Introduction
I will start off by saying that this post is very long overdue, since I have promised a number of people a review of the Atrio. Do take note that although I own and like the Atrio a lot, I will try to make my comments as unbiased and detailed as possible, but if you have differing views or opinions feel free to comment constructively.
General Information about the Atrio
- Drivers: Future Sonics proprietary mg5pro™ dynamic
- Frequency Range: 18 Hz - 20,000 Hz truetimbre™ response
- Impedance: 32ohms
- Sensitivity: 112 dB @ 30 Hz / 1 mW
- Isolation: 26 dB
- Cable: 1.3 m quietcables™ II with reduced microphonics
- Connector: standard 3.5mm (1/8") stereo mini-plug (gold)
Equipment Experience
I have owned the SF5Pros before the Atrio, and have tried a number of IEMs such as SF3, TF10, UM1, UM2, SA6, (APS) ER4P/S, SE530, Klipsch Image X10, D-jays, Q-jays, W3 (briefly), IE6/7/8 (all not burned-in).
The Package
Inside the box you get a Quick Start Guide, FAQ sheet, tips, cleaning tool and a carrying case. You get 2 pairs of large foams, 2 pairs of small foams, 1 pair each of small/medium/large biflanges. The box itself doesn't look very impressive but I guess it serves its purpose. The carrying case is pretty sturdy, with an inner compartment to put your extra tips etc.
Build Design and Quality
The IEM itself is plasticky and oddly shaped, so I won't give it high marks for design but the quality is pretty robust and of decent quality. The cables are pretty sturdy, not too thick and do not retain their shape easily (easier to uncoil without a problem). I haven't taken care of my pair very well and it's been scratched up a bit, but it still looks fine (since it's black). I'll give
8/10 for build quality.
Fit, Isolation and Comfort
They can be worn over the ear or the conventional way, I prefer wearing them over the ears. They don't come with memory wire though, which makes it less fiddly than the UE counterparts. I have to mention that the Atrio is
very particular about the fit and positioning - the soundstage, sound signature and bass quantity vary greatly depending on the depth of insertion and the type of tip used. For me, the positioning of the Atrio still needs some luck once in awhile to get that sweet spot. On some days I can get it right in 10s, on others I need a full minute to get it right.
Isolation, on the other hand, is not fantastic on the Atrio. I have tried all the tips given and even Shure Softflex, with foam tips (complys, Shure olives) you get the best isolation of the lot but it's nowhere close to the Ety triflange (the tip I'm going to try next). I'll give
7/10 for isolation.
Music
They Don't Want Music - Black Eyed Peas
Explosive - Bond
Fly Me To The Moon (Live) - Diana Krall
Bonfire - Lamb
Gorecki - Lamb
Dance Floor Anthem - Good Charlotte
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini - Maksim
Secret - Maroon 5
Canto Della Terra - Sarah Brightman feat. Andrea Bocelli
Hana's Eyes - Maksim
Hot and Cold - Katy Perry
Symphony - Sarah Brightman
Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
You Are Loved (Don't Give Up) - Josh Groban
Cinema Paradiso - Robert Wolf & Fang Krammerlander
Sound Quality
For the record, my pair is fully burned-in. Tested using iPod 5.5G and iQube.
Bass
Hmm, where do I start? If you someone says the Atrio is a basshead IEM, it's not an opinion but a fact. The bass the Atrio pumps out is unlike any other IEM I have ever heard. The extension, slam and articulation is nothing short of amazing. The bass strikes you as very natural sounding, and drum beats have a very realistic decay to their sound. Keep in mind that I have not heard a burned-in IE8 before, so my experience is limited.
I believe bass should not be just heard but also felt and the very low (below human hearing frequencies) bass extension is what gives this "feeling". The bass gives an obvious presence in the music which is what is so unique to the Atrio. On the songs
Bleeding Love and
Secret this extension is very apparent, there is the rumbling that can barely be heard but is obviously there in the song. Some might classify this as "boomy" but I will call it "delightful".
I used to think that bass wasn't very important but the Atrio made me come to realise that you need to have every part of the spectrum to get a full picture of your music. The Atrio brought out so many bass details in my music I never knew they had, and the layering of the bass is clean and well-defined. The running bass line in
You Are Loved is a very good example, it is more apparent with the Atrio than any other IEM I have tried.
With regards to the sheer bass quantity, it is no pushover as well. Bass comes in copious amounts and slams hard, yet it does not spill into any other frequencies. On
Dance Floor Anthem and
They Don't Want Music, the bass is strong and forceful but not at any time muddy. On large symphonic pieces, the bass instruments are clearly heard as well without covering any other instruments up.
If I were to be very critical, I would have to say that the bass could be just ever so slightly more controlled and tight with slightly more speed. I'm very very happy with the bass of the Atrio, and it is just this very slight lack of control that makes quick drum beats slightly sticky and not quick enough. Overall I would give a solid
9.5/10 for bass.
Mids
The midrange constitutes the bulk of the music so a good midrange is important. With the Atrio, the midrange is decent but not fantastic. The Atrio tends to do better in the mid-bass region more than the upper-midrange, so saxophones and bassoons will have the nice resonance and body to them whereas some higher-pitched female vocals might be slightly recessed. For this reason, the Atrio performs admirably on vocal jazz such as
Fly Me To The Moon but falls short in songs like
Canto Della Terra where the instruments seem to overwhelm the singers. I feel that the Atrio's mids are generally not as intimate as I would like them to be and on some tracks the vocals seem to be softer than the music.
I like listening to richer female vocals (e.g. Corrinne May, Joanna Wang) so I'm still quite satisfied with the Atrio's presentation of them. Their voices are nicely rendered with enough body and smoothness to them, though I would prefer them to be slightly more intimate with better decay like the SA6.
For instruments such as violin and woodwind instruments which go to the higher midrange, they do lack a sense of realism on the Atrio. They do become a tad recessed, and not as organic and transparent as they are supposed to be. It is difficult to pick out the woodiness of the violin on the Atrio, and this affects the overall pleasure of classical music.
Edit: I gave a longer listen to acoustic guitar tracks again, and I agree now that I should not have called them unrealistic. They have a very good decay and warmth to them, but I still feel they would do better to be slightly more forward.
In summary, the midrange could be a tad more upfront and intimate, with slightly more realism to string instruments that go up to the higher midrange. I give the Atrio
7.5/10 for mids.
Treble
Ah, the well-known "flaw" of the Atrio. Personally, I'm not that affected by the Atrio's treble (or lack of). I am very sensitive to harsh treble and I cannot stand cymbals that are too forward. The treble of the Atrio is very natural, just not sparkly. They don't extend as far as the ER4 but then again, nothing I have heard does. Treble on the Atrio is present, just more recessed and harder to pick out. I can live with the lack of sparkle in the treble, and this can be helped with a brighter amp or EQing. The Atrio's treble is never harsh nor sibilant.
To be honest, the recessed treble and lack of sparkle will affect you depending on the kind of music you listen to. For me, it is not a very big deal. I will give the Atrio
6/10 for highs.
Soundstage, Separation and Imaging
The soundstage of the Atrio is average at most. It is not small per se, it just lacks the air that other IEMs have. This will give you the impression of a small soundstage that is basically "in-your-head". For most of the pop/rock tracks that I listen to, this non-airy soundstage actually surrounds me in the music more making for a very toe-tapping experience. If the mids were slightly more intimate I would be very happy with the soundstage indeed. I have one gripe about the soundstage though, it does not portray depth very well. The depth of the soundstage is more or less from the back of my head to the front, and it does not create a good image of how far the singer is and the instrument positioning. Hence with most songs you can tell if the instrument is "leftish" or "rightish" but not "just behind the singer next to the guitar". IEMs were never fantastic in the imaging area, so I'll take that into consideration. I'll give
7/10 for soundstage and
6/10 for instrument imaging.
Instrument separation is good, but due to its warmth the separation is sacrificed somewhat. You can tell different instruments apart with relative ease, but the lack of crisp separation makes it somewhat harder when more instruments are playing together. I will give
7.5/10 for instrument separation.
Sound signature and Balance
The Atrio has a very warm and fun sound to it, I would go so far as to call it the exact opposite of the (stock) ER4. The stock ER4 is cold sounding, light on the bass, with a clean and transparent midrange and treble. The Atrio is warm, fun sounding, awesome on the bass with an above average midrange and a non-sparkly treble.
The first thing that will strike you when you listen to the Atrio is how natural it makes the music sound. There is nothing very fantastic about the Atrio besides the bass, but the non-fatiguing presentation of the music grows on you and I always find myself listening to it for hours on end. Coming from a silver-cabled SF5P, the separation ended sounding very artificial and displeasing, as if the different parts of the music were recorded separately and merged instead of the whole band/orchestra playing together. This natural presentation of the music is what has kept me safely un-poisoned by new BA IEMs thus far.
One thing to note is that the Atrio has a slightly veiled sound, and this veil does not lift fully even after burn-in. This doesn't make it as dependent on amping and source as other IEMs, and it is more forgiving to poorly recorded tracks.
Value For Money
This is always a tricky question. It's not exactly cheap, but I have no doubt that I made the right choice in buying this. I have yet to be converted back to BA driver IEMs almost twice its cost. I tried it on a few of my tracks and ended up walking out the store with it.
Even if you think you won't like it, give a burned-in set a chance, you never know. This is fully worth the money I paid for it, no doubt about it.
If you are looking for a rocking IEM for commuting, listen to mostly pop/rock/rap/metal, or want an IEM that sounds good unamped I would strongly recommend the Atrio.
Grand Conclusion
In conclusion, well I can the Atrio isn't the best thing to happen since sliced bread but it is a very strong competitor in the mid-high end IEM range. Do yourself a favour and include this in your "must-try" list when trying IEMs.
I put a lot of hard work into this review, so hoped you enjoyed reading it.
Like I said earlier, any constructive opinions would be welcome.
Originally from Jaben forums.
Atrio 101 - A Thorough Review
