TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero IEM Review

[isostasy]

Funnily enough I bought my audiologist wife a pair-feedback was very good but abit intense. Eventually got to that being the 1000-3000 hz range. She pulled up some typical peak hearing sensitivity measurements for people with normal hearing. Turns out peak sensitivity in that same range is common, for fairly obvious reasons. Then we looked at occlusion effect. Lots of measurements showing typical impact of fuller occlusion impacting on the same frequency range the most, as attached. So we have 3 factors impacting on the 1-3k range significantly-the response of the iem (which is slightly higher than Harman iem v2) the degree of fit/occlusion (reported to very quite abit here-I get a great fit) and the actual sensitivity of the listener. That’s going to cause a lot of variation in practice making generalising difficult and personal eq very important.

Hi, this is really interesting and a valuable contribution to discussion about IEMs, thank you! Could you explain in any more detail how occlusion impacts the 1-3kHz range? I'm struggling to understand because I'm not sure if by 'fuller occlusion' you mean a better seal at the entrance of the canal, or a deeper insertion of the IEM tip: my current understanding was that the former would only impact bass response, whilst the latter would change the resonant frequency of the canal.

 

[GaryH]

But I believe different sources can make a bit of difference in the sub bass.
JFYI Zero cable has almost 2ohm total impedance itself.

Yep, I mentioned cable resistance potentially influencing the Truthear Zero's bass previously:

Plugged them into my smartphone and my first impression was, ok the (sub)bass on these isn't bad. I then remembered my phone doesn't have a very low output impedance and the Truthear have a stupidly low nominal impedance of just 10 ohms that rises considerably in the bass to sub-bass, so voltage division was likely meaning the bass was getting a boost. Btw I suspect this is one of the reasons for variation in reports of this IEM's bass, even from the same person, so check the output impedance of your devices people before posting your impressions (and check cable resistance is approximately the same if changing them, as some IEM cables have ridiculously high resistance which will effectively add to the source output impedance.) And lo and behold, plugging the Truthear into my Qudelix 5K which has negligible output impedance, the (sub)bass was lacking.

So looks like Truthear have used a poor quality high-resistance cable to crudely 'tune' the (sub)bass higher, yet it still falls short of the Harman target. Makes you wonder how much the advertised 'subwoofer in an IEM!' is actually contributing...

 

[isostasy]

Yep, I mentioned cable resistance potentially influencing the Truthear Zero's bass previously:

So looks like Truthear have used a poor quality high-resistance cable to crudely 'tune' the (sub)bass higher, yet it still falls short of the Harman target. Makes you wonder how much the advertised 'subwoofer in an IEM!' is actually contributing...

Barely anything, you could pull it out and all you'd lose is 17dB at 20Hz.

 

[GaryH]

I'm obviously talking about the 'subwoofer' contribution without the FR changes due to the voltage division effect from the rising impedance in the sub-bass and ridiculously high cable resistance. That graph includes this effect.

 

[Chromatischism]

Funnily enough I bought my audiologist wife a pair-feedback was very good but abit intense. Eventually got to that being the 1000-3000 hz range. She pulled up some typical peak hearing sensitivity measurements for people with normal hearing. Turns out peak sensitivity in that same range is common, for fairly obvious reasons. Then we looked at occlusion effect. Lots of measurements showing typical impact of fuller occlusion impacting on the same frequency range the most, as attached. So we have 3 factors impacting on the 1-3k range significantly-the response of the iem (which is slightly higher than Harman iem v2) the degree of fit/occlusion (reported to very quite abit here-I get a great fit) and the actual sensitivity of the listener. That’s going to cause a lot of variation in practice making generalising difficult and personal eq very important.

The issues are much more in the 4-8 kHz range than 1-3 kHz. This IEM doesn't slope down enough and maintains too much energy there which is where the tonality changes, sibilance, and zing come from.

 

[Chromatischism]

Why do you think so? From your EQ settings I’m thinking that Variations would be too V-shaped for you just like Zero with more subbass

I meant stock tuning. The Aria does what the Zero needs: less above 3 kHz, and more below 50 Hz. And, I was also speaking of fit and comfort, though that is different for everyone. Just guessing that more people would prefer the smaller device.

 

[Oso Polar]

Did these IEMs make you feel "wow"?

Nope, not even close. To me they sound noticeably worse than my Etymotic ER4XR equalized to Harman (or not).

Or were you pleasantly surprised with the sound quality?

Oh, definitely yes! They have great sound for $50 and are very listenable without EQ (just a bit shouty and lacking sub-bass, as many people already mentioned in the thread)!

 

[TLEDDY]

I had channel balance issues, left a couple dB down from right. I used roon to achieve balance. Has anyone else heard this?

I am giving some for Christmas and am going to check those to see if my first pair are a problem and will report back.

Still, they are wonderful… stupid fabulous at the price (today about $43 US on Amazon!

 

[Robbo99999]

I had channel balance issues, left a couple dB down from right. I used roon to achieve balance. Has anyone else heard this?

I am giving some for Christmas and am going to check those to see if my first pair are a problem and will report back.

Still, they are wonderful… stupid fabulous at the price (today about $43 US on Amazon!

My pair were audibly fine for me re channel balance, no issues. Some rough measurements using a miniDSP EARS showed they were pretty equal, but miniDSP EARS can't really measure IEM's properly......either way for my pair there was nothing to indicate channel balance issues.

 

[Karmacoma]

My take on the Truthear Zero IEM

View attachment 234249

The packaging is nice. And a leather pouch? I feel like I spent more than $50, that's for sure.

Plenty of tips are provided, and most people should be able to find one that works for them. The large silicone tips (small bore) provide a great seal and comfort for me. I forget I have them on. However, the foam tips are better absorbers of the environment, naturally.

If you're going on a flight, definitely use foam tips.

Safety note: although the foam tips may attenuate the background by some 20-30 dB, the drone of a flight will still cause you to use higher than normal volume levels. You'll find a level that sounds normal to you (and you'll notice your volume slider is higher than normal), but your ears are still getting an elevated total SPL. Don't crank it up to compensate. Just put up with the noise floor and be kind to your hearing.

I find these to be comfortable. They are lightweight and unobtrusive. I like the cable - light, flexible, and seemingly no microphonics thanks to the tight braid. I do wish I could rotate it at the connector to get it to sit closer to my head, but that can't be done with this connector type, which has two pins for polarity.

The design is attractive, with a purple or blue color depending on the angle the light hits them.

Now, on to the sound.

My neutral reference:

Buchardt S400 MKII
Rythmik FV15HP x2, placement-optimized & equalized.

Out of the box these are too bright for me. I kind of expected that based on my current gear and looking at the measurements for comparison. I agree with others on this. The upper midrange runs away with it, and the bass contour is not to my liking. However, these have tons of potential...

Slaying the shouty dragon

The following EQ was developed with the small-bore silicone tips. I listened to the foam tips afterward and they definitely push the balance further toward the bass and reduce the highs. If using foam, I would take 1 dB or so off of both bass filters below. Of course this is the most subjective part, so do experiment with this.

I spent 3 hours going back and forth between Crinacle's EQ tool, downloading to Wavelet, and listening to music. My reference tracks are full-range movie soundtracks and spectrally-dense, well-recorded rock and pop music. All frequencies are represented in the mix. This EQ will fix the bass balance by reducing the midbass emphasis and extending the bass response to 20 Hz. I didn't take it blindly to the Harman target – since the highs were altered, you can't know what the overall balance will sound like unless you listen. It's all relative. The bass is much cleaner sounding. Most importantly, this EQ will eliminate the shoutiness of the upper midrange. It will sound balanced, and the headphones will disappear. If you have never experienced the bass that well-integrated subs can provide, here is your chance to get a preview.

You know you're close on the EQ when the goosebumps come...

Here is the input I used on the Crinacle site to generate the EQ:

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 2.200
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 80 Hz Gain -3.6 dB Q 0.800
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 100 Hz Gain -1.0 dB Q 2.000
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 175 Hz Gain 1.8 dB Q 1.800
Filter 5: OFF PK Fc 1100 Hz Gain -0.6 dB Q 2.000
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 2750 Hz Gain -3.2 dB Q 1.000
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 5000 Hz Gain -5.5 dB Q 2.000
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 7500 Hz Gain -4.2 dB Q 5.000

Saved to a .txt file, this can be loaded directly into Equalizer APO/PEACE.

View attachment 243451

For mobile use I exported using the Wavelet option. You can download that below on this post.

Download the attached file Truthear x crinacle Zero EX7 to your Android device. In Wavelet, choose AutoEq and Import the file from storage.

The other file, Truthear x crinacle Zero Filters EX7 is for Equalizer APO or other programs.

This is as close to my $10k system as I've heard. And I can take it with me! Having a mobile reference is outstanding. Especially for these prices.

If you can't use Wavelet but have a 10-band PEQ, you can still implement the filters as close as you can. It will be less surgical but it will get the job done.

This was updated to my latest and probably last.

Got those cos i bought some great stuff on Amid's (and others) recommandations on this site.
I was a bit disapointed, scooped mids, sibilant voices, far from neutral to my ears, instruments don't sound natural.
However, thanks to these EQ, they sound almost great ! Thanx a lot for the input brother.
Only problem remaining is with the LDAC codec now, don't know if its my phone doing the encoding badly, yet some songs (HD songs - Spotify is allright) are just totally f***ed up by it, even if rare, even if still an improvement of the definition from the Aptx codecs overall.
Good test track for LDAC : Woodkid - Iron. Which is a nice test track overall cos of the multiple tones involved. The highs get messy with LDAC.

 

[vitalii427]

So looks like Truthear have used a poor quality high-resistance cable to crudely 'tune' the (sub)bass higher, yet it still falls short of the Harman target. Makes you wonder how much the advertised 'subwoofer in an IEM!' is actually contributing...

I don't think it's 'a poor quality high-resistance cable'

Zero cable has 0.9ohm resistance per half line (edit: same as per one wire)
Andromeda cable 0.7ohm
Dioko cable 0.2ohm
EarPods cable 1.1ohm (yes I've cut it)
10$ KBEAR cable 0.6ohm

My multimeter is calibrated with its probes but has only 0.1ohm resolution

 

[Cote Dazur]

Only problem remaining is with the LDAC codec now

The Zero are wired.

 

[Karmacoma]

Thanks for the input
I'm using a fiio bluetooth thing, but if that was to remind me that wasn't on topic, dully noted.

 

[GaryH]

Zero cable has 0.9ohm resistance per half line

You mean per channel?

 

[FrantzM]

Got those cos i bought some great stuff on Amid's (and others) recommandations on this site.
I was a bit disapointed, scooped mids, sibilant voices, far from neutral to my ears, instruments don't sound natural.
However, thanks to these EQ, they sound almost great ! Thanx a lot for the input brother.
Only problem remaining is with the LDAC codec now, don't know if its my phone doing the encoding badly, yet some songs (HD songs - Spotify is allright) are just totally f***ed up by it, even if rare, even if still an improvement of the definition from the Aptx codecs overall.
Good test track for LDAC : Woodkid - Iron. Which is a nice test track overall cos of the multiple tones involved. The highs get messy with LDAC.

We’re you listening to the TCZ? These are not wireless.

Peace

 

[vitalii427]

You mean per channel?

No. Headphone cable has 4 wires (with same resistance usually). 2 wires per channel. By 'half line' I mean one wire.

 

[Karmacoma]

We’re you listening to the TCZ? These are not wireless.

Peace

Using a Fiio BTR5 bluetooth receptor, yes i was listenning to the TCZ no doubt about that, thanx for the input.

 

[GaryH]

No. Headphone cable has 4 wires (with same resistance usually). 2 wires per channel. By 'half line' I mean one wire.

So 0.9 ohms per channel then (for the actual signal - the other 2 wires, one on each channel, are for the ground), which is what is conventionally reported. Not sure why you initially were talking about 2 ohms. 0.9 ohms is still pretty poor (high) for such a short length of wire (a decent quality $10 IEM cable from AliExpress comes in at ~0.1-0.2 ohms), and when added to many source output impedances (even low ones e.g. the Apple dongle's ~0.9 ohms itself) will result in an effective OI greater than the <1/10th of headphone impedance rule of thumb, due to the Truthear Zero's stupidly low nominal impedance.

 

[vitalii427]

So 0.9 ohms per channel then (for the actual signal - the other 2 wires, one on each channel, are for the ground), which is what is conventionally reported. Not sure why you initially were talking about 2 ohms. 0.9 ohms is still pretty poor (high) for such a short length of wire (a decent quality $10 IEM cable from AliExpress comes in at ~0.1-0.2 ohms), and when added to many source output impedances (even low ones e.g. the Apple dongle's ~0.9 ohms itself) will result in an effective OI greater than the <1/10th of headphone impedance rule of thumb, due to the Truthear Zero's stupidly low nominal impedance.

Amplifier sees resistances of two wires (signal side and ground side) connected in series with each headphone or per channel (left & right). That's why I wrote 'Zero cable has almost 2ohm total impedance itself'. And in the next post I wrote 'Zero cable has 0.9ohm resistance per half line' meaning per wire.

Your 'rule of thumb' only makes sense when headphone impedance quite non-linear. Truthear Zero impedance is linear except the rise at LF which isn't a bad thing with this particular headphones. And 1.8ohm is still negligible. I bet you won't hear the difference changing stock cable to some 0.1ohm one except very small volume change. Not to mention that 0.1ohm cable would have larger cross-section, weight and stiffness.

And one more point: original Campfire Andromeda (1100$) is the example of IEM with the stupidly low(4ohm) and badly non-linear impedance. And still its cable has 0.7ohm resistance per wire. Here:

 

[GaryH]

Amplifier sees resistances of two wires (signal side and ground side) connected in series with each headphone or per channel (left & right). That's why I wrote 'Zero cable has almost 2ohm total impedance itself'. And in the next post I wrote 'Zero cable has 0.9ohm resistance per half line' meaning per wire.

As I said and as you did in your second post the convention is to report the per channel signal wire resistance. And as you said the others most often have approximately the same resistance.

Your 'rule of thumb' only makes sense when headphone impedance quite non-linear.

A 350% rise from nominal impedance is pretty non-linear.

Truthear Zero impedance is linear except the rise at LF which isn't a bad thing with this particular headphones. And 1.8ohm is still negligible. I bet you won't hear the difference changing stock cable to some 0.1ohm one except very small volume change.

There would be a ~0.5 dB difference in frequency response at 20 Hz (and likely even more at lower frequencies looking at the Zero's still rising impedance down there), within audibility. And then there's electrical damping effects.

And one more point: original Campfire Andromeda (1100$) is the example of IEM with the stupidly low(4ohm) and badly non-linear impedance. And still its cable has 0.7ohm resistance per wire.

Just because another manufacturer has awful impedance design choices doesn't mean Truthear's, although better, aren't still poor.