I've been listening to a set I bought off Ali 2 months ago but didn't open. This is currently what I'd recommend to newcomers who have a budget of 50 bucks. Tone is very inoffensive with no real drawbacks other than one nitpick: Treble is not every extended. Stock cable sucks, it's something you'd expect on a 20 dollar IEM.
I think Crin's idea here is that if possible you get both Zeros, compare and be more informed as to which target reference you prefer between the Harman and the IEF.
My personal take - Crin's rendition of IEF target sits about the Harman IE 2016v2. Meanwhile the tuning is more compatible on the Hexa, and the drivers of the Zero would be technically superior under the practice of Harman IE 2019v2.
You don't even really need to do that: You can EQ the original Zero to the Red's signature using the settings Crin describes in his Red video and make the comparisons that way. They're both nearly identical beyond distortion performance and sub to tweeter crossover, so it should be a pretty accurate representation.
Gotta say, these sound real tempting as a bday gift for my roommate. He listens to rap, classic rock, and metal a lot, and a boosted low end sounds right up his alley. Had him try out the aria and hexa and he leaned more towards the aria but wished for more bass. This might be just the right fit for him.
@@bla_ank Maybe. If he doesn't like these I'll order some originals for him eventually as well. Or maybe an HBB collab or something. Those are known for typically being very bassy
Hey Mark, thanks for a great review! Well done man. Love your channel. Ordered mine a while ago and still waiting. Good you gave the comparison to some of the iem's I already own so I know what to expect. Very grateful!
Seems my set will be here tomorrow, pretty stoked. They won't replace my other IEMS, but I like the idea of having the set. Zero 1 and Zero v2. The sub roll off in the zero 1 is one of my favorites. Should be fun to compare them to the Hexa as well.
@@roadtonever They are pretty great all things considered. Among my truthears I'll still pick my hexa over them just because I think the hexas are more resolving, particularly in the upper midrange. The tuning is probably my favorite at this price point that I have tried. They remind me a lot of my dusks as far as tuning goes. For whatever reason the original zeros feel a bit smoother in the sub bass region especially the deeper sub 50 Hz range. Haven't tried the reds with the impedence adapter yet, that should be fun. At this point I have the bulk of crins iems, definetly everything dusk or below. I'd say reds stack up quite well for value. Though if you gave me the choice of the blue zero, red zero, salnotes zero, or KZ Crinnacle Zero I'm taking the KZ. They have a weird sparkle in the upper treble I love and for my ears near perfect fitment. The shell on the KZ is my favorite IEM shell for comfort to date.
@@MrBookluck in truth neither. The hexas do a better job in the clarity department. Just cleaner more detailed sound on symbols and high hats and have more air about them in quieter tracks but I expect that given the balanced armatures. The dual dynamics in the reds can't quite get to that level. But the reds are smoother in the low end and have a response curve closer to the dusks. If moneys no object I'd go hexa but if you don't like balanced armatures, like the bass kick or want to save a bit the reds are quite good. If your using them as a benchmark to decide if you'll like the dusks tuning then I'd go with reds. Otherwise if your getting one set of earbuds I'm going hexa. I find myself picking my hexas out of the drawer far more often than I expected.
Crinacle said he didn't want his collaborations to interfere with each other and $80 is way too close to $99 Dioko. So: 20$ -> 7hz Zero 50$ -> Truthear Zero 100$ -> 7hz Dioko There's just no space for 80$ IEM
Before the Zero Red was released I did a lot of EQ to the Zero Blues to smooth out its harsh treble (I couldn't listen to it stock). The sound is nearly perfect and closer matches my home theater system now. Good stuff for $50.
@@mistaxyz2869 Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 2.200 Filter 2: ON PK Fc 80 Hz Gain -3.6 dB Q 0.800 Filter 3: ON PK Fc 100 Hz Gain -1.0 dB Q 2.000 Filter 4: ON PK Fc 175 Hz Gain 1.8 dB Q 1.800 Filter 5: OFF PK Fc 1100 Hz Gain -0.6 dB Q 2.000 Filter 6: ON PK Fc 2750 Hz Gain -3.2 dB Q 1.000 Filter 7: ON PK Fc 5000 Hz Gain -5.5 dB Q 2.000 Filter 8: ON PK Fc 7500 Hz Gain -4.2 dB Q 5.000 Adjust bass to your device and taste.
@@SuperReview hexa just has a smooth sound to it. It's not great in any area aside from treble but I think that's why they're great. They do everything nice with no major emphasis. Just an analytical listen
Mark, I received my Zero Red 2 days ago. It’s lovely and boring. It goes in my kit for backup IEM when traveling as it’s quite comfortable and I get a good seal. It pairs nicely with my Khadar Tea and the Questyle M15 gets a bit more oomph in the listen off of iPhone, Z Fold 4 and the Sony NW A306. Nice vid
I like these and driven with a headphone amp sounds even better. Good IEM for a band player who might want that bass boost. I would like to offer a suggestion. If you could actually show the Squiggle graphs more than hand movement, it could help describe the sound signature better. I know you intend well but hand movement doesn't offer me too much and makes me just want to listen to the video and not watch.
Best $50 i've ever spent. It blows the Hexa to pieces. It's just ridiculously good for what it costs and the tuning is amazing. Sure, might be a bit too bass heavy but it's tastefully done so.
Sorry. Maybe someone can explain to me how I'm reading the frequency response wrong in Squiglink of the Hexa next to the Red. I bought the two and am listening to them side-by-side, and I read them the same way Mark does; the Red being more bass-forward. But the graphs show the Hexa at a higher dB from about upper-midrange 700kHz, all the way down. I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I sent out for the Aria, the Chu 2, the Zero: Red, and the Hexa. Aria lost immediately; too bass-heavy, muddy and painfully flairs out the bottoms of my ear (flaps?) to wedge them in there. Next out was the Chu 2; although they fit nice and had a nice, weighty-metal heft, they also had slightly too much bass and the cable was horrible for micro-vibrations that didn't stop at the ear-wraps (like I had hoped). Finally (and the most frustrating), the Hexa had to go. Hexa is my favorite of all of them for aesthetics, fit and comfort. I think clarity of vocals and separation of instruments are the most important aspects to me, and every time I switch to the Hexa, it felt hollow and muddy (in comparison). Not a horrible iem at all. Just didn't stack up against the Red in my ears. I would "cleanse the pallet" every so often by listening to the original Neraphones, which hits pretty close to my optimum sound signature. Again, I was really hoping that the Hexa would even just tie or come close to tieing with the Red, to justify the extra $25 with comfort. Oh well. In 5 years, the $50 earbuds will sound as good as the $500 stuff today. That's just how it goes. (adjusted for inflation, of course.)
Great review. I listen to music over open back headphones. I want to experience IEMs, so as a starter do you recommend zero-red? And for DAC what is your recommendation; 1. Fiio KA1. 2. Fiio KA2. 3. Fiio KA11. 4. ifi go link. Appreciate for solving!
I love my T2 Plus, but they have one fatal flaw for me: I can't get tips to stay on them. In terms of sound, they're pretty much perfect for me, especially their mild, but "high-quality" bass, and their timbre and microdetail retrieval. Should I get the Red?
@@miki890098 I tried the ePro horn tips but they also slid off. I pretty much just use my Galaxy Buds+ now if I'm using an IEM. I do miss wired and tried a bunch of different models (some expensive ones too) but eventually fell out of the game and stopped chasing the next set. Maybe I'll try the latest flavor of the month to scratch an itch.
I don’t have a lot of experience with IEMs. I have the Etymotic ER3XR and love sound. Sometimes I just can’t handle the fit. I am looking for a sub $150 IEM that has a similar sound. I have watched a few reviews of the Zero Red and your description has me thinking at the price, I should try them. What are your thoughts? Also are you getting the x HBB Olina SE in? Those have my interest too. Thanks!
I think the closest match to ER3XR that matches your criteria is the Truthear Hexa, with the primary difference being the transition from lower midrange to bass. I don't have the 3XR graphed, but here's how those two IEMs compare with the 4XR, for reference: squig.link/?share=Super_22_Target,Truthear_Hexa,Truthear_Zero_Red,Etymotic_ER4XR Another to consider at just over your budget is the Juzear 41T, which I will be reviewing soon.
@@SuperReview first, thank you for the quick reply. Awesome!!! Second, after searching for the Juzear, what little I found, gives it awesome reviews except for quality control. Anxiously waiting for your review. Thank you again!!!! (At the price listed, if it is as good as I think it might be, seems like good value)
Guys, im writing from hospital, my scenario is thruthear crinacle zero red, btr7 white, deezer hifi, im so pleasent… sorry fo awfull english.. but ive never heard never before! My soul just fly over)))
Hi, thx for the review, just wondering, can i drive those on my smartphone ? I mean are they easy to drive ? I have a old Samsung galaxy s8 and i'm wondering if i'll be abble to enjoy those iems completely just plugged into my phone.
Excellent review! I'm fairly new to IEMs. Do I really have to get a DAC in addition to the Zero Red ? Can I just plug them into my PC or android phone and get a really good sound ?
Lol I liked the Kingdom Hearts joke at the very beginning. I actually came from a Kingdom Hearts video and started wondering if another video's audio was playing in place of this video
Have you tried render tips on them(zero red)? Zeos swears they make a godly difference but idk. Nice to see we have the same take on the hexa 😂. Absolutely adore them. My kato kinda jelous I use the hexa more probably
I think you should compare it to the TRI Starriver. Not sure why that set isn’t talked about more. I really think it’s a magnificent iem at an incredible price.
How does it compare to Dunu Titan S? Looking at the graphs about the same magnitude response, at the specs similar sensitivity but lower impedance. Is red basically a cheaper version for the same sound experience and yet consuming less power? Cheers!
It comes with 2x different sets of Large tips, I'd try those first. If they don't work, maybe Spinfit CP360s, but just know that ear tip fit is very personal.
This or the 7Hz Zero is good enough tbh. Haha And whatever is a similar neutral tune in the budget section. Kiwi Ears Cadenza, Moondrop Chu 2, 7Hz Zero 2, etc. generally you want flat mids with less bass bleed. ☺️
@@matsudakodo Nah, can't assume that an impedance adapter always equals more bass. Different headphone / IEM designs respond differently to additional impedance on the cable.
@SUNG JIN WOO salnotes zero isn't one of the best out of cheap IEM's for gaming. Truthear zero is better for gaming, over most in that price, even over the red. I've personally tried a lot of the cheaper and a few more expensive iems for gaming, as well as music. Kiwi ears cadenza is also another good budget iem for gaming. Hexa is great, if you prefer a flatter signature for gaming also. There are better, if you jump up in price but these serve very well
@@jinwoooooooooo I have them both and yeah I agree that the salnotes zeros do not perform as well in FPS. Original Truthear Zeros are great, havent tried Project Red myself. Only issue is the nozzle size.
What's in a graph? Hmmm some lines and a grid. Hopefully labels to help explain the X and Y axis. It would nice if it was in color. Honestly, most important thing is the pick the right graph type for the data.
Just cuz you don't know these words doesn't mean they don't hold meaning. You're getting into a really niche hobby, so you're gonna be hearing a lot of these "meaningless" words quite a bit. My advice? Take the time to learn them. They're not too bad.
LOL... I got this IEM for X-mas (one of the gifts to myself 🤐) ... they are great. Pretty smooth yet plenty detailed for everyday normal listening - very well balanced IMO. They fit really well and just disappear when listening to music - a lot of bang for the buck. I will be getting the Hexa next ... 🤷🏻
Gorgeous review, as always! The question is a bit off topic of the video, but it is very interesting to know your opinion about the Truthear Hexa and Juzear 41t. Which ones do you recommend? (Double price, but is the sound quality a multiple of 41t?). The frequency response is very similar, I want to try this tuning, but I don't know what to choose.