[shotgunshane]

I have read your reviews, and honestly it might be the greatest reason why I have yet to purchase the MG6pro. Well written and articulate reviews are always the most convincing.
 
After you EQ the MG6pro, how would you say it compares to the Merlin in technical ability? Also, from the impressions you've written, you said the Merlin has 'tighter' bass than the MG6pro, and the AS-2 'tighter still'. I wonder how does this affect the impact and rumble of the bass? 
 
In terms of that echoey harshness effect, are you able to replicate that sound by EQing up those frequencies in other earphones?
 
 

I've boosted those ranges on other IEMs and while it can reproduce the harshness, it doesn't reproduce the echoey nature I hear in the mg6pro, so there must be a correlation between the frequency peaks and the chamber the acrylic shell creates.

As to bass rumble, I don't think it gets any bigger than the mg6pro. It should fulfill all bass head dreams with a disco club like boom. The full custom as-2 will have adjustable bass vents, so I'm not sure how big its rumble will get in comparison until mine arrive. The prototype didn't have this feature. I prefer a tighter/faster, more articulate sub bass but I get the appeal- it's fun.

Ultimately the mg6pro is just not very satisfying for me with or without EQ and surely wish my money would have gone towards better spent purchases for preferences.

Also- one note on reshells: The Future Sonics line cannot be reshelled for resale, only for warranty refit, as the adhesive used to secure it will destroy the driver upon removal. This was confirmed with FS and several reshellers, so it is a permanent purchase.

 

[jeffarm13]

 

If you could do an A/B between the MG6pro and HE500, that would be great. I've come to accept that it's highly unlikely to get a ciem that can match it in soundstage, simply by nature of fullsize vs iem. Similarly, it might be difficult to compare in the sense of overall 'feeling' I guess. But if you could compare the two in terms of detail retrieval, bass (both quantity and quality) and overall sound signatures, that would be greatly appreciated.

So, Nezen, I am back home am getting reacclimated to my HE500s. If you are still interested, I can start with a compare/contrast with the MG6pros. I can tell you now that the bass hits harder on the MG6Pros but the MG6Pros do not approach the detail retrieval of the HE500. And if you could shoot me the names of a couple tracks of what you would consider representative samples of the EDM you listen to, I can work those in. My library is completely lacking on that front.

 

[nezen]

Hey thanks for this. I listen to trance mostly for the atmospheric sound, so I don't find it all that useful for technical comparison between phones. Having said that, Ode to 99 by Georgia does have a fair amount of detail that can change greatly depending on the headphones used, and I love it for its ability to produce the atmosphere of trance.

Could you compare (with genres you prefer, I think that would be more useful) the mids and detail retrieval across the board? They seem to be the main gripes I've seen with the mg6pro.

I think actually the Merlin may be the best choice for me now, judging by what I've read.

 

[jeffarm13]

Quote:

Could you compare (with genres you prefer, I think that would be more useful) the mids and detail retrieval across the board? They seem to be the main gripes I've seen with the mg6pro.

 
Be careful what you ask for:
 
Ok, so I have been able to spend some back-to-back time with the HE500 and the MG6Pro.  The HE500 is, of course, a full-sized, open orthodynamic and the MG6Pro is a dynamic custom i.e.m., which leads to our second caveat (the first being that there are my impressions and opinions and mine alone – all ears and brains are different and ymmv): These phones offer very different listening experiences, and any comparison between them will have a little of an apples-to-oranges vibe.  For me, this tends to be most noticeable in soundstage and presentation: Both can present a 180 degree soundstage with varying perceptions of height and depth. However, the HE500 can give a “out of head” presentation.  The nature of the MG6Pro means that its presentation is much more “in head.” It is not a better or worse thing, it’s just a different nature – sort of like going from speakers to headphones.
 
Third caveat: I listen to my HE500 through the Schiit Lyr via the Schiit Bifrost.  I am not going to plug my MG6Pro into the Lyr (Schiit makes it clear that they do not recommend using any of its amps with an i.e.m.).  For the MG6Pro, I have run the Schiit Lyr through Nick Leckerton’s excellent UHA-6S-mk.II portable amplifer.  Except for the download of “Ode to 99”, which was run from an iPod Classic docked to a Pure i20 then coaxial to the Bifrost, I listened to everything on CD run via coaxial to the Bifrost. I do not think the differences in gears is night and day, but others may disagree.
 
Before we get to the track-by-track comparison, I’ll summarize overall impressions:
 
HE500:
The HE500 is very neutral and natural sounding to me; perhaps a smidgen mid-forward.  Rather than re-hash what others have said more effectively, I hear the HE500 mostly similarly to DavidMahler, as stated here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-50-headphones-compared#user_HE500 (thanks, David, for putting the time in so we can all crib off of you).  The HE500 is excellent for mids/vocals and its midrange, imaging, detail and separation are in a different class than the MG6Pro.  Note that the difference in imaging, detail and separation is not necessarily a function of the HE500 being full-sized and the MG6Pro being an i.e.m.: most balanced armature i.e.m.s that I have heard do imaging, detail and separation better than the MG6Pro and the top-tier Westone offerings (universal and custom) outperform the HE500 for sheer detail and separation (imaging being on par) for me.
 
Where I primarily differ with DavidMahler is in the bass, and I am not sure it is a disagreement so much as it is a different priority: I agree the bass is very accurate and extended in the HE500; however, the bass of the HE500 is almost always a “listening experience” and very rarely do I “feel” it – I am of the school that some degree of compensation in the bass region is appropriate for headphones to give an illusion of the feeling bass gives us when heard in a natural or live setting.  In that respect, the HE500 gives me an accurate listening experience that is true to the recording, but that comes off as a bit clinical from time to time. 
 
From a percussive standpoint, the HE500 seems to be most life-like (easiest to “feel”) in the snare to cymbal range, which makes sense for a headphone that does so well with vocals.
 
MG6Pro:
On its own, the MG6Pro is good to very good.  It suffers in comparison, however, to one of the better full-sized, open headphones on the market.  This is perhaps most apparent in densely packed, dynamically compressed music.  In an earlier post, I noted that Devin Townsend sounded bad on the MG6Pro and chalked it up to mastering his latest, Epicloud, with a bass-heavy hand.  Turns out I may have been off: Head-fi’s own DaveBSC has a Web site devoted to metal/heavy music from a discerning listener’s perspective (www.metal-fi.com - highly recommended if you are at all metallically inclined).  He noted that the recording was mastered as a highly compressed wall of sound, which, to my ear on the MG6Pro, came across as a muddled and jumbled mess.  The album actually sounds much better on the HE500, though it’s still prone to being a little muddy. It actually sounds best on the hyper-articulate Sennheiser Amperior.   This pattern repeated itself with some of the more densely packed metal prog in my library, and I am not sure how it would fare with dense symphonic work. 
 
This is not meant to imply that the MG6Pro is a bad earphone.  No ‘phone is perfect.  The MG6Pro does give a sense of soundstage as well as, if not better than, any other i.e.m. I have heard.  Also, so long as you give yourself a little time to acclimate or re-acclimate to the (much darker than the HE500) sound signature, most of the detail and information is still there, it’s just that it can feel a little “behind” the bass (for the mids) and a little “muted” (for the treble).  The more you listen and the more your ears adjust to this placement, the less it stands out.  The decreasing energy through the treble means we lose some of the harmonics that give cymbals their shimmer and also contributes to a general lack of air that can make things seem a little closed off at times (so, the soundstage can seem wide, but it can feel like the notes are a little claustrophobic in comparison to the HE500– this busier the passage, the more apparent this can be). 
 
Where the MG6Pro excels, of course, is the bass.  It growls and rumbles and is anything but “one note.”  From a percussive standpoint, it’s the kick and toms that sound most life-like and easiest to “feel,” but it really handles almost all percussive notes very well.  Bass notes resonate with authority.
 
Music Comparison:
Where possible, I tried to pick more than one song from an album and then listened to the selected tracks multiple times to try and get a feel for what they sounded like on the whole.
 
I.               Steely Dan: Citizen Steely Dan, “Do It Again”, “Dirty Work”, “Reelin’ in the Years”, “Deacon Blues”.  Selected because Steely Dan has some really well-produced music and their stuff is readily available.
 

• HE500: Maybe just a slight hint of sibilance on “Dirty Work”.  Overall presentation is airy, out of head, perhaps ever so slightly on the bright side, 180 degree soundstage with average depth.  Each instrument has well-defined placement with plenty of air to breath.  Cymbal crashes are very nice and realistically presented, as are snares.  Guitars have bite and each note in a chord is discernable.  Most headphones don’t do justice to the amount of distortion the guitar is using on the intro to “Reelin’ in the Years”.  Piano sounds good, not great – good decay but not sure it packs the punch to be completely true to life.  The saxophone solo and the bass/sax/percussion outro in “Deacon Blues” are very smooth and engaging.

 

• MG6Pro: Darker.  More closed in.  More than just a function of i.e.m. vs. full-sized.  Just a lack of air. Pretty close to 180 degree sound stage. Cymbals, snare, sax and trumpet can all be heard fine, it’s the decay and harmonics that are absent (compared to the HE500).  Still enjoyable, just in a lot of ways a polar opposite to the HE500 in sound presentation.  Walking bass on “Dirty Work” very clear.  Guitar doesn’t have the same bite (though it comes close on “Dirty Work”), but the toms and kick drum is more emphatic.  The distortion on the intro to “Reelin’ in the Years” is mostly there, and the piano line on the same song is much more present. Is that a tambourine in the left channel of “Reelin’ in the Years” during the solo?  Nice.  Triangle on intro to “Deacon Blues” sounds very good.  The more you listen to these and let your head wrap around them, the easier it is to pick out details – the guitar part running under the vocals is discernible without too much effort, but still not as up front as the HE500.  Vocals in general are recessed in comparison to the HE500, but probably not recessed relative to a completely neutral standard.

 
II.             Devin Townsend: Epicloud, “True North”, “Where We Belong”, “Save Our Now”.  Selected because it’s loud and aggressive and a pretty good example of modern compressed mixing.
 

• HE500: Whoa.  Here comes Anneke right off the bat on “True North”.  What a voice, and how well done.  Wee bit of sibilance here and there on the tracks, but unless you are extremely intolerant of it, it is not bothersome.  I wouldn’t say that the HE500 introduces sibilance, but it isn’t going to do much to hide any that is on the recording.  Anneke van Giersbergen’s voice is gripping and immediate and the interplay between her voice and Townsend’s on “Save Our Now” is very nice.  The air up top really puts the “Epic” in “Epicloud” – I don’t think Devin needed any help with the “Loud”.

 

• MG6Pro: Not sure Anneke sounds quite as good when opening up “True North”, perhaps a bit muffly, but I do appreciate the closeness she is presented with here.  Unfortunately, the instruments kick in and we get outright muddled.  Not the ‘phones fault necessarily, but they do struggle with dense and compressed music.  The kick drum does stand out, but just a little and only as a kind of pole in the middle of a blizzard. “Where We Belong” and “Save Our Now” are a little more reserved. On the former, Devin sounds a bit congested (as does the song when the drums pick up). On the latter, the vocals are just a little too far back to recreate the magic of the HE500.  The more closed in sound and the muddle robs the music of its “Epicness”.  I can’t help but think of a car with an overcooked subwoofer or three when listening to these songs through the MG6Pro.

 
III.           Samuel Barber: The Complete Solo Piano, Performed by John Browning; “Nocturne, Op. 33”, “Ballade, Op. 46” and “Adagio for Jean”. Selected because it’s solo piano.
 

• HE500: Plenty of space; notes have plenty of room to form, breathe and fade.  Very easy to sense and form a picture of the concert hall.  Pretty big hall.  Sounds pretty true to life through the middle registers, but really only get a sense of the weight of the lower registers of the piano when Browning plays fortissimo.  This sensation faded a bit after taking a break and coming back to the music – in other words, the ears adjust.

 

• MG6Pro: Harder to get a sense of the size of the venue; definitely feels smaller than that presented by the HE500 but not necessarily pressed in.  Again, darker than the HE500, but not as noticeable with just a single piano playing.  The impact and decay of bass notes on the piano are so much better here, without losing the true to life sound through the middle registers.  Upper registers are ever so slightly behind the lower and middle registers and lack just a little shimmer.  Viscerally, much more satisfying and perhaps even a bit more accurate depiction of the instrument.

 
IV.            Bill Evans: The Complete Riverside Recordings (Disc 12); “Round Midnight”, “Blues in F/Five” and “Everything Happens to Me”. Selected because it’s solo piano (and it’s a little more in my comfort zone). Trio setting: piano, bass and drums.
 

• HE500: Again, very easy to sense the concert hall.  Much more intimate than the Barber setting and very noticeable.  Getting the slightest bit of “thump” with the bass plucks on “Round Midnight” (very easy to hear different bass notes, too) and the brushwork for the percussion on the same song is just excellent (the percussion on “Blues in F/Five” is even better – so good and real it’s distracting).  I think Evans’ default playing is in the forte range, so I’m getting a little more sense of weight here (though I can’t help but think maybe it should be a little more).  Very easy to be drawn into the music and forget that I should be taking notes.

 

• MG6Pro: The “thump” of the bass plucks on “Round Midnight” are full vibrations with the HE500 – not sure that is entirely appropriate to the music. It overwhelms the brushwork and encroaches on the piano.  Again, feels “smaller” than the venue presented by the HE500 and the band is closer; it does seem to be proportional to the change the HE500 had from the Barber tracks to the Evans tracks – so it presents the same information, just in smaller form (I’ll chalk that up to the difference between full-sized and i.e.m.).  As with the Barber tracks, the piano is just much more visceral with the MG6Pro.  For the detail heads out there, both ‘phones picked up whatever dropped on the floor at the 5:00 mark of “Round Midnight” – it came across sharper on the MG6Pro.  I really like the way everyone sounds here, but the “hard pan” style with the bass on the right, the drums on the left and the piano in the middle is harder to take when the bass is causing only one ear to vibrate – it is distracting and doesn’t draw me in the way the HE500 did.  The percussion work and the piano still sound great, though, if you can focus on it over the bass.

 
V.              Georgia: “Ode to ‘99”  - the nine minute version (iTunes/AAC 256 kbps). Selected because it’s the EDM representative.
 

• HE500: Wow.  So the intro to this song makes the HE500 reverberate more than maybe any other in my library; still, in the end, more of a “listening experience” than a feeling.  The occasional “explosion” is a little lacking.  Nicely filled in from left to right (no “three blob” sound). Nice “swirly” effects; easy to place and keep up with the swirl.  HE500 have no problem keeping up with the tempo of the song (not surprising, as they are pretty “fast” headphones and do a good job with even the most densely packed, 180 bpm death metal).  Nice air; each note has its space.

 

• MG6Pro: Holy crap.  The intro to this song is vibrating the MG6Pro out of my ears.  Yeah, this is a feeling experience.  Sound is more closed in and darker.  Bass in phenomenally present, to the detriment of the (slightly) more delicate mid-range notes.  Those notes are still there and I wouldn’t necessarily say they are colored by the bass, just softer than and behind the bass. Same for the notes that go into the upper mids and they lack some of the sense of shimmer that could be felt on the HE500. Explosions are not lacking here. 

 
To oversimplify: the MG6Pro is driven by the bass and the energy in the ‘phone extends up from there, losing a little steam as it goes up through the frequencies.  The HE500 is driven by its midrange (particularly the vocal range) and the ‘phone extends out through there, retaining most of its steam through the frequencies.  The MG6Pro excels (to me) at the piano and in well-produced music, but even then, when laid side-by-side with the HE500, some missing air is obvious.  The more time spent just with the MG6Pro, the less apparent this is. 
 
Hope this helps.  Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or need any clarifications. 

 

[vaskebjornen]

Hi sorry for not reading all 1008 posts,
 
But i would like to know if anyone has tried to use mg6pro in balanced mode with a RSA balanced amplifier? does fs mg6pro share pin-configuration with Heir?

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

Hi sorry for not reading all 1008 posts,
 
But i would like to know if anyone has tried to use mg6pro in balanced mode with a RSA balanced amplifier? does fs mg6pro share pin-configuration with Heir?

Yes, it shares the same socket as Heir Audio. I haven't used it in balanced mode.

 

[SoundFreaq]

Hey guys,
 
I've had the MG6Pro for about a year now and I am still enthralled by the bass. In fact, they have spoiled me on bass. They have such energy and the live air feel, that nothing has still been able to beat it. The MG6Pro makes a mockery of the Pro 900 and the XB1000. The new $1000 Ultrasone Signature DJ came close, but I sent them back because they crapped out on bass energy long before the MG6Pro. What the MG6 does in the bass region is unparalleled. Such energy, such meat, such power without blasting out the rest of the spectrum. I treasure these earphones incredibly. 

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

Hey guys,
 
I've had the MG6Pro for about a year now and I am still enthralled by the bass. In fact, they have spoiled me on bass. They have such energy and the live air feel, that nothing has still been able to beat it. The MG6Pro makes a mockery of the Pro 900 and the XB1000. The new $1000 Ultrasone Signature DJ came close, but I sent them back because they crapped out on bass energy long before the MG6Pro. What the MG6 does in the bass region is unparalleled. Such energy, such meat, such power without blasting out the rest of the spectrum. I treasure these earphones incredibly. 

 
Awesome update, thanks!

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

 

Hope this helps.  Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or need any clarifications. 

Could you do this comparison again with both on the subway? I think you'll get a very different result!

 

[Somnambulist]

Still enjoying mine too - haven't got a lot to say because they just do the job - can't really complain. Voices and drums sound realistic, bass is fantastic... one thing I've noticed is they're rather easy to keep turning the volume up on - I've heard other IEMs which you can't really crank because the treble gets a bit piercing.
 
Got to get that Toxic cable at some point but I just had my room decorated so it'll have to wait till January I think!

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

Still enjoying mine too - haven't got a lot to say because they just do the job - can't really complain. Voices and drums sound realistic, bass is fantastic... one thing I've noticed is they're rather easy to keep turning the volume up on - I've heard other IEMs which you can't really crank because the treble gets a bit piercing.
 
Got to get that Toxic cable at some point but I just had my room decorated so it'll have to wait till January I think!

Definitely awesome to hear people who own the MG6Pro chime in!
 
Your point about the non-fatiguing treble is a good one. Don't turn it up too much, particularly for longer listening sessions!
 
It reminds me of something I'd been meaning to write in response to another poster's inaccurate claims. The MG6Pro has superior headroom, so it can go as high as anyone can bear and more. However, Marty Garcia, the owner of Future Sonics, designs his earphones with a lot of concern for musicians' hearing. In fact, Future Sonics has been a big supporter for HEAR, an organization for hearing education and protection for musicians and audio professionals. So, one of the ideas behind the MG6Pro's tuning is that people turn up the sound with armature-driven monitors to try to get a real bass feel. By using a dynamic driver with a real, moving-air, bass energy and superior bass extension, the idea is that listeners can turn the music down and protect their hearing.
 
That's the theory, although, the non-fatiguing sound means you could turn it up!

 

[Mython]

Quote:

 
Your point about the non-fatiguing treble is a good one. Don't turn it up too much, particularly for longer listening sessions!
 
It reminds me of something I'd been meaning to write in response to another poster's inaccurate claims.

 
 
"In response to another poster's inaccurate claims"
 
 
 
I'm listening...
 
 
.

 

[10sNinja]

I had an email exchange with consumer relations rep at JH Audio about trying a demo and got nowhere.  At least he was courteous.  The plus side to FS is that their Atrio line can give an idea of what the mg6pro would sound like.  Nonetheless, the difference in price begs the question on what would motivate someone to get the mg6pro when one can get the mg7 with custom sleeves at less than half the cost.  I'll email them to inquire.
 

 

[10sNinja]

Quote:

Yes, thanks Kunlun, I stand corrected.  It doesn't matter if you're a rock star or plain Joe, you'll get the same excellent service.  As assumed, my reference was just stating the general treatment of certain clients. 
 
Well, Mython, I do think it's unrealistic to expect a company big or small for a "loaner".  I agree with you though that it would be nice.  I believe head-fi members represents a very, very small percentage of the product revenue stream.  I've often been curious what the over all head-fi member demographics are in terms of age and profession.  My general perception that a large percentage is from the younger crowd that is represented by teenagers and collage students; where much smaller percentage are audio engineers and professional musicians.  Again, this is my own perception.
 
It appears to me that FS is a lean operation on a small to mid scale.  Handling out loaners to everyone who request them can be a nightmare involving theft, lost, and all the costs involved with the arrangement and shipment.  I don't how other manufacturers do this, but if FS did implement a loaner program to all interested parties, I would think a deposit of the replacement cost would be good practice, but I'm speaking from a pure business sense here. 
 
 

 
I sooo badly wanted to get the JH16 and passed on Heir Audio because of costly shipping fees.  So I offered JH Audio a deposit/guarantee on my request for a demo on the JH16 but still no luck.  In spite of the positive reviews and some slick marketing, if I can't sample a product costing in excess of $1000.00, I move on.  Thank goodness I ded because that's how I came across Kunlun's review of mg6pro.  While they don't allow for mg6pro demos, one can at least get a basic sampling via Atrio.  This transparency is enough for me.  The next stage for me is finding a reputable audiologist here in Toronto, ON Canada to get my impressions.  I'm looking forward to signing up for Future Sonics' Package # 6.
 
Happy Hoilidays to all and a special thanks to Kunlun

 

[Hahayyy]

I JUST GOT MINE AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT THEY ARE AMAZZZINGGGG
will post a detailed review soon! Thanks for the review Kunlun!