[Syrellil]

I’m going to do one better for the prospective buyers of FF stuff.

As of March 15 , Yeo promised my Maestro SE to be done in 3 weeks.

I will keep everyone updated if I ever get it or another “QC failed” incident.

Hear back from me on 5th April ( this marks 5th month of waiting)

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

I’m going to do one better for the prospective buyers of FF stuff.

As of March 15 , Yeo promised my Maestro SE to be done in 3 weeks.

I will keep everyone updated if I ever get it or another “QC failed” incident.

Hear back from me on 5th April ( this marks 5th month of waiting)

We appreciate that. Your feedback has been forwarded along.

 

[Silantr0]

Hi guys,

Got some clarification from the team on this.

Sakura:

We've gotten lot of feedback that the Sakura (especially with the bass switch on) sounds like a mini Traillii from Orolious.

The main difference between the two is that the Sakura has less mid bass and more vocal presence.

It is our current best seller all around in the pro audio space when in comes to monitoring and production work.



Hayabusa:

The Hayabusa is like the Sakura except for more high end extension as well as more "air." They are not reccomended for people who are very sensitive to treble.

Like our Maestro series, it also has basscannon tech but only an 8dB shelf to make thing sin the low end more focused on technicalities for it's general use case.

Maestro:

I got some questions on this one as well.

The non-SE Maestro is simply the Maestro SE without the massive bass shelf. It is more technical and also used by people in their audio side more commonly as a result.

Regarding upcoming tours:

There is a a Scarlet Mini tour underway. A second unit for the east coast is beginning soon.

There is a Grand Maestro tour estimated to begin sometime in early May.

There will likely be a Sakura/Hayabusa tour sometime in June/July.

Thanks, everyone!

There's also another model in their signature series called the Tsuru, which is the cheapest in their signature series. Definitely warmer in the mids, and less analytical than the Sakura and Hayabusa when I listened to it.

I was genuinely surprised upon hearing the Maestro though (the non SE ver). Not as bassy as the others in the lineup, but still bassy nonetheless. Separation and detail-retrieval is really nice, and there's a tinge of warmth that still makes it sound musical. I would say the Maestro would be like the upgrade to the Sakura if I had to make a comparison.

 

[Billyak]

100%. People waiting 4 months for an order + having QC issues and having to send it back wait another an extra 3 months for it to be fixed is absolutely ridiculous. I really want Fatfreq to succeed but this will be their downfall if they don't change things up.

I actually got quite pissed off when I saw them continually taking orders (with discounts) at CanJam. I know it's a norm there but holy crap do they not realize their backlog and QC issues? Just put a temporary hold on new orders. It's literally THAT simple.

Only reason I have not ordered to be honest.

 

[emdeevee]

We are very clearly watching the growing pains of a great startup with lots of talent. I'm sure they know best what needs to be done to increase production. At a minimum, it sounds like they need more help. FF is certainly not the only one facing this good challenge, but predictions of their downfall are silly. Maybe these delays will lead to less demand and the problem will solve that way, but I think these smart folks must be realizing their popularity is skyrocketing and as a small shop, they're going to have to hire and train more people. And what better place than Singapore to find those people?

Do it, FF! In the meantime, everyone know that @Sebastien Chiu has a direct line to them and he's here to help. But he doesn't live and work full time at FF in Singapore, nor does he build their iems, so give him a break.

 

[SCYJ]

We are very clearly watching the growing pains of a great startup with lots of talent. I'm sure they know best what needs to be done to increase production. At a minimum, it sounds like they need more help. FF is certainly not the only one facing this good challenge, but predictions of their downfall are silly. Maybe these delays will lead to less demand and the problem will solve that way, but I think these smart folks must be realizing their popularity is skyrocketing and as a small shop, they're going to have to hire and train more people. And what better place than Singapore to find those people?

Do it, FF! In the meantime, everyone know that @Sebastien Chiu has a direct line to them and he's here to help. But he doesn't live and work full time at FF in Singapore, nor does he build their iems, so give him a break.

Sorry, gotta disagree. IMO the most obvious solution is just to stop taking orders. I don't think growing the team is as simple, for few reasons:

1) Their shop is small, so workspace is limited. Not sure if you've seen video tours of their place (I assume you have), but anyways it's really small, and I think that's the place they just recently moved into, so getting a bigger place = alot more financial concerns.

2) Lack of time to hire/train. They can barely keep up with orders, let alone have time to hire and train people. Doing so will just result in more delays. Also, there will inevitably be QC issues from those newly hired employees.

3) If you wanted to grow the team to handle the workload, it should've been done a while ago, not while the backlog is as bad as it is. Personally, I'd be insecure to know that my IEM was done by a newly trained employee, rather than one of their seasoned ones. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that's the reality in most "personalised" business.

If you wanna grow the team by hiring and training new people (which i think they should), they still need to stop taking orders beyond their means. I don't see how you can do both at the same time when you're already struggling with one.

When I talk about downfall, I don't mean they will fail and crash. I just mean that they will establish a reputation in the community as a company that's willing to take orders beyond their means, delay production by 3-4 months, and still have QC issues. And this reputation is already growing.

The "strategy" of continually taking orders and letting the market stabilize itself in terms of decreased demand is a strategy that only serves to fuel such reputation, and isn't the kind of image a growing business wants.

Look at the other Singaporean guys at Subtonic/Symphonium/Nightjar, for eg. They know their quota for how much they can produce. You don't ever hear backlog issues with them. If they've hit their limit, they just stop taking orders. Even if they exhibit at CanJam, they don't allow people to take orders or whatever if they just don't have stock. They never let it affect QC. And I dare say their customer service is even better than FatFreq's. If these guys can do it and garner such fantastic reputation in the community, why can't FatFreq?

 

[Petalpusher06]

Yesterday night i had a heart attack (slight dramatization). I was browsing some videos on youtube and at some point did put on the GM, switching from "pre" (speakers) to "hpa" on the amp, then opened another tab with a new video.
The video started to play only on the left channel, im instantly squinting... checking my amp/cable, if the 4.4mm was fully plugged in or something like that. Still sound coming out only on the left channel... Quickly re attaching the 2pin on the GM, inspecting the gold cable, nothing on the right again... Already thinking about how i was not gonna have a GM for months waiting for the other one and having to send back this one. This must have been karma for saying 2 days ago they were solidly built! *Shivers intensify*

Then started Tidal as last resort and... first tracked played fine on both channels, more than fine, sounding as great as usual.... Turned out this was just a video with a failed upload and no right channel, which is the last thing i imagined considering it was on a big popular channel. I can't remember the last time hearing in stereo felt this good. Amazing soundstage and imaging 10/10 highly recommended

Just trying to lighten up the mood for those in pain to wait. I think you won't regret it even if it sucks at this point

(Touching wood right now)

 

[SCYJ]

Yesterday night i had a heart attack (slight dramatization). I was browsing some videos on youtube and at some point did put on the GM, switching from "pre" (speakers) to "hpa" on the amp, then opened another tab with a new video.
The video started to play only on the left channel, im instantly squinting... checking my amp/cable, if the 4.4mm was fully plugged in or something like that. Still sound coming out only on the left channel... Quickly re attaching the 2pin on the GM, inspecting the gold cable, nothing on the right again... Already thinking about how i was not gonna have a GM for months waiting for the other one and having to send back this one. This must have been karma for saying 2 days ago they were solidly built! *Shivers intensify*

Then started Tidal as last resort and... first tracked played fine on both channels, more than fine, sounding as great as usual.... Turned out this was just a video with a failed upload and no right channel, which is the last thing i imagined considering it was on a big popular channel. I can't remember the last time hearing in stereo felt this good. Amazing soundstage and imaging 10/10 highly recommended

Just trying to lighten up the mood for those in pain to wait. I think you won't regret it even if it sucks at this point

(Touching wood right now)

That's a prime example of how to give audiophile a heart attack! I had a similar experience when trying a resoldered cable but turns out I just didnt tighten one of the connections properly.

I definitely don't mind the long wait, so long as QC is maintained. I get all edgy if there are still QC issues after long waits.

 

[Silantr0]

We are very clearly watching the growing pains of a great startup with lots of talent. I'm sure they know best what needs to be done to increase production. At a minimum, it sounds like they need more help. FF is certainly not the only one facing this good challenge, but predictions of their downfall are silly. Maybe these delays will lead to less demand and the problem will solve that way, but I think these smart folks must be realizing their popularity is skyrocketing and as a small shop, they're going to have to hire and train more people. And what better place than Singapore to find those people?

Do it, FF! In the meantime, everyone know that @Sebastien Chiu has a direct line to them and he's here to help. But he doesn't live and work full time at FF in Singapore, nor does he build their iems, so give him a break.

Thanks for the positivity despite all the backlash FF has been receiving. I have heard from Ben that they are in the midst of opening up a second office in Singapore, so that they can have more space to hire and accommodate new workers. They are aware of the issues at hand, they just need some time it seems...

 

[Silantr0]

That's a prime example of how to give audiophile a heart attack! I had a similar experience when trying a resoldered cable but turns out I just didnt tighten one of the connections properly.

I definitely don't mind the long wait, so long as QC is maintained. I get all edgy if there are still QC issues after long waits.

So long as QC is there, I don't mind the long waiting times, though with Fatfreq being as small as they are and the huge backlog they have, some QC issues will slip through the cracks whether they like it or not.

 

[SCYJ]

Thanks for the positivity despite all the backlash FF has been receiving. I have heard from Ben that they are in the midst of opening up a second office in Singapore, so that they can have more space to hire and accommodate new workers. They are aware of the issues at hand, they just need some time it seems...

This is really good news to hear! The next 1-2 years or so will be pivotal for their growth. Hoping they get through this growing pains period.

So long as QC is there, I don't mind the long waiting times, though with Fatfreq being as small as they are and the huge backlog they have, some QC issues will slip through the cracks whether they like it or not.

Agreed. I don't mind wait times at all. It just gets absolutely nerve-wracking when you read about QC issues from others and ur not sure whether the order you waited 4 months for might have one of those issues too when it arrives.

 

[Trae]

I'm really eyeballing the Scarlet Mini as an upgrade to my modified Legatos, but between the delays, the cost and my gut telling me that my legatos will perform closer to the scarlet mini than the cost justifies, I'm torn. Anyone want to loan me a pair for a week to help me decide lol

 

[o0genesis0o]

I'm really eyeballing the Scarlet Mini as an upgrade to my modified Legatos, but between the delays, the cost and my gut telling me that my legatos will perform closer to the scarlet mini than the cost justifies, I'm torn. Anyone want to loan me a pair for a week to help me decide lol

I have reviewed / am reviewing both of these IEMs and I would say: nah, they are not close. The subbass shelf of Legato is not as big, and whatever BAs FF use out resolves the micro DD used by 7Hz.

Still, be careful what you wish for the subbass of scarlet mini can feel downright sickening the first few time I listened to it. I honestly clenched whenever a bassy track comes up on my playlist. I can only tolerate maestro mini level of bass.

 

[Trae]

Removed mesh filter, spiral dots, custom eq to fix the tonality with a generous low shelf +10db 20-100hz

I guess I'll have to pick up a pair to find out myself. Can always sell later on

Update: ordered with red cable. Time to wait!

 

[bassfreak93]

generous low shelf +10db 20-100hz

On scarlet? well this sounds like me :kappa: :kekw: xD