TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

[Robbo99999]

Tracking the contour of the Harman bass curve gets you much closer to reality than the stock tuning of the Zero. It will sound much cleaner and be more impactful than the rounded curve you see stock. But, if you do that, the level will be too high, so you end up with a very boom-tiss sounding, V-shaped IEM. So follow the curve, but bring the level down a bit so you still get your mids.

In your opinion/experience of the Harman Curve, which is only your own experience and certainly not predictive of the majority.

Funny you ask - I am going to update it tonight.

In the last one, I tried to assuade the naysayers by adding more highs. I also wanted to hear it for myself. After a while I noticed my listening enjoyment went down. I also discovered some vocal sibilance in other songs I didn't use last time. Using the manual EQ on top of the graphic EQ, I found the problem area: the 5 kHz + range. More to come.

There's no real reason why people would prefer your own personally tuned curve. I know we've had this discussion before, and I know the arguments you bring up for it, but it should be made aware to the forum dwellers and visitor readers that there is not magic in people's own personally tuned preferred target curves/EQ's, which is the only reason I'm quickly bringing this up again, seeing as you're advertising your own EQ again. So this isn't an invitation to re-open the discussion, (seeing as we've discussed it in depth already) but instead more of a public service broadcast, lol!

 

[vco1]

Would have loved to tell you all how great they are, But unfortunately, after a successful journey from China to The Netherlands, GLS managed to loose my Zeroes when they only had about 30mls to go to get to my ears.
Hope one of the GLS employees likes them.

Sorry to report that Shenzhen Audio is not very helpful in this case. The local courier refers me to the sender (i.e.. Shenzhen Audio) to ask for an investigation as the parcel is clearly missing. This is b.t.w. the standard procedure. The vendorr is the first point of contact for the customer. Shenzhen first asks me to wait another day. And now sends me an unintelligible mail from which I get that they ask me to contact the courier. Or wait until the parcel gets returned to them. Which, of course, will never happen as it is lost at the depot.
All in all not a very satisfactory service so far. Thank God these are 'only' 50 euro iem's.

 

[Music1969]

Truthear Crinnacle Zero IEM Measurements
Let's start with our frequency response measurement:

Which target it this ? Harman IEM 2019 v2 ?

 

[Georgeadv]

I dont know if am doing something wrong but these sound a bit thin, especially in midrange?

Perhaps i dont get a good seal?

 

[Cote Dazur]

I dont know if am doing something wrong but these sound a bit thin, especially in midrange?

Perhaps i dont get a good seal?

That is my situation with those IEM as well, but probably true for any IEM, like speakers, they are placement dependent.
Once they are well positioned they sound amazing with a bass that is deep and natural, but they can also easily sound thin.
Chose the best tip for your ears, set them in your ears with patience, it is little bit tedious when your are inexperienced, but as you know exactly what you are looking for with experience, it will be easier.
A small inconvenience when compared to how satisfying listening to those IEM can be.

 

[Georgeadv]

That is my situation with those IEM as well, but probably true for any IEM, like speakers, they are placement dependent.
Once they are well positioned they sound amazing with a bass that is deep and natural, but they can also easily sound thin.
Chose the best tip for your ears, set them in your ears with patience, it is little bit tedious when your are inexperienced, but as you know exactly what you are looking for with experience, it will be easier.
A small inconvenience when compared to how satisfying listening to those IEM can be.

I will try all of them and see if the sound improves

 

[Chromatischism]

There's no real reason why people would prefer your own personally tuned curve. I know we've had this discussion before, and I know the arguments you bring up for it, but it should be made aware to the forum dwellers and visitor readers that there is not magic in people's own personally tuned preferred target curves/EQ's, which is the only reason I'm quickly bringing this up again, seeing as you're advertising your own EQ again. So this isn't an invitation to re-open the discussion, (seeing as we've discussed it in depth already) but instead more of a public service broadcast, lol!

Someone asked, I answered. But thank you for your "public service". Have you tried it yet? Sure beats all this typing.

 

[Robbo99999]

Someone asked, I answered. But thank you for your "public service". Have you tried it yet? Sure beats all this typing.

We've been there before! (it wouldn't be an improvement for me). I'm just trying to uphold the standards of the forum - no one person's personally tuned EQ to their own target curve is going to be better for the majority than the Target Curve that Harman came up with their research. You're welcome to have your own Target Curve that you think is great, but don't push it down other people's throats, there's no reason why they'd like it more than the Harman Curve - in fact they'd like it less on average - do the research that Harman did & then push it down people's throats but until that point just accept your target curve as being your own personal favourite target - there's no rational proven basis for your target, just accept that, enjoy your EQ & leave it at that, don't give people false expectations that your personally created target curve is valid for anyone else - it just isn't.

 

[staticV3]

Which target it this ? Harman IEM 2019 v2 ?

Yes. IE2019v2

 

[Alexium]

Most importantly, this EQ will eliminate the shoutiness of the upper midrange

It does indeed eliminate that! Thank you, I definitely like your EQ more than stock sound. Especially after listening to EQ for a while, turning off those two midrange notches is painful. Still, I wonder which way is truly more linear. Could be that I'm just accustomed to a slight V shape? But this EQ definitely takes the edge off of a large number of tracks - large enough to doubt that they are supposed to sound so shouty.

 

[oleg87]

It does indeed eliminate that! Thank you, I definitely like your EQ more than stock sound. Especially after listening to EQ for a while, turning off those two midrange notches is painful. Still, I wonder which way is truly more linear. Could be that I'm just accustomed to a slight V shape? But this EQ definitely takes the edge off of a large number of tracks - large enough to doubt that they are supposed to sound so shouty.

Aside from the Zero measurably overcooking the treble relative to the target, the target itself is just based on an average of different people, so I wouldn't sweat it... what's more "linear" is a question of your particular ear anatomy.

 

[asrUser]

Fellow weabos, the Truthear and waifu(!) gets an update: https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/truthear-hexa/

Will @amirm try them?

 

[Jimbob54]

Fellow weabos, the Truthear and waifu(!) gets an update: https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/truthear-hexa/

Will @amirm try them?

Not a cat in hell's chance they will be comfy in my ears. The Zeros are not exactly ergonomic but they look like torture instruments. The sound quality is irrelevant at that point.

 

[asrUser]

True that. How did they even come up with that unique design? I think most random Chinese brands just use standard medical resin shapes. Can't go wrong with that.

 

[Matias]

Looks squarish on the outside but smooth on the inside, where it actually touches the ear. Should be a nice challenge to the popular Moondrop Aria.

 

[Jimbob54]

Looks squarish on the outside but smooth on the inside, where it actually touched the ear. Should be a nice challenge to the popular Moondrop Aria.

I have had less than great experiences with the Kato. At some point the sharp exterior edges can interact with some users ears. Best not to have them IMHO.

 

[Chromatischism]

Updated for neutral DAC use instead of the 3.5mm out I was using before.

The balance is amazing. The bass is more linear and yet more powerful. The mids really come through instead of being masked. The highs still sing when called upon but the fatigue is gone. Overall, when switching this EQ on, the improvements over stock are dramatic.

CH: 0
Preamp: 2.0 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 3.5 dB Q 2.200
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 80 Hz Gain -2.2 dB Q 0.800
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 175 Hz Gain 1.8 dB Q 1.800
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 2750 Hz Gain -3.2 dB Q 1.000
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 5000 Hz Gain -5.5 dB Q 2.000
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 7500 Hz Gain -4.2 dB Q 5.000

Note this is for neutral DACs/dongles. If you are using 3.5mm out from a phone, etc with some output impedance you may experience more bass (I did on my Pixel 4a—I'm now using a Qudelix 5K, so this is an adjusted version with more bass).

The graph tells the story.

Some graphs vs the new Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK.

Straight out of the box without DSP, the new DUSK is very similar to my EQ and broadly follows IEF Neutral 2020. The DUSK will sound slightly more exciting at first listen but again my preference is for a bit less from 3-6k to prevent fatigue in extended listening. In a head to head, I would prefer the Truthear Zero with my EQ over the DUSK.

However things change quite a bit with the DUSK DSP Default.

He is now matching his IEF Neutral 2023 target which has a higher peak at 3 kHz but with a steeper rise and fall. This is probably fine as long as you get the bass levels right, and there is quite a broad bass boost. I have not listened to this. I tend to stay away from bass and treble lifts as they tend to interfere with the mids, but there is a lift to the mids as well. I'll reserve judgment for now.

 

[Chromatischism]

It does indeed eliminate that! Thank you, I definitely like your EQ more than stock sound. Especially after listening to EQ for a while, turning off those two midrange notches is painful.

I have the same impression...gives me a headache. Are you using a smartphone or PC? For some reason, compared to the phone I need to increase the two low bass filters by +1 (or more) on the PC in Equalizer APO. I don't know if it's specific to my setup or if others trying this EQ on the PC are experiencing the same.

Deezer (same source as phone) -> Equalizer APO w/PEACE -> Optical out -> Topping EX5

All audio enhancements are turned off.

 

[cbracer]

Was about to order these with all the discounts around, but ended up ordering the 7Hz Salnotes Zero instead for less than half the price. @amirm should definitely review these too whenever possible again.

Anyone compared them

I bought the Salnotes Zero too. They sound just like my Starfield. Better balance of bass than the Truthear x Zero. They are not as clear, and have more distortion, but for a $20 version of the Starfield it's my go to on the airplane. If you don't want to EQ then it's the best value out there. If Amir wants to test them I'd gladly send them to him!

 

[doug2761]

Overall, when switching this EQ on, the improvements over stock are dramatic.

Thanks for the efforts on the EQ experiments. The various proposed EQs certainly effect the sound but don't satisfy me. The stock tuning is still my preferred once I figured out the ear tips that gave me the best fit and performance. The various EQs all take something away that I value. I guess the stock tuning aligns well with my preference.