• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM Review

Rate this IEM:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 7 1.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 12 2.9%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 51 12.1%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 350 83.3%

  • Total voters
    420
I dislike IEMs but needed something to use when I go to the gym. I didn't want to wear my Apple AirPods Max headphones and Apple AirPods I have tried typically fall out of my ears. I wanted something inexpensive but good sound quality and these seemed to fit the bill. I purchased an Apple USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter for my iPhone 15 Pro Max and a pair of these 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEMs with Kiwi Ears flex earbud tips. I have large ears and huge ear holes. I was afraid the standard tips would be too small and they are. Unfortunately, I also find the largest Kiwi Ears tips too small. I can get them to stay in and the IEMs sound good but I feel they are just too small. I'd like a better seal and a more secure fit. Can anyone recommend tips for these IEMs that fit very large ear holes?

Thanks,
Martin
PXL_20240715_172239367.jpg

Or I also find moondrop spin tips xl work well.
 
Last edited:
I'd like a better seal and a more secure fit. Can anyone recommend tips for these IEMs that fit very large ear holes?

Perhaps try Dunu S&S in large or X-large, they are very secure but I needed to go down a size to a small so perhaps try one of the multi-size packs. You’ll find them on Amazon
 
Another in the don't need IEMs club that's very satisfied. Sounded terrible with all the supplied tips, but I found a box of EarFun tips and one gives me a great seal. A/Bing with my K371 and both are equally pleasing.
 
I dislike IEMs but needed something to use when I go to the gym. I didn't want to wear my Apple AirPods Max headphones and Apple AirPods I have tried typically fall out of my ears. I wanted something inexpensive but good sound quality and these seemed to fit the bill. I purchased an Apple USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter for my iPhone 15 Pro Max and a pair of these 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEMs with Kiwi Ears flex earbud tips. I have large ears and huge ear holes. I was afraid the standard tips would be too small and they are. Unfortunately, I also find the largest Kiwi Ears tips too small. I can get them to stay in and the IEMs sound good but I feel they are just too small. I'd like a better seal and a more secure fit. Can anyone recommend tips for these IEMs that fit very large ear holes?

Thanks,
Martin

For someone with big earholes an IEM with long thick nozzle like Truthear Zero RED and combine it with Comply T600 foam eartips in Size L would be better.

The Salnotes Zero has more a shorter and thinner nozzle, and the eartips that came with it are very soft, therefore they are better for small earholes
 
For someone with big earholes an IEM with long thick nozzle like Truthear Zero RED and combine it with Comply T600 foam eartips in Size L would be better.

The Salnotes Zero has more a shorter and thinner nozzle, and the eartips that came with it are very soft, therefore they are better for small earholes
+1
 
I could not get a good fit with any of the different tips that I tried. I have returned everything and just picked up a pair of open box 7Hz Timeless IEMs off eBay for under $95. (They are usually around $200.) They seal perfectly with the largest tip included in the box. They sound to my ears like a huge improvement over the 7Hz Crinacle Zero:2. Crinacle gives them an A rating at $220. They sound utterly amazing. I am using them with the Apple dongle on my iPhone 15 Pro Max. I am considering purchasing a Fosi DS1 or DS2 just to get a little more headroom; the volume is close to maxed out on my iPhone for some songs. I cannot stop listening to them, I am liking these IEMs.

Martin
 
I could not get a good fit with any of the different tips that I tried. I have returned everything and just picked up a pair of open box 7Hz Timeless IEMs off eBay for under $95. (They are usually around $200.) They seal perfectly with the largest tip included in the box. They sound to my ears like a huge improvement over the 7Hz Crinacle Zero:2. Crinacle gives them an A rating at $220. They sound utterly amazing. I am using them with the Apple dongle on my iPhone 15 Pro Max. I am considering purchasing a Fosi DS1 or DS2 just to get a little more headroom; the volume is close to maxed out on my iPhone for some songs. I cannot stop listening to them, I am liking these IEMs.

Martin
That's a steal for the Timeless. When they came out, they created a huge storm inside the community as being the first properly tuned planar iems. And while today's landscape is filled with cheaper alternatives like the s12 pro and the hidizs mp145, I still find the Timeless to be more finessed than their counterparts when a good seal and fit are achieved. Mine is the Timeless AE, which has a bit more bass then the OG one, that I haven't heard.

When I first got them, for around $150, I was replacing an Aful p5 in my collection. At the time, my TOTL iem was the EQed blessing 3, but after auditioning the Timeless AE every other iem in my collection has lost their place, they're that good for my ears. The only EQ I apply with them is a -5 dB mid Q @ 13300 because they and my ears create a peak there.
 
Ordered some, gf wanted to get into singing with my band and this seemed like a cheap way to get some IEM's on someone.

I really don't know how the big money IEM companies plan on existing long term. I have some other IEM's, mostly stuff that performed well on here, and the price just keeps coming down for excellent performance. These were $20 and they sound great, at least with foams (no iem sounds good to me with silicone and if you sing, you need foams because otherwise your voice will ring in your head).

I ordered another pair in case these break, I mean they cost as much as some packs of tips lol. These things just confirm that 99% of audio gear is just BS and marketing. I think our lizard brains are what keeps high dollar poor performing stuff alive, I've been victim to it. More money = better right? Even when you know better it's so hard to over ride.

The story I heard from an insider who worked in the audio industry is the all the manufacturers internally knew what the preferred FR curves were all along and kept them a closely guarded secret, but they never expected somebody as big as and non-headphone focused like Harman to rock their boat.
 
That's a steal for the Timeless. When they came out, they created a huge storm inside the community as being the first properly tuned planar iems. And while today's landscape is filled with cheaper alternatives like the s12 pro and the hidizs mp145, I still find the Timeless to be more finessed than their counterparts when a good seal and fit are achieved. Mine is the Timeless AE, which has a bit more bass then the OG one, that I haven't heard.

When I first got them, for around $150, I was replacing an Aful p5 in my collection. At the time, my TOTL iem was the EQed blessing 3, but after auditioning the Timeless AE every other iem in my collection has lost their place, they're that good for my ears. The only EQ I apply with them is a -5 dB mid Q @ 13300 because they and my ears create a peak there.

The measurement of the 7Hz Timeless shows a FR that makes the IEM not a recommendation for me
7Hz Timeless measurement
 
The measurement of the 7Hz Timeless shows a FR that makes the IEM not a recommendation for me
7Hz Timeless measurement
It surely is a polarizer and not a Harman tuned IEM. I like it because it counters some harman emphasis that are commonplace inside the industry and that don't resonate well to my ears/hrtf: I don't like the harman scoop at 150-200 hz because I find it to create an artificial masking effect on subbass (totally preference), I don't deal well with 3-4khz centered pinna gains because my ears/perception tend to amplify those even further, and I don't like the usual decay on the upper-treble that the research/smoothing suggests, preferring a shimmery presentation instead (I'm young, so it does make a difference).
 
My mesh filter looks clogged with earwax.
What's the best way to deal with this?
Replace the mesh and filter underneath it? If so, where can i order these?
Or do i just remove it, wash it, and put it back?
 
The measurement of the 7Hz Timeless shows a FR that makes the IEM not a recommendation for me
7Hz Timeless measurement

I feel they sound very much like an IEM version of my Audeze LCD-3 and Apple AirPods Max, both of which I absolutely love. The Timeless has fantastic bass impact and treble clarity like the HEDD HEDDphones that I liked so much in my headphone comparison. I love the sound of my 7Hz Timeless IEMs.

Martin
 
Thanks. Just remove it with fine needles, and try not to puncture the filter fabric underneath it? Hope I dont screw this up!
There are some dental picks with really fine fish-bone/feather tips, those might work in place of q-tips if you can find them
 
I'm curious if anyone using stock Equalizer APO would like to give my EQ a try.

For me it works a lot better than both Amir's and Maiky's filter designs. It adds that last 10% of realism without any noticeable drawbacks.

I've put the required preamp into the file name, but not into the actual filter settings.
That way, you can setup your EQApo config like this and only toggle the EQ on/off, without a change in overall volume:
View attachment 375830

I'm using MH755 eartips in S and an Apple dongle at 44.1kHz (keep in mind that filter response is Fs dependent).

Of course I'm aware of issues regarding HRTF and insertion differences, as well as good old unit variation, but thought that some of you may still enjoy the preset :)
I'm just catching up on the EQ you posted in June for the Zero 2 IEM.

I just ran through 30 of my test tracks, using your EQ. You've achieved something that to my ears, sounds correct in its parts (instrument timbre, etc) and also sounds perfectly natural and balanced from bottom to top. I can't recall ever before getting there in one step with a new device (i.e. reading a post and trying an EQ). I mostly liked the IEM before, but now think much better of it.

Unless I've missed it in the posts that I haven't read yet, is there something to be learned about how you did it? (... Assuming others drew the same conclusion...)

Really, a fine job, and I'm grateful!
 
I'm just catching up on the EQ you posted in June for the Zero 2 IEM.

I just ran through 30 of my test tracks, using your EQ. You've achieved something that to my ears, sounds correct in its parts (instrument timbre, etc) and also sounds perfectly natural and balanced from bottom to top. I can't recall ever before getting there in one step with a new device (i.e. reading a post and trying an EQ). I mostly liked the IEM before, but now think much better of it.

Unless I've missed it in the posts that I haven't read yet, is there something to be learned about how you did it? (... Assuming others drew the same conclusion...)

Really, a fine job, and I'm grateful!
I'm adding a PS to my earlier reply to StaticV3 on his proposed EQ for the Zero 2, this time to comment on how I resolved related issues with the IEM's ergonomics. His EQ solution was not all I needed to enjoy the Zero 2, because of useability issues of the physical IEM. This also draws on Resolve's video on the IEM in post 1,002 above.

I have the same problem as Resolve with the Zero tips not fitting securely into my ear canal, resulting in glare on the highs and other problems. None of the tips that came with the IEM worked; nor did any of the dozens of other tips I had, all of which did not fit the big nozzle of the Zero 2. I also had a problem with the cables, because the Zero 2's plastic cable guide (curved to wrap over the top of the pinna) was curved so sharply as to be unusable on my ears.

I finally found a solution in my Blessing 2 box. (That IEM was not durable and I retired it after several attempts at repair.) The Blessing tips fit the big Zero 2 nozzle perfectly, but were made differently, and I found Blessing tips that fit me better than the Zero 2 tips and did not much change the subjective FR. I also found that the twisted pair cables from the Blessing worked perfectly as a substitute for the unuseable Zero 2 cables. I mention this for anyone else who might have some spare parts in their Moondrop box, as an alternative to blind mail-ordering of other tips or cables.

As to the SQ of the Zero 2, there are many things that I like about the EQ that StaticV3 provided, and my only residual problem is some intermittent ringing of soprano voices and a little extra bite in other situations here and there. I have to keep the SPL's from creeping up, and still have to poke those earpieces in now and then, to help prevent this occasional sharpness and loss of bass. But when I have the fit adjusted right, that EQ works very, very well for me.
 
Last edited:
my only residual problem is some intermittent ringing of soprano voices and a little extra bite in other situations here and there.
If this isn't caused by modes in your ear canal, try decreasing the two first filters further. Also, make sure you're sampling at 44khz, as using bigger sample rates for stactic's preset will introduce ringing. A way to nail where exactly the ringing happens is to do a frequency sweep (please use low volumes for this). You can find a tone generator in the EQ section of any squig.link
1724421721435.png
1724421700967.png
 
My Zero 2 arrived today.
The left and right wiring is reversed, so I had to plug the L connector into the R in-ear.
That's a shame.
I connected them to the 3.5mm headphone jack of the Babyface Pro FS
 
Last edited:
I am buying way too many iems because of this site!! Curse thee Amir!
Nahh..joking aside, I cherish the fact that I circumvent the nonsense of most hi-fi sites out there and dive straight into TOTL sound quality merely by reading up a bit on ASR from time to time. Granted the more I read the more I buy…but at least these iems are cheap!

I actually went ahead and got both the Zero and Zero 2. Couldn’t make up my mind and just ordered both.
I’m glad I did because a) they fit my ears like a glove (even with the pre-installed tips) and b) I find myself absolutely enthralled by both sound signatures.
In fact this reminds me of the iem world’s answer to the HD600 and the HD650…but with subbass.
The Zero sounds very neutral to me whereas the 2 is more of a warmer presentation. It really depends on my mood as to which I prefer.
I had two unused Tripowin iem cables lying around that I plugged in instead of the stock ones as I prefer to have some type of way to know which one is right and left. The stock ones make you guess.
IMG_2469.jpeg

…and yes that is the fabulous pink iPod Nano. Currently playing some delicious electronic-like post rock by the Belgian band Go March. The Zero’s are performing excellently. Thanks again for the reviews Amir:)
 
Back
Top Bottom