Truthear x Crinacle - ZERO

Unboxing Experience: If you can ignore the waifu that gives major weeb vibes, the unboxing feels too premium for its price range. From the smooth vacuum drop of the box to the presentation of the iems and eartips with a leather carry pouch, everything feels premium. The box is gonna become a fidget toy itself. Being provided with 7 choices for eartips, 6 of them being silicone and 1 memory foam, a proper fit is guaranteed for any type of ear canal.

Setup: I had read reviews before buying, that the Zeros are hard to drive. So, I was obviously worried that I have to buy an amp but that was NOT the case. They run comfortably from both my laptop’s 3.5mm audio port to my main system’s Audio Interface (UMC22) which just needed 5-10% increase on the gain dial over my previously used 7hz Salnotes Zeros. I tried both the memory foam and silicone tips and even though I love the amazing fit of the foam, I chose to go with the small size silicone tips because they were easier and quicker to take on and off with very low to negligible loss in audio quality. Been using them to play my full library on iTunes and I will say even though I’m not a basshead, the dedicated 10mm sub driver is making those heavy bass sounds really powerful and flattering without any major inconvenience or uncomforting factor with NO loss in mids or highs that single driver iems face (I was facing this issue with my 7hz Salnotes Zeros).
Ingame: (Note- This part of the review is solely focussed for Rainbow 6 Siege using Night Mode Dynamic Range) The dedicated 10mm driver is a godsend here. It ensures you get a separate bass response for players above your current floor while the footstep sounds from the same floor are still crystal clear. The sound staging is great enough to make you hear directional audio really well. It has even gotten me hacker accusations so you get the idea. The sound of distant barricades breaking, to explosions and heavy bullet sounds being muffled out while you are guaranteed to get the lighter audio cues sharply is why Streamers, Tier 1 Pro League Players and CCs namely TheGodlyNoob, G2 roster consisting of Doki, Blurr, Benja, Alem4o and Virtue and CCs like Kudos, HaanSolo all use and recommend it.

EQ: I am using Equalizer APO with the Peace Interface and my EQ is as follows
-
Preamp: -6.1 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20 Hz Gain 4.7 dB Q 0.800
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 87 Hz Gain -0.9 dB Q 1.700
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 170 Hz Gain 1.6 dB Q 2.000
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 300 Hz Gain -1.2 dB Q 1.800
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 830 Hz Gain 1.1 dB Q 1.700
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 1500 Hz Gain -1.4 dB Q 1.500
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 6700 Hz Gain 4.6 dB Q 2.000
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 8100 Hz Gain -6.8 dB Q 2.000
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain 9.8 dB Q 2.000
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 15000 Hz Gain -2.4 dB Q 0.500
-
You can copy the lines above to your notepad and then save and import them onto Peace.

Cons: The one and only annoying factor regarding the Zeroes is that the wire could’ve been better. I like iem cables to sit snug behind my ear but the Zero’s cable does tend to get loose and come to the edge of my ears or fall off to the side completely. I am looking into some aftermarket cables from Tripowin C8 to deal with this issue.

I had ordered this jumping on the hypetrain from shenzenaudio, and have spent months with it. So I think I am in a fairly good position to talk about it.
(Points of comparison: FiiO "JadeAudio" JH3, Dunu Titan S).

Packaging was extremely good for an under 5000 rupee IEM- in my case the memory foam tips were slightly damaged but hey, that can be excused. The shell feels robust, has a nice heft; the cable is gorgeous and well finished, and the pouch so far is actually better than what Moondrop for instance, provides. Not a fan of the Waifu packaging though.
The IEMs do go deeper than the standard so one might feel slightly nauseating and I did get tired after a few good hours but I will still say that for the most time it's comfortable and I personally don't think that the average person might be spending 10-12 hours at one go.
Now most importantly the sound- and if I say that it was "overhyped" I am being generous. To be clear, these IEMs are not bad or hideous sounding by any means, it's just that I have heard better (the Koss KSC75 and the Dunu Titan S have massively spoiled me). When I directly A/Bed it with the Fiio JH3 that I have, I just kept on going back to the JH3 because it was a considerably better made product than these. The JH3 had a punchier and a more engaging bass than these, the Zeros still handled treble better than the JH3 but the latter again redeems lost ground with a comparatively more expansive mids- the Zeros honestly felt claustrophobic to me and I will prefer a slightly shoutier in-ear or over-ear, if it gives me the expanse across the mids; I like the sound to have an ample supply of air, I don't like it when the presentation feels slightly strangulated and that was what the main problem the Zeros had, per my notes. The Zeros handled genres like R&B better than the JH3 for instance, but the JH3s trumped the former in genres like rock, metal and even funk; across the tracks the scales tip here and there rather inconsistently but again, from my observations- the Zero is good, just not that good.

In conclusion: the Truthear Zero has been there making its name, but I think that there are better products out there than these. If you are familiar with the Fiio dynamic driver sounds, then you might be agreeing with me on certain notes but again, I will say that it's a good start for Truthear for what I believe is their first product but then they have some redemption to make (I mean, I need to try out the Hola as well as the Hexa). The Fiio JH3 edged these in a lot of aspects, but the Dunu Titan S (not a fair comparison but still), reasonably commands more money than both of these.
Grading it a B.

At the time of writing this review i have had these for like and hour and I dont really know if they :
•)are REALLY hard to drive( using them with an iphone SE and an apple dongle but also tried on the macbook the results are nearly the same ) ,
•)did i just got a defective product
•) i just need to burn them for some time
cuz rn they literally sound like shit . no other way of putting it sadly . There is NO BASS AT ALL it sounds like the 10 mm driver is not even working idk man was really hyped after seeing the reviews . I really think that i got a defective product and will likely replace it after a day or two just to check if burn in helps and will update you guys after that . As Im not sure so ill not be giving them ratings rn

I have less experience with audio gear, and I am no audiophile, so this won't be a very technical review, and it will be a more gamer-centric one. I own a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770s, Senheisser 599SE, Corsair HS80 Wireless, HyperX 2014, and I've tried the Arias.

To begin with, IEMs sound too different compared to headphones. These definitely lack bass compared to them, but are much sharper and cleaner-sounding.

The Truthear costing just Rs.4500, sound much cleaner than all my headphones I've mentioned above. And while the Zeros are supposed to be bassy according to reviews, I guess it is only so, relative to other IEMs (at least so is my guess, because the only other IEMs I've tried is the Arias). And yes, I've made sure my ears are sealed properly because my ears feel plugged and I can't hear external air blowing in. Don't get me wrong, I can still feel the bass, it's just not as heavy as any of the above-mentioned headphones. But as you may put it, it's a much more cleaner bass that doesn't muddy other sounds.

Zeros vs the Arias: I don't know why, but to me, these sound way, way better than the Arias to the point where I feel the Arias were defective. It definitely has more bass than the Arias, and a better soundstage. While I immediately returned the Arias, I had no such thought when I tried these on for the first time, and not sure if it's the burn-in, but I feel the Zeros have only grown on me since. Also, the Arias got uncomfortably sharp on occassions for my taste.

Zeros vs Headphones for gaming - just because of the nature of how they are built, I guess I still prefer headphones for something like racing where the engine sounds sound better on the ears being extra-warm - I'd take even the HyperXs over these if you only play racing games.

I know this is very subjective, but I feel for SINGLE-PLAYER games with a lot of explosions (COD for example), I would still prefer the bassy more expensive headphones over the Zeros, simply because I feel bass is too important for such games, even if it comes at the cost of a few details. But the Zeros may simply be better for multiplayer gaming overall because of how much more detailed it sounds, while still not being uncomfortably sharp in the ears like how the Arias were to me.

But for indie games, where there's just music playing in the background, I think these are perfect, and I do feel IEMs in general are more comfortable than headphones. Don't get me wrong, I still think these are fine for AAA gaming against similarly priced headphones like the HyperX or even the Corsair HS80 wireless for something that's not racing, but I personally prefer using the DT770s for some boomy single-player experiences.

But the fact that I'm debating wearing these vs the DT770s which are thrice as more expensive, is a testament to how great the Zeros are. But let me clarify - it is not because I feel these are EQUAL to the DT770s, but simply because I feel these two have different strengths, hence better suited for different kinds of games. How would I rate it compared to the similarly priced HyperXs? I think this beats the HyperXs overall.

I've seen a few reviews talking about the Zeros fit and comfort - these felt fine for me. I also have two differently sized ear canals. My right ear canal is large while my left is small, so I had to use different IEM tips for each ear - You have a lot of eartip options in the box - new IEM users - please note the seal in your ears make a HUGE difference to your listening experience.

Value for money is very good.

First off, this review is coming from someone who is a noob when it comes to being an audiophile.
I've used Tin T2 before and they worked great for 3-4 years but finally died a couple months back so i was on the lookout for a new IEM. Wanted a bit more bass this time round so finally zeroed in on HBB Khan and Truthear Zero.
Chose the Zeros cause of all the rave reviews and maybe I was expecting a lot from these. I don't use any DACs or fancy equipment to drive the Zeros. Just used them through my Pixel and Redmi smartphones and through my HP laptop. Maybe these require something more powerfull to unleash their true potential but out of your everyday devices they sound quite ordinary. I had doubts regarding the same so I called up Headphonezone and had a chat with one of their headphone gurus who assured me that these would be easily driven through my phones. I wish that was true. I have to keep the volume of my phone maxed up just to make these audible.
The bass is better than my T2s but that's not something to boast about.
The fit of these are comfortable for me as I have big ear canals. But I can see other people having problems with fit due to the large nozzle as even I felt uncomfortable after an hours usage.
Wish I had chosen the Khans over these and saved myself some money.