Newbie Atrios Review

[volntitan]

OK...I'm a newbie. And I am far from an audiophile, but here it goes.

I have a few IEMs. An old pair of Sony in ear, Vibe V-Moda and Shure E2C. I wanted to "step up" after my E2C started giving me trouble. So after some great info I got here, I ordered some Klipsch Custom 2s. Even though everyone told me that the cord had problems, for the money I grabbed them. And yep....wire was a no go for me so sent them back.

So after telling folks on here about what I did and didn't like about the Custom 2's, I was directed to the Future Sonic Atrios M5. Got them for $140 from Road Dog Online (plus tax..Im in the same state). Excellent, excellent company. If you want them...go to them. They are actually one of the more respected audio houses in the nashville area.

OK, my not very educated views. They are really light and was at first concerned maybe too light as if they weren't built very well. But after inspection, these puppies are built just fine. The cord is very nice. Has substance yet isn't stiff. And in the ears, they are so light hardly know they are in there. The case it comes with I wish was a bit bigger so it would fit my iPhone with the slider cover. But not a big deal.

Sound is incredible. Blows me away. Everything seems right there and the bass is very good. Even on the newer mixed "hip hop" type of music, like Kayne West or Beck that is bass heavey, it never overpowers it. Some of the other music that at times sounded weak on my other IEM, like the Police and Rush, is incredible. Brings new appreciation to one of the most underrated drummers around, Stewart Copeland. The soundstage is really good. Only way I can explain it is that the music sounds like in is in a "semi circle" and the singer is right in the middle. Even more acoustic stuff, like "Give my love to rose" by Johnny Cash from the American Recordings is so damn clean it chilled me. I wanted WOW and I got it.

Now I don't know if I have a good fit or the right tips (I need to still research if I need to get some better ones) or if I need to "burn in", but this is me putting on the bigger tips provided and sticking them in my ear. Now I am not an expert and I'm sure my giddiness over these is due to having listened on some subpar IEMs that anything better would have caused this. I haven't listened to any of the high end or heck even mid levels from Shure, Senn., etc, but I cannot not tell you how great these are and I cannot recommend them more highly. Easily the best $140 I have spent in a long time and worth every time.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

They should start to sound better with burn in. You should gradually notice a difference after an extended period of time. I use a combination of pink and white noise. Do a search here at head-fi and you will find some links to tracks and generators. I agree with your comment about Stewart Copeland, he is an amazing drummer. But then again, so is Neil Pert

 

[dweaver]

It sounds like you found yourself a winner Volntitan

I hope I'll be able to try these puppies someday as they do sound good (almost as good as my Turbines

). Anyway I will watch your thread and see how your revelation continues

.

 

[volntitan]

I had downloaded some white noise and had started to burn them in, but when I mentioned that in a thread, a poster said that it was a bad idea to do a burn in and it doesn't work anyway.

 

[cn11]

volntitan-
Congrats on the Atrios. They were my first foray into high end too. They will get a little more refined with some burn in (either noise files, or just music listening). Tips are challenging. I don't like foamies of most types (but Shure Olives are GREAT with them), and I've also found that JAYS silicone tips are good too for when I don't want to deal with compressing a foam tip. The JAYS tips seem to work best when wearing the Atrios over the ears though.

 

[ronnieb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by volntitan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had downloaded some white noise and had started to burn them in, but when I mentioned that in a thread, a poster said that it was a bad idea to do a burn in and it doesn't work anyway.

I would suggest burning them in. A lot of forum members will too.

The evidence of burning in is very limited, but some people can actually hear the difference.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronnieb /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would suggest burning them in. A lot of forum members will too. The evidence of burning in is very limited, but some people can actually hear the difference.

For me there was a major difference with the IE8 and IE7. Not so much with the Turbines.

 

[cn11]

Yeah, I heard a big difference with my IE8's too. I had the same experience as you with the Turbines as well...they settled down somewhat I'd say, but nowhere near the same effect. The Atrios I'd say fall somewhere in between, with a slight taming down in the bass and refinement in the treble. But again, not as night/day like the IE8's.

 

[volntitan]

I'm downloading a Burn-in CD right now that has noise, sweeps and musical instruments and silence. I'll hook them up to the computer and hope that will work. I'll see if I can find some Shure or Jay olives locally....

 

[volntitan]

Another thing I forgot to put in the review that really stunned me.

After listening to different music on the iphone, I thought I would hook up my other IEM's for more of a comparison. So with the same song, Beck's GhettoChip Malfunction, I went thru all the phones. So the difference was startling in quality, but what really stunned me was how much "louder" the Atrios was without turning up the volume. When the others were in, it was if the volume had been decreased atleast 20-25%.

 

[cn11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by volntitan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm downloading a Burn-in CD right now that has noise, sweeps and musical instruments and silence. I'll hook them up to the computer and hope that will work. I'll see if I can find some Shure or Jay olives locally....

I don't think you'll find either tip in a local retail shop. You'll have to order them online.

Here's the Shure 'olive':
Amazon.com: Replacement Sleeves for E3C*, E4C*, E5C*, E500PTH*, 13C* and 14C*: Electronics

And the JAYS silicone tips (they seem to be out of black medium):
SoundEarphones.com Your Earphone Source - Shop - Accessories - Jays - Jays Silicon Rubber Sleeves Black L

 

[uberburger101]

Welcome to the club!

The Atrio are easily my best IEM purchase EVER. Good price/performance ratio and they never make me wonder what other IEMs would sound better, they've just eliminated upgraditis completely (IEM wise).

If you liked them out of the box, these will amaze you once their sound stabilizes after burn-in. Bigger soundstage, smoother treble and better detailing of bass (yes, it gets better).

Enjoy. Oh yes, JAYS tips are HIGHLY recommended. I tried them once with cn11's recommendation and the other tips are collecting dust in the box somewhere. The 'L' JAYS tips are actually not that big, I use them with no problem at all.