Don’t worry too much, bro. They’re a very good pair of earbuds. I think people have got a little swept up in the hype and all, but regardless of any claims they are a very capable pair of buds with a tuning that I think the vast majority of people will find within their comfort zone. Overall, there’s a lot to like and I’d say you’re far more likely to enjoy them than to not.
I’m sorry that they didn’t mesh well with you, but at least I can guarantee that you can get your money back alongside having the question answered.
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It was November 23rd but has been moved to November 28th. I do wish the shipping was faster but I appreciate all the work TGX does with them
Both of those issues can be fixed by using a denser foams than the stock ones I believe tgx is using. I am not a big fan of those lower density foams as well since they also arent comfortable for me.
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I’d be open to trying them with different foams. I tried double foaming them, but I kept fat-fingering the process and ripping them, so I gave up, lol. I did some research on some earbud silicone add-ons that might be helpful too for comfort in my case.
Do you have any recommendations for the foams? You probably have post or thread on here or head-fi that I can search iirc, but I’ll just ask anyway 
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To add on my existing impressions, I don’t want to write them off too quick if I can, since I find them to have a very unique presentation between an IEM and a fullsize headphone. If I can improve the comfort aspect, I would probably have a much more favorable review of them. They’re not some sort of TOTL killer or anything obv., but the fact that they are earbuds that stack up against IEMs in their price bracket is no small feat.
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HieGi are my favorites for thick, comfy foams.
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I’ve done some listening to the Serratus and now I just want to be able to compare it with the Grand Archer… but the only source I have atm is balanced only. And even that decided to downgrade itself to BT receiver/ wired DAC only this weekend since it suddenly no longer reads local files.
I don’t think listening to the GA on my iPhone via dongle is a fair comparison with the Serratus balanced on a DAP. Might have to be how things go down! Left my other DAPs at my workplace because they’re all for sale 
I’ll be near my workplace to buy a dented dishwasher off of a FB marketplace (it’s new, I don’t mind the dent if it brings it within budget!), so I can pick a source up for the sake of comparison, but it may not help me too much with personal decisions as the budget doesn’t cover a source atm, I’ll keep using this one as long as it’ll last. Not being able to use single ended earbuds with it (not detachable cable) is a weakness I hadn’t considered… I have all kinds of 2.5mm → anything adapters, so if I put a 2.5mm cable on something I’m usually fine. Might pick up the BTR5 2021 as a realistic power level.
Eiiiither way, buds will always pose the “making sure it’s still firmly in every 30 seconds” fit problem which I don’t enjoy and find distracting. I do have a couple sound-based quibbles which I’ll get to when I get more thoughts down. Didn’t take too well to Fotzepolitic by Cocteau Twins for example, whistly overtones in the left channel to the vocals in that track. Overall really stunning though, the first case for my ears of a transducer “disappearing”. A couple folks said that about the Moonlight and it wasn’t the case for me, but this really seem to let different music express its character and staging in an honest way that isn’t artificially analytical, isn’t cold, etc…
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Just listened to that out of curiosity (since Blue Bell Knoll is one of my favorites.) Yea, the overtones seem to have more presence and match, even surpass, the vocals in intensity which is a bit grating.
Based on the IEMs I know you like, I think you would really dig the Fiio FF3s. Just in case you ever decide to look for another earbud in the future. They have this big, powerful presentation that’s very engaging. Check out the Earbuds Round-up thread over on Headfi and you’ll see me and a cool dozen or more other folks over there praising them quite a bit.
They’re generally available for $85-$89 (sometimes even cheaper like during 11.11) from the Fiio store on AliExpress and that’s without coupons and they can hold their own with the big boys. I have a lot of high end buds in my collection and have tried and sold many more while building it and the FF3 has stuck around and gets plenty of listening time too. Based on your love of Serial and some others I think they’d likely be a better match for you than Serratus.
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Stacking more of that wont make it more comfortable. (but it will make it warmer sounding.)
Hiegi are good but pretty pricey, I like the foams from NSC.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004393038996.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32753761717.html
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So after checking out reviews (and what was readily available on Amazon) I got the FAAEAL Iris 2.0 and it’s pretty ridiculous how good it is at such a cheap price. Initial impressions are that I would actually equate it to around a $200 IEM/headphone (Kato/HD6XX) which is quite the insane dollar value in comparison!
My only issue would be that it is a bit warm and quite bass-heavy. That second point can easily be rectified with PEQ, for example: (100Hz, -3.2 dB, Q=0.5)
Everything else is very good, especially the technicalities.
I’ve got a TGX Ripples coming and can’t wait to compare it!
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Just a note on that particular Cocteau Twins track, tried it on some other sets, it’s definitely the track and how it was put together, no foul by Serratus.
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Just thought I would give an update on this. So, wearing the earbuds more comfortably with the HieGi foams and the stems hanging straight down actually results in similar bass impact WITHOUT EQ. This also opens up the soundstage a bit.
I think when I was twisting and shoving the heck out of the earbuds in my ears (making the stem go 45 degrees towards eyes) they were sort of forming a seal which was boosting the bass probably more than the tuner intended.
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Funny enough, in my Black Friday buying, I got the iris 2.0 too.
For $8, if there’s any chance you can get a comfortable fit with a bud, you should try this.
These are made of gypsy magic.
EDIT: Further first thoughts can be found here Goober's Journey Into the IEM Game or "Why Are You Not As Good As the 7Hz Zero....?" - #148 by GooberBM
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HieGi foams arrived today.
FAR more comfortable this time around, and the material isn’t causing my ears to go beet red and itch like hell. Also the foams are wide/plush enough to make contact with the concha, making them less prone to falling out/pulling on my ear.
As for sound, my comments on resolution are still the same, but the foams alleviated the treble issue I was having by darkening the sound.
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There are many different thicknesses, densities, and types of foams you can try. They can be used to tune earbuds much like tips are used on IEMs or pads on headphones. I’m glad the HieGis worked pretty well for you, though. They are amongst the most comfortable foams out there, for sure.
My dad loves music just as much as I do and I figured for Christmas I can get him something better than I usually do, he’s a bluetooth kind of guy so I was just wondering what would be some good TWS earbuds options? He listens to mostly rock and edm
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I don’t do the TWS thing so I have nothing as far as recs go. I was just posting because this thread is generally about flathead or “old school” eatbuds and not the TWS kind that gets inserted into the ear canal so you’ll probably get more replies if you crosspost this to IEMs. Good luck and happy hunting!
Honestly? The usual from Amazon since fit/comfort and usability will probably be the biggest issue so a quick and easy return if they don’t work well for him would be a good idea.
And then in that case, the usual culprits are recommended: galaxy buds 2/pro, airpods pro 1/2, wf-1000xm4, akg n400