Truthear x Crinacle Zero:RED IEM Review

[markanini]

Haha... the prices are so low that most of us seem to have tried several of them. I came home to find a pair of Truthear Hola this evening. It'll be interesting to compare them with the zeros (both types) but they're at work. For now they sound good and the cable is impressive given that they're even cheaper than the 7Hz zeros. Weird that the ear loops seem to be intended for someone with 20cm diameter, highly protruding ears but a bit of bending should fix that.

Hola cable is legendary.

 

[half_dog]

I have been switching between my favorites, the Truthear Zero Red, and the new 7Hz Zero 2. To me the Red is still the better balanced of the 2 and remains my favorite. While the Zero 2 comes very close, is prettier, more comfortable and costs half the price, one could argue that it is the better value. But paying 25 or 55 usd for excellent sound quality is the same to me, the price difference does not matter tbh.

I had some trouble with the 8(ish)kHz peak (which supposed to be a artifact of the couple but for me is really there) and Red's comfort. Both issues were solved with foam tips (TENNMAK) from AliExpress (small size for me). These tips attenuated the peak and is really comfortable for my ears.

 

[Oso Polar]

These tips attenuated the peak

IMHO all foam tips attenuate HF and create a comfortable "dark"sound. That's why I never use them.

 

[half_dog]

IMHO all foam tips attenuate HF and create a comfortable "dark"sound. That's why I never use them.

For all IEMs I had tried with foam I would say that's a common result but it there are some exceptions like Moondrop Kato. It with the MIS tips has a little gain at 3kHz, the 8kHz has a little gain as well and kind of "emerges" a peak around 12kHz but after that we come back to attenuation of HF.

With REDs I enjoy its output with foam tips because although my +30-year-old ears, I'm still sensible to HF...

 

[Rhodo]

Spent several days now with the Zero:REDs, really like them and this whole IEM thing in general but I am drifting back toward my over ear headphones. Personally I just don't find having something stuck in my ear very comfortable, switching to the foam tips did help a lot versus the silicone ones. Of the headphones I own these are likely the best for really enjoying music closely, however if I want to listen for a while I still prefer the over ears.
My preference on these and my other headphones:
For purely enjoying music: These Zero:REDs
For game audio/isolation: Bose QC35s with ANC on
For comfort and general use: Sennheiser HD589s

 

[otseiTiesto]

Hola cable is legendary.

I have always thought that the "Truthear x Crinacle Zero:Red" cable was better (less microphonic effect) than the one that comes by default with "Hola", but I noticed that Hola's cable has 0.37ohm/1.2m per core (AWG30) vs 0.89ohm/1.2m per core (AWG33) for Zeros ones.

So if you change the cable for a better one (lower resistance), for the Zero:Red, its FR curve tilt will change slightly.

 

[otseiTiesto]

I have found some interesting information about the Truthear Zero & Zero:Red, see below:

Sources for the above graph:
- 1: ZERO:RED 0dB.co.kr Graph
- 2: ZERO:RED ASR Forum Graph
- 3: ZERO:RED Truthear Graph
- 4:ZERO:RED Woodenears Graph (I have no idea about what dBSPL level was used to determine its THD)

The next one does not show the THD, only harmonics, and start at 10Hz, but it is useful too:

- forum.headphones

Theoretically: "Red is futher optimized at higher sound pressure level (>94dB)".

Any comment about is welcome. ​

 

[TurtlePaul]

Amazon dropped off Zero:RED's today and I opened the Zero:2 on Christmas.

I prefer the tuning on these Red's, but boy are the stock tips ear murder. I will be rolling into Audio46 next week to get some foamies I think.

edit: so I gave up on really deep insertions and am using the larger tips with a shallow insertion to gain comfort.

 

[ＪｎＬ]

@amirm Can you do a Tripowin Olina or the Moondrop Chu 1 (and/or 2 if possible)?? (the original, NOT Second Edition, the original first ones)

 

[Rollingsound514]

@oratory1990 just posted his EQ presets for the Reds…

https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/s/kkZ3U6qfca

Newbie question tbh, but I don't have any BW or bandwidth setting in the Roon eq, I see a BW setting in Oratory1990's settings, do I need to do that or is the Q factor the only think needed?
Thanks!

EDIT: Also does anyone have any other targets I should try? I've tried the Harman in ear from these guys too and it's not bad. TBH the non-eq'd sound is pretty good on these for me. Harman is a bit too bright, Oratory1990 is a bit too warm and no eq sounds right in the middle...

 

[Robbo99999]

Newbie question tbh, but I don't have any BW or bandwidth setting in the Roon eq, I see a BW setting in Oratory1990's settings, do I need to do that or is the Q factor the only think needed?
Thanks!

EDIT: Also does anyone have any other targets I should try? I've tried the Harman in ear from these guys too and it's not bad. TBH the non-eq'd sound is pretty good on these for me. Harman is a bit too bright, Oratory1990 is a bit too warm and no eq sounds right in the middle...

View attachment 344836

Bandwidth (BW) is just another way of describing Q, so if your software uses Q rather than BW then just use the Q values you seen in Oratory's pdf.

I've seen some people use the Harman 2018 Over Ear Target in IEM's, which is the target used for over ear headphones - I've seen some people use that target for IEM's too.

 

[staticV3]

EDIT: Also does anyone have any other targets I should try? I've tried the Harman in ear from these guys too and it's not bad. TBH the non-eq'd sound is pretty good on these for me. Harman is a bit too bright, Oratory1990 is a bit too warm and no eq sounds right in the middle...

In blue is my own target which I prefer a lot over Harman IE:


As you can see, the Truthear Red is basically there already.
The EQ settings below may or may not improve the sound.

 

[Rollingsound514]

In blue is my own target which I prefer a lot over Harman IE:
View attachment 344904

As you can see, the Truthear Red is basically there already.
The EQ settings below may or may not improve the sound.

Wow!

 

[markanini]

Newbie question tbh, but I don't have any BW or bandwidth setting in the Roon eq, I see a BW setting in Oratory1990's settings, do I need to do that or is the Q factor the only think needed?
Thanks!

EDIT: Also does anyone have any other targets I should try? I've tried the Harman in ear from these guys too and it's not bad. TBH the non-eq'd sound is pretty good on these for me. Harman is a bit too bright, Oratory1990 is a bit too warm and no eq sounds right in the middle...

View attachment 344836

To my tastes the best EQ was a simple high shelf boost above 7kHz.

Preamp: -2.0 dB
Filter 1: ON HSC Fc 7000 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 0.47

 

[Obizzz]

Got these today along with the 7hz Zero 2:s

I was a bit worried that the nozzles would be too big for me but they’re actually really comfortable overall. So far I like the medium sized with small bore size best. Nothing from my tip collection worked very well with the big nozzles so I’ll stick to the included tips for now.

They sound great and I’m a bit on and off wether I prefer these over the 7hz or not but unless you have comfort issues you can’t really go wrong with either. The Truthears feel a bit more premium when it comes to materials and packaging (although I wish they would drop the stupid waifu art)

Out of focus in the background you can see my new speakers. Anyone dare to take a guess on what they are?

 

[SlowCar]

Got these today along with the 7hz Zero 2:s

I was a bit worried that the nozzles would be too big for me but they’re actually really comfortable overall. So far I like the medium sized with small bore size best. Nothing from my tip collection worked very well with the big nozzles so I’ll stick to the included tips for now.

They sound great and I’m a bit on and off wether I prefer these over the 7hz or not but unless you have comfort issues you can’t really go wrong with either. The Truthears feel a bit more premium when it comes to materials and packaging (although I wish they would drop the stupid waifu art)

Out of focus in the background you can see my new speakers. Anyone dare to take a guess on what they are?

View attachment 345965

Can you poradę elaborate about differences between two?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Got these today along with the 7hz Zero 2:s

I was a bit worried that the nozzles would be too big for me but they’re actually really comfortable overall. So far I like the medium sized with small bore size best. Nothing from my tip collection worked very well with the big nozzles so I’ll stick to the included tips for now.

They sound great and I’m a bit on and off wether I prefer these over the 7hz or not but unless you have comfort issues you can’t really go wrong with either. The Truthears feel a bit more premium when it comes to materials and packaging (although I wish they would drop the stupid waifu art)

Out of focus in the background you can see my new speakers. Anyone dare to take a guess on what they are?

View attachment 345965

GGNTKT M1's?

 

[TurtlePaul]

Can you poradę elaborate about differences between two?

I also have the Zero:Red and Zero:2. The Reds have the perception of a perfectly flat audiophile response. The Zero:2 have a modest but not extreme bass boost. That gives move perceived mid-bass and lower midrange texture on the Red because it isn’t masked by boom. But sometimes much bass is fun. The Red has an impedance adaptor which makes them sound more like Zero:2.

The Reds insert deeper into the ear. They can be much less comfortable with the wrong ear-tips but isolate outside noise much better. Zero:2 barely go into the ear canal so it is more comfortable tp wear them a long time pr remove and reinsert them.

 

[Obizzz]

I also have the Zero:Red and Zero:2. The Reds have the perception of a perfectly flat audiophile response. The Zero:2 have a modest but not extreme bass boost. That gives move perceived mid-bass and lower midrange texture on the Red because it isn’t masked by boom. But sometimes much bass is fun. The Red has an impedance adaptor which makes them sound more like Zero:2.

The Reds insert deeper into the ear. They can be much less comfortable with the wrong ear-tips but isolate outside noise much better. Zero:2 barely go into the ear canal so it is more comfortable tp wear them a long time pr remove and reinsert them.

To me the Reds feel a bit more mid forward I also feel like there's more clarity in the treble on the Zero 2:s. I'm not quite sure why looking at the graphs but the measured graphs don't always correspond to what we hear since different ear tips and fit does affect the sound. I don't like the sound with the impedance adapter as I think it makes them sound muddier and more congested. It's better to EQ a bit of bass shelf IMHO but I guess it's nice to have the option for sources you can't EQ.

I'm going to make an order to expand my tip collection a bit to try and find a better fit for the Reds. The ones I have in my collection either didn't fit or altered the sound too much compared to the medium sized narrow bore tips that came in the package.

They're both variants of the same sound ideal. If I'd only get one I'd buy the Zero 2:s because they're cheaper and more likely to fit the average person. If you already have the Reds buy the Zero 2:s anyway since they're so cheap. If you don't like them just give them to a friend.

@phoenixdogfan good guess but they're cheaper, passive and Swedish.

 

[jaguone]

but they're cheaper, passive and Swedish.

Looks like Guru speakers.