[UnknownOperator]

Crossposting some impressions and comparison of the new FATfreq Scarlet Mini hot from the DHL packaging...

FATfreq Scarlet Mini

Have had some ear time with the new FATfreq Scarlet Mini 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.

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:

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


Red vs. Blue: Scarlet and the Maestros

I have been busy hard at work comparing the Scarlet to my horde collection of Maestros. Very arduous and laborious work I assure you But for my cooler bros I will go that extra mile! In particular: the Maestro Mini, the Maestro SE and the Grand Maestro.

Meet the Maestros, bottom to top: Maestro Mini, Scarlet Mini, Maestro SE, Grand Maestro (CIEM)


Mini vs. Mini

Starting off the comparison series post, we’ll cut to the chase and compare the Scarlet Mini (for the purpose of this post “Red”) to its blue bro, the OG Maestro Mini (“Blue”). Given this is the primary comparison of interest, I’m going to devote a whole post on this one and then maybe combine the MSE and GM comparisons in part 2.

The Blue Maestro Mini were my introduction not only to the Maestros but to FATfreq as a whole. I was so impressed with them I blind bought a Grand Maestro within weeks and from there the sickness progressed


Technical

My Blue unit is one of the earlier run, without any meshguard (talk about tubeless lol!) so particularly on the build, there have been improvements made that aren’t exclusive to the Scarlet seen here, but are interesting to note. FATfreq have constantly been refining and improving their products based on the surge of customer interest and feedback, it’s quite impressive to see!

The Scarlet features the updated recessed 2 pin connector, now standard across FATfreq’s Maestro series as well. You can see on the Maestro some of the connector imperfections present in their earlier runs, it is much tidier on the new recessed mount.

Also, note the improvements on the Scarlet nozzle profile. They’ve added a waist and taper to help it hold on to tips a bit better, something I appreciate a lot as the Mini’s are a bit prone to let them slide off.

Physically, the shape of the Scarlet is a bit more conformal, which made it surprising that, when I took these pictures, it was actually a bit larger than the OG:

Note the exposed balanced armature on my Blue, these things really get the drivers into your ear!

I would be surprised if either Red or Blue caused substantial fit challenge. Both are relatively small by modern IEM standards and give lots of options to pivot in ear for the ideal placement.

The OG Blue mini contains 1 DD for Bass and 2 BA for mids and Treble… rather than depend on large drivers or higher counts, the minis put these in an exceptionally small form factor to get those drivers as close as possible to your eardrum. Seriously, look at that BA right in the nozzle in the above pic (covered by a mesh on newer Maestro Mini models, but impressive to see), that is bringing the sound right to your front door!

We can only speculate as to the configuration of the Scarlet - beyond at least that it is a multi driver, hybrid and not a tribrid. At least one of the BA’s is a new “Hypertweeter” that produces sound up to ultrasonics comparable to EST drivers to spec, something I’ll touch on in the sound off shortly.

In terms of sensitivity, I found them very similar in terms of power/SPL needs, both requiring substantially less than their Tribrid big bros.


Sound Off

First things first. Yes the Scarlet has more bass than the Maestro Mini. Sub bass? Yes. Mid Bass? Yes. Bass Bass? YES.

It’s not a subtle difference either, it’s quite evident right away. Particularly the more forward boost protrudes higher up in frequency on Scarlet, so the Red’s Bass Cannon not only fires harder, it fires more often too. Whereas there are songs or even whole genres where you could listen to the Mini and not trigger the bass shelf at all, the boost is absolutely unavoidable on the Scarlet.

The tradeoff down low then depends on what aspect of FATfreq’s bass is most attractive to you. If you want the MOST bass, all day e’ry day, Scarlet is it. If you want a stealth basshead tuning that functions as a reference at fancy parties but somehow brings the woofer for Latenight, then the Maestro is the magic trick for you.

The upper mid and treble tuning differs quite radically. The lower/mid treble is much less pronounced on the Scarlet, this helps add to the sense of bass dominance, but it also masks some of the timbral shortcomings that are evident on the Blue mini which has relatively prominent ear gain. Whereas the upper mids / lower treble on the Scarlet is subdued, it’s a touch off kilter on the Maestro Mini, which adds a slightly cooler tonality to the otherwise textbook neutral mids/treble. Not necessarily unpleasant in either case, but a varying concession depending on your taste.

As advertised the hyper tweeter in the Scarlet does extend up to at least the 10s of kHz… it exposes some nasty edges in certain mixes or more frequently highlights recording noise. I’ll get into more detail (har har, pun fully intended!) on this topic when I compare the Scarlett to the EST loaded Tribrid MSE/GM, but in brief I find the combination of hyper detailed upper treble with subdued upper mids / lower treble on the Scarlet a bit unnatural. In most recordings it’s not an issue, but when it is noticeable I wouldn’t say to my ear it is an improvement over the more orthodox roll off in the Blue mini.


Any Color You Like

It should be clear that I take the view that the Scarlet is a specialist side grade compared to its more generalist forebear, the Maestro Mini. That is not to belittle the Scarlet or what it achieves within the realm it competes in. While imitators are trying to catch up to last year’s models… FATfreq have kicked up the Bass to a whole new level, topping even themselves.

There is a new Bass king in town, but the Maestro Mini’s Reference + Mega Bass is still unique. It seems like FATfreq don’t view Scarlet as a replacement either, thankfully keeping both available in their stable of offerings.

Regardless of your choice between minis, I think you will be happy. Be warned though, these bass cannons are highly addictive

Thank you for this. I still can’t decided between the two. We’ll see…

 

[chickenmcnug]

Finally

 

[Neweymatt]

P6Pro plays local files only, doesn't it? I adore the looks of this machine, though. Minimalistic & technical, kinda cool

Sadly, P6 Pro is limited to local files, or being used as a really expensive fancy dongle. The software it does have is also minimalistic, but not particularly technical and definitely not cool.

Other than that it sounds great, and is an easily pocketable DAP, so if you can put up with the software you'll be sweet. Unfortunately for me, the absence of streaming, or any other apps for that matter, means my quest for a pocketable RS6 upgrade continues...

So I wanted to check back in with some results/ruminations about by mini source-odyssey.

I was quite smitten with the RS8 for many months, as you may know. And then I got the itch.

The culprit was the Cayin RU7. It opened my eyes as to what a dongle could achieve - to such an extent that I began to wonder if I needed a full-sized DAP at all, especially given my more mobile-oriented listening time. Anyway, I fell completely in love with the RU7-Dunu Falcon Ultra combo for travel situations, played out of my iPhone. I can get a tight seal and it has excellent bass with the gold nozzles, which works quite well in the car or bus or train or plane. As mentioned before, the bass lift helps mitigate the ambient noise of those transportation modes. The depth and layering of the combo is outstanding.

But, as much as the RU7 itself, I realized I had fallen in love with the Cayin house-sound, or at least the 1-bit version of it, so I bought an N7 and put it through its paces both as a stand-alone streamer and as a tethered USB/Dac.

I was quite under-impressed with it vis-a-vis the RU7. Which is more praise for the dongle than a diss of the DAP.

The N7 seemed to bring much the same level of warmth and detail to the picture, maybe a bit more dynamism, a slightly blacker background, but its staging and depth actually seemed less. So whereas I had originally thought that if the N7 was "good enough," I would sell the RS8 and pocket the difference for some new IEMs, I was now wondering if the RU7 might be enough for both mobile and desk listening and I could pocket a much larger difference and put all that toward a TOTL iem.

All this comparative listening was done with the Noble Ronin, by the way, perhaps not the best match for the 1-bit sound, but it's what I have on me and it's my favorite IEM of all. I went back and forth between the N7 and RU7 until I decided that there was not enough of a difference to justify keeping the N7.

Then I thought about the L&P W4 and some of the praise it's been getting, along with my new-found respect for dongles, so I ordered one and went through the same comps with N7 and RU7. But again, I decided that the RU7 was my favorite, espeically at its price. The W4 just didn't have that fuller, richer timbre, centered on the mid-bass, that I had come to love on the RU7. It was a tad cleaner. But I am not a clean guy.

Then I happened to read something about the Hiby Music Pro app in the N30LE thread and that it allowed for Qobuz streaming, not just Tidal, and that the sound through the app was better than using the Qobuz app alone. This led me to investigate. I realized I had an older version of Hiby Music Pro on my N7 and promptly upgraded. Then, with some difficulty, I found how to stream Qobuz through the app. It's a tiny bit buggy, but it did sound better. Yet the biggest advantage of this by far was that I could now use the Hiby app-embedded verions of their plug-ins and MSEB, which I had come to love on the RS8. More specifically, the Sound Field and Spatialize plug-ins.

Whoa!

Playing around with these two plug-ins utterly transformed what I heard from the N7. The imaging and depth were suddenly outstanding and I felt greater dynamics, a clearer, fuller midrange (though still quite warm) and just enough treble sparkle added to balance out the overall darkness of the 1-bit sound. This worked on local files through the app as well.

So I changed my mind yet again and decided the N7 was a keeper for this reason alone. Qobuz is what I listen to most of the time. I could never get the N7 to sound great using HQPlayer and Roon but now I didn't have to. It could be a stand-alone, and it wasn't anywhere near as heavy as the RS8, so I might actually haul it around.

So now the plan was, I would sell the W4 and the RS8 and use that cash for a very good set of IEMs.

I was getting excited about this direction, actively reading up on more technical, reference, V-shaped IEMs to complement my Ronins, when I thought about the Hiby plug-ins and MSEB and remembered how good they had sounded on the RS8. All this time, the RS8 had reamined boxed up and for sale.

So I pulled a Scuby.

I decided to fire up the RS8 one more time, as a sort of farewell verification that I had made the right choice.

Wrong move.

I got Qobuz set up through the Hiby Music app (which I had never done before on the RS8) and I was able to go beyond the app-specific versions of the plug-ins and MSEB and use the global versions that come with the DAP.

And my socks were knocked off.

The only way I can make any sense of it is that I had not listened to Qubuz through HMP on the RS8 before, I had not properly played around with Soundfield and Mastermind and Dynamics plug-ins, and my ears had grown used to the 1-bit sound on the Cayin devices, forgetting the R2R sound of the RS8.

But that forgetting, it seems, was important.

What greeted my ears was a massively more powerful and dynamic low-end, wider and deeper, yet more textured and coming out of a dark chasm of silence. Then a clear, forward midrange with great note weight yet sharper transients; a wider soundfield with more precise imaging (which you can really crank up with the Dynamics plug-in) and width/depth/layering that gave me goosebumps, as if I were inside a perfectly treated listening room with full-sized speakers activating all the air around me. And I could continue to tweak the sound as I saw fit.

It was night and day compared to the N7. In addition, the RS8 works extremely well as a DAC/amp, where I can use HQPlayer to upsample to the highest PCM rate before the RS8 does its magic. The result is so far beyond anything I have heard throughout this odyssey that I cannot fathom anything sounding better.

So my N7 is for sale along with my W4 and my lovely RU7 is my travel companion, nothing more.

The RS8 just secured its spot as my go-to source.

Anyway, i just wanted to share this journey with the 'Cooler. I thought many of you could identify with it, especially with the back-and-forth and rediscovery aspects of it. Also wanted to praise Hiby for what they have done with the RS8 - its incredible combination of that smooth, analogue R2R tonality with the near-infinate maleability of the signal through the plug-ins and MSEB. Hard to imagine it not giving me many more years of joy to come.

Fantastic post, exactly the kind of data points I'm looking for as I consider next step beyond RS6. N7 seems like it could fit the bill, but even with the HiBy filters etc and the HiBy app, it still might be more of a side-grade?

Whew! What a day at the Cooler!

In other news, my Meze Audio 109 pro’s arrived a few days ago and has made me wonder what in the hell took me so long to go down this route…I guess I never suspected a headphone could be so comfortable as the Meze 109 Pro. Comfort aside, the sound is what really draws me in. It’s certainly different than an iem and I like that. I won’t go into much here as I need more listening time. However long story short is that I’ve been having some
Serious issues with my left ear and we don’t know what is wrong yet…pending a MRI….so my doctor suggest I take some time off of iems and limit my time with them to under 1 hour a day which isn’t much as a music lover. So with that being said, I’m going further down the over ear rabbit hole. I just put a down payment on a Meze Empyrean Phoenix limited edition that Bloom had 1 left of! They are simply beautiful in my eyes!





Should have these in a few weeks time.

I also ordered the new Eletech Baroque Tips for when I do get to use my iems. Praying I don’t have to altogether give iems up….

Bummer about your ear condition, but on the flipside you've got an amazing headphone on the way! I love my Empyrean, haven't been interested in pursuing any other headphone since getting mine 2 years ago already.

I’m really trying to stay away from this aspect. I hate being chained to my desk. But they do make these headphone cables quite long…maybe I could still sit in my Eames Lounge Chair!!

I doubt you'll mind being chained to the N30LE, I reckon that will be an epic pairing!
While I usually listen to mine with my desktop rig, on those occasions I use it with the RS6 it's still pretty great.

 

[deep2285]

Ljoma

I want to share about a IEM from my country Norway, had it for demo for some good time now.
The driver configuration is 5 BA. This is made by one man called Kåre, I recently met him and tested his IEM. This was at a local hifi show where he had booked a room to let people demo his creation. I listened for a long time and compared it to some of my own IEMs. Price is on the more expensive side, around 1400 usd. But I understand how expensive it is to manufacture in Norway, so the price is acceptable.

I had a chat with Kåre about Ljoma, he clearly has a big understanding of the tech and what driver he chose to use here. He used Aroma Jewel as tuning inspiration, but with 5 balanced armatures instead. He also has worked hard to get maximum out of the drivers, as you can see on the measurement below it has very good extension in the upper treble.

The shell is slightly large in size, but even so very ergonomic. I have no problem using it for many hours without any pain spots. It's not ventilated, similar to my Neon Pro. But I guess due to the large shell it's never any pressure buildup, I know this is personal and your experience can be different. The texture of the IEM shell is quite special, it does feel more grippy due to the slightly textured surface. It's also super light, one of the things he also had marketed on the fliers outside his demo room.

The design is quite unique and looks really nice, the faceplate has a 3D effect to it. Color changes with angle and lighting. The white ring is also fluorescent and lights up in the dark if it has been under a light source. The cable and connector is very new to me, it's the T2 Estron connectors. It's like an improved MMCX, much more easy to insert or take out than MMCX. Few brands like the new models from Etymotic and Westone have started to use this style of connection.

Subjective impressions:

Bass is very nice on Ljoma, it is among the best BA IEMs in this regard. It's tuned in a way where it gives you some note weight without bleeding into the mids, some would have preferred maybe it to flat out earlier but not me personally. Bass is impactful and fast, not the soft BA bass some IEMs have. This passes for me, even if I do think it would have been even better as a hybrid with a nice DD here. As for amount, it's okay and one the more neutral side. Personally I would have liked some more, but I regard myself as slightly basshead.

Mids are forward and clear, vocals and instruments are both in focus. There is plenty of presence in male and female vocals, also instruments for that matter. I find male and female equally good, but I do think people more sensitive to midrange energy would find this too much.
Some instruments thread a thin line where they are very detailed and forward without having too much of a sharp sound. For example listening to some Miles Davis I find his trumpet clear and forward without being piercing, but still have that aggressive tone trumpet is supposed to have.

Treble is executed very impressively, with plenty of resolution and extension. For me personally maybe more than what I prefer, but I know this is sort of tuning very few IEMs do and many also lust after this. Even if it's plenty forward and extended it is not overly sharp, it just has plenty of detail and air going on. Upper mids/lower treble has a sibilance dip that is there but not too big, my kind of dip where you get all the presence and detail.

Soundstage is spherical with good depth and layering, not the best I heard but better than your average IEM.

Overall the Ljoma is very resolving, fun, energetic and musical.
Strongest positives is the extended and airy treble, few IEMs do it this well. Also being tuned coherently on the whole range, where no range is lacking. And being highly resolving.
If there is a negative it's the price, but even so it's made by one person in Norway.

ljoma.no

They look quite interesting.

 

[dleblanc343]

An obvious choice for me tonight… along with a glass of wine.

Doing the same here with Volur iem as I type. It’s incredible for trip hop.

May he rest in piece

 

[deep2285]

Finally

Nice one, congratulations

 

[UnknownOperator]

Whew! What a day at the Cooler!

In other news, my Meze Audio 109 pro’s arrived a few days ago and has made me wonder what in the hell took me so long to go down this route…I guess I never suspected a headphone could be so comfortable as the Meze 109 Pro. Comfort aside, the sound is what really draws me in. It’s certainly different than an iem and I like that. I won’t go into much here as I need more listening time. However long story short is that I’ve been having some
Serious issues with my left ear and we don’t know what is wrong yet…pending a MRI….so my doctor suggest I take some time off of iems and limit my time with them to under 1 hour a day which isn’t much as a music lover. So with that being said, I’m going further down the over ear rabbit hole. I just put a down payment on a Meze Empyrean Phoenix limited edition that Bloom had 1 left of! They are simply beautiful in my eyes!





Should have these in a few weeks time.

I also ordered the new Eletech Baroque Tips for when I do get to use my iems. Praying I don’t have to altogether give iems up….

I just bought a pair of the chiseled 109 Pros, the copper 4.4mm cable, and a set of the Baroque tips. Congratulations on the extra fancy Empyrean. That is pretty awesome. For what it’s worth, I, too, am going through some inner ear drama and am available to discuss if you want to shoot me a message. It definitely started with my IEM use and a month long binge through nearly every eartip known to man. I hope everything gets better soon.

 

[UnknownOperator]

Ah yes, I’ve thought about it…but never had the best impressions of any near field monitor I’ve heard. Could be I’ve not heard any great ones.

Have you tried Dynaudio? The BM6a are pretty wonderful and easy to listen to for hours on end.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Bummer about your ear condition, but on the flipside you've got an amazing headphone on the way! I love my Empyrean, haven't been interested in pursuing any other headphone since getting mine 2 years ago already.

This is great news! From what I’ve been reading those that love Empy are in it for the long haul ☺

I doubt you'll mind being chained to the N30LE, I reckon that will be an epic pairing!

Not at all! I can still walk around my place with it.

I just bought a pair of the chiseled 109 Pros, the copper 4.4mm cable, and a set of the Baroque tips. Congratulations on the extra fancy Empyrean. That is pretty awesome. For what it’s worth, I, too, am going through some inner ear drama and am available to discuss if you want to shoot me a message. It definitely started with my IEM use and a month long binge through nearly every eartip known to man. I hope everything gets better soon.

Very nice! The primal is so beautiful!! Congrats! It’s a great sounding headphone.
I’ll shoot you a pm! Thank you for your kindness.

Have you tried Dynaudio? The BM6a are pretty wonderful and easy to listen to for hours on end.

I’ve not! I will definitely be looking into them though.

 

[deep2285]

Whew! What a day at the Cooler!

In other news, my Meze Audio 109 pro’s arrived a few days ago and has made me wonder what in the hell took me so long to go down this route…I guess I never suspected a headphone could be so comfortable as the Meze 109 Pro. Comfort aside, the sound is what really draws me in. It’s certainly different than an iem and I like that. I won’t go into much here as I need more listening time. However long story short is that I’ve been having some
Serious issues with my left ear and we don’t know what is wrong yet…pending a MRI….so my doctor suggest I take some time off of iems and limit my time with them to under 1 hour a day which isn’t much as a music lover. So with that being said, I’m going further down the over ear rabbit hole. I just put a down payment on a Meze Empyrean Phoenix limited edition that Bloom had 1 left of! They are simply beautiful in my eyes!





Should have these in a few weeks time.

I also ordered the new Eletech Baroque Tips for when I do get to use my iems. Praying I don’t have to altogether give iems up….

I pray that you don't have to give up IEMs either. They are a source of tremendous joy in our lives.

Meze Empyrean looks gorgeous.

 

[wolfstar76]

I have never tried Meze headphones before, maybe I should next CanJam, I also accidentally found my love for ZMF during CanJam 2022.

Songs from massive attack are among the default test tracks for bass performance, sad to learn the news of Angelo.

 

[bigbeans]

Whew! What a day at the Cooler!

In other news, my Meze Audio 109 pro’s arrived a few days ago and has made me wonder what in the hell took me so long to go down this route…I guess I never suspected a headphone could be so comfortable as the Meze 109 Pro. Comfort aside, the sound is what really draws me in. It’s certainly different than an iem and I like that. I won’t go into much here as I need more listening time. However long story short is that I’ve been having some
Serious issues with my left ear and we don’t know what is wrong yet…pending a MRI….so my doctor suggest I take some time off of iems and limit my time with them to under 1 hour a day which isn’t much as a music lover. So with that being said, I’m going further down the over ear rabbit hole. I just put a down payment on a Meze Empyrean Phoenix limited edition that Bloom had 1 left of! They are simply beautiful in my eyes!





Should have these in a few weeks time.

I also ordered the new Eletech Baroque Tips for when I do get to use my iems. Praying I don’t have to altogether give iems up….

Hey!

First, I hope your prognosis isn't severe and allows you to use IEMs fulltime again

Second, glad you are enjoying the 109 Pro. Had a feeling you'd connect with it.

Third, woah what a phenomenal looking Meze Empy.

There are a wide selection of headphones for you to enjoy just in case you aren't able to use IEMs, but we pray it doesn't come to that and you can enjoy both iems and headphones. The Baroque are as good as it gets when it comes to comfortable tips.

 

[Valrhona]

A man does not know what to do with all these wonderful caring messages. Thanks so much!! All of You are awesome!

A man wishes another a speedy recovery.

 

[DunkFealer]

Whew! What a day at the Cooler!

In other news, my Meze Audio 109 pro’s arrived a few days ago and has made me wonder what in the hell took me so long to go down this route…I guess I never suspected a headphone could be so comfortable as the Meze 109 Pro. Comfort aside, the sound is what really draws me in. It’s certainly different than an iem and I like that. I won’t go into much here as I need more listening time. However long story short is that I’ve been having some
Serious issues with my left ear and we don’t know what is wrong yet…pending a MRI….so my doctor suggest I take some time off of iems and limit my time with them to under 1 hour a day which isn’t much as a music lover. So with that being said, I’m going further down the over ear rabbit hole. I just put a down payment on a Meze Empyrean Phoenix limited edition that Bloom had 1 left of! They are simply beautiful in my eyes!





Should have these in a few weeks time.

I also ordered the new Eletech Baroque Tips for when I do get to use my iems. Praying I don’t have to altogether give iems up….

Wow! Love that there was a seemingly unintentional Watercooler jump on the Empyreans. Mine just came in today and I'm spending a couple late night hours with them. I also have the same reaction as you... I have no idea why it took me so long to take this jump into cans. I think you'll love the Empyreans if you like the Trifecta. The tonal balance leans thick and warm like the Trifecta, although the treble is a completely different story. That being said, enjoying warm sound definitely makes you more likely to enjoy these. I need a lot more time to process these (literally just had about an hour and a half of listening time) but they're outstanding to me. This is also my first experience with a "planar" driver at all which makes it doubly interesting to hear. Anyway, I'll report more at a later time, but I'll be looking forward to your impressions I also got mine from Bloom but did not take the jump on your absolutely *gorgeous* set.

 

[theveterans]

Wow! Love that there was a seemingly unintentional Watercooler jump on the Empyreans. Mine just came in today and I'm spending a couple late night hours with them. I also have the same reaction as you... I have no idea why it took me so long to take this jump into cans. I think you'll love the Empyreans if you like the Trifecta. The tonal balance leans thick and warm like the Trifecta, although the treble is a completely different story. That being said, enjoying warm sound definitely makes you more likely to enjoy these. I need a lot more time to process these (literally just had about an hour and a half of listening time) but they're outstanding to me. This is also my first experience with a "planar" driver at all which makes it doubly interesting to hear. Anyway, I'll report more at a later time, but I'll be looking forward to your impressions I also got mine from Bloom but did not take the jump on your absolutely *gorgeous* set.

You can add the Code 23 cable on the Empyreans to completely make it at Campfire Trifecta sound signature on a headphone

Meze headphones are gorgeous just like ZMF headphones. My only wish was it had the Susvara drivers on it since it's the closest to Sennheiser HE-1 sound out of all the planar headphones that I've demoed