[shigzeo]

funny, i found the atrio and victor to both have great cables though the victor cable is not as robust: it hardens more quickly-- the atrio v1 i had never hardened.

the yellow foamies i used were from a ety - i picked them up at a headphone meet!

i won't ever say anything bad about the sound of the atrio other than the sound of the echo in bass - i love them but... the v1 had a plastic echo that bothered me. i seem to be one of the only ones who is bothered.

yeah, victor, not suffering from that or the harshness of the c700 is great. the fit is also very good and with foamies, a very very smooth tone though they are lively phones indeed.

 

[dctokyo]

Well my atrio v1 are 2 years old and the cables have become very hard, just getting to much MICROPHONIC CABLE NOISES, but I am not wearing them over my ears like you did.


When down to akiba and picked up some comply foam tips T200 and they work great on the victor`s. A little hard to get on but they fit, much better isolation now.

 

[jyle_t]

Interesting that you now prefer the sleeks, with a sound signature that should be quite a polar opposite to all those dynamic IEMs you've liked.

 

[dctokyo]

Hi shigzeo,

Sorry a noob question here about the fx500,
because of the shape of the phones, if I were to run the wires over my eyes, would I Reverse the phones to get a better fit................ the left to the right and the right to the left?

Everything sounds realistic on these phones, but my live albums stand out the most on these, the fx500 for me make live music sound more natural than armature based designs.

I do feel that the the woodies have a more natural sound because of the wood body. They just have more have the depth and impact then others for me, but I feel it really depends on the fit of the phones, once I have then fully sealed then they really stand out.

 

[shigzeo]

no, when the cable is run down instead of over the ear, the phones stick out of the ear. i loop them over the ear and they fit just like shure or westone um2 for instance. the body may be a little longer but i am unsure of that.

as for the sleek: i have the custom: so i dont' have sibilance but also i don't have thunder of very low bass rumble. i do love dynamics and for cutoms i wanted the futuresonics but i don't have the dosh for those!

 

[K3cT]

I wonder how do they compare with the PFE as both are priced similarly?

 

[shigzeo]

i have owned both and both are great. they both have the same nice cable that is non-micorphonic but eventually will probably harden and crack. the housing on the victor is much much higher quality and the strain relief is slightly better for victor.

as for sound: it is up to you. both are very good. if i say i prefer the victor and another prefers the pfe, it does not help a decision.

if you like bass, tangible audio, wide soundstage and a smooth listen, the victor is for you.

if you like sparkly highs, a smaller but well placed soundstage, then the pfe is for you.

both are fast and detailed (though the pfe makes those 'details' stick out as it is so treble emphasised that it creates impression of more detail)

like all nice dynamics however, you can feel detail with the victor that you can only hear with the pfe. again, it really probably goes up to those who are around instruments and can feel their impact, like violin or guitar, will prefer the victor. those who prefer to be tucked in a studio for recording will probably prefer the pfe as they have great resolution but nearly no tangible presence.

 

[K3cT]

Thanks for the impression, shigzeo. It helps immensely!

One last thing, can you comment on the mids reproduction between the 2 IEMs since I listen to a lot of female vocals?

I also come from the Denon C751. Which upgrade do you think will provide a better path? I could do with a tighter bass and smoother highs from the C751.

 

[shigzeo]

the victor are much much more dry in every single presentation: bass, mid or treble. by dry i mean that you can hear hints of the driver material in the sound. i like this as it grounds my listening. the pfe and victor are both great but as i hope i have tried to make clear, the victor are more like listening to live instruments or speakers whereas the pfe are closer to a studio session.

if vocals are something you like to feel, then definately the victor will be better for its dry and tangible presentation where you can feel parts of the voice. the pfe will be better if you prefer the mids separately from other parts of the music as they are more forward in the pfe than the victor. however, the pfe don't help you nearly taste the vocal as the air they move does not impact your inner ear in the same way.

i can only say this: i prefer the victor for natural instruments and i prefer the pfe for electronic instruments as one is in my listening habits, better with more emotion and the other not.

 

[Duncan]

Does anyone have any photos of the packaging that the FX500s came in?

I've just bought a pair of FX1000s, and am wondering if they are just simply re-branded / re-designated for the European market, or if these are an updated version of the FX500...

The packaging will help me work that one out...

Thanks in advance

 

[gadgetman]

@Duncan: I'll take a pic of my FX500's box tomorrow. But from looking at that page on Apple store, I can tell you that you got a cooler pouch =P The FX500's pouch is square with rounded corners.

 

[Duncan]

Thanks gadgetman

Oh well, thats one piece of good news I guess, re the pouch

 

[Jazz9]

Never heard of these, they go for 100€ at bluetin...
Wonder how they'd compare to Senns ie7...

 

[qusp]

shingzeo: wouldnt hearing the driver mechanism ruin the effect of suspense of disbelief?? also, you say the actual driver is wooden?? thats the way it read in the OP, is this true?? sounds like a recipe for eventual failure to me. very interesting though. I love woodies, the wooden housing on almost every mod I have heard make the timbre so much more believable and resonance is much more natural with strings and such. resonance is a vital part of the process and with materials that have their own natural resonances and character, it just kinda brings it all together. it stops being a string of notes and becomes a tangible whole. I expect these had considerable burn-in yes?? being both dynamic and wooden.??

 

[gadgetman]

@Duncan: Here's my FX500's box