TGXEAR discussion thread.

[jwilliamhurst]

These came in last night. I spent most of my night with Serratus playing Orchestra and as intended it excels and probably the best I’ve heard my classical library. I can actually interpret the massive stage of players. It’s quite impressive. I fell asleep listening to them throughout my library and Arooj Aftab specifically sounded like she was in my room singing to me.
Listening to Tantalus now on my lunch break at work and Big Thief sounds like I’ve never heard them. It’s hard to describe as I’m still getting used to the ear bud presentation but I am a fan!
Zero isolation but for quiet listening it’s not an issue for me, and the comfort is spectacular. Feels like they are floating in my ears.

Serratus

 

[zanril]

For those who are interested, I noticed Ripples is available for Pre-order!

 

[SBranson]

Interesting comparison tonight. I has the Alpha on and started this track. Bass was a bit shy unless I pushed the earbuds a bit into my ear. Everything sounded pretty good though but in light of recent discussions I switched to the Serratus …. HOLY sub bass.. and air and space.. This piece is crazy on the Serratus..

Then I tried the Ripples. Stage comes closer than the Alpha with much better bass but not the rumble of the Serratus. However around the 2 minute mark there‘s some repeating figure in the upper mids.. that has more dimensionality and just plain “more” with the Ripples over the Alpha or the Serratus. There’s extra info in the subtleties of the notes,

This would be thought to rate. For visceral bass the Serratus wins but for me the Ripples has more intrigue with the extra layers of music and more precise staging location cues.
Alpha is last on this track. It’s too polite and bass shy.

The second track on the album is different though.

The Alpha has more of a sense of a piano in space even though it doesnt sound like a grand recorded in an actual space rather more like a sampled piano. The Serratus sounded the most artificial in the piano tone and the surrounding music wasn’t quite as textured. Again the Ripples wins this for me with the most dimensional sound and interesting array of tones within the instruments.

Very happy to have all three for each shines in their own musical milieu.

PS.. I had never heard this album before and it was via BT lossless from Apple Music to my Burson. I imagine stored on a card would be even better.

 

[dsonance]

Interesting comparison tonight. I has the Alpha on and started this track. Bass was a bit shy unless I pushed the earbuds a bit into my ear. Everything sounded pretty good though but in light of recent discussions I switched to the Serratus …. HOLY sub bass.. and air and space.. This piece is crazy on the Serratus..

Then I tried the Ripples. Stage comes closer than the Alpha with much better bass but not the rumble of the Serratus. However around the 2 minute mark there‘s some repeating figure in the upper mids.. that has more dimensionality and just plain “more” with the Ripples over the Alpha or the Serratus. There’s extra info in the subtleties of the notes,

This would be thought to rate. For visceral bass the Serratus wins but for me the Ripples has more intrigue with the extra layers of music and more precise staging location cues.
Alpha is last on this track. It’s too polite and bass shy.

The second track on the album is different though.

The Alpha has more of a sense of a piano in space even though it doesnt sound like a grand recorded in an actual space rather more like a sampled piano. The Serratus sounded the most artificial in the piano tone and the surrounding music wasn’t quite as textured. Again the Ripples wins this for me with the most dimensional sound and interesting array of tones within the instruments.

Very happy to have all three for each shines in their own musical milieu.

PS.. I had never heard this album before and it was via BT lossless from Apple Music to my Burson. I imagine stored on a card would be even better.

Very interesting. Thank you!

 

[WoodyLuvr]

TGXEAR EARBUDS TIMELINE

 

[gylyf]

Interesting comparison tonight. I has the Alpha on and started this track. Bass was a bit shy unless I pushed the earbuds a bit into my ear. Everything sounded pretty good though but in light of recent discussions I switched to the Serratus …. HOLY sub bass.. and air and space.. This piece is crazy on the Serratus..

Then I tried the Ripples. Stage comes closer than the Alpha with much better bass but not the rumble of the Serratus. However around the 2 minute mark there‘s some repeating figure in the upper mids.. that has more dimensionality and just plain “more” with the Ripples over the Alpha or the Serratus. There’s extra info in the subtleties of the notes,

This would be thought to rate. For visceral bass the Serratus wins but for me the Ripples has more intrigue with the extra layers of music and more precise staging location cues.
Alpha is last on this track. It’s too polite and bass shy.

The second track on the album is different though.

The Alpha has more of a sense of a piano in space even though it doesnt sound like a grand recorded in an actual space rather more like a sampled piano. The Serratus sounded the most artificial in the piano tone and the surrounding music wasn’t quite as textured. Again the Ripples wins this for me with the most dimensional sound and interesting array of tones within the instruments.

Very happy to have all three for each shines in their own musical milieu.

PS.. I had never heard this album before and it was via BT lossless from Apple Music to my Burson. I imagine stored on a card would be even better.

Thanks for the comparison. It makes me even more excited to receive my Ripples. And I’m still considering the Alpha or Tantalus to add to my Serratus. I’m still struggling to get into the habit of thinking of certain buds as being more suited to certain genres. I tend to pick which pair to listen to based on mood or time of day (eg, warmer pair in the evening) or wanting to rotate a certain pair in, without necessarily giving any thought as to which genre a given pair might suit better.

 

[ksb643]

 

[ksb643]

Just blown away with my new Serratus! Light, comfortable and sound amazing! Schiit BF 2/64 into a Jot2. And much lighter than my also new VE Asura3..... which I have a problem keeping in my ears. The cable and metal shells are so much heavier. Now playing: Patricia Barber Cafe Blue. BF2/64 on NOS mode.

Thanks Jim!

 

[rcoleman1]

Had to post this...Sunday brunch. The Serratus is excellent out of Hugo 2. Talking about air, separation, resolution. Herbie Hancock is one of my favorite musicians and I know this recording well. This is too good to be portable. Great job Jim. So much for TOTL IEMs...saving my money.

 

[SBranson]

Thanks for the comparison. It makes me even more excited to receive my Ripples. And I’m still considering the Alpha or Tantalus to add to my Serratus. I’m still struggling to get into the habit of thinking of certain buds as being more suited to certain genres. I tend to pick which pair to listen to based on mood or time of day (eg, warmer pair in the evening) or wanting to rotate a certain pair in, without necessarily giving any thought as to which genre a given pair might suit better.

When I was into iems I was convinced that there was one iem that would “do it all” for me and didn’t really understand why I should need multiple iems for different music. Somehow this has really changed with having earbuds. I think it’s partially because I can own all three of these and still not be at 1/10th the cost of the current totl iems but the differences seem about each excelling at something where when I was exploring iems it always seemed to be about each of them “not” doing something right or being “off” somehow. In the end I think it must be because all the TGXEar buds have the essential timbre correct so they don’t ever feel like the instruments are wrong or have a weird glare. There is never really anything “off”, just different tuning choices.
I’ve been reflecting on the Alpha because of last night’s discovery of just how different it is now that I’ve tried it on music that I never really have. I think I was a little disappointed to find this but then when I put on the music I love them for, it’s like I’m in my little concert venue, like going to catch a show of the Early Music Society. So, yeah, I’ve discovered that these are more about genre and that my mistake in all these years is probably my obsessive nature when it comes to listening, how I get into a ”genre” mood for months at a time.

edit: When I first got the Alpha I put the Serratus down for probably a month and even then when I used it it highlighted how much I preferred the Alpha.. I think I made the mistake of generalizing but see now that I was listening to music that matched the Alpha, highlighting its beautiful treatment of the mids. Last night really showed me how good the Serratus is again.. Glad to have learned that lesson.

 

[arijitroy2]

It's exciting reading all these impressions although it makes the wait harder. So glad I sold all my TOTLs, although great but overpriced!! If earbuds sound anywhere near those iems, I'll be more than satisified!

 

[gazzington]

Hmm I've ordered the red serratus a few days ago and now I'm wondering about preordering the ripples. I'd like some thing that is great with orchestral music.

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[arijitroy2]

Hmm I've ordered the red serratus a few days ago and now I'm wondering about preordering the ripples. I'd like some thing that is great with orchestral music.

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I did change my Alpha order to Ripples since I have been reading Alpha is a bit bass shy!

 

[ian91]

I did change my Alpha order to Ripples since I have been reading Alpha is a bit bass shy!

Alphas bass is totally sufficient for my largely jazz/classical library (amping variances aside). It doesn't feel hollow or flat down there. It's only when you start demanding subbass and then Serratus flies by in terms of reach and presence. It will be interesting to see how Ripples compares to Alpha in the low end. The lower impedance already puts us in a better position to 'eek out the lower octaves.

 

[drewbadour]

For what it's worth, while alpha is bass shy, it has something that sucks me in. That magical timbre makes me grab it more often than any other buds these days. And it definitely makes me listen to music I didn't often listen to before haha.

Can't wait to hear Ripples!