Congrats, Cal! 
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thank you thank you. The first change I had to do was swap the foam because it was too scratchy for me and the denser, softer, foam helped the fit too.
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I’m one of the oddballs it seems. I think the Grand Rider 1’s are better for me than the Serratus. Both are great, but the staging is superior on the GR1s. They are fairly similar and I think they both are end game buds for almost anyone. I listen to the Serratus when I want a slightly fuller mids.
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You may be an oddball but your feelings are valid. Serratus has a boosted treble, but GR has a cleaner treble with better clarity. It does have superior staging.
Serratus has a forward presentation that doesn’t end up feeling intimate or on top of you. That’s pretty special too. GR has huge soundstage but it doesn’t always do the best at filling ALL the space. Serratus is very good at making use of all the space in it’s soundstage.
GR has a cleaner mid-bass, and is preferable if you want to keep that warmth balanced and neutral.
They really do trade blows very well so you’re not crazy to think Serratus is not your preference.
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I would love to hear the GR1/2 at some point. Today I will be getting some serious thoughts down on the Serratus. I can say from listening a bit last night that while they are definitely a deal for the price however I haven’t had an “OMG!” experience with them yet. I think just need more time with them and I havent been able to listen in a quite environment to really appreciate all the nuance.
I would say GB2, while a very different bud, is right up there in uniqueness of experience and I really appreciate that. The Serratus almost feels like the IE600 of buds to me, it has a very similar signature which really vibes with me.
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They both do have that exaggerated treble, so I can see the comparison there.
I’ll hook you up with a GR1 loan at some point. I got you, fam!
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My Serratus is supposed to be arriving today, so I can do some direct comparisons with the GR1 this week/end. If @GooberBM can’t get you one, I can always lend you my pair of GR1 @cal_lando .
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The time I had my “oh wowser” moment is with Orchestral, OST, soundtrack type stuff. The large arrangement pieces that fill the whole space? Serratus kills those. For the average pop song? It’s like being a ph.D teaching a kindergarten class how to count to 10: Entirely overqualified for the job at hand.
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Yeah slightly I guess but a lot will come down to source, if you’re a THX head then that’ll do them no favours imho but if like me you’re more of a Burr Brown or Hybrid tube amp dude then I reckon that’s the way to go with this set…can’t comment on the GR1 as I’ve not heard it, what Ω impedance is the driver?
PS a quick general question are the other foams that come with them different to stock? as the stocks are comfy and the bud stays in place ok 
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Lol I love this analogy. I’ll def gotta take you up on a loan. I can send my IE600 your way too
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I think the extra foams are the same. I might try them again but they were uncomfortable to me and would scratch my ear
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So here are my notes from listening to @Sonofholhorse 's Rikubuds… they’re labeled by shell I couldn’t remember which was which by name:
Verbatim
The riku with the Val39(?) shells: Sound great (still CCR LS)
Mid feel more forward than the rest. Coming straight from the U6T, a bit like the backing of a painting dropped back a little. No longer in the bar with them, almost too echoey, I’m a little way across the street from them, just as forward but more reverb introduced.
Men I Trust - Black Hole Era — Off to a great start, love those mids. Lovely full vocals follow in the same vein as the intro synth. Later on in song 1:41ish, tactility is better than I expected. I’m enjoying the kicks.
Let’s give it the “on a high” test…
Sub bass can at least be heard. Doesn’t “come up to my neck” or anything, but this is an earbud.
Feels like FROM MEMORY, GA with toned down treble and more lower mids.
Actually can’t be that different to Serratus, except for perhaps more “gaps in the background” not sure how to describe. Gap between vocals and tamborine, vocals and bass notes, etc. Like three lamps equidistant, halos of each don’t quite reach the next. Chalk this up to “open” for now, don’t want to blame the buds. I wouldn’t exactly call anything thin… more like they get a little thinner at bass/mid/high transitions?
—
The other Rikubud - less forward mids, a little less intensity which is helping it meld better with the other frequencies. Very naturally balanced. Not getting the 3 prong feeling any more, evenness between FR.
Needs a little more sub-bass like the other one could muster… really nice listen.
FROM MEMORY, less call-out areas like the GA (its strong treble) but in a good way.
Fit doesn’t seem better or worse than Val39 - left side more problematic (MX500)
I’ll see if a volume boost can add a little low end and up immersion a half-step.
Powering off a iPhoneSE 2016… volume up doesn’t really W or V anything much, so scalable.
Such a a natural stage for Les Voix Humans Johannes Schenk - Aria Burlesca… the resonance in the instrument, and the sense of the space of the performance. One of themes natural classical experiences, because it’s not from mids forwardness.
Translation:
The riku with the Val39(?) shells: Sound great (still listening to Lonesome Susie by The Band)
Mids feel more forward than the rest. Coming straight from the U6T, a bit like the backing of a painting dropped back a little. No longer in the bar with them, almost too echoey, I’m a little way across the street from them, just as forward but more reverb introduced.
Men I Trust - Black Hole Era — Off to a great start, love those mids. Lovely full vocals follow in the same vein as the intro synth. Later on in song 1:41ish, tactility is better than I expected. I’m enjoying the kicks.
Let’s try it with “On a High” by Roots Manuva to see if we can swim around in some sub warmth…
Sub bass can at least be heard. Doesn’t “come up to my neck” or anything, but this is an earbud.
Feels like FROM MEMORY, Grand Archer with toned down treble and more lower mids.
Actually can’t be that different to Serratus, except for perhaps more “gaps in the background” not sure how to describe. Gap between vocals and tamborine, vocals and bass notes, etc. Like three lamps equidistant, halos of each don’t quite reach the next. Chalk this up to “open” for now, don’t want to blame the buds. I wouldn’t exactly call anything thin… more like they get a little thinner at bass/mid/high transitions?
—
The other Rikubud - less forward mids, a little less intensity which is helping it meld better with the other frequencies. Very naturally balanced. Not getting the 3 prong feeling (W-shaped?) any more, evenness between FR.
Needs a little more sub-bass like the other one could muster… really nice listen.
FROM MEMORY, less areas that stand out like the Grand Archer’s strong treble, but in a good way.
Fit doesn’t seem better or worse than Val39 - left side more problematic (MX500)
I’ll see if a volume boost can add a little low end and up immersion a half-step.
Powering off a iPhoneSE 2016… volume up doesn’t really W or V anything much, so it’s scalable maintaining the flatter more balanced tuning.
Such a natural stage for Aria Burlesca by Johannes Schenk from “Les Voix Humaines” (Jordi Savall)… the resonance in the instrument, and the sense of the space of the performance. One of the most natural classical experiences, because it’s not getting its wow factor from mids forwardness.
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The Val39 shell was the Grand Alter Saber 2 and the MX500 shell was the Grand Rider 1. Thanks for sharing the notes!
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Thanks for sharing your notes, brother! Side note - I love Men I Trust You have impeccable taste, good sir 
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It was pretty brief for each, I definitely have no recollections in order to add to what I got down at the time 
Maybe these scrambled notes help a bit though.
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Okay so based on everything that was said about the serratus I figured it would be good with my chill playlist and it does not disappoint!
This playlist has a lot from the Kill Bill soundtrack and so far I’ve gotten pretty OMG moments from
- Bang Bang - Nancy Sinatra
- The Flower Of Carnage - Meiko Kaji
As well as
- Settle Down - Kimbra
- Cruel - St. Vincent
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Serratus and Grand Archer are on their way back, so you’ll have the chance to put one against the other
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The Gr1’s are 150 Ohms I believe.
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I have GR and went A/B/C extensively with Serratus (while I had it) and Ripples. GR has the most neutral treble, overall between the three, but for my ear it had the clearest, cleanest treble.
I don’t have tube amps, but I have hip-dac which is very much in the style you like and it certainly does good things to Serratus, no doubt about that.
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