I’ve been giving my IEMs a break for the weekend. Been listening to the Assassin for a good part of the day. Yesterday was spent between the Rider and the Berserker 2. I’m finding the Assassin is slowly becoming the sleeper. Didn’t jive with me so well in the beginning. Recently something clicked and I’ve been using it alot more. I think my favorites have came down to the Assassin and the Rider. Others are great just more in line with occasional use to fill a mood of mine.
Berserker 2 is absolutely a ridiculous beast with the bass and blast when I want it. Berserker 1 seems to be a better all arounder when I want the elevated bass but, more clarity to the mids/treble. Lancer is an oddity. I haven’t quit found what makes it click. It’s either a love or hate relationship depending on the track. Need more time with it to determine what makes it shine.
Edit: Can’t wait for the PK and Saber. Just checked and it looks like they’re in my city. Hopefully delivery will be early in the week.
@Rikudou_Goku Just as a suspected the Saber is a huge hit for me. My quick thought is like comparing it between the UP and EX800ST with regards to bass. I see UP often called a basshead IEM which compared to EX800ST Tape Mod it’s nowhere near it. It’s just fine we’ll controlled bass with a slight extra emphasis on bass to “satisfy” a basshead. You want to drown in bass it’s the EX800ST. Berserker 2 is your EX800ST and the Saber is your UP. Just as my EX800ST the Berserker 2 has a time and place and when I’m in the extreme bass mood it’s an absolute joy. Nine times out of ten though I’m grabbing my UP.
I still need more time with the PK. Definitely a unique signature to it compared to your other buds. It’s not an instant turn of though as some other branded buds and IEMs have been . As it stands right now Assassin still mostly reigns as the champ followed by the Rider. Going to see how the honeymoon phase goes but, have a good feeling the Saber will knock the Rider down a slot.
Bass boosted neutral: Very small bass boost that is very clean but has lots of texture and impressive extension, evenly balanced male/female vocals, smooth but very airy treble, TOTL timbre, holographic stage, best dynamic range currently
Last Gen 1/2 model before I go focus 100% on Gen 3 which will be using the Qian39 shell.
Edit: Clarification, on this last part. What this means is that I wont be focusing on creating new models to be added into the gen 1/2 lineup but instead focus on making gen 3 a thing. So if you are worried about me stopping the sale of the gen 1/2 buds, that is not it.
oh and while I am at it, I am also announcing the RikuBox. For 20 euro (excluding shipping), you get a random bud that I made during my R&D phase that did no make the cut into the official lineup.
Basically, the plan is to have some clear targets for all 3 gens.
Gen 1 = basic/all-rounder
Gen 2 = sound focused
Gen 3 = comfort
The qian39 shell is indeed smaller but I did find out that the 15.4mm does fit (although glue is mandatory) even though the original Qian39 driver IS smaller than 15.4mm.
I still want PK, but the problems I ran into with them seems to be bad enough that I cant make a whole gen for them. Its due to the extremely bad QC of the drivers I tried so far.