Thanks for the comparison! Just curious in what area/instances is the Serial better than the UP?
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I want to give you specific answers to that, so it might have to wait until sometime this week. Points of comparison in specific songs.
There are so many mixes of A/B comparisons to try with different IEMs, tips, and dare I say it, sourcesā¦ and even in my vacation Iām surprised how little I can accomplish in 30-45 minutes listening time a day.
Iād be happy to make more specific what I mentioned though 
Edit: Iām quite curious to try the Yanyin tips on the Up. The stock tips are KZ starlines, which have a similarish shape.
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No rush I was just curious. Enjoy your vac 
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Awesome to hear your take on them. Completely agree for most points. I got the UP early in my journey. At the time I made comments on Reddit and possibly here about the bass quantity being extra elevated in a good way for me. However I canāt say that anymore and havenāt for awhile. Funny enough thereās other IEMs despite by the graphs are much lower in bass and still at most times seem to have more quantity and thump. Best current direct comparison I have is the Moonlight.
Iām with you on the bloat too. Even seen a few reviews mention the bass bleeds into mids. Neither of which Iāve ever picked up. My continued love for the UP is simply due to the darker treble playing with the bass presentation. For me it makes for a super warm intimate tuning that never gets fatiguing. I also really like the texture, attack and decay of the bass. Iām not gonna say itās great or that others may like it just that for me it stands out as being pleasurable and unique.
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Thanks for the input! And Iām in agreement with these notes.
Definitely. Iām assuming thatās well implemented beryllium at play? Speed and texture without a lack of presence and weight. Itās differently textured to biocellulose, but itās the first driver Iād consider different-but-equal for what I like.
I donāt think Iāll be able to afford different IEMs for different moods/genres, (and it just doesnāt seem to be a system which meshes well with how I operate - always reaching for just one of them in the end whenever Iāve tried this approach) which is why finding one to settle on has been so hard and Iāve been so finnicky.
Currently in your listening, if the Up is what you reach for when you want something rich and unfatiguing, what do you reach for the Moonlights for?
I have a dread that they will be the closest thing to the all-rounder Iām looking for, but I know theyāre also beyond my reach at least for a few years. Technically the others Iām sampling at the moment should be too, but I found them at absurd used prices (and will only end up keeping one of them, or none if for some reason reverting to the Serial makes the most sense in the end).
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I touched on this a few days ago with the below comment.
Of course this isnāt to a tee. Just a humorous way to sort of sum it up. Theyāre both easy listens for me. The EST shines more in the mix on the Moonlight. Thereās a touch of airiness to the mix. Hence why I made the comment about it being more euphoric. Iām able to pull out the amazing details in songs easier while it not being analytical or dry in overall tuning.
For me UP is all warmth and personal. The soundstage is small and the vocals closer. Thatās part of how I define intimacy. Like the band is doing a personal show in small room under candle light for my wife and I at a nice restaurant. The night is all about her and I donāt want the music or my mind to take away from it yet enhance it. As if itās there but not meant to distract or guide the night.
Moonlight has warmth but, leans slightly towards being neutral. Soundstage is wider, imaging is fantastic, vocals are cooler and details and energy pull through better. As if my wife and I were in an open field on a nice cool yet warm early spring night. Sitting on a blanket enjoying a glass of wine and a fine cheese. The night is still about her but, the music pulls you two in more. Suddenly you find the music guiding the night more.
Well sorry for my ramblings. I realize itās probably an awkward way to compare them. Just been my approach lately. See what feelings an IEM/Bud brings forward with a song or how Iād imagine the presentation/tuning fit into a scenario of my life. Even something like the ASG 2.5 had a fun nostalgia that brought me back to my younger club going days. Just didnāt find it getting much use for its price and let it go. Still looking for cheaper replacement for it.
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Has anyone who owned the Xenns up tried the fiio x crinicle Fhe eclipse? I know theyāre completely different price points and type, but the graphās have some of similarities.
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Yes!!! The UP gets praise from the man Z. He had me rolling with the Italian dish with gold flakes analogy. Love that he pointed out that theyāre just great to listen to. Iām with him that Iād get rid of 5 other sets before I got rid of the UP. If theres ever a colab of the UP Iām on it instantly.
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Zeus gestures more than he speaks. I wouldnāt watch any more of his reviews, I donāt like the presentation! 
Well he is mostly Italian lolā¦Zās like Marmite you either love him of hate him but heās one of the most entertaining and polarising reviewers for sure
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Itās rare that both Z and HBB agree on an IEM, they both gushed over the Xenns - even though this set seems to split the crowdā¦
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Itās right up my alley too! To me it feels in a lot of ways like if the Serial was made as a tribrid. Enough similarities in overall character that when I was going back and forward between them for a week or two, Iād sometimes loose track of which I was listening to.
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Well there must be some differences, right?
What would those be 
Iād have to have both to be accurate about that, both had characterful rather than generic bass as beryllium and biocellulose have character in different waysā¦ Iām struggling for vocabulary on how the feel of the two differs there though. Bery has faster attack and slightly faster decay, a tad more clout. Bio has great texture and a very natural attack/decay even if thatās slower at times.
The emphasis each gave to bass, mids, and highs felt about the same.
Note: one reason I didnāt think the Up was as bassy as Iād heard tell is actually because mine was missing some bass in one channel, someone was able to graph them for me. That person went on to get Xenns warranty on them which seems to have gone well but I never heard them fixed.
A little more treble detail with Xenns thanks to EST, and separation thanks to driver count, but Serial had it beat for timbre with dynamics handling everythingā¦ plus as time goes on I feel like treble on the Serial isnāt the weak spot I once did, I actually think itās very good.
Out of the two I feel the Xenns could sometimes lead to volume creeping to get a little more excitement out of the mids versus the Serial.
I think thatās all I got.
Besides the technicalities made available by driver count in the Up, I consider them equals more than anything.
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The UP is one of the few sets out right now I really I want to try and its due to my enjoyment of the Serial
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Honestly with the $559 11/11 price itās at right now, youāre not gonna find it much cheaper on the used market, itās a buy IMO
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Youāre right. Somehow this slipped between my eyes. Gonna add it to my 11.11 list!
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I have both - but not much I can meaningfully add to what @rattlingblanketwoman posted above (and he is way better articulating this than I am anyway).
For me the difference comes down more to library, and more specifically genres. Just my take but the Be DD in the UP handles faster stuff better than the Serialās bio DD. For example the beatdowns on Parkway Driveās Horizons have (to my ears) just the right amount of force and sustain with the UP, whereas I find the Serial is a bit ālightā and the slower decay hangs around a bit too long. (Flip side is on stuff like Public Enemy where the more āorganicā Serial comes in to itās own, majority of my library is faster/harder stuff so UP gets more listening time.)
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