My take on the Truthear Zero IEM
The packaging is nice. And a leather pouch? I feel like I spent more than $50, that's for sure.
Plenty of tips are provided, and most people should be able to find one that works for them. The large silicone tips (small bore) provide a great seal and comfort for me. I forget I have them on. However, the foam tips are better absorbers of the environment, naturally.
If you're going on a flight, definitely use foam tips.
Safety note: although the foam tips may attenuate the background by some 20-30 dB, the drone of a flight will still cause you to use higher than normal volume levels. You'll find a level that sounds normal to you (and you'll notice your volume slider is higher than normal), but your ears are still getting an elevated total SPL. Don't crank it up to compensate. Just put up with the noise floor and be kind to your hearing.
I find these to be comfortable. They are lightweight and unobtrusive. I like the cable - light, flexible, and seemingly no microphonics thanks to the tight braid. I do wish I could rotate it at the connector to get it to sit closer to my head, but that can't be done with this connector type, which has two pins for polarity.
The design is attractive, with a purple or blue color depending on the angle the light hits them.
Now, on to the sound.
My neutral reference:
Buchardt S400 MKII
Rythmik FV15HP x2, placement-optimized & equalized.
Out of the box these are too bright for me. I kind of expected that based on my current gear and looking at the measurements for comparison. I agree with others on this. The upper midrange runs away with it, and the bass contour is not to my liking. However, these have tons of potential...
Slaying the shouty dragon
The following EQ was developed with the small-bore silicone tips. I listened to the foam tips afterward and they definitely push the balance further toward the bass and reduce the highs. If using foam, I would take 1 dB or so off of both bass filters below. Of course this is the most subjective part, so do experiment with this.
I spent 3 hours going back and forth between Crinacle's EQ tool, downloading to Wavelet, and listening to music. My reference tracks are full-range movie soundtracks and spectrally-dense, well-recorded rock and pop music. All frequencies are represented in the mix. This EQ will fix the bass balance by reducing the midbass emphasis and extending the bass response to 20 Hz. I didn't take it blindly to the Harman target – since the highs were altered, you can't know what the overall balance will sound like unless you listen. It's all relative. The bass is much cleaner sounding. Most importantly, this EQ will eliminate the shoutiness of the upper midrange. It will sound balanced, and the headphones will disappear. If you have never experienced the bass that well-integrated subs can provide, here is your chance to get a preview.
You know you're close on the EQ when the goosebumps come...
Here is the input I used on the Crinacle site to generate the EQ:
Code:
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 2.200
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 80 Hz Gain -3.6 dB Q 0.800
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 100 Hz Gain -1.0 dB Q 2.000
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 175 Hz Gain 1.8 dB Q 1.800
Filter 5: OFF PK Fc 1100 Hz Gain -0.6 dB Q 2.000
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 2750 Hz Gain -3.2 dB Q 1.000
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 5000 Hz Gain -5.5 dB Q 2.000
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 7500 Hz Gain -4.2 dB Q 5.000
Saved to a .txt file, this can be loaded directly into Equalizer APO/PEACE.
For mobile use I exported using the Wavelet option. You can download that below on this post.
Download the attached file
Truthear x crinacle Zero EX7 to your Android device. In Wavelet, choose AutoEq and Import the file from storage.
The other file,
Truthear x crinacle Zero Filters EX7 is for Equalizer APO or other programs.
This is as close to my $10k system as I've heard. And I can take it with me! Having a mobile reference is outstanding. Especially for these prices.
If you can't use Wavelet but have a 10-band PEQ, you can still implement the filters as close as you can. It will be less surgical but it will get the job done.
This was updated to my latest and probably last.