For over twenty years, Future Sonics has been supplying their custom made “EarMonitor” headphones to some of the most elite musical acts. Names like U2, REM, Justin Timberlake, and Carrie Underwood, just to name a few, rely on Future Sonics’ custom in-ear monitors to give them the best possible reproduction of their music while on tour or in the studio. However, at $898 US for a set, their handmade in-ear monitors were out of reach for most of us mere mortals.
Three years ago, they took their sound quality first design philosophy and began building a more affordable version of their elite product. The Future Sonics Atrio Series is the result of this work and at $199 US for a set, they still aren’t cheap, but you can’t argue with the pedigree. Let’s see if they’re worth the green.
Features and Specifications
The biggest differences between the $199 US Atrio Series and Future Sonics top end $898 US EarMonitors is not only the sticker price, but a new driver called the MG5pro. The driver is still “studio grade” and still handmade and even sports slightly better lower frequency response to 18Hz vs. the 20Hz of the top end product. Also, instead of being custom fitted to each user, the Atrio provides a universal fit through the inclusion of different ear pieces. Future Sonics does provide a custom fitted “SoftWear” ear piece option for an additional $149 US if you’re used to that custom goodness.
Specifications include:
- 18 Hz – 20,000 Hz frequency response
- 32 Ohm Impedance
- 112 dB @ 30 Hz/1mW sensitivity
- 26 dB +/- Ambient Noise Reduction (ANR)
While the top end product gives you replaceable cables, the Atrio makes do with a more economical fixed configuration and are fitted with a set of their 51″ (1.3m) QuietCable II wires and use a standard 1/8″ (3.5mm) headphone jack. The smaller size of the Atrio’s ear pieces also makes them a little more practical for packing with your MP3 player of choice.
The Atrio series comes in four colors (Earth Beige/m3, Onyx Black/m5 (tested), Cobalt Blue/m8, Ruby Red/m9) and are backed by a One-Year Limited Warranty.
What’s Inside The Box?
Inside the box, you’ll get a quick start guide, four sets of “ComfortFit” foam earpieces which include two of the large and two of the small sizes, three sets of the silicon “EarFills” earpieces, which come in small, medium and large. A quality carrying case is included with the headphones as well as a tool for cleaning the ear pieces when they start getting funky.
Although the case isn’t the most incognito thing in the world, it is functional and holds everything “Atrio” related in one place. It also provides a bit of crush resistance and who knows, maybe one of your favourite singers might strike up a conversation with you about them…or not.
A couple things that seemed missing, due to the Atrios travel/portable and professional/studio background was an airline adapter for those road trips and a 1/4″ adapter for those studio sessions. These two things would have really made the $199 US price tag a little easier to swallow, even though these two items are only a few dollars each at your local electronics store.
Setup and Break In
If you aren’t into reading manuals, here’s the long and short of it. Make sure you run the headphones at a moderately high volume for at least 100 hrs before sampling them and try all the sizes of ear pieces before settling on a comfortable set. Future Sonics also asks that you turn off all EQ and Bass Boost settings before plugging in as well.
The Atrio’s need to sit in your ear properly to do their job. While the foam earpieces will give you the best seal, the silicon ones are far more practical for daily use, especially at the gym where sweat will collect in them and turn them…crusty…for a lack of a better description. The silicon ones are also easier to take off and clean. Taking the earpieces on and off is easy and require just a push to get them on or a pull to get them off.
Sound Quality and Comfort
Two things that are very important for any headphone is how they sound and how comfortable they are. After getting them broken in properly and selecting the right sized earpieces, it was time to take a listen. I used my 80GB Microsoft ZUNE as the source for all tests. Here’s what I found out.
One thing you’ll notice off the bat is that both earpiece types will provide a slightly different sound. The silicon ones will sound noticeably brighter while the foam ones provide a slightly flatter sound, but also provide a bit better bass response. On that note, bass response was superb. It was deep and accurate (more so with the foam tips) and really warmed up the sound as it crossed to the mid-range. As for comfort, I actually preferred the fit of the silicon tips, but preferred the sound quality of the foam tips.
The mid-range is very detailed and you will be able to pick out sounds that you won’t hear when compared to a lot of lower end headphones. My SONY MDR-EX71SL in ear phones were totally out classed by these, despite being about $80 US when I first purchased them. Even my industry standard SONY MDR-7506 studio monitors couldn’t bring out the mid-range and blooming bass that these put out.
One thing that is a characteristic, love or hate, about true studio monitoring headphones is how they bring out the best (and worst) of a track. If the recording is bad or low quality, it won’t sound any better with the Atrios. In fact, they’ll sound worse. It was no coincidence that tracks recorded by artists that Future Sonics has recognized as using their products, sounded a better overall. Go figure.
Overall comfort with both earpieces was very good, though I did prefer the silicon tips for comfort and day to day use. The weight of the headphones was good as they were never a burden to me. Like most headphones that sit in your ear canal, if you eat crunch foods, they do get amplified in your ears.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
The Future Sonics Atrios Series Professional Earphones stay true to their “EarMonitor” heritage: They will show you exactly what was recorded without sugar coating. Depending on how your music was recorded (or the quality they were ripped at) this could be good or bad. Bad gets worse, but good gets better if that makes any sense. I also really liked the fact that very little volume was required to get good resolution from your music, which prolongs your comfort, allowing you to listen to them all day long without fatigue.
Having a selection of two types of tips and sizes to pick from does provide an almost custom fit. Again, I did notice that the foam tips provided the best sound, but I did prefer the silicon ones for day to day use. They will also prove more durable as the foam ones will break down quicker, especially if you get a lot of sweat on them. The totally custom option for $149 US is an option down the road.
If you’re looking for some very portable monitoring headphones, then the Future Sonics Atrios are hard to beat (unless you get their $898 US EarMonitors). However, if you’re scared of hearing how good or bad a recording really is, you might want to look at other options. They might not be for everyones, but if you’re the right listener, picky and kind of an audio geek, then you’ll like these.
Pros
- Lets you finally hear just how good a recording can be
- Provides almost a custom fit with wide array of tips
- Can be listened to at fairly low volumes without sacrificing sound quality
Cons
- Sound quality might be too brutally honest for some ears
- What? No 1/4″ adapter or airline adapter?
Overall Rating: 9.0 / 10.0
Discuss This Review in the Futurelooks Community Forums
Future Sonics Atrio Series Professional Earphones Photo Gallery
