Truthear Zero: Red Review
INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER:
The Truthear Zero: Red is another collaboration project between Truthear and Crinacle, and is a follow-up to last year’s Truthear Zero. Like the original Zero, the Zero: Red uses a dual dynamic driver setup. A 10mm driver handles low frequencies while a 7.8mm driver handles the remainder of the frequency response. The Zero: Red retails for $54.99 at ShenzhenAudio. ShenzhenAudio sent me a unit in exchange for my impressions.
Much of the non-sound-related content of this review will be lifted from my review of the original Truthear Zero, as the Truthear Zero: Red is nearly identical in physical form and packaging:
SOURCES:
I used the Truthear Zero: Red with the following sources during my review process:
- Qudelix 5K
- Truthear Shio
- Hiby R6 Pro II
- Apple Dongle
MUSIC:
I tested these headphones with local FLAC and Spotify Premium. Visit my last.fm page to get an idea of what I listen to:
XenosBroodLord’s Library | Last.fm
PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES:
The Truthear Zero: Red comes in a medium-sized rectangular black cardboard box with a white slipcover. The front of the slipcover is illustrated with an anime waifu. The Zero Red’s technical specifications are listed on the back of the slipcover in both English and Chinese. A frequency response graph is also featured.
The Zero: Red includes six pairs of silicone eartips (2xS, 2xM, 2xL), a single pair of foam eartips, a faux leather carry pouch with snap closures, and a detachable .78mm 2-pin cable. Half of the silicone eartips have a wider bore than the other half. In terms of documentation, the Zero includes a warranty card, an owner’s manual, and a cryptic “Install Guide” of unclear purpose.
The Zero: Red also includes two pairs of replacement nozzle covers.
BUILD QUALITY AND DESIGN:
The Truthear Zero: Red has dark translucent acrylic shells and glittery red faceplates. The faceplates have a triangular cross-section and feature a detailed feather-like relief pattern beneath a glossy top layer. The gap between the faceplate and shell is visibly seamless, and the overall build quality of the shell is impressive for the price point. There is a circular vent adjacent to the 2-pin connector, which is slightly recessed. “L” and “R” indicators are printed in gold on the other side of this vent. The nozzles are acrylic with metal mesh nozzle filters. The nozzles are thick and have substantial rims to secure eartips.
The cable uses black sheathed wires wrapped in a quad-braid below the Y-split and coiled into double-helix patterns above the Y-split. The cable has pre-formed heat-shrink earguides and a metal chin adjustment choker. The cable is quite microphonic if the chin adjustment choker is not used. The L-shaped 3.5mm jack uses rubber hardware. There is strain relief above the 3.5mm jack but none at the Y-split.
The Truthear Zero: Red also includes a 10-ohm adapter with attenuates the bass response below 500 Hz. This adapter uses the same materials as the included cable’s 3.5mm jack.
COMFORT, FIT, AND ISOLATION
The fit of the Truthear Zero: Red is identical to that of the original Zero, which is middle of the road in terms of comfort.
The Zero: Red intended to be worn cable-up. The earpieces have a fairly deep insertion depth. Secureness of fit is above average, while isolation is average.
On the other hand, there is no longer any driver flex.
MEASUREMENTS:
My measurements of the Truthear Zero: Red can be found on my expanding squig.link database:
Truthear Zero Red (no adapter) — Squiglink by Bedrock Reviews
SOUND:
Unlike the Truthear Zero, which was tuned to the Harman In-Ear target, the Truthear Zero: Red is tuned to Crinacle’s In-Ear Fidelity target with a 5 dB bass boost.
Like the Zero, the Zero: Red has an elevated bass response below 200 Hz, and has excellent sub-bass extension. The Zero: Red retains the excellent bass technicalities exhibited by the original Zero.
There is a palpable, subwoofer-like impact to the sub-bass region. There is plenty of both rumble and slam, and electronic dance music is a joy to listen to on the Zero. Bass dynamics, texture, and detail retrieval are excellent for a $55 IEM.
Out of the box, the Zero: Red has less sub-bass than the original Zero, which allows for easier pairing with a wider variety of music. The included 10-Ohm adapter, which further attenuates the sub-bass region, is an intriguing addition I would like to see included with more IEMs.
The most noticeable changes from the original Zero are found in the Zero: Red’s midrange, which is less forward than the original Zero’s. The apex of the Zero: Red’s ear gain region is centered around 3.5 kHz, whereas the original Zero was most elevated around 3 kHz. While I generally prefer IEMs that favor 3 kHz, the overall midrange balance of the Zero: Red is superior to its predecessor. It does a better job of balancing vocal delivery and midrange instrumentation. In contrast, the original Zero favored vocals to the detriment of instruments. The Zero: Red does sacrifice a bit of vocal intelligibility to accomplish this balance. Harsh, aggressive male vocals have more grit and power but are slightly less distinct. Male and female vocals are much more even in emphasis than on the original Zero, and female vocals more easily avoid sibilance. The Zero: Red also has a more reasonable level of presence. Distorted electric guitars sound meatier and analog percussion sounds less compressed.
The Zero: Red’s treble is largely identical to its predecessor and shares the same strengths and limitations:
The Zero: Red has neither too much lower treble nor too little upper treble extension, but I do find the measured gap in the Zero’s mid-treble to be audible. The sparkle usually provided by an emphasis in the 10–12 kHz range is missing. As a result, the overall treble presentation is a little dull for my taste. The Zero does avoid any sense of metallic timbre or excessive sizzle to cymbal hits. Treble transient delivery is crisp, and overall detail retrieval is very good. The soundstage is on the wider side for an IEM not using a multi-balanced armature arrangement, but instrument separation is fairly average, as is imaging.
AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND SOURCE PAIRING:
Like the Truthear Zero, Truthear Zero: Red is surprisingly difficult to drive. Reaching a usable volume on Android using the Apple Dongle with Spotify volume normalization set to “Normal” required a system volume setting of at least 23 or 24/25. I recommend grabbing a more powerful source for the Zero: Red if you are using an Android device. I did not notice hiss with any of my sources.
CLOSING WORDS:
The Truthear Zero: Red solves most of my quibbles with the original Zero. Like its predecessor, it is an unqualified recommendation at its asking price. However, the IEM market has continued to progress in the year since the original Zero was released, and the Zero: Red is less revolutionary now than it might have been if released earlier. I cannot help but wish we had received this version of the Zero in lieu of the original.
The Truthear Zero: Red can be purchased below:
TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED Dual Dynamic Drivers In-Ear Headphone (shenzhenaudio.com)