Truthear X Crinacle Zero Red Review – New Benchmark Or Another Rehash?
Pros — Attractive shell design
– Comfortable to wear
– Very safe, inoffensive tuning
– Natural timbre
Cons — Truthear Zero Red have fingerprint-magnet shells
– Not the most dynamic or exciting presentation
– Could be more resolving in the treble region
In this Article
INTRODUCTION
The Truthear X Crinacle Zero: Red (that’s one mouthful of a name) were announced back in May 2023, during the High End Munich show. While there are copious hints of irony in announcing a pair of budget IEMs in a show literally called “High End”, there was no shortage of hype even before that.
Crinacle’s original vision was to tune the Red closer to his own “ideal” target curve, and apart from a welcome dosage of extra bass, they do hit that mark. The Zero Red also “fix” some of the issues and criticisms that the Harman target has been subjected to in the yesteryear (including the criticisms from the tuner, Crinacle, himself).
I reviewed the original Zero (Zero: Blue?) more than a year ago and found them somewhat uninspiring. Given that they were tuned after the (purportedly flawed) Harman target, the Zero Red should be a logical upgrade as they address the issues of said target. Moreover, the Red act as a showcase of Crinacle’s ideal target and should be an accessible entry to the tuner/reviewer’s preferred tuning.
But that was nine months ago. Now in February 2024, there is a lot less smoke and the influencer-induced hype machine has long run out of fuel. Time to see if the Zero Red have managed to survive the test of… time.
A benchmark pair of IEMs should, after all.
Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Shenzhenaudio was kind enough to send the Zero Red for evaluation.
Sources used: Questyle CMA 12 Master
Price, while reviewed: $55. Can be bought from Shenzhenaudio.
PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY
PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES
Decent stock cable – check. Half-decent stock eartips – check. PU leather carrying pouch that offers minimal protection – check.
Cringe waifu on the packaging – check. Oh wait.
Nonetheless, the stock accessories are the same as the OG Zero other than the 10ohm impedance adapter that’s now included in the box. It’s a pretty rare thing and I welcome the addition.
This adapter should increase the sub-bass by a few dBs due to the way the crossover is designed. You can further increase the sub-bass with higher impedance adapters but the driver would probably bottom out at that point.
BUILD QUALITY
These are basically the Truthear Zero with a red faceplate. I have to say that the red faceplate looks better than the blue one of the predecessors. Another change is the size of the vent which is now larger than the original version and should allow for greater airflow.
The 2-pin connector is recessed, thankfully. The crossover circuit can also be seen near the connectors through the translucent shell.
While the build is generally good, the shells are smudge prone and slippery. So keep a cleaning cloth handy.
COMFORT, ISOLATION, AND FIT
Fit and comfort is excellent, so is the isolation.
SOURCE AND EARTIPS
The Zero Red are fairly easy to drive, though the addition of inline impedance (via the supplied adapter) will need more voltage from the source side. Even then, it’s not a big deal and should be handled by most dongles in the market.
The stock eartips are good enough to get you going though I am not a fan of the somewhat stiff stem. Third party tips offer even better seal and comfort but the sound signature did not change much.
DRIVER SETUP
The dual dynamic driver setup of the first version of Zero makes a reappearance with subtle improvements.
The distortion figures of the 10mm bass driver are better, which is a much needed upgrade. The 7.8mm midrange and treble driver seems to be unchanged from the first version.
ZERO RED TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES
If I had to describe the Zero Red’s tuning in one word, it would be: safe. Balanced would be another descriptor, even though the muted treble can throw off said “balance”.
Crinacle decided to go for a less dramatic bass shelf, while adding a touch of warmth to the lower-mids by starting the bass rise from 300 Hz downward. As a result, the transition between the upper-bass and lower-midrange is not as drastic as the OG Zero and sounds far more coherent. If you want more bass, there is always the impedance adapter. However, I did not like the extra bass as it cast a haze over the lower-mids.
The midrange itself is ruler-flat until 1 kHz and then goes for a pinna gain for approximately 8dB. This tuning choice strikes a good balance between male and female vocals. Other than baritone vocals, everything sounded correct.
Strings have good heft without sounding too dampened, grand pianos show their characteristic down-stroke “thock”, and distortion guitars are brought forward without becoming overbearing. However, such safe can often verge towards “boring” for some. I did not find it to be the case, but if you are into super-forward female vocals, the Zero Red might be tad laid-back.
Finally, the treble is somewhat muted and there is a noticeable lack of response around 10kHz. This kills off the sparkle and airiness, but on the plus side you avoid fatigue and distortion. My assumption is that the treble driver is not adept at handling high frequencies (ironic, given it’s supposed to do exactly that), but given the budget pricing I’m willing to cut some slack here.
Soundstage and imaging are about average, in the context of IEMs in this range of course. Certain peers offer a wider sense of stage or more precise imaging, but the Zero Red won’t sound claustrophobic. Rather it’s not the most accurate in placing instruments at ordinal orientations. Macrodynamic punch is pretty good but microdynamics are lacking, with subtle shifts in volume levels being imperceptible at times.
SELECT COMPARISONS
vs TruthEar Zero
The OG Zero and the Zero Red are primarily differentiated by their tuning choices. The predecessor had a more drastic sub-bass shelf that practically hollowed out the mid-bass and somewhat butchered male vocals. In that aspect, the Zero Red are wholesale improvements. The bass driver is also better on the newer version, resulting in better texture in the bass region.
Frankly, for the improvements in the bass and mids alone, I would consider the previous Zero “outdated” vs the newest revision. The mids of the OG just sounded unnatural to my ears and the Red fixes that one big “con”.
vs Final E3000
The Final E3000 have long been a mainstay in our Wall of Excellence as the IEMs to get around USD$50. The fixed cable is a huge con, however, so the Zero Red is already a step ahead in terms of build quality. Comfort and isolation go in E3000’s direction due to their seamless, bullet-style fit and exceptional passive noise cancellation.
When it comes to the sound, these IEMs take different routes in order to achieve a “fatigue-free” tuning. Final E3000 go for more pronounced mid-bass and rolls off at the sub-bass past 40kHz. The pinna gain is even more reserved, while there is more response in the treble region, albeit upper-treble is similarly rolled-off.
The Zero Red have superior midrange clarity and sub-bass rumble, at the cost of mid-bass body (snare hits are more satisfying on the E3000) and less sense of stage-width and depth (can be attributed to the more reserved upper-mids on the Final IEMs). Imaging is also better on the E3000.
Do the Zero Red replace the E3000 for me, then? Not really. I still prefer the timbre on the E3000, and the more spacious presentation is more engaging to my ears. The Zero Red is more of a sidegrade – swapping spaciousness for a more forward midrange. If the treble on the Zero Red had more sparkle I would probably be swayed in the other direction, but that’s not the case, not yet.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The raison d’etre for the Zero Red is to improve upon their predecessors, while establishing themselves as the new “budget benchmark”. They clear the first hurdle pretty easily (not that it was too high a bar). It’s the second part where things get tricky.
There is a new “budget benchmark” every week now, and the technical inferiority of the Zero Red keep them from fetching that particular crown. For me, the Zero Red are more of a showcase of what Crinacle’s ideal tuning is about, and I look forward to his upcoming releases where he will get to use better drivers to achieve a similar target, perhaps with superior treble sparkle and extension.
To wrap up this review with a familiar “ranking” methodology:
Tone Grade: A
Technical Grade: C
Overall Grade: B
Value: 1 star
DISCLAIMER
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Our generic standard disclaimer.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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