[shotgunshane]

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Thanks for the update and review!
You highlighted very well the many pitfalls and variables which can make or break the overall finished product, some of which I was unaware of...fingers crossed my audiologist directed it well!
At the end of the day, its all a bit of a gamble and without people like you we'd all be jumping blind! Looking forward to my Merlins!

 
Hey, thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.  Writing something like this was difficult for me, as I much prefer to write about positive experiences but I thought the head-fi community could benefit from the details of this experience; and at least I found a way to enjoy my purchase.  I hope the Merlins work out great for you!

 

[music_4321]

EXCELLENT review!

Very thorough. This is the type of review where audio terms are really necessary -- they're being used very effectively to truly convey what it is you're hearing, unlike several reviews where it seems to be more a case of the more terms the so-called 'reviewer' uses, the more knowledgeable they try hard to appear to be.

I'm sorry to hear the MG6Pros did not live up to you expectations; this was one of three custom IEMs I would have considered if I was looking for a new set of customs, along with the ES5 & UERM, but I'm not into customs any more. But if I was, your review would have been VERY helpful, and I'd have needed to see a few more to make up my mind.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not so sure you're the only one not all that impressed by the MG6Pros -- perhaps there are others we just don't know about. There are, after all, still very few MG6Pro owners we know about, and fewer still who have given thorough impressions, or as thorough and unbiased as yours. Your review is all the more valid as you have heard plenty of phones, good phones, and seem to have developed an even more discerning pair of ears. Although perhaps yours may not be the ultimate word on the MG6Pros, it is most definitely a review that has to be seriously taken into account.

I found your mention of your love for DD-based IEMS & your current take on, or rediscovery of, BA-based IEMs really very interesting. I recently got hold of the single-BA IEM universal, the Heaven-S (aka FI-BA-SB), and I was --and still am!-- very, very impressed, so much so, in fact, that I went as far as ordering the $1000+ single-BA universal, the FI-BA-SS two weeks ago (should get it in the next few days).

 

[shotgunshane]

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I found your mention of your love for DD-based IEMS & your current take on, or rediscovery of, BA-based IEMs really very interesting. I recently got hold of the single-BA IEM universal, the Heaven-S (aka FI-BA-SB), and I was --and still am!-- very, very impressed, so much so, in fact, that I went as far as ordering the $1000+ single-BA universal, the FI-BA-SS two weeks ago (should get it in the next few days).

 
Funny you should mention this, as I've been really loving my UM3X, SM2 and now a single BA, the Meelec A161P.  My love for dynamics isn't being replaced but rather I'm finding room for another love.

 

[shotgunshane]

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Burn in? How many hours of burn in on your MG6Pro? My MG6Pro sounded similarly as you described it for the first month and then they started to open up. By the second month the MG6Pro mids and highs started to become clearer and more upfront. By the end of the second month with the biggest vents in place I now find the MG6Pro neutral but the bass will pound when the track calls for bass but the bass never over shadows the mids and highs. After attaching a Silver cable the soundstage opened up a lot.

 
My 3rd set had just over 150 hours before sending them back to Future Sonics.  My current pair has over 160 hours.  Both sounded very similar.

 

[soalexx]

man been waiting for this one for a while, cheers shane.
 
having said that, already ordered the MG6Pro's. looking forward to it actually. i don't expect the problems you've had. sounds like the chances are its probably your ear or some combination of it and the earphone. which is a shame, i feel bad for ya, but on the bright side, at least you got the merlin!
 
thanks again

 

[shotgunshane]

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man been waiting for this one for a while, cheers shane.
 
having said that, already ordered the MG6Pro's. looking forward to it actually. i don't expect the problems you've had. sounds like the chances are its probably your ear or some combination of it and the earphone. which is a shame, i feel bad for ya, but on the bright side, at least you got the merlin!
 
thanks again

 
Thanks soalexx.  Hopefully it works out great for you.  Please do post your thoughts here when you receive them, if so inclined.  On the bright side, through this experience I've been learning more about neutrality and EQ.

 

[maguire]

Thanks Shane for yet  another classic unbiassed informative review.

 

[PsiCore]

Oh, man, it's not the review I was hoping for. I'm experiencing the same harshness in the upper midrange on the Atrios. But I love they're bass so much, that I was hoping the MG6pros won't suffer from the peaks. What a shame

 

[shotgunshane]

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Thanks Shane for yet  another classic unbiassed informative review.

 
Thanks maguire!
 
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Oh, man, it's not the review I was hoping for. I'm experiencing the same harshness in the upper midrange on the Atrios. But I love they're bass so much, that I was hoping the MG6pros won't suffer from the peaks. What a shame

 
I wish I still had the Atrios, so I could compare and also run on the hearing test site.  I want to say the mg7 Atrio peaks are higher up but it's been too long since I owned them to really say.  I did enjoy their great sub bass though.

 

[keroro]

was considering purchasing the mg6pro...man this is really heartbreaking

 

[shotgunshane]

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..man this is really heartbreaking

 
Tell me about it.  I just can't listen to them without EQ.
 
On another note, I'll have something else to add to the competition in a month or so.

 

[PsiCore]

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On another note, I'll have something else to add to the competition in a month or so.

 
The AS-2? I'm considering them as a "replacement" for the MG6pros, if they keep up in the bass department.

 

[shotgunshane]

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I'm considering them as a "replacement" for the MG6pros, if they keep up in the bass department.

 
Depends on what you are looking for.  While the bass of the Merlin isn't as big as the MG6pro in quantity, it's really much tighter, cleaner and faster (and is as big as I'll ever need).  The AS-2 prototype I heard had even faster and cleaner bass than the Merlin.  Of course the full custom of the AS-2 will have an adjustable bass vent, so I suppose you would be able to dial in some big bass quantity. From my limited time with the prototype, I'd say it runs circles around the MG6pro, at least as far as what I'm looking for.

 

[Personnel Jezuz]

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Depends on what you are looking for.  While the bass of the Merlin isn't as big as the MG6pro in quantity, it's really much tighter, cleaner and faster (and is as big as I'll ever need).  The AS-2 prototype I heard had even faster and cleaner bass than the Merlin.  Of course the full custom of the AS-2 will have an adjustable bass vent, so I suppose you would be able to dial in some big bass quantity. From my limited time with the prototype, I'd say it runs circles around the MG6pro, at least as far as what I'm looking for.

Sounds interesting...any idea when the 'AS-2' will be available and at what price point Shane?
 
Edit* Just found the Aurisonic thread; nothing official yet. 

 

[shotgunshane]

Sounds interesting...any idea when the 'AS-2' will be available and at what price point Shane?

Edit* Just found the Aurisonic thread; nothing official yet. 

Nothing official but I'm guessing sometime next month maybe. Pricing should be on par with other TOTL offerings.