7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM Review

[jasonhanjk]

So I went ahead and purchased a Qudelix 5k along with a USBc-Lightning cable (Fiio LT-LT2) to use with my iPhone and the Zero2 iems.

I’m excited to be able to experiment with PEQ abilities of the device. Quick question though - is there any reason for me to look into getting a balanced cable for the iem’s, or no?

I’m about to go on a trip, and I was reading the battery life is much worse if I go balanced on the device? Just curious if it’s a worthwhile difference.

Thank you!

Balance cable with balance output will give you better crosstalk but noise increase. Some amp will have increase in distortion due to IEMs low impedance.

What you need to find are those Single Ended amp with 4.4mm socket, improves crosstalk and not increasing the noise.

 

[ronnzi]

Balance cable with balance output will give you better crosstalk but noise increase. Some amp will have increase in distortion due to IEMs low impedance.

What you need to find are those Single Ended amp with 4.4mm socket, improves crosstalk and not increasing the noise.

I see. The qudelik 5k only seems to have a 2.5mm, but good to know as I get deeper down the rabbit hole. I’m honestly just getting it for the PEQ capabilities right now, as with the iems I’ve used the Apple dongle has always seemed to perform fine.

 

[anaveragebear]

So I went ahead and purchased a Qudelix 5k along with a USBc-Lightning cable (Fiio LT-LT2) to use with my iPhone and the Zero2 iems.

I’m excited to be able to experiment with PEQ abilities of the device. Quick question though - is there any reason for me to look into getting a balanced cable for the iem’s, or no?

I’m about to go on a trip, and I was reading the battery life is much worse if I go balanced on the device? Just curious if it’s a worthwhile difference.

Thank you!

No, it shouldn't make an audible difference, just measurable. The battery life is noticeably worse on balanced, yeah.

 

[jjbug]

I have never thought about using an IEM - stumbled across this review and I just had to get them. I'm sure that I would end up loving these for casual music listening at home - on the go I prefer wireless options, but the main question is how well would these work with my BOSS KATANA:GO?


Can't lie, I haven't been that excited for something that cheap in a while!
This thing costs less than my usual Friday night takeaway.

 

[staticV3]

the main question is how well would these work with my BOSS KATANA:GO?

Should work just fine:

 

[misterdog]

but I am a bit dissapointed that EQ is needed to get the best performance.

I'm disappointed that my hearing at age 64 is not what it was at age 17.

EQ can provide horses for courses.

 

[misterdog]

must get my earwax sucked out and start thinking about somekind of preventative earwax health regime!

Warm water in the ear, (shower) softens wax, soap /shampoo dissolves wax, rinse repeat several times = no wax problem.

 

[Robbo99999]

Warm water in the ear, (shower) softens wax, soap /shampoo dissolves wax, rinse repeat several times = no wax problem.

All sorted, I got them sucked out, but he said I didn't need them doing anyway (but I said for him to continue to do the procedure) - I'd used olive oil drops everyday for a couple of weeks before that point, so using olive oil drops every so often is the way to go for me. I've decided that IEM's are not for me though, I really dislike the fact it pushes earwax back in to go against the natural "conveyor belt" of your ear that naturally pushes wax out of your ear as your skin grows - if you were to put a permanent marker dot on your eardrum, then after a number of months (was it months?) then that dot will end up on your earlobe, that's the "conveyor belt". Yes, so just over ear headphones for me now.

 

[mc.god]

I'd used olive oil drops everyday for a couple of weeks before that point, so using olive oil drops every so often is the way to go for me.

Is it an audiophile snake oil based on Sean Olive research?

 

[Robbo99999]

Is it an audiophile snake oil based on Sean Olive research?

Ha, I don't think we should have Sean Olive & Snake Oil in the same sentence, but I saw what you did there! I use a product called Earol which is an olive oil spray of medical grade olive oil, but I understand that it would be perfectly healthy to just use regular olive oil that you buy for cooking, but the spray is convenient and effective as it gets right inside your ear with the pressure & direction of the spray.

 

[jjbug]

So, I received mine yesterday and the first impressions are great. Very comfortable, much more than my Airpod pro 2nd gen, which get me some ear fatigue after a couple of hours - not a problem with those. Can't tell which tips from the included set fit me the best (they all sorta fit?) so that's going to be something I have to look into more in the near future. I'm sure there are threads available on how to find the correct tips..

The cable could be a tad bit longer, but that's just how the setup at my desk is. Feels like I absolutely got my moneys worth and my IEM itch is gone. Going to keep these on my desk as daily drivers for sure.

 

[Jean-Paul Petrosyan]

The thing wrong could be about the first part of what I said. Which is that, even the 4620 is not accurate enough, resulting in different frequency responses after eq-ing. With distortion and phase-accuracy out of the way (which is the case with most decently made iems these days), there is really little else that could explain a noticeable difference in perception other than undetected frequency response differences. If they were the same frequency response at your eardrum, then it is literally impossible that a hissing noise is audible on one but not the other even after boosting the treble by 4db.

I don't think the issue lies with the accuracy of a measuring rig in this case. There's unit variation and fit differences which may be at least just as relevant, if not more. High frequency response can change quite dramatically depending on the insertion depth and these two models differ rather significantly in this regard. There's just no way to get Zero 2 to fit as deep as Blessing could.

I'm also understanding that both sets were used with the exact same (stock with wide bores, as that's what Crinacle measures IEMs with to my understanding) eartips, weren't they?

 

[Jean-Paul Petrosyan]

Balanced output only gives you more power, which you may need to drive inefficient headphones to satisfying loudness.

For IEMs, there's no advantage.
All you'd get is slightly more hiss, and worse battery life.

Balanced can provide a significantly better crosstalk rejection as well, which is the case with most budget devices including Qudelix. If they're able to buy such a device on whim I see no reason not to get a balanced cable for another $15 to ensure they're getting the most out of the setup. The spare power won't hurt as well.

 

[staticV3]

Balanced can provide a significantly better crosstalk rejection as well, which is the case with most budget devices including Qudelix. If they're able to buy such a device on whim I see no reason not to get a balanced cable for another $15 to ensure they're getting the most out of the setup. The spare power won't hurt as well.

Sure, there's a measurable advantage in crosstalk. It's far from audible though.

On the flip side you get worse battery life, more hiss, and you need a special cable. For IEMs, it's just not worth it.

 

[misterdog]

Just bought a pair, they are awesome - Thanks @amirm.

I have tricked out Quad 989 ESL's fed from Benchmark AHB2, with 2x 12" subs fed from MiniDSP plate amp, the sound from these IEM's is in some respects better. There must be some 5% THD on the sub drivers (though strangely the manufacturers neglect to mention this) so the bass is more detailed.

Could these be driven direct from my Topping E70 DAC if I make an adaptor cable ?

Or Pre90 preamp.

Interestingly the 'instructions' say to run with 'soft' music at low volume for 10-30 hours for best results.

As others have noted the fit makes a huge difference, the supplied silicone tips I found less comfortable and worse sound quality than the memory foam Comply ones I had to hand.

No mention of the tiny 'L' and 'R' for wiring up though - luckily I read this entire thread

 

[staticV3]

Could these be driven direct from my Topping E70 DAC if I make an adaptor cable ?

Or Pre90 preamp.

Please don't. Use a proper headphone Amp.

 

[mikehoopes]

Balanced output only gives you more power, which you may need to drive inefficient headphones to satisfying loudness.

For IEMs, there's no advantage.
All you'd get is slightly more hiss, and worse battery life.

Depends. I‘m compensating for some hearing loss, and my EQ is hitting a peak of +5.3 dB at 6156 Hz. Balanced yields me some extra headroom to help keep the distortion down, and I’m not perceiving any hiss with the 5K.

 

[Oso Polar]

EQ is hitting a peak of +5.3 dB

And? Some of the ones I use are even more. Still plenty of power left with IEMs. Regular full size headphones is another story...

 

[Jean-Paul Petrosyan]

Sure, there's a measurable advantage in crosstalk. It's far from audible though.

On the flip side you get worse battery life, more hiss, and you need a special cable. For IEMs, it's just not worth it.

I see. Could you by any chance direct me towards some sources on the crosstalk audibility thresholds?

 

[mikehoopes]

And? Some of the ones I use are even more. Still plenty of power left with IEMs. Regular full size headphones is another story...

I don’t have measurements or even valid qualitative data to support this. That said, I bought a custom cable primarily for ergonomics, and not incremental electrical performance, and the 2.5 balanced did not cost appreciably more.

I’m also running relatively high volumes (note I normally wear hearing aids) so I have the 5K running at -23 dB volume level with the source at 0 dB. The 5K app estimates 142 mV rms for that, which is about .63 mW driven.

Looking at Amir’s 33 Ohm unbalanced high test data, that lands around -85 dB THD + N, so likely not audible, and a couple of orders of magnitude below power at clipping. The 50 Ohm balanced test lands at below -90 dB at that power level, so yeah, a technical but not audible difference, and both not indicative of audible hiss. But also not an uncommon theme on this website.