TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

[MZKM]

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?

Are you European? The European dongle has like 1/2 the power as the US dongle.

 

[Robbo99999]

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?

I think you listen at massively loud volumes, I think that's a bit concerning, you might have some kind of hearing loss and it might be worth getting your hearing checked out. With just 0.5V you'll be at 114dB and with 1V you'll be at 120dB:

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

Even for iPhone you have Neutron Player which has a fully parametric EQ. It even has all of AutoEQ's profiles pre-loaded (although I prefer Oratory's EQs). $8.99 well spent I'd say. But for streaming services?

www.audiosciencereview.com

EU Apple Dongle maxes out at 0.5V, American US Apple Dongle maxes out at 1V.

EDIT: obviously those will be your peak RMS values, so the average level of sound you're exposed to when listening to music will be lower, and also it will be affected by the recording level of the music you're listening to - that Dire Straits album is from the mid/early 80's and they're normally recorded at lower levels too, so maybe you can subtract 10dB due to the lower recording level vs modern day recordings. It still makes for some very loud listening levels for both the European (0.5V) and certainly the US version (1V), and particularly if you're using these IEM's without EQ and a negative preamp.

 

[Kevbaz]

Are you European? The European dongle has like 1/2 the power as the US dongle.

I use the USB-C Apple dongle and on my iPad only need to go up from no sound 2-4 levels for good sound level with these IEMs
Kev

 

[Kevbaz]

Having tested countless speakers, headphones and IEMs, this is the end of the road that you hope to reach. That any refinements of frequency response will be track dependent. For review purposes, I discard corrections beyond this point as it will be so variable. To the extent a transducer gets to this point with no EQ, job is done. Nothing more could be done really and the device is as excellent as it can be.

Hi @amirm do you think the Zero is at this point or could they still improve it much. I think this is a turning point, to be able to have a £50 IEM offer such high fidelity and such low cost, it makes me regret the money I have spent on my other headphones as I would be very happy only using the Zero’s.
Kev

 

[Robbo99999]

For any gamers out there, I'd like to add that these Truthear IEM's I've found great for Virtual 7.1 Surround Sound gaming. I was surprised, I was expecting them to be rubbish for that because in my experience with over ear headphones I thought I drew a correlation between soundstage potential of the headphone vs a successful/realistic Virtual 7.1 Surround Sound experience - as in better soundstage headphones created a more realistic/accurate surround experience.........however these IEM's go a little bit contrary to that idea, these IEM's do have really good imaging with smooth panning, so maybe that's the important part......or maybe the super smooth & adequate treble is an ideal basis on which Virtual Surround can function or maybe it's ideal channel matching additionally (yet to measure my pair on my miniDSP EARS though). I was surprised! (They also continue to sound great without EQ for music listening, my second day of owning them.)

 

[Haider]

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

Edit: they fit if you use a little lubricant on the nozzle!

I’ve ordered the Comply Isolation 600 mix pack from Amazon along with the Tripowin Grace cable. Will let you know how I get on.

I can understand why some users find the treble a bit aggressive, it gives good attack though. I think with a better seal with the Comply tips and that should enhance the bass and thereby tame this small niggle...

 

[Robbo99999]

Just wanna do a small update here on my experience re EQ! I tried the Maiky76 EQ here and it is indeed an improvement!

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

Loving mine so far :)

www.audiosciencereview.com

It does actually take a slight edge off these IEM's that gets just a shred tiring with long listening, and particularly at louder listening levels....and also it does give an even better shape to the bass which I've appreciated on some tracks where bass is really the star, like Christine & The Queens Night 52 track. Don't get me wrong, these IEM's don't really need EQ but I think they can still be improved! I'm not using his 13000Hz sharp EQ filter though, so I ommitted that one, as I don't believe in using sharp filters all the way up there as the frequency response is not predictable up there, and I'm not detecting any issues with not using that filter. In the future I may trace all of Crinacle's samples he measured and create an average measurement from them, and then do my own EQ to the Harman IEM Curve (2019 v2) - if I do I will share the EQ here......the benefit being is that it's based of 10 measured samples. I've also switched to the smallest silicon tip (narrow bore), I was using the medium silicon tip (narrow bore), but I think I wasn't get the full insertion depth even though they were sealing, and the smallest silicon tips feel the most comfortable too.

 

[RHO]

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

For me they don't work. They seal and are comfortable but the isolation is much worse than the stock tips and that results in the impression of a deficiency in bass. I have the same effect when I use them on the Blessing 2 Dusk.

 

[Jimbob54]

For me they don't work. They seal and are comfortable but the isolation is much worse than the stock tips and that results in the impression of a deficiency in bass. I have the same effect when I use them on the Blessing 2 Dusk.

Which size ? The medium (red core) were OK on the Dusk but I tried the L (blue core) and that really made a difference to the seal and how well they stay wedged.

With the M if I laid on a pillow they would loosen out- with L they stay put.

With the Truthear- the reds were never secure so I have had to order more Large. Hidden costs everywhere!

 

[RHO]

Which size ? The medium (red core) were OK on the Dusk but I tried the L (blue core) and that really made a difference to the seal and how well they stay wedged.

With the M if I laid on a pillow they would loosen out- with L they stay put.

With the Truthear- the reds were never secure so I have had to order more Large. Hidden costs everywhere!

The L. M doesn't seal.
They stay nicely in place. But it's like the thin "rubber" just isn't enough to keep the pressure in. (like with a thin walled subwoofer enclosure: F3 goes up because of the mechanical losses)

 

[Chromatischism]

The L. M doesn't seal.
They stay nicely in place. But it's like the thin "rubber" just isn't enough to keep the pressure in. (like with a thin walled subwoofer enclosure: F3 goes up because of the mechanical losses)

If it's similar to the silicone used on other tips like the FiiO I have, that's not it. I get subwoofer bass from those.

 

[Paweł L]

This or the Moondrop Aria Snow, hmm.

 

[hoverdonkey]

open your mouth, lift up your ear by the top with one hand (these both open up the ear canal), then insert the IEM with the other hand, and while still pushing them in snugly, close your mouth and let go of your ear (to 'close' back your ear canal around the tip).

I've had similar instructions provided with earplugs. I confirm it works for IEMs too.

 

[asrUser]

This or the Moondrop Aria Snow, hmm.

Why not both? You probably need to increase the mid- and subbass on the Aria Snow by eq.

 

[GaryH]

Why not both? You probably need to increase the mid- and subbass on the Aria Snow by eq.

If you're going to EQ them anyway, why not neither? And just EQ the ones you already have.

 

[asrUser]

If you're going to EQ them anyway, why not neither? And just EQ the ones you already have.

Do you really think the frequency chart is everything that matters?

 

[Paweł L]

If you're going to EQ them anyway, why not neither? And just EQ the ones you already have.

I'm not really tempted to use EQ. Yeah I have Wavelet installed on my phone, so it can be done, but for once I would like own cheaper IEM which doesn't need EQ.

 

[julian_hughes]

...

My sample came with a slightly asymmetrically mounted left "grille", IDK if it will be audible, I hope not. Am a bit anxious to try and push the "slanted" one (see pic) in deeper, yes, there is a spare pair included, but no idea how to get the mounted ones out... If I don't hear any asymmetry etc., I'm inclined to leave it as it is.

Try pushing it very gently with a cotton bud. It might flip though. Moondrop use the same "guaranteed to move and fall out" design, I assume because it's really cheap to manufacture, and have the same issues. Fitting new ones is not much fun either. You need some very tiny tweezers and a bit of good luck to get it right first time, and these very thin grilles are easily bent.

 

[respice finem]

Try pushing it very gently with a cotton bud. It might flip though. Moondrop use the same "guaranteed to move and fall out" design, I assume because it's really cheap to manufacture, and have the same issues. Fitting new ones is not much fun either. You need some very tiny tweezers and a bit of good luck to get it right first time, and these very thin grilles are easily bent.

My guess is that they're glued in - whatever is actually the case, both the slanted one and the straight one are sitting firmly in place.
I tried with the thin end of a (retracted) Parker pen, and stopped after the metal started to bend (which doesn't take much, obviously).
But it seems to be a purely "cosmetic" issue, at least in my sample. Who knows what "sins" we would see, looking into our "big" headphones

 

[julian_hughes]

Yes, glued in. These types of grilles usually have a very tiny adhesive ring on the underside but it relies on perfect fitting, something clearly not easy to get right in the assembly let alone doing it yourself at home. If you measure the diameter of the grilles you can find cheap spares on aliexpress. You probably will be needing them.