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Truthear x Crinacle Zero:RED IEM Review

Rate this IEM:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 7 1.8%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 13 3.4%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 40 10.5%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 322 84.3%

  • Total voters
    382

Robbo99999

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I know because I compose music.

Since I am the one placing sopranos, tenors, gongs, bells, harpsichords...stating every detail...then I can say if they actually sound as pretended or not.

Of course, everything will be relative to the original master equipment, but as time passes by I am approaching a near perfect reference, since others were previously discarded when failing to perform here or there, such as with profound tones from pipe organs or astounding sopranos not quite getting there...

In order to match the performance I get from the Zero I think one have to go north of 15000€ on loudspeaker monitors.

Let's see what the Red brings...
You're changing your angle slightly on your earlier post that I had replied to, so it's not the same. Even with your experience you wouldn't be able to do the things you suggested in your earlier post for the reasons I mentioned. However, if you have recordings that you know like the back of your hand that you deem perfect when played on your reference equipment, which would hopefully be Anechoic Flat speakers, then you can attempt to match that to your experience when you listen to your IEM - which I don't think is an easy process, especially if it's not spectrally dense music. I don't have much faith in your process, but if you're happy then you're happy.
 

markanini

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IMO pop songs are more useful for evaluation. Because they normally include multiple tonal and transient elements, some very unnatural elements, some natural but heavily processed, there's only so many ways to reproduce coherently.

With real acoustic events like an orchestra, we can't know with certainty how each instrument sounded in that particular room. It's placement in the room, the presence of other musicians or and audience, all interact with the sound of the instrument. At the engineers discretion the event is captured within the constraints of the recording equipment, and mixed within the constraints of a stereo mix, a medium that forces you to take much artistic liberty just for practical reasons. In many ways an orchestral recording is very different from hearing a live acoustic event. That makes the idea of judging an IEM by your memory of an instruments sound quite nonsensical.
 
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Zim

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Got my Red's today and been enjoying them for the past hour. Am liking this tuning over the standard Zero's, particularly on poorly mastered & engineered records. Smooths out the imperfections.. Would probably be the best description.

Weirdly though, it sounds bassier to me than normal Zero's. And I do not have the adapter on.
 

lazarian

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Got my Red's today and been enjoying them for the past hour. Am liking this tuning over the standard Zero's, particularly on poorly mastered & engineered records. Smooths out the imperfections.. Would probably be the best description.

Weirdly though, it sounds bassier to me than normal Zero's. And I do not have the adapter on.
Seal maybe? Have they changed the tips sent?
 

Jimbob54

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Got my Red's today and been enjoying them for the past hour. Am liking this tuning over the standard Zero's, particularly on poorly mastered & engineered records. Smooths out the imperfections.. Would probably be the best description.

Weirdly though, it sounds bassier to me than normal Zero's. And I do not have the adapter on.
It's definitely a different bass profile. Zero peaks at 50 Hz then rolls off. Red doesn't roll off and has a bit more energy below 50. I reckon with a good seal that would translate as more "thump" depending on music genre.
 

Grobbelboy

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Got my Red's today and been enjoying them for the past hour. Am liking this tuning over the standard Zero's, particularly on poorly mastered & engineered records. Smooths out the imperfections.. Would probably be the best description.

Weirdly though, it sounds bassier to me than normal Zero's. And I do not have the adapter on.

Could be because the midbass is a bit more pronounced relative to the higher frequencies, compared to the original Zero. I feel that the sensation of bass mainly comes from this area of the FR instead of from the frequencies <100Hz.
 

Jimbob54

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Just got mine. I've been playing around with tips on my Zero since the Red got reviewed and I ordered and yup, for me, for most robust seal I still prefer the Spinfit CP155 (Large/ blue) for my ears but these are definitely IEM for sitting with, not walking around- no chance of staying put. They are definitely not the most comfortable I own so I can imagine this deterring many users.

They do sound great though. Not played with the adapter but absolutely know I could happily listen without EQ. Decent bass thump. Oh, and for anyone asking for power requirements- without EQ my EU Apple dongle (so 0.5v max) can go as loud as I would like with 5db on the slider in UAPP to spare. Not sure why anyone would want to slap 5-10 db of eq peaks on these but if you did, you might need a 1v or 2v dongle.
 

markanini

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Just got mine. I've been playing around with tips on my Zero since the Red got reviewed and I ordered and yup, for me, for most robust seal I still prefer the Spinfit CP155 (Large/ blue) for my ears but these are definitely IEM for sitting with, not walking around- no chance of staying put. They are definitely not the most comfortable I own so I can imagine this deterring many users.

They do sound great though. Not played with the adapter but absolutely know I could happily listen without EQ. Decent bass thump. Oh, and for anyone asking for power requirements- without EQ my EU Apple dongle (so 0.5v max) can go as loud as I would like with 5db on the slider in UAPP to spare. Not sure why anyone would want to slap 5-10 db of eq peaks on these but if you did, you might need a 1v or 2v dongle.
Aside for the more secure fit, do the CP155 sound the same as stock? Thanks for you impressions.
 

Glen20

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Just got mine. I've been playing around with tips on my Zero since the Red got reviewed and I ordered and yup, for me, for most robust seal I still prefer the Spinfit CP155 (Large/ blue) for my ears but these are definitely IEM for sitting with, not walking around- no chance of staying put. They are definitely not the most comfortable I own so I can imagine this deterring many users.

They do sound great though. Not played with the adapter but absolutely know I could happily listen without EQ. Decent bass thump. Oh, and for anyone asking for power requirements- without EQ my EU Apple dongle (so 0.5v max) can go as loud as I would like with 5db on the slider in UAPP to spare. Not sure why anyone would want to slap 5-10 db of eq peaks on these but if you did, you might need a 1v or 2v dongle.

I am having success with using wax behind the tip for better and more comfortable seal on my Zero v1.
. IEM HYBRID DIY TIP MOD.jpg
 

Jimbob54

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Aside for the more secure fit, do the CP155 sound the same as stock? Thanks for you impressions.
Cant say I spent much time with stock to form that impression as I couldnt keep the seal. My guess would be as the 155 go deeper in, the response likely would change but can't offer any input as to what freqs or by how much.
 

Jimbob54

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Look the same to me. Physically identical shells, cables and tips I would say.
Actually- noticed one difference on the shells- the vent between the 2 pin socket and the L/R marker is a small hole on the Zero , its a 3mm slot on the Red.
 

Matias

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From AliExpress right now:

1685715959901.png


It took 11 months for the original Zero to reach 1600 units sold, and 12 days for the Zero Red to reach 550! :oops:
 

GaryH

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Weirdly though, it sounds bassier to me than normal Zero's. And I do not have the adapter on.
What are you plugging them (both) into?
 
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C. Cook

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Definitely considering these based on this review. How long is the cable? I'm assuming it's between 3 and 6ft long which isn't going to reach from my DAC/HPA to my desk. I'd need at least 10ft.

Any ASR IEM regular users have a recommendation for an extender cable? Are there any considerations for IEM cables that are different from regular headphones?
 

Aperiodic

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Just ordered direct from Shenzen after seeing delivery estimates as far out as late July on Amazon.

I own the Blue and the only real quibble I have that seems to betray the price is that the eartips I selected from the provided selection stretched, lost their grip on the nozzle, and stayed behind in my ears a few times. Solved by substituting the Spinfit CP155 tips suggested earlier. Still at a 'steal' price even considering that added cost. Buying these because I'm pretty sure the adjustments to the signature will be right up my alley and the considerable improvement in distortion behavior doesn't hurt. Only concern I have buying the Red is it looks like it might be a challenging load for the $9 phone dongle that we don't name despite the fact that it got a recommendation. (If anyone has tried it, how well did it work?) Have other options in case that doesn't work out. Looking forward to these,
 
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