TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

[AdamG]

Yeah, but you've already got one, I suppose you could sell it along!

Thinking of the old family tradition of re-gifting.

Can I use the Comply Isolation Series - 500 Core Memory tips?

Yes, I did and they fit, just barely. Use a little water to wet the nozzle and slip them on.

https://a.co/d/8ppgNSB

 

[AdamG]

I tried the T-500 today and they are too small to fit onto these IEMs unfortunately. Anyone know what foam tips might fit?

It’s a tight fit but they will stretch out and over the lip. Work one edge on and twist and press it over the nozzle lip. Use a little water on the nozzle as a Lubricant. You can also use an ice pick to slide them on the ice pick and use it to kind of stretch them out a little first. Or any tapered round tool/device will work.

 

[airs]

It’s a tight fit but they will stretch out and over the lip. Work one edge on and twist and press it over the nozzle lip. Use a little water on the nozzle as a Lubricant. You can also use an ice pick to slide them on the ice pick and use it to kind of stretch them out a little first. Or any tapered round tool/device will work.

Ah good call on using some lubricant. I'll try a bit of Krytox.

Edit: lube worked its magic

 

[Frank of America]

New member here. I bought a pair of these. Going to return them. Not impressed. My Sony MV-6 and 7560s sound much better… to me. To be fair I have some hearing loss between 2-8K… the Sonys have a bump in that range. This likely is the reason these IEMs sound dull to me. However, the low end is nowhere near as realistic as with the Sonys. Of course, this is just my experience. Others obviously differ.

 

[airs]

Umm...the bass with a good seal (comply tips for me now) is ridiculous.

They do seem to need a good amount of power - Topping G5 needs high gain for my taste of volume.

 

[MZKM]

They do seem to need a good amount of power - Topping G5 needs high gain for my taste of volume.

I‘m using an iPhone with their dongle adaptor, it powers it easily. Never have to go to max volume.

I wouldn‘t say the bass is ridiculous, it rolls off past 50Hz. It is though much better than what most any open-back headphone will give you.

 

[airs]

I‘m using an iPhone with their dongle adaptor, it powers it easily. Never have to go to max volume.

I wouldn‘t say the bass is ridiculous, it rolls off past 50Hz. It is though much better than what most any open-back headphone will give you.

Perhaps you need more amplification or a better seal? I guess it’s subjective to some extent, but I think these have amazingly good bass (especially given the price)! I will admit I haven’t tried a ton of IEMs - AirPods Pro, TripleFi 10 Pro, UE900, Fiio FD5.

Edit: hold on, I just tried the Apple dongle at max volume with the Zeros playing Dire Straits Brothers in Arms, and it isn’t even close to what I would consider reference level. Am I nuts or does my dongle suck?

 

[Chromatischism]

On the EQ topic...out of the box, they sound very good, but for the sake of science (for myself, not to convince anyone else), I did some experimentation with Maiky76's EQ, running through some of my reference playlist:

Now your next task: EQ using Crinacle's measurement instead of Amir's. For any given frequency range, if you're below the line, increase the PEQ. If you're above the line, cut. See if it sounds better when you make changes.

 

[Chromatischism]

Not a fan of the stock tips but fortunately I have already found my perfect wide bore tips. Spinfit 155 (I use the L size) works a dream on the Blessing 2s and works for these too.

Swapped out the supplied tips with Spinfit CP155-S as these seem comfier.

I watched a video on how the Spinfits work. Do they present a different sound than a standard tip? It looks like they could.

 

[Chromatischism]

Ah good call on using some lubricant. I'll try a bit of Krytox.

I would use one that is safer for skin, such as a dry wax-based lubricant like Muc Off Dry Lube.

Note: I have not tried it, but I've been researching for other uses.

 

[airs]

I would use one that is safer for skin, such as a dry wax-based lubricant like Muc Off Dry Lube.

Note: I have not tried it, but I've been researching for other uses.

I figured it was ok since it shouldn't come into contact with skin - just put a tiny bit on the part of the tube facing away from the ear.

 

[pkane]

Edit: hold on, I just tried the Apple dongle at max volume with the Zeros playing Dire Straits Brothers in Arms, and it isn’t even close to what I would consider reference level. Am I nuts or does my dongle suck?

Using Maiky76 EQ settings with preamp compensation and Apple dongle with iPhone I'm at about 75-80 gain level in the Neutron player. That's out of 100, and it's at a point where it is as loud as I'm comfortable listening. Of course, this also depends on the source material. I'll plug into ADI-2 Pro to see if it makes any difference, but my dongle doesn't suck, apparently

 

[Rja4000]

Received mines on Friday.
My first IEM attempt.

I have a hard time keeping them in ear, especially while walking.
Cable makes knots too easily also.

First reaction is:
Good bass, overall good balance, medium a bit too much (I'd say around 1kHz). It looks like a narrow frequency range issue. Might miss some upper trebble (but I'm not getting younger).

Looking at the proposed EQ after that, it makes perfect sense to cut 1 or 2dBs around 1-2kHz.
I'll give it a try.

I've been listening directly with my Samsung Note 9, until now. And it gets out of steam if you push too high. Level is (just) enough for normal use, though, so not an issue.
I hear some hiss in the background.
Will try with Apple or Samsung dongle.

50€ well spent, anyway.


EDIT: Just tried with Apple USB-C dongle (european version) and Samsung USB-C dongle.
None of them are getting close to the level I'm getting with the direct 3.5mm output of my Samsung Note 9.
The Apple is the worst : level is really too low to be usable for me.

 

[respice finem]

I was gonna say, how do you ensure polarity, and now when I look at mine I can see - you have to make sure the R or L printed on the cable is visible when the IEM is in your ears - in other words the lettering for left & right on the cable is on the outwards side of each IEM.

It's a pity about that grill, I can see it's slanted in the pics, I wonder if it just clicks in & out, maybe push it on the high side?? You could ask Crinacle or tech support, do Truthear have technical support (probably not).
EDIT: might be easier to see if they'll send you another out if you show them the pics.

It would be safer for the "99%" of users who never read manuals, to have a socket and plug, allowing only one orientation, but probably the one that is there has become standard. On the other hand, if you just have the sides right, you kind of can't plug them wrong due to the "anatomic" form of the cable ends.

The slanted grille is "acoustically neutral" (to my ears), so I decided to leave it in peace. What's more interesting is how long the foam tips will last. I'll measure my outer ear canals exactly and then order replacement.

 

[respice finem]

Received mines on Friday.
My first IEM attempt.

I have a hard time keeping them in ear, especially while walking.
Cable makes knots too easily also.

First reaction is:
Good bass, overall good balance, medium a bit too much (I'd say around 1kHz). It looks like a narrow frequency range issue. Might miss some upper trebble (but I'm not getting younger).

Looking at the proposed EQ after that, it makes perfect sense to cut 1 or 2dBs around 1-2kHz.
I'll give it a try.

I've been listening directly with my Samsung Note 9, until now. And it gets out of steam if you push too high. Level is (just) enough for normal use, though, so not an issue.
I hear some hiss in the background.
Will try with Apple or Samsung dongle.

50€ well spent, anyway.

It may depend on the phone model, but some phones have "factory EQ" for their proprietary headphones/IEMs, so they won't be linear with others.

 

[Jimbob54]

I watched a video on how the Spinfits work. Do they present a different sound than a standard tip? It looks like they could.

They may well but for me, comfort, quality of seal and security of fit trump any impact.

You'd have to get a competent measurer to get good seals with tips of different apertures, lengths and materials to reliably assess impact on sound. A wearer cant if they can't get one type to seal properly or they aren't comfortable (I believe comfort issues distort ones perception of the sound).

My view - if you get a good comfortable seal with stock, stick with them. If not, it's tip rolling time but I pity the user new to iem who hasn't experienced the multitude of tip types and fit to have some idea of the sizes and shapes that suit their ears.

And then there is the issue that the perfect tip for iem A might not suit how iem B sits in your ear. It's something of a crapshoot.

Apologies for the ramble.

 

[respice finem]

They may well but for me, comfort, quality of seal and security of fit trump any impact.

You'd have to get a competent measurer to get good seals with tips of different apertures, lengths and materials to reliably assess impact on sound. A wearer cant if they can't get one type to seal properly or they aren't comfortable (I believe comfort issues distort ones perception of the sound).

My view - if you get a good comfortable seal with stock, stick with them. If not, it's tip rolling time but I pity the user new to iem who hasn't experienced the multitude of tip types and fit to have some idea of the sizes and shapes that suit their ears.

And then there is the issue that the perfect tip for iem A might not suit how iem B sits in your ear. It's something of a crapshoot.

Apologies for the ramble.

Since the IEM tested is almost exactly compliant to the Harman "standard" out of the box, it would be an excellent candidate IMHO to measure the impact of different tips. @amirm Any chances?

 

[Jimbob54]

Since the IEM tested is almost exactly compliant to the Harman "standard" out of the box, it would be an excellent candidate IMHO to measure the impact of different tips. @amirm Any chances?

Might be misquoting him but I think he's said either on this thread or others that it's not an area he's interested in exploring.

 

[respice finem]

Might be misquoting him but I think he's said either on this thread or others that it's not an area he's interested in exploring.

Perhaps because there's too much stuff waiting... So let's hope others will do it.

 

[Kevbaz]

I watched a video on how the Spinfits work. Do they present a different sound than a standard tip? It looks like they could.

I couldn’t tell a difference in sound to be honest but they are much comfier than the stock tips.
Kev