Portable device for my TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED

[Audiotone]

Hi,

I have the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED IEM...very happy with them: plays very good on my Topping L30 headphone amp.
Also tried it om my Phone (Huaway P30) and Apple mini pod...but it is just not loud enough on these devices...

So I guess the IEM's need more power...
It should play loud enough and have some storage for my music (does not have to be gigantic), I have all my music in FLAC.

Since I have no experience with portable DAP etc...I could use some advice...

kind regards,

Tony

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

Hi,

I have the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED IEM...very happy with them: plays very good on my Topping L30 headphone amp.
Also tried it om my Phone (Huaway P30) and Apple mini pod...but it is just not loud enough on these devices...

So I guess the IEM's need more power...
It should play loud enough and have some storage for my music (does not have to be gigantic), I have all my music in FLAC.

Since I have no experience with portable DAP etc...I could use some advice...

kind regards,

Tony

I use a qudelix 5k with my zero reds, but I also limit the maximum volume to ~.7V. The zero red's complete lack of distortion makes it super easy to "accidentally" listen at damaging volume levels (especially if used while commuting).

 

[Jimbob54]

I'd agree with the Qudelix from your phone. Far cheaper and quite possibly better than buying a DAP (should be no need for 2 pocket bricks in this day and age plus almost certainly a cheaper option)

 

[Dunring]

I've had the Truthear Zero blue and red on an Apple USB 3.5mm adapter and it's plenty of power. For $9 you'd be surprised what this thing can handle. It goes to 24 bit 48khz and you need USBPlayer Pro or Nuetron to unlock it's full power on an Android phone so it can bypass the Android stack. I also have a Soundblaster X1 which is neat too, supports everything (Apple, Linux, Windows, Android) at 9600khz 24 bit.

 

[Count Arthur]

How aboout one of these: https://www.hidizs.net/products/ap80-pro-x-fully-balanced-lossless-music-player-ayfk

I have the previous model, the AP80 PRO, it's plenty loud enough with the Zero Reds.

I also have a Moondrop Click: https://moondroplab.com/en/products/click-3-5 and that is loud enough for me, but the volume does have to be set pretty high.

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

USBPlayer Pro

I've been having issues with USBPlayer Pro with my apple dongle. If I try to use it to unlock the volume it causes a screechy studdering sound.

 

[Audiotone]

Thanks for your suggestions...but I was not planning to connect it to my phone, hence the storage.
I am not a phone addict

I saw Amir's review for TANCHJIM Space and started thinking...but really wanted something with some storage...

 

[mmmdc]

Doesn't have anything to do with being a "phone addict", it's just the obvious choice. Also, most DAPs are kinda crap.

That said, the Shanling M0 Pro has plenty of power and supports lots of storage via Micro SD.

 

[Jimbob54]

I've been having issues with USBPlayer Pro with my apple dongle. If I try to use it to unlock the volume it causes a screechy studdering sound.

I have problems with that combo too. But for me it is silence even if UAPP says its playing. Oddly, if I leave UAPP and play over spotify etc then go back into UAPP, all is fine. Must be some compatibility glitches.

 

[jaguone]

I suggest you find a used LG V40/V50/V60/G7/G8.
I have an old LG G7 for music only. Has a micro SD card slot as well.

 

[LeShog]

I was also on the search for a DAP, but my impression is that we are in hi fi’s frontier with these devices right now: they cost a lot and they simply don’t deliver quality. There are probably technology issues to be solved in this category in this time we are living.. So I am leaning toward a portable dac/amp with bluetooth just not to stress my phone’s usb c port instead of a dongle. I believe, based on Amir’s measurements, that right now the best device for that is Topping G5. It’s not perfect, but it’s probably the best for portable right now as I am typing. If I was not worried about my phone’s port I’d take a dongle for convenience like Tanchjim Space or maybe (maybe!) truthear Shio only because it is covered in leatherette and won’t scratch my phone (that I keep without cover) in my pocket, even though it is not as clean and transparent, but still it should sound pretty good. Anyway if your problem is only about power and not quality your life becomes a lot easier: zero red needs 1.33 V to work well, which means that the majority of phones won’t work, but the majority of dongles will deliver, even though their integrated amps suck the vast majority of times..

 

[staticV3]

zero red needs 1.33 V to work well

1.33V = 120dB SPL Peak. That's insane.
You'd damage your hearing real quick, listening at that volume.

 

[LeShog]

1.33V = 120dB SPL Peak. That's insane.
You'd damage your hearing real quick, listening at that volume.

True, but I mean, you don’t have to listen at that volume. It’s only to ensure you listen to high dynamic range music with no distortion whatsoever ever in any case; given that it is pretty easy to achieve this result if I was in the market for something giving me power to zero red I’d ensure I have this.. I get to understand that the majority of people listen at around 70 db (? I’m not sure) and I honestly don’t know about the recordings with the biggest dynamic range (no idea whatsoever), but with 1.33 V (which is little for a dongle, nowadays it’s normal to find them at 2V) you are sure not to get something distorted whatsoever ever in your life, even if you listen at 80 db or more. I’m curious though about the dynamic range found in most music and the biggest dynamic range there is right now in a recording. I tried to quickly have a look at it some days ago, but found nothing, they use a strange a scale to define dynamic range in a recording which doesn’t tell you the actual numbers.. Do you happen to know?

 

[staticV3]

True, but I mean, you don’t have to listen at that volume. It’s only to ensure you listen to high dynamic range music with no distortion whatsoever ever in any case; given that it is pretty easy to achieve this result if I was in the market for something giving me power to zero red I’d ensure I have this.. I get to understand that the majority of people listen at around 70 db (? I’m not sure) and I honestly don’t know about the recordings with the biggest dynamic range (no idea whatsoever), but with 1.33 V (which is little for a dongle, nowadays it’s normal to find them at 2V) you are sure not to get something distorted whatsoever ever in your life, even if you listen at 80 db or more. I’m curious though about the dynamic range found in most music and the biggest dynamic range there is right now in a recording. I tried to quickly have a look at it some days ago, but found nothing, they use a strange a scale to define dynamic range in a recording which doesn’t tell you the actual numbers.. Do you happen to know?

The most common way to define dynamic range is with crest factor, so the difference between a track's RMS AVG and Peak volume.
This is usually around 15dB for pop, 20dB for less commercialized genres, and up to 30dB for orchestral music.

There are better ways to define dynamic range, but the results are more abstract, e.g. "DR10"

MAAT DROffline MkII

MAAT - Sound ...Simply Better

www.maat.digital

 

[LeShog]

@staticV3 thank you, I appreciate the answer a lot

 

[firestart3r]

@staticV3 thank you, I appreciate the answer a lot

What did you end up getting?

Personally, I just upgraded to the Moondrop Free DSP Cable and so far it's amazing. The cable is softer and comes with a great DAC/AMP

You could also get the Moondrop May for a bit more and have a spare IEM (the USB-C cable is the same as the Free DSP).

Cheers!

 

[LeShog]

What did you end up getting?

Personally, I just upgraded to the Moondrop Free DSP Cable and so far it's amazing. The cable is softer and comes with a great DAC/AMP

You could also get the Moondrop May for a bit more and have a spare IEM (the USB-C cable is the same as the Free DSP).

Cheers!

I saw it, was pretty interested in it.. Is the dsp in it good? I read there were limitations, but don’t remember.. Do you get any hiss? I also heard some of these dsp cables produce a lot of background hiss..

I took a Fiio BTR7, my rationale being that considered the bluetooth bottleneck this device’s performance is state of the art, it probably can’t get any better than this. Still I had very little experience with eq before and didn’t understand how powerful of a tool it is, so I chose BTR7 even though it has a worse peq implemented than qudelix 5k. After eqing (even if the curve I can get to is a bit rough compared to target) Zerored improved quite a bit on all the spectrum, the biggest improvement being a natural decay of cymbals that before sounded harsh and thin. Sound reproduction is now perfect to my ear and am completely satisfied with it, but I don’t know if I would’ve had a better result with the qudelix that measures worse (maybe we already are in the non audible improvement area? Don’t know), but has a more precise peq.. Still, I like my Fiio a lot, so I am pretty happy with my purchase

 

[Somafunk]

Still, I like my Fiio a lot, so I am pretty happy with my purchase

That’s all that matters

 

[monkeyboy]

COWON

COWON - The moment is your life

cowonglobal.com

 

[firestart3r]

I saw it, was pretty interested in it.. Is the dsp in it good? I read there were limitations, but don’t remember.. Do you get any hiss? I also heard some of these dsp cables produce a lot of background hiss..

I took a Fiio BTR7, my rationale being that considered the bluetooth bottleneck this device’s performance is state of the art, it probably can’t get any better than this. Still I had very little experience with eq before and didn’t understand how powerful of a tool it is, so I chose BTR7 even though it has a worse peq implemented than qudelix 5k. After eqing (even if the curve I can get to is a bit rough compared to target) Zerored improved quite a bit on all the spectrum, the biggest improvement being a natural decay of cymbals that before sounded harsh and thin. Sound reproduction is now perfect to my ear and am completely satisfied with it, but I don’t know if I would’ve had a better result with the qudelix that measures worse (maybe we already are in the non audible improvement area? Don’t know), but has a more precise peq.. Still, I like my Fiio a lot, so I am pretty happy with my purchase

Personally I use wavelet or other apps for EQ so I didn't use the Moondrop app.

The DAC measures well and sound great to me. Plenty of power compared to a Apple dongle on a Android phone. No hiss on my Zero Red.

Also has a microphone so you can take calls on the go.

I highly recommend the Moondrop Free DSP.