Oh ya EVO’s bass rattles great, surprised to hear that it was too dark for you, but ya definitely a fun set.
@domq422 Any time brotha, the Skuld’s are beautiful. Kinera never misses with the plating
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This was the feeling I got when trying it - that’s why I ranked it so highly.
Hard to describe but I can’t see a situation where putting these on wouldn’t put a smile on my face.
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Not overall too dark but too dark in the wrong areas for me (depending on genre and listening volume)
It’s got enough uppermids that it does not appear dark but treble is lacking.
The Autoeq settings from 250 kHz upwards pretty much nail it for me
The Bass shelf remains untouched most of the time 
PEQ settings are even better and I use them where I can but GEQ is fine too
Plus the Audio plug-ins of hiby R6III makes it such a great listen, i highly recommend that DAP or other hiby DAPs with these game changing features!
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Yeah, them girls need to be showed off in one of your youtube shorts, brother
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What are your thoughts on the Isabelle? The Isa has been in my sights for quite some time. I might spring on it the next time it goes on sale.
Talking about sales…Does anybody have any guesses/inside info on upcoming sales? At this point, I have enough stuff that if there is no SALE then there is no buy for me. Add in the strong $ vs. the yuan and stuff should be discounted about 10%.
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Last year we had sales March 18-28th or so. I expect some soon. Tangzu was advertising some not long ago. Spring sale is a pretty good sale tbh.
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A very important discussion around the current state of the hobby, would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this (please finish the entire video first, thank you!):
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I’ll just leave this here:
“Look for people who will tell you the truth, even if it hurts you” - NAPOLEON HILL
“It is not the truth that is born in the dispute, but the migraine”
“Wasting time and emotions on an inadequate person only makes sense if you are a doctor (or psychologist) and he is a patient who pays you.”
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Great vid Jay🤙
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Can I ask a question?! Why does any of this matter to you? I’m genuinely curious
Because I love audio and this is my community, and I care what happens to it and where it goes.
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That’s fair enough. Good day to you sir
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Just caught up on your recent video.
You was spitting, bro. You was spitting truth!
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Supa hot fiya
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Jay is Crin confirmed 
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SO, it’s BASS time… and let’s just say some of y’all aren’t ready for these.
Even though both the HBB HADES and the Scarlet Mini have a crap ton of bass, both of them sound completely different from one another, especially in the upper regions. Starting with new HADES - these are made for high volume blasting. For the graph readers out there you might think it sounds atrocious, “I mean just look at that uppermid and treble roll-off Jay!”, and ya you’d be correct the treble is definitely rolled off… BUT - the point of the Hades is for those who want to hear only the BASS, and a lot of it.
HBB HADES:
These are made for bassheads who blast their music to the moon, which is why the uppermids and treble needs to be cut or else #1, it sounds too sharp at higher volumes, meaning you can’t fully blast these without some form of sharpness, and #2 it allows the low-end to be more forward and take over the rest of the frequency, and gives you that immersion. The Hades is definitely not balanced. For the harman/df lovers, look away. At mid-volume the vocals and treble are noticeably drowned out, I would not recommend these for any vocals or classical tracks, no indie, no KPOP, it simply will feel like you’re listening to your music underwater or through a can.
However, at higher volumes the vocals and treble become more “normal”, still in the background, definitely not as open, airy, or detailed, but it’s passable now since the main purpose of this tuning is to bring forth the low-end and really let that bass slam, and oh boy does it slam. Again, it’s not an all-rounder by any means, the Hades is a very niche IEM made for those same people who blast their bass so loud it shakes their car… In other words, if you want bass, and only bass, then these will smack your brains out because it pretty much pushes back all the other frequencies and only focuses on the low-end.
I found them great for hiphop and rock at high volume, or anything with a lot of low-end, again mid-volume I wouldn’t recommend it, but crank it up, and just have fun with it, it’s not that deep. Tuning wise it’s warm and dark leaning, the impact is heavy, very authoritative, and you can feel the rumble in your chest kind of like a sub-woofer, but obviously not as good - it’s basically like a cheap car subwoofer, and for $40, I’m cool with it. Now, the control and decay is definitely not as good as the Scarlet Minis, it’s a very dirty type of bass, kind of like eating a double big mac with large fries, apple pies and a mcflurry.
You definitely feel the mid-bass bleeding and taking over the rest of the sound, vocals are colored 100%, very husky and pushed back, feels congested and treble extension is simply not there if you’re not cranking these, I mean even if you are they’re still missing that extension and openness, but again, that’s not the point of the HADES. My guess is that HBB, or Chris made these for the low-end to be super forward, in your face kind of presentation, and if you just want low-end, you know shut off your brain and let the bass blast your brains out kind of things, then you’ll be ok with the rest of the FR because, BASS. But If you’re a balanced kinda guy or like a clean or airy sound, then ya these aren’t for you, the Hades are simply made for a different use case.
SCARLET MINI:
On the other hand, the Scarlet Minis pulls off the somewhat balanced but still shit ton of bass sound signature pretty well. The treble extension and midrange is a lot better compared to the Hades, as it cuts through the sub-bass even with it having a 20db bass-shelf. And the reason it works is because the mid-bass is very well-controlled and much tamer than the HADES. The bass notes decay faster and doesn’t linger as long which allows the Scarlet to still have a somewhat natural vocal presentation, it’s by no means a vocal or treblehead set, not super airy or anything like that, but the rest of the FR does enough to not let the sub-bass completely drown out the sound (for the most part). Versus the Maestro minis, the Scarlet is basically that but with even more sub-bass and more of a low-end forward approach as the uppermids are tamer which shifts the overall focus onto the sub-bass region, and that extra 5dbs of bass really separates the Scarlets apart from the Maestro minis. There’s definitely less uppermids “fatigue” with the Scarlets as some have noticed on the Maestros, and the Scarlets do scale better.
The way I see it is the Maestros minis are more acceptable for most “bassheads” as it has a similar amount of bass as the Legatos, which is a nice bassy set, but not SUPER SUPER basshead I would say; Whereas the Scarlet is really for those bassheads that can handle that extra amount and enjoys getting their ears destroyed, a much funner listening experience without sacrificing too much of the vocals and treble. Then as for the HADES, these are for those at the bottom of the iceberg - the people who’ll do anything to get more low-end, they don’t care about the vocals or the treble all they want is, BASS.
In-terms of scaling the Hades will be much better, you can’t really crank the Scarlets or the Maestro minis as high without bumping into some sharpness, again great mid to slightly high volume sets, and slam wise the Hades also slams a lot harder in the mid-bass when it comes to drums and bass guitars because it just has more mid-bass, and the overall sound feels fuller, heavier, and warmer on the HADES. However, I found on some tracks the monster sub-bass on the Scarlet can get too much and kind of distort and bleed into the vocals. This issue wasn’t as prominent at mid-volume or with the Maestro minis, but depending on the song and volume the vocals will run into some distortion on the Scarlets.
So if you’re a balanced kinda guy and doesn’t listen at concert levels, then the Maestros will sound much more natural or “normal”, and again, the Maestro minis would be the better set for most “bassheads” because the low-end isn’t as overbearing, great at mid-volume, you get a crap ton of sub-bass rumble and texture, vocals and treble are still there and you can still enjoy most of your library. On the other hand if you can handle and want more sub-bass, then the Scarlets pretty do the same but just more of it and less sharp… and if you’re in too deep in the bass game, you know you’re at the bottom of the hole begging for more bass, then that’s where the HADES will meet you as Hades literally means the god of the underworld.
HADES vs ROSEFINCH
As for some comparisons the KBEAR Rosefinch is also still a good option, it’s like the HADES but not as dark, the vocals aren’t as buried and just overall more audible. Now, the tradeoff is the low-end isn’t as forward as the Hades because the Hades have a darker treble which tilts the focus onto the low-end more, and overall it just doesn’t scale as well as the Hades, and personally if I’m already in that deep, I might as well just take all the bass I can get. Quality wise, they’re both pretty similar, both do get muddy sometimes, not recommended for busier tracks, again, bass only.
HADES vs BLON Z300/QKZ HBB
And versus some other sets that are less basshead but still bassy like the BLON Z300, QKZ HBB - those 2 are obviously not gonna slam your brains out like the Hades, the Rosefinch, or even the Fatfreq stuff - the Z300 and QKZ HBB are warm bassy sets, the bass is good, but not quite basshead levels, there’s just less of it, quality is the same, not as bloated, it’s more “balanced”, still warm and colored but vocals are more evident, and it’s more palatable to most people as the extension in the treble is better, and just overall leans into that warm-musical tuning vs strictly BASS.
All in all the Hades gets a recommended, and also NOT recommend depending on your preference, and the Scarlet Minis gets a half-rec if you want the most bass with that cleanish sub-bass focused style. But really comes down to 3 pathways if you’re a basshead:
BASSHEAD UPGRADE PATHWAYS:
#1 If you like that deep sub-bass rumble, but don’t want it coloring the rest of the frequency then get the Legato and then save up for either the Maestro Minis (which is pretty much a direct upgrade to the Legatos), or the Scarlet minis if you want even more sub-bass than the Maestros. And if you don’t have the cash for the Legato you can also go for the OG truthear Zero, the HBB Khan, or any tuning with a sub-bass boosted scoop.
#2 If you like bassy and warmer signatures then start off with the QKZ HBB or Blon Z300 and save up for the ZIIGAAT Doscinco - you really don’t need anything past that imo it’s pretty much “endgame” warm set for the vast majority of people (anything in-between would be a waste of money).
Then #3, if you only want bass and the most bass, so you don’t care about the vocals, treble, or a balanced sound, like you’re literally just here to get destroyed by the low-end, then go straight for the HBB HADES, crank those babies way up, and have a fun time ( the Rosefinch works as well and would work better if you listen at mid-volume).
As for the grand maestro, in-terms of bass quality, control, decay, the vocals, treble extension and overall refinement and balance, ya it’s the best out of all the other bass sets I’ve heard, but the diminishing returns are ASTRONOMICAL. Imo it’s not worth it as a “basshead” set because there’s just not enough bass to be “basshead”, like don’t get me wrong it’s got a good amount of low-end, more of a sub-bass boosted diffuse field than all the other FATfreq basshead sets, but, it’s not going to be as satisfying for bassheads as the cheaper sets, definitely much better in the technicalities - just needs more bass to pass as a basshead.
Anyways, I hope this guide was helpful, and thanks for reading
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Old school rap like Grand master Flash and the furios 5 sound great on the hades
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