TL;DR: Unapologetically V-Shaped sound with a subwoofer in your Ear
Overview/History
Hi all.
Another Fatfreq review being dropped as I was able to demo both the Maestro SE and the Maestro Mini as part of a tour. I've spent the past week only putting the Maestro Mini and the Maestro SE in my ears and putting them through the gamut.
If you aren't aware of what Fatfreq has brought to the IEM community, they're essentially the bass whisperers. Their Maestro series is their take on the V-shaped sound signature (and their most successful line up) to the point where they were backed up on orders.
*Stock photo from Fatfreq's website*
Many of the bigger reviewers out there are absolutely enamored with their basshead yet quality line up and I think you can firmly place me right up there as a fan of their offerings.
Without further adieu, here's my full write up/impressions/review of the Maestro Mini.
Disclaimers: This unit was received as part of the Watercooler Tour as hosted by - I was not given any instructions to review or leave any impressions; this is purely just something I wanted to do with the opportunity given. Shoutout to Fatfreq as this is the second/third Fatfreq IEMs that I've been able to demo as part of separate tours and it speaks volumes to them standing behind their product that they're letting people try out their awesome IEMs.
Build Quality, Comfort and Accessories
Photo dump time!
I just recently reviewed the Maestro SE so some pictures are being reused from that write up. The unit(s) came in a black pelican hard case.
There were some included tips that looked competent. I did try them for a moment (after wiping down) but I did most of my listening with my own tips line up. YMMV based on fit or whether you're willing to tip roll.
In a previous review, I had indicated that the Maestro SE are chonky bois but the Maestro Mini are small and very comfortable. Here's a size comparison compared another comfortable set (for me) the Xuan NV for size comparison sake. The Mini are even smaller then them. Which is borderline baffling how they did it.
Tip Rolling
With how comfortable the Maestro Mini are to me, I was able to fully embrace tip rolling and getting the perfect combination down.
The Maestro Mini really do respond/work well with your line up of tips and they're one of the few sets where I can definitively tell a major difference between what the tips presented. Usually, it feels more subtle but the Maestro Mini are anything but subtle.
Spinfit W1: Bass was still present/impactful but it felt like some subbass was lost (felt more midbass forward). Vocals/treble were presented exactly how they graph/squig where it can occasionally be sharp but not nearly as fatiguing as the Final Type E can be. While the Spinfit W1 were the winners for listening with the Maestro SE, I don't think they're my favorite here.
Final Type E - Clear/Red: Bass was impactful (more so than the Spinfit) and nothing on the bass side felt lost. The issue were kind of with the mids/highs - the Maestro Mini does adopt a more aggressive mids/highs approach and the Final Type E help elevate the treble usually. This makes the Final Type E perfect with the Scarlet Mini but they can get very sharp at times with the Maestro Mini. It's not to the point where I can't listen with them but the more treble sensitive would hate the Maestro Mini with the Final Type E Clear/Reds.
TangZu SanChai - Balanced: Bass on these tips were great; rumble and midbass was present. They did not sound as harsh/sharp as the Final Type E but they also felt a bit closer as soundstage and separation definitely took a hit. Treble was definitely smoother than even the W1. Probably the runner up for me though not the perfect combination for my tastes.
Dunu S&S: Combo achieved! Treble was smoothed out the most with the Dunu S&S, mids/vocals were still as natural sounding but bass (while not as midbass impactful as the SanChai) rumbled comfortably in my ears. With the treble tamed a bit, I was able to increase the volume comfortably (without fear of fatigue) that makes this combination perfect for moderate volume listening as well as higher volume listening.
Cable
The Maestro Mini has two cable options; one is their stock black cable while they also have an upgraded blue cable which is modular. I -love- that blue cable but the stock black cable is extremely thin and I am not a fan of that one. Thankfully, I have a handful of other cables available to me (because I'm a cable addict now, apparently, thanks Xinhs and NiceHCK) and they work well with the Maestro Mini.
Sound
But how do they sound?
Analytical and clinical.
These are bass cannons. They sound bassy and V-shaped but the elevation in mids/treble make this still a viable all-rounder that's extremely fun to listen to. You aren't going to get necessarily the same quality of bass that it's siblings offer (like the Maestro SE) or the same quantity of bass (Scarlet Mini) but you're getting an extremely fun presentation nonetheless that harkens back to the times where you could just sit back and -enjoy- your music. But, let's break it down further.
Gear Tested On: Primarily streamed music via either dedicated Streamer, Laptop or Phone
Phone chain: Pixel 8 Pro -> Abigail Pro
Phone chain: Pixel 8 Pro -> Fosi DS2
Streamed Music Chain Workstation: Laptop -> Fiio K11
Streamed Music chain: WiiM Mini -> JDS Labs Atom DAC+ -> JDS Labs OL Switcher -> Geshelli Labs Archel 3 Pro
Lows/Bass: Bass quantity and quality are amazing with the Maestro Mini. The bass is detailed, subbass focused with satisfactory midbass impact/slam (not necessarily the same quality as it's siblings). This is easily a natural step up from prior heralded basshead sets (Legato, etc.) without breaking the bank and could easily be endgame (does that even exist in this hobby??) for people that don't want to go to the Summit-Fi territory levels.
The best thing about the Maestro Mini (and by extension the Scarlet Mini) is the size being on the smaller end which fits perfectly in your ear. This gives the IEM this an entire head shaking subwoofer effect. Both the Scarlet Mini and the Maestro Mini provide a level of head shaking that is addicting and unlike anything I've enjoyed in my ears. The difference in the two really comes down to how much more bass do you want (and are willing to sacrifice for) vs how much you'd miss the other aspects in your music.
You're able to enjoy this tasteful bass whether you go to moderate volume listening or higher volume listening.
Mids: Mids for the Maestro Mini are extremely natural with the timbre. While the upper mids are a bit elevated, it still remains very balanced sounding and there is zero bass bleed. I wouldn't consider them extremely smooth but the overall cohesiveness between the bass/mids feels like they're working together rather than against.
Both male/female vocals sound great. The only nitpick I would have really comes down to female vocals occasionally sounding sharp but it's essentially to compensate for the sheer amount of bass. With the right tips, they weren't a concern for me anymore.
Treble: Treble can sound extremely sharp at times but, otherwise, they sound elevated to compensate for the large amount of bass.
I think the best way to put it is that while the treble is elevated, I think the bass provides a good enough blanket that it almost buffers the highs. There were some fatiguing moments in certain tracks that tend to be very sparkly at the top end but having swapped to the Dunu S&S tips, they were reigned in a bit and it became significantly less harsh.
This is more of the tuning choice with the Maestro Mini, though, where it gives you both the bass but also doesn't shy away from the other frequencies.
Specific songs listened to and other Etc.:
I listened to a handful of my 'reference' songs but also my general library to figure out where the Maestro Mini excelled. I can comfortably say that the tuning choice in these make most of the music I listen to fun and engaging. Adding an Asterisk to songs where the Maestro Mini really shined.
Fleetwood Mac - Dreams*
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke
ELO - Mr. Blue Sky*
Gorillaz - 19-2000 Soulchild Remix*
Boston - More Than a Feeling*
Justice - Genesis*
Deadmau5 - There Might be Coffee*
Camille - Le Festin*
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
AC/DC - Thunderstruck
Outkast - Hey Ya!
Here's one track that stands out because it's got a fun rumble of bass but female vocals are extremely high and there's a LOT of stereo separation and sparkle on treble: Dog Days are Over - Florence + the Machine.
This is an example of a song that is borderline unbearable on the Final Type E Clear/Red tips, OK on the Spinfit W1, OK on the SanChai Balanced but great on the Dunu S&S where I didn't feel like I needed to skip the track.
I think the soundstage is wider than the Scarlet but not nearly as complete as the Maestro SE. The Maestro Mini is well above average on details/dynamics as I was able to pick out things in some of my music that only the Dusk or the Moondrop S8 presented better. Layering/separation isn't the greatest but they're not going to disappoint you if you use this set as a bassy all-rounder. But, by picking up the Maestro Mini, you're essentially saying that you want a basshead set that will do every genre well.
These will not provide the same vocal/separation/layering/soundstage as, say, the Crinacle x Dusk but I don't think you'd care while you're nodding your head in sheer fun/enjoyment of your music.
Comparisons:
Comparisons will be hard but I think it's worth comparing to another similar basshead IEM and it's older siblings.
Legato: I'm primarily comparing the Maestro Mini to the Legato because the Legato were my previous basshead set that I loved. The Maestro Mini are clear step up from the Legato both in terms of bass quality, quantity and impact. You're also getting a more complete package of sound for the mids/treble that the Legato was missing.
In turn, you're not getting as smooth of a set as the Legato. I think the Maestro Mini is definitely worth the step up to.
Scarlet Mini: I think where the Scarlet Mini takes a seat back for all the other frequencies of the spectrum to embrace the full bass experience, the Maestro Mini has no lack of midrange presence or upper extension.
The Scarlet Mini will sound more inoffensive and definitely has more subbass rumble but I don't think it can provide the same basshead all-rounder feeling that the Maestro Mini is capable of. I am personally going to go with the Maestro Mini in this case but only because I was able to demo them to know exactly what I'm getting myself into.
Maestro SE: The Maestro SE is the better overall IEM but I don't think they're nearly as comfortable nor as fun. I would go with the Maestro Mini for a fraction of the cost. But, if I was looking at a Summit-Fi quality IEM that provided details galore while having some of the best detailed bass out there, the Maestro SE would not disappoint at all (if you can get them to fit).
Other Things to be aware of:
Fatfreq has typically been very responsive but there have been reports of people's shipments being delayed for months. That being said, it does appear that things are coming out in a more timely manner so it's likely that they've finally shrunken their backlog and things are more normalized for them. YMMV, though, so be aware that it could be 3+ weeks or it could be months. If you don't want to wait, there are other retailers like MusicTeck that you can purchase from instead.
These also retail for $475 so you are paying premium for this set. I don't think I can recommend them sight unseen but, if you're not treble sensitive, I think I'd lean towards being more OK with that referral. But I'd feel better about recommending this set as a fun 2nd IEM set that could even be your most expensive in your line up based on their ability to be used as an all-rounder unlike the Scarlet Mini which is more of a niche listen.
The Maestro Mini, like it's siblings, love power. I would not recommend this set if you don't have the ability to drive them. I don't think they're nearly as power hungry as the Scarlet nor the Maestro but they scale well to their power, their source (and even the tips) so you should really help them live up to their full potential.
The Masetro Mini also work really well with certain sources. Any warmer sources will further tame the treble extension on the Maestro Mini and likely be additionally pleasing to the ear. The Fosi DS2 (and Fosi in general from what I've heard) tend to be very warm-neutral leaning and tend to provide some treble relief. The Maestro Mini really performed well with this set up.
I did run the Mini with the K11 (which tends to still keep the sound signature as close to true neutral as possible) and this was a situation where keeping it with the Dunu S&S made the most sense while I could play around a little bit more on other tips with the Fosi DS2.
The Archel 3 Pro ran these extremely well and I could actually use the tone control here to dial back the treble a small smide so that I could use some of my other tips to greater effect.
Conclusion:
Overall, I'm a huge fan of the Maestro Mini. While I was initially concerned about how sharp the graphs/squig reflect that they are (and impressions that people have provided comparing the Maestro Mini and the Scarlet which is extremely inoffensive with it's treble extension), my concerns were squashed when I was finally able to put them in my ears.
Don't get me wrong. They can get up there. They likely won't be for everyone especially people who are treble sensitive. They worked extremely well for me but I could see how some people would struggle with them or would need to either EQ, run Dunu S&S or another set of tips, or run only in lower volumes. But, in my use case, I think the Maestro Mini is an excellent addition.
I think the Maestro Mini is a step up from a 'niche' IEM but it is still going to be a bit more pricey than some may be willing to spend. If you are willing to spend on it, though, I think the best thing that the Maestro Mini does is remind you that it's totally OK to just sit back, relax and have fun with your music.
You don't have to sit broodingly in a dark room and using the brightness of an IEM to shine some light in your earholes.
Let Fatfreq show you the way.
Thanks for reading!