TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

[192kbps]

Truthear Zero is the IEM counterpart of the $3999 Dan Clark Audio Stealth/Expanse... for $50.

Harman In-ear 2019?

 

[m_g_s_g]

Ordered. Let’s see/hear…

 

[AudioJester]

Surely great frequency response but I have to say, if it may be acceptable for full size headphones to be insensitive (It's a metric that matter to me but I can get how it's OK for some) Now really for IEMs I find that really hard to justify. Isn't mobility the whole point, the most important point, I'd even go as far as the only point of going IEMs?

I actually find IEMs way more comfortable than headphones. I also have sealing issues with hadphones and glasses. I use IEMs at a desk and in bed while reading with both headphone amps and dongles. Never use them on the go, have wireless pods for that.
So I use them as a headphone alternative, and get much better sound.

 

[Mario Sanchez]

The compliance of this headphone to the Harman target on the 45CA is...peerless, I dare say. The 50$ price tag is just too attractive not to snatch...

 

[PeteL]

I'd love to try a pair if I could just get these things to stay in my ear, they always glide out. No I don't lube my ears.

I am with you on this, find it hard to get any Iems to stay firmly put and with a great seal. Other don't have issues. weird thing for me it's only the right ear the problem. absolutely don't have any fit issues with the left. Tried many tips and yes tried different tips on left and right. One day maybe I'll find the perfect tip for me but so far it's an issue. I still use Iems but keep refitting, every few minutes and it does get on my nerves and is detrimental to my enjoyment of music in the end.

 

[xaviescacs]

Wow!

 

[Steve Dallas]

Impulse buy initiated. Thanks a lot, Amir!

 

[AudioJester]

I am with you on this, find it hard to get any Iems to stay firmly put and with a great seal. Other don't have issues. weird thing for me it's only the right ear the problem. absolutely don't have any fit issues with the left. Try many tips and yes tried different tips on left and right. One day maybe I'll find the perfect tip for me but so far it's an issue. I still use Iems but keep refitting, every few minutes and it does get on my nerves and is detrimental to my enjoyment of music in the end.

The only thing I can suggest is having the cable go behind and then over the ear so it does not tug on the IEM. Memory foam tips can grip well.

 

[Xulonn]

Oh dear, oh dear - who to believe?

@amirm, or the guy who wrote the three-star review on Amazon reviewer with these comments:

These are fine but the amount of hype these collab iems get is not justifiable at all. These lack detail and resolution. Mids and highs driver is lackluster at best and the low frequencies are all over the place. If you want music to sound like it’s underwater being played from an Apple Watch speaker these are your jam.

or the guy who gave them two stars and said this:

I can definitely hear the dip in the low mids at the crossover point, and the "subs" don't really add much in the way of low bass or impact. Maybe these are pretty good for $50 but they don't sound much better than your average single driver IEM to me. They certainly have less low and high frequency extension and a less pleasing soundstage than my TinHiFi T4 IEMs, or even my trusty Sony MDR7506 headphones.

 

[amirm]

They don't have a headphone sound. That is true. And as I explained, with extra bass, highs don't stand out as some would expect it.

 

[PeteL]

The only thing I can suggest is having the cable go behind and then over the ear so it does not tug on the IEM. Memory foam tips can grip well.

Thanks, I tried that some too but may again.best I get for now is Grado GR10e. Simply because they are extremely tiny and ultra light, with the cable light too. They will sit there a bit longer but still find their way out.

 

[GXAlan]

They don't have a headphone sound. That is true. And as I explained, with extra bass, highs don't stand out as some would expect it.

This will be an interesting test of how much individual preference matches with population preferences

 

[audiotron]

Added one to the collection. Nice review as usual.

 

[Zim]

@amirm Which tips did you use for measuring? They provided a couple of variations for the silicone tips with different nozzle sizes and never specified which one complied to the Harman curve. Also curious about what one or the other does to the sound.

 

[GXAlan]

@amirm, at 60 to 75 dB, how do these compare to the Dan Clark Expanse? I recall you mentioning ambience being tied directly to driver size.

 

[wwenze]

Looks like very good performance at a very good price. Pity my ear cannot take anything other than Klipsch IEMs. How thick is the tip shaft?

 

[bobster]

I don't care if you don't listen to IEMs normally. You want this IEM so you know what correct tonality is, when you listen with other transducers such as headphones and speakers. Think of it as the tuning fork that a musician uses! This IEM needs to be in your arsenal.

You got me there - I'm a [professional] musician and occasional tracking/editing/mixing/mastering engineer. Ordered a pair.

How refreshing to see this review so soon after the $4k pair of headphones. Sure, it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, but clearly you don't need to shell out $4k for accurate sound from headphones/IEMs.

 

[wwenze]

The box needs more mention than the FR

 

[GoMrPickles]

The box needs more mention than the FR

This is a WAF debate I absolutely do NOT need in my life.

 

[johnk]

I couldn't resist and ordered a pair as well. I have been using a pair of Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 IEMs for my mobile listening for way too long and they need a lot of eq to sound okay, so I am really looking forward to these. I don't currently have a headphone amp so that is my only concern now.