7Hz Salnotes Zero IEM Review

[CedarX]

Is it possible to include noise isolation in IEM and headphone reviews?

+1 for IEMs!

 

[enricoclaudio]

@amirm thanks for another revealing review. These IEMs are Westone killers. I gave the Zero Red with Comply foam tips to my worship leader and he hasn’t stopped using them since about 5 months ago. His 4 drivers Westone are just there collecting dust!! Pretty sure the same Comply foam tips work with these recently reviewed.

 

[SteveL]

Not surprised by the review. If I ever think about buying another IEM I ask myself "what specific problem do I have with the Zero that I hope to improve on with another set?" and there just isn't any answer.

 

[SteveL]

Are they actually sharp, or just an awkward angular shape?

For me (these things are very personal) it's not even awkward. The underside that fits against your ear is a much more rounded shape than the outside and when oriented properly is extremely comfortable for me (as are the red tips which for me are insert-and-forget).

 

[DHT 845]

clicked, the temptetion was too big...

 

[SteveL]

I can answer the noise isolation question with triflange-equipped Ety HF5s as my gold standard. The zero has a useful but mediocre amount of isolation due to the vents, shallow fit (a win for comfort though) and probably the very thin red tips. Not really the thing for listening on an airplane or while your neighbor is mowing the lawn.

 

[MacClintock]

I will try to answer this question as briefly as possible. For me, better means: more authentic, more realistic, more exciting, more emotionally captivating

These are all extreme subjectivist terms with no technical basis and foremost characteristics of the music, not the reproduction. So basically you are saying nothing.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

Ordered. I don't need another pair of headphones. The Panther forced me to do it.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Jeez. I am about to proclaim headphones as being a solved problem.

 

[MacClintock]

Jeez. I am about to proclaim headphones as being a solved problem.

IEMs maybe, headphones no.

 

[Matias]

Here is my take:

 

[SteveL]

Jeez. I am about to proclaim headphones as being a solved problem.

It's hard to overestimate how important the Harman research led by Dr. Olive has been. The kinds of ridiculously incompetent response curves that used to be all over the market are rapidly vanishing. When every manufacturer is shooting for a reasonable average response that pleases most people, you can easily finish fine tuning it to your preferences with a modest amount of EQ. And you can get good frequency response and low distortion with a simple, inexpensive single driver design.

 

[olieb]

The problem is that it's not possible to have a continous listening experience over longer time. Insertion depth and perfect seal is sometimes given, sometimes not. For me personally IEMs can never replace a good over-ear headphone.

I used not to hear with earphones as the poor wearing comfort absolutely prevented me from enjoying it. After 20 min the latest the ears began to hurt.
The problem of a reliable seal came on top of this.
Only recently I found the solution for me. Instead of using silicone or (hard) foam tips as they come with the earphones I make my own from super soft ear plugs with a hole punch, a piece of wood with 12mm bore and the sharpest kitchen knife I have.
It takes maybe 3-4 min to produce a pair and much of this is waiting for the foam to unfold again.
With these I sometimes actually forget that I wear earphones, never happened before. And I can get a seal without feeling pressure in/on the ear.
For me the wearing comfort of earphones is now on par with the best headphones.
pro: much lighter
con: the closed ear canal does seem to sound a bit unnatural
Foto story:

 

[TurtlePaul]

Here is my take:

IEMs are killing the over-ear headphones market

Yes and no. I think that a lot of megabucks headphones are in trouble since IEMs seem to be easily able to go very low and have a very favorable frequency response for less than $100.

But there is always going to be a segment of the population who just can't stick things in their ears. I get ear infections and headaches occasionally which lead me to use no headphones or over-ears for a while.

Also, IEMs used to be the king of sound isolation, but I think there is now a place for over-ears with ANC which seem to provide the best isolation for planes and subways. As an active business traveler, I have a set of WH1000xm4, even knowing that their frequency response is suspect (even after using the EQ app). I don't think that IEMs are quite as good yet for this.

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the 7Hz Salnotes Zero IEM. It was kindly donated by a member and costs US $22 ($20 on Amazon now).
View attachment 332422
The molded plastic looks cheep and the left and right markings barely visible. The included tip was extra soft/thin which may be a good thing for comfort but made for very difficult measurements. You could easily deform it to the point of it blocking most of the sound in the fixture. When I wore them on my ear though, the fit was excellent and with their light weight, I could barely feel them.

7Hz Salnotes Zero Measurements
Per above, I had a heck of a time measuring these IEMs but as if by magic, I toughed the off channel once and it created perfect fit and alignment with the other channel:

View attachment 332424
As you see, compliance with our target is excellence. There is a peak around 12.7 kHz but the fixture is not accurate in that region so don't know if that is extra energy there or not.

Here is the deviation from our target:
View attachment 332425
Headphone/IEM measurements are not accurate enough for these differences to be descriptive but you are welcome to try to tune further with EQ.

Distortion was impressively low other than a resonance around 1 kHz that was still quite low:
View attachment 332426

Here it is in absolute:
View attachment 332427

Group delay is very clean other than another indication of something going on around 1 kHz:
View attachment 332428

Impedance is flat and low:
View attachment 332429

Combined with average sensitivity, you should have no trouble using this IEM with just about any source:
View attachment 332430

On my RME ADI-2 Pro, relatively loud listening was around -25 dB.

7Hz Salnotes Zero IEM Listening Tests
I always use the same tracks in my listening tests to allow good familiarity with their tonality. It took all of 2 seconds to realize this is the same accurate, neutral response I like to hear. Track after track confirmed the same. I was at times surprised by the good externalization/spatial effects of this IEM. Sub-bass reproduction was excellent for an IEM and overall fidelity beyond belief at times.

I took a shot at equalizing the peak at 12.7 kHz. Unfortunately I can't easily do that by eye. Trying anyway, with narrow Q, it made no audible difference. With wider Q, it may have gone past the peak in the response. There, some highs/brilliance were taken away. I could see someone liking it better that way but I liked it without.

Conclusions
Technically the 7Hz Salnotes Zero IEM is excellent. It has almost perfect tonality and combined with low distortion and excellent spatial qualities, it puts a smile on my face. The plastic is a bit cheap and so are the tips. But once I wore them, all of that was forgotten.

I am happy to put the 7Hz Salnotes Zero IEM on my recommended list. So much fidelity for so little money!

P.S. I bought this a year ago and only now getting to testing it! Since then, there is a new version called Zero 2. May get that to test as well.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Love these affordable gems!

 

[Martin]

Wow! $20 for near perfect measurements. Incredible.

Martin

 

[alumnicesar]

Here are some thoughts about the EQ.

can you do one for the 7hz zero 2?

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

Wow! $20 for near perfect measurements. Incredible.

Martin

Amazing how good IEMS have gotten over the past few years.

 

[Oso Polar]

I suppose nobody can answer this question

I guess you've never used Etymotic IEMs? IMHO in fact it is very easy to answer this question - no, they will not isolate nearly the same as Etymotics, no matter the tips. In fact AFAIK this can be safely said about virtually any IEMs of any other brand, except for the ones with active noise cancellation (and even then Etymotic may still win). Etymotic IEMs will also not fall out, ever - unlike many, many other IEMs (in particular pretty much all true wireless ones which tend to have very shallow insertion).

 

[Billy Budapest]

I guess you've never used Etymotic IEMs? IMHO in fact it is very easy to answer this question - no, they will not isolate nearly the same as Etymotics, no matter the tips. In fact AFAIK this can be safely said about virtually any IEMs of any other brand, except for the ones with active noise cancellation (and even then Etymotic may still win). Etymotic IEMs will also not fall out, ever - unlike many, many other IEMs (in particular pretty much all true wireless ones which tend to have very shallow insertion).

As an owner and longtime user of Etymotic, I agree—the “Christmas tree”-style silicon ear tips will not fall out, period. The key is that you need to tug on your earlobe while inserting and removing them so that your ear canal is slightly deformed. Otherwise, just pressing the tips in isn’t going to get a good seal.