Truthear x Crinacle ZERO: RED: Does it Live up to the Hype?

Pros

• Includes impedance adapter for more tuning options
• Well done neutral tonality 
• Good bass
• Clean, natural midrange with a hint of warmth 
• Laid back and relaxing vocals 
• Smooth and inoffensive treble 

Cons

• Large nozzle
• Bulky body 
• Hard to drive with impedance adapter
• Average detail retrieval
• Slightly congested

Disclaimer

• Thanks to ShenZhenAudio for sending over the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Source(s)

• Truthear Shio

Ear tips

• Acoustune AET07

Packaging

• Comes with a decent amount of accessories
• IEM.
• Soft pouch.
• 10 Ω impedance adapter
• 4 filters 
• Wide selection of ear tips.
• 3 pairs of narrow bore silicone tips (S, M, L)
• 3 pairs of wide bore silicon tips (S, M, L)
• 1 pair of memory foam tips
• Cable is alright, thin and braided but tangles a little bit sometimes.

Build Quality

• Lightweight.
• Plasticky and bulky body.
• However, build quality is decently solid.

Fit

• Nozzle is quite large and long.
• Body is quite bulky as well. 
• Fits my ears decently well but please take note of the nozzle and bulky body size.

Tonality

• Neutral with bass boost.

Bass

• More balanced than the previous version for sure, with the mid bass being toned down by a huge amount and the sub bass is more well extended. This causes the sub bass to take the lead. 
• Overall, the bass still has the same great qualities: deep, impactful, well textured, defined and controlled.
• The quantity of the bass is definitely tamed down a lot, and this makes other part of the frequencies not overpowered by the bass completely, but it is still fairly sufficient, which is a huge improvement in my books.
• However, the decay is a little on the slower side and it does not sound snappy especially in busier tracks.

Midrange

• The midrange comes with a little bit of warmth, which makes it more pleasing and easier to listen to.
• The slight hint of warmth helps quite a bit to maintain the lushness of male vocals and helps to maintain the timbre of instruments.
• Female vocals are quite laid back but still engaging enough, just the right distance to not be dull and boring.
• Overall, midrange sounded rather natural with a note density that is neither too thin nor thick. 

Treble

• Treble is overall relaxed, inoffensive and smooth.
• There is a small touch of sparkle to not make it sound dull.
• There is also no sign of sibilance or harshness throughout the upper frequencies as well.
• Details in the treble are a little lacking, causing a lack of incisiveness or bite in higher notes due to it being smoothed over.
• Lack a little bit of upper treble extension which causes a little bit lacking in sense of airiness.

Technicalities

Detail Retrieval

• Resolution is fairly average. 
• It performs slightly better against the $20 Tangzu Wan Er but falls short against the $80 Moondrop Aria, which is still perfectly decent for casual listening.

Soundstage

• Soundstage is quite average too, which sounds a little compressed and in your head but not a huge problem for an IEM at this price point. 

Imaging

• Imaging and accuracy is quite decent, I am able to tell where the instruments and vocals come from. 
• Gaming:
• Apex Legends: Sound of footsteps and gunfire can be pinpointed. I am able to judge them in terms of distance and direction quite well. 

Separation

• Separation and layering is slightly subpar. 
• Bass sounds quite separated from other frequencies (probably due to the dedicated DD) but other frequencies can sound a little congested and mashed up especially in busier tracks.

Comparison

Truthear Zero 

• Bass: The mid bass is much more prominent on the previous Zero. Furthermore, the overall bass is also noticeably much more present in quantity which becomes somewhat distracting to me. However the Red's bass isn't as distracting to me as it toned down and balanced out the bass to a certain extent, while keeping the decent bass quality. 
• Midrange: The previous Zero's midrange was quite recessed and easily overshadowed by the the strong bass and relatively intense upper midrange to me. The Red isn't as recessed so it is much more natural to my ears while the upper midrange not being too dull as well.
• Treble: I don't think there are too much differences in the treble, both are smooth and inoffensive but details in the treble are more perceivable in the Red as there is less masking from the bass and upper midrange.
• Technicalities: The separation is improved on the Red so it is less congested. Resolution has a slight improvement too. 
• with EQ: When I tried to EQ my previous Zero to the Red, they do not sound similar to me. The mid bass is still very prominent but female vocals are a little less intense, but still quite congested. Below is the EQ I used. 

With Impedance Adapter

• It does increase the bass for the Red, especially the sub bass. 
• However, the midrange and treble resolutions drops a little bit, and the overall tonality gets a little more unnatural to my ears. 
• Furthermore, it needs more power to drive the Red when the impedance adapter is used. I needed to switch to the Truthear Shio with the impedance adapter to get to the listening volume that I'm used to. 
• Overall, I prefer to use the Red without the impedance adapter, but it certainly is a very nice inclusion for the user to choose based on their preference. 

Conclusion

• In my opinion, the Truthear x Crinacle ZERO: RED does indeed lives up to its hype as a very solid neutral-ish option for the $50 price range. 
• Great addition for people who wants a taste of a more neutral IEM on a really tight budget, as there are not many neutral options in this price bracket to begin with. 
• However, please take note that not everyone might enjoy this type of signature as it is not as exciting or fun as other selections. 

Non Affiliated Link:

• If you would like to purchase one yourself after reading the article, feel free to use the non affiliated link below.
• https://shenzhenaudio.com/collections/headphones/products/truthear-x-crinacle-zero-red-dual-dynamic-drivers-in-ear-headphone

Thanks for reading!