Future Sonics Atrio Canalphones

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Brian Kristensen
Kurtis
Future Sonics
Oct. 3, 2007

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First Impressions

My first impression of the Atrio canalphones is that they actually look quite cheap. The shiny plastic reminded me of some $9 Casio earphones I've had the 'pleasure' of owning. But looks aren't everything, especially if you're an audiophile looking for the best sound for your hard-earned buck. While they may not look as nice as earphones from Shure or Sennheiser, I wouldn't base my purchasing decision on that. The Atrio comes in two models, the m5 and m8. The only difference between the two is the color, black or blue. Of course, m8 sounds way cooler than m5, so I ended up with the blue Atrio m8 canalphones.

These canalphones will put you out around 200 bones, which places them in the "slightly less than extremely expensive" category. They are targeted towards people who know sound, in the music industry or recording industry, or audiophiles and consumers willing to spend an extra buck for quality sound. They do offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied with their sound, but they do have a 15% restocking fee so this really isn't any different than the return policies at most electronics stores.

Like most canalphones on the market, the Atrio series comes with a carrying case (which is rather large) and several sleeves for a variety of ear canal sizes. Personally, I love Shure's black foam sleeves, which fit my ears quite comfortably and don't seem to be as finicky regarding placement as some of the other types. The sleeves that come with the Atrio are alright (basically what you'd expect), but if I was to spend $200 on these, I would spend $15 more and buy the Shure sleeves which will fit these Future Sonics canalphones.

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Impressions
Page 3: Testing
Page 4: Conclusion

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3 User Comments

1 - Posted by none on December 11, 2007 - 1:15 pm

you do realize that you have to burn these in for a while before they reveal their true tonality, right? play them at a loud volue (while not wearing them) for 50 hours or so and then judge them.

2 - Posted by Kurtis on December 11, 2007 - 1:38 pm

And you do realize that he used them for an entire month, right?

3 - Posted by tchou on April 19, 2008 - 7:56 pm

Do you realize that the best performance is when using foam ends not the rubber ones...
He seems to have used them with other brand rubbers... not sure it's the right way to test a product...
The bass is not boomy, it is very clearand powerfull, and the mids and high are also very clear...

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