CCA CRA original one is amazing, the sub bass and upper mid dip with sparkly treble made it sound so atmospheric and emotional. I get that upper mids give alot of detail and forward vocals, but it can take away the whole vibe and depth of the sound. Especially when you turn up the volume on cra it feels more intense without being shouty. Idk what driver material they used but it feels super thin and resonant which gave it more "x-factor" to me. Sadly after the driver+tuning change, it became shouty and sibilant lol.
Tell me why Zenith was the best! JK lol the high-tier all-BA are great as well but overpriced. ZX12 Pro X is not though and amazing with some EQ, great neutral-bright hybrid.
It is a shame 2 of my favs aren't for sale anymore- CRA rev1 and PR2 rev1.
Not just that model but sub brand models like the qkz vk4 and cca cra also got downgraded after positive reviews and the qc is still bad, both for iems, and cables.
I would go with those for the absolute budget vs kz. I've had QC issues with my kz edx, cca cra and qkz vk4. But I would go with one of the over 2 for a lightning port iphone + item as the best budget price/performance.
I'm having 7hz salnotes zero. The original ones. I like its quality but sometimes it feels boring. I was also having cca cra's those are kz's v shaped and are very peaky and tiring for me.
Thinking to see what higher price iems can offer. After watching crinacle recent video. I was thinking to buy TH Zero reds around 50-60$. But found out it dethroned by ew200 and kleans.
In klean and ew200 the problem is these are single DD. I really wanna experience something like hybrid drivers. So i was attracted towards reds more. Also recently the options like 7hz eula, kz duonics ultra are being added which scores higher in jaysaudio ranking list and makes the decision more tough.
Or should i save some money and directly go towards hexa or ew300 territory? I really wanted to experience hybrid drivers implementation.
Also i dont wanna buy multiple iems i dont have time and space to keep switching iems. I like the smooth sound signature, good instrument separation and soundstage. As a background i have used soundmagic e10c and monk+, i like both of them v shape of e10c too.
\*\*Also I dont like doing eq's i am tired of doing it still i cant find right tuning for my ears. Mostly i adjust with the factory calibrated tuning which maker had thought will be likable for most the customers.
# TL;DR
I use **7Hz Salnotes Zero** and like its smooth sound but find it a bit boring. I don’t enjoy harsh, peaky V-shaped IEMs like **CCA CRA**. I want a **single, higher-quality IEM** with smooth tuning, good separation, and soundstage, **without EQ**. I was considering **Truthear Zero Red**, but saw **EW200, Klean, 7Hz Eula, KZ Duonics Ultra** rank higher. I want to **experience hybrid drivers** rather than another single DD. Now I’m wondering if it’s worth buying something around **$50–60** or just **save and jump to Hexa/EW300 tier** as a clear upgrade. I don’t want to keep switching IEMs — I want one great, long-term set.
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7Hz
7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2
76% positive of 493 users
Budget gaming pick, but poor cables and polarizing bass.
Tsuiichi
