Review - FatFreq Scarlet Mini

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TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - FatFreq Scarlet Mini

The FatFrequency Scarlet Mini has been sent to me as part of a tour organised on Head-Fi. The usual tour rules apply but you can find info regarding the tour here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fatfreqs-scarlet-mini-goes-on-tour.971026/

The official page for the Scarlet Mini can be found here: https://fatfreq.com/collections/maestro-series/products/scarlet-mini

As always, this is a non-affiliate link.

To avoid being repetitive in my reviews, you can find all the info about how I create the reviews, equipment used, how I receive the products and how to interpret my reviews by visiting: About my reviews

Intro…

I can’t pretend not to know the fame behind FatFrequency (FatFreq) , they do bass, lots of bass, and they do it well. At least that seems to be the general consensus, as I had not actually listened to a FatFreq set until now.

As I have made clear over the time I have been reviewing, I am not really someone who likes excessive bass, except on specific occasions when I am in the mood, but how could I not jump at the chance to try out a set of IEMs that so proudly boasts to be “the world’s first 30dB bass shelf”.

While FatFreq don’t state the exact driver configuration on their website, and have been known to not openly share their driver configurations in the past, it seems that the Scarlet Mini use a 10mm DD for the low ranges, a BA for the mid ranges and a custom “hyper tweeter” for the highs.

The Scarlet Mini sells for just under 600€ direct from the FatFrequency website and is part of their Maestro series, otherwise known as their flagship series.

Build and aesthetics…

I can’t go into details about packaging and presentation as I received the IEMs in a hardshell case (think Pelican case) and I also can’t say if the included contents are those that are actually shipped with the retail units.

I can say that the monitors themselves are on the smaller side, with a shape that is a little unorthodox but is very comfortable, at least for me personally. I can’t say that I would give them any prizes for aesthetics but, as always, that is a very personal thing and what I prefer may not meet the tastes of the majority of others.

The cable that I received with the Scarlet Mini I believe is the “Upgraded Silver Red Cable” that is available on their site and does raise the price by about 150€. The cable itself is ok but not my favourite as I find it a little plasticky, however, I have to say that I really like their modular connector system.

At this point we have seen interchangeable connectors on many cables from different brands but the way that FatFreq is different to other connection systems that I have seen. Basically the outer shell of the connector screws off and reveals that the connector is actually divided into 2 halves that just push together, securing themselves when the outer shell is screwed back into place. At a simple glance it doesn’t look like a modular cable at all, in fact, if it wasn’t for the other connectors included in the case, I would never have guessed that it wasn’t just a 4.4mm terminated cable.

Sound…

All tracks mentioned are clickable links that allow you to open the reference track in the streaming service of your choice (YouTube, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, etc.)

Now on to the interesting part, getting to hear the Scarlet Mini and the famed bass of FatFreq for the first time. But before sharing my subjective opinions, as always, let’s take a look at the graph of the Scarlet Mini in comparison to my usual preference target that I always use for reference.

I have said many times that my preference target is nothing but a rough guide, it is not a guarantee that I will or will not like something just based on how close to the target it is. There have been times that things have been almost spot on and I haven’t liked them, and other times that I have really liked something that deviates a long way from my target.

Saying that, anyone who looks at the above graph can easily see how far away from my target the Scarlet Mini are.

I have also said many times that I am not someone who favours excessive bass, especially midbass, and that it can become fatiguing and even nauseous if there is too much bass and it is not clean and well defined.

So… in that case… I hate the Scarlet Mini don’t I???

Hell no! But it does mean that I have to look at them in a different way, not necessarily as a set of IEMs that I would choose but more as a set of IEMs that is built to do a certain thing.

Starting off with “Chameleon”, the bass is thunderous and, for me personally, is just too much. I have said in the past that excessive midbass that isn’t clear will fatigue me, here it is the excessive bass in general that fatigues me. “Chameleon” is a track that honestly overdoes it in the bass range, adding that to the Scarlet Mini which also overdoes it in the bass range, can actually make me feel nauseous.

But moving away from the excessiveness while still sticking with a track that relies on good bass presence and presentation, “No Sanctuary Here” is a different story. It is still far too present in the bass ranges for my tastes but at least now we have some clarity and definition to those lower notes. I wouldn’t say that it is a punchy bass, it is more of a think low end that somehow still manages to define notes, although I would still prefer a little more clarity.

Sticking with EDM but reducing the low end a little more, focusing a little bit more on the midbass, “Sun Is Shining” is more of an electronic track that I can find very impressive and enjoyable. I couldn’t listen to it all day (the track or the tuning) but when in the mood for some partying, the presentation certainly makes things sound impressive.

As we move away from bass centric music, it is impressive how much clarity and definition simple acoustic music can produce. For example, in “Tears in Heaven”, there is a but of excessive thump to the rhythm yet the vocals and the acoustic guitar sounds very realistic and very pleasing to my ears.

With something a bit busier and focused more on rock, I found “The Room” by Ostura to not only be very impressive throughout the intro but to sound full of life and enjoyable even when the track gets to the busier parts. Again, there is a little too much emphasis on the kick drum for me personally but it is an impressive presentation that I found I enjoyed.

As far as upper mids and the higher ranges in general, I find it depends very much on the bass section, as is to be expected with such a boosted lower range. When tracks are not overly present in the lower ranges, then I find the Scarlet Mini to have a smooth and rather pleasant upper frequency range, however, as soon as we move into music that has a large bass presence, this definitely takes the spotlight and relegates the rest to a secondary position.

Soundstage is pretty darn good but can once again feel a little congested when that booming low end kicks in. There is plenty of separation and very good location of instruments in things like “La Luna”, but in bass heavy tracks, the low end gets filled in so much that it makes it more difficult to place the sounds around you.

Conclusion…

The Scarlet Mini are a set of IEMs that are designed to do a specific thing, bass, and there is no denying that they do it and do it well. Yes, they are over the top for my personal tastes, although I knew that going into this, but I am still surprised at how pleasurable they are when listening to a lot of music that is not overly bass focused.

If you are a bass head, then there is no doubt that you should give these a whirl, you are the person that was in mind when these were tuned. However, if you are not a bass head, I still think that these can be very enjoyable IEMs that have plenty of performance that is not just bass.

I am very glad that I have had the chance to try these out and all I can do is agree with most of what I had heard about these IEMs before I tried them out.