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7hz Salnotes Zero - the "other" Zero

SiW

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I found them well balanced, but did need to try a few tips first. Maybe experiment some more.

Truthear is ‘better’ overall and more comfy with the foam tip for me.

As you say for £20/$20 not much to complain about :)
 

Honken

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I did try the different tips included with this IEM, only a few give me a reliable seal, the blue and red sets, and the latter are uncomfortable after a while. Can't really hear any difference between the two, maybe the two with the narrower nozzles have a different sound but I don't like how they feel in my ears. Personally I have had no luck with the foam tips included in Truthears offerings eirther, can't really get a good seal with them on the Hexa or the TCZ. I had some old spinfits lying around as well, but didn't feel like they felt better in the ear than the softer ones included with this set.

@markanini Indeed, I've EQd my IEMs to all follow a similiar curve now, it seems to suit me the best with all three (Harman 2019, but with slightly exaggerated bass and much lower pinna gain). Whilst eyeballing it the 7Hz seems the closest out of the box, but the Hexa require less, but steeper, filters to get there.
 

markanini

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Heads up this set is fairly easy to tune to Tangzu Wan'er. If you want to hear an impersonation of a very popular set.
image.png
 

isostasy

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Heads up this set is fairly easy to tune to Tangzu Wan'er. If you want to hear an impersonation of a very popular set.
image.png
SSA waner zero comp.png

I wouldn't use Super* Review's measurement based on what I've said before that I don't believe his measurements of the Wan'er to be accurate. I've used Side Salad as an example, but almost all the measurements of the Wan'er out there are different to Super*'s and show it to be more similar to the Salnotes Zero than his would suggest.

So I would take your EQ and add -2.3dB Q=1.5 at 2300Hz.
 

markanini

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View attachment 268790
I wouldn't use Super* Review's measurement based on what I've said before that I don't believe his measurements of the Wan'er to be accurate. I've used Side Salad as an example, but almost all the measurements of the Wan'er out there are different to Super*'s and show it to be more similar to the Salnotes Zero than his would suggest.

So I would take your EQ and add -2.3dB Q=1.5 at 2300Hz.
Nice catch!
 

JJFUSA

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Very interesting thread, now as I'm enjoying listening to my endgame DAC/AMP Moonriver 2 (phenomenally great sounding little monster) I'm looking for my endgame IEM with close to the neutral tuning.

Comparing different sets, I found Tangzu Zetian Wu Heyday, looks like it's tuned on par with 7Hz Zero and ThieAudio Monarch MKII:
graph.png


I wonder if someone here on ASR Forum owns Heyday and would be so kind to share a bit how they actually sound.
 

Matias

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@JJFUSA maybe you can stretch your budget and get a Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk? I love mine and feel like it is end game for me.
 
OP
D

Dazerdoreal

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It seems like the upcoming "Project Red" by Crinacle is going to become a more refined 7hz Zero. He recently updated the frequency reponse to a "3.0b" version which is, according to him, probably going to be the final version.
I guess it will become a Truthear release since the 200-1000hz range looks very similar to the "Truthear Zero" (similar bump @350hz).

 

Matias

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@Dazerdoreal we don't know the price yet. What if it is a kilobuck IEM, who knows? :) Let's see. But since I like the 7Hz Salnotes Zero very much (I own 2), I am definitely watching how this IEM develops.
 

JJFUSA

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@JJFUSA maybe you can stretch your budget and get a Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk? I love mine and feel like it is end game for me.
Thank you very much for the suggestion, Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk indeed is on my list as one of the best IEMs available, "I am not rich enough to buy cheap things" so the price is doable for me. :)

But as you can see below, Dusk is a bit off comparing to SeeAudio Yume II, new Yume is more in correlation with the neutrality, and it's mine primary candidate right now, yet I'm still shopping around for the best possible deal.
graph3.png
 

JJFUSA

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Also, please take a look at TRUTHEAR HEXA, I mean wow, it's just incredible for a very competitive price to have an identical tuning with ThieAudio Monarch MKII:
graph9.png
 

markanini

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At that budget I would buy multiple low price IEMs to find out what signature suits my preference and playlist best. Because sub 50$ IEM overtook the previous mid segment, and it's not certain a what you will get, going by measurements or reputation, is a good fit in person. Once you got a high end IEM you're stuck with it it for better and worse until you can sell it at a loss.
 

Matias

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It seems like the upcoming "Project Red" by Crinacle is going to become a more refined 7hz Zero. He recently updated the frequency reponse to a "3.0b" version which is, according to him, probably going to be the final version.
I guess it will become a Truthear release since the 200-1000hz range looks very similar to the "Truthear Zero" (similar bump @350hz).

Most likely is the newly announced Blessing 3. This gave away the clue.

print.jpg
 
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Dazerdoreal

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Most likely is the newly announced Blessing 3. This gave away the clue
It doesnt seem so. And I must say, it would have surprised me if it had. This might sound weird but this didnt look like a "Blessing" kind of signature to me.

Bildschirmfoto_2023-03-15_20-49-52.png
 

Matias

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It doesnt seem so. And I must say, it would have surprised me if it had. This might sound weird but this didnt look like a "Blessing" kind of signature to me.

View attachment 271977
To me looks pretty much a smoother Dusk in the highs, with a Variations / Harman bass profile that is somewhat in line with the Dusk.

3574EBF5-0FBA-4FEA-9EEF-28471D1152F6.png
 

isostasy

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As an Ety fan I quite like the look of the new Tangzu and Seeaudio collab, the Shimin Li Encounter:

waner shimin li encounter.png


I roughly EQed my Wan'er to it using peaking filters to match the mid-range and a small HSQ to broadly bring the frequencies above 10kHz to around the same level. I liked it, it adds some bite to guitars and possibly balances out the warm sound of the Wan'er a little bit. The difference is quite subtle however and I found it hard to tell between having the EQ on or off. It might be good for people who like the upper-mids of the Truthear Zero but not the treble?

At 49USD (currently 44 on sale) I'm not sure whether it is a good competitor to the other IEMs discussed here, most of which are under 25USD. My main issue with the Wan'er after a few weeks of ownership is they're so small the housing in no way really conforms to my ear to stay in very securely. It was my first IEM of this style so took me a while to notice it. The Shimin Li Encounter looks from pictures like it might be a bit bigger and have a more sculpted body which could fit better.
 

Matias

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The announced Zero in orange with 3.5 mm mic cable is gorgeous!

FB_IMG_1679506146823.jpg
 

markanini

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I'm sharing my impressions of 7Hz Zero with the pre-applied red tips and the EQ settings below. I will include an appendix about how the 7Hz Zero performs with Truthear Hola tips.

Code:
Preamp: -1.6 dB
Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 350 Hz Gain 1.5 dB Q 0.470
Filter 2: ON HSC Fc 16000 Hz Gain -0.5 dB Q 0.330

I have to contrast this set against the Truthear Hola because it's closely matched in price and performance. 7Hz Zero doesn't do anything major that the Truthear Hola can't do, while Hola has more well behaved treble that's clear and extended, the 7Hz Zero give a little more detail retrieval, better treble extension and more engaging female vocal. Hola remains better at drum presentation, high SPL listening and general volume scalability. I bet most on ASR will prefer 7Hz Zero after EQ. But the difference is not large enough to recommend anyone to sidegrade if they already own either set. If you want good bass without EQ skip the 7Hz Zero outright.

In my final ranking I will give 7Hz Zero a shared first place with Truthear Hola, followed by Kiwi Cadenza, Moondrop Quarks DSP, and CCA CRA v2 in order from best to worst.

Appendix: Truthear Hola medium-large widebore tips supercharge the pluses 7Hz Zero has over Hola, even better details, treble extension and female vocals. Truthear Hola does hold it's high SPL and drum presentation strengths.
 
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Matias

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In case someone else was wondering like me, I asked 7Hz what is the Salnotes name: another company, colab, series or what?
Their answer "Salnotes is our sub brand cater for more budgeted products".
 
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Matias

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Now that Crinacle is measuring his colab IEMs with the new fancy 5128 HATS, comparing the Zero to the Dusk is so similar!

I use Spinfit CP145M on my Dusk and now hear that both have closer bass levels than with the original tips that came with the Dusk.


zero dusk 5128.png
 
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