TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

[SalutaryGraveness]

In theory, if you like the sound of well calibrated speakers in a well treated room then then in theory, you should also like the IEM Harman tuning too. So, if you like how those speakers sound but you don't like the Harman IEM turning then physiology is less likely to be the actual problem... in theory.

 

[Womaz]

This may seem a daft question, how can I EQ if I am only using an Iphone and IEMs?
Is there an app?

EDIT Actually rather than hijack this thread I will start my own asking for this advice

 

[Jimbob54]

This may seem a daft question, how can I EQ if I am only using an Iphone and IEMs?
Is there an app?

EDIT Actually rather than hijack this thread I will start my own asking for this advice

No need for a new thread... Eq options per OS

EQ Software for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS/iPadOS and Android.

Any suggestions are welcome. Post suggestions here. I will gather the details and add them. Thanks. :D This will be organized as results come in. @sweetchaos made a guide for PEQ filter data input and operation. For crossover software go here. Windows: AutoEQ four easy steps to make your...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[julian_hughes]

Totally agree. .... but if you're an older listener and/or with noise-induced hearing loss and/or tinnitus, you probably won't notice this shoutiness, because you likely have impaired ability to hear this elevated region.

I have subtly condensed the above post and then filtered and distilled it to its essence: "OK Boomer"

Just kidding

 

[Chromatischism]

In theory, if you like the sound of well calibrated speakers in a well treated room then then in theory, you should also like the IEM Harman tuning too. So, if you like how those speakers sound but you don't like the Harman IEM turning then physiology is less likely to be the actual problem... in theory.

In theory, yes. My experience has been different.

I have a very neutral speaker with controlled directivity, the Buchardt S400 MKII. The stock tuning of the Zeros sounds nothing like them. I'm not sure how to explain it other than maybe something about my ears is different once you bypass the outer ear.

However, if you look at all of the EQs in this thread, we're all doing generally the same thing but at various levels of strength and granularity, so that tells me I'm not alone and that there is a trend towards a similar target through EQ (for those who find the stock sound too bright).

 

[Chromatischism]

I like this EQ. Using foam tips, but I like darker sound in general so fits me. I cannot get good seal with any silicone tips so they all sound bad. But this EQ + even more boosted bass with low shelf is what I use.

Even though it looks like I didn't boost the bass a lot, there is a lot of bass, on par with my subs. That's because our perception of the curve is all relative. When the highs are brought down, you'll hear more bass. The Harman 2019 curve has a higher bass level because the highs are higher, so an increase in bass is mandatory there. Both however can cause the mids to take a little bit of a backseat if taken too far.

Still, bass is somewhat subjective so definitely experiment with bass levels. The most important thing is that it's balanced between low, mid, and upper bass, and all are balanced with the highs, which this curve does (for us).

 

[RandomEar]

What I've learned is that you just need hardware that is capable, and comfort. Once you have that, you can EQ to make it sound like just about anything you want. The EQ I created used Maiky's to start, then fine-tuned with a tone generator to identify the locations of resonant peaks, which confirmed his EQ matched Harman 2019, but didn't go far enough for audible tonal balance. Then, I did hours of listening with filters attacking the resonances. I didn't go for perfection, but for the moment when the goosebumps popped and it all snapped into place. The result is that it sounds close to my neutral reference home theater system (minus the surround sound and small variances in the highs), in something I can take with me on the road. I would not hesitate to buy these based on stock tuning, because they have the build quality and nice looks, which are things that you cannot change.

I'm well aware of that. I've got a pair of KZ ZSN Pro X lying on my desk that I have EQ'd to something that sounds at least close to neutral to my ears. Not perfect, but acceptable for now. They are surprisingly well made for the 18 $ I paid and maybe, some day, I will tune them "to perfection". But It would be nice to have IEMs that sound neutral right out of the box without any fiddling. And if I buy another IEM, the goal will be exactly that. If I can EQ something of decent quality for less than 20 $ to sound good, there is absolutely no point in getting something more expensive (like the Zero) that would again require me to invest hours to sound nearly as good.

 

[DrRobert]

Hi everyone. This is my first post here.

I have a noob question, I hope someone could help me.

Why is it that when I turn up the volume on my Airpods to somewhere above 80dB (according to iOS) the volume gets unbearable but Amir always says that 94dB is below normal listening levels?

 

[staticV3]

@DrRobert most likely because Amir and Apple are referring to different things. Amir probably means 94dB SPL peak, which, depending on the music, can be just about normal volume.
Apple meanwhile could be referring to 80dB SPL average or something, which would be very loud.

 

[Peluvius]

Hi everyone. This is my first post here.

I have a noob question, I hope someone could help me.

Why is it that when I turn up the volume on my Airpods to somewhere above 80dB (according to iOS) the volume gets unbearable but Amir always says that 94dB is below normal listening levels?

The Apple measurement is A weighted and does not seem too useful for measuring music.

 

[DrRobert]

@DrRobert most likely because Amir and Apple are referring to different things. Amir probably means 94dB SPL peak, which, depending on the music, can be just about normal volume.
Apple meanwhile could be referring to 80dB SPL average or something, which would be very loud.

Thanks for your answer. That makes a lot of sense. You're right, Apple's value seems to be some type of average because it gets lower on quieter passages.

I honestly feared that the answer would require a PhD on electrical engineering, I'm really glad it was so simple.

The Apple measurement is A weighted and does not seem too useful for measuring music.

Thank you for your answer as well. Do you know if A weighted values are generally lower than "non-weighted" ones?

I'm reading Wikipedia's article on A-weighting but it flies right over my head...

 

[staticV3]

A-wt will output lower dB SPL values than no-wt with the same input.

 

[julian_hughes]

I have to make a confession. OK, a confession combined with assertion. They're the best kind btw.

I do find the Truthears a bit shouty and wearing (that's not the confession, I posted about that earlier in this humungous long thread). But I found a combination of kit that makes them sound .....perfect! I know. Hype. Wtf. It's going to get worse so just hold fire and read on and you'll find more stuff to beat me with. I was browsing on amazon and saw the Sabaj PHA3, a tiny low power headphone amp with op amps but two tubes actually in the circuit and not merely for decoration, at something like 40% of its usual price. So I'm curious. I have stuff from low impedance, very sensitive Multi BA IEMs to dynamic and dual dynamic IEMs and open and closed back full size headphones including planars. This odd tube amp is now £27 ($30 US) delivered. So I bought one (that is the first part of the confession). It arrived. My set up for it: UPnP controller managing BubbleUPnP (DLNA) server>gmediarender (it's a gstreamer UPnP renderer)>Topping D10>JDS Labs Atom (in pre-amp mode in this case)>Sabaj PHA3. The PHA3 is not big on amplifying and I'm not sure it would be a good idea to use it direct from a phone/tablet/laptop but the Atom as a pre-amp is excellent. Plenty of power. And the Truthears sound fabulous. No EQ required. Not wearing. Not shouty. There isn't a "night and day" tonal difference but there is a difference. They feel really natural and three dimensional. Actually beautiful. Really. I guess that is the confession completed. I bought a super cheap hybrid tube amp and I like it. Oh god I feel cheap and dirty but satisfied. This feeling has happened before but I have been advised never to repeat the details.

Will just mention that the same hardware combo drives my HiFiMan HE4xx very nicely too. And all my other stuff. I'm such a slut.

 

[amirm]

94 dB is a sweep from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (a measurement and not my listening level). If you listened to that sweep, the low frequencies would seem to have low levels whereas high frequencies will be deafening! When listening to music, higher frequencies have far lower levels than bass. So if you set the volume to 94 dB, the highs would not at all be too loud in music whereas in an audio sweep they would be.

 

[DrRobert]

94 dB is a sweep from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (a measurement and not my listening level). If you listened to that sweep, the low frequencies would seem to have low levels whereas high frequencies will be deafening! When listening to music, higher frequencies have far lower levels than bass. So if you set the volume to 94 dB, the highs would not at all be too loud in music whereas in an audio sweep they would be.

Oh OK, that makes a lot of sense. In order to test the headphones you have no option but to use a constant level of sound pressure which doesn't correlate with what we consider "instinctively" to be the same volume throughout the whole spectrum.

Does this mean then that for headphones I shouldn't really care too much about THD on medium and high frequencies for the 104 and 114 dB lines? Or am I missing something?

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

I was looking for some cheap IEM for some time as my previous one got destroyed (Moondrop Starfield).
So I decided to try Truthear Zero, as tuning seemed to be okay price is also affordable so why not. And color scheme seemed to match my 3rd party cable that I had used with Starfields.

It's okay headphone for the price, sound is good (for the price) but I have few nitpicks:
- nozzle could be smaller - it hurts my ears a bit, fit for some people could be strange/problematic
- bass seems to be kinda strange, feels like it's disjointed from rest of the music (?) hard to explain but definitely something is off to me about it
- there could be a bit less treble around 3-5k for my tastes

Anyway for the price I can't ask for more I guess

ps. what is wrong with these companies putting anime girls everywhere? I don't get it completely.

edit.
Yes after more listening time there is definitely a bit too much energy around 3-5k. Voices are a bit too 'breathy', lack fundamental.

 

[DarwinDaDude]

Totally agree. I mean the fact that pretty much everyone who initially jumped on the Truthear hype-train, but then were persuaded to get off and actually preferred destination Maiky's EQ Mount (very close to Harman Hill, just within walking distance), realized the real truth was the Stock Truthear Train isn't all it's cracked up to be and chose not to get back on, speaks volumes (even after -3.9 dB preamp gain).


And there it is. The probable main reason behind all this: hearing loss. From the Wikipedia entry on NIHL (noise-induced hearing loss):

Which just so happens to be around the frequencies the Truthear Zero is elevated above the Harman target. Noise-induced tinnitus may also mask this elevation. Then there is presbycusis i.e. age-related hearing loss. Figure (a) below from his book shows Floyd Toole's own hearing thresholds over the years, and figure (b) shows the poor hearing thresholds of people with high variability (poor performance) in sound quality judgements, which is positively correlated with age:

View attachment 234680

As can be seen above, Toole's hearing ability has significantly deteriorated with age in the upper midrange / treble (again covering the Truthear's elevated region), and that's a good-case scenario, as he says:


And this age-related hearing loss influences treble preference, as Sean Olive has shown with his blind headphone listening tests:

View attachment 234697

I suspect if people's hearing ability was plotted against how 'shouty' they find the Truthear, there would be a positive correlation (and by extension an inverse correlation with age). So, if you're a younger listener with good hearing ability, you're likely to find the Truthear Zero shouty due to its elevation above the Harman target around the frequencies the ear is most sensitive, but if you're an older listener and/or with noise-induced hearing loss and/or tinnitus, you probably won't notice this shoutiness, because you likely have impaired ability to hear this elevated region of the Truthear's response.

It would be interesting to do a poll to corroborate this assertion.....personally, I don't plan to EQ the stock Truthear. They have no hint of harshness to my aged ears (very likely for the reasons you cite). But I can identify harshness with my other music systems with some recordings-- my hearing is therefore is not totally shot! I attribute this to to the low distortion of the Truthears. Cheers and nice post!

 

[maverickronin]

Does this mean then that for headphones I shouldn't really care too much about THD on medium and high frequencies for the 104 and 114 dB lines? Or am I missing something?

If you listen to high dynamic range music or EQ up the bass to match you preferred target then they do matter.

If not, then they probably don't.

 

[Haruko]

- bass seems to be kinda strange, feels like it's disjointed from rest of the music (?) hard to explain but definitely something is off to me about it
- there could be a bit less treble around 3-5k for my tastes

yes they are a bit upward sounding and i can especially notice this when watching tv shows as voices sound a bit thin at times but then again considering the price they deliver very wide and spot on f.spectrum with very little nitpicks that you can live with, bass is little bit muddy at times and again although Blessing 2 bass has much less energy it does produce the same extension in the bass region while the bass is much more apprehensible than the truthear. Same applies to the rest of the spectrum where Blessing 2 just reveal color much better and are the closer sounding to monitor speakers... Only area where truthear may be better is the upper extension where you get a just a tiny bit better sense of air (especially harpsichord songs) and they remind me a bit of chu's in this area and the fact that you don't need to add more bass with eq for Movies

 

[Chromatischism]

I was looking for some cheap IEM for some time as my previous one got destroyed (Moondrop Starfield).
So I decided to try Truthear Zero, as tuning seemed to be okay price is also affordable so why not. And color scheme seemed to match my 3rd party cable that I had used with Starfields.
View attachment 234869

It's okay headphone for the price, sound is good (for the price) but I have few nitpicks:
- nozzle could be smaller - it hurts my ears a bit, fit for some people could be strange/problematic
- bass seems to be kinda strange, feels like it's disjointed from rest of the music (?) hard to explain but definitely something is off to me about it
- there could be a bit less treble around 3-5k for my tastes

Anyway for the price I can't ask for more I guess

ps. what is wrong with these companies putting anime girls everywhere? I don't get it completely.

edit.
Yes after more listening time there is definitely a a bit to much energy around 3-5k. Voices are a bit too 'breathy', lack fundamental.

I guarantee my EQ will cure that and move them to top rate sound. Or your money back!