FATfreq Impressions Thread - Bass Cannons and More
Oct 16, 2023 at 4:27 AM Post #1,186 of 2,057
Thanks for the first review !

Could you please tell us if you have to pay customs fees and if yes how much ?I live in France, for my MM i had to pay fees so i hope it will not be to high for the Scarlet.
Same here in Poland
When i was ordering Maestro Mini year ago from UK at the day of delivery i must pay 23% vat tax (This is legal theft and robbery ...)

I hope i can avoid it now, there is little chance that customs house will not want that payment.
 
Oct 16, 2023 at 7:36 AM Post #1,188 of 2,057
If you order directly from FF tham you can avoid it. If you order from Elise audio than you will have to pay tax unfortunately
I don't think FF underdeclares anymore
 
Oct 16, 2023 at 9:04 AM Post #1,191 of 2,057
Oct 16, 2023 at 4:52 PM Post #1,192 of 2,057
DHL came early with new ear candy :)

Some unboxing pics, love the Scarlet FATbox - very nice touch!

20231016_115658.jpg


TEMP_20231016_103247 (1).jpg


20231016_115752_HDR.jpg

20231016_120341.jpg


I will post more impressions as well as comparisons to the OG Maestro Mini, Maestro SE, Grand Maestro... my initial impression after a few minutes listening is that this is truly the next generation of FATfreq's Bass Cannon tech!
 
Last edited:
Oct 16, 2023 at 5:32 PM Post #1,193 of 2,057
I don't think FF underdeclares anymore
What underdeclare mean in tax meaning?

That FF do something that nobody pay extra tax like vat on delivery?
 
Oct 16, 2023 at 7:01 PM Post #1,194 of 2,057
Same here in Poland
When i was ordering Maestro Mini year ago from UK at the day of delivery i must pay 23% vat tax (This is legal theft and robbery ...)

I hope i can avoid it now, there is little chance that customs house will not want that payment.
I don't think FF underdeclares anymore
maybe not? i dont wanna pay extra 23% on delivery :frowning2:

@Sebastien Chiu ? can u tell us?

There seems to be some confusion here.

We have stopped covering tax per a global agreement with our worldwide dealers.

For RMAs and support when there is back and forth shipping, we will cover the taxes.

Hope that helps!
 
Oct 17, 2023 at 3:06 AM Post #1,195 of 2,057
I also ordered the Scarlet Minis now. My headphone history is long in time, but brief in numbers and went from AKG701 (too dark and not enough resolution) some 10 years ago to Grado 325is (better resolution and great mid-range but not bassy enough), Focal Elegia (again better resolution and better clarity, but not bassy enough and quite lean overall) to Meze Rai Penta (everything was there, but I just found them to be incredibly boring to listen to and always took them off after 15 minutes). I now realize I just really like a lot of bass, but not at the cost of detail and clarity. I am craving for an exciting full sound that doesn't compromise on overall quality too much. I really hope these Scarlets will be the end of a long search
 
Oct 17, 2023 at 3:52 AM Post #1,196 of 2,057
There seems to be some confusion here.

We have stopped covering tax per a global agreement with our worldwide dealers.

For RMAs and support when there is back and forth shipping, we will cover the taxes.

Hope that helps!
So i can only wish luck for my self that customs house will not give me 23% vat tax on delivery (same as year ago form UK, Maestro mini from elisse audio)

As i said earlier friend ordered watch from singapore with cost above the limit and he didint payed vat on delivery.
 
Oct 17, 2023 at 4:43 AM Post #1,197 of 2,057
So i can only wish luck for my self that customs house will not give me 23% vat tax on delivery (same as year ago form UK, Maestro mini from elisse audio)

As i said earlier friend ordered watch from singapore with cost above the limit and he didint payed vat on delivery.
Something similar happens in Spain, 21% but they usually only charge it when the value of the item is above 100€
 
Oct 17, 2023 at 11:59 PM Post #1,198 of 2,057
Have had a little more than a day with the Scarlet now and my ears are starting to wrap around just how much bass this thing is injecting skullside. At least, when they are not cowering in fear.

20231016_120940.jpg

20231017_192555.jpg


In the world of IEMs and headphones, there are "all rounder" tunings and specialist tunings. The Scarlet is undeniably a specialist, a specialist's specialist even... a basshead's bassy IEM. This thing is the Cardinal of Bass:

1697599154742.png

Who you calling mini?

I have mainly been listening to electronic music with them for which they are such a treat. The sub bass is as advertised even more crazy than the blue line, but the overall tuning and the detail brought from the new hypertweeter really keep things energized. The balancing act the team at FATfreq have pulled off here is incredible. Delivering this much payload while maintaining coherence - let alone a nice amount of detail - a true challenge.

This is not to say it will be an IEM for everyone or all music of course. The bass is front and center, and care of a slightly more forward tuning is more frequently present than in the Maestro. While I think you could get away calling most Maestros Neutral with epic sub bass, the extra mid bass here definitely pushes these into a more pronounced v shape tuning. But when they work, for ears that are ready... these are special in a way I haven't felt since the OG mini :)

20231017_192949_HDR_(1).jpg

To be honest, I am still a little lost for words... I'll share more concrete impressions as things solidify. Comparisons in particular will warrant some time... this is Bass for the ages...



To the mate that just received his set and the upcoming lucky pals who are getting theirs soon, could you tell if its good for prog metal or metal in general? I suppose they are similar to legato where the bass is amazing but bleeds the mids so this kind of genres suffer a bit, feels like a cave

Percussion (not just bass, a lot of high details in drum texture and all manner of cymbals, hats etc) plays particularly well on the Scarlet, how well suited it is to prog metal will depend a lot on how central the drumming is vs the vocals which are comparably pushed down in the epic V tuning. Djent is particularly epic, listening to Animals as Leaders today with the Scarlet brought me right back to seeing them live. With vocal stuff it depends on how the mix is, something like Tool where the vocals are meant to be a bit lower, to make the overall sound bigger works well, whereas I didn't like it as much with Meshuggah where I want the vocals to be more present.

I wouldn't say the effect is cavernous in the way I think you are describing with the Legato... the bass shelf on Scarlet is both much higher in amplitude and steeper in transition to the mids so it slams hard but is still lean to the mids. I probably wouldn't want them as my only earphone/headphone for metal, but oh boy when they work they are special for it.

Could you take a closer picture from the cable? Thx

I got you:
20231016_120048_HDR.jpg

Hypertweeter BA deserves that silver goodness :)


Sorry for asking, but can you tell is Scarlet too much for this track or not?) I simply love bass and searching for new favorite iems. Thanks)


I listened to this track earlier with the Scarlet and the bass slams so hard it made me need to poop. In a good way.

TMI? I don't care - plz recommend more bass tracks. For science :p
 
Oct 18, 2023 at 12:05 AM Post #1,199 of 2,057

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top