Can someone compare maestro mini and maestro SE? the difference is really worth the pay?
The bass on SE is really that Godly? even better than MM? what about mids, highs and stage?
Hi there, I think I have the same experience as Bret but just sharing my two cents on the difference from my own personal experience, I hope below helps out anyone who's interested. I'll be putting out a video soon and these are from my notes
Bass
For me personally, the MSE has a touch more rumble and the while the impact and slam is comparable with the MM, with the MM just coming as having a touch more "punch", however due to the sub bass being a touch more on the MSE, the overall bass presentation on the MSE just sounds a touch fuller, a touch deeper which lends itself to having a touch more "textured" presentation in the bass. However they're both have very bass heavy presentation and it would be quite difficult to differentiate between the 2 if one might do a blind test (Haven't tried personally) So it's not a night and day performance between the MM and MSE unless you're really focusing on the difference. There is still no IEMs I've heard so far that has this much bass presentation but still keeping the midrange clean)
Midrange
As Bret mentioned in his experience, the MM is a touch more forward than the MSE which is their solution to bring the vocals in front of all that bass and it's similar to the MSE. Despite having so much bass in both IEMs, they still manage to keep the midrange relatively clean ie not much bloat or bleed from the bass. However, don't expect both IEM's to be vocal-focused as they both bring the background sound forward as well so while the vocals don't get "lost" in the track, they are not the highlight of the track as everything (vocals & background music) are brought into the spotlight. If you're hoping to really hear the music accompaniments along with vocals, then you might enjoy these, if you're all about just hearing the vocals and everything else should be in the "background", then you might be a little disappointed.
Treble
Both the MM and MSE do not sound at all harsh or sibilant to my ears, and I do wish that they both have a bit more bite to them or more "air" in the treble extension just to open up the sound a little bit more. However comparing between the 2, the MSE is a touch "sharper" which helps with resolution/imaging (more on that in the next section) and it makes the trumpets sound a little more "open" and much clearer. The treble on the MM do sound a little "blunted" in comparison with the MSE, again, probably due to what's presented in the tuning/driver configuration.
Soundstage/Imaging/Resolution
MSE has better imaging and separation than the MM, the "placement" of sounds are a lot more distinct on the MSE, I'm not sure if it's the EST helping or tuning, but the details are a touch sharper and the left and right sound positions are much clearer for me on the MSE. That's not to say it's bad on the MM, however for me, it sounds a lot more "blunted" and "blended together" compared to the MSE. They both have a forward sound presentation which makes for a more intimate experience however I'd put the MM as being more "intimate" due to the slightly more forward sound presentation than the MSE and the better separation and imaging on the MSE does give a "deeper" soundstage presentation since you're able to hear better placement of sounds.
Source/Power
Due to the driver configuration, the MM is a lot easier to power compared to the MSE. On my dongle (Fiio KA2 on Macbook), I'm at 60/100 for the MSE and about 45/100 for the MM on the volume to get about the same level of "loudness"
Fit/Comfort
Huge difference in driver configuration between the 2 and it results in a much smaller shell on the MM compared to the MSE. The MSE is chonky indeed and if you're unable to wear the Monarch Mk2 without feeling any discomfort, then you'd have the same experience with the MSE. The MM is much smaller so I'd say fit and comfort is a lot "safer" to recommend for general population.
So if I'm comparing the Maestro Mini with the Variations (If you've heard of the sound), they both have about the same level of sub bass (really deep), but MM has a more forward presentation, more mid bass (body and impact), Variations has a more recessed sound presentation, which leads to a wider soundstage experience and has more resolution than the MM. The MSE is still not as resolving as the Variations (which I believe is largely due to the bass tuck in the Variations which allows for all that sound to come through), but the MSE has enough resolution to cut through all that bass at least.
I hope the above helps with your purchase decision. All the best
Could anyone who has the Maestro SE, do size comparisons? I am interesting in getting this, but a bit worried about the fairly chunky size mentioned by some. How do these compare to other rather large IEMs such as the Monarch Mk2 which definitely are too big for my ears (gets painful after long hearing sessions).
Hi there, I've made a video about the MSE on page 3 and a comparison on Page 4 with the Monarch Mk2 specifically. Hope that'll help you but essentially, it is almost on the same size as the Monarch Mk2 if not a touch bigger in some areas so if the Monarch Mk2 brings you pain/discomfort, I think it'll be the same experience with the MSE.
Is the sound on the MSE 4 times "better" than the MM? Honestly no, there are incremental gains but it's more of a step above rather than 4 levels ahead. However, whether it's worth it, that's really up to you as for me, it's the little things that I notice in the sound that makes it worth it for me personally, just as a motorhead would spend thousands more to get that 0.5 seconds more out of their engine but some are happy with their family car, sports edition. Again, it's just an analogy. All the best and happy listening 
