FATfreq - Grand Maestro Limited (GMA)

My perception of bass is strong so Annihilator has enough bass for me and beyond that the songs just become boomy unless bass is vented like in Grand Maestro you can hear elevated bass yet songs never become boomy as ut is vented. So Grand Maestro is my absolute bass head IEM. Empire Ears Legend Evo in my opinion the bass bloats the low end

My Volur, Grand Maestro and Perpetua are my favorite rotations. All kinds of music with a different take on it from each of them. https://preview.redd.it/f5w31ygnvlnf1.jpeg?width=1868&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a9db6a2b715d91edc0de4ce5bf99682b122bdf0

My absolute favourite IEM is the Fatfreq Grand Maestro. It has tuning switches like the MKIV and comes with different modules to adjust bass. Giving instruments and voices an accurate body and representation, it is never sharp but has good details which sound natural. Using the switch will bring in more treble if desired but then it gets a bit sharp. The Grand Maestro is the first IEM which gives me the representation of a full blown big ass speaker which is driven by an excellent power source. Only disadvantage here is the price of the GM. Otherwise the Top Pros are very good with proper ear tips to tame the treble and they are quite affordable. I am praising now for a while the Dunu Falcon Ultra which I think is awesome. Has a bit warmth and forward , being at the stage like, vocals and great treble which only bother when cranked up.

I like superreview and Crin. Superreview is often "bass shy" which does not align to my taste and Crins tuning is now more and more getting fun and more bassy. Yeah, the Z1R is supposed to be very good bass wise. Have you looked into the Maestro SE? Some like it even better than the Grand Maestro and maybe it is an option. The fit though... dont know about the Sony but the Grand Maestro is not so easy to fit. Eq-ing is cool if works for you. I feel I dont have enough time to do it the proper way to really be happy with it. But tried it. DucBloke has some good EQ settings he is sending out to people who request. Exceptional bass IEMs are the Flipears Aegis and Legion. Than there is the Symphonium Titan which has a very fat bass, around 1k USD but seems to have a bit edgy treble which might not be the best for cranking up the volume. :-) Fair enough if the used market is not for you. The stuff I bought was only few months or weeks old and came without any debris ;-) After disinfecting them, all good for me. I have some more FatFreq stuff comin in this week so can tell if eg the FF Quantum could be a good option.

Some IEMs do surpass full-size heaphones but the price of those are in the several hundred to thousands. I had the wonderful opportunity to go to a canjam this year and had 4 of my best IEMs that can deliver all aspects of music really well. The IEMs I had were the FirAudio's Xe6 and Rn6, 64Audio's Volür, and FatFreq's Grand Maestro Anniversary Edition. Only some of the top-of-the-line full-sized headphones from ZMF, Meze, Grado, T+A, Sennheiser, Hifi-man, Focal, and Audeze could compete with those IEMs in terms of detail retrival, layering, instrument positioning in 3D space, and musicality. Soundstage and bass were done better in full-sized headphones due to physics of driver size but otherwise those IEMs I own were competing quite close and easily surpassed other full-sized headphones. The company representatives at those headphone booths where I let them try the different IEMs (while I was trying out their respective full-sized headphones) to compare to their showcase full-sized headphones agreed as well that those IEMs easily competed with their top-of-the-line full-size headphones of similar price ranges as the top-of-the line IEMs I had brought.

Grand maestro is goated. I’d pick that over the Z1r considering both as benchmarks. The fit, the modules, the rumble feeling just hits special on the GM. I recently bought the FatfreqxHBB Deuce and in that price range ($220) it eats up almost any IEM even some of the $400 ones. The bass is absolute sensational. You could also look into the Hisenior - Mega5EST Bass+ and Thieaudio MK2. I have tried these and can def vouch for it. But for bass I can’t suggest any other than Fatfreq since they specialize in bass. Their lineup from Scarlett mini to Maestro mini are spot on !!

In my experience, the most expensive iems do tend to have better technical details over cheaper ones. The details on sets that cost $5k+ (Storm, Hex, CP752B, etc) are for the most part better than say the ones in the $2k bracket. Tuning does play a role, but it’s less about justifying cost and more about how warmer sets can ‘hide’ details compared to their brighter counterparts. Take the bgvp Solomon, it's the brightest iem in my comparison and it's also the most: detailed, resolving, and most unforgiving with poorly recorded tracks. My two most expensive sets atm are the annihilator 2023 and fat freq grand maestro, and to my ears they do have better technicals (for the most part) compared to the the iems I've included in this review. There are outliers though, such as the Z1R. That iem to this day has one of the most expansive soundstages I've experienced with an iem. I upgraded to the grand maestro from it, but I do miss that set at times.

Hi brother what do you mean by not just volume? Im new to this hobby and my iem was kinda greedy im not sure if im even using it to its full potential i currently own fatfreq grand maestro and my dap is r4 eva and sony wm1a (yeah the cheap daps only since ive used most of my money in iem haha)

I’ve only been a few months into the hobby, and the IEM rabbit hole sure is deep. I’ve bought a few but my favorite is currently the FatFreq Grand Maestro. It cost me an arm and a leg but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t sound amazing It has a super textured and punchy bass while maintaining clarity and a good warmth. It can be tuned with its tuning plugs and switches so you can adjust the bass, treble, and mids. It is a versatile beast, works well for every genre. It’s my endgame for the foreseeable future.

Out of the list my pick would be the Grand Maestro. If there is one thing that FF does well is the bass and on the GM you get tasteful base along with incredible quality on all other aspects aside from the bass too. With the added modules it makes a great set.

The Elysian Annihilators are definitely a fantastic set, but I get the need for something that really brings the bass for genres like hip-hop. Out of the ones you’re considering, the FatFreq Grand Maestro is a solid choice! It’s known for delivering powerful, impactful bass while maintaining great clarity and detail—perfect for hip-hop. The Omega is also a strong contender, but if you’re looking for that extra bass depth and slam, I think the Grand Maestro could really complement your Annis. Have you had a chance to hear them yet, or are you still deciding based on reviews?