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Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red
The world of in-ear monitors (IEMs) is replete with a dizzying array of options under $100, but it can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Some manufacturers have taken to collaborating with well-respected members of the audiophile community to tune new products, and we’re going to take a look at one such product today: the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red.
Editor’s note: this is the first version of the article. Updates will follow as the market changes.
The Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red is for the IEM enthusiast looking for a well-attested sound, and several options to tinker with. This is tailor-made for enthusiasts searching for what they like in earphones.
What’s it like to use the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red?
Opening the box, you’ll meet the glossy red-patterned Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red, which is quite attractive. The earbuds themselves are somewhat chunky, but are contoured to fit in your ear between the tragus and concha. Once you’ve matched up each channel to the corresponding 2-pin connector, the earbuds will be complete.
The cable of the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red is reinforced with a sheathing material to stiffen up the wire that loops over your ears, allowing for a more secure fit, and better weight distribution when you wear the IEMs. I usually don’t like IEMs that take up too much space in my ears, but the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red actually is quite comfortable in this regard. With the foam tips, I had zero trouble getting the fit I wanted, and I suspect you’ll have a similar experience once you’ve determined which of the three sizes of ear tips you need.
If you’re an audiophile, the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red has some goodies in the packaging that will allow you to tinker with the sound of the IEMs. For example, the Bass+ resistor accessory has the effect of boosting relative bass levels, and the two types of silicone ear tips with differing opening widths. Though these didn’t change the sound all that much in our testing outside of the highest octave, it’s still something people like tinkering with. Given that this should prevent people from trying to EQ things where they shouldn’t be EQed: I’m all for it.
Also included is a surprisingly nice leather-like pouch to store your earphones, cable, and accessories. Unlike a clamshell or hardshell case, this pouch is scored by snap buttons, and you should avoid overstuffing it. However, the flexible material means that this case will be much less of an annoyance if you stuff it in your pants pockets, and it won’t become a dangerous missile should your toddler find it and start throwing things (ask me how I know). I really like this case, as it’s a very straightforward and effective solution to something that can be more problematic than it may seem.
All in all, this is a credible, complete product for IEM users. If you want something that the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red doesn’t provide, you will at least have a good way to test out some features that you might want in your next set of IEMs. I would not be surprised to see these grace many lists of best IEMs out there.
How does the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red connect?
The Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red connects to devices via the 3.5mm TRS plug at the end of the 1.2m braided cable. Said cable is y-shaped, and connects to the earbuds’ housings with a 2-pin connector that can be removed when necessary. The stock cable carries no microphone, no remote button, nothing — but it doesn’t matter. That’s not what IEMs are all about.
Included in the box is a 10Ω in-line resistor that increases the bass a bit at the cost of a very slight increase in resistance. This is completely optional, and you should not need an amplifier even with this accessory. It’s a clever solution to customize the sound of the IEMs, but not something you needed to make the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red usable or anything — I ended up leaving it in the pouch most of the time.
No. The Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red does not need an amplifier for most source devices. With an impedance of 17.5Ω and a sensitivity of 117.5dB/Vrms, you should not have any difficulty achieving a usable listening level. However, keep in mind that dongles can sometimes limit output if you mismatch brands. For example, the Apple dongle has a noted low output on Android devices.
How well do the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red block out noise?
Leading off with the best foot possible, the foam tips of the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red are excellent isolators if those are the tips you choose. They’re also the easiest to fit, as the expanding memory foam is much more forgiving than silicone ear tips can be sometimes. Just remember to rock the tips between your thumb and forefinger to compress the foam down before insertion and you should be golden.
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With these ear tips installed, you can expect an extreme amount of isolation — however, the catch is that it’s mostly in the mids and highs. Low-end attenuation, like it is with most earbuds, is pretty poor by comparison. Still, you should be able to enjoy a relatively junk noise-free experience with the foam tips.
Of course, swapping to single-flange silicone ear tips means you’ll be trading some attenuation performance — but not as much as it may seem on a chart.
Narrow tips:
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The high-end attenuation drops a bit by comparison, but as we were starting from a ridiculous degree and falling to merely “very good,” overall this is a very respectable level of isolation for a set of in-ears.
Wide tips:
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Here, too, the isolation afforded by the wide tips seems to be quite good — much akin to the narrow tips — so you should have nothing to worry about here.
How does the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red sound?
Unsurprisingly for an IEM with the reputation it has, the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red sounds quite good! For most people, these earphones will please without any tinkering.
Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)
The chart below shows how the sound of the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red was assessed by the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics.
Mean opinion scores (MOS) above a 4 indicate a really solid result, and the fact that the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red nails that across the board is notable. Provided you have an adequate level, and you’re not listening from an ancient computer from the late 1990s, you shouldn’t notice any issues with distortion. What you get here is a pleasing timbre, notably good immersiveness, and as good of a result as you could hope for with IEMs. That said, if you find that these are not your cup of tea, you have a few options available to you, as I discuss below.
- Timbre (MOS-T) represents how faithfully the headphones reproduce the frequency spectrum and temporal resolution (timing information).
- Distortion (MOS-D) represents non-linearities and added noise: higher scores mean cleaner reproduction.
- Immersiveness (MOS-I) represents perceived source width and positioning: how well virtual sound sources are defined in three-dimensional space.
In short, the ear tips don’t change the scores much. The above was collected with the foam tips, but we also measured the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red with the narrow and wide ear tips equipped, too.
Narrow tips:
The biggest change with these tips is simply distortion. However, as the score didn’t move much, this may be due to sample variation, or something else related to the ear tips hardly worth mentioning.
Wide tips:
Given that there’s not a lot of movement from tip to tip, it’s more likely that your preferences will be governed by how each fits you rather than the sound. A 3.7 in distortion is still on the upper end of things, and isn’t enough to move the needle on the overall score at all.
Reviewer’s notes
Editor’s note: this review uses a hover-enabled glossary to describe sound quality based on a consensus vocabulary. You can read about it here.
Objective Measurements
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The Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red does a pretty good job at maintaining a pleasing response, though the stock tuning is a lot bassier than we’d typically shoot for. Plenty of people like this kind of response, as it’s a lot more “fun” than our preference curve. This is a much more “Harman-like” kind of response in the lows, and a bit more restrained in the highs.
Because the bass is quite a bit more powerful, you might find that highs seem quieter by comparison. While it’s not to the level that would cause anybody worry, you may want to tone down the lows a tiny bit if you find that this is the case for you. Regardless, you don’t need a heavy hand here unless you’re the kind of person who likes more high-end in your music.
Not a lot, to be honest. There’s some variation in the highs, but that, too could come from measurement variation that is insanely tough to control for. These were the most representative measurements I could achieve with the unit we purchased, but you might see some variation with other measurements online. If you find one is more comfortable than the other, I say stick with those.
Narrow tips:
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Both silicone tips create a little dip at about 500Hz, which is a pretty common feature we’ve been seeing in IEMs of late. Highs are a little better represented here, and closer to our target. The bass is still comparatively high, but that wasn’t going to change much with an ear tip.
Wide tips:
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Interestingly, the dip at 10kHz is a bit deeper than with the narrow tips, but the highest octave is well-maintained here. This might be a bit grating to younger listeners, as the underemphasis so close in frequency will make the subsequent return to normal seem a bit louder than it is, but if you prefer this kind of sound: you now know how to get it.
Adding a modest bump to the lows, the Bass+ resistor accessory allows tinkerers to change the balance of their sound without using an EQ. The change is audible, but thankfully not Earth-shattering.
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Can you use the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red for phone calls?
As the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red has no microphone, using it for phone calls would require either an onboard mic from the device you’re using, or an additional external mic.
Should you buy the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red?
Considering the price is so low, the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red is not a bad buy by any stretch of the imagination — even if you bake in the cost of a dongle. If you prefer a bassier sound, these earbuds are quite the crowd-pleasers according to our tests. Though there are plenty of IEMs on the market nowadays, $55 is hardly a risky amount of money to throw around in pursuit of wired earbuds that will last you. These are fun: you’ll probably like them!
That said, you might prefer a different tuning. If you like the features that this product offers, you may want to roll the dice anyway and see if you can alter the bass to your liking.
What should you get instead of the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red?
As I said above, IEM enthusiasts will have no shortage of options to choose from, so alternatives really depend more on knowing what you’re looking for rather than trying to find a straight upgrade or bargain.
If you prefer something with a little more extension in the highs and less bass emphasis, you can get a very similar set of IEMs in the Truthear Hexa ($67.99 at Amazon). These IEMs have similar ear tip options, a similar case, and are separated mainly by their sound.
If bulk doesn’t bother you and you’re looking for something a little more durable, you might be interested in the Moondrop Aria 2 ($89.99 at Amazon). Though the earbuds are quite a bit more expensive, milled magnesium alloy is a little more resistant to impact damage. Additionally, the included adapter for balanced connections means that you might like these more if you’re a DAP user who has a machine that offers the connection method.
Frequently asked questions
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