7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM Review

[Somafunk]

A question for those who return these iem's ?, why don't you sell them on and take a small hit on £/$ as when they are sent back to the likes of Amazon, being such a low cost/value item, more than likely the iem's merely get dumped rather than repackaged/resold due to sanitary concerns and the cost of repacking.

It's an utter waste of resources (I could go on a rant regarding amazon and how they deal with with returns but that's another thread regarding sustainability)

 

[InfiniteJester]

A question for those who return these iem's ?, why don't you sell them on and take a small hit on £/$ as when they are sent back to the likes of Amazon, being such a low cost/value item, more than likely the iem's merely get dumped rather than repackaged/resold due to sanitary concerns and the cost of repacking.

It's an utter waste of resources (I could go on a rant regarding amazon and how they deal with with returns but that's another thread regarding sustainability)

Agree.

I went partially mad with this book and it bothers me a lot to think about stuff being dumped this way.

That is without even considering the impact to the environment. Which is something I try my best to not get obsessed with after almost dying of starvation in the past due to my concerns with animal cruelty and agrarian exploitation.

 

[Jimbob54]

The thing is that I believe that I get a good seal, because the bass is very strong (too much for me), but I still have weird issues with these IEMs.

I have been experimenting with the ∆ 10dB and the JM-1 targets and the congestion and muddiness/veilness go away. They improve the soundstage a fair amount and the sound is no longer as distant, but the harshness while listening to metal is still as bad, or even worse.

Preamp: -2.3 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain -1.6 dB Q 1.400
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 31 Hz Gain 0.6 dB Q 1.300
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 33 Hz Gain -6.4 dB Q 0.500
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 37 Hz Gain 0.5 dB Q 2.000
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 470 Hz Gain 2.5 dB Q 0.700
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 1400 Hz Gain -1.2 dB Q 1.200
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 2900 Hz Gain 2.1 dB Q 2.000
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 6000 Hz Gain 3.2 dB Q 2.000
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 8200 Hz Gain -7.5 dB Q 2.000
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain 6.8 dB Q 2.000
Filter 11: ON PK Fc 12000 Hz Gain -3.1 dB Q 2.000

At any rate, I still prefer this profile over their custom one.

This is how many user profiles I have tried (I also tried every single one that was included at the app):

View attachment 356530

It can be seen how hard I tried to make them work. And this doesn't even count how many differest tips I have used.

Agreed. That's a different thing in play than seal or comfort. Can't say I've used mine enough or am a good enough listener to pull out such details but these obviously don't respond well to the anatomy or preferences of some users

 

[Batenxx]

Update on my situation. Just now my Truthear Zero Red arrived and no matter which tips I use, the bass is SIGNIFICANTLY more pronounced. It's like day and night. Especially when I use my own tips from my old in-ear headphones. So ultimately this begs the question: is it really anatomical reasons why the Zero:2s sound so thin for me.

 

[markanini]

Update on my situation. Just now my Truthear Zero Red arrived and no matter which tips I use, the bass is SIGNIFICANTLY more pronounced. It's like day and night. Especially when I use my own tips from my old in-ear headphones. So ultimately this begs the question: is it really anatomical reasons why the Zero:2s sound so thin for me.

What are you plugging your Reds into?

 

[Batenxx]

What are you plugging your Reds into?

My laptop via the normal 3.5mm plug.

 

[markanini]

My laptop via the normal 3.5mm plug.

That's likely boosting the bass beyond what's intended by the manufacturers. Most will advise using a USBC to 3.5mm dongle in your situation, at least if you are looking to make an apples to apple comparison.

See the impedance graph posted here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ruthear-x-crinacle-zero-red-iem-review.44865/

 

[Batenxx]

That's likely boosting the bass beyond what's intended by the manufacturers. Most will advise using a USBC to 3.5mm dongle in your situation, at least if you are looking to make an apples to apple comparison.

See the impedance graph posted here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ruthear-x-crinacle-zero-red-iem-review.44865/

But I used the same with the Zero:2. Same laptop (obviously) and also using the 3.5mm plug. With the Zero:2 the sound was flat and lacked bass, while the Zero Red has really nice bass. So if the laptop boosts the Zero Red's bass, why doesn't the same happen with the Zero:2. It makes no sense.

 

[staticV3]

But I used the same with the Zero:2. Same laptop (obviously) and also using the 3.5mm plug. With the Zero:2 the sound was flat and lacked bass. Not so much with the Zero Red. So if the laptop boosts the Zero Red's bass, why doesn't the same happen with the Zero:2. It makes no sense.

Sure it does.

The Zero Red's impedance rises into the bass, resulting in bass boost with Amps that have high output impedance.
The Zero 2 doesn't have that, so no bass boost occurrs.


It makes no sense only if you don't know Ohm's law.

 

[mc.god]

But I used the same with the Zero:2. Same laptop (obviously) and also using the 3.5mm plug. With the Zero:2 the sound was flat and lacked bass, while the Zero Red has really nice bass. So if the laptop boosts the Zero Red's bass, why doesn't the same happen with the Zero:2. It makes no sense.

Zero 2 doesn't change it's FR depending on output impedance of source while Zero:Red does, as @staticV3 already explained.
Anyway Zero 2 with proper seal should still have more bass than Zero:RED even at 75 Ohm output impedance:

So unless your laptop has tremendously high output impedance, the difference you perceive is most likely 100% due to improper fitting of the Zero 2 to your ears.

If you like Zero:RED as it is now, enjoy them and it's all, otherwise try a good budget dongle with known low impedance.

 

[Batenxx]

Sure it does.

The Zero Red's impedance rises into the bass, resulting in bass boost with Amps that have high output impedance.
The Zero 2 doesn't have that, so no bass boost occurrs.
View attachment 356720 View attachment 356721

It makes no sense only if you don't know Ohm's law.

I've just tried it with my smartphone and a tablet. Do those also have high output impedance? It sounds exactly like on my laptop. I will try other devices in the next few days, like an old mp3 player I have lying around in some drawer. But your explanation sounds reasonable and logical. Ultimately I can live with either explanation, whether it's the erogonomic differences which make the Zero Reds sound superior and richer or this bass boost.

But it makes me wonder: why did the manufacturer build it this way? I've had many in ear headphones over the last 13 years (though no IEMs) and all of them had this rich bass. So I was quite taken aback when the Zero:2s sounded so thin. This begs the question: is the lack of bass boost unique to the Zero:2s when it comes to IEMs or is it the other way around?

 

[staticV3]

I've just tried it with my smartphone and a tablet. Do those also have high output impedance?

Depends on which smartphone and which tablet.
Also most of these haven't been measured, so there's no info no output impedance.

is the lack of bass boost unique to the Zero:2s when it comes to IEMs or is it the other way around?

The Zero Red is an exception in how it reacts to high output impedance.

You can find the impedance response of many different IEMs here and here.

 

[Batenxx]

Anyway Zero 2 with proper seal should still have more bass than Zero:RED even at 75 Ohm output impedance:

The seal was 100% airtight. So much that I caused a vacuum (as explained in my other post). Yet the bass was not nearly as heavy as with the Zero Reds. I've also tried other devices with the Zero Reds, like a smartphone or tablet. The bass is equally strong, so it's not my Laptop that causes this.

 

[mikehoopes]

It may be the insertion depth. I'm not an expert at all, quite the opposite, in fact, but they do have the shortest nozzles out of my whole collection and they present issues I haven't had with any other set.

I cannot endure them when listening to metal, for example, they sound so harsh and, simultaneously, bloated and distant, that I cannot stand a single song. And that is something that you wouldn't expect at all after watching the frequency response. I tuned my other IEMs to the same target as the Zero:2, and I don't find them harsh at all. So it must be some kind of resonance in my ear canal due to the short nozzle and not a product of the FR on itself. Either that or there is a lot of unit variation, and my set has a different response, which I doubt.

I have read about several people having the same issue, so I think that it is not as incredibly uncommon as some would say.

Hard to think that a 19,66€ IEM could be so useless. I wanted to use them while traveling, because I'm not comfortable doing so with my more expensive IEMs, but they are not even worth it for that.

I'm contemplating buying either the EW200s or the Ziigaat NUOs for traveling. I won't buy another 7Hz after this experience. Apparently, the NUOs have a deeper fit and much better soundstage at roughly the same price.

Insertion depth was an issue for me and quite few others with the FiiO FH5, to the point where I bought some small o-rings from McMaster-Carr to put on the nozzle to help extend the insertion depth. The depth issue was mostly caused by interference of the shell with my crus helix, if memory serves. This nozzle may be too short for that kind of solution, though.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...rmature-drivers.882444/page-104#post-14695561

 

[markanini]

Insertion depth was an issue for me and quite few others with the FiiO FH5, to the point where I bought some small o-rings from McMaster-Carr to put on the nozzle to help extend the insertion depth. The depth issue was mostly caused by interference of the shell with my crus helix, if memory serves. This nozzle may be too short for that kind of solution, though.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...rmature-drivers.882444/page-104#post-14695561

You can also source o-rings from kits used for damping PC keyboards https://amazon.com/dp/B01N75JL0F

 

[mikehoopes]

You can also source o-rings from kits used for damping PC keyboards https://amazon.com/dp/B01N75JL0F

Nice! Silicone, 5.08 mm ID, 120 pieces for $7; a much better deal.

 

[mc.god]

The seal was 100% airtight. So much that I caused a vacuum (as explained in my other post). Yet the bass was not nearly as heavy as with the Zero Reds. I've also tried other devices with the Zero Reds, like a smartphone or tablet. The bass is equally strong, so it's not my Laptop that causes this.

We can only make assumptions based on graphs, and graphs say that with proper seal in most cases Zero 2 should sound even fuller than Zero:RED and in no way thin. We can't know what's going on between Zero 2 shape and your ears, but if you are 100% certain of a perfect seal maybe some strange resonance with you ear canals.
Well, unless you got a counterfeit Zero 2.

 

[mikehoopes]

By the way, I was having a hard time maintaining a good seal with the SpinFit tips and settled on some that I bought 6 years ago on AliExpress (still available):
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832238315475.html

 

[mikehoopes]

I tried out the keyboard damper o-rings that @markanini suggested, and they did help me with consistency of seal. I had to increase the gain +1 to +1.5 dB for 5 KHz and up to compensate for some perceived differences (I don't have a measuring rig), so I don't think it helped with max depth, but likely decreased the amount that shell interference would back them out during use.

 

[JimBean]

I ordered these off amazon, still waiting on the Moondrop Dawn Pro dongle dac, but they sound pretty good listening to Qobuz on my phone via the headphone jack. So far I'm quite impressed for the price.