It’s been 5 weeks since CanJam NYC. My mission, try as many IEM’s
I left the Grand Maestro until the end of the day.
Sound Impressions:
BASS: Thick, Fast and Deep. The GM has what they call NOAH modules that can be swapped out to change the Bass frequency response, without impacting the upper frequencies, bringing the mids and treble appear to be more forward, through less bass (blue module). This impacts the sub-bass most and leaves the slam of the mid bass region intact. The black module, which comes stock, gives the most sub-bass. This is what many reviewers consider a “Basshead” sound. Having listened to the Scarlet Mini in comparison, I would say the Mini is a “Basshead” set. The GM is, however, not…just a Basshead set.
MIDS: I found midrange to be very well balanced, with both female and male vocals very clear and engaging. Giving the sound signature a slightly warm feel. But this is where Fatfreq has another trick up their sleeve. There’s a toggle switch just behind the 2pin connector. It sticks up about 1mm and allows the listener to turn the bass down on the fly and bring the midrange and treble slightly forward. My listening preference is always slightly warm, but for certain tracks and artists this setting is preferred.
TREBLE: The treble is crystal clear and very well extended, but never fatiguing.
TIMBRE: This is where the GM sets itself above all others I’d heard. The quality of the sound across the entire frequency range was best in class. Every instrument could be isolated with all the details present. 10/10
TONALITY: The balance of the instruments to the vocals is, again, the best I’ve ever heard. It’s like some little man (the crossover) inside working his soundboard, and making the IEM completely in control of the concert in my head. Getting the most out of every last bit of sound detail and making sure no part over powered another. 10/10
SOUNDSTAGE: Ok, this is some next level shit! We’re not talking about a soundstage that was ultra wide. Rather something I’d never experienced before and directly related to the timbre and tonality. Instead of having visualisation of the instruments playing on a stage, it feels like I’m sitting on the stage and Stevie Nicks is singing next to me, Mick Fleetwood is playing behind me and on my other side is Lindsey Buckingham playing his guitar with smooth precision.
SIBILANCE: I’m ultra sensitive to sibilance and have test tracks I use to see just how controlled an IEM is to lower it. Without a doubt the GM is the least sibilant of any IEM I’ve heard.
MASKING: This was probably the biggest and single most distinguishable difference between the GM and anything else I’ve heard on the market. Similar to the experience in soundstage, the instruments and isolated to themselves, making all the details present. On busy tracks that would normally sound like a bunch of different things happening on top of one another, but GM has a magical way of creating a space or protective zone around each musical element. If I could explain this another way, imagine hearing a track recorded in the late 60’s, with its hiss and imperfections, where it sounds like there’s a fog or layer of pollution present that makes everything sound just a bit layered into everything else. Now imagine you take the full stage in dip down into a pool that cleans all of that away, raise it back up and now you hear only the instruments as they were originally intended. The GM takes old tracks and “remasters” them. And takes remastered tracks and makes them even better! 10/10
BUILD QUALITY: Just look at the photos. I was also lucky enough to get the gold upgrade cable thrown into the deal for free! 10/10
CUSTOMER SERVICE: I had heard some stories about problems in the past, but after reaching out to Fatfreq post sales and asking for certain things that were missing from the sale, because it was a floor model and being contacted by Ben himself, I was very happy with how they handled everything. I used to live in Singapore and can tell you the people are amazing!!!
I think some of this has to do with just how much power these IEM’s really need. More than any that I’d tried on the day. Now remember I was driving these with a FiiO M17, a BEAST of a DAP that puts out round 1,500mW on the 4.4mm plug @32ohms. These IEM’s are power hungry! They take every bit of that and deliver it with surgical precision. I spoke with Ben, the CEO of Fatfreq and he told me the M17 is a great pairing for the GM and that they have a few at their HQ in Singapore. They also have a technology called Linear Impedance, which I believe levels the playing field for the different drivers in the set. I think the impedance of this set is 32ohms, but it sure seems like it takes more to drive it than other 32ohm sets I have. This higher impedance and power requirement also contributes to eliminating the background noise, giving a cleaner listening experience.
