Hi,
Just started reviewing IEMs and hope to do that more in future. Hope you like my reviews.
Kind regards.
3 Likes
Truthear Zero X Crinacle Review
Truthear Zero is a relatively recent collaboration between Truthear and Crinacle. As far as I know, they are a rather new brand.
PACKAGING
Packaging features a “waifu” cover and find the accessories quite good for the price range. There are two types ofeartips with three sizes (seems like a standard S – M – L sizing), one pair of foam eartips (looks like a Medium), a storage pouch (soft leather like case, no hard case, so not that much protection) for the IEM and a thin basic cable. For the asking price of 49.99 EUR, I can say that this is an overall nice package, although I have replaced the stock cable as I don’t like very thin basic cables.
BUILD, COMFORT, FIT & ISOLATION
The IEMs shell is made of a resin shell and has a glittery blue face plate. It has a recessed 2 pin connector (standard replacement 2 pin cables work). They are also quite light. They are intended to be worn cable-up (as IEMs usually do). One thing to watch out though is the nozzle size. I measured it at around 6mm, which, even though it is smaller than the Blessing 2’s nozzle, it is still quite big and could cause comfort issues for people with small ear canals. However, I did not experience any discomfort and I use mainly S sized tips. In this case, I prefer the Spinfit 145 in S to the stock tips (comfort and fit wise), but your mileage may vary. With the stock tips in your correct size, I would rate the isolation average.
SOURCE
I tested the IEMs with their stock cable and stock tips (small bore size) attached to a Qudelix 5K, as well as directly attached to my Macbook Pro M1. I also tested them with a 6.3mm adapter with my Marantz HD-DAC1 (headphone amplifier). Finally, they have been tested on the Apple Dongle with my iPhone.
DRIVER(S)
The IEM’s have a rather unique dual dynamic driver configuration : one dynamic driver (10mm diaphragm) is acting as a dedicated « woofer » to handle the sub-bass while the main driver is acting as “tweeter” (7.8mm diaphragm)handles the rest of the frequency range. There is a cross over circuit to make this work.
TONALITIY / TECHNICALITIES
Looking at the graphs (also printed on the back of the box, which is quite nice), we can see that it has a frequency response very close to the Harman (2019) target, i. e. boosted bass from 200Hz to lower frequencies, recessed lower mid-range followed by a rise from 1kHz to the upper-mids.
On the bass side, there is a slight roll-off, but the sub-bass extension is great (for IEMs at this price bracket very good!). I can really feel the impact in the sub-bass region. I would say that the sub-bass is excellent in this price bracket and the highlight of these IEM’s.
As the IEM’s are adhering very closely to the Harman Target, vocals tend to overpower midrange instrumentation. Female vocals are indeed more prominent than male vocals, but I did not notice any sibilance in that regard – they are smooth and treble sensitive people should be able to use them without any issues. In this context, I have to say that the Zero’s seem to lack some sparkle in the range above 10 kHz. The detail retrieval is however good in this price bracket, and I also don’t notice any metallic timbre.
Regarding sound stage, I would say it is around average, as is imaging.
AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
With the standard Apple dongle on my iPhone 11 Pro Max, I was able to get it to a good volume level only at around 70% of the maximum level, which is a bit higher than I was expecting. On my Macbook M1 I get to an acceptable volume level at around 40% of the maximum volume. No issues also on my Qudelix and Marantz HD-Dac1 (as expected). Sound quality was, for my ears, the same on all devices, although I read that some people said that they would scale with better sources. In my opinion, if you reach an acceptable volume on your source, you should be good to go
CONCLUSION
The Truthear Zero are very good IEMs at this price bracket. I would recommend them to anyone on a budget who likes “fun” IEMs with a very good sub-bass. I would say the handle Pop, EDM and Rock very well. They are also nice for people wanting to experience the dedicated woofer, which is quite innovative. As these IEMs follow the Harman Target, they should please most people (that’s the point of it, isn’t it?). I would not recommend them to people looking for the best technical performance, but I guess that is also hard to find at this pricing. Overall it is definitely a recommendation.
Disclosure: This unit was not sent over to review, I have purchased it with my own money but would gladly review other IEMs if requested to do so.
Pros :
-
- Very good sub bass
-
- Innovative driver configuration
-
- Smooth sound (treble sensitive people won’t have a problem with these)
-
- Budget friendly
-
- Lots of accessories
Cons:
-
- Stock cable could be better
-
- Not the best technical performer (even though this is not really the price bracket to look for such IEMs)
10 Likes
Well done! Keep it up, I’m watching with interest. 
2 Likes