7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 IEM Review

[IsaacOscar]

I guess you are using the useless flimsy stock eartips?, spend $10 of some decent silicone eartips and make sure you have a seal as these iem’s are in no way bass light

I've gotten good seal with flimsy/cheap stock eartips (of the original Zero), the point is that they nead to fit your ears and be inserted correctly. I would suggest the likely cause is that the stock tips aren't big enough (too small diameter, or not long enough).

Foam tips are probably the easiest to get a good seal with (try Comply 500 ones, but they are expensive), as they expand once inside your ear, so they will fit more people's ears properly. Flange tips are also easy.

If you have other earphones that seal/fit well, you can measure the tip size and try and get ones eith a similar outside size.

Make sure anything you get fits the earphone though (either because the manufacturer says so, or they say they support earphones with the same nozzle diameter as the Zero 2, which you can measure with a ruler).

 

[inselwissen]

I've had great success with the NICEHCK C04 Silicone Tips on the Zero 2.

https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005008690059725.html

The silicone seals extremely well in my oddly shaped ear canals and they are comfortable for long listening sessions. None of the itchy sensation I sometimes get with rougher materials.

They are my favourite tips in general, but these look SO good on my transparent pair. I stole the silver cable from a pair of Kiwi Ears Belles to complete the look. Almost makes these ugly ducklings look handsome.

 

[Palladium]

I always use the included tips with the smallest bore for IEMs and never had seal issues.

 

[inselwissen]

They are my favourite tips in general, but these look SO good on my transparent pair. I stole the silver cable from a pair of Kiwi Ears Belles to complete the look. Almost makes these ugly ducklings look handsome.

Shameless self-quote. I think this combination looks great.

 

[svisner]

I guess you are using the useless flimsy stock eartips?, spend $10 of some decent silicone eartips and make sure you have a seal as these iem’s are in no way bass light

I did purchase after market tips. Better. Acceptable. Overall, I am not a big IEM fan, but useful for travel.

 

[inselwissen]

I did purchase after market tips. Better. Acceptable. Overall, I am not a big IEM fan, but useful for travel.

What does "acceptable" mean in this case? Are you stil talking about the response below 140 Hz? I have my niggles with the Zero:2's stock sound, but bass isn't one of them.

These should deliver loads of clean bass, as was measured by Amir in this very thread. I still suspect you're not getting a correct seal.

 

[Robin L]

I was using the stock tips. Found a pair from some Sony IEMs I bought years ago. They're slightly larger, have a better seal, but more to the point, they now stay in place instead of wiggling out of my ear canals. Seem to have slightly less treble, but I like the sound.

 

[staticV3]

Bass out of the Zero:2 is the best I've heard out of any IEM.

@svisner When you actively push and hold the IEMs into your ear canals and the sound changes, then you know for sure that you're not getting a good seal.

Also if you're using a cable with microphone and remote, then you need to pay attention what headphone output you plug it into.

A regular "dumb" headphone output with no support for mics or inline remotes can result in low volume and tinny sound that lacks bass, due to a pinout mismatch.

If you want a cheap way of hearing any IEM guaranteed the way it was intended, then a $10 Apple headphone adapter is a great investment no matter what OS you play music from.

It has near 0Ω output impedance and handles both TRS headphones and TRRS headsets flawlessly.

 

[svisner]

What does "acceptable" mean in this case? Are you stil talking about the response below 140 Hz? I have my niggles with the Zero:2's stock sound, but bass isn't one of them.

These should deliver loads of clean bass, as was measured by Amir in this very thread. I still suspect you're not getting a correct seal.

Perhaps not on seal but trying. Acceptable means I can enjoy music without fatigue. Bass does improve as I push IEMs more firmly into my ears.

 

[svisner]

Bass out of the Zero:2 is the best I've heard out of any IEM.

@svisner When you actively push and hold the IEMs into your ear canals and the sound changes, then you know for sure that you're not getting a good seal.

Also if you're using a cable with microphone and remote, then you need to pay attention what headphone output you plug it into.

A regular "dumb" headphone output with no support for mics or inline remotes can result in low volume and tinny sound that lacks bass, due to a pinout mismatch.

If you want a cheap way of hearing any IEM guaranteed the way it was intended, then a $10 Apple headphone adapter is a great investment no matter what OS you play music from.

It has near 0Ω output impedance and handles both TRS headphones and TRRS headsets flawlessly.

I agree with your observations. BTW using Topping D3 pro + and Soundblaster G6 to drive them.

 

[svisner]

The IEM is not sealing to your ear canal, that's why you're not getting any bass.

It'd be like taking the woofer out its cabinet and playing it like that - yeah it's not gonna sound great.

Try using different ear tips if you want to hear the IEM like it was intended.

Getting a good seal takes some practice and trial-and-error at first, but quickly becomes second nature.

I have replaced ear tips and managed a better seal to my ear. Now the results are quite good. Bass is evident. Good detail and imaging. Using a Linsoul aftermarket cable and FIIO KA11 USB-C DAC. So, overall purchase has worked out. I wanted something light for travel. I won't use Bluetooth IEMs. If they fall out on a plane, they're the very devil to find. Wired sounds better, anyway.

 

[Johnny2R]

I couldn't resist going for a pair of these having read such glowing endorsements early in this thread (I haven't read the whole thread yet but I'm working through it). I bought a set off eBay, advertised as 'Linsoul 7Hz X Crinacle Zero:2 in Ear Monitor, Updated 10Mm Dynamic Driver IEM', at a very good price, new. The box, however, says on it 'Salnotes', not Linsoul. Also, the tips in place are black - I thought red was standard. Not only are there no red tips in the little yellow ziplock bag of eartips, which has 5 pairs (blue, pale blue, lilac, yellow and orange), but when I tried to put on the yellow tips I had a very difficult time trying to get them over the nozzles, as if they were a narrower diameter - the black ones are easy on and off. So I'm just wondering whether what I have are not genuine. Are there fakes floating around? Does this sound like the typical pack these days?

On first listening, with the black tips, they sound very clear but I'm aware I have some bass loss through an imperfect seal and the sound is thinner than it should be - I can tilt the IEM in my ear, press the leading edge, and get a little more bass. I tried them with some Spinfits taken from my Blob BL-03s but that resulted in thinner sound again.

I have a wide range of tips to try out, and will do so. I fear I may be in that sad subgroup of people for whom these don't work out, though, because I think my ear canals are a bit odd, the angles slightly different. Any suggestions for tips that work for people with weird ears would be most welcome!

PS Using them with Fiio KA11.

 

[DazST]

I couldn't resist going for a pair of these having read such glowing endorsements early in this thread (I haven't read the whole thread yet but I'm working through it). I bought a set off eBay, advertised as 'Linsoul 7Hz X Crinacle Zero:2 in Ear Monitor, Updated 10Mm Dynamic Driver IEM', at a very good price, new. The box, however, says on it 'Salnotes', not Linsoul. Also, the tips in place are black - I thought red was standard. Not only are there no red tips in the little yellow ziplock bag of eartips, which has 5 pairs (blue, pale blue, lilac, yellow and orange), but when I tried to put on the yellow tips I had a very difficult time trying to get them over the nozzles, as if they were a narrower diameter - the black ones are easy on and off. So I'm just wondering whether what I have are not genuine. Are there fakes floating around? Does this sound like the typical pack these days?

On first listening, with the black tips, they sound very clear but I'm aware I have some bass loss through an imperfect seal and the sound is thinner than it should be - I can tilt the IEM in my ear, press the leading edge, and get a little more bass. I tried them with some Spinfits taken from my Blob BL-03s but that resulted in thinner sound again.

I have a wide range of tips to try out, and will do so. I fear I may be in that sad subgroup of people for whom these don't work out, though, because I think my ear canals are a bit odd, the angles slightly different. Any suggestions for tips that work for people with weird ears would be most welcome!

PS Using them with Fiio KA11.

I bought a pair recently and they are also Salnotes and have the same range of tips you describe (no red etc). I found the largest yellow ones with the narrow bore worked best for me and sounded excellent with plenty of nice bass. To help get them on the nozzle, stretch them over the end of a pen first for a few seconds and then turn them inside out when putting them on the nozzle (you probably already do that). I've since swapped the stock tips for some comply foam ones which I'm happy with (can't recall which model, but just search for the ones that fit these iems).
Hope that is of some help.

 

[Robin L]

I was using the stock tips. Found a pair from some Sony IEMs I bought years ago. They're slightly larger, have a better seal, but more to the point, they now stay in place instead of wiggling out of my ear canals. Seem to have slightly less treble, but I like the sound.

Something kicked in. Have been using them a lot since I replaced the tips. Now realize there's plenty of treble, it's just that the realistic levels of bass and lower midrange push it further back into the mix. There's greater clarity in the upper registers than I've heard from other IEMs or headphones, including some Stax "Earspeakers" that pushed the upper octaves to the top of the mix, but also mixed in a little distortion to the treble register.

If you aren't experiencing the bass that these IEMs can produce, look for something bigger than what you have been using. I could sometimes hear the tonal balance properly but the buds would work themselves out of my ear canals, resulting in a loss of bass. The blue tips from Sony earbuds maintain a better seal. They also have wider holes so none of the driver is blocked.

Edit: here's a picture:

 

[Sebby]

I couldn't resist going for a pair of these having read such glowing endorsements early in this thread (I haven't read the whole thread yet but I'm working through it). I bought a set off eBay, advertised as 'Linsoul 7Hz X Crinacle Zero:2 in Ear Monitor, Updated 10Mm Dynamic Driver IEM', at a very good price, new. The box, however, says on it 'Salnotes', not Linsoul. Also, the tips in place are black - I thought red was standard. Not only are there no red tips in the little yellow ziplock bag of eartips, which has 5 pairs (blue, pale blue, lilac, yellow and orange), but when I tried to put on the yellow tips I had a very difficult time trying to get them over the nozzles, as if they were a narrower diameter - the black ones are easy on and off. So I'm just wondering whether what I have are not genuine. Are there fakes floating around? Does this sound like the typical pack these days?

On first listening, with the black tips, they sound very clear but I'm aware I have some bass loss through an imperfect seal and the sound is thinner than it should be - I can tilt the IEM in my ear, press the leading edge, and get a little more bass. I tried them with some Spinfits taken from my Blob BL-03s but that resulted in thinner sound again.

I have a wide range of tips to try out, and will do so. I fear I may be in that sad subgroup of people for whom these don't work out, though, because I think my ear canals are a bit odd, the angles slightly different. Any suggestions for tips that work for people with weird ears would be most welcome!

PS Using them with Fiio KA11.

 

[Johnny2R]

I bought a pair recently and they are also Salnotes and have the same range of tips you describe (no red etc). I found the largest yellow ones with the narrow bore worked best for me and sounded excellent with plenty of nice bass. To help get them on the nozzle, stretch them over the end of a pen first for a few seconds and then turn them inside out when putting them on the nozzle (you probably already do that). I've since swapped the stock tips for some comply foam ones which I'm happy with (can't recall which model, but just search for the ones that fit these iems).
Hope that is of some help.

Thanks, reassuring to know that I probably haven't bought a fake, then. I'll have a play around with tips. I've tried some which almost work, so it's just a question of perseverance. Maybe I'll explore using different sizes in each ear.

 

[Johnny2R]

Sebby, that doesn't look like the pack I got. How recent was this purchase?

 

[Sebby]

Sebby, that doesn't look like the pack I got. How recent was this purchase?

In the image they show the original package at launch, but the description says that from mid 2025 the old and new packages will be distributed randomly. Is yours very different? Could you post a couple of photos?

 

[Johnny2R]

OK, must be variation among packs. I now have a pair of tips working with them which seem to provide a pretty good seal, but I'll be trying a few others yet (I have dozens of tips, from a time I did a lot more tip-rolling than I have the patience for now). Very pleased with the sound quality of these IEMs on the music I mainly listen to, classical, at the moment primarily orchestral. They have a clarity and naturalness which for me pretty accurately reproduces the timbre of the orchestral instruments and the space around them, which is what I am looking for. I'm still not convinced I'm getting the absolute best of them yet because occasionally I sense a creeping shrillness in the violins and a loss of weight from the full orchestra, which typically occurs when the seal isn't 100%. My test for seal is normally just to give a light tug on the earphone and if it resists being pulled out because of vacuum, then we're there. But there's maybe more?

But in terms of sound quality, good so far, and satisfyingly unfatiguing.

FWIW, what I normally use for listening to classical music is one of two pairs of headphones which I alternate between depending on mood, HifiMan HE400SE planar magnetics, and AKG K702 open-back headphones. Both are satisfying in their own ways.

 

[Johnny2R]

It might sound a bit of an odd question, but I don't think the answer is quite as obvious as it might first appear. One of the things Amir's review, and various other commenters' observation, pointed out about these IEMs is their exceptionally low distortion. But what does that actually mean for what one hears? In the context of the orchestral classical music which I mentioned in the previous message that I mainly listen to, what difference does extremely low distortion make, how does it affect the sound of the instruments? And is that difference going to audible, as against other decent IEMs which are not quite so stellar in this respect? One thing I mentioned is that I am finding these IEMs to be pleasingly unfatiguing. Is that a likely consequence of the low distortion or more a feature of the frequency response?