Freshly Squeezed Reviews: Bye, buds

Posted by Frank Petrie May 9, 2007 at 6:56am

They pop out repeatedly. You quickly turn your head and they fly out. They’re a hassle and they’re not even good enough sounding to be worth the hassle. Earbuds.

So, you move up to canal phones, which, as the name implies, fit right into your ear canal. But you spent a pretty penny on that iPod or portable video player. And you want hear every cent that you paid for. 

“The Future Sonics Atrio Series earphones produce a full, rich sound quality, even tonal balance and incredible vocal warmth—a live sound quality that feels as if the performers are standing right in front on you! Realize new depth and feel from your audio. Upgrade any exsiting system by replacing the speakers as you would improve the last link in any audio chain.”

Well, lots of bands on tour use them. Sting uses them, the CBS Orchestra uses them. There must be something to them, right? Let’s listen.

The Juice

Future Sonics, the creators of the Atrio series have been around for a couple of decades, serving the professional community. (If you were ever a roady for a local band, from a monitor standpoint, these are a dream come true).

First, I tried them with my nano. I listened to “Love” by The Beatles and the original Broadway soundtrack of “Les Miserables.” I’ve listened to these recordings so many times that I know each note and sound by heart. Or so I thought.

I don’t claim to be an audiophile but I have been involved in performing and recording all of my life. So, I’ve heard a lot of rigs in my time, including high end recording studio gear.

On The Beatles’ recording, I was able to hear every timbre of every instrument with “in the room” clarity. You could “feel” the pop of the bass drum. The mixdown effects were pure. In fact, I heard a few forced cuts that I hadn’t noticed before.

Then I moved on to “Les Miserables.” Same experience. The brass was crisp and you could distinctly hear the bowing of the string instruments. You could even hear the wood (ask a musician).

OK, so they deliver on crispness and the high notes. But what of the bottom end? Quick, to the QuickTime movie trailers. Let’s find explosions and any sounds that could cause the Atrios to break-up.

Again, a sheer delight. I watched Spider-Man 3, the next Fantastic Four sequel and 28 Weeks Later. So, I had a great collection of sounds to test with. Particularly surprising was the passages that went from dead silence to a burst of sound. No problemo. And all the time the separation of the music, sound effects and vocal track never bled together!

Another really amazing thing was the sound was full and rich, even at low volumes. The bass was still full, while the reproduction was true. No hearing damage necessary. Can’t be bad.

The Pits

Nada.

The Rind

Nada.

The Pulp

‘But Frank, at this price (US$199), they better blow me away!’ You’re right. And they do. You can even up your experience another notch by customizing your pair with customized ear clip ons for an added price. No external sounds will ever come in. Not even the sound of that baby in the next aisle over.

The Atrios m5 canalphones also come with several sizes of expandable foam rubber sleeves and two sizes of the ‘flanges’ so you can still customize your fit.

Are these for people who want aural wallpaper? Of course not. These are for your advanced consumer an up.

But if you want quality, or even require it for your work. you can stop looking.

Macsimum rating: 10 out of 10

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