TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

[NYfan2]

Thank you for your answers all.



I have some Moondrop tips as I have a pair of Aria. Did you find a difference in sound ? I don't have the gear to make measurements and check.

To be honest I don't hear a difference between tips as long as the fit is good.
When the tips are too small -> no bass
When the tips are inserted too deep in my ear -> muffled sound

 

[NYfan2]

Which size?

The size is a personal preference depending on the shapes of your ear.
I believe I use the medium size.

 

[Jimbob54]

Which size?

All the same bore size (bit of a stretch over the Zero nozzle) . I can get a decent seal with the large (black) tip. I dont think they are the best for the Zero though- could do to be longer.

Spinfit CP155 (i use large, blue but again ymmv, bore is the same) are better for a deeper insertion. You can get a more standard cone shape with CP145 but more of a stretch on the bore.

 

[MyCuriosity]

As i previously said i own this IEM and it is good. It's not mind blowing for technicalities against my IER-Z1R for example or bass texture but it is ok. A bit bright for me but ok. Just for my understanding, is a good vs bad IEM subject to distortion and how close it matches a curve which is certainly not my preference? I think something not compliant to this reference curve doesn't make it a bad IEM. Just one that the reviewer wouldn't like. Finally i don't find this curve natural at all. Is just a curve with boosted treble and bass which makes for a V shape kind of sound. For example this curve has way too much bass to be called neutral. The target curve used by @crinacle is much closer to what i would consider neutral starting with voice reproduction.

 

[Jimbob54]

Just for my understanding, is a good vs bad IEM subject to distortion and how close it matches a curve which is certainly not my preference?

In terms of how it is judged by our host, pretty much, yes. I'd suggest taking a discussion about Harman In Ear target and views on it to an existing thread like this one though https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...et-2019-sounds-off-to-me-is-it-just-me.38113/

 

[MyCuriosity]

In terms of how it is judged by our host, pretty much, yes. I'd suggest taking a discussion about Harman In Ear target and views on it to an existing thread like this one though https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...et-2019-sounds-off-to-me-is-it-just-me.38113/

Good one. Thanks.

 

[BogdanR]

Brilliant!
I bought iems for almost $1k a few years ago and even with eq wont match this.

@amirm one of the criticisms of this iem is that although tonally correct, it misses out on "detail retrieval/resolution" compated to more expensive iems. Is there any truth to this?

A lot of ink had been flowing about these IEMs already. Let me add myself onto the list of people underwhelmed by the lack of sparkle of life in the sound of these. You could perhaps tilt their higher frequencies response upwards via EQ, their lower distortion certainly allows for this but they still end up missing something.
A good seal on the ear canal is a must to get pleasant, bass rich presentation which some love and these deliver in spades.
I ended packing and keeping mine as a spare. My HiFiMan RE-400 will keep soldiering on.

 

[AudioJester]

A lot of ink had been flowing about these IEMs already. Let me add myself onto the list of people underwhelmed by the lack of sparkle of life in the sound of these. You could perhaps tilt their higher frequencies response upwards via EQ, their lower distortion certainly allows for this but they still end up missing something.
A good seal on the ear canal is a must to get pleasant, bass rich presentation which some love and these deliver in spades.
I ended packing and keeping mine as a spare. My HiFiMan RE-400 will keep soldiering on.

Yeah, near perfect measurement is only a starting point. Then it comes down to persoal preference, sometimes even just what we are familiar with, existing gear.
Treble sparkle is why poorly measuring B&W are loved by many. Good to have choice, with capable IEMs and EQ its nice to be able to press a button and switch between curves.

 

[GaryH]

Yeah, near perfect measurement is only a starting point. Then it comes down to persoal preference, sometimes even just what we are familiar with, existing gear.
Treble sparkle is why poorly measuring B&W are loved by many. Good to have choice, with capable IEMs and EQ its nice to be able to press a button and switch between curves.

I wouldn't say it has near-perfect measurements though, and I'm not only talking about its deficiency in treble extension.

 

[AudioJester]

I wouldn't say it has near-perfect measurements though, and I'm not only talking about its deficiency in treble extension.

Dont think I have had issues with ditortion and EQ, but then what I apply is probably subtle.
Lots of differing target curves and IEMs chasing various ones. There is something for almost everyone at various price points.
The ideal would be something that can easily be tuned over a wide spectrum. I have different preferences with different source material, sometimes even genres.

Lets not forget the cost of these, hard to beat this kind of value. Been a while since we all jumped on the wagon - have there been many failures / quality issues?

 

[WickedInsignia]

Arrived yesterday and hoooo boy, these are sweet. Great tonality, everything is where it should be. Deviations from "perfect to my ears" are extremely minor, mostly explained by personal preference and not really worth mentioning IMO. Didn't get the Red due to postage time and they're so functionally similar I don't mind.

They have a "tactility" to the sound I only ever heard in one other headphone, which was my PSB M4U 2. Some people have experienced the same sensation on other headphones and searched for it endlessly. Something about all frequencies being well-represented and all instruments well-separated makes each note feel like it has depth, like I'm hearing the instrument and its full resonances rather than a narrow-band mimicry with information missing. Not a terribly objective description, but just something I'd observed!

Only real issue is fit/comfort for me. The wide nozzle is a tight squeeze in my canals and I wound up finding a sweet compromise in the small tips, but I doubt I can have these in for more than 30 mins consecutively and the fit is finnicky. My Momentum TW 2 slips right in by comparison. Gonna have to invest in some SpinFit CP155s I think!
What was the general consensus on SpinFit sizing? Is it the same as other earbud sizes?

 

[Jimbob54]

What was the general consensus on SpinFit sizing? Is it the same as other earbud sizes

The 155 are "sharper" than the standard conical shape so you might need the size up from what you usually use. If you have used cp 100/145 medium I'd try 155 large.

 

[Robbo99999]

Arrived yesterday and hoooo boy, these are sweet. Great tonality, everything is where it should be. Deviations from "perfect to my ears" are extremely minor, mostly explained by personal preference and not really worth mentioning IMO. Didn't get the Red due to postage time and they're so functionally similar I don't mind.

They have a "tactility" to the sound I only ever heard in one other headphone, which was my PSB M4U 2. Some people have experienced the same sensation on other headphones and searched for it endlessly. Something about all frequencies being well-represented and all instruments well-separated makes each note feel like it has depth, like I'm hearing the instrument and its full resonances rather than a narrow-band mimicry with information missing. Not a terribly objective description, but just something I'd observed!

Only real issue is fit/comfort for me. The wide nozzle is a tight squeeze in my canals and I wound up finding a sweet compromise in the small tips, but I doubt I can have these in for more than 30 mins consecutively and the fit is finnicky. My Momentum TW 2 slips right in by comparison. Gonna have to invest in some SpinFit CP155s I think!
What was the general consensus on SpinFit sizing? Is it the same as other earbud sizes?

Yes, I found the bass very "tactile" in these IEM's. I know we don't normally talk about tactile bass when it comes to headphones, because headphones don't give you all over body tactile bass of course, but in terms of something that felt like "tactile" bass then these IEM's were the best of my various headphones to make it almost feel like it, with the exception of my closed back NAD HP50 on the hit or miss occasion I could get them to fit and seal perfectly on my head (which would also give me that same "tactile" sensation).

 

[WickedInsignia]

with the exception of my closed back NAD HP50

Yeah makes sense considering the NADs are tuned to the same methodology as the PSBs...they even have the "Room Feel" moniker used across both brands. I think I feel a little of that same tactility in the HD600, but I wouldn't say the overall sensation is limited to bass. Maybe just the deft balance of bass, mids and treble give the sounds a feeling of body or mass. I feel it comes from a combo of good imaging, sense of space between the instruments/sounds, accurate timbre and a well-represented frequency range.

It's really dopamine-inducing, I feel a lot of my enjoyment of music in a superficial sense (not from the music/melody itself, but the delivery of the sound) comes from this. Hard to describe in any technical terms but when it's there it's so enjoyable. It seems to be consistently present in highly-regarded headphones.

That, and Sennheiser's absolutely gorgeous mids. Something about the way the mids are tuned on Senny products overall and especially the HD600, there's this wonderful texture and warmth to it. Almost like guitar crunch. I love headphones can create these sorts of sensations and great to have another in my collection!

 

[Robbo99999]

Yeah makes sense considering the NADs are tuned to the same methodology as the PSBs...they even have the "Room Feel" moniker used across both brands. I think I feel a little of that same tactility in the HD600, but I wouldn't say the overall sensation is limited to bass. Maybe just the deft balance of bass, mids and treble give the sounds a feeling of body or mass. I feel it comes from a combo of good imaging, sense of space between the instruments/sounds, accurate timbre and a well-represented frequency range.

It's really dopamine-inducing, I feel a lot of my enjoyment of music in a superficial sense (not from the music/melody itself, but the delivery of the sound) comes from this. Hard to describe in any technical terms but when it's there it's so enjoyable. It seems to be consistently present in highly-regarded headphones.

That, and Sennheiser's absolutely gorgeous mids. Something about the way the mids are tuned on Senny products overall and especially the HD600, there's this wonderful texture and warmth to it. Almost like guitar crunch. I love headphones can create these sorts of sensations and great to have another in my collection!

The HD600 is really very good in the mids as you say, very nice at stock in the mids, not worth changing in the mids. But purely when I was referencing "tactile" that we were talking about, I'm only talking about the bass, and that's where I latched onto what you were saying - it's just the Truthear Zeros & the closed back NAD HP50 which have given me what I could somehow describe as tactile bass (out of the headphones in my sig) - I think because it's perfectly sealed and it's low extension and at that elevated level, so those factors make you almost feel it, that's what I think. I don't think you can quite get that same bass sensation in open backed headphones, but I don't mind that too much because that's not all there is to music, but just focussing on that one aspect of the bass, that's where I'm at.

 

[lazarian]

The HD600 is really very good in the mids as you say, very nice at stock in the mids, not worth changing in the mids. But purely when I was referencing "tactile" that we were talking about, I'm only talking about the bass, and that's where I latched onto what you were saying - it's just the Truthear Zeros & the closed back NAD HP50 which have given me what I could somehow describe as tactile bass (out of the headphones in my sig) - I think because it's perfectly sealed and it's low extension and at that elevated level, so those factors make you almost feel it, that's what I think. I don't think you can quite get that same bass sensation in open backed headphones, but I don't mind that too much because that's not all there is to music, but just focussing on that one aspect of the bass, that's where I'm at.

Closest I've gotten to what it sounds like you're hearing in open backs is Planar's with a front volume seal, like LCD2's and the like. They have linear bass extension all the way down. Adding a nice low shelf in EQ of around 5dB to match Harman is quite a nice experience.

 

[Robbo99999]

Closest I've gotten to what it sounds like you're hearing in open backs is Planar's with a front volume seal, like LCD2's and the like. They have linear bass extension all the way down. Adding a nice low shelf in EQ of around 5dB to match Harman is quite a nice experience.

I can imagine that, and I've heard the same recounts from people. I've got a bit of a problem with most Audeze headphones (& planars probably for the most part), because they're dodgy in the treble in terms of either very sharp big dips (to a lesser extent peaks) and/or lots of very fine but very aggressive up/down peaks & troughs ("fine grass effect") - and for me in my limited experience with HE4XX then this means loss in overall fidelity. I think they can sound good in isolation, but when you switch back to an optimised dynamic driver headphone that is showing a smooth frequency response you realise you're still getting the good tonality but have a small smidgeon of extra fidelity on top. I'm just not convinced on planars, I don't like their characteristic treble erraticness (both on the small scale variation level & the larger variation level) - I think it's a negative on fidelity. I can see the bass impact point you're making though in relation to the feeling of "tactile" - I'm on board with that.

 

[GaryH]

Dont think I have had issues with ditortion and EQ, but then what I apply is probably subtle.

I wasn't talking about that, the Zero's distortion is likely inaudible, even with EQ. I was talking about the frequency response, as explained in the link in my previous post.

Lots of differing target curves and IEMs chasing various ones.

And only one of this sea of targets has been scientifically tested to be preferred (in quiet conditions) with controlled blind listening studies.

There is something for almost everyone at various price points.
The ideal would be something that can easily be tuned over a wide spectrum.

Many IEMs can be, and at cheaper prices.

Lets not forget the cost of these, hard to beat this kind of value. Been a while since we all jumped on the wagon - have there been many failures / quality issues?

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

On sale now at Amazon for $42.49, I just ordered a pair using rewards points for $0 lol Thanks, also on sale at Amazon in Europe, 42,49 €

www.audiosciencereview.com

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

Funnily enough I bought my audiologist wife a pair-feedback was very good but abit intense. Eventually got to that being the 1000-3000 hz range. She pulled up some typical peak hearing sensitivity measurements for people with normal hearing. Turns out peak sensitivity in that same range is...

www.audiosciencereview.com

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

Curiosity got the best of me, so even though I have the Truthear zero, I just ordered the Khan as well.

www.audiosciencereview.com

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

I know they don't. I have different IEMs from Shure, Moondrop, Samsung, JVC, Massdrop, Pinnacle and others. Also headphones from Sennheiser and HiFiman and Koss. They can all be eq'd to offer the same frequency response very easily these days on PC or mobile. They absolutely do not sound the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

In reference to custom fitted IEMs it's worth remembering that your body changes over time and that includes the ear and ear canal. What fits perfectly today might not fit well in 3 or 5 years. I mention this because custom fits are often extraordinarily expensive but have a limited useful...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[AudioJester]

I wasn't talking about that, the Zero's distortion is likely inaudible, even with EQ. I was talking about the frequency response, as explained in the link in my previous post.

And only one of this sea of targets has been scientifically tested to be preferred (in quiet conditions) with controlled blind listening studies.

Many IEMs can be, and at cheaper prices.

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

On sale now at Amazon for $42.49, I just ordered a pair using rewards points for $0 lol Thanks, also on sale at Amazon in Europe, 42,49 €

www.audiosciencereview.com

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

Funnily enough I bought my audiologist wife a pair-feedback was very good but abit intense. Eventually got to that being the 1000-3000 hz range. She pulled up some typical peak hearing sensitivity measurements for people with normal hearing. Turns out peak sensitivity in that same range is...

www.audiosciencereview.com

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

Curiosity got the best of me, so even though I have the Truthear zero, I just ordered the Khan as well.

www.audiosciencereview.com

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

I know they don't. I have different IEMs from Shure, Moondrop, Samsung, JVC, Massdrop, Pinnacle and others. Also headphones from Sennheiser and HiFiman and Koss. They can all be eq'd to offer the same frequency response very easily these days on PC or mobile. They absolutely do not sound the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

In reference to custom fitted IEMs it's worth remembering that your body changes over time and that includes the ear and ear canal. What fits perfectly today might not fit well in 3 or 5 years. I mention this because custom fits are often extraordinarily expensive but have a limited useful...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Ok I get what you ate saying. I have pretty much been using Maiky's eq from the beginning, actually its hard to go back to no eq

 

[delta76]

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO Dual Dynamic Drivers In-Ear Headphone | SHENZHENAUDIO

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currently 42.49$

this seems obvious but - do I need a headphone amp for this, or just apple usb-c dongle is (more than) enough ?