No it didn't, it's more recessed through that region.The funny thing is, while attempting to reduce the original Zero's shoutiness, the Red has left the important 1-2 kHz region much the same, resulting in some still finding them somewhat shouty, including Resolve, Señor Shouty himself
"Shout" as criticised on the likes of Grado is in any case further up, peaking around 2,200Hz, it's not really "1-2Khz", close, but it's higher than that. Grado has no issue whatsoever from 1kHz up to around 1.75kHz, it only ramps up after that (and boy, it ramps up, it's obnoxious). The "shout" in Grados is also next level, it's huge.
Red is 2-4dB down on Blue at 2,200Hz and maintains this lower level throughout the upper mids. I have both of them, both are good but Red is very notably less "shouty". You could also say it has less clarity and is more relaxed as a result, but it's objectively much lower though that whole upper mids region.
EDIT: and as for the allegation that "some still finding them somewhat shouty, including Resolve, Señor Shouty himself", no, he didn't. In the livestream you linked he is quoting someone else, it's not his opinion, and goes on to say "your tuning is less ear gain" to Crinacle... In his review of the Red he explicitly says the exact opposite:
"for the rest of the tuning it sounds clear but also not overly glaring and shouty or fatiguing like the original Zero was"
He thinks the upper mids could use "a little more refinement" around 4kHz, "one critique" is the "upper treble zing" with a peak at 11kHz... nothing about 1-2kHz or saying it's shouty, he explicitly says it's not shouty... like the original one was. So you are totally mis-representing his position.
And the guy he was quoting wasn't even talking about the Red, he was talking about "Moondrop, Tanchjim, and Crinacle's general tuning" (possibly, relating to previous stuff like the Zero Blue, as well as more Harman-upper mids Moondrops like the Blessing 2, Variations, SSR, or the Tanchjim Zero, which do have more there). So that's more misdirection and more misquoting from you, it's very intellectually dishonest.
I don't disagree with that Reddit link, incidentally, there has been a lot of hype and at the end of the day these are just a very well tuned $50 IEM. But they are still a very well tuned $50 IEM, and you seem to have a really weird objection to them. Is Amir part of the shill gang too?
Have you even heard these yourself?
I thought you prefer shouty Harman IE yourself anyway, so what's up with complaining that a tuning 2-4dB below Harman in the upper mids is still too shouty?
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