Future Sonics Atrio Earphones
Due to a defect, I had to send in my Etymotic hf2s for repair. In the meantime, I wanted to try out the Future Sonics Atrio earbuds [Amazon Link]. After a few weeks of use, I find the Future Sonics offer compelling performance. Is it enough to replace the Etymotics? Read on to find out.
Build quality is a step above the standard iPod earbuds. Cables feel a bit stouter and the earbud assemblies look like they’ll last for a while. As with most third party earbuds, they come with a good selection of eartips that should satisfy 99% of the human population.
The sound is noticeably different when compared to the Etymotics. I almost consider it to be a polar opposite. The Future Sonics are able to present bass with a high level of fullness and clarity. It’s able to pick up the low frequencies in tracks that most earbuds will simply skip over. I include the Etymotics in this bass skipping category.
The Etymotics present bass in it’s neutral/natural form. The Future Sonics embrace the bass, and push it out to the user in a way that’s easy to consume. Think of it as sonic chocolate.
With this level of focus, there are going to be downsides. Mids sound good but not as good as the Etymotics. With the highs the gap starts to widen. They just don’t have the signature Etymotic level of precision. They’re not bad by any means. It simply comes down to the fact that the Etymotics are better optimized for this particular sound range.
If you love deep, rumbling bass with decent mids and ok highs, the Future Sonics should be your number one choice. Startling highs and accurate mids and lows are where the Etymotics shine.
[Image from Future Sonics]
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