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TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

Rate this IEM

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 13 2.2%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 21 3.5%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 73 12.2%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 493 82.2%

  • Total voters
    600

Rottmannash

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went to the Comply site and could only shop by IEM brand and the Truthear isn't in their list. What other IEM has tips that fit?
 

pkane

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DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN.

I just received mine after a big delay and tried them out right away.

Bunny proof:
View attachment 234113

It's disturbing. They sound so clean it's almost unbelievable.

What a great luxury to have high end hifi products for the price of a small restaurant visit.
Thank you so much Amir and Shenzhenaudio for showing us this gift for music lovers.

I think that bunny needs bigger tips, it's not sealed well :)
 
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Jimbob54

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went to the Comply site and could only shop by IEM brand and the Truthear isn't in their list. What other IEM has tips that fit?
I believe it's the 500 size.
 

Remlab

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Just bought the two pin version of this. Output impedance is .7ohm. Should be interesting.
 

Remlab

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thunderchicken

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I did notice they needed more power than some of my other IEMs, but I was immediately impressed with the overall presentation. Deep bass was there but not bleeding into other ranges and the treble was sparkly without being harsh or unpleasant. Flat EQ was great. These are fantastic and were a great buy at the price. My Aeon RT even needed some bass boost and they were half a kilobuck. These were 10% of that and were great out of the box. Speaking of the box, the packaging was a little much for me, but I appreciated the quality. I would have rather gotten the headphones in a plastic bag and saved another $15 though.
 

woof!

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Just bought the two pin version of this. Output impedance is .7ohm. Should be interesting.
I have a UTWS3 and got my pair a couple days ago. Unfortunately they are not compatible so I keep using my Mangird Tea with the UTWS3.
 

levimax

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Speaking of the box, the packaging was a little much for me, but I appreciated the quality. I would have rather gotten the headphones in a plastic bag and saved another $15 though.
I thought the same thing about the box and then realized it was a Cell Phone box. Since they make tens of millions of these Cell Phone boxes I am sure they can be purchased very cheaply so the box probably adds little or nothing to the cost and adds a lot of protection during shipping.
 

Remlab

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I have a UTWS3 and got my pair a couple days ago. Unfortunately they are not compatible so I keep using my Mangird Tea with the UTWS3.
Not compatible? Is this due to your UTWS3 having an mmcx connector, or something else?
 

Remlab

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mga2009

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I've been using my Zero IEM (with Moondrop Spring eartips since stock ones don't stick long enough in my ears before falling out) for a week now via Apple dongle on my PC, it does sound good and goes very loud but it sounds tinny and unnatural in the midrange and vocals are very shouty (this one in particular is very annoying to me personally). I don't know if it's the issue with my unit since my Moondrop Chu also has similar issues to my ears. Any EQ suggestions? I've already tried Maiky's EQ, it does help quite a bit but the shoutiness issue is still there.

I second to this message. Shouty is what I hear... I tried Maiky76's eq and GaryH recommendations, and make it better... but still it's quite shouty... (2175Hz PEQ is -5,65db!)

Bass is very good, and also I would say the sound is very clear and loud on my Sonata HD Pro (even with the Equalizer APO preamp @-6db).-

Any recommendation? Faulty batch?

Cheers.
 

Chromatischism

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I second to this message. Shouty is what I hear... I tried Maiky76's eq and GaryH recommendations, and make it better... but still it's quite shouty... (2175Hz PEQ is -5,65db!)
You are not alone.

I'm testing now. I find that with the small bore, large silicone tips, I need a 4+ dB cut from 2.4 to 5 kHz. I always knew I had a lot of sensitivity in that range and this proves it. 9.6 Khz also needs to be brought down or the sound is too sharp. This is with a 10-band PEQ, so not too sophisticated. If you use more exact methods, you'll be able to hone in on problem frequencies better.

Wavelet doesn't let me alter below 75 Hz so I need to bring up the low bass. Once I figure out how to do that my perception of the highs should change a little.
 
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Chromatischism

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Using the tone generator on Crinacle's website, you can find the resonant peaks for your tips and ears.

Again using the supplied small-bore silicone tips in large (best comfort for me with complete seal) I'm finding strong resonant peaks at 2500, 4800, and 7500 Hz. There are smaller ones at ~80 and ~1050 Hz. I'm concentrating my EQ there. If you knock those down you'll have more pleasant sound. These are close to, but a little different from Maiky's EQ. I can also hear one at 12 or 13 kHz but it's minor and probably not worth going after due to audibility in content IMO. I notice Maiky does address it in his.

Results may be different for the foam tips; I have not tried them yet except to absorb more of the background while on a flight. 2 hours of that drone is brutal.
 
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mga2009

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Using the tone generator on Crinacle's website, you can find the resonant peaks for your tips and ears.

Again using the supplied small-bore silicone tips (best comfort for me with complete seal) I'm finding strong resonant peaks at 2500, 4800, and 7500 Hz. There are smaller ones at ~80 and ~1050 Hz. I'm concentrating my EQ there. If you knock those down you'll have more pleasant sound. These are close to, but a little different from Maiky's EQ.

Results may be different for the foam tips; I have not tried them yet except to absorb more of the background on a plane.
Sorry my ignorance, but how would I use a tone generator to detect resonant peaks? I have no mearuring equipment, apart from a UMik which I assume is useless with headphones.
 

Chromatischism

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DanielT

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This is superb. I listen more and more with them. It really says it all, that I like the sound of them a lot. :) This was a very pleasant fall surprise these superb IEMs I must say. Thanks for testing them Amir! Otherwise if you Amir hadn't I would never have known they existed.

Now I'm curious about and I will buy Memory Foam Earbud Tips. There are lots of different ones you can order, at a good price, in different sizes as well. Seems very promising and interesting. :)
I'm assuming it's some sort of standard diameter used for IEMs and tips,or? Otherwise, there wouldn't have been a market to buy separate Memory Foam Earbud Tips, would there? So that the Memory Foam Earbud Tips fits together with TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero, that is.

Picture taken at random on a few different ones, just to exemplify::)
Screenshot_2022-10-01_070643.jpg


Did you know this:

"Memory foam, also known as visco-elastic foam, was first designed by NASA in the mid-1960s. Made from polyurethane, memory foam was developed to counteract the extreme pressure astronauts faced when exiting and entering the Earth's atmosphere. The potential to use memory foam in other products was soon discovered, and is now used in mattresses, pillows and mattress toppers."


A bit OT but still when I talk about plopping things in your ears:

"Ear plugs and ear wax

Earplugs are generally safe to use while sleeping. However, over time, earplugs can push earwax deep into your ear canal, causing a build-up and leading to feelings of blockage, hearing loss and possible infections. For this reason, if you have a wax problem we would not recommend the Foam or Soft Rubber Cone types of ear plug.

If you have a wax problem we would recommend Silicone Putty or Customised ear plugs which only block the ear hole and hardly enter the ear canal."


Here a thread of more experienced users of IEM:

 
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julian_hughes

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I second to this message. Shouty is what I hear... I tried Maiky76's eq and GaryH recommendations, and make it better... but still it's quite shouty... (2175Hz PEQ is -5,65db!)

Bass is very good, and also I would say the sound is very clear and loud on my Sonata HD Pro (even with the Equalizer APO preamp @-6db).-

Any recommendation? Faulty batch?

Cheers.
Not a faulty batch, but fully in line with measurements and other people's experience. I will go further than saying "shouty". I have used these IEMs for a week, including using EQ to subdue that excess in the upper human voice range. But there is a harshness and edge that is not always obvious but also is not easily subdued. What really brought it home to me was listening to Thomas Tomkins: Choral and Organ Works

It's Renaissance English Church music with an emphasis on the human voice. It doesn't ever approach clipping and, as well as being a fine performance, makes for an interesting listen to identify headphones and IEMs which can't nicely reproduce the range of the human voice. It's a nasty test for anything that tends to harshness or ringing. That natural hard edge you can get with high toned choral music can sound *really* bad. Even with good headphones or loudspeakers or in real life it is not exactly a comfortable sound, but it ought to still feel natural. With these Truthears it sounds harsh, EQ or no.
 
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