Can't believe the Mele got discontinued before I could get it...💔 Would you say the KAI is a good substitute, or should I rather get the T3 plus at that price? Thanks for the review Dan.
I prefer the mele or kai over T3, clarity and detail for T3 but it doesn't fit me well, i find it uncomfortable for extended use. That is why I sold mine. The HBB build I think fits all kind of ears and very comfortable for me. I don't know the others.
Dan you've saved me $350 so far. I've had the Raptgo X, Olina and Crin Zero in my cart for the the longest time. Your review methodology is absolutely the best format for reviewing gears. Compared to other reviewers just spitting out audiophile jargon without actually giving a taste of the music, and basically saying "trust my ears on this". Switching on the fly between IEMs clearly shows the nuances between sets. You can't even do this while trying gears in an actual store (at least not as fast). Keep up the good work! 👍🎧 Btw, yes this mic sounds better
...and the music choices are fantastic. Perfect balance between critical listening (for the nuances) and pure enjoyment. It's like "killing two birds with one stone", figuratively.
The HBB Kai's are very nice sounding. Nothing jumps out too aggressively in the mix. everything sounds cohesive and balanced to my ears with a fairly warm sound.
Hi Dan, Thanks for coming back. A huge lot of people already have TIN T2 or Blon 03 as their entry vehicles into this hobby. So it would really help all if you add those two into any under 100 comparisons.
@@dansaudioreviews It would help as a reference point for comparison with existing gear. Not all fans can buy above 100 particularly in countries like India where our prices are bloated with import duties, currency conversion etc. Only recently some exclusive online audiophile awareness and sales have started booming. We can't risk buying something expensive after reading or hearing just descriptive adjectives.
This is the first time I've ever heard anyone do a review where you could actually ( HEAR ) the difference for ( YOURSELF ) 👍 AWESOME !!! PLEASE keep doing that 🙏
Thank you Dan. Spent the day in bed sick but got to listen to some great tunes while looking at the mountains overlooking our home. Smiles to you and yours. 🌸🏯🎌
Great to see you back! I know a lot of people are saying this is the year of the planar (which it is), but I think it’s also the year ChiFi really figured out tuning
Heyy we share the same idea about this. Although I'm assuming this has also been a strong year for collaborations between top tier audio reviewers and Chinese IEMs manufacturers as well
@@dorisisaway355 Since the Harman Target is a free of use one, it has been saving a lot of unnecessary burdens, but may shy away creativity from the participation of different varieties of tunings.
@@dorisisaway355 there are still a lot of companies that just release V shaped tuning, or ones like Dunu that try their own thing. The nice thing about standard tunings is you can figure out what you like for cheap and then pay what you are willing to for technical abilities
Crin Zero owner here, the demo does not sound like the Crin's do in my ears (listening through ipad>apple dongle>akg371), here they sound thin, anemic but in reality they have punch and weight in the sub bass, great out of the box, and perfect with spring tips+eq of the little bit of roll off in the sub 40 hz frequencies, the bass driver is capable (you can add more mid bass if you like and it handles it). Also own the Olina and in comparison with the crin's zero they sound compress more so in the treble. If you are eq frendly all I can say is that you are not going to regret buying the crin's zero.
As usual you do great work and are dead honest with your opinion. Much respect for that 👍🏻 Now you need to revisit this group again lol. Chris(HBB) just released a $20 killer. The QKZ x HBB. The cable is crap but the Buds are really nice and the sound will Impress anyone IMHO. Hope you put out more videos soon as you are one of my favorite reviewers.
Best no BS reviewer out there. Going through the sound together while telling the nuances really points out the differences I would have never noticed.
Hey Dan. New and trying to get into the hobby. In a future vid can you compare signatures. Take a few iems and show us what V-shape, U-shape, harman curve, neutral, neutral with bass boost, warm. Being in northern canada we do not have specialty stores and its hard to buy to the descriptions that some youtubers make. Also, just bought my first IEMs cause of you a few days ago and waiting for them to arrive. Obsidians. Cheers
@@Anonymous-gh6xf Harman has a bass boost by itself, and if you're referring to "harman neutral" as in Harman without bass boost, well the Crin Zero follows the harman bass shelf
great commentary. I totally agree, I like the Mele over the Kai for an easy listen with a nicer tonal balance. i love my new OH10 - obsidian (just got it last week). It was an excellent addition to my collection.
Currently I mostly listen to the T3+, EQ'd to the HBB target and it's absolutely great (I mostly listen to rock and metal, so HBB target works well for me). I then bought the Salnotes zero to be the beater set to accompany it, thinking that because they graph quite similarly from around 500Hz upwards, I perhaps could EQ them to sound similarly to the T3+ I enjoy so much. But not quite, they don't seem to take EQ as well and have some harshness when listening to metal that the T3+ simply does not have (bass actually took EQ quite well, so that was not an issue). So yeah, in the end, I think the T3+ simply uses a better driver that I can't seem to match with EQ'ing the Salnotes Zero. So personally I would still recommend waiting for a sale (11.11 is getting near) and choosing that over the cheaper Zero.
I forgot about all these iems after getting lost in that Röyksopp track. Dunu Zen with Moondrop Dawn, bass EQ applied. That track is luscious. Great video as always
Kai has a very satisfying bass I like. I didn't expect to like the Kai so much. Very interesting comparison with 7hz because currently I'm loving the Zero in my collection. I think I would love the Kai as well.
Omg I’ve only recently found your channel, and it’s not just demos but also the commentary that just makes it a very well rounded review. In a very subjective hobby, I can at least have an idea of the tonality before buying something, even if I don’t agree with you. That’s just awesome man, keep it up! PS: Any plans to review the Stellaris? Early comments and review are concerned with the brightness, but I’d really like to know how it compares to the timeless and the OH10
Can't wait for your Timeless and SA6 comparison. I'm so glad your back to doing reviews!! and hope you never stop! You are one of the major reasons I got the s12 and I really love them. I foresee your reviews influencing a lot of the gear I get as I progress to the more expensive stuff or hidden gems
The only enemy of this channel is RU-vid destroying the sound quality. But aside from 2 other Japanese RU-vid channel that plays demo's to compare IEM's you are the only one that is doing this kind of reviews for the EN side of the community.
So picked up the Salnotes zero and after watching this video and a few reviews on HBB's Kai and his new one with Qkz x hbb that they has similar if not the qkz maybe even better tuned, I've really come to fall in love with a good budget warm sound for alot of my everyday things. The Salnotes Zero is honestly probably awesome for alot of the details it offers, but here's the thing, I'm autistic and have ADHD. Sounds can be very distracting or even after awhile, intrusive and a nice, cheap, warm set that I can tote around that cost me 15$ for black Friday that helps me "turn off" the rest of the world and focus is amazing.
Thanks for the listens! I think I said in another comment that I bought the OH10 based on your recommendations. Thanks! Am also considering the Timeless now. Not sure what I was hearing right at the end there between the OH10 and Timeless, but the switch to the Timeless seemed like an unblocking of my ears. I also have the Salnotes, pretty much for the reasons you outlined - that I can take them out and about and not have to worry to much about losing them. The tips they come with all seem too small for my lugs to get a good fit though. Will have to get some aftermarket tips.
I bought the Truthear x Crinacle Zero yesterday as soon as the 11.11 discount started for about 40$. This comparison tempted me to try the Kai but I might shoot a little bit out of my budget range haha Baby steps, but I think the zero sets have great mids and instrument separation despite the lack of beefy bass. Great audio gear review format Dan! I think more channels/reviewers should show audio preview so that audience can get a glimpse of the sound.
I was waiting for this one, thanks for your time and great work brother. My thoughts; Truthear Zero really lacks treble extension and natural decays (decays are too quick and dry) i found this exact same issue also on my t3 plus after days of critical listening with it, equalizing it and especially comparing it against my all time favorites, blon bl03 and hzsound heart mirror. Its driver (or shell design) prevents the iem to produce natural and good treble in terms of decays and timbre on t3 plus even though its still better than most sub 100 iems on the market and sounds clear. But it seems t3 plus is still better than truthear zero in that regard so i don't see any reason to recommend truthear zeros to anyone, kai or mele sounds much more full and bodied, never lacks midbass warmth that zero lacked most of the time. I have to say that i also sometimes want to hear neutral and not warm sound, (like for pure classical music, maybe instrumental or just for vocals) hzsound heart mirror does exactly this in a full bodied, rich but clear and neutral way without being boring, keep that in mind i'd say... heart mirror does what tanchjim ola tried to do actually (ola seems tried to be a neutral set but kinda failed from what i hear) heart mirror simply has the best micro details, clarity and natural treble under 100 and still sounding natural in terms of timbre and overall presentation. Like i always say, it's the iem version of the Sennheiser HD600 out of the box... it's mind blowing to get such high fidelity sound for 40 bucks these days... i sold my aria and t3 plus recently but kept the heart mirrors, i even tried fiio fh3 in past, it was a resolution beast for the price but tuned with overpowering subbass that killed the rest of the spectrum on that iem, i'd still recommend hzsound heart mirror and blon bl03 as a safe entry and starting this hobby without braking the bank... Salnotes zero is better than i expected but sounds like it can be too energetic and congested (there isn't much seperation and layering to talk about) i'd still go with my blons for that price range. But it's more likely better than chu so its great set for the price for a more neutral take. After all, i feel like my preference suits more with HBB's tunings rather than Crin's so far...
The way you describe the heart mirror is almost exactly how I feel about my ER2SE, especially regarding being the HD 600 of IEMs. Maybe I'll give the heart mirror a shot, as it seems to have garnered a real cult following in the hobby. Also ditto on the BL-03 being another budget GOAT. I hear the Mele and the Kai in these demos and think to myself that they sound too similar to the Blon for me to consider them.
Hey Dan, used to be a patron, but lost my income. Keep up the great work, you're extremely valuable to the community. I had a video idea for you. I see a lot of beginners ask "does the cable really make my iem sound different?" and "how do iem tips affect sound?". Maybe you could make a short video comparing various cables and tips to give hard evidence in your review format to the people searching for answers.
I love the idea someday of trying such comparisons, like tips and cables. Ensuring a proper seal is a major obstacle though in this rig. I’ve tried silicone tips, but the bass is lost almost completely compared to what those same tips provide in real life. Maybe someday though, if I can figure it out. Thank you for your support. Sorry you lost your income 🙇🏻♂️
I have done reviews on the Crin Zero and the Kai. Listening to these songs on them obviously sounds way different than the demo, but I think the demos DO do a good job portraying the differences, to anyone wondering if they are in any way accurate. In my opinion the Crin Zero is a pretty good V-Shaped set, I grab that sometimes when I feel like listening to some rap or kpop, and it really isn't that bad for metal... But that Harman V-Shape is really only a tuning that works for me sometimes. The sub-bass boost is a bit too much for everyday listening to the music I like most (old-school rock, acoustic, indie), and the lack of midbass that would balance out the upper midrange makes it sound way brighter than it really is. A good set, one of the best under $50, but has clear flaws. The Kai is much better, in my opinion. It has that warm, rich, relaxed tuning that's also not perfect for everything - it just lacks energy when listening to things like metal, in my opinion - but works much better for 90% of the music I listen to. It's also not my preferred sound signature, I prefer something more neutral like Moondrop SSR or iBasso AM05, but it is genuinely a great tuned set. One underrated aspect of it, in my opinion, is the treble, which is just sooo good, even if I wish there was more of it. The 7Hz Zero though... I really hope it doesn't sound as shouty in real life as it does in the demo. On the Sultans of Swing demo they sounded pretty good... when there was no electric guitar playing. That electric guitar is so shouty and strident it gave me PTSD of the Moondrop Chu, which is one of the worst pieces of crap I have heard in a long time.
I have the Salnotes zero…for $20 buck it’s phenomenal…total no-brainer if you are on a serious budget. I also have the Meles and the Olinas. The Salnotes zero are absolutely Ok as an alternative.
This is the best reviewer I have ever seen! Absolutely love the content and regularly catch myself agreeing audibly during the explanations. Thank you for your work.
i can listen forever to the kai, very pleasing warm sound. the s12 is technical the better iem but i can't listen to it for hours. I gave my t3+ away because it was right in the middle between the kai and the s12.
Hi Dan ! You are the first reviewer I see that allows the viewer to hear how the earphones actually sound like Couid you please do a review of the popular budget options in the 30$ & 20$ range ? I'd personnaly like to hear the differences between the Salnotes Zero and KZ ZSN's options in the price range. And see if I fall for other competing brands as well (like moondrop for exemple) Keep the videos going, you're great ! 🇫🇷
So glad that you are back with a new video. 👍 When my friends stated salnotes zero sounded too sterile to listen to, i think crin's zero does it for worst...for more money. Also the first microphone is better 😁
The Tanchjm Ola was one of my best pick, but also the worst. Why I say this? Because I hate how it sounds. But also it is clearly different from my other picks. This difference is what makes listening with different devices fun. Also makes you understand what is your kind of signature when buying more expensive gear.
Thanks for the demo, Dan! Marvelous job as usual. For me 7hz Zero is punching above its weight in terms of sound quality. Whereas Chu tends to have this ‘shoutiness’ that Moondrop IEMs have, 7hz Zero is slightly warmer and more comfortable for analytical listening. It’s a steal at US$ 20, really. As much as I love the sound from Kai in this demo, I don’t know if buying them would be redundant for me considering that I already have warm & bassy IEMs like Mele, T3+, and PMV PP. I am still interested in acquiring OH10 though, considering that you feature them in pretty much 90% of your demos. Still torn between OH10 and Wu Zetian…
Yea, I guess it isn’t actually neutral. But more like…neutered. The high end and low end don’t do anything special for me. In that sense, the style is “neutral,” in a more abstract sense I guess. It definitely isn’t ruler flat in response or anything like that.
Just discovered your channel, loving the format. The demo's are really helpful for reference points in a space where you typically need to rely on graphs / flowery language. Find myself watching videos about IEM's I don't even care about just out of curiosity. Some of your other videos helped me land on my beloved S12's, big ups.
The more I've been listening to this video and another of yours, the Salnotes zero would be great for my bag for school or work, but the T3+ seems like a better set for my general use at home.
Excellent review again. I bought the T3+ after your recommendation and have been satisfied. Of these, OH-10 and Timeless are on their own level, but T3+ is not far from them. Kai and Mele would certainly be good options for long listening sessions. Salnotes sounds a lot like Chu and Truthear is a real big let down.
@@lantern054 I don’t have a unit at this time and I haven’t heard from a vendor about getting one. That being said, if I got one I would love to try it.
I don’t know what’s going on with Crin’s tunings … How did he go from the Dusk and the Midnight’s..down to the enormous midd bass/ midd range SUCK …that comes across as deader than Marleys’ Ghost From Scrooge. On the old mic question, in the back 1/3 of this video ..it’s a tad echoing but you sound ok. My IEM’s stable has many flavors in it ..but there’s a definite preference running throughout. Great video and glad to see you back 😊
Well, I guess I owe you some thanks Dan; I'd been looking for a relatively neutral set of cheap IEMs to use on the go, and going off the audio and the review (plus other reviews) I got the Salnotes Zero, and I couldn't be happier, as these provide a very decent baseline for me to further tweak with the EQ on my Walkman. So thanks for the thorough review!
Dan, your tastes are similar to mine for the most part, which is why I'm head scratching a bit to understand your take on the Crin Zero, which is my preferred IEM for daily walks, using the EarStudio ES100. My other IEM for walks is the KBEAR Aurora, and I share your take on them. I wonder if it's a QC issue or related to the source and amplification. Anyway, love your channel, and hope you have fun with it. BTW, I loved hearing about the cool things you are doing for the students in your class. So different, and very cool, vs the approach taken in the 60's when I was in grade school.
Hey nice to see you back! Not trying to be a buzz kill and maybe it's just my setup. I'd suggest increasing your voice track volume to match or be above the music test tracks, cos at the moment I'm having to shift my volume up and down according to the portions of your vid. Keep up the good work! cheers!
That's an odd recording of the Crin Zeros. They sound nothing like they do in these demos. Not neutral in the slightest on my end (no EQ of course). I wonder whats going on, don't want to leave it up to saying its a bad set but something definitely seems a little off. Regardless great video as always. Can always appreciate the work that goes into doing side by side demos with different tracks.
Dan the man, Good to have you back and props to badboy to help out. On my gear- salnotes 7hz zero is the most neutral or balanced set I own,of course,genre ,tip rolling and cable swap all plays a part!! I agree under $50 is 7hz zero and under $100 is T3+ Peace,bro
Discovered your channel recently and saw a few videos... Loved the format with so many demo audio samples across so many different kinds of music... However a recurring theme with your approach to reviewing IEMs that I recommend you consider changing is pitching IEMs from wildly different price brackets against each other. Money makes the world go around mate and apart from a very tiny percentage of filthy rich, the single most rigid limiting factor whenever the rest of us look to buy something, be it a house or just lunch, is the budget. So someone who has searched about a particular IEM and landed on one of your videos is probably in the market for an IEM in the same price range +-10% at best. So, for example, I don't see videos like Chu vs Hola vs Salnotes zero vs CRA, or Kai vs T3+ vs Opal vs Hexa, or Stellaris vs Dioko, or perhaps Obsidian vs Timeless, all of which, we've seen you have. All these will make for wonderful videos and with the amount of demo samples and overviews you squeeze into each video, will make your channel one to visit for making actual buying decisions. The best of each price bracket will almost always knock hard on the doors of a higher category, so maybe talk about more expensive but performance wise comparable IEMs in that context. Now I know some of your videos, if watched in full length, will answer some of the said comparisons, but they are not titled or thumbnailed in a way to draw attention from people who are looking for the said comparison. The obsidian vs Timeless, for example, has been discussed in this video as well as in the Dioko review, but neither of the videos is about any of these 2 IEMs. Choice of IEMs per video aside, on all other aspects, your videos are a joy to watch. Finding out answers to questions nobody asked doesn't mean its bad content or its not interesting or entertaining, its just not very useful buying advice, which, I believe, can be solved in ways I suggested without compromising your core strengths. Hope this comment finds you. Keep up the good work.......... ;)
So don't have a ton of cash, but the Salnotes zero and the HBB Kai are so dramatically different that I almost feel like having both for dramatically different "moods" sounds like an interesting idea
Crin zero…Harsh Sounding HBB Kai…too recessed and Muddy sounding Salnotes Zero $20 of All Round Goodness and in my opinion the best of the 3. Don’t get me wrong the QKZ x HBB (I’m currently wearing to listen to this) and is also $20 is Better than the Lot as it has everything in buckets. I’m also a Mele Fan and own them but I class them as a Sit down Chill out with a Jack Daniels pair of IEM’s Great Review Sir by the way and thanks for your time and effort doing these.
This was a very indepth and intriguing review, I was contemplating on getting the truthear zero or salnotes zero, the demos helped me decide 👍great video
Would like to see/hear you demo HBB's higher-tier Kinda Lava vs your other top dogs. Maybe also the SE version of the Olina against others between the Mele and Obsidian.
Really appreciate the sound demos Dan. I guess it's now 2 videos in a row where something I didn't care about blew me away (Crin Zero for this video, Raptgo Hook X for last video). I guess that's what sound demos are for 🤣
The blows my mind still to this day correct the timeless sounds to my ears. Trust me, I understand it’s short comings and I absolutely hear all of the countless reviews over the last year - but to my ears, I swear they sound so natural and borderline perfect. I have no idea what that is, but I’m so happy I have my pair. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let them go. Don’t go anywhere btw Dan, I love these vids along with so many others. Thank you again for your work 🤘
Hey Dan I just found that listen to this demos thru different iems could be interesting and also applying some bass boost eq in the mix, the harman signature of the crins are cristal clear the dynamics separation and precision it provides are my clear winner even having a preference for a more warm presentation myself those two drivers and the low impedance are a great design the issue is to find a good source to match them. The level of detail and instrumental space are phenomenal without being harsh or silbing to my ears. Nice review by the way
I am so satisfied by the content, such awesome & engaging presentation., this channel should have atleast a million subs!!!!. The comparison was very insightful and well articulated. Go to know the nuance of each IEM, as close as it can get to real life. Please keep up the good work... you and your channel will be timeless legend...we want reveiwers like you for generations to come. Best Regards!!
In the first comparison I thought the Crin beat out the other two. Salnotes is not articulate enough in the treble. Those cymbal strikes were just awful. Kai was aight but needed a bit more sparkle. Might sound great with a bit of EQ? The Crin, though, had an almost perfect overall signature. Clean bass, nice mids, and very articulate treble. In fact, felt very articulate overall. Nothing sounded smeary or distorted or exaggerated. Ma-a-a-ybe could use a touch more bass? Of the rest of the sets, I think I liked the Tin and the Timeless the best. However, I think the fact that you dropped the Crin out of the mix after the first demo (except for that one moment in the last demo), combined with the limited range of musical styles/genres (the second and third were too similar IMO) makes it difficult to get a strong sense of how they all stack up (the three "main contenders" in particular). I got an impression, but a highly qualified one. I like this approach you are taking, though. Despite it's limitations (I listened, for example, using CCA NRA without any EQ, while another set--or EQing this one--will make things sound somewhat different), it probably tells you a lot more about the gear than just a graph or what someone else tells you it sounds like.
been using the obsidian for more than a year now, the most musically engaging set I've had (got tinhifi's, dunu's, TRI's as well) i feel oh10 is a more mature tuning of the Kai based from the demo i might get the salnotes just because of the different tuning which i might enjoy with some tracks (less bass, more "clinical" and transparent)
Got a pair of Salnotes Zero just for cheap IEMs to use with my Playstation when I want to play casual sports games and watch youtube on my PC (which I do often) and the sound quality for $20 is INSANE. They still sound cheap, but like totally usable. What I found, though, at least for my taste, adding a 10db or so boost at 10k and adding some more bass because I'm a fiend, it makes the headphones sound much more expensive. The imaging is still basically just left, right, or center, soundstage is whatever, not a ton of detail, instrument separation isn't really there, but wow the tonality makes music so enjoyable. Also totally passable for casual games.
I wasn't expecting to like to kai very much when i saw the graphs, but i have been daily driving it for about a month now very unexpected.. nifty little set that i keep at my desk and sometimes even reach for over my 58x
Another interesting comparison. As usual I agree with almost all of your comments. It seems I have similar preferences to you in terms of what I like and don't like. :) The new/old mic sounds better as it is directional and removes a lot of the room reverb but it would be great if you could put it on a mount so we don't hear the handling noise when you hold it ;) Keep up the good work! I look forward to every post.
Thanks Dan, continue....👍 you gave justice to the word "Demos" before buying an IEM. Or atleast the worth and sound of an IEM 👍 before buying. 🎧 HBB Kai, OH10 and the Timeless is fun to listen to, atleast to my ear and Brain.😁
Beautiful review as usual. Have you heard about the new "bass cannon" FATfreq Maestro Mini? Would be super dope if you could get a hold of those for review
Dan, i really like your approach in your reviews. You give your opinion but you also let us hear how it actually sounds like. It's your review of the tin t3plus that convinced me to get it and i have no regrets. Thank you man.
I am so very glad that it helped give some direction in what can feel like an insurmountable amount of products and reviews to sift through. A penny saved is a penny earned, as was said!
@@dansaudioreviews exactly man, there's just so much good stuff out there. what's good now is that you can enjoy audiophile grade stuff even at the affordable cost possible. t3plus was just about the range of my very limited budget with the kind of signature that i like.
I blocked the small vents nearest the nozzle on my timeless to see if it would improve the bass a little, and it brought the bass up slightly and the upper mids and treble down slightly, And to me it sounds better, Don't need a bass shelf in EQ now, And it doesn't introduce driver flex or nothing like that, I think it may of been over vented slightly for the second set of filters they fitted on the revision, Just a tiny peice of tape is all you need and easily removed, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you could try it Dan.
