[subfocus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barton_stacey /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've not had the shures, but I do now own the M5s and I do have a Hornet-M. The sound is already great straight from my ipod classic and the amp seems to just take it a step too far. I don't know how the Rio would compare amped and unamped, but in my experience the M5s don't gain anything from being amped. The Hornet is, however, worth every penny when using my full size headphones.

Just as barton-stacey has said . The M5/M8 don't need/noticeably benefit from amping.They're already very efficient , plus they have a distinctive 'full' sounding , somewhat bass-tilted sound signature that actually makes them sound like they're already being amped. I've had mine over a year now and in that time i've managed to test 'em out with various different amps (the Tomahawk , Hornet , Xin amps , G.SleeVoyager etc.) Every time I've been pleasantly suprised to get the same wallet saving result. So if you do decide on these then you'll actually be quids in ...

 

[Almoxil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by subfocus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just as barton-stacey has said . The M5/M8 don't need/noticeably benefit from amping.They're already very efficient , plus they have a distinctive 'full' sounding , somewhat bass-tilted sound signature that actually makes them sound like they're already being amped. I've had mine over a year now and in that time i've managed to test 'em out with various different amps (the Tomahawk , Hornet , Xin amps , G.SleeVoyager etc.) Every time I've been pleasantly suprised to get the same wallet saving result. So if you do decide on these then you'll actually be quids in ...

Same here. I can't hear improvements on M5s through my Corda Move. They don't benefit from amping, IMHO.

 

[Fr3sH]

Bought E500, sold them because they were too expensive and bought UE SF5PRO. SF5Pro broke in about a week, replaced with warranty, and sold them in the end because of the fit issue. Then I bought E500 again since I missed them and found a really good deal. I used them about half a year then found Atrio m5 thread. Then I decided to give Atrio a try before even able to do A-B comparison since I did not have enough money. Now, I sold my Atrio and bought Super FreQ. I am quite satisfied so far, but still miss the sound of E500. I just think that they produce a really good quality sound(they sound as expensive as their price). IMO, you should go for SE530 or E500 if you have any tweeter stores near you. They are having a 52% off on the E500PTH. They are one of the best IEMs I have ever tried. I wish I had the money to keep them (hard to be a student

).

 

[WalkGood]

I’ll have to agree with all the peeps that said positive things about the se530s, I love mine

... Some of my early thoughts on the se530s and I later added this post regarding my follow up thoughts on the se530s. Nuff said

 

[dgbiker1]

I would recommend spending as much as you can on the headphones themselves, and making the amp your second priority (especially with efficient IEMs).

HOWEVER, you should factor in the fact that you lost the SE530s. It sounds like you need on-the-go headphones, so is it worth spending an extra 120 when they will get beat-up, lost, and/or stolen? And do you really need to hear every last detail when you're walking or on the bus?

Personally, I would get the Atrio (I did

) and use the money you save for something else. I just have a hard time justifying spending >$200 for portable headphones that could die at any moment.

 

[Night Surfer]

Get the Atrio and spend the rest on some music to listen to with them!

 

[shigzeo]

i am one of the few who find the shures to be fatiguing but then i find any armature fatiguing so the shures do not get away. rolled off can still be fatiguing. all armatures are very rolled off - the atrio will playback sounds to 20 000, i have tested this but for some reason they are not as piercing as the shure or um2 for instance. certainly not as piercing as the er4s which are rolled off extremely but then have a huge treble spike.

all are great phones and i loved them for different things but the atrio are my favourite among that group.

 

[DylanNo]

life is about new experiences. Go for the Atrios and if you don't like them, sell them and go back to the headphones that you feel comfortable with.

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robojack /img/forum/go_quote.gif Of course, there's been lots of people who've owned E530s, then sold them after purchasing the Atrio's. The lower-end definition and more mellow high-end are fantastic, especially after a day of hard work. as the last thing you need are brilliant highs that make your ears just wanna bleed from fatigue.

have you heard the e500 because you keep hinting that the shures have punishing highs when in reality everybody will tell you the shures highs are not even close to peircing.

and you might find the atrio's have a decent low end quantity due to its dynamic driver, but as far as bass quality goes i dont think its any better than the twin bass drivers in the shures.

to the OP, theres no doubt the atrio's are good but as an all round package in sound im sure many will admit the shure e500 offer a fuller range of audio

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgbiker1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Personally, I would get the Atrio (I did ) and use the money you save for something else. I just have a hard time justifying spending >$200 for portable headphones that could die at any moment.

anybody that thinks like that is contradicting themselves a bit because if that was the case they wouldnt get earphones as expensive as the atrio's because they also could die at any moment.

we all take a risk buying very expensive earphones, we dont think about what would happen if they die, we just think about wether they sound brill. IMO they both sound great but the shures offer something special that justifies the extra dough. maybe its those mids, so full and lushhhhh mmmmmmmm i cant resist them

 

[Thewyzewun]

[deleted]

 

[zipdisk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thewyzewun /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...Maybe I'll get a chance to try out the Atrio's one day and see whether I wasted my money...

If you love the Shures, I don't see how you've "wasted" your money.

 

[robojack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif have you heard the e500 because you keep hinting that the shures have punishing highs when in reality everybody will tell you the shures highs are not even close to peircing. and you might find the atrio's have a decent low end quantity due to its dynamic driver, but as far as bass quality goes i dont think its any better than the twin bass drivers in the shures. to the OP, theres no doubt the atrio's are good but as an all round package in sound im sure many will admit the shure e500 offer a fuller range of audio

If you read shigzeo's post, you'll see that he also finds armature drivers to be very fatiguing. I found them to be piercing at times, and ended up selling them to a friend of mine. The bass of the SE530s was nowhere as plentiful and lush as that found in the Atrio's, which almost had a can-like deepness to them (which I've verified comparing the bass on my HFI-780s, very similar). And this was on my Tomahawk, which was built for IEM usage. Having listened to mostly to dynamic driver IEMs, the SE530's treble was a bit too much. I'm sure I would've adjusted, but I don't think I'd want to.

However, seeing as how you pretty only own armature-driven IEMs, with the exception of the FS1s (which were the precursor to the FS Atrio line), I don't expect you to understand. Bottom line is, when I owned both the SE530s and the Atrio's, I found myself reaching for the Atrio's far more often, especially after a fatiguing day of work. Bliss...and after a few months of this, I wondered to myself why I spent so much on a pair of IEMs, when the Atrio's at half the price, did a superior job in entertaining my eardrums. Mind you, the Atrio's are also my primary IEMs at the office, so it's not just when I'm tired that I preferred them. I don't regret for a second that I sold my Shures, and for pretty much how much I purchased them for.

Again, this is my opinion, and that of many others (see the ridculously long Futuresonics Atrio thread). So unless you've tried them, don't knock them.

 

[kendal3334]

SE530 is good enough for portable, amp is not that necessary
however, u may try m5 with a 2nd hand one, and then decide which one u perfer

 

[dgbiker1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif anybody that thinks like that is contradicting themselves a bit because if that was the case they wouldnt get earphones as expensive as the atrio's because they also could die at any moment.

I'm just expressing my thinking process in making an IEM purchase. Unless you know something about my finances that I don't, I don't see how I'm contradicting myself. Yes, $160 is more than your usual iBud, but I can live with losing them after 6 months. I cannot justify losing headphones that cost almost three times that on my budget. I could understand your point if they were $30 apart, but they're almost $300 apart- that's a HUGE gap.

I only use my IEMs when I'm walking, on the metro, or in public so I don't care to spend an extra $300 for the last little bit of detail. If I used IEMs at home as my critical listening set I might be able to justify spending more, but I don't.