TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

[oleg87]

I cannot explain why but the best set up subjectively for me is, either with the Truthear's plugged straight into my computer or better still into my Rednote 7 phone that is used strictly for playing Spotify. Through my Topping L30 HA and D30 DAC something seems to go amiss.

Phones and computers generally have higher output impedance than desktop amps, so you may be getting significant amounts of extra low end due to the Zero's impedance rise in the bass.

 

[posvibes]

Apart from the blatant anti-social art of listening to music in company, but on the other hand the high social worth of not impinging on others while doing so that head-fi facilitates, I am beginning to question the need for seeking fidelity in a hi-fi system when I hear such detail with these IEM's for example.

Little details, throwaway details almost in the outer edges of the mix that I have never heard before on stuff I have listened to innumerable times.

@oleg87 's "you may be getting significant amounts of extra low end due to the Zero's impedance rise in the bass." I certainly am.

I am seriously considering getting another pair of these just in case they decide to pull them from the program and make something they consider better (and are not) and more expensive (which they will be).

 

[SiW]

Apart from the blatant anti-social art of listening to music in company, but on the other hand the high social worth of not impinging on others while doing so that head-fi facilitates, I am beginning to question the need for seeking fidelity in a hi-fi system when I hear such detail with these IEM's for example.

Little details, throwaway details almost in the outer edges of the mix that I have never heard before on stuff I have listened to innumerable times.

@oleg87 's "you may be getting significant amounts of extra low end due to the Zero's impedance rise in the bass." I certainly am.

I am seriously considering getting another pair of these just in case they decide to pull them from the program and make something they consider better (and are not) and more expensive (which they will be).

These are my first sets of IEMs and I’m very impressed.

Wonder if they even make open backed headphones a little obsolete (assuming you don’t mind the slight change in imaging).

I am very sensitive to other people making noise (neighbours etc) so maybe thats why I’m so impressed with these as I get the sound I want without disturbing others. All great apart from my paranoia of missing surrounding noises of people wanting to speak with me!

 

[DavidShe]

I bought the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM. The sound is absolutely awful! I have tried it with various sources. I think it must be defective. Beware!

 

[Peerke007]

I agree. It's 100% awful for you.

New member with a bad message .

 

[Blorg]

@oleg87 's "you may be getting significant amounts of extra low end due to the Zero's impedance rise in the bass." I certainly am.

I am seriously considering getting another pair of these just in case they decide to pull them from the program and make something they consider better (and are not) and more expensive (which they will be).

If you are genuinely thinking of another and like more bass, consider getting the QKZ HBB Khan for variety, it's basically the exact same IEM tweaked with slightly more bass and slightly less in the 1-3kHz region. And for $10 less. I have both, the Khan is very good.

 

[Hatto]

If you're concerned about low impedance and high percentage of impedance shift in low frequency, you can just get an 80ohm impedance plug on Amazon and put it between the IEM And source to increase your effective impedance to 90ohms and tone down the local impedance differential from 250% to 28%

 

[GaryH]

Or just get a better-designed IEM that doesn't have a ridiculously low non-flat impedance.

 

[Hatto]

Or just get a better-designed IEM that doesn't have a ridiculously low non-flat impedance.

I don't know if variable impedance is a valid design parameter to provide a feature or an unintended side-effect/compromise result of other design parameters, so I can't comment on that.

However having seen other wildly varying impedance curves of various other headphones that are considered well-engineered (like the HD800 for instance), I wouldn't assume varying impedance curve as lack of proper design efforts.

 

[GaryH]

Or just get a better-designed IEM that doesn't have a ridiculously low non-flat impedance.

The HD800 has a nominal impedance around 300 ohms. The Truthear's is 10 ohms. I suggest reading this to understand the issue:

Headphone & Amp Impedance

INTRO: The output Impedance of headphone sources is one of the most common reasons the same headphones can sound different depending on wha...

nwavguy.blogspot.com

 

[Hatto]

The HD800 has a nominal impedance around 300 ohms. The Truthear's is 10 ohms. I suggest reading this to understand the issue:

Headphone & Amp Impedance

INTRO: The output Impedance of headphone sources is one of the most common reasons the same headphones can sound different depending on wha...

nwavguy.blogspot.com

I see, thanks for the clarification. The ultra-low impedance issue seems to be limited to the IEM scene.

 

[posvibes]

If you are genuinely thinking of another and like more bass,

I have never been a "bass head" but the bass I am getting especially via the computer headphone input and more so on the Redmi note 7 phone is plenty enough as I am experiencing the physical sensation of the bass, what's more is that it remains clean, tuneful and balanced.

The phone has an automatic safety starting point when headphones are connected, and I tend to not need to go too much above that point to enjoy some music at what I would consider "loud", and I tend to turn them down from that point and still feel satisfied.

This surprises me a little as Amir's review put them up higher in the "least sensitive" side of the graph.

I double checked my phone EQ settings and they were set to flat.

I don't find them "shouty" at all. I think I am a slave to the Harman curve and what annoys me most is not hearing or knowing about it earlier for the best part of my life and the pure enjoyment I missed out on.

 

[staticV3]

I see, thanks for the clarification. The ultra-low impedance issue seems to be limited to the IEM scene.

Mostly yes, but there are still exceptions, like the Verum or Raal's AMT headphones.

 

[tawsi]

I just got these, these are my first pair of IEM, I'm kind of an IEM noob, but I own several headphones like the Senn HD650, Senn HD 25-ii, Beyerdynamic DT 880 pro 600ohm, and Audio technica M40X... I also owned the Senn HD600, and a mod of a fostex T50RP (Talos)

This IEM is very very well tuned, there is plenty of bass, but without being overbearing to the mid and high frequencies, man the bass are everything on this IEM, the mids tuning on these just feels right, I feel like they are pleasant and very accurate but maybe not as creamy and pleasant as the Senn HD650, but it's probably because of the drivers size on these. the highs are also very accurate, I'm not the best to describe how high frequencies sound on a headphone anyway, but they are not overly analytical, which is a good thing, I tend to like some analytical headphones sometimes like on the DT 880 Pro.

When I first heard these, I wasn't really impressed like I wasn't like "wow" but it's probably because I'm used to hifi, for 50$ this is an absolute steal, I also probably wasn't really impressed at first because these IEM are so neutral, that nothing really sticks out in the frequency range, it is just flat and very well balanced

recommended.

 

[Blorg]

These are some measurements of the Truthear Zero either directly from a dongle (Truthear Shio) which should have negligible output impedance, and using a 30Ω or 75Ω impedance adapter. Thick lines are all averaged L+R measurements, thin lines are single channel. Tips are Moondrop Spring Tips.

Or, Shio vs directly out of a TA-26 OTL tube amp, which has around 90Ω output impedance- this gives a similar boost as using the impedance adapter. This is a lot of what OTL tube amps are doing when they "warm up" dynamics like Focal or Sennheiser, these have impedance curves that peak in the bass and so high output impedance boosts the bass. I think this is most of what's happening with tonal changes people ascribe to tubes, it's not inherent to the tube but rather the high output impedance they usually have.

These are all normalized, the impedance adapters significantly drop the level, it's not that they raise frequencies, they attenuate everything else and the frequencies that go up in the bass with the higher impedance are the ones the are less affected than the lower impedance regions.

These are the raw L/R measurements from the Shio with no adapter for reference, I have a bit of channel imbalance in the bass and my left one in particular is lower I think than most:

I even get a little boost in the bass from my Fiio K5 Pro, vs the Shio dongle, indicating how sensitive it is, the K5 Pro is quite low impedance. (This is with a 2m extension cable which could also add a little resistance, but not likely much.)

 

[markanini]

I feel like they are pleasant and very accurate but maybe not as creamy and pleasant as the Senn HD650, but it's probably because of the drivers size on these.

I know of IEMs that are thicker tuned than over ears. The tech works due the enclosed space, formed by the seal of the tips, doing the heavy lifting, and the TCZ are tuned for intelligibility.

 

[Somafunk]

YouTube’s favourite shitposter has struck the Truthear Zero, for entertainment value only.

 

[NoteMakoti]

YouTube’s favourite shitposter has struck the Truthear Zero, for entertainment value only.

He's the King Piccolo to Amir's Kami.

 

[Somafunk]

He's the King Piccolo to Amir's Kami.

He’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy and wait till his mum finds out he’s been shitposting on the internet again, she’ll send him to bed without any pudding.

 

[KariMcInen]

He’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy and wait till his mum finds out he’s been shitposting on the internet again, she’ll send him to bed without any pudding.

Sharur is a pathetic joke. He's just a pretentious teenager who thinks he knows all about audio and music mastering. Meanwhile he has no skill when it comes to recording or editing his videos. He thinks the only good IEM is the Moondrop Variations, wich he worships like the Gollum. He claims they sound better than both headphones and speakers. He takes himself extremely seriously and is not just trolling. Nobody should take this kid seriously.