So I am not much of a reviewer but I’ll share my thoughts and impressions of the Rikudou Buds Grand Rider 1’s. I received these about two weeks ago, and until my most recent arrivals (electrostatic headphones and an amp to go with it) they were the only transducers that I was listening to. Keep in mind that these thoughts and impressions are according to my perception of sound and my preferences. Also, I have learned that I much prefer ear buds over iem’s for comfort but iem’s are still useful for providing some sound isolation.
These buds are fantastic. They provide a great soundstage both in depth but especially width. The sound stage feels natural and does not take away from the excellent tonality of this set. The set has been described as warm leaning but doesn’t feel that way to me. It sounds very balanced for me when using the yellow foam covers. The imaging is good but not excellent, but it isn’t something I notice as not being exceptional as this set provides a very cohesive sound.
Compared to my other recent gear:
Thieaudio Oracle - I found the GR 1’s to simply be a more enjoyable experience. The GR 1’s have better technicalities in general and to my ears had more treble and less warm leaning. A plus for me. Recently sold my Oracles to fund new purchases as they weren’t getting any ear time.
Olina’s - No contest for me, the GR 1’s. I am keeping my Olina’s. They will be my comfort iem for when I need some sound isolation.
Focal Clear Mg - So a lot more expensive and the only thing the Mg’s were better at was bass slam. The Mg’s sound overly warm, and while the imaging is better on the Mg’s, the headphone itself is only nice to listen to with EQ. I recently sold these too after having them for a year.
Grado RS2X - These has been a huge surprise to me. Using 3rd party G pads, these have great tonality, awesome bass texture. Love these and didn’t expect too. Very good sound stage as well. The GR 1’s and RS2X’s are very similar but of course present the sound differently with one being buds and the other is an open back headphone. Love these and keeping them.
LSA-2 Closed Back Headphone - Tonality was never right with these and they have great imaging but just sound wrong. To make it worse, they have developed a severe imbalance on the left side. I need to get these replaced before giving them another listen. Might eventually sell them.
I have other gear but I’m not going to comment on all of them.
Finally I used the Gr 1’s using Fiio BTR5, apple dongle, Schiit Jot 2, Fiio K9 Pro AKM edition, and Zen Dac and Zen Can and loved it on all of them. The apple dongle is barely able to drive these buds to a satisfactory quality but not as well as any of the other dac/amps.