TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

[Chromatischism]

Having said that, it is notable that the unit reviewed here (sent by Crinacle, but I'm not sure if the manufacturer knew) seems to be somewhat of an 'edge-case', with the broadband excess in the upper-mids / treble extending all the way from around 800 Hz to 6 kHz:

This could well be down to difference in measurement rig rather than unit variance (or a bit of both), but in the former case as the set-up on here uses anthropomorphic pinnae whereas Crinacle uses a pinna-less coupler for IEMs, this means his measurements could be less representative of what a human ear would likely hear, and the measurements here could be a better approximation of this, which includes that broadband 2 dB excess deviating from the Harman target between 800 Hz and 6 kHz.

Well that is a problem.

Which type of measuring device is the Harman target supposed to match? Only one can be correct.

 

[GaryH]

Well that is a problem.

Which type of measuring device is the Harman target supposed to match? Only one can be correct.

Neither They both use the GRAS RA0402 coupler, just with and without pinnae. Whereas Harman used the older RA0045 (lacking the RA0402's damped 7-9 kHz resonance) to develop their in-ear target:

But as that's pinna-less and the GR0408 'external ear canal' is straight, I'd say Crinacle's set-up is closer. So the deviation between his measurements and the Harman target on his graphs may actually be a better representation of the difference you'd likely hear between them (even though his measurements may be a less accurate representation of the absolute frequency response likely heard). In that case it may in fact be better to look at his results in judging how close the Truthear Zero likely gets to the Harman target.

 

[amirm]

unit reviewed here (sent by Crinacle, but I'm not sure if the manufacturer knew)

I don't think Crinacle sent me this unit. He asked me if I wanted one and I said yes. I am pretty sure he then had the company send me one.

 

[Madlop26]

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

the other brand Zero...20 dollars... just bought them ... why not...as things are going, can anybody justify spending more than $100 in EIMs now?

 

[Tom C]

Mine just arrived today. I’m finding them a bit light in the bass for my taste. Maybe it’s the departure from the Harman curve below 60Hz. Or maybe I’m one of those that prefers more bass. Either way, I find JBL Club Pro+ more to my liking.

 

[Madlop26]

My family of IEMs reaching to 7 now, becoming a mess


what about this as a solution for IEM stand? I think may work quite well.

 

[suttondesign]

Mine just arrived today. I’m finding them a bit light in the bass for my taste. Maybe it’s the departure from the Harman curve below 60Hz. Or maybe I’m one of those that prefers more bass. Either way, I find JBL Club Pro+ more to my liking.

I got mine yesterday, and the bass is insane.

 

[carlcamper]

My family of IEMs reaching to 7 now, becoming a mess


what about this as a solution for IEM stand? I think may work quite well.View attachment 232455

Yup watch cases work well as IEM displays

 

[DavidMcRoy]

I got mine yesterday, and the bass is insane.

I agree. In my experience with IEMs, a super-tight fit is critical for decent bass. The Zeros deliver more deep bass than my Etymōtics, but with a more comfortable fit. To get the best bass from Eytmotics the fit has to border on a little painful. Not so with the Zeros. I forgot to mention that in my quick review up thread. Now, if I could just find a way to EQ the upper-mid peak away on Apple Music streaming, I'd be set. I wonder if my sample is worse than some others in that respect.

 

[Chromatischism]

Mine just arrived today. I’m finding them a bit light in the bass for my taste. Maybe it’s the departure from the Harman curve below 60Hz. Or maybe I’m one of those that prefers more bass. Either way, I find JBL Club Pro+ more to my liking.

I got mine yesterday, and the bass is insane.

We have different experiences prior to listening to these. I come from a system with dual subs and IEMs that measure better in the bass. I expect the Truthears to sound like they measure under 50 Hz - a bit light. We'll see.

 

[stevenswall]

Is there a crackle/static sound for anyone else at 1:40?

Just got mine today. They seem tonally correct on some songs. Thin on others.

I tried that song on Spotify too so I don't think it's just Youtube.

 

[Robbo99999]

Yeah it would be foolish to cherry-pick 10 samples that are very closely matched when there are more and more people with industry standard measurement rigs these days who could expose that, especially after the previous debacle with another Crinacle collab with KZ...Having said that, it is notable that the unit reviewed here (sent by Crinacle, but I'm not sure if the manufacturer knew) seems to be somewhat of an 'edge-case', with the broadband excess in the upper-mids / treble extending all the way from around 800 Hz to 6 kHz:
View attachment 232418

...compared to the 10 Crinacle measured (which in his video ad he says were randomly picked from the production line by the manufacturer), the closest match of which, at least in this region, seems to be sample 10, with that same excess restricted to 1-3 kHz:
View attachment 232421

This could well be down to difference in measurement rig rather than unit variance (or a bit of both), but in the former case as the set-up on here uses anthropomorphic pinnae whereas Crinacle uses a pinna-less coupler for IEMs, this means his measurements could be less representative of what a human ear would likely hear, and the measurements here could be a better approximation of this, which includes that broadband 2 dB excess deviating from the Harman target between 800 Hz and 6 kHz.

Sample #10 is the Pre-Production Sample, and I had indeed noticed that it deviates most noticeably from the other nine samples, all of which would be normal production samples - so I think we can more likely conclude that Sample #10 is an outlier, and most units bought in retail are likely to be closer to the other nine samples.

 

[GaryH]

Sample #10 is the Pre-Production Sample, and I had indeed noticed that it deviates most noticeably from the other nine samples, all of which would be normal production samples - so I think we can more likely conclude that Sample #10 is an outlier, and most units bought in retail are likely to be closer to the other nine samples.

Sample 1 (S1) is the pre-production unit, it says so on his graph comparator

 

[Robbo99999]

Mine just arrived today. I’m finding them a bit light in the bass for my taste. Maybe it’s the departure from the Harman curve below 60Hz. Or maybe I’m one of those that prefers more bass. Either way, I find JBL Club Pro+ more to my liking.

You could try out the Maiky76 EQ (based on Amir's measurement):

TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

Loving mine so far :)

www.audiosciencereview.com

That increases the bass to Harman Levels and cuts down the treble a bit again to Harman Levels. If you like how that EQ sounds then you probably do like the Harman IEM Curve.

 

[Robbo99999]

Sample 1 (S1) is the pre-production unit, it says so on his graph comparator

Ha, yes, you're right, I had remembered wrongly! I crossed out my previous post then, as nothing in there is relevant then!

 

[GaryH]

The Zeros deliver more deep bass than my Etymōtics, but with a more comfortable fit.

I think most non-Etymoyic IEMs do both those things

 

[Robbo99999]

Is there a crackle/static sound for anyone else at 1:40?

Just got mine today. They seem tonally correct on some songs. Thin on others.

I tried that song on Spotify too so I don't think it's just Youtube.

I just listened to that using HD560s over ear headphones without EQ at normal and then loud listening level (for me), and the bass does change at exactly that 1:40 point you mention. There is a slightly more crackly nature to the bass at that point when in comparison to the same bass earlier. I think they increased the output of the bass at that point you mentioned, and they might have intentionally changed the qualities of it....maybe they did add a touch of distortion into the bass at that point to add to the effect, who knows. It wouldn't be my HD560s distorting in the bass though because I wasn't EQ'ing up the bass and neither was I listening at very loud levels, and the HD560s is pretty darn clean in the bass from a distortion perspective too. So I think your observations of a change at 1:40 is actually either baked into the track or is somekind of "error/limitation" in Youtube conversion.

 

[killdozzer]

Damn! I was waiting for a review like this for the longest time. Very affordable tone accuracy... But I can't use these tips. None of them ever worked for me. Don't worry @crinacle I won't write them off right from the start. I'll give'em a try, but I doubt it. Perhaps it's old man's hairy ears, I don't know, but I could never use them.

 

[GaryH]

the other brand Zero...20 dollars... just bought them ... why not...as things are going, can anybody justify spending more than $100 in EIMs now?

I think that's been the case long before these two models came out...

 

[GaryH]

Mine just arrived today. I’m finding them a bit light in the bass for my taste. Maybe it’s the departure from the Harman curve below 60Hz. Or maybe I’m one of those that prefers more bass. Either way, I find JBL Club Pro+ more to my liking.

Nice:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1470973203283472386