Sriver update after 6-7 years

Updgrade: Andro Rasant PowerGrip & Donic Bluefire M2

So I came back into the world of table tennis and looking at my sad old bat, I need something fresh that will compliment my offensive style. Are there any brands you will suggest to stay away from? Any models in particular you will recommend for both backhand and forehand. So I've been using Sriver and it was kinda decent back in those days when I was looping them in, but unfortunately even these rubbers when new they are simply no good to me. Sriver just runs out of puff mid rally when stuff are really getting interesting. There is no way I can win in speed. Now my forehand is decent but as most people will say my backhand could do with more consistency. For this reason I was thinking to choose different rubber with more spin on the backhand. I really don't know what's decent out there. I'm kinda hoping you guys can fill me in and throw some good suggestions as I need to buy something as soon as possible. Currently using Waldner Senso blade which is also getting binned.

Hey, no I never speed glued my rubbers which I now regret as I kinda wanted to see what it's all about. I remember one guy doing it often but I assumed he was just changing his rubbers as often as he could afford it. Now that I think about it he must have been speed gluing at home and occasionally on the court.
By the way I'm not trying to find Sriver alternative. I'm open to any better modern rubber, so it's good to know they have improved judging by what Der_Echte wrote. I will look at Barracuda and Aurus but please keep the suggestions coming. I already removed the Sriver from my blade and I'm going to use them on a test blade while they are still holding together. Many manufactures seems to make 2-3 top models with different names. This is really confusing, like for example Brand SS will have model A and B, these models are divided by A1 A2 A3 and B1 B2 B3 (1 being faster and 3 being most control I guess) So now how do I know if B1 is better than A1 when even the adverts give similar stats on both? lol

I've been playing regularly at my local club and few players have been kind to lend me their backup bat to test different kinds of rubbers. I completely agree it's a simple thing between compromise of either speed or spin. The question is which do I want more of and find if what's written in reviews/forums correspond to what I felt while using some of these rubbers.
As usual every club has their own equipment supplier (some guy) that gets few % off compared to regular prices, unfortunately I found ours is heavily biased towards Joola and you can tell by simply looking at kids bats he sold to. Der_Echte I will definitely be using a single supplier to get the most out of the deal as I will be buying a complete setup so already have few sites in mind. Excellent suggestion never the less.
I can already tell most stuff I had the pleasure of using are vastly improved and superior to the Butterfly Sriver from year ago. Just a shame the members in this club I remember haven't moved from their skill level even after playing all these years.

Well I'm back again with some interesting findings. I manage to do it and actually test a few rubbers before deciding on a setup. It wasn't easy but I somehow convinced a lot of people to give me test drive for few rallies.

Joola X-plode, I got this from our local discount guy who like I said before is pushing out heavily Joola as he gets discount and probably some recognition. Already a great improvement over Sriver, much quicker but the spin wasn't great and neither it felt super fast. Probably a good all around rubber for the average player I guess. No idea how much it cost but I will definitely avoid as I don't think it's worth the money.

Joola Energy X-tra ?Green Power?, this another player who had both x-tra and x-plode on his bat, my taste for x-plode did not change but I liked the x-tra much better. Not bad, same feeling actually but with more speed, however spin still remains bad. The softer sponge made attacking good but finding the range was hard as you couldn't loop and they just went off the table. The price is not that cheap either and I feel a better product is possibly available compared to this.

I finally found somebody with Tenergy 64 on both sides, to be honest I kinda feel this rubber has been really overhyped. Believe it or not as soon as I started playing with it, I thought HEY IT'S SRIVER but on steroids with more speed. Everything came back to me from the old days, the rubber angle, the same looping style, but this time with much more speed and maybe less control as a penalty. This rubber definitely has a distinctive arc on it's own. I still feel the speed wasn't anything special as people boast about it. Maybe it wasn't matched with the right blade I don't know. I'm putting this on the maybe pile but I feel like I want to get away from the butterfly experience and see if can get 2 similar rubbers for the price of a Tenergy.

There was another old guy who is using Tenergy 64 and Tenergy 05, he didn't let me have a try but from his words the 64 is faster, probably because it's softer apparently, where the 05 he uses for backhand for more control. That's how he explained it. Overall just as I thought the experience isn't that far one from another. There isn't huge difference between all rubbers, some are overhyped, some are good, some are really bad for the money you get, most of all there is that compromise I felt I will have to make between speed/control/spin. It's good to see that tackiness also matters as I found out against some guy using Donic Coppa. Damn his serves are good, I had really hard time putting them on the table, and that is even after I got used to them. First few just fly away from any bat I tried.

I've sat down and reconsidered my options and I will be making a purchase in the next couple of days. I'm a little bit worried from my findings but I think I might go for what I think it's best......

It's time for the final update. I've done the risky thing and ordered rubbers I haven't tried, as nobody in the local club has happened to use them. I couldn't be happier with my choice.
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The difference is huge compared to what I'm use to playing with the old Srivers. Things have really moved up in the table tennis world as these rubbers are a lot faster, a lot grippier and the bounce is just crazy. As usual it took me a while to adjust to the speed, it was hard to keep them on the table at first, pushing/short game suffers with these type of rubbers but aggressive attack combined with good body mechanics is where they excel. I had zero problem beating my opponent on intense fast rallies once the top spins started rolling. The throw angle on both rubbers is different compared to what I remember with Butterfly products just as I expected. I like the new style better. It seems more flatter while still creating the maximum loop.
Servs are a breeze too as the tacky top sheet grips well. Unlike Sriver you can't see through the rubber, so the pimples are not visible.
Blocking is amazing too, absolutely effortless due to the crazy bounce, but don't get cocky or you might miss the table. I find just a good relaxed wrist helps absorb the catapult effect until a striking opportunity arises.
By the way I love the speed glue sound. Now I know what people mean by speed gluing your rubbers every week or so. I honestly don't feel like I need any more speed than this. I'm still glad it has enough control to put the balls where I want them and change the direction. This was my only fear when I chose them that I might become just a speed junky relying on good placement from the opponent, but fortunately I found I can be in charge of the ball.

Let's talk more about the individual rubbers. So on my forehand I chose the Andro Rasant PowerGrip, it's harder rubber, felt less bouncy and less grip than M2, but then I found it has hidden gears. When you finally start using your muscles to power it down the line it goes a lot quicker than M2. The hard top sheet makes it predictable, I like that. The tackiness is plenty and did not force me to serve with M2 instead. It makes serve returns pop in the air like a champ. Or even better most people couldn't even keep it on the table once you do the perfect brush near the edge.

Next is the backhand where I feared I'd like something with a bit more spin, maybe the arc should be higher I dunno, or at least to give me good control. So I opted for Donic Bluefire M2. This is a lot softer rubber, which is probably why it gives the feel that it has higher bounce, it's also a little more spinier, while speed wise it remains similar to PowerGrip. The thing is after thinking more about it, I put the reason for those effects is due to being soft therefore providing a lot of dwell time. Serves are effortless and gives a little more spin. Power wise it seems predictable, it doesn't have the hidden gears Rasant Powergrip once you start smashing it and going for maximum speed smash/loops. I'm glad I chose this on the backhand because my short game flicks near the net are absolute killer. I forget if arc is higher, it seems similar to Rasant anyway, just a little different.

Well yeah I guess that's it. Everybody is impressed with the new blade I chose and already asking me where they can get cheap rubbers. I think everybody love the color combo I got going in there, it kinda looks like a toy hehehe. I pretty much picked this half price to a Tenergy rubber, which means I can pick 4 rubbers for the price of 2. I'm glad to go away from Butterfly products because while I don't mind their performance, I don't feel they are worth the high price and bullshit policy. I would highly recommend the Andro Rasant PowerGrip and Donic Bluefire M2, I would also say that most likely if you are going for rubbers like Tibhar Evolution MX-P, Adidas TenZone Ultra, Xiom Omega V Europe , Rakza something something......you are going to get similar results. The most thing that seems to matter in my opinion is the top sheet choice hard/medium/soft. This is what will give you the desired effect of what you want to achieve rather than the brand. At least that's what I think I realized from trying different brands now. However, never the less I would say again stay away from X-plode, X-tra from Joola as they are no where near as good, the Rasant and Bluefire has way more speed and grip and it's even lower/identical price, so you are not doing yourself a favour.

Thanks to all people who replied and gave me some pointers. I'm pleased with my choice and from here it will be just lots of practise and enjoying the sport even more with the right tools for the job.