Rikubuds Berserker 3: A refined experience
Overview
Let me preface this review by saying I am by no means an expert in buds (or IEMs for that matter) and my experience with buds has been limited to the following:
- TGXEar
- Serratus (owned)
- Ripples
- Rikubuds
- AR3
- Saber 3
- Berserker 1
- Grand Berserker 2
- GAS2
- Lancer 1
- Saber 1
- Assassin 2
- GR 1
- Penon
- PAC Buds
I won’t do a detailed comparison of the Berserker 3 to any of the above since I don’t have any on hand anymore but what I will say from my memory of the others, the Berserker 3 is my favorite of all the Rikubuds and combines some of the best aspects of his other offerings.
Vocals are natural and spacious without being overly bright or shrilly like the Serratus. They are more forward in the mix and clarity is top notch (unlike the GB2 which is just bass on bass on bass). If I had one critique on the vocals it would be that they can sound a bit thin (common for me on most buds) and depending on the mix, things like cymbals can come in a little sharp. As with most buds, they excel in stage and spacial cues. Everything is very wide however not particularly deep, which is good or bad depending on your preference. For me, it’s great. Bass never gets in the way of the mids and Hip Hop is very listenable on these, although they aren’t going to trump a good, bassy IEM for me. Mid bass hits are tasty and tight, similar to the Ripples but, unlike the Ripples, these still have a good sub bass presence. From memory, I don’t find these to be all that much bassier than the other Gen3 sets. Definitely a far leap from the GB2s but that, I believe, was intentional.
One genre where these rock is classic and hard rock (pun intended). Kick drums on Thunderstruck have both the mid bass punch and that sharp slap that sometimes gets overshadowed by the bass. Guitars have absolutely great tone, especially when distorted. Sometimes a distorted guitar can become kind of mushy if there is too much bass or can be shrill if the signature is too thin. The Berserker 3 gives a good balance between both, leaning more towards bass and body. Brian Johnson’s voice is extremely unique and can sometimes get a bit overbearing but the smoother treble of the Berserker 3 gives you some breathing room on the volume knob which is great cause the more you crank the better the bass gets. I should note I am using really thick Hiegi foams so if you use something thinner you might your experience with the treble will be different.
Last thing I want to talk about is fit. Fit is maybe the single most important thing for ear buds and what Riku did here with his shell is truly a work of art. It’s not the first time I have tried the gen 3’s but it is my first time talking about them and as someone who had no real problem with MX500 shells, the Gen3 shell really does stomp on them fit wise. Now, fit is a highly personal thing so your ears may not like the Gen3 shells. For me though, they just work. The fit and fact that the sound signature just works for my library is what prompted me to get rid of my Serratus. I knew I never was going to listen to those again.
All in all, the Berserkers get two big thumbs up from me and I don’t really see myself exploring more buds in the future. I am quite content with these as my go to.