TRUTHEAR conversation to TWS!

[ToriCatcher]

Hey all,

After recently entering the IEM market with Moondrop Chu and TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero, I want to give the latter as gift, as a TWS IEM.

Hence, I'm looking for a TWS HP Bluetooth amplifier. It seems to me that there are not many such amps (a few links below).

I Have 3 objectives regarding choosing an amp.
1 is having sufficient power to hold a the relatively low load and low sensitivity TRUTHEAR.
2 is being good amp in general, low noise and distortion, high sinad and so on.
3 is just not braking the bank.

Cheers to anyone who might know of such devices, and or having any input on the objectives or how to achieve them.

Michael

Links for possible amps:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EHGoMhx

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EGBABPF

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EGvyqml

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EuWAU7f

 

[Jimbob54]

Hey all,

After recently entering the IEM market with Moondrop Chu and TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero, I want to give the latter as gift, as a TWS IEM.

Hence, I'm looking for a TWS HP Bluetooth amplifier. It seems to me that there are not many such amps (a few links below).

I Have 3 objectives regarding choosing an amp.
1 is having sufficient power to hold a the relatively low load and low sensitivity TRUTHEAR.
2 is being good amp in general, low noise and distortion, high sinad and so on.
3 is just not braking the bank.

Cheers to anyone who might know of such devices, and or having any input on the objectives or how to achieve them.

Michael

Links for possible amps:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EHGoMhx

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EGBABPF

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EGvyqml

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EuWAU7f

Apologies, not clicking through all those links but the Fiio offer seems to get a bit of love around here. Cant think which threads I have seen it mentioned , but maybe in the main Truthear one.

 

[ToriCatcher]

Apologies, not clicking through all those links but the Fiio offer seems to get a bit of love around here. Cant think which threads I have seen it mentioned , but maybe in the main Truthear one.

As it costs 2-3.5 times the other options, it should get the love you mentioned. It quotes some specs as 47mv at 16 ohm, which is not the standard, unfortunately. However, even that, is far from being exhaustive data. TRUTHEAR needs 76mv for 93db, so that figure is not truly helpful.

 

[staticV3]

There are at least 20 of these TWS adapters. Heres a thread with details and impressions of each:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-tws-neckband-bt-cable-adapter-thread.920709/

 

[Curupira]

Hey all,

After recently entering the IEM market with Moondrop Chu and TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero, I want to give the latter as gift, as a TWS IEM.

Hence, I'm looking for a TWS HP Bluetooth amplifier. It seems to me that there are not many such amps (a few links below).

I Have 3 objectives regarding choosing an amp.
1 is having sufficient power to hold a the relatively low load and low sensitivity TRUTHEAR.
2 is being good amp in general, low noise and distortion, high sinad and so on.
3 is just not braking the bank.

Cheers to anyone who might know of such devices, and or having any input on the objectives or how to achieve them.

Michael

Links for possible amps:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EHGoMhx

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EGBABPF

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EGvyqml

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EuWAU7f

I would also point you on the FiiO direction. They may not be SOTA level or audibly transparent like their BTR offerings, but my experience with others (KZ and TRN) was a bit disappointing. They do their job, but I personally felt that there was a perceivable loss to cable. KZs former options were even worse, with a very high floor noise.

Also, as much as I love cabled iems, I wouldn't try "TWSing" them today considering the quality of actual TWS offerings like the galaxy buds pros and the AKG N400NC: you can even exercise with them without worrying about sweat and oxidation, which is not possible with the Zero. Their sound quality is also very tangible and not far from well regarded cabled options. I haven't heard the Zeros myself, but both the buds pros and (specially) the AKGs are very harman compliant.

 

[ToriCatcher]

Any Fiio in particular?

Can you refer me to any FR charts for AKG or the Samsung?

 

[Berwhale]

The TxCZ have a recessed 0.78 2 pin connection. I don't think the KZ AZ09 Pro will fit, the Fiio's might (can't tell from the pictures), the TRN's look like they will if you pick the 2nd option.

 

[ToriCatcher]

After more time spent, it does seem problematic to find an amp suited for Zero in TWS form.
However, I see no big company (Samsung and such) advertising their FR, which did not bow well for me in the past.

Another alternative is Anker. If ai understand correctly, they have an interesting concept of tailoring the FR according to the person's hearing (which can very a lot).

Des anybody have any experience with Anker, and this feature specifically?

Here's a link to what appears to be their top model.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EHjVXUN

 

[Jimbob54]

After more time spent, it does seem problematic to find an amp suited for Zero in TWS form.
However, I see no big company (Samsung and such) advertising their FR, which did not bow well for me in the past.

Another alternative is Anker. If ai understand correctly, they have an interesting concept of tailoring the FR according to the person's hearing (which can very a lot).

Des anybody have any experience with Anker, and this feature specifically?

Here's a link to what appears to be their top model.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EHjVXUN

I would be wary of anything that claims to adjust to individual ears. That tech is not quite there yet, and certainly not in mass market kit.

For actual TWS, have a look at Crinacle's site - he measures quite a lot of TWS and has a ranking list just for them. Some Samsung/JBL/AKG ones do quite well.

 

[asrUser]

I would buy either Fiio UTWS5 or UTWS3.

 

[Curupira]

Any Fiio in particular?

Can you refer me to any FR charts for AKG or the Samsung?

Either the UTWS5 or UTWS3. Take a look at their own comparison chart:

Spoiler

Sure, here you go:

 

[Oso Polar]

Also, as much as I love cabled iems, I wouldn't try "TWSing" them today considering the quality of actual TWS offerings like the galaxy buds pros and the AKG N400NC: you can even exercise with them without worrying about sweat and oxidation, which is not possible with the Zero.

100% agree. All these "TWSing" offerings look bulky and uncomfortable - and still don't give the user TWS advantages, so seem to be a bit pointless IMHO. I personally prefer using IEMs + Qudelix-5K over Bluetooth during "smooth" movement (e.g. bus, train, plane) and true TWS (Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus as of now) during exercises. Also, TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero are very uncomfortable IEMs, the worst of all I ever tried by far, so I'm not sure how good these will be as a gift. If a person in question have ears on the smaller side then they will probably not fit at all.

 

[Hckd]

Not a recommendation (as I don’t think this is what you are looking for) but I have an ifi xDSD (the original model) and although I bet it isn’t SOTA by any standards but… I really can’t fault it with the Truthear Zeros. Tbh I don’t see (ear) any less audio quality than I do with my ADI-2. Dead silent and if there is something missing from it, I surely can’t tell.

 

[asrUser]

100% agree. All these "TWSing" offerings look bulky and uncomfortable - and still don't give the user TWS advantages, so seem to be a bit pointless IMHO. I personally prefer using IEMs + Qudelix-5K over Bluetooth during "smooth" movement (e.g. bus, train, plane) and true TWS (Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus as of now) during exercises. Also, TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero are very uncomfortable IEMs, the worst of all I ever tried by far, so I'm not sure how good these will be as a gift. If a person in question have ears on the smaller side then they will probably not fit at all.

I think so too. To enemies you'd give the Zero and to friends probably Truthear Hexa.

 

[Hckd]

I think so too. To enemies you'd give the Zero and to friends probably Truthear Hexa.

If your enemies have the same experience with the TCZ as me (comfort wise)… They would be very happy.

 

[MacClintock]

I don't know if it is ok to recommend something like this, but on Aliexpress there are cheap replicas of the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro, that, as far as I can tell, don't have all the functionality, but the sound seems to be close to the original ones.

 

[Blorg]

I don't know if it is ok to recommend something like this, but on Aliexpress there are cheap replicas of the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro, that, as far as I can tell, don't have all the functionality, but the sound seems to be close to the original ones.

I think we'd need measurements of that, it's possible but I doubt they sound anything similar. People will subjectively say they sound good or similar but people don't know what they are talking about.

I have several "replica" IEMs from AliExpress and they are not all bad, but also none of them are remotely similar to the real versions, I have a measuring rig and in two cases I also have the real versions. In the others, I can compare to others graphs of the real versions.

This is despite the seller posting a graph showing close similarity; the reality is they have no relation whatsoever. In some cases the sound is still OK, in others, it's a total disaster:

 

[MacClintock]

I think we'd need measurements of that, it's possible but I doubt they sound anything similar. People will subjectively say they sound good or similar but people don't know what they are talking about.

I have several "replica" IEMs from AliExpress and they are not all bad, but also none of them are remotely similar to the real versions, I have a measuring rig and in two cases I also have the real versions. In the others, I can compare to others graphs of the real versions.

This is despite the seller posting a graph showing close similarity; the reality is they have no relation whatsoever. In some cases the sound is still OK, in others, it's a total disaster:

View attachment 294222

Well, I have no measurement rig, but several IEMs with a tuning close to the supposed one and to my ears/brain, they sound like this. For sure they don't have these large devitions as shown in your graph.

 

[markanini]

Are there any ultra cheap couplers that can be used for verification, given that the counterfeits measure massively different?

 

[Blorg]

Well, I have no measurement rig, but several IEMs with a tuning close to the supposed one and to my ears/brain, they sound like this. For sure they don't have these large devitions as shown in your graph.

I think you'd need at least the originals to compare and even that is somewhat unreliable without measurements. Other IEMs with a "close" tuning and then comparing by ear isn't really there. You can say they sound good to you.

This was a particularly egregious example, that also sounded bad. Some of the other replicas I have don't sound half as bad, some even sound decent (albeit with some issues), but they also don't sound particularly like the original either.

@markanini the <$100 clone 711 couplers are more than enough for discerning these differences, I get very repeatable results and my results are very similar to other people with squig sites and clone 711 couplers. Note the replicas I'm talking about here are not copy Galaxy Buds, these specific ones were copy Beyerdynamic Xelentos. I have the real Buds2 Pro but don't have any copies, so I can't say if they are similar or not. Just that my experience so far with copy IEMs from Ali, they are not that similar sonically so I'd be sceptical.