Performance

The Atrio in-ears are a very interesting concept that combines a curvy shell with a dynamic driver, and a really good finish. These in-ears are the first I have received where the manufacturer emphasizes its strong bass performance both in terms of quantity and quality. Normally this is a performance aspect that the manufacturers do not brag about because it is hard to get right in an IEM design. I tested the Future Sonics Atrios in my normal portable / IEM rig which consists of a Cowon D2 DAP and a Ray Samuels Audio Tomahawk IEM amplifier. As far as comparisons go I decided to put these up against the following in-ear-monitors: Head-Direct RE0 (dynamic driver), Sleek-Audio SA6 (single balanced armature), LiveWires T1 Custom in-ears (dual balanced armature).

Before I began passing judgment on the Atrios I let them burn-in with some pink noise for 100 hours. By then the drivers should have cured and be performing as they should. Everything Future Sonics claims they deliver at first glance. The bass is big, powerful, and pretty well defined compared to the amount of it. What actually came as the biggest surprise for me was just how musical these in-ears are as a whole. The midrange is warm and natural. The music sounds full, warm and musical with a very natural tone decay. The midrange is a little cluttered because the massive bass bleeds into the lower mids. This makes them very musical and gives them a warm tonality. It also means that they are very forgiving when it comes to dodgy mastered CDs like most modern pop and hiphop.

The massive bass is very nice on hip-hop tracks and some rock tunes with nice bass work. Not surprisingly trip hop tracks also sound extremely good because of the full, deep, and reasonably defined bass the Atrios have. Looking besides the warm tonality the midrange does convey a good amount of details as well. They are not quite as articulate and airy as the Sleek-Audio SA6s or the Head-Direct RE0 earphones, but they can definitely give the LiveWires a run for their money when it comes to the quality of the midrange.

The upper midrange and treble is a bit spiky and makes some instrumental guitar work sound a bit off, coming from the other earphones to the Atrios. The highs are not quite as detailed as that of the Sleek-Audio SA6s but it is definitely no slouch either. It is about as good as many of the other midrange IEMs, however, nothing spectacular. The warm presentation also gives it a less aggressive sound than for example the ultra detailed RE0s or SA6s for that matter. With the Atrios the musicality is definitely put above all else, the midrange does not have the same amount of micro detailing but it sounds quite good. The presentation is believable but not that realistic. The sound stage is not as expansive as that of the other earphones this is probably because of the lower amount of detail, it simply does not give you a great sense of instrument separation or placing.

Microphonics is not much of a problem with the Atrios, they suffer from about the same amount of noise traveling through the cable as the Sleek-Audio in-ears. This means that you can use them while on the move without being annoyed. Noise attenuation is likewise on par with that of the other earphones I currently own and use.

Durability

First of all the build quality is a bit above what you would expect from a pair of $200 earphones. Everything from the cable to the shell has a really good finish and feels solid. With massive rubber stress reliefs on each of the earphones and the mini jack it is clear that Future Sonics have done everything in their power to reduce wear inflicted by cable pulling. The cables are really soft yet retain a real quality feel. They are definitely not flimsy in any way.