Future Sonics gave me a call last week

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by Kunlun, May 17, 2017.

  1. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    This is at least partly a fit issue. The diaphragm and your eardrum aren't moving as well as they could. The MG5hx needs a light seal, but dynamic drivers often need to be fit carefully to avoid vacuums or any negative air pressure in the ear canal.

    Thr result of a vacuum which keeps the diaphragm and the ear drum from moving freely is a muted, murky, closed-in sound. Break the vacuum and everything opens up and becomes more clear.

    This kind of thing was discussed a bit on changstar. It was a standard thing to mention when Anakin-Anax and I were talking about ciems.

    What I'm saying is:
    Release the vacuum, free Mars!
    [​IMG]

    Basically, it takes a bit of care at first until it becomes a habit to insert the ciems, then break the seal (often by tugging carefully on your ear at the helix or earlobe), making sure it doesn't re-vacuum. If the sound is closed and murky, do like Quaid and try again.

    This is a good skill for all ciems. All of them. But, the FS ciems in particular as they are dynamics with a light seal. However, even deepthroat multi-multi BAs will benefit from this.
     
  2. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

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    Thanks guys, really appreciate it!
     
  3. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    I never updated this thread with any comments. TLDR: The MG5HX is outstanding. Best IEM I've ever heard for my preferences.

    Extended sub-bass, non-fatiguing, grain free. One thing I've noticed over time with IEMs that isolate well is that music sounds cleaner than it does with an open headphone. With no other sounds coming in, the music comes through clearer.

    My usual setup at work is either the RME ADI-2 DAC using the IEM output or the LH Labs GO2A Infinity.

    Right now, I'm listening to them on this chain at home: RME ADI-2 DAC -> Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid (w/ LPSU)

    Outstanding blackground, very dynamic, nuanced, clean, clear, punchy, extended... really just an enjoyable listen all around.

    Unlike most headphones, I really like these for every genre. They're fast and forgiving enough for rock, extended and dynamic enough for classical, exciting enough for electronic, sparkly enough for acoustic guitar, etc.

    They don't have any offensive dips or peaks anywhere across the frequency spectrum. Sub-bass is elevated but doesn't encroach on the mids. Treble gently slopes downward without going off a cliff.

    If you want a taste of what they sound like, try the Spectrum G10. The MG5HX basically sounds like a slightly-better-in-every-way version of those. The house sound/tuning is pretty much the same, with the G10 sounding a bit more congested and blurred in comparison.
     
  4. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    Really wish FS would make these in universal fit. Sounds like they might be that mythical TOL DD (MTOLDD). @Kunlan, work your magic!
     
  5. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    Ha ha, people have been asking that for years. But, I tell you what, I haven't reached out to Marty Garcia in a year. I'll write him right now while it's fresh and I'll mention it directly. No promises, nor should you expect a response (a longtime client might ask for and buy a specially fit set for a band memeber) , but know that I went to the top for you.
     
  6. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    I guess I am the lone dissenter amongst FS owners (lowly G10), for me, it's a great bass driver in search of a tweeter, I suppose I found that with the EE Bravado. FS G10 is darker than the lcd 2 or nighthawk to me.
     
  7. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    How are the mids?
     
  8. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    a shade thicker than the andros in the lower mids, it's more broad W than neutral but its prolly the only iem to rival the G10 in my collection to combine the weight, texture and detail in regard to bass.
     
  9. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    Interesting. The lower mids where where I thought the Andros lacked. Male vocals and cellos didn't have enough body.
     
  10. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    G10 users, was on a tip rolling spree, after trying the stock foamies, "butt plugs", various shure, ety and spinfit tips, i have finally settled on Westone the shallow star tips, these usefully opened up the treble up, don't expect miracles, it's still fairly attenuated but they definitely benefitted from these tips.
     
  11. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    I've been using the Westone star tips for a few years now on my Spectrum G10s.

    I finally decided to go ahead and get the SofterWear custom sleeves for them.

    I love the Future Sonics MG5HX customs, but I still use the G10s more than half of the time at work because I get lazy and forget to bring the MG5HX in with me.

    I called up Marty and got a recommendation for someone local who does ear molds for him during shows. I've never been 100% pleased with the fit of my customs and had to go through a couple of rounds with the audiologist the first time (she wasn't great).

    When I asked about the SofterWears and mentioned that my MG5HX SoftRings (silicone on the custom tips) were degrading--probably from petroleum jelly or something I use to get extra seal--he said to send my customs in at the same time as the molds and they'll fix them up for me.

    The customer service at Future Sonics is astonishingly good.

    The main reason I haven't switched over to the MG5HX as my primary headphones at almost all times is because those SoftRings protrude enough to be a little uncomfortable for me, but without them the fit was imperfect and I didn't want to get another set of impressions at the time.

    This latest round talking to them--apart from securing my brand loyalty indefinitely--will probably push me to swear off over ears most of my listening and just commit to using my IEMs 90% of the time. It's already something like 60%, so I should probably stop trying to find an around-the-ear headphone that sounds almost exactly like the MG5HX (or an HD650 with great sub-bass) and stick with them for good.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2019
  12. Panohm

    Panohm Friend

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    I've been a happy owner of the MG5HX for almost 2 years now, Futuresonics was always very quick to reply and the customer service was quite good, I love the sound for what it is (Quite colored if we're being honest but that's fine, life's boring without a little color).

    With that said i'm deeply disappointed by how Futuresonics and there Singaporean dealer Treoo have handled my friends custom order. Since there are no demos for the Futuresonics custom line I exchanged a lot of messages to make sure my friend would have a good idea of what he was getting into, he pulled the trigger and started waiting.

    After a few months wait this is the product my friend received:
    [​IMG]
    A 7 DB CHANNEL IMBALANCE.

    As a company that provides monitors mainly to professional musicians it's incredibly surprising that they would let this go out to the customer. Furthermore i'm told that the custom spent 2 weeks at treoo while treoo and futuresonics deliberated on who was going to shoulder the shipping fee back to Futuresonics.

    Ultimately here's the problem i have here:
    They should have shipped the custom back to Futuresonics asap. Customer first, this should be an afterthought on a approximately $1100SGD product. Shipping is surely a fraction of the price and yet my friend had to pay half while futuresonics paid half.

    If Treoo is not a good dealer for Futuresonics to work with then they should explore other options. Unique melody cut entire regions of dealers when they had problems.

    But most of all how does a custom go out with 7 db of imbalance?.

    So at the end of the day, I still love Futuresonics, but I won't be reccing them to anyone outside the US(not even Canadians). It's really a shame because I felt Futuresonics had a lot of good going for them that the south east asian audio community could enjoy.
     
  13. PhoenixClaw

    PhoenixClaw Friend

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    Shame that your friend had an unpleasant experience. There are quite a few things that went wrong here. I think it's good that Futuresonics was willing to remake the CIEM, as appalling as shipping out channel mis-matched "professional" gear may be. However the distributor also made things worse by delaying the RMA process for the shipping fee.

    As someone who was a fan of their Atrio model I've always been quite interested in the FS CIEMs. I sure hope they get their QC together given that their focus is on professional audio. As for the distributor, they have quite a bit of bad rep so hopefully brands choose a better partner to work with.
     
  14. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    I forgot to update this thread! I sent mine in to have the fit adjusted and they returned with... a massive channel imbalance.

    I sent them back and it turned out that some of the material they stuff in the nozzles to protect the internals when dipping the shells got wedged in.

    They pulled it out and sent them back. All good now, and the entire process didn't cost me anything. Great CS to adjust the fit of a CIEM more than a year on for free.

    It was disappointing that they came back with an issue, but it was quickly rectified.
     
  15. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    FS also once fixed an issue for me more than a year on. They do come through, best to work directly with them than through a dealer who may not have their standards, though.
     
  16. Panohm

    Panohm Friend

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    Yes my friend finally got his pair of MG5HX back, although now he says they sound a bit more V-shaped which is unfortunate.
    However he's still overall quite happy with the sound, the bass and guitar in particular are rendered in a way I've only heard on my pair of MG5. If you're a lower mids or treble lover though then perhaps look elsewhere. It would be nice if they provided measurements but that seems to be a faux-pas among some iem companies.

    I was very disappointed when hearing his story since I've had nothing but great dealings with Futuresonics, quick to respond and very meticulous customer service.

    I concur with Kunlun, probably better to work with them directly instead of going through a dealer wherever possible, I've heard from friends in Singapore that Treoo in particular don't have the best service.
     
  17. toranku

    toranku New

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    Hey everyone, I am @Panohm s' friend that bought the MG5HX. I'd like to clarify Mr Marty has been very nice and helpful via email. Future Sonics also uses the fastest possible shipping from US to my country, which is 5-6 days. My dealer on the other hand, ships things with the slowest and cheapest air method, taking 2-3 weeks to reach FS. My experience with Treoo has not been very pleasant, and I would rather communicate with FS directly. I had to even fork out money to ship the customs back to FS for RMA.

    In terms of sound, I think the MG5 performs very well with drumming. For audiophile listening purposes, I think it can be a tad bit unbalanced with the lower mids taking a step back. With the lower male vocal registers, positionally they can be slightly behind. If not instruments found in the upper midrange are dominant in the mix, with forward female vocals as well as nice bitey yet bodied guitars.

    I even consulted Mr Marty about the MG6's sound and he pretty much told me to stick with MG5 for my use-case. Future Sonics believes in boosting the uppermids and bass relative to the lower mids for a fatigue free experience. He also hinted that FS will have a new product next year...perhaps a successor to the MG5/6? :)
     
  18. toranku

    toranku New

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    Btw, just some pictures. I've found the MG5 to sound great whether being driven from a phone to dedicated amplifiers. It has the speed so the boosted midbass isnt slow and muddied. Still pretty curious about the MG6HX to be honest, maybe @Kunlun can advise me? ;) Heard that MG6 has even more bass (more midbass or just sub, or both?) as well as a bigger uppermid to balance the bass out. Wonder how that translates tonally compared to MG5.
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  19. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    @toranku

    Yes, the mg6 line is a more full version of the Future Sonics house sound, with bass that is somehow deeper and more resonant, and more bump in the vocal region. It's designed as a pure stage monitor. The mg5, by contrast is a dual stage/studio monitor and will be a better choice for people as an intro to the FS sound.

    The mg6 line has a different driver, at 13mm to the mg5's 10mm. The mg6 is slightly technically superior, but the 10mm is very good.

    One last thing: FR response charts will show many narrow dips for FS iems. This is intentional, as Marty Garcia is a big believer in the Haas effect to give spatial cues and a more real sound. Ask him about it, he'd be happy to explain.

    Hiflight/ron can also tell you about the mg6hx/pro
     

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