[LaBreaHead]

Obligatory Future Sonics Atrio M5 pitch.

Single driver / deep, clear bass, although a little large physically ... read the comparisons by people who've listened to both the M5's and the super.fi's.

I had wanted to get the $299 Westone UM2's (and still like the look of them), but for $139 with shipping off of eBay from an authorized dealer, I couldn't be happier -- with foamies, the M5's make my 2G iPod Nano (unamped) sound rich and full ... not every 'phone can do that. The sound on players that are custom EQ'd can be huge ...


__________________________
Phones (in order of purchase):
Sony MDR71, Sony MDR51, Etymotic ER6, Panasonic RP-HJ50, Shure E3C, Koss PortaPro 2, Creative EP630, Etymotic ER6i, Sennheiser PX-100, Sennheiser HD555, Future Sonics Atrio M5

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Quote:

very hard to squeeze warmth out of it

Are you kidding? The ER4s are very well-behaved for equalization.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I think you'll like the Sf 5 pro more - they are not as detailed as the E4c but they sound a little more fun once I got used to them after 4 years of Shure's sound signature. The big problem is comfort - they are just too big for me. So, they got shipped to a new owner today...

My SE500's were $259 new on ebay - keep watching for sales - I love them the most!

 

[Caution]

Quote:

Originally Posted by webster /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think I'll go for the Super.fi's then. Unless somebody wants to sing the praises of the UM2's, it looks like the clear winner. I just hope they'll fit ok, and I'll baby them so they won't break. I'm going with headphone.com <- $159, $40 shipping. Its a good store, right?

You can get them at another Head-Fi sponsor earphonesolutions.com for ~180 and free shipping

 

[ToddW]

I don't know, I keep having my SF5 Pros breaking on me. This is my second warranty pair. I think when I get the replacements I'm going to sell them and put the money in on a high end pair of shure's

 

[webster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caution /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can get them at another Head-Fi sponsor earphonesolutions.com for ~180 and free shipping

Awesome, it's $180 shipped in the color I want to match my red nano. (You saved me $20, thanks!)
The UM2's are $270 shipped.

The consensus is that the Super.fi's sound better but the UM2's are more comfortable. Frankly, because of the cheaper price and the replaceable cable I'd opt for the Super.fi's. I'm really really worried they just won't fit!

Then I'll have to ship it back. Since its an international order the whole thing could take a month or two and cost me like $50.

 

[freid77]

this whole ordeal makes me uneasy, the more i think about what IEM the worse it is...

 

[tstarn06]

x2 on the Atrios, and then there are the Denon C700ks. I'd do more research if I were the OP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaBreaHead /img/forum/go_quote.gif Obligatory Future Sonics Atrio M5 pitch. Single driver / deep, clear bass, although a little large physically ... read the comparisons by people who've listened to both the M5's and the super.fi's. I had wanted to get the $299 Westone UM2's (and still like the look of them), but for $139 with shipping off of eBay from an authorized dealer, I couldn't be happier -- with foamies, the M5's make my 2G iPod Nano (unamped) sound rich and full ... not every 'phone can do that. The sound on players that are custom EQ'd can be huge ... __________________________ Phones (in order of purchase): Sony MDR71, Sony MDR51, Etymotic ER6, Panasonic RP-HJ50, Shure E3C, Koss PortaPro 2, Creative EP630, Etymotic ER6i, Sennheiser PX-100, Sennheiser HD555, Future Sonics Atrio M5

 

[Aevum]

i sat long and hard, comparing the $150-$200 dollar range, asking people who tested and checked each one, and from what i can understand,
the ER-4S are still some of the most accurate IEM´s on the market, but they are very sterile and analitical, and require an amp to truly shine, and then you have the P, which removed the need for an amp, but at the cost of detail,

the Super.fi 5 Pro, can usualy be obtained for around 150-160 plus shipping sounds good, but its poor ergonomics,(people actually turn the cable and use them upside down) and the fact that similar offerings from futuresonics and jays offer better sound quality or value kind of makes them obselete, personaly, i dont know why they didnt change the ergonomics on the triple.fi

in the end, the UM2 seemed to expencive at 299 + shipping for a dual armature IEM, and shure dosnt seem to have a price competitive product at that range, leaving me with the q-JAYS and the Atrio M5, after talking to people who tested both, i pulled the trigger on the atrio´s yesterday, i just hope i made the right decision.

 

[slattikarma]

Road Dog do $250 (free international shipping) for UM2s.....

 

[pez]

well the Ety's are scientifically proven to be the most accurate IEM by an accuracy rating of 92%. Also, who cares if you're a musician? I am too. That doesn't mean you know what treble sounds like, everyone hears some frequencies different than others. The only person to truly tell us what treble should sound like is a sound engineer. No headphone or speaker will ever be able to be 100% accurate, because the only thing that can be more accurate is the actual instrument itself.

 

[Luisa]

you should also consider q-jays and find out more about them...

 

[jterp7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToddW /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know, I keep having my SF5 Pros breaking on me. This is my second warranty pair. I think when I get the replacements I'm going to sell them and put the money in on a high end pair of shure's

haha not to scare the OP, but I'm on my third pair and it looks like whatever problems they had were fixed by the time the thicker cables/clear version was out in mid 06. My only gripe is that the newer models come with a crappier metallic case which no longer stores attenuator or has cable management.

as far as the upper end models go..the triple fi is bulkier than the super fi's, but OTOH the shure e500/se530 series allegedly have cable cracking issues and they're not detachable, which = RMA only

 

[Hancoque]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jterp7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif haha not to scare the OP, but I'm on my third pair and it looks like whatever problems they had were fixed by the time the thicker cables/clear version was out in mid 06.

Can that be confirmed by others? Is this problem really solved?

 

[jterp7]

Personally I'd say it depends on where you're purchasing them from..i got my first pair from pcnation.com = big mistake, should have went with earphonesolutions.com (which I did not know of at the time). The point is that as long as you go with a volume dealer and get the earphones in a box and not the impossible to open sharp plastic you're guaranteed the fixed one (http://www.headphone.com/products/he...5pro-white.php)
Mine was one of the last ones still packaged in the sharp plastic, which was updated with thicker cables and the metallic case missing the cable management of before

Go with headroom or earphonesolutions if you have any qualms either way.