It is crucial that you do not interpret this chart two-dimensionally but rather three-dimensionally using all axes offered. Optimally, this would be best presented as a sphere but in turn that would make it difficult to clearly see and read all the labels and sections. Thus, we are limited to two-dimensions for the sake of presentation and clarity. Please note that I tried my best to stick to the "classic" (more basic) sound signature & tuning characteristic definitions as used by recording professionals & audio engineers (
more here).
RikuBuds Berserker 1 Sound Signature Chart
RikuBuds Berserker 1 Sound Signature Plot
Primary = Neutral - L-Shaped
Secondary (Strong) = L-Shaped (which causes the mid to upper midrange to be slightly recessed)
Secondary (Weak) = Airy (minor sparkle in the treble region sans sibilance; helps with resolution)
Secondary (Weak) = Mid-Centric (lower midrange is ever so slightly forward simply due to open nature of earbuds)
Tertiary (Complementing) = Sub-Bass - Bass (basshead levels of sub-bass rumble & overall bass punch)
Tertiary (Opposing) = Detailed (surprising amount of detail for a L-Shaped tuning)
Tertiary (Opposing) = Warm (minor pull strengthening the lower midrange preventing bass bleed and darkness)
Breakdown of RikuBuds Berserker 1 Sound Signature Plot
With a super dominate
primary sound signature (red dot and red-shaded oval) the
Berserker 1 is easily labelled as "
neutral - l-shaped" sitting in the "
dark" quadrant with one (1)
strong secondary sound signature (blue shaded balloon) that also reaches out to "
l-shaped" further bolstering the already commanding
primary sound signature and causing the frequencies in the middle midrange and upwards to all gently recess resulting in a laid-back, smooth signature that is nearly fatigue-free treble wise (after sometime I am detecting some minor treble peaks wither certain recordings). Two (2)
weak secondary sound signatures (blue shaded balloons) counter the darkness... one reaching over to "
airy" providing a touch of sparkle in the lower treble, boosting overall resolution and the second reaching down into "
mid-centric", beneficially protecting the lower midrange from the powerful L-Shaped bass... this mid-centric event is simply due to the intrinsic nature of an earbud's open-air (open-back like) design. I am unable to detect any naughty bass bleed nor a muddied midrange. A prominent and
complementing tertiary sound characteristic (green shaded arrow) shoots straight out to "
sub-bass - bass" and is responsible for a nice rumbling sub-bass and an overall powerful bass presentation but does not impose much darkness with it. One downside to this sub-bass focus is a slight recessing of the mid-bass region that I hadn't noticed until it was pointed out to me. Two (2)
opposing tertiary sound characteristics (green shaded arrows) are also present, and in minor effect, reaching out to "
detailed" and "
warm" the later of which strengthens and protects the lower mid-range from bass bleed and in-turn pulls the overall signature away from being too dark.
Other Flathead Earbuds Model Plots
The other plots indicated on the chart are of other earbud models and their
primary sound signatures only and are offered for comparison purposes.