7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM Review

[CedarX]

Also, I don't think that the semi-open back can be measured with FR.

Fiio’s own verbiage talks about balancing pressure:

I don’t think it’s the same as (semi) open back headphones

 

[InfiniteJester]

Some small differences in critical/sensitive areas, whether it is FR, distortion (other?) can be audible. I would not “doubt” the measurements, but question the interpretation.
Dialing a scientifically proven target is like adjusting the focus on a camera: now you can see these small differences and determine if they matter to you or not…

Fair enough. I believed that the differences between filters were bigger, but I was certainly wrong.

Fiio’s own verbiage talks about balancing pressure:
View attachment 352014

I don’t think it’s the same as (semi) open back headphones

Yes, I quoted the same paragraph. That is why I don't know. But they seem to isolate noise very poorly. Not as poorly as an open-back Hifiman, for example, but worse than the Zero:2s.

 

[Gorgonzola]

Is it me? Is it the Harmon Curve? Or are these 'phones defective.

These arrived yesterday (from Amazon.ca) and I took my first listen this morning: TERRIBLE Hideously bright and unlistenable. Funny, but the Harmon Curve has a distinct boost of mid-treble -- should I have expected the brightness I'm hearing?

Probably worth mentioning the I prefer Classical music in general, but these 'phone make everything sound pretty bad.

Your comments?

 

[staticV3]

Is it me? Is it the Harmon Curve? Or are these 'phones defective.

These arrived yesterday (from Amazon.ca) and I took my first listen this morning: TERRIBLE Hideously bright and unlistenable. Funny, but the Harmon Curve has a distinct boost of mid-treble -- should I have expected the brightness I'm hearing?

Probably worth mentioning the I prefer Classical music in general, but these 'phone make everything sound pretty bad.

Your comments?

It's spelled Harman, and sounds like you're not getting a proper seal.

 

[Matias]

Is it me? Is it the Harmon Curve? Or are these 'phones defective.

These arrived yesterday (from Amazon.ca) and I took my first listen this morning: TERRIBLE Hideously bright and unlistenable. Funny, but the Harmon Curve has a distinct boost of mid-treble -- should I have expected the brightness I'm hearing?

Probably worth mentioning the I prefer Classical music in general, but these 'phone make everything sound pretty bad.

Your comments?

The first thing is that "bright" IEMs usually mean bad sealing and no bass. So first try other tips and pushing or moving the IEM to see if you get a proper seal. Bass should be plenty and deep.

Second, these are tuned close to a tilted diffuse field response. Means they sound similar to a good speaker in a room with the added natural gain the human ear has. So ignore the hump on the raw FR you see, when everything is compensated, it sounds like this below, so extra bassy.

Squiglink - IEM frequency response database by Hawaii Bad Boy

Compare hundreds of frequency response graphs between IEMs and earphones from manufacturers like Moondrop, Sony, 64 Audio, Fiio, and more.

hbb.squig.link

 

[markanini]

Is it me? Is it the Harmon Curve? Or are these 'phones defective.

These arrived yesterday (from Amazon.ca) and I took my first listen this morning: TERRIBLE Hideously bright and unlistenable. Funny, but the Harmon Curve has a distinct boost of mid-treble -- should I have expected the brightness I'm hearing?

Probably worth mentioning the I prefer Classical music in general, but these 'phone make everything sound pretty bad.

Your comments?

Are you sure you are getting good seal? This is not a given considering that nozzles are relatively shallow and you complain about thin sound.

 

[InfiniteJester]

Is it me? Is it the Harmon Curve? Or are these 'phones defective.

These arrived yesterday (from Amazon.ca) and I took my first listen this morning: TERRIBLE Hideously bright and unlistenable. Funny, but the Harmon Curve has a distinct boost of mid-treble -- should I have expected the brightness I'm hearing?

Probably worth mentioning the I prefer Classical music in general, but these 'phone make everything sound pretty bad.

Your comments?

It is Harman; Harmon is the guy who wrote Community and Rick and Morty using a system based on Joseph Campbell that allowed him to write the same exact episode hundreds of times with small variations and to trick everyone into believing that he was a genius while getting rich and harassing women in the process.

 

[DSJR]

Has anyone here used the Zero and Zero 2 from an old fashioned amp headphone socket - the type with a 300 ohm or so inline resistor tapped off the power amp? I tried with the Zero original the other night and had to switch off as even with my bad hearing, the sound in the mid highs was screamingly toppy. Last night, I tried the same track with my old trusty HD25SP's and the 'tone' was far more manageable, accepting that these aren't the last word in neutrality.

Both Zero and Zero 2 used off my laptop via an Apple dongle - no problem tonally!

 

[markanini]

Has anyone here used the Zero and Zero 2 from an old fashioned amp headphone socket - the type with a 300 ohm or so inline resistor tapped off the power amp? I tried with the Zero original the other night and had to switch off as even with my bad hearing, the sound in the mid highs was screamingly toppy. Last night, I tried the same track with my old trusty HD25SP's and the 'tone' was far more manageable, accepting that these aren't the last word in neutrality.

Both Zero and Zero 2 used off my laptop via an Apple dongle - no problem tonally!

It's probably reacting with the 3kHz bump in the impedance graph.

 

[Gorgonzola]

The first thing is that "bright" IEMs usually mean bad sealing and no bass. So first try other tips and pushing or moving the IEM to see if you get a proper seal. Bass should be plenty and deep.

Second, these are tuned close to a tilted diffuse field response. Means they sound similar to a good speaker in a room with the added natural gain the human ear gain has. So ignore the hump on the raw FR you see, when everything is compensated, it sounds like this below, so extra bassy.

Squiglink - IEM frequency response database by Hawaii Bad Boy

Compare hundreds of frequency response graphs between IEMs and earphones from manufacturers like Moondrop, Sony, 64 Audio, Fiio, and more.

hbb.squig.link

Thanks, @Matias, and other respondents. Of course: Harman, not Harmon.

I used the longest/deepest ear pieces and felt they were well-inserted but I have tried again.

2nd listen with 'phone inserted to maximum extent possible ... definitely better but still noticeably bright and slightly "honky" sounding ... perhaps they need some of that supposedly unnecessary "burn-in". Initially not to my taste but I'll defer judgement pending a couple more tries.

 

[Laserjock]

Thanks, @Matias, and other respondents. Of course: Harman, not Harmon.

I used the longest/deepest ear pieces and felt they were well-inserted but I have tried again.

2nd listen with 'phone inserted to maximum extent possible ... definitely better but still noticeably bright and slightly "honky" sounding ... perhaps they need some "burn-in". Initially not to my taste but I'll defer judgement pending a couple more tries.

I had the same issue at first. The Truthear Blue were my first IEM and really like them.
These 7 Hz Zero 2 seemed like something I would like but I think my physical ear canal didn’t seem to match up to the stock tips and I ordered some others mentioned here.

I haven’t tried them yet.

 

[CedarX]

Thanks, @Matias, and other respondents. Of course: Harman, not Harmon.

I used the longest/deepest ear pieces and felt they were well-inserted but I have tried again.

2nd listen with 'phone inserted to maximum extent possible ... definitely better but still noticeably bright and slightly "honky" sounding ... perhaps they need some of that supposedly unnecessary "burn-in". Initially not to my taste but I'll defer judgement pending a couple more tries.

I often have seal problems with IEMS. In my case, inserting them deeper--when possible, as sometime the IEM shell hurts my ears before I could push them deeper--does not always result in better seal with silicon tips. I think they may "fold over" somewhat when inserted deeper. Going a smaller size may work sometime, but I have better success with aftermarket XL-size tips (Spinfit's work for me) and not trying to push the IEM deeper.
It's an annoying trial and error process with every IEM, but as other have hinted, getting a good seal is a day & night difference in sound!

 

[SteveL]

If you look through some of Amir's headphone reviews, it's not uncommon for even highly regarded headphones to be shockingly deficient in the upper midrange. Someone who is used to that kind of response is likely to find a Harman-compliant IEM overly bright. And it's hard to break into the circle of confusion with highly processed pop music recordings. My gold standard is the sound of live classical music (which is brighter, eg. the sound of an orchestra violin section, than many non-classical listeners might realize). If a recording of known high quality (which is generally the case nowadays) is reproduced with convincingly natural timbre, I know I have equipment that does what I want. Having said all that, if you're not getting plenty of bass with something like a Zero 2 you definitely don't have a good seal.

 

[markanini]

If you look through some of Amir's headphone reviews, it's not uncommon for even highly regarded headphones to be shockingly deficient in the upper midrange. Someone who is used to that kind of response is likely to find a Harman-compliant IEM overly bright. And it's hard to break into the circle of confusion with highly processed pop music recordings. My gold standard is the sound of live classical music (which is brighter, eg. the sound of an orchestra violin section, than many non-classical listeners might realize). If a recording of known high quality (which is generally the case nowadays) is reproduced with convincingly natural timbre, I know I have equipment that does what I want. Having said all that, if you're not getting plenty of bass with something like a Zero 2 you definitely don't have a good seal.

Sorry, but inductive reasoning is making you say something that doesn't add up. If strict compliance Harman worked as intended then pop and orchestral recordings would sound the same as on speakers, not worse, and not better.

 

[SteveL]

Sorry, but inductive reasoning is making you say something that doesn't add up. If strict compliance Harman worked as intended then pop and orchestral recordings would sound the same as on speakers, not worse, and not better.

They do to me (well not pop music which I don't listen to). But not any speakers I can afford in my small oddly configured living room, rather the really good setups I have occasionally had the chance to hear. Furthermore, that's exactly what Sean Olive and his team were aiming for- both headphones and IEMs should produce subjectively the same sensation as speakers with a flat anechoic response playing in a well-treated room. The preference curves reflect the consensus of their test subjects on the FR that achieves that goal. So it does "work as intended" and my own auditory system agrees that it does.

 

[Cote Dazur]

2nd listen with 'phone inserted to maximum extent possible ... definitely better but still noticeably bright and slightly "honky" sounding ...

Guessing you are new to IEMs, I was too, not such a long time ago. Let me help if I can.
Everyone is obsessing with the FR curve, FR is of course important, but how a particular IEM fits in your ear, and we all have different ears, is much more important.
No need to push them hard, or deep, actually it will not help.
What you need to achieve is a "seal". When new, a good way to know you have a seal is that you should ear your respiration slightly when no music is playing.
2 important aspect for good seal; One, the size of the silicon tip, try them all, one is going to be better. Second, the angle at which, the nozzle seat in the ear, that is key. just placing the IEM flat in the ear, may or may not work.
I was lucky, I started with the Zero blue. the angle was almost perfect for my ears, so I got great sound almost from the get go with minimum fuss. my second was the Hola, that is when I found out about the angle. My third are the Zero2, if did not have known about the angle, I would have returned them scratching my head on what everyone was raving about. They fit my ears the less naturally than the other 2, but when correct, they are as great as the FR suggest.
It seems daunting at first, but as you get experienced, you will know almost instantly, when they sound right or not and correct the sitting in your ears in seconds to extract the amazing performance, these IEM are able to produce.

perhaps they need some of that supposedly unnecessary "burn-in"

Burn in is not the answer, but you already knew that.

 

[SteveL]

Guessing you are new to IEMs, I was too, not such a long time ago. Let me help if I can.
Everyone is obsessing with the FR curve, FR is of course important, but how a particular IEM fits in your ear, and we all have different ears, is much more important.
No need to push them hard, or deep, actually it will not help.
What you need to achieve is a "seal". When new, a good way to know you have a seal is that you should ear your respiration slightly when no music is playing.
2 important aspect for good seal; One, the size of the silicon tip, try them all, one is going to be better. Second, the angle at which, the nozzle seat in the ear, that is key. just placing the IEM flat in the ear, may or may not work.
I was lucky, I started with the Zero blue. the angle was almost perfect for my ears, so I got great sound almost from the get go with minimum fuss. my second was the Hola, that is when I found out about the angle. My third are the Zero2, if did not have known about the angle, I would have returned them scratching my head on what everyone was raving about. They fit my ears the less naturally than the other 2, but when correct, they are as great as the FR suggest.
It seems daunting at first, but as you get experienced, you will know almost instantly, when they sound right or not and correct the sitting in your ears in seconds to extract the amazing performance, these IEM are able to produce.



Burn in is not the answer, but you already knew that.

I would just add to this excellent comment that the 7Hz Zero / Zero 2 have an unusually short nozzle. Trying to stick them in deeper won't work because the body gets in the way, so you have to envision them as just blocking the very end of your ear canal. You need tips that are big enough around to do that securely. The stock red tips work great for me but obviously won't for everybody.

 

[Jimbob54]

Thanks, @Matias, and other respondents. Of course: Harman, not Harmon.

I used the longest/deepest ear pieces and felt they were well-inserted but I have tried again.

2nd listen with 'phone inserted to maximum extent possible ... definitely better but still noticeably bright and slightly "honky" sounding ... perhaps they need some of that supposedly unnecessary "burn-in". Initially not to my taste but I'll defer judgement pending a couple more tries.

Try the alternating tone test here https://asiaudio.com/pages/audio-seal-test

If the low and higher tones aren't roughly the same level, or the bass tone sounds shaky it's not a good seal.

 

[splitting_ears]

Has anyone here used the Zero and Zero 2 from an old fashioned amp headphone socket - the type with a 300 ohm or so inline resistor tapped off the power amp? I tried with the Zero original the other night and had to switch off as even with my bad hearing, the sound in the mid highs was screamingly toppy. Last night, I tried the same track with my old trusty HD25SP's and the 'tone' was far more manageable, accepting that these aren't the last word in neutrality.

Both Zero and Zero 2 used off my laptop via an Apple dongle - no problem tonally!

This is the result of impedance mismatch. If, like me, you want to use modern IEMs with all types of devices (including old ones, before near-zero output impedance was a thing), you can get an iFi iEMatch+ adapter. Amir has reviewed it here.

 

[Chromatischism]

Is it me? Is it the Harmon Curve? Or are these 'phones defective.

These arrived yesterday (from Amazon.ca) and I took my first listen this morning: TERRIBLE Hideously bright and unlistenable. Funny, but the Harmon Curve has a distinct boost of mid-treble -- should I have expected the brightness I'm hearing?

Probably worth mentioning the I prefer Classical music in general, but these 'phone make everything sound pretty bad.

Your comments?

It's spelled Harman, and sounds like you're not getting a proper seal.

It's not actually a Harman tune—if it were, it would be brighter.

This is more in line with the Truthear Zero: Red but with more bass. Which is tuned close to IEF.

But I agree, I don't think I could characterize it as hideously bright unless there were an ear seal issue.