I picked up the ATrios for the first time in a good while, but this time I didn't have my ZO handy....so I just plugged them into my laptop and iPhone instead, which is how I usually will use my Beyer DT1350s and JVC portables. Well, much to my surprise, they really just didn't sound all that good to me anymore. The soundstage isn't quite as large as I remember it, and the sound seems a bit less engaging. Has anyone else experienced this? I don't know if it's just that the ATrios by themselves can't compete with the Atrio/ZO combo, which is what I'd gotten used to....or if the fact that I'm further along in the hobby and have raised my game in terms of the sort of audio quality I'm accustomed to...I just don't know! 
 
Thoughts? 

happens to me alot of times moving from my shures to my atrios but after a week or 2 i fall in love agan
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 1:53 AM Post #1,075 of 1,216
I figured out part of the problem...I had forgotten to put the right tips back on them the last time I was playing around. I have my Comply tips on again and now they're sounding closer to what I recall...I think I just REALLY love how the Atrios pair with the ZO2, so when I don't have the ZO in the mix they don't quite sound as good as they usually do. I watched the movie Blitz on the Atrios by themselves last night, though, and they sounded pretty good...I think my crisis is nearly averted lol
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 6:44 PM Post #1,076 of 1,216
So I had another bit of a breakthru last night...I was listening to my Grado SR80s while watching a movie via my Roku box, and since there are several music channels on Roku I decided to swap out the grados for the Atrios. This was the first time I've listened to the Atrios on an amp other than my Fiio E11 or ZO2, and I was pretty impressed with how they sounded connected to my Little Dot. The sound was really hitting more crisply and with more authority than they ever had before and the sound stage was also migrating outside of the space between my ears. I liked this quite a lot and plan to try the Atrios in this configuration more often. I guess I had never really considered hooking up IEMs to a home amp, but so far the results are very impressive. It works out great since I have a couple of headphone extension cables, so the shorter cable on the Atrios is a non-issue. 
 
Feb 23, 2013 at 12:56 PM Post #1,077 of 1,216
Quick question for the Atrio fans.......... anyone have or compared Sony MDR-XB40EX vs Atrio Pro MG7 IEM's ?
 
What the Sony's lacked in treble and soundstage they made up for in deep deep sub-bass.
Are the Atrios brighter with treble ? I don't like bitey treble and actually preferred it recessed/muffled.
Is the sub on the atrios same or better than the Sonys ?
 
Thanks in advance to anyone familiar with both of them. I really want to move over to the Atrios after reading the rave reviews on their bass extension. My Sonys seem to always work their way out of my ear due to the silver spine they have which Sony seem to have removed from later models...too heavy and the cable kind of levers them out they ear.

 
Feb 26, 2013 at 4:16 AM Post #1,078 of 1,216
Quote:
Quick question for the Atrio fans.......... anyone have or compared Sony MDR-XB40EX vs Atrio Pro MG7 IEM's ?
 
What the Sony's lacked in treble and soundstage they made up for in deep deep sub-bass.
Are the Atrios brighter with treble ? I don't like bitey treble and actually preferred it recessed/muffled.
Is the sub on the atrios same or better than the Sonys ?
 
Thanks in advance to anyone familiar with both of them. I really want to move over to the Atrios after reading the rave reviews on their bass extension. My Sonys seem to always work their way out of my ear due to the silver spine they have which Sony seem to have removed from later models...too heavy and the cable kind of levers them out they ear.

the treble is strong with the atrios so is the bass witch is unbetable
 
Mar 2, 2013 at 1:55 AM Post #1,079 of 1,216
I just started using my Atrios again, and I forgot how much I liked them. They're almost like an in-ear version of the Sennheiser HD25-1 II.
 
Mar 3, 2013 at 4:09 AM Post #1,080 of 1,216
Quote:
I just started using my Atrios again, and I forgot how much I liked them. They're almost like an in-ear version of the Sennheiser HD25-1 II.


Does it pair well with digizoid or too much distortion ? Is your zoid the latest 2.3 version ?
 

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