[PMA]

I did a search on this site and found some information on the Future Sonics IEM's. I did not really see anything that led me to believe that these are superior to the major brands/models used by musicians for live performance.

I just learned of this company and went to their site to see that a few major performers do use them (Phil Collins as an example). Their high end model is only available in a custom fit so it seems you can't really try them so I am interested in any feedback from this forum on comparisons to Shure E5 in particular. Other comparisons would be fine as well.

Future Sonics was on the floor at MacWorld touting their consumer in ear phones and saying they are true minature speakers vs. how others are built.

I would think these would be more popular if they were as good as Future Sonic says. Comments?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[PMA]

No one has a comment on Future Sonics?

Paul

 

[granodemostasa]

im also wondering about this, and why they are not mentioned here.

 

[PMA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by granodemostasa im also wondering about this, and why they are not mentioned here.

Thanks for the reply. I decided to email Future Sonics and ask them why they don't get as much press as the other brands mentioned here. I'll post their reply if they respond.

Paul

 

[Just Josh]

I was at macworld and actually did try the Future Sonics and thought they sounded awful for the price ($150). These were the least impressive phones there.

 

[mbgalg]

nice sound(especially bass) and absolutley horrible ear piece selections. i used them with the foams for about 10 days and then they lost their resiliency. futuresonics as well as xtrememac offered no help at all. i returned them for a refund when left with no other options. i would stay clear of them until they improve their ear pieces. the ear pieces shipped with both shure and ultimate ears products puts the futuresonic/xtrememac issued pieces to shame.

 

[Riboge]

I for one have posted several comments on the Future Sonics FS-1, the latest model. I never get any response. These are very good iems and IMO better for $99 than all others for several times more.

They do not use armature drivers, as in Westone and Shure iems, which are all derived from hearing aid drivers and never designed to produce low low frequencies. The FS iems use dynamic speakers comparable to what is used in most loudspeakers. The low midrange and low end are much fuller, richer and more natural than the armature iems. As a result they strike one at first as very bass heavy, but with extended listening I realized this is due to being unused to hearing natural bass in iems. The mids and highs are fully there and quite good. I sold my e5cs because I found I always preferred listening to the FS-1s.

I found the foamies that came with the FS-1s to seal better than the Comply ones I bought because they in turn worked better than the foamies that came with the Shure iems. The designer told me they were made specifically for his iem from surgical foam. I am puzzled at the criticism of these foamies I see posted. They're the best I've come accross.

 

[craftech]

Here are some reviews for you:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759...129TX1K0000530

http://www.powerpage.org/archives/20..._fs1_earp.html

http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.ph...ral_protection

http://www.akappleug.org/reviews/200...ion-earphones/

http://www.powerbookcentral.com/colu...vitz/fs1.shtml

 

[apnk]

I had a pair of Em3's (older model) and I thought they sucked. All bass and no mid or high end. I wonder if they fixed that on the new models.

 

[mbgalg]

the foam ear pieces were good while they lasted(about 10 days). after 10 days i found myself increasing the volume due to an inability to achieve the same seal. i switched to a pair of shures and had to greatly reduce the volume. it is unreasonable to expect consumers to have to replace the ear pieces this often especially when the other shipped options are useless.

 

[gremlin]

Doesn't help that their website is devoid or hiding any useful information.

 

[PMA]

Here's what I got back from Future Sonics:

Hello Paul,

Thanks for your inquiry!

· Seems that Future Sonics was first to market with IEM’s. Why do other brands get more press and attention?
We have developed out reputation through years of work with touring artists, providing individual attention and marketing our custom product directly to the music industy. We have had plenty of press however on the company and products.
· How do your products truly compare to the other major technologies such as dual and now triple driver designs?
We only manufacture our products with “dynamic” transducers utilizing only a single component, not employing multiple drivers of the ‘armature” type designed from hearing aid technology.
· It appears that your professional product for musicians is only custom fitted so how can they be tried?
We manufacture our EM3 “Ears” brand universal fit product which is a very good representation of what out custom product will sound like. At $99.00 it can be tried out and returned if it does not meet your needs. The EM3 can also be custom fitted with a sleeve that replaces the generic foam sleeve options that come out of the box.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

David McGuinness-Client Services
-------------------
Paul

 

[JohnRich]

The FS-1s have quite impressive bass extension and fair midrange and highs. The clarity of the sound doesn't begin to approach what you get from the etymotic/shure/westones/ultimate ears 'hearing aid' driver designs.

If small dynamic transducers produced better fidelity sound than dual armature drivers then hearing aid manufacturers would probably use them instead, as that would be a cheaper option.

The FS-1 sound is fun and warm with lots of bass and is certainly a pleasant change from the Etys/Sensaphonics etc, if only because they hide the hideous detail of bad recordings.