TGXEAR discussion thread.
Greendriver
100+ Head-Fier
Fit. Frequency response is fine, if a little bottom heavy. I have the same problem with Serratus. They are just not comfortable.
Greendriver
100+ Head-Fier
Absolutely. I am used to iems (although that took a while). I may just be over enthusiastic in trying to shoehorn them in so they don't drop out. No complaints about the sound. I'm listening to Serratus at the moment. Thanks to Jim Park, who has been helpful.
As I write this, Frank Zappa has come into my playlist and is showing me the potential these buds have.
Dang that sucks
have you tried without foams?If it's any consolation, my ears got more accustomed to the Serratus over a few weeks
Edit: but to be fair, I only had a mild discomfort to start with
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Let me know how the silicone covers go. I also can't wear earbuds (even the smaller Bell shaped housing) without experiencing pain after 10-30 minutes, and I've confirmed that I'm wearing them properly. Without foam kills the bass and only delays the discomfort by an additional few minutes, which is not a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
Greendriver
100+ Head-Fier
Will do. It may be a few weeks before I receive them
TurntableManiac
New Head-Fier
Ripples day 2 impressions:
Great neutral, natural tuning. Full bodied, detailed lower mids without boominess, sparkly, airy treble without sibilance and certainly not thin. Just sounds very true to life. Really cool how these seem to reproduce room acoustics in the recording better than anything else I own (Blessing 2 Dusk, Focal Clear). While I expected fantastic mid bass and dynamics from these due to their (well earned) reputation I’d also say that their detailed, airy, sparkly but not overbearing treble is also a highlight. Staging is more intimate as others have noted (like a wide IEM or narrow open back over ear) but good separation.
I haven’t listened to these head to head against the Clear yet as they just arrived yesterday but they’re certainly more natural timbre than the Blessing 2 and I think more detailed as well.
From memory I’d say they’re about on the same level as the Clear for resolution and dynamics. I want to say that the Clears maybe have a tiny bit more slam (the Ripples are no slouch on this front as well though) while the Ripples seem to handle micro dynamics a bit better than the Clear (take this with a grain of salt though as I haven’t really ABed Clear vs Ripple yet.)
Ripples are certainly an insane steal for the price though. I don’t have any reference point for TOTL IEMs but based on how the Ripples fares against my current equipment Id say that their reputation as a giant killer is well earned. Happily I am able to drive these to a comfortable volume at the upper volume levels through just an Apple dongle which is what I was hoping for (don’t come at me lol)
Great neutral, natural tuning. Full bodied, detailed lower mids without boominess, sparkly, airy treble without sibilance and certainly not thin. Just sounds very true to life. Really cool how these seem to reproduce room acoustics in the recording better than anything else I own (Blessing 2 Dusk, Focal Clear). While I expected fantastic mid bass and dynamics from these due to their (well earned) reputation I’d also say that their detailed, airy, sparkly but not overbearing treble is also a highlight. Staging is more intimate as others have noted (like a wide IEM or narrow open back over ear) but good separation.
I haven’t listened to these head to head against the Clear yet as they just arrived yesterday but they’re certainly more natural timbre than the Blessing 2 and I think more detailed as well.
From memory I’d say they’re about on the same level as the Clear for resolution and dynamics. I want to say that the Clears maybe have a tiny bit more slam (the Ripples are no slouch on this front as well though) while the Ripples seem to handle micro dynamics a bit better than the Clear (take this with a grain of salt though as I haven’t really ABed Clear vs Ripple yet.)
Ripples are certainly an insane steal for the price though. I don’t have any reference point for TOTL IEMs but based on how the Ripples fares against my current equipment Id say that their reputation as a giant killer is well earned. Happily I am able to drive these to a comfortable volume at the upper volume levels through just an Apple dongle which is what I was hoping for (don’t come at me lol)
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DanielListening
1000+ Head-Fier
I really love my buds from TGXears. It’s allowed me to access excellent music reproduction at an affordable price. I am grateful to @tgx78
Waiting for my Ripples to arrive. Reading this is making me feel feelings I'm not ready for. Stop it! (no keep going)I am glad that you asked this question as its been on my mind lately, I have Serratus, Tantalus, Alpha and just received Ripples last night. I have been listening to TGX buds for about a month or so now. I own the Traillii and Kublai Khan iems currently but have had quite a many others in the past... The more I listen to these buds, the more I do not want to listen to iems. Granted I still enjoy the isolated factor of iems and the way they present music as @SBranson noted above, more in the head and yes even Traillii although immersive still sounds inside my head, which isnt always a bad thing and I sometimes prefer this. The buds, especially Serratus gives me an experience closer to my 2-channel stereo days. I am finding that all of the buds are making my Traillii redundant, as the combination of Tantalus and Serratus equal if not better my experience with Traillii. I love my buds for the timbre, space and mids they provide. SO as of yesterday I have traded my Traillii for a more specialist iem. As I am just not listening to Traillii these days and when I put them on recently, although they are amazing just cant match the timbre of the TGXear buds. I am keeping Kublai Khan for its BCD and deep reaching sub bass extension as I find that very enjoyable with my electronic music and metal/rock. All of this leads me into my experience with the Ripples, still early impressions but the dynamics on this bud reminds me of totl iems, bettering traillii for sure. While Ripples cannot match the sub-bass of the Serratus, the perfect mid bass tuning, neutral mids and crystal clear treble is to die for. Ripples may just be my favorite of all of Jim's buds. They are highly technically competent even against TOTL iems. AT this stage for me, I am all in on TGXEAR buds. I will keep a few iem for specialist reasons, mainly sub bass and isolation factors. Jim @tgx78 is a genius in my opinion and his buds are phenomenal. Here is a breakdown of what I use each for...
Serratus: Classical, Electronic, Ambient, Soul, R&B ( most all rounder of the bunch)
Tantalus: Folk, Singer Songwriter (Mids Specialist)
Alpha: Solo instrumental, Jazz Trio (Timbre King)
Ripples: Rock/Metal, Jazz quartet, etc, Funk, Soul The Ripples can seriously handle extremely energetic music, so I am still exploring as I have only had a few hours thus far. (Dynamic KING)
And here is the mandatory picture of my new Love
RIPPLES!!!
DanielListening
1000+ Head-Fier
I shared this at the Watercooler but I thought I should include it here. Finally took the Serratus out of my ears long enough to photograph them.
JetGrindRadio
New Head-Fier
Those look great.
Here is a pic of my office setup. The Serratus plays well with the iFi Pro iCAN Signature. I use the bass boost at the 10Hz setting to add a bit more sub bass, which helps since fit in my ears are not very tight.
Here is a pic of my office setup. The Serratus plays well with the iFi Pro iCAN Signature. I use the bass boost at the 10Hz setting to add a bit more sub bass, which helps since fit in my ears are not very tight.
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Okay, you all have convinced me in what is a record 24 hours (for me). But at these price points, considering what everyone seems to say, I have just joined that Ripples waiting list! After reading this entire thread (my eyesight has declined more than my hearing as a result of this forum 
), I could not decide which model to go for, so I just went for what I hope are gonna be the most Jim-sounding model.
So, will these make me retire my LCDi4s!? They are my favorite transducers if we're using that term, are open-backed with a good amount of sound leakage, but sound like a near perfect headphone (needing EQ to achieve its best) without the weight.
First foray into buds (of the ear sort). Will hang with my other "buds" while I wait!
), I could not decide which model to go for, so I just went for what I hope are gonna be the most Jim-sounding model. So, will these make me retire my LCDi4s!? They are my favorite transducers if we're using that term, are open-backed with a good amount of sound leakage, but sound like a near perfect headphone (needing EQ to achieve its best) without the weight.
First foray into buds (of the ear sort). Will hang with my other "buds" while I wait!
Congratulations! Hopefully you'll love the RipplesOkay, you all have convinced me in what is a record 24 hours (for me). But at these price points, considering what everyone seems to say, I have just joined that Ripples waiting list! After reading this entire thread (my eyesight has declined more than my hearing as a result of this forum
So, will these make me retire my LCDi4s!? They are my favorite transducers if we're using that term, are open-backed with a good amount of sound leakage, but sound like a near perfect headphone (needing EQ to achieve its best) without the weight.
First foray into buds (of the ear sort). Will hang with my other "buds" while I wait!
Please find my review for the Ripples here. This is just one mans opinion, but I hope it helps provide some insight. Fingers crossed we get more points of observation and perspective as Jim makes his way through the Ripples waiting list.
I want to echo the sentiment of the past few pages of this thread. TGXear buds all offer heaps of value for your money if isolation is not a requisite. I feel very fortunate to add the Ripples to my collection.
I want to echo the sentiment of the past few pages of this thread. TGXear buds all offer heaps of value for your money if isolation is not a requisite. I feel very fortunate to add the Ripples to my collection.
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