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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 2.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 52 12.3%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 351 83.2%

  • Total voters
    422
Here are some thoughts about the EQ.
Please report your findings, positive or negative!

Notes about the EQ design:
  • The average L/R is used to calculate the score.
  • The resolution is 12 points per octave interpolated from the raw data (provided by @amirm)
  • A Genetic Algorithm is used to optimize the EQ.
  • The EQ Score is designed to MAXIMIZE the Score WHILE fitting the Harman target curve (and other constrains) with a fixed complexity.
    This will avoid weird results if one only optimizes for the Score.
    It will probably flatten the Error regression doing so, the tonal balance should be therefore more neutral.
  • The EQs are starting point and may require tuning (certainly at LF and maybe at HF).
  • The range around and above 10kHz is usually not EQed unless smooth enough to do so.
  • I am using PEQ (PK) as from my experience the definition is more consistent across different DSP/platform implementations than shelves.
  • With some HP/amp combo, the boosts and preamp gain (loss of Dynamic range) need to be carefully considered to avoid issues with, amongst other things, too low a Max SPL or damaging your device. You have beed warned.
  • Not all units of the same product are made equal. The EQ is based on the measurements of a single unit. YMMV with regards to the very unit you are trying this EQ on.
  • I sometimes use variations of the Harman curve for some reasons. See rational here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...pro-review-headphone.28244/page-5#post-989169
  • https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...pro-review-headphone.28244/page-6#post-992119
  • NOTE: the score then calculated is not comparable to the scores derived from the default Harman target curve if not otherwise noted.
  • Occluding IE devices generally must have very good fitting/seal in the user's ear canal for best performance.
    please spend a few minutes to pick up the best ear tip... Be sure to perform this step otherwise the FR/Score/EQ presented here are just worthless.
  • 1. more bass = better seal
    2. More isolation from the outside world = better fit
    3. Comfort

Great L/R match.

I have generated one EQ, the APO config file is attached.

Score no EQ: 77.0%
Score Amirm: 82.9%
Score with EQ: 95.8%

View attachment 335128
Knowles Target, the scores are NOT comparable

View attachment 335129

THD with different plot

View attachment 335133
Spurred on by how impressed I was with your Sennheiser HD660S EQ I decided to give your Zero2 EQ a go. It's very good; a much more subtle transformation than with the HD660S one, both compared to what I was using previously and even vs no EQ, but still better. (I made the same 10kHz attenuation). So, again, thanks!
 
Sad to hear about this. Are you planning to get another Zero 2?

My opinion is obviously subjective. I had a love hate relationship, which has now turned to a love love love one with the Zero 2. I tend to EQ all devices I use for critical listening, to tailor them to my preferences, and it EQ''s very well. To me, with the TRI Clarion ear tips, they have, after suitable EQ a very balanced - neutral presentation, that is not dull, but just shows up what is in the audo stream. The most balanced listening device, I have heard extensively. Now like a reference/benchmark for me against which I can compare other IEMs. Now when I read a review of any IEM, next thing is a visit to squig.link to compare the Frequency response with that of the Zero 2, so I can easily appreciate some of what to expect from that other device, relative to the Zero 2.

I'm most likely going to get a spare of the Zero 2, or two spares, definitely before they ever go out of production. I'm now having to go back to a lot of material, to listen to them via the Zero 2's - thinking - so this is what this actually sounds like! I'm a musician. play piano, so some time is devoted to listening to piano reviews on Youtube or pianists on Youtube, have had an aha moment today - so this is what it actually sounds like, cos whatever I had been listening to before, was not as balanced. But also like that without EQ, it still sounds not too far from optimal balance. - definitely not night and day difference, between stock sound and EQ'd.
There are metal filters and paper tuning papers available via aliexpress so I may give that a try first.
 
The review was just too tempting - being the cheapskate I am, had to check these IEMs out. $32 including shipping and tax. First impressions were negative - no bass, nasal mids, fit bad. That was with the red tips that the IEMs can with, standard. Took those off, spent a very frustrating hour attempting to swap out some smaller tips. No luck. But I remembered that I have tips for other IEMs, tried a couple sets from some Sony models I bought ages ago and subsequently ignored. Almost but not quite with one pair. Then I remembered the Comply tips for my expensive Klipsch IEMs. Finally got something like the description in the review. I've only tried these earbuds for a short time, but mostly like what I'm hearing. Right now I'm trying them hooked up to my budget smartphone, playing Paul Simon via Tidal.
 
Here's an interesting thread derailment - in the process of getting the IEMs under discussion to function properly I took off the Comply tips on my Kipsch X 11i IEM and placed them on the Crinacle IEMs. I replaced those Comply tips on the Klipsch X11i with a pair from one of my Sony IEMs. Low and behold, they worked just fine. More to the point, I could hear for the first time just how good the Kipsch IEMs really are. Klipsch still has a website for them:




klipsch_x11_iem_1554787862_8abd24480_progressive.jpg


They appear to be long gone from the marketplace. They are lightest IEMs I have owned, and the easiest to insert (a real problem with the Crinacle). They are also the best sounding. The bass goes down as deep as the Crinacles, the treble seems more open (though that might be due to the Crinacles now using the Comply tips). I think I got them 2017/2018.
 
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I didn't want to get IEM headphones at all, never thought about them, but now 7Hz x Salnotes Zero on the way to me. :D 11$ is a small price to pay to get started. Trying very hard not to buy more Zero 2 and Zero:Red. This forum should be banned :D
 
After pulling the Klipsch X 11i IEMs out of storage and trying a number of different tips on the Crinacle Zero 2 IEMs all I can say is that the Zero 2s simply do not work for me. It's impossible to get a proper seal with any of the tips. The closest I can get is with the Comply tips, and those seem to occlude the upper registers. All the standard tips reduce bass and make the mids stick out in an ugly way. It seems as though the shape of the Crinacle earbuds pushes them out of my ear canals. An interesting, cheap experiment but in the end, I know I will not be using these ear buds. The upside is I am getting better results out of the Klipsch X 11i s than I did before and that is a good thing.

EDIT: Considered the possibility that I installed the cable backwards into the earbud. Guess what? Changed the comfort and sound.

Nevermind.
 
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Oh, I wish I did not start experimenting with EQ, coz now I will test all sort of targets and autotune :facepalm:
I started by trying out EQ to Sony MDR-Z7, which I had for a few days years ago. It was similar to my memories, but messy. At least it make me want to look for less bright targets, than Harman. It is crazy how many signatures this IEMs can play in an intresting way. To bad, coz now there is to much choice.
I wish, that every album or even song have their targets publicly avaible.

Edit. My ears got used to the harman target again, so I am stopping messing up with EQ.
 
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Oh, I wish I did not start experimenting with EQ, coz now I will test all sort of targets and autotune :facepalm:
I started by trying out EQ to Sony MDR-Z7, which I had for a few days years ago. It was similar to my memories, but messy. At least it make me want to look for less bright targets, than Harman. It is crazy how many signatures this IEMs can play in an intresting way. To bad, coz now there is to much choice.
I wish, that every album or even song have their targets publicly avaible.
It's very easy easy to get lost and become an errand into no man's land when using EQ. At least that's my experience... That's the whole value of the Harman target: it may not work exactly for you (too bright in your case), but it gives you a reference, an anchor of what "good sound" is for most people. Then you EQ from there to your preference--a (negative) high-shelf if it's too bright for you, a little boost here, another one there... The idea is that, little touch after little touch, and with a small number of filters (to keep it manageable), you'll end up to whatever sounds best for you.
Zero:2 has low enough distortions that it can probably be EQ'd into whatever you want. But, I'm not sure there is much value in trying to EQ it to sound exactly like another IEM/HP: you probably got used to the Sony MDR-Z7... It doesn't mean it's the best sound for you.
 
It's very easy easy to get lost and become an errand into no man's land when using EQ.
you probably got used to the Sony MDR-Z7... It doesn't mean it's the best sound for you.
Nah, Z7 was ~5-6 years ago only a few days on my head, but after playing with a EQ harman was to bright for me. I will stop playing with it, coz is good as it is, when ears are used to it, without jumping in to something bassy. I quess my hidden, inner basshead craved something.
 
Put it this way, if I have to spend more than $50 again, to get anything significantly and undeniably better than the Zero 2, I'll live with the Zero 2 goodness, and be satisfied with it. But I'm prepared to spend $50 to get another IEM, to pair with the Zero 2, so I have two good viewpoints. When I am listening to audio, And if the other IEM is even better than the Zero 2, that would be a bonus.
That's a very hard question to answer. You can get many well-regarded IEMs at similar and higher prices, but which one is going to wow you? No idea.

I'm very happy with my Zero:2, especially since they fit me well using the stock tips and sound great even without EQ. When I want more detail, I add a high shelf of 1-2 dB at 2 kHz but whether I do that is really context dependent.

I too was thinking were to go from these and couldn't really think of anything.
Good things have been said about Truthear Hexa (less bass, more treble), the new Dusk and there are always the $1K options like the ThieAudio Monarch MK2.
I think I'm going to pass, though. I'm not a liberty to spend that much money on something that I can break or lose so easily.

I expect that if you get with any IEM what I'm getting with this, which is a frequency response with a likeable tonal balance and no major offending parts, then play around with EQ to fine it based on your taste / mood / recording then it is as good as it gets.

I think I am affected by a kind of placebo, where I get some new gear and spend few evenings listening to it, hearing new nuances in my favorite tracks etc.
That happened to me recently with the HE400SE and the Fosi DS2, the first few listens were "magical" if you know what I mean.

However, some time has passed and now hyper-analytical listening experience doesn't happen too often, but if it does, it's usually late evenings after dark.
And all my gear sound better then.

I can see that someone in my position, but willing to spend more on audio, could be upgrading frequently.
It seems like getting new gear is the easiest way to trigger that kind of obsessive listening mode when music sounds extra clear.
I recall the early days of PC Audio where there were so many competing players (anyone remembers XXHighEnd, Jplay, Fidelizer, apps that literally broke your OS with the promise of better sound)? I was so sure the more ridiculous setups did get an edge in clarity. As if my brain rewarded the extra effort put into disabling Windows services, shuffling processes between cores etc.
 
Best headphones are the one, which make you want to look for another music, not settings ;)
I got to this point with my mdr-ex1000 after EQ, but due to size, rarity and preferences they were in a drawer most of the time.

Ah... I am so stupid and should earlier put my EQ in to a graph site and compare it with tuned Zero2 and then autotune it to my favotite setting. I am new to this stuff, so it took time to realize how to make a target curve from my EQ.
It looks like there are pretty close, but 2k hz drops earlier with similar peaks, but probably it is a bad idea to EQ 10600hz peak of ex1000 to zero2 by adding 7db? Oh, it looks like +5.5db is enough
Green and yellow are most imporant here.
Black is some EQ fround online for ex1000, sometimes used by me. Oh, nvm it is different and I lost the oryginal one. It is crinacle auto eq from q5k.
Yellow is most often picked by me, tuned down by my ear.
Green one is tuned down Zero2 from harman EQ by Maiky76, and blue is full EQ without changes.
Red is default Zero2.
1736291977852.png


If someone want to try this emulation of EQed mdr-ex1000, but with bass from harman EQ (8-11).
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 3200 Hz Gain -2.5 dB Q 1.600
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 5100 Hz Gain 4.3 dB Q 4.500
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 7100 Hz Gain -1.6 dB Q 5.000
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain 3.5 dB Q 3.700
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 8245 Hz Gain 1.5 dB Q 10.000
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 10693 Hz Gain 5.5 dB Q 10.000
Filter 7: OFF PK Fc 0 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 0.000
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 21.20 Hz Gain -2.30 dB Q 1.07
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 209.49 Hz Gain -2.08 dB Q 1.03
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 668.39 Hz Gain 0.75 dB Q 1.48
Filter 11: ON PK Fc 1336.52 Hz Gain -1.40 dB Q 1.81
Or a bit different without the deep in 3500hz, by just adding. 12 and 13 are probably enough,
Filter 12: OFF PK Fc 0 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 0.000
Filter 13: ON PK Fc 3500 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 1.100
Filter 14: ON PK Fc 5500 Hz Gain -1.0 dB Q 5.000
Filter 15: ON PK Fc 6400 Hz Gain 0.5 dB Q 4.600
Filter 16: ON PK Fc 5046 Hz Gain -0.9 dB Q 7.000
Filter 17: ON PK Fc 5915 Hz Gain 0.5 dB Q 1.000
Filter 18: ON PK Fc 5830 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 7.000

I have no idea why it sounds so different, while being pretty close to Maiky76 EQ, beside the deep in 6000hz. Someone definitely may like it so try it out!
The red one is my EQ with all settings above.
The green one is from the end first page.
The blue one is without last part.
I may change a 10693hz peak to 4.7db from 5.5db or even bypass it... Oh I mean mostly 8245hz.

No more edits, goodnight!

1736298417554.png
 
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Did somebody move from these cheaper crazy value ones to the 7Hz Timeless? I'm very impressed with Hexas at the moment, but the Timeless would've been my "things didn't improve enough, throw money at the problem" next step up.

Just saw this. That was me. They were only $95 on eBay. I love them. I've also since bought Timeless AE and Timeless II. All are going to @amirm for testing. I'll keep the best measuring pair and sell the others.

Martin
 
Best headphones are the one, which make you want to look for another music, not settings ;)
I got to this point with my mdr-ex1000 after EQ, but due to size, rarity and preferences they were in a drawer most of the time.

Ah... I am so stupid and should earlier put my EQ in to a graph site and compare it with tuned Zero2 and then autotune it to my favotite setting. I am new to this stuff, so it took time to realize how to make a target curve from my EQ.
It looks like there are pretty close, but 2k hz drops earlier with similar peaks, but probably it is a bad idea to EQ 10600hz peak of ex1000 to zero2 by adding 7db? Oh, it looks like +5.5db is enough
Green and yellow are most imporant here.
Black is some EQ fround online for ex1000, sometimes used by me. Oh, nvm it is different and I lost the oryginal one. It is crinacle auto eq from q5k.
Yellow is most often picked by me, tuned down by my ear.
Green one is tuned down Zero2 from harman EQ by Maiky76, and blue is full EQ without changes.
Red is default Zero2.
View attachment 419447

If someone want to try this emulation of EQed mdr-ex1000, but with bass from harman EQ (8-11).
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 3200 Hz Gain -2.5 dB Q 1.600
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 5100 Hz Gain 4.3 dB Q 4.500
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 7100 Hz Gain -1.6 dB Q 5.000
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain 3.5 dB Q 3.700
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 8245 Hz Gain 1.5 dB Q 10.000
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 10693 Hz Gain 5.5 dB Q 10.000
Filter 7: OFF PK Fc 0 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 0.000
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 21.20 Hz Gain -2.30 dB Q 1.07
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 209.49 Hz Gain -2.08 dB Q 1.03
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 668.39 Hz Gain 0.75 dB Q 1.48
Filter 11: ON PK Fc 1336.52 Hz Gain -1.40 dB Q 1.81
Or a bit different without the deep in 3500hz, by just adding. 12 and 13 are probably enough,
Filter 12: OFF PK Fc 0 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 0.000
Filter 13: ON PK Fc 3500 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 1.100
Filter 14: ON PK Fc 5500 Hz Gain -1.0 dB Q 5.000
Filter 15: ON PK Fc 6400 Hz Gain 0.5 dB Q 4.600
Filter 16: ON PK Fc 5046 Hz Gain -0.9 dB Q 7.000
Filter 17: ON PK Fc 5915 Hz Gain 0.5 dB Q 1.000
Filter 18: ON PK Fc 5830 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 7.000

I have no idea why it sounds so different, while being pretty close to Maiky76 EQ, beside the deep in 6000hz. Someone definitely may like it so try it out!
The red one is my EQ with all settings above.
The green one is from the end first page.
The blue one is without last part.
I may change a 10693hz peak to 4.7db from 5.5db or even bypass it... Oh I mean mostly 8245hz.

No more edits, goodnight!

View attachment 419469

Check B&K 5128 measurement - like a pair of excellent speakers in good room.

1737555170542.png
 
I didn't want to get IEM headphones at all, never thought about them, but now 7Hz x Salnotes Zero on the way to me. :D 11$ is a small price to pay to get started. Trying very hard not to buy more Zero 2 and Zero:Red. This forum should be banned :D

I need to stop reading some of these threads, because in truth I don't have a favourite pair out of these budget marvels. The Dunus were my goto reference but I rarely get them out of the case because the tip fit is the least easy to achieve, and sonically I'm not even sure there are any benefits over the cheap pairs.

FWIW, Amazon UK have a 10% off voucher for the Zero:2 at the moment, so for the price of 2 pints of beer (I'm doing dry January so the man maths was really easy) I had to try them out. Replacing the tips to a the slightly stiffer large yellow was a right pita, the nozzles are much wider than the tip and are incredibly fiddly to fit. Thankfully they make a perfectly good seal, so off we go. First impressions are very similar to the One and Reds, though the Ones have a noticeably brighter presentation even after EQ to Amir's settings which doesn't reconcile with the measurements - that must be a HRTF issue (I'm surmising tip / pinna interaction)




20250122_125050.jpg
 
Indeed; both paper and metal mesh but not available in the uk.
I contacted support via Amazon (and linsoul.com) and they gave me a special link to buy replacements. Had to give them my order # and address.

Was $3.99 for a set of 2 filter kits - you get 4 aluminum (or whatever metal) grills, 4 white fabric pieces, and tweezers - and $5 shipping to the UK. Have them installed and all is good again.
 
Any particular meaning to this pyramid?
Is the Zero:2 the top for you, and the EST 112 the basis where you started from? :D
Here's a thing, I spent some time comparing them as best I could on my desktop system. My order of preference without EQ was
Dunu
Zero red
Zero 2
Ones

The ones have a very pronounced upper mid that isn't obvious on the measurements, but clearly my ears are not so compatible. It's not harsh though and actually after I while I become convinced it's how a cymbal smashed with a wooden stick really sounds.
There's almost nothing between the others, I'd probably fail a blind test between reds and zeros. The Dunu sound just bigger, more spatial cues, deeper bass, and snare drums that explode into your ears on some tracks where the others are less dynamic. So maybe you do get what you pay for, but there's no way that the Dunus are worth the 10x the price of the others!
I was toying with the idea of buying some ultra premium iems, wtf was I thinking!
Anyway, back to the music and this week's qobuz new releases....
 
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