[eshepler]

Last time I asked for some opinions at Christmas, I was shopping for a gift for my brother. I ended up getting him the X10s, and in the process I picked up a pair of Atrio M5s for myself.

So let me start off by stating that I am a bass-head through and through. I love a deep, thumping bass even though I don't actually listen to a lot of rap/hip-hop/trancer/dance and all that other bass heavy stuff. Rather, I tend to listen to rock (all versions of it, from soft to heavy metal).

That being said, I greatly enjoy some fixes of piano music, George Winston's Autumn being one of my favorite albums of all time. And therein lies my main gripe with the Atrios. They have awesome bass response, but come up lacking in the mid and hi ranges, though not as noticeably for me as it might be for others (since I'm such a bass head atm).

I sat down in from of my home stereo and compared what I heard on my Klipsch speakers as compared to the Atrios (plugging them into the receiver). I could definitely hear some notes in the piano music that I was missing with the Atrios. It's kind of like a lack of depth in the mid range. While the music sounds great, there's just some subtleties that the Atrios don't pick up.

So my question to you guys (and gals!) is this. Is there an IEM out there that can deliver the bass presence of the Atiros but also give justice to the other frequencies?

Isolation is another thing. I had a hard time getting the Atrio's to seal well at first, but finally got the hang of it. Even with the best seal I can get though, the isolation isn't all that it could be. I get better isolation from the x10's, for example. At first I liked my brother's X10 better than the Atrios, but now after months of burn-in, I compared the two again and definitely prefer the heavier bass of the Atrios.

And since I bought the Atrios, you can assume appearance isn't that important to me

 

[bixby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eshepler /img/forum/go_quote.gif So my question to you guys (and gals!) is this. Is there an IEM out there that can deliver the bass presence of the Atiros but also give justice to the other frequencies?

No!.

I owned the Atrios and they do have a recessed midrange. And highs as well. I have yet to hear an IEM that has the bass as foward as the Atrios. And I eschew most IEMs as too bright, so call me a basshead if you will, but I prefer balance.

As for the midrange depth, I prefer an IEM that give good depth of stage. Add to that, I prefer great resolution of the mids where you do not get them necessarily thrown in your face, but do get to hear hall ambience, instrument separation and placement, lack of congestion, great leading edge transients, accurate drum impact, natural percussion and natural voices.

And highs have to be smooth and have no peaks. I do not care if they are hyper detailed, I just want them balanced. In live events with natural instruments most highs roll off due to the acoustic space. Most modern recordings do accentuate the highs for some reason, probably due to the close miking.

So back to your IEM problem with the Atrios. IF you have to have that much bass you may not find an optiion with good balance in the mids and highs. From what I have read the Senn IE8 may offer something close to what you want. I have not heard it but can infer from my friend's reports that it might be a candidate. Personally, I think the Shure SE 530 would be a good choice but it does not offer pronounced bass, more balanced but does most everything I want in the mids and highs. It is now my IEM of choice for critical listening. But then again I have much more to listen to at CanJAM.

Good luck

 

[eshepler]

I'm willing to do a little give and take.

Do you find yourself missing the bass of the Atrios when you listen to the 530?

I doubt I'm going to sell my m5s, so I will always have that option when I'm in the bass-head mood.

 

[bixby]

No I don't miss the bass of the Atrios, I do find the balance much better overall with the Shures, but they do have less up front bass. I can hear the bass just fine it's just it does no stick out as much as the Atrios. And for me most of what is going on in music is in the mids. So having natural well represented mids is important to me.

I have not spent enough time with the Shures to know if they will be my top end keeper Headphone yet, but I like them.

 

[cn11]

eshelper-
I can confirm that the bass of the IE8's is just about on par with the Atrios. The Atrios may have around 5% more ultimate extension, but I think the IE8's bass has more impact. Plus they have much better treble and mid detail, as well as a huge soundstage for an IEM. You may want to read up more on them. Not sure what the best deal going is at the moment for them though.

 

[ZARIM]

Monster Turbine shows rich details in midrange with deep bass extension and soundstage is open like X10. Some other IEMs like IE8, SE530, TF 10Pro, ATH- CK100 n W3 are good choice too.

 

[eshepler]

So a vote for the IE8, the SE530 and the Monsters.

With the monsters, while I know price isn't everything, I would feel weird "upgrading" my phones by buying something cheaper (although some technology does follow that trend, hehe).

 

[koven]

W3