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TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

Rate this IEM

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 13 2.2%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 21 3.5%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 73 12.2%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 493 82.2%

  • Total voters
    600

julian_hughes

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I've just been swapping out tips myself on this to find the best fit primarily. I agree that the smaller aperture sounded fuller in the bass. I'd really like to see the measurements to see if it's all in my head or real... or both.
Measurements on a test rig may not necessarily reproduce what happens with your particular and individual anatomy, or your perception. Does the impression of fuller bass come from different fit, different aperture or your expectation? A mix of some or all? You *might* be able to measure this. If you could reproduce it on a test rig then there it is. Proven to be the result of a particular mechanical change. If you can't reproduce it on a test rig, well the test rig is not your ears, the fit there may be different to the fit with you, who can tell? Nothing proven or disproven except as it pertains to the measurement equipment. We can measure audio output but nobody can yet definitively measure hearing as it happens in the brain. That's where hearing happens, it's not merely a bio-mechanical process occurring in the ears, those are the conduit but hearing is also a subjective perception and simply a change of mood or a distraction can cause you to not even notice very significant sounds, or to like or dislike the same sounds at different times, or to believe that very different sounds are the same or similar, or that the same sounds are markedly different.
 

AudioKC

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I guess that layerness is very dependant on the source. Playing Death Metal, you don't typically listen to it because it's not there, but perhaps in videogames or films, the proximity and intensity of the sound becomes relevant.

For me it other way around. I wear specific gear to listen what I enjoy listen in that gear. Timeless is my instrumental and “good” music daily driver.

But they not so impactful as Zeros in games and movies
 

Somafunk

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Just a supposition, but perhaps the narrower internal bore acts as some form of porting allowing a higher back pressure to move the subwoofer tuning lower? Completely theoretical and I don’t recall seeing any measurements. Plenty of anecdotal subjective opinions that support a lower tune is achieved with the narrower throated tips. Seems counterintuitive at first blush.

That’s how you tune individual throttle bodies on a car so it’s not entirely out of the realms of possibility that perhaps something similar happens with different bore and length of tips, you fit what is known as as a trumpet to each individual throttle body and sized by bore vs length that have an effect on low down torque vs top end power - depends what your tuning for on the Dyno, all quite complicated and involving fluid dynamics but ultimately they affect manifold pressure due to small amounts of throttle variation, of course on a car you have the induction stroke of the engine which draws in the mix of air/fuel but perhaps the diaphragm acts in a similar fashion as it is, ultimately, just a piston.

My heavily tuned golf mk2 16v had individual throttle bodies on a built engine which had gobs of torque low down and made for effortless road driving but on track days I had trouble getting it to pull well as it seemed to run out of steam no matter how I mapped the timing/fueling in the standalone ecu from 5000rpm to 8000rpm, so I took it to a very experienced dyno tuner who experimented with various throttle bodies for a few hours along with dyno runs and totally transformed the car and drivability. Ended up with 194bhp at 7200rpm and peak torque of 153 lb-ft at 4800rpm which for a 970kg car was plenty enough for shits n’ giggles on deserted Scottish highland roads.
 
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AdamG

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That’s how you tune individual throttle bodies on a car so it’s not entirely out of the realms of possibility that perhaps something similar happens with different bore and length of tips, you fit what is known as as a trumpet to each individual throttle body and sized by bore vs length that have an effect on low down torque vs top end power - depends what your tuning for on the Dyno, all quite complicated and involving fluid dynamics but ultimately they affect manifold pressure due to small amounts of throttle variation, of course on a car you have the induction stroke of the engine which draws in the mix of air/fuel but perhaps the diaphragm acts in a similar fashion as it is, ultimately, just a piston.

My heavily tuned golf mk2 16v had individual throttle bodies on a built engine which had gobs of torque low down and made for effortless road driving but on track days I had trouble getting it to pull well as it seemed to run out of steam no matter how I mapped the timing/fueling in the standalone ecu from 5000rpm to 8000rpm, so I took it to a very experienced dyno tuner who experimented with various throttle bodies for a few hours along with dyno runs and totally transformed the car and drivability. Ended up with 194bhp at 7200rpm and peak torque of 153 lb-ft at 4800rpm which for a 970kg car was plenty enough for shits n’ giggles on deserted Scottish highland roads.
Funny you would see the connection. I use to build and restore Motorcycles and that is kind of where I drew the inspiration for this theory. I remember how hard it was to get four carburetor’s synchronized on some older Kawasaki’s. KZ-900 and then the KZ-1000 was a in-line 4 cylinder with a carburetor for each cylinder. We partied like it was 1999 when they changed over to Fuel Injection and computer control. But yea, I remember playing with variations on throttle bodies to achieve performance goals. We had fluid dynamics in play as well. The end result tune depended on how many fluid drinks we consumed that night! Excellent connection Sir!

But we better get back on topic, or you know who will come along and yell at us! :cool:
 

Garrincha

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Funny you would see the connection. I use to build and restore Motorcycles and that is kind of where I drew the inspiration for this theory. I remember how hard it was to get four carburetor’s synchronized on some older Kawasaki’s. KZ-900 and then the KZ-1000 was a in-line 4 cylinder with a carburetor for each cylinder. We partied like it was 1999 when they changed over to Fuel Injection and computer control. But yea, I remember playing with variations on throttle bodies to achieve performance goals. We had fluid dynamics in play as well. The end result tune depended on how many fluid drinks we consumed that night! Excellent connection Sir!

But we better get back on topic, or you know who will come along and yell at us! :cool:
Better get on topic quickly again, otherwise a thread ban is lurking.
 

Rottmannash

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Just received mine. They sound as good as advertised. Very balanced sound, even at loud volume. Btw why was there a spare set of nozzle grills included? Are they different? Or just an extra?
 

carlcamper

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Just received mine. They sound as good as advertised. Very balanced sound, even at loud volume. Btw why was there a spare set of nozzle grills included? Are they different? Or just an extra?
They are replacements in case the originals get damaged or too dirty
 

MZKM

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I bought these and the 7Hz Zero. Their FR is similar (no clue on distortion or sensitivity differences), and for <1/2 the price of the already cheap $50 TruthEar, it’ll be an interesting comparison.
Just got both in. Using just my iPhone and the Apple dongle. The dongle is able to power both of them easily. A lot of times I was 4 clicks from max (16 clicks total I think).

7Hz
Cable is slightly microphonic. The default red tips fit me. Didn’t see any L/R indicators on the cable, so had to check wiring. Shell and nozzle are good size [EDIT: The hard corner of the shell pushes against my ear slightly, so some discomfort after a while]. No carrying pouch.

Truthear
Much nicer packaging (very Apple like). Cable has essentially no microphonics (due to heat shrink instead of plastic?). The 2-pin connector is a bit long so it sticks up (the 7Hz connector is curved), but it sticks out (away from head) so doesn’t interfere with my glasses. The cable is long (maybe 3in longer than 7Hz) but very flimsy and I feel where it meets the heat shrink may be a stress point. Uses a 90° jack, which I personally don’t like. I had to use the smallest tip (small bore for more bass) for a snug fit. Shell is a tad bigger and nozzle is decently longer than 7Hz.

Despite the larger shell and nozzle, the Truthear still fits comfortably. I also own the Moondrop Starfield, and I just can’t wear those comfortably for a long time due to the shell shape/size (wore them on a flight once, hurt after).

As for sound, as one would expect from measurements, they sound pretty damn close!
The 7Hz has a smidge more low-end and the Truthear has a smidge more treble, both visible from measurements. Both have a similar soundstage and imaging. I have a terrible ear for distortion, but I’d say the 7Hz has slightly more bass distortion.

Honestly, besides knowing the fit, I’d have a hard time telling which was which (but I am far from a golden-ear).
Gun to my head, I think the 7Hz has slightly more body to vocals and they are slightly less forward (again, visible from measurements).

@amirm, I’d seriously suggest grabbing this $20 7Hz model and reviewing it.
 
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iLoveCats

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I got mine today and had to turn my headphone amp down (Topping EX5). These are really loud compared to HD6xx and Hifiman HE 400i. I actually think they might be a little too much for me on the top end. I had to double check that I had the Peace Equalizer turned off. Bass is really deep and clean. For the first time I noticed the noise floor of the recordings on Super Tramp Even in the Quietest Moments played on Tidal. Will need to listen more. I do like them. I don't have any other real IEM experience though.
 

AdamG

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I’d seriously suggest grabbing this $20 7Hz model and reviewing it.
What 7hz @ $20 bucks? It’s a little over $200 everywhere I look. Do you have a link please? Or was $20 a one zero short typo?

Or do you mean this one: “

Linsoul 7Hz Salnotes Zero​

https://a.co/d/8tTr3yR
 

doug2761

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On listening to these I don't think the Harman curve applied to IEMs is works as well for me as it does with full headphones. For $50, these are fabulous but I think that their Harman tuning makes these sound a bit shouty to me. Interesting experiment to see if this tuning works for me. These sound good to me but just not as revelatory as Amir's enthusiasm suggested to me. Perhaps foam tips would work a bit better for me.
After a few days of listening I'm appreciating these much more. I think my expectations were a bit high for an IEM. Listening to these in comparison to my over-the-ear headphones, EQ'd to Harman curve, the Truthear's are tonally quite similar; pretty much the same. Over-the-ear phones give me a bigger experience but the Truthear's experience is quite good. An earlier poster referenced Dan Clark's comments on the Harman curve making it easier to listen to each of the instruments on a song and that matches what I'm hearing. On reflection, these are pretty remarkable IEMs.
 

GaryH

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The notion that tip aperture plays a role in tonality has been oft repeated in this thread. As you say, such a thing would be measurable if it’s audible.

Not sure a physical argument is sensible here…
What we do know, (all explained by Oratory here), is that deeper IEM insertion depth both increases overall SPL (due to good old Boyle's law, P ∝ 1/V), and shifts the coupler's resonance to higher frequency:
bgfsnxi5kuw81.png

Note the increase in SPL is above the IEM's front vent resonance and tapers down to here, so if all the curves were aligned by SPL at 500 Hz (as is the industry standard when comparing FR), we would see that deeper insertion results in slightly less bass. However, when people swap tips I doubt they are being careful to adjust volume to level-match the comparison, so they will be listening at higher SPL with deeper insertion. As we know from the equal loudness contours, higher SPL will be perceived as having louder bass. But which of these two effects 'wins' is hard to say. Why am I talking about insertion depth? Because from this photo it looks like the wider-bore tips of the Truthear Zero are also of a different outer shape, tapering towards the top, as opposed to the narrow-bore ones which have a more rounded top:
20220822_150531-1.jpg

This could result in deeper insertion with the wider-bore tips, and so this, rather than the bore size, could explain the higher bass heard with the narrow-bore tips (in this case increase in bass via FR change 'winning' out). But it also seems from that photo that the narrow-bore tips are slightly shallower as well, which could actually result in higher insertion depth for them, and the greater perceived bass could be explained by higher SPL 'winning'. Of course, there may also be some effects due to the bore size itself, but it seems like there might be more going on here than is initially apparent.
 
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AndreaT

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One thing: the external ear is different from person to person: its diameter, its length, its shape. As different as human faces. No surprise that one tip does not fit all. The purpose of the silicone tip is, I believe, to seal around the circumference to the skin of the canal making it air tight, like an acoustic suspension cabinet for the driver. In my experience the better the seal the better the bass of the IEM, at least for the few models I own.
 

GaryH

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One thing: the external ear is different from person to person: its diameter, its length, its shape. As different as human faces. No surprise that one tip does not fit all. The purpose of the silicone tip is, I believe, to seal around the circumference to the skin of the canal making it air tight, like an acoustic suspension cabinet for the driver. In my experience the better the seal the better the bass of the IEM, at least for the few models I own.
True, this could be a factor. The more rounded top of the narrow-bore tips may provide a better seal for most. But seal issues usually produce quite dramatic drop-offs in bass (from the same post by Oratory I linked previously):
0t1t4q88kuw81.png
 
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