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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

Chromatischism

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Yeah I feel kinda bad for contributing to the tediousness of the discussion. But I still find interesting what people has to say about the issue. Pinky promise I wont touch the issue anymore here.
I find it interesting to know that you're getting something very different out of them and I'd like to understand why. Unfortunately I just don't know how to get there.
 

asrUser

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@Chromatischism Your EQ is more neutral and definitely good on songs, which are too bright and/or bassy. Don't get discouraged by the complaining people.

Other than that the Zeros are too damn thick! No, not the legs of the Waifu, but the nozzle. I can see why others complain a lot about discomfort. Moondrop Arias are the clear winners there, even if they got 1 DD less.
 
Last edited:

julian_hughes

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@Chromatischism Your EQ is more neutral and definitely good on songs, which are too bright and/or bassy. Don't get discouraged by the complaining people.

Other than that the Zeros are too damn thick! No, not the legs of the Waifu, but the nozzle. I can see why others complain a lot about discomfort. Moondrop Arias are the clear winners there, even if they got 1 DD less.
I don't have Arias but I do have Moondrop Kato and Truthears. I don't find nozzle size a problem (I guess I have cavernous ears :eek:). The Katos are a better fit while the Truthears are still OK but unsuitable for use within a helmet or while lying on side. But neither is 1st class ergonomic design. The Moondrop Chu is second class in ergonomics but still better than these premium IEMs. For me the best designs have been the Massdrop Plus (conformity to human anatomy so perfect it felt like custom made) and Vsonic GR07 (somewhat ergonomic shell + rotating nozzles meant a really amazingly good fit and unexpectedly effective isolation). For me none of the Moondrop IEMs (I have Quarks, Chu, Kato) nor the Truthears even approach the fundamentally sound ergonomics of the Shure SE series, which have been around *forever*. They do sound better but they are not so easy to wear, nor as sensitive. Mostly I'm now listening with the Truthears but if my Massdrop Plus hadn't failed I'd never have bought another IEM, or wanted one.
 

maverickronin

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For me none of the Moondrop IEMs (I have Quarks, Chu, Kato) nor the Truthears even approach the fundamentally sound ergonomics of the Shure SE series, which have been around *forever*.

Definitely this. A lot of these new cheap Chinese IEMs have better out of the box FRs, but I recently bought a Westone X10 instead for the ergonomics. The FR needs a lot of work but that's a fixable problem, while the comfort isn't.
 

cacophonix

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I don't have Arias but I do have Moondrop Kato and Truthears. I don't find nozzle size a problem (I guess I have cavernous ears :eek:). The Katos are a better fit while the Truthears are still OK but unsuitable for use within a helmet or while lying on side. But neither is 1st class ergonomic design. The Moondrop Chu is second class in ergonomics but still better than these premium IEMs. For me the best designs have been the Massdrop Plus (conformity to human anatomy so perfect it felt like custom made) and Vsonic GR07 (somewhat ergonomic shell + rotating nozzles meant a really amazingly good fit and unexpectedly effective isolation). For me none of the Moondrop IEMs (I have Quarks, Chu, Kato) nor the Truthears even approach the fundamentally sound ergonomics of the Shure SE series, which have been around *forever*. They do sound better but they are not so easy to wear, nor as sensitive. Mostly I'm now listening with the Truthears but if my Massdrop Plus hadn't failed I'd never have bought another IEM, or wanted one.
+1
I have never had an IEM fit me better than the massdrop plus. It sounded great in a polite sort of way, but the comfort/fit was next level. Love the truthears, but still miss the fit of the plus. Are there any other IEMs that follow the shape of massdrop plus?
 

cbracer

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@Hare Hare the Zero is even more harsh on the top and has less bass and midbass than your Starfield:
View attachment 235530
So I spent some time comparing my Starfield to the Truth Zero, and that graph above simply does not represent what I hear. It goes to show that comparing graphs on that site is not always accurate. The Zero has so much more base than the Starfield anyone can hear that. Honestly I can't understand how anyone would think that the target curve used sounds anything like a real speaker with a good flat response. It simply doesn't. The target curve for the Zero has WAY too much bass. My Starfields are smaller, more comfortable, and sound more accurate than the Zero, which to me has a 3+db boost along the whole bass range to 500 db. The Truth Zero does have better clarity and much LESS distortion than the Starfield. So if you are going to EQ the Zero is better. But if you aren't going to EQ then the Starfield is better even at twice the price. If don't want heavy bass of the Zero then get the Salnotes Zero for $20. They sound most like the Starfield at 1/5 the cost. I'm going to return my Truth Zero. I found Aria snow edition has so little bass it got returned too. I'll keep my Starfield for home and my Salnotes Zero for traveling. I'd love to try the Blessing Dusk.
 

cbracer

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Could someone briefly compare it to the Zero please? I do find Moondrop to be too harsh on the top. Strings can sound a bit grating and tiring - especially on "dry" recordings. I would also prefer a bit more bass and midbass.
I listen to lots of classical music and use EQ for Moondrop.
Yes the Truth Zero has a lot more bass and midbass. Classical would really pop with the Truth Zero. But for pop, rock, top 40 the bass is too distracting from the rest of the music.
 

Zim

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Anyone know the polarity orientation for the Zero's I just got third-party cables with no earhook and can't for the life of me figure which way I should insert them.
 

Chromatischism

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So I spent some time comparing my Starfield to the Truth Zero, and that graph above simply does not represent what I hear. It goes to show that comparing graphs on that site is not always accurate. The Zero has so much more base than the Starfield anyone can hear that. Honestly I can't understand how anyone would think that the target curve used sounds anything like a real speaker with a good flat response. It simply doesn't. The target curve for the Zero has WAY too much bass. My Starfields are smaller, more comfortable, and sound more accurate than the Zero, which to me has a 3+db boost along the whole bass range to 500 db. The Truth Zero does have better clarity and much LESS distortion than the Starfield. So if you are going to EQ the Zero is better. But if you aren't going to EQ then the Starfield is better even at twice the price. If don't want heavy bass of the Zero then get the Salnotes Zero for $20. They sound most like the Starfield at 1/5 the cost. I'm going to return my Truth Zero. I found Aria snow edition has so little bass it got returned too. I'll keep my Starfield for home and my Salnotes Zero for traveling. I'd love to try the Blessing Dusk.
The Moondrop Starfield indeed has a nice stock measurement. I wouldn't assume it doesn't handle EQ well, though, especially since you'd just be cutting.

Here is the Starfield compared to my Truthear Zero EQ:

graph (1).png


On the Starfield, I would take a lot of the upper bass and lower midrange out to "decongest" that range, as well as bring down the upper midrange a bit. It's not as offensive as the stock tuning of my pair of Truthear Zeros, but it would still be a little bright after bringing down the bass. Once you do this you'll find a nice balance that allows the mids to present properly without being crowded out.

Other than the big dropout from 9-13 kHz, if one could get them to the same curve, it would come down to comfort, looks, and price.
 

oceansize

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I just got my truth ears today! These have amazing clarity, compared to even 7hz timeless! Blon bl03 were my fave, but now the zeroes are the best by a country mile. We should all just buy what Amir recommends!
I also received mine yesterday, but feel like I've chucked £50 away that could have been better spent on more music. After trying all the tips and finding the best pair, I've come to the conclusion that having to force the IEMs into my ears every 5 minutes to try and get any bass at all does not make for a worthwhile listening experience.

I'd avoided IEMs thus far, as previous experiences with earbuds (entirely negative) had put me off trying them, until I fell for the hype and succumbed... oh well, you live and learn!
 

Chromatischism

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I also received mine yesterday, but feel like I've chucked £50 away that could have been better spent on more music. After trying all the tips and finding the best pair, I've come to the conclusion that having to force the IEMs into my ears every 5 minutes to try and get any bass at all does not make for a worthwhile listening experience.

I'd avoided IEMs thus far, as previous experiences with earbuds (entirely negative) had put me off trying them, until I fell for the hype and succumbed... oh well, you live and learn!
It sounds like you're a candidate for third party tips. Check out some of the recommendations in this thread. If you're having trouble with silicone, try the Comply 600 foam tips.
 

oceansize

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It sounds like you're a candidate for third party tips. Check out some of the recommendations in this thread. If you're having trouble with silicone, try the Comply 600 foam tips.
No, I'm a candidate for spending money on some music.
 

AudioJester

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No, I'm a candidate for spending money on some music.
Use a streaming service - tidal/spotify/qobuz etc.
Then unlimited music.

There are a few posters like you who can not use IEMs for comfort/fit reasons.
Just because the Truthear measures extremely well, i dont get why you guys think it would solve comfort/fit issues??
As you say- live and learn
 

oceansize

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Use a streaming service - tidal/spotify/qobuz etc.
Then unlimited music.

There are a few posters like you who can not use IEMs for comfort/fit reasons.
Just because the Truthear measures extremely well, i dont get why you guys think it would solve comfort/fit issues??
As you say- live and learn
There are very good reasons not to use streaming services - the environmental aspect, shoddy payments to the artists that make the music, etc.

Indeed, I'd avoided IEMs as I didn't think they would be for me, but hype like "Go and buy one of these! I don't care if you don't listen to IEMs normally" swayed me - and now I know for sure.
 

mediocrebutarrogant

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There are very good reasons not to use streaming services - the environmental aspect, shoddy payments to the artists that make the music, etc.

Indeed, I'd avoided IEMs as I didn't think they would be for me, but hype like "Go and buy one of these! I don't care if you don't listen to IEMs normally" swayed me - and now I know for sure.
To each his own, but iems are for in bed listening, where you can’t take your planars unfortunately. I tried taking sundara portable with hip dac 2 . What a disaster lol. Then I got timeless and swapped wide bore tips I got with timeless on my Blons , beast mode enabled, now I have truth ears , and they are beast mode default, but none of these can beat the Sundaras, but it’s fun away from desk so worth the blind IMO
 
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