The Atrios use what Future Sonics calls a “quiet cord” to prevent cable vibration noise, something I’ve experienced in several other earphone models.
Thankfully, these earphones sound as good as they fit. I started with some bass-heavy tracks from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds then moved onto the anti-folk artist Kimya Dawson. There was plenty of depth to the bass tones without them sounding artificially enhanced. I also liked the clarity and detail these models produced, especially with acoustic or classical tracks. I’ve heard better performance from over-the-ear style headphones, but the Atrios rank among the best of the earphones I’ve used. While these aren’t noise-cancellation earphones, they do isolate outside noise very nicely.
The earphones come with a case, which is nice, but impractical (I usually just wrap them around my iPod and toss the whole thing in my pack), a selection of ear sleeves and a handy little cleaning tool to get that nasty ear wax out of your buds.
Future Sonics is primarily a pro-audio company and lists Todd Rundgren, U2, Rihanna, Lenny Kravitz, Carrie Underwood and even Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) among its clients. In fact a press release notes that the Atrio was the official earphone of Cyrus’ recent sold-out concert series—a factoid that should get the tween crowd to buy them by the armful. yy
